Clicking Through Life ~ photography by Shannon Schwabe

Well I've done it!

2010-08-22T19:43:00.005-04:00

Okay, so I wasn't quite ready... I like things to be perfect. Well maybe done right is more like it. Maybe it's my Virgoan nature, maybe I'm a perfectionist, but one thing I've started learning in this past year is to let go a little bit. Because really, who's going to notice that the color of the drop down area is wrong? But I know these things and that's why I've held off on launching my new website and blog.

Well in an effort to streamline my workload a bit, I've decided to go ahead and launch my new blog in all of it's unperfected glory! From now on you can visit me at my new blog at www.clickingthroughlifeblog.com

It's not "perfect", but neither am I. And like my life and my business, I can always continue to "tweak" it as I go!

Jessica & Josh's Detroit Engagement Session

2010-08-11T19:20:00.005-04:00

As a kid my mom used to call me "Elephant Ears" because I was always hanging around and listening in when she was talking with someone. You know, those adult conversations and just when it's about to get good, they've spied you? Okay, so maybe I was a little bit. She'd always notice when I was lingering a little too long pretending to look for something eat or she'd spot me peaking around the corner because they had lowered their voices. I just wanted to know what was going on....
See, even as and little girl I wanted to be in on things. Only now, I refer to it as being in "the loop" and I don't eavesdrop quite as much. I'm sorry internet, but there's sometimes when I just can't help myself. Like when you're out and over hear something the people nearby say. If it's good, you'll pretend to be looking at something just to listen a little bit longer? Right? I can't be the only one who does this... The fact of the matter is, I love being in "the loop". There's just something I love about knowing what's going on with the people around me. And it makes me feel like I'm a part of something.
So when Jola told me that I might be getting a phone call soon from her bff and bridesmaid Jessica because Josh was going to propose soon, I was excited not only because I adored Jessica and the opportunity to document her wedding would be nothing short of amazing, but because I was in "the loop"!
Jessica and Josh are getting married this October and I know that it's going to go down as one of my favorites! They are such a fun couple with great taste, (and a killer venue) and they really know how to have fun together. From going to Tiger's Games, working out, and camping together to going out to eat, shopping for things to eat, and making things to eat - not sure where either of them put all this food they talk about, they must live at the gym!
When I asked them to tell me some of their favorite things to do together, they said (simultaneously) that going to Tiger's Games was definitely number one. So it was very fitting that we started off their engagement session at Comerica Park.

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After a quick outfit change we went to Campus Martius where Jessica rocked out this fantastic dress. Absolutely stunning girl!

The Compuware building has this fantastic waterfall and I'm so glad we popped in there! This is definitely a top favorite image from our session.

A random chair in Detroit always makes for an interesting shot...

Love your shoes lady!

We tried to get them to let us on to the Detroit Princess for a couple of pictures, but they wouldn't let us. But we couldn't resist a quick dance to the beautiful music this band was playing.

One word. Hot.

On our walk back to our cars we walked down Griswald where it had appeared that they were just finishing up working on a Christmas movie for the day. Since no one stopped us, we continued right on through and thought it might be fun for some Summertime Christmas pictures. (Jessica did some research and found out that they were filming "A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas". Now I can offically say that I was on a movie set!)

Oh yeah, I mentioned that they liked to eat right? So afterwards we hit up American Coney Island for Jessica's favorite. A coney and a beer.
Jessica and Josh, thank you for the fantastic time downtown! I had so much fun with you guys and seriously cannot wait for your wedding!
To see the rest of the images from our session, click here for a slideshow.

Tara & Brian's Metro Beach Engagement Session

2010-08-11T18:53:00.009-04:00

I have been so very blessed with the people I've gotten to meet since I started my business. I absolutely love my clients and love the way that they let me into their lives.

I first met Tara last winter at Maniaci's Bridal Show in Richmond, and from the start I was smitten with her. I loved her classic style and her open and honest personality and am so glad that we've become friends throughout her wedding planning. One of the things that stands out the most from our first meeting was hers and Brian's son Presley. Wait until you see this cutie! I swear it was him that made Tara choose me as their wedding photographer. He seriously wouldn't take his eyes off of me the entire time I chatted with her and her mom. And we talked for quite a while... A few days after the show, I received the sweetest e-mail from her that had me literally grinning from ear to ear!

We met up at the marina area of Metro Beach for their engagement session. Brian's son is also visiting for the summer and I loved how they wanted to include their boys in their session!

Tara & Brian you two had better look out. I have a feeling these two boys are going to be little heart breakers one day.

What a gorgeous family!

Tara & Brian used to spend a lot of time on the boat when they first started dating and I love how they wanted to include that in their engagement session.

As we were walking and talking we kept noticing all of these low flying planes coming from Selfridge Base which I found fitting since that is where Brian works. We must have been quite a site as we kept trying to get one of the planes in a picture and I was excited to see that we actually got one!

Something for fun.

After we were done with the family portraits, Tara's parents took the boys home so I could spend some alone time with Tara & Brian....

Tara you are a classic beauty!

Brian, you're looking pretty good yourself!

A few seconds after this image was taken the owner of the boat peeked out the window. I can only imagine what he was thinking seeing a couple kissing next to his boat...

Another thing that I love about my clients, is they're usually up for anything. And although she may have been freaking out a little bit, this "City Girl" was game when I suggested sitting in this field. Pure awesomeness....

To see the rest of the images from our session click here for a slideshow

Sarah & Justin's Memphis Wedding

2010-08-02T12:04:00.006-04:00

My second wedding season is well underway and Sarah & Justin's was the 5th wedding that I've been honored to be a part of this year. They were married at the Holy Family Parish in Memphis and it was a beautiful day! It was hot, maybe a little too humid and even a few showers. But it was my favorite kind of summer rain, the kind when it's raining and the sun is still shining. I L-O-V-E that kind of rain. And thankfully the bigger storms held off until after we were done with their portraits!

I'm not sure that this wedding could have been any more fun. Their wedding party was a complete riot, Alexander's in Marysville was gorgeous, the band rocked the house and with nearly 400 guests you know that this wedding was fun!

I loved all of the details Sarah had put together for her day! The mix of white, cream and vintage lace was stunning!

After the ceremony we headed to this awesome little park in Columbus (I think) for some portraits. The light was amazing and this is definitely my most favorite image from the day and it's totally going on my new website!

And this is definitely a very close second!

Can you tell how much fun these guys were? After having some fun here we headed to St. Clair for some more portrait fun with the wedding party.

The suave men....

And the uber cool ladies...

I love the serenity in this image.

I love it when I am able to get to the reception before the guests start to arrive so I can capture images like this one! The hall was just stunning with all of the blue accent lighting and the dance floor lighting was amazing!

Their cake by Buccilli's Cakes in Almont looked too good to even eat!

Some bling

The best man's toast had to be one of the funniest one's I've heard. Everyone was in stitches with laughter.

I included this image because I love it. And I love them. I'm going to be documenting Stacy & Josh's wedding this fall, and with this kinda love you know it's going to be an awesome day!

The band was AWE-SOME and it was so cool how they let this little guy come up and play the tambourine for a set. He thought it was pretty cool too.

All of the kids requested Justin on the dance floor and then doused him with silly string. I'm sure the hall wasn't too happy and I'm not sure that Justin enjoyed it either, but it made for some fun pictures!

The band was seriously rockin' and had the dance floor packed all night!

And one last favorite from the day...

Sarah & Justin, you two are amazing couple and have some amazing friends and family. Thank you so much for allowing me to document your wedding day. It was just as amazing as you guys are!

Click here for a slideshow!

There's more than "just pictures"...

2010-07-30T12:55:00.009-04:00

I promise to get better at posting these because you see, after I post my clients wedding images here, that's not the end of it. Nearly all of my clients choose a custom designed wedding album that I offer. I have so much designing them for my clients. I get to relive their wedding all over again, and it's just like digital scrapbooking. And since I don't really get a chance to work on my own scrapbooks these days, this is super fun for me!

Kadie and Chris' Album was recently delivered and I loved it so much that I had to order a sample of it!

This page is from Kadie & Chris' First Look and if you're a bride reading this, I know that we've talked about it at some point. I know that many people are afraid that seeing each other before the ceremony takes away from the moment that the groom first sees his bride walking down the aisle, or that it's bad luck (sure, watch out for that black cat). I ran into Kadie & Chris at a recent wedding (those images are coming soon!) and Chris told me that it didn't take away from that moment in the least. He said that when he first saw her for their First Look that he was blown away by how beautiful she looked, but then seeing her parents walk her down the aisle was a completely different feeling. Like "Whoa" she's going to marry me! *Thanks Chris for your input! :-)

I think you can pretty much tell from the look on their faces that it didn't take anything away from this moment.

In case you were wondering, I do take posed family portraits. I choose not to include them in my posts or slideshows, not because I don't like them but because they're a just standard and not the most creative images from the day.

Note: this is not a grave stone. This stone is at the entrance to her mother's garden. Honestly the thought of it being a grave stone never even crossed my mind until someone asked!

Emily & Antonio's Detroit Engagement Session

2010-07-29T09:03:00.005-04:00

I love a good story, and Emily & Antonio's love story doesn't disappoint. They first met in their driver's training class and although they went to different schools they still kept in contact through sporting events. Then one night they wound up at the same party and finally exchanged numbers, that's when their friendship began. Time had passed and there was some distance between them when Emily moved to Las Vegas but they still managed to keep in touch. When she moved back home, their history began. Although not everyone was on board in the beginning, Antonio and Emily's love for each other was strong enough to bring everyone around. And now they will be celebrating together next month!

We decided to head downtown for their engagement session and had so much fun! This couple is hot, I could have shot them all day! They love going to baseball games together and wanted some pictures at Comerica Park. Since the Tigers had a home game we decided to start off at Hart Plaza to let the crowd die down a bit. When we first parked I saw these pictures on the wall of a building and new that I just had grab a shot of them here. So glad that they went for it, because it turned out to be one of my all time favorites!

Emily, you are gorgeous. That is all.

They told me that they love to wrestle each other and often play little games, like who gets the last hit! I'm not sure how much fun that is, but it definitely made for some fun photographs with Joe Louis' fist!

RAWR!!!

Emily, you are soo right. Antonio does smile with his eyes.

Seriously, they should be models...

Like Really.

Something a little sweeter.

And Emily, your eyes are awesome.

Emily & Antonio I had so much fun downtown with you guys, and I'm really looking forward to capturing you and all of your hotness on your wedding day!

To see the rest of their images, click here for a slideshow!

Katherine & Scott's St. Clair Shores E-session

2010-07-24T11:21:00.006-04:00

I first met Katherine & Scott last year when they came to me about their wedding photography. Even when I first met them I thought that they were a super fun couple. They are getting married this Saturday and I know that it's going to be a riot! They both have an awesome sense of humor and I know that their wedding is going to be so much fun to document!
They've had quite a busy year with wedding plans and promotions that we ended up having their engagement session a little late, but better late than never right? And really, it would have been sooner, but we had to reschedule not once but twice due to this crazy wet July weather. This month has been insane with rain and humidity. Detroit's average rain for the month of July is 3 inches, and the news just said that we've had over 5 inches already with more to come tomorrow. Sweet.
I always like to challenge myself to continuously grow as a photographer and this session was shot completely with my 85mm lens. It was fun to see what I could do with it! I'm definitely looking forward to my next self challenge. We met up at Wahby Park at Blossom Heath for their engagement session, and had a great time!

Kat, your eyes, yeah their stunning!

I love the way they laugh together.

A little "In your face"! :-)

To see more of their images click here for their slideshow!

Shea Family Portraits

2010-07-23T13:08:00.003-04:00

I'm really excited about this post for a couple of reasons. First is because well, this family rocks! You've seen them on the blog before when I did an OP Love session for them. But this time was so much more fun because Dad was here! They were hoping for some pregnancy pictures with them together since this will be their last child. Zach was able to get a weekend leave to come up to document this time for them. Then one night on facebook Zach started chatting with me telling me that Jen was in labor and he was in the air on his way home! For 12 days! Maybe it'll be a newborn session instead we joked. He was loving the wifi and asked if I wouldn't mind calling Jen to see how she was doing.

I can only imagine what was going through Jen's mind seeing her photographer calling her at 10:00pm while she was in labor, but I was so happy to be able to pass on the details to Zach. I felt like I was part of the excitement! Unfortunately, baby Lila changed her mind and decided to wait until after Daddy had to go back to base. But we were still able to squeeze in a family session for them while they were in town!

The other reason for my excitement is because you are going to start to see some changes around here. I've been working on a new website for a while now, just ask my web designer Tammy. :-) Hopefully we'll have everything launched soon! And in an effort to streamline my branding and give my business more of a complete look, I've also changed my watermark and the way that I prepare my images for blogging. A special thanks goes out to Ed & Angie Marsh of Night Cry Graphics for the killer new logo and to Jodie at MCP Actions for her "Finish It" action set. Wow did that make prepping images for publication so much easier!

I'm looking forward to sharing the new website and blog soon, but for now here's a few of my favorites of the Shea family!

Ashly & Karl's Detroit Wedding

2010-07-22T09:49:00.006-04:00

Ashly & Karl were married July 10th, at St. Raymond's Catholic Church in Detroit. The sun was out, the temps were up and love was in the air. It was truly a beautiful day for a summer wedding! The day started at the Concord Inn in Chesterfield and I knew it was going to be another tearful day for me the moment I stepped into the room. I love weddings and all of the emotions of the day, and this one was no exception.
I love Ashly & Karl's candor with each other, they often tease each other and I remember when Ashly commented on facebook a countdown to the wedding. Karl commented something along the lines of "Don't blow it" and I had to laugh. Because even through all of the teasing, Karl still shows his love and his wanting to take care of her. Wanting to make sure she had enough to eat before the ceremony he send this delicious bouquet of sweets!

Ashly's dress from Brides by Demetrio's and shoes were absolutely bea-u-ti-ful!

Always "Be True"

Kevin from Twigs & Branches did an amazing job on the flowers!

And Ashly looked absolutely radiant.

Seriously! Girl you are gorgeous!

The ladies

And the guys

Karl was looking very dapper himself.

Love this moment I caught of both Ashly & her mom!

Could they look any happier?

Bling, bling!

We stopped at Ashly & Karl's new house in Grosse Pointe from some fun shots after the ceremony. I love how personal it made it!

Cakes our Specialty did an amazing job on the sweetness!

One last favorite image from the day.

Ashly & Karl, thank you for opening up your day to me. I hope you had an amazing time in Jamaica and I'm looking forward to hearing all about it!

Click here for more images from their day!

A Dog's Life: Roseanne & Lilly

2010-07-19T13:13:00.005-04:00

It's funny, I never used to be a "dog person". Growing up we always had dogs, but I never really considered them mine. They were always my sister and brother's. The dogs would follow them around all slobbery and never listen to me at all. I was always with my mom and her fondness for cats. But then one day, it happened. When we got Coby, all of a sudden I totally got it. I still love my kitty Bo, but now understand what Melissa & Shane had seen in our dog Patches. I mentioned before how I could never imagine the effect having a my own dog would have on my life. They nuzzle their way right into your heart and become a big part of your life. They rely on us the way children do. They need us for sustenance, comfort and companionship.
I love it when clients include their pets in their sessions, because they are so much of who we are. They are a big part of our family, so why shouldn't they be included? Scott and I included Coby in our own wedding photos and he was included in my updated portraits last summer. And he's one of my favorite subjects! So when Achsa contacted me requesting a session for her girls, I was excited to say the least! We met up at Dodge Park in Sterling Heights one evening for their session.

Miss Roseanne

And Miss Lilly

Lilly & Rosie are so stinkin' cute and had a riot running and playing. Oh, and the mosquitos, they were horrendous! I'm not sure what is going on this year, or maybe I just never noticed, but it seems like there are more little blood suckers than normal. We made it through their session pretty good, but when Mark came on his lunch break Lilly & Rosie really wanted nothing to do with a few family shots. There was just much to much going on. So we rescheduled another quick session so we could get a few with the family all together. I'm so glad we did too!

OP Love: Homecoming

2010-07-16T23:17:00.009-04:00

Katie first contacted me back in April because her fiance was coming home in a couple of weeks and she was hoping for homecoming session at the airport. And to be quite honest, so was I. Ever since I first signed up with OP Love, I've been looking forward to meeting a family at the airport to document that special moment when they get to see their loved one for the first time in a long time.

Scheduling these sessions can be difficult. If you are familiar with the military lifestyle, you know that plans can change at any given moment. And all too often they do. So you can imaging their disappointment when his May 1st arrival was delayed. In the past year they've only been able to spend 2 weeks together when she visited him in Japan and to say they were looking forward to this trip is an understatement.

Finally plans were set for June 12, he was going to arrive at 10:30 that evening. Scott was going with me and was even going to video it for me. Then my heart sank when Katie called just as we were pulling out of the driveway to say that his flight had been delayed and wouldn't be coming in for a few more hours. Knowing that I had a full day of shooting starting pretty early the next morning I had to say no. Believe me, if circumstances were different and I didn't have to be on my 'A game' the next day I would have forgone the sleep and still gone. But I promised to make it up to them and while he was on leave we were able to meet up at Memorial Park for a quick session for them.

Katie you are beautiful!

My favorite image from our session!

By now he's already back in Japan and they're missing each other like crazy. I'm so glad that we were able to schedule a session so that they have these images to look through and I hope they help pass the time until you get to hold each other in your arms again.

Meet the Ohlman Kids!

2010-07-16T08:01:00.003-04:00

I'm sitting up at Panera trying to get some work done. We had some big storms roll through yesterday evening, but our power went out hours before that. DTE gave an estimate of Sunday night, but I'm keeping my finders crossed that it's back up earlier, otherwise Panera might start charging me rent! This turns out to be pretty inconvenient as you can imagine. Most of my work depends on being connected. Without power, there's no editing, blogging, album designs, e-mail, nothing! And then my cell phone battery died. Scott always teases me about going without the computer, internet and cell phone and I always say that I can do it. But I gotta tell ya, yesterday was hard! I had just finished cleaning the house and powered down the computer to get ready for a client meeting when the power went out. I had so much work to do, and I felt completely helpless. I'm already backlogged and this was not helping. But what can you do? If you are a client reading this, waiting patiently for your images please know that I'm doing everything in my power to get them to you as fast as I can!

Enough of my ranting, let's talk about these cuties!

As I've said before, sessions like these always make me nervous. I met Jill in my "previous life" in the auto industry. She was my project manager when I worked for Penske Logistics. We worked on so many projects together and was one of my favorite people to work with! I get nervous because, well you have to admit going from a Logistics Engineer to Photographer is quite a big jump and I always wonder what they think of me. Crazy? Maybe. But I can't help myself.

So beautiful, and I L-O-V-E those curls!

Love the look on his face....

Look at those teeth!

To view the rest of the images from our session, click here for a slideshow!

Meghan & Jordan are Engaged!!

2010-07-14T08:43:00.003-04:00

The first time Jordan saw her, he knew that he had to ask her out. She was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen and had to grab hold of the closest table to hold himself up! Although Meghan was hesitant she agreed to a date. They shared a bottle of wine over dinner and the conversation lasted well into the night. That was where it had all started, and through the years their love and passion for each other has continued to grow.

Meghan and Jordan are currently living in Chicago, but planning a 2011 wedding here in Michigan. They were in town a few weeks back and we met up at the Rochester Hills Museum for their engagement session. I absolutely love shooting here! Not only because Scott and I got married here, but the grounds are so gorgeous and the time of day really doesn't matter.

Here's a few favorites from our session and don't forget to check the slideshow at the end to see the rest!

To see the rest of the images from their session, click here for a slideshow.

Wendy & Michael's E-session

2010-07-11T07:59:00.002-04:00

In the beginning neither of them had any interest in meeting each other. They didn't want to be fixed up. Then they were tricked by his sister and her friend into meeting at a bar one night. Apparently they saw something that neither Wendy or Michael saw. Now, 2 years later they've bought their first house together and are planning their September wedding!

When we first started to plan their engagement session, they were having a hard time coming up with location ideas. They knew that they wanted a different look from their wedding images, but aren't really "park" people and Wendy was getting nervous. This is where I was really excited about my new questionnaire! They told me that they just bought their first home in Mt. Clemens, and it's a "fantastic red house". Well I knew right then that we had to start there. Then we walked through Downtown Mt. Clemens and finished up with a beer!

Click here for a slideshow of the rest of their images.

Meet Alex & Lucy!

2010-07-07T11:44:00.003-04:00

My life has been a complete whirlwind these last couple of weeks, and although I've fallen a little behind I've been loving it! I love to be busy and I've always said that I work better under pressure. Of course, that was in what I often refer to as my "previous life". My life before photography. A work schedule filled with assignments, analysis and deadlines. Deadlines were a way of prioritizing my workload and I never missed a deadline. Even now I still set personal deadlines for myself, and rarely miss them. I have to say rarely because lately I've been shooting so much, that keeping up with the 2 week turnaround has been a challenge. This would never have flown before. Thankfully my new boss is way understanding! :-)

This session was one of two that I had the opportunity to shoot on Father's Day. And this one I was super nervous for. Nicole is a very dear friend of mine and John was my boss when I first began my career in Logistics. I can only imagine what he thinks about me completely changing gears and now running my own photography business. He was seriously one of the best bosses that I worked for. Although our jobs were filled with big important deadlines that could not be missed, he still knew how to take care of his employees and add some fun into the mix.

So when Nicole had asked me to photograph their new daughter Alex, I was a complete wreck. Although I would never have told her that. I'm always a little nervous when my friends and family ask me to photograph them. I'm so appreciative of their support, but sometimes I can't help the nerves and the self inflicted pressure. But I made it through the session and got some of my favorite images ever!

The most adorable Alex!

And this is Lucy, Alex's "older" cousin. They're only a week apart, how cool is that?

Lucy really can't take her eyes of mamma.

And Alex had no problem sleeping throughout most of the session.

It was fun to watch Rupert with Alex. He's so good with her!

A new dad celebrating his first Father's Day with this adorable little girl. Believe me, she is loved!

I love Lucy's big eyes!

To see the rest of our images from the session, click here for a slideshow!

OP Love: Deployment

2010-07-04T06:02:00.002-04:00

I can't think of a better way to celebrate the 4th of July here on the blog, than with a OP Love post! I had the opportunity to meet Jen, Elysia, Jaden and Milayna on Father's Day. It was a bitter sweet session, since Dad is stationed away so they couldn't celebrate him in person, but it was so sweet being able to capture these pictures for him on this day!

The beautiful Elysia

The handsome Jaden

And the super cute Milayna

Jen and a very special someone waiting to make an appearance

One of my favorite images from our session

Today as you are enjoying the weekend with your family and friends at back yard barbecues and fireworks, take a moment today to think of those that are serving in our military and won't be able to spend the day with their families.

There is a deployed father missing the smiles of these darlings...

And an expecting mother waiting his return...

Becky & Corey are Expecting!

2010-07-02T10:44:00.000-04:00

Sometimes you just know. When I first met Corey I knew immediately that he was perfect for Becky. His laid back attitude and sense of style meshed perfectly with hers. They share the same caring personality and lust for life. And I gotta tell ya, they looked darn good together. These two are some of the most kindest people you will meet. They welcome everyone they meet into their homes and hearts, and I am incredibly grateful to call them my friends.

Even though everyone else could see it, at first they weren't so sure. There was the issue of dating within the "friendship circle" and then some research had to be done, since they had the same last name! Thankfully they came around and then discovered that there was no possible way they could be related. And that was when their friendship started to develop into a love so perfect that they celebrated their 2nd wedding anniversary with a special photo session.

Having stood by their side at their wedding 2 years ago, I was stoked (a word I've adopted from Becky) when she e-mailed asking for their maternity session to be held on their anniversary. What an awesome way to celebrate! I'm excited to be able to capture this special moment for them and cannot wait to meet what I know will be a good looking little boy this August!

Definitely looks like love here...

Becky often takes some time to relax on their porch while reading to the baby and I love that she wanted to document their special moments.

We wanted to include their puppy Ollie in a few images and although not a "perfect" image, it's my favorite of them all.

I'm starting to realize that I have a "thing" for willow trees. There's just something so magical about them...

I love the serenity I feel when I see this image

Another favorite of the day

And I'll wrap up this post with some of my favorite images of Ollie!

Becky & Corey, thank you for celebrating your special day with Scott and I! We had an amazing time hanging out and catching up with you guys!

A Random Day

2010-07-01T21:17:00.002-04:00

A typical day for me starts at 6:30, as soon as the clock hits 6:30 my internal alarm clock goes off and I'm wide awake and there's no falling back to sleep. I don't use an alarm, I'm just up. Some may think it's a little sick I know, but I'm a morning person through and through. I'm up, coffees on and then I get started with my day and if Scott's not home, the radio is usually on. And if it happens to be playing Van Morrison's "Into the Mystic", it's loud. And I'm dancing around the house in my jammies. Something about that song always makes me want to dance!

But usually it involves jumping right into work, because I'm way more productive in the mornings and can get a lot done before most of the people I know are even awake. Last Sunday was no different. I was awake at my usual time and had the house cleaned by 8:00. Don't hate. Even though I really didn't want to spend the day working, I found myself in front of the computer. I told myself I was just going to catch up on some e-mails and then I was going to relax. Um sure.

A little after 9:00, I got a text from my girlfriend Jen saying to meet her at the Farmer's Market in Warren. I hymed and hawed about it for a while and then decided that I was going to stay home. It had been a very busy week last week and I really wanted to spend some time at home getting some stuff done and relaxing. I had walked out to the garden and saw overpowering amounts of weeds and was going to try to help Scott out. Right after I just tweak this last image.

And at that moment I knew that if I didn't leave my house, I was never going to leave the computer. Finding a balance between work and personal life is sometimes challenging for me. The problem is, I honestly enjoy every aspect of my job. Some people relax watching TV or playing video games or reading. I relax in pictures. Not only my own, but there's a lot of other photographers I follow and I often get lost reading their blogs and taking in their work.

But I knew that today I didn't want to be at the computer all day. And I decided to live in the moment, I grabbed my purse and called Jen on my way out the door. If I wouldn't have left right then, I would have ended up holed up in my office on the computer all day again. And I'm so glad that I did! We had the most amazing day together, and it was way more relaxing than I could have imagined. We started off with some delicious organic coffee, grabbed fresh scones and sat on a bench near the fountains, watching the kids play in the water, listening to the band play some "Over Easy" style music and just taking the beautiful morning in. Afterwords we strolled back through the market to purchase our goods. There's nothing better than fresh local foods you can get at the Farmer's Market. Afterwards we did some garage saling and then had our favorite Middle Eastern cuisine for lunch. The afternoon couldn't have ended more perfectly as we enjoyed a thunderstorm that had rolled in from her front porch. We both actually felt a little guilty about how perfect the day was.

As we were leaving her house for the market, I realized that I didn't have my camera with me. So I borrowed her Canon G10 so that I could capture our day. Here's a few of my favorites from the day!

Thank you my dear friend, it was the most perfectly relaxing day that I've had in a long time. And thank you for lending me your camera so that I could capture the memories!

OP Love: Pre-Deployment

2010-06-24T22:11:00.006-04:00

I thought there was a big deployment coming up, I had been getting a ton of requests for OP Love shoots. I'm so happy that the word is getting out there! Unfortunately due to their location and my schedule I had to turn some down. More than I would have liked. I did my best to find other photographers for them. (If you're a photographer reading this and interested in helping out, head over to the OP Love website and click on the link for interested photographers to sign up.)

These phone calls and e-mails always leave me with mixed emotions. I get excited knowing that awareness of OP Love is spreading and I get excited that I'll be able to photograph their family and provide the military member stationed away with an album filled with images of their family. But then after the excitement wears off I get sad. I think about what it would be like to be a military family, watching your loved one deploy not really knowing for sure when the next time they will see each other. Yeah, they give you return dates but as any military family will tell you these are not always set in stone. Seeing these wives and children knowing that in a short time their communication will be limited fills me with so much emotion, I often shed a few tears after each session.

A few days before Father's Day I received a call from a man that was about to deploy in just a few days. He was part of a Reserve Unit out of Bay City leaving for Afghanistan the day before Father's Day. He had just heard about OP Love and wanted to get a session before he left and I was grateful to have a free afternoon that week. We met up at Memorial Park last week for a quick session so they could get back to spending time together before leaving. Here's just a few of my favorites...

Click here for a slide show of some more images from our session.

Thank you so much for everything you guys go through to protect the freedom that we all have. It's the people like you guys that really make a difference!

Geri & Lindsey's E-session

2010-06-23T07:38:00.011-04:00

Geri is my cousin and I am proud to be photographing hers and Lindsey's wedding next May at the Spring Grove Park in Ottawa. Really I can't believe she's all grown up and starting her own life. I remember when she stood by my side at our wedding, and now she's almost done with college and starting a life of her own! Where does the time go?
In college at Ferris State University is where she met Lindsey and although Lindsey was dating someone else at the time, they started a friendship that would eventually turn into more. They were in town last weekend and they met me up at the Detroit Zoo for their e-session.

To see the rest of the images from our session, click here for a slideshow

Bill and Jane's 60th Wedding Anniversary!

2010-06-21T07:58:00.004-04:00

Last week I had the opportunity to meet a very special couple and capture a huge milestone in their life. Their 60th Wedding Anniversary! WOW 60 years! And I get all giddy thinking about celebrating mine and Scott's 10th anniversary in a couple of years... It was such an honor to be there to capture this event for them. The party was held at the Detroit Zoo and there were so many friends and family there to celebrate with Jane & Bill. Even some of their wedding party was able to make it. It was a simply amazing day....

The happy couple...

Not sure Jane could look any happier in this moment...

Jane with her Bridesmaids. Looking good ladies!

I love this moment I captured between Jane and her Maid of Honor Jean. They have been friends forever and Jane stood next to Jean on her wedding day too. Back in the day they were Jane & Jean Smith and I have to imagine that they really shook things up together. Although they swore that they were "good girls". :-)

Every family that was there had me take family portraits of them. This is my favorite of the bunch. Owen is Autistic, and we weren't sure that he was going to cooperate for their picture. I love the smile I caught here!

Just look at how happy they are!

The Brook's Family

And one last image of all of the guests that were there.

Congratulations Bill and Jane! Wishing you many more happy years of marriage!

Shelby's Graduating!

2010-06-18T07:43:00.000-04:00

Last week I had the opportunity to meet Shelby in Algonac for her senior portrait session. I always get so nostalgic when I go out there, so many memories of growing up. It's such a beautiful town... We met up at her house and then headed up to the boardwalk. Here's some of my favorites from our session!

Deb & Tom are Engaged!

2010-06-14T05:28:00.003-04:00

I really couldn't be more excited about this session. A friend's wedding, a beautiful location, vintage bicycles...

I love shooting in new locations and I absolutely love it when clients make their sessions personal and unique, so when Deb & Tom said they wanted their e-session at Cranbrook and they wanted to include their vintage bicycles too, you can imagine that I was pumped!

When we first got there we were slightly disappointed because everything was under construction. The museum and library were closed and even the reflecting pond was fenced off. I say slightly because being the rebels that we are we found our way in. Then as we were walking we saw other "rebels" in the garden area. Hmmm, there must have been another way in we didn't know about! :-) The grounds were absolutely gorgeous and the lighting was perfect! We were having so much fun I could have photographed them for hours!

They are getting married this September, and I'm really looking forward to their wedding. I love their style and I know that it's going to be killer.

I love how freely they laugh with each other!

Work it Deb!

Click here for a slideshow of the rest of their images!

Getting to know you - A client questionnaire

2010-06-11T10:29:00.004-04:00

I like lists. I always keep a todo list close by and everything goes on it. Everything. Even things reminding me of the errands I need to run like "Go to bank". I have to right things down, or I tend to forget them. After each session I make a list of the things we talked about so that when it's time to blog I can remember the details of our session. I hate it when I forget to make this list and then when it's time to blog, I'm completely "speechless".

When I first started my business I created a '101 in 1001' list. Basically it's a list of 101 things that I want to accomplish in 1001 days. It's a list of business goals, personal goals, and dreams. I haven't published it yet, because quite honestly it's not finished. I often forget about it and then when I run across it I'm pleasantly surprised to see how much I've actually accomplished. It's the power of writing things down. One of the things on my 101 in 10001 list was to create a client questionnaire to help me get to know my clients better. It's been in the back of my mind for quite some time and I was excited when I ran across Davina's Kit on Jamie Delaine's blog.

That's what I love about this industry, so many photographers are willing to share their own information so that other's don't have to recreate the wheel so to speak. And thanks to Jamie & Davina, I can now check another goal off of my list!

I'm really excited to start sending out this questionnaire to my clients. Not only is it going to help us get to know each other better, but it will also help us pick locations and help me to make each clients session tailored to who they are as a couple, or family.

And because every post is better with a picture, here's a picture from a recent engagement session that will be coming soon!

Stacie & Josh are Engaged!

2010-06-09T12:50:00.007-04:00

Stacie and Josh are getting married this October in Columbus. They booked with me last year and I can't believe how time flies! It seriously seems like last month that they were at my house with her cousin Sarah. Stacie and Sarah are cousins, their fiances are Josh and Justin, and I'm photographing both of their weddings this year. Phew! I was so embarrassed during Stacie & Josh's session. I had just photographed Sarah and Justin's Engagement Session a couple of days before and I kept calling Josh, Justin. I swear I'll get it right for on your weddings!

We met up at Metro Beach for their engagement session and the light was perfect to start off in the Nature Center. But... As we got into the trail, the mosquitoes became unbearable! I remember looking down at my legs and just seeing swarms of them. Trying to create images while getting attacked just doesn't work I learned. Stacie and Josh were trying to smile and I was trying to avoid motion blur, while swatting tons of little bloodsuckers away from us. Yeah we got out of there with a quickness!

It was such a nice relaxing session, we strolled through the park chatting and getting to know each other more and every once in a while we'd stop for some pictures. :-) Josh is currently working on his Doctorate Degree at Wayne State University and Stacie just finished up teaching classes at Saginaw Valley State University. They're such a fun couple and I know that their wedding is going to be just as cool as they are!

One of my favorites from our session.

You can see the love, the way they look at each other...

Stacie you are beau-ti-ful!

the bling!

I've been working on this shot for a while, I've always wanted to capture the sun like this. It's not perfect, but I love it just the same!

Stacie & Josh, I cannot wait for your wedding this October! Click play to see the rest of the images from their session.

Relay For Life

2010-06-07T08:33:00.001-04:00

I felt terrible when I realized that I had not yet gotten back to Mike. He had called me back in April asking me if I might be available to take some photographs of his Relay for Life event. At the time, I honestly couldn't commit. I was scheduled to fly home from California and Escalate 2010 the day before on the red eye and I had Hannah & Alex's wedding to shoot that day! I've never flown such long distances and had no idea what to expect from the jet lag I hear people talk about.
Well, my plans changed and I ended up coming home a day earlier than I had originally thought and then I read this:

Jasmine Star Just when I think I'm stretched too thin, I realize I can give a little more to make it work. This often yields life's sweetest rewards.

I had three sessions and a wedding that would need to be worked on, but really why couldn't I take a couple of hours of my time to capture such an amazing event. Mike lost his mom to cancer several years ago and has been putting organizing a Relay for Life event for several years. I worked with Theresa at my very first job at Henry's in Algonac and with Scott's Mom battling colon cancer and having lost Scott's Dad to leukemia in 2006, I really wanted to help out.

Mike owns Mike's Comics and Games in New Baltimore and puts together an awesome tent filled with all kinds of fun things to do and games to play!

I loved their idea of how they make sure that their team has someone walking the whole time. Someone walking carried the Lightsaber, if they ever saw it at the tent, they knew that it was someone's turn to grab it and go.

These two hula-hooped all the way around the track! I have no idea how they did it, I'm clearly not that talented.

They had an area set up where you could come in and paint your own figurine too!

Outside of the tent a table was set up for someone to try to beat the Mike the game master. I love playing games and thought I'd give it a shot. I didn't end up beating him, but I came close once!

Some of Mike's vendors donated a TON of games to be raffled off in the silent auction.

The whole team. They had raised over $5000 classifying them as "Silver Team"! Congratulations!

Sarah & Justin are Engaged!

2010-06-03T11:47:00.003-04:00

Sarah and Justin met in high school in Memphis and sometime around their Junior year their love for each other began. After high school Justin went to Ferris State while Sarah chose Saginaw Valley. Although they attended different colleges, they managed the distance between them. And now while Sarah is finishing up her last year of college, Justin is working as an Accountant.

Justin first bough Sarah's engagement ring and was planning on holding on to it waiting for the perfect moment to propose to her. Turns out that perfect moment was while they were snuggled in on the couch for a movie. Although he says he just couldn't wait, I think that's pretty perfect!

I was super excited when Sara had told me that they wanted to do their engagement session at the Rochester Hills Museum. Their session held a special sentiment for me. It's the place that Scott and I were married at 8 years ago in August and it's just as beautiful as I remembered. We even found some other areas to shoot in that I was completely unaware of!

Sarah you are gorgeous!

To see a slideshow of the rest of their images click here!

Sara and Justin, I had a great time photographing you two and getting to know you guys and I cannot wait for your wedding next month!

OP Love: Pre-Deployment

2010-06-02T18:14:00.004-04:00

Right before I left for California I had the opportunity to document this amazing family before B is deployed later this summer. They had contacted me from the Operation: Love Reunited website. OP Love is an organization that I'm honored and proud to be a part of. It's my way of giving back to those that give so much for us. Although I don't think that what I give is even an ounce to what our military families give, I'm grateful to be able to give what I can.

Due to the rules and regulations of the Department of Defense and OP Love, I am unable to share information about these families here, but I can share a few images from our session together!

Thank you so much for everything you guys go through to protect the freedom that we all have. It's the people like you guys that really make a difference!

2010-05-30T09:00:00.001-04:00

This internet, is how I know my husband loves me. Last week I had just gotten home from California and was getting ready to head out the door for Hannah & Alex's wedding and as I looked down to grab my purse, this is what I saw! I recently discovered these little pieces of heaven and have been slightly addicted to them. And at that moment when I was feeling a little bit stressed and hurried, I looked down and the world seemed right. Yes, I know that seems a little strange, but chocolate always seems to make things right with me!

Today is Scott's birthday and right now we are spending our last morning relaxing at the property before coming home from camping for the weekend. And I just want to say Happy Birthday honey! I love you and all of the ways you make things "right" in my world!

Hannah & Alex are Married!

2010-05-28T09:15:00.001-04:00

We sure have been blessed with some nice weather here in Michigan these past couple of days, and Mother Nature has been awful kind to my May brides. She sure did come through for Hannah & Alex. The forecast called for rain and that morning Hannah had texted about a "backup" plan for portraits in case of the rain. I tried to convince her that it wouldn't rain, in the best way that I could. I may have even mentioned the superstition of it being good luck. Then I tried some "preventative" measures, you know, leaving my sunglasses at home, stopping to buy 5 black umbrellas, just in case I may have any control over it! I doubt that I had anything to do with it, but thankfully the day turned out to be beautiful and the rain held off until that night!

What started out as a neighbor helping out, turned into a lifetime of love ahead of them. Hannah just graduated from Detroit Mercy with a degree in biology and this summer her and Alex will be moving to Japan!

Hannah and Alex you are undoubtedly relaxing on some beautiful beach in Hawaii right now, which makes me very envious I must say. But I wanted to thank you for inviting me to capture your wedding day for you. You guys are an amazing couple and deserve nothing but the best! And to see more images from their beautiful day, there's a slideshow at the end of this post.

Hannah's dress was absolutely amazing!

A little practicing...

I love this moment between Hannah and her mom...

I rented a lens I've been thinking about getting for some time now, and this image I got makes me think it's not going to be too much longer before

We went to Heritage Park for portraits after the ceremony, but didn't realize that reservations were necessary. At least they were kind enough to let us shoot in this area. Brides make sure you call plenty of time in advance if you want your pictures here!

Can you believe Alex and Hannah made this themselves? WOW!

Escalate 2010

2010-05-27T02:13:00.004-04:00

I can't believe it's been so long since my last post. Things have been quite busy over here for the last few weeks. I've been shooting like mad, with weddings, boudoir sessions, e-sessions and OP Love sessions. All the while to remind myself to take some time away to spend with my husband. He thinks I work to much! Which I probably do, but I can't help it. I love what I do and would rather be working at the computer than watching TV. With all of that, blogging sort of becomes the analogy of a "red headed step child". Blogging is one thing that I really want to work on in my business this year. I really want to start blogging not only my photography shoots, but I want to start getting a little more personal here, adding some little snippits of my personal life. It's something that I struggle with and I'm hoping to change all of that.
In the midst of all of my sessions, last week I had the opportunity to travel to California for a 2 day photography conference. I have always believed that education is of great importance. Maybe it's because of the way my mom would always do whatever she could to engrain it into my head growing up. As a kid and talking about what I wanted to do when I "grew"up, she'd just throw out one little word comments like "COLLEGE"! So it was inevitable that I would get my bachelor's degree, I even started working on my Master's degree at one point.
Now that my "previous" life has ended and I'm no longer a member of the Auto Industry and settling into my new career as a photographer, I'm still in awe of the amazing opportunity I have in front of me. And now that I'm part of an industry that is full of self taught individuals, including myself, I still feel that education is very important. Seminars, conferences and workshops, keep me fresh and constantly learning and trying new things. I attended Imaging USA in January, and learned so much and I was literally bummed out that I didn't make the trip to WPPI this year. So when I first heard the announcement of Escalate 2010, I just knew that I had to be there. All of my favorite photographers speaking in 2 days under one roof? Seriously? I wasn't about to miss it. In my head, I was already there. And lucky for me, I had a friend living in Laguna Beach, just a few minutes from the conference!
I really didn't take as many pictures as I thought I would, I pretty much just took it all in. And to be honest, it was a nice break being without my camera and really living in the moment. And it turns out that I can be a little "starstruck". Not in the Hollywood starstruck way, I honestly don't think I would have recognized any famous movie stars if they would have bumped right into me on the walk of fame! But put these photographers in front of me and all of a sudden, I was like a child meeting their favorite Disney characters at Disney World. Seriously folks, totally intimidated. I've been following Jasmine Star and Jessica Claire since before I even launched my business and had the opportunity to see Jerry Ghionis and Dane Sanders speak Nashville. Add Becker, David Jay, Jeremy Cowart and Julieanne Kost into the mix and wow! Talk about one heck of a conference! Not only are they are all amazing artists, but what I love the most about them is how real they are and willing to share to help other photographers grow. I've learned so much from all of them. I also had the opportunity to connect Denise Hummel, another Michigan photographer while I was out there!

The Lido Theatre where the conference was held was amazing!

My dear friends Rebecca & Sergio! Thank you so much Rebecca for letting me stay with you!

I had some free time before my flight left out of LAX so I decided to hit Hollywood and check it out. These two stopped me and asked if I would like my picture taken with them. At least I'm in one picture from my trip!

Addy & Mike are Expecting!

2010-05-10T12:13:00.009-04:00

Last week I had to opportunity to capture an amazing moment in life for Addy & Mike. Their expecting twins in July, and when she asked me to document this special time for them, I was so very, very, happy! They wanted their session where they were married and as I've said before I L-O-V-E it when couples make their sessions personal and this was perfect!

We tried a couple of different times to schedule their session, but Mother Nature wasn't having it. We finally had some nice weather and we met up at the FOP in Chesterfield. The field was a little bit of a mess with all of the heavy winds and storms that had blown through recently. And I didn't exactly pick the right shoes for the occasion. I ended up being "mauled" by a fallen branch (okay maybe it was a twig), but regardless it had stabbed me right in the arch of my foot! Thankfully Mike had some extra tissue and I was able to stop the bleeding and continue on with our session. Next time I won't be wearing sandals!

Here's some of my favorite images from our session and don't forget to check out the slideshow at the end!

Addy and Mike are expecting twin girls and she is looking absolutely radiant!

I just love the expression on Mike's face in this image!

So dreamy...

The light was absolutely perfect giving this nice ethereal glow.

And this is the look of joy! Can you imagine being any happier for watching your dreams come true?

Addy & Mike, I'm so happy for you guys! Congratulations on your little girls! And thank you so much for the fabulous evening. It was so nice to see you guys again and catch up. I'm looking forward to meeting the twins in a couple of months!

And to see a slideshow of more of their images, click here!

Kadie & Chris are Married!

2010-05-07T00:50:00.004-04:00

Last Saturday kicked off wedding season for me and I can't think of a better couple than Kadie & Chris. I woke up that morning to thunder that was literally shaking my house. We had one heck of a storm coming through and I was starting to freak out for Chris & Kadie. We had planned to shoot their portraits outside and I was frantically trying to think of indoor places we could go, you know a Grocery Store, Movie Theater, I was reaching for anything...
But when I arrived at Kadie's house, Chris was already there and when I told him I was bummed out about the rain and tried to ease the situation by falling back on the line, "It's good luck if it rains on your wedding day". Chris just looked at me and said simply, no this is great, Kadie & I love the rain. Well I knew just then, that it was going to be a glorious day!

Kadie's dress was absolutely stunning! Vintage looking and so very Kadie.

And her shoes... I loved her shoes and secretly was thinking of a way I could steal them from her feet! I have total shoe envy of these McCue girls I tell ya!

Kadie's laugh is contagious!

They had decided on a "First Look" to get their portraits done early and be able to spend some more time after the ceremony with their guests. Since it was raining (if you look closely, you can see the rain coming down) we decided that the front porch would work best and I love this image of Kadie in the window while Chris eagerly awaits.

Chris was so calm and relaxed and looking pretty dazzling!

And then the rain stopped. Just like that. So we headed to Richmond for some portraits.

When Chris told me how much him and Kadie liked the rain and that they used to "Puddle Jump" together, I knew I wanted this shot!

And this one...

On our way back to the house we stopped by Kadie's Aunt's house. They raise Angus Cows on this farm, and I'm not gonna lie, I tried like crazy to get them to pose for some portraits, but they just weren't having it!

I loved how Kadie and Chris were up for anything. They didn't even flinch when I suggested shooting in this field. And I'm so glad! This is my favorite image from the day!

Kadie had these great vintage umbrellas for the girls!

Kadie, did I tell you how gorgeous you are?

Some are afraid that a "First Look" will take away from the moment the groom sees his bride walk down the aisle, but as you can see there is just as much emotion. Even though they had spent the entire morning together, Chris' face lit up when he saw Kadie coming down the aisle!

I absolutely L-O-V-E this image I caught of Kadie looking at her mom...

Chris is a Pastor at the church they were married at and it was packed! I'm talking standing room only people! Notice the image on the screen at the alter? Yup, that's one of their engagement pictures. They played a portion of their Lifestyle video during the ceremony. And I even got a shout out in their program! I was so honored that they wanted to include it and then completely surprised to see my name in print. Thanks guys! You totally made my day!

The way they look at each other just really gets me...

As I was setting up for the cutting of the cake, I noticed the way Kadie and Chris were embraced as they talked with their guests. I couldn't have set up this shot better myself!

Kadie and Chris, you are amazing! You're wedding was amazing! And I hope you're having an amazing time on your honeymoon! Thank you so much for inviting me in to be a part of this special day in your lives. I am honored to have been able to capture it for you!

And if you just haven't had enough of their "amazingness", click here for a slideshow!

Ashly & Karl are Engaged!

2010-05-04T16:30:00.003-04:00

They met in high school, he was two years ahead of her. Then they went to the same college. And then one Christmas Ashly really wanted Karl to come to South Carolina to spend the holidays with her family, but Karl couldn't get the time off from work, or so he said. She kept calling him Christmas day to wish him a Merry Christmas, but he wasn't answering. And when there was a knock on her Grandma's door, mysteriously everyone had left the room leaving Ashly to answer the door. And to her surprise when she opened the door there was Karl asking for her hand in marriage.

After graduating from Wayne State University, Ashly is now a nurse at Children's Hospital and Karl is working as a Project Manager for BAE systems. They're getting married July 10th at St. Raymond's in Detroit, and it is going to be a spectacular day! They both spent a lot of time on campus and thought it would be a great place for their engagement pictures. I couldn't have agreed more!

I just love the way they are looking at each other...

Ashly, you are beautiful!

Rawr...

You two are one good looking couple!

I mean really!

And the way she looks at him...

Love the colors of all of the trees in bloom!

Love...

So sweet...

Some more fun with the colors!

Ashly you have some pretty gorgeous eyes girl...

I love how natural they are with each other.

And here's a slideshow of the rest of the images from their session!

Trashing the Dress!

2010-04-27T14:35:00.006-04:00

It all started as a lesson on using lighting for portraits. If you've seen me shoot, you know that I like natural light and rarely use flash unless I have to. So when Keith Emerich offered me a little lighting workshop in exchange for my helping him with an album design, I jumped at the chance. I love helping others and I love to learn new things and I think that is what helps keep me fresh and on my game.

Since I'm a portrait photographer we wanted to include some models for our shoot. I had originally posted the request on facebook, but then we were rained out. But I loved the response that I got and can't wait to offer something like this again. Then Jola and Stephanie both contacted me about doing a Trash the Dress session, so instead we had two brides! Cynthia from Magic Touch Salon jumped on board and offered to do the girls' hair and makeup and I was even more excited! So I thought why not try the power of facebook and try to find a florist and low and behold one of my best friend's happened to know Andrea of Andrea's Gifts and Florist and she agreed to make a couple of bouquets to use. I love the power of networking!

We decided on holding the shoot at Metro Beach, so that we could have a little nature and some beach and water shots. It was a beautiful day!

These are the bouquets that Andrea had made for us and she did an amazing job! I literally didn't get in touch with her until the morning of the shoot and when I called I was in no way expecting her to be able to deliver even one bouquet, let alone two! But she came through with such short notice and did an absolutely beautiful job. I really can't wait to work with her more and to my brides reading this, you must check her out! Her Clinton Township store is so bright and cheery, you'll automatically feel happy just walking in there.

This was one of our first images of the day and I have to say, I love the way the flash totally warmed the shot. Keith had shown me how to use some gels for my flashes, and I loved the results!

I was so surprised that Jola was so willing to "trash" her dress as she will be wearing it again for her wedding in Albania. You may remember Jola as one of my brides from last year. Unfortunately her parents were unable to attend and so they are planning another wedding this year with her parents! I keep telling her that I'm available to travel... :-)

Stephanie works for JD Entertainment and I met her and John last fall at the Andiamo Bridal Show. They're a great DJ and Video company and I'm excited to be working with such great vendors!

As we were coming out of the nature trail there was all of these deer just grazing away!

Being that I'm a little short, I couldn't quite get both of the girls in the shot, so Keith stepped in for me. Keith's like 2 feet taller than me so he had no problem!

Cynthia did such an amazing job on the girl's make up and hair! Brides, this is the reason to hire a professional for your wedding day. It makes such a big difference in your pictures!

At this point it was starting to get a little chilly as the sun began to set, but Stephanie and Jola were major troopers!

By the time we actually made it to the beach the sun had pretty much set and I love the shades of blue it brought with it!

Thank you so much to everyone that played such a big role in this shoot! Thank you Keith for teaching me your "secrets", Cynthia for the stunning job on the girls make-up and hair, Andrea for the amazing flowers and of course Stephanie and Jola for being our models for the day! It was an amazing time and I could have stayed out there forever!

One of the things that I loved the most about this was the opportunity to network with some great vendors and I'm looking forward to working with them in the future!

Here's a little slideshow of the rest of our images

Meet the Lang Family

2010-04-26T13:53:00.005-04:00

Last week I had the opportunity to meet and photograph this wonderful family. Jeff is in my BNI group with Comforting Hands Companion Care and I was super excited when he asked me to come take some family portraits. The whole family was going to be together for his niece Eva's birthday, so they all agreed that it would be a perfect opportunity.

The entire family was so welcoming and made me feel right at home. They are all just really good people. Thank you Jeff for choosing me to photograph your family!

Jeff has 4 sisters, so I can only imagine what that was like growing up!

And 9 nieces and nephews! How fun to have so many cousins to play with!

What proud grandparents!

These two had me laughing, can you believe they're early 90s? Looking good!

Another favorite from the day!

Too see the rest of the images from our session click below for the slideshow!

Halle's 1st Communion

2010-04-18T21:41:00.004-04:00

We've been quite fortunate with great weather and when I met up with Cynthia and her daughter Halle, it was yet another gorgeous day. Of course in typical Michigan fashion, the temps have fallen and there's even been snow flurries! But I'm glad to have been able to enjoy the weather with my camera when we had it.

Cynthia is my hair stylist and the owner of Magic Touch Salon, and I couldn't have been happier when she asked if I would take her daughter Halle's 1st Communion pictures. Here's a few of my favorites!

We started off at their house and then decided to head over to their church for more shooting time.

Halle's seriously a doll! And 100% girl! She was so easy to photograph.

Halle loved being in front of the camera, maybe a model in our future?

And of course we had to have a little fun!

Thank you Cynthia for choosing me to capture this moment in life for you and Halle!

Here's a slideshow with the rest of the images from our session for your viewing pleasure.

Meet the Popiel Siblings!

2010-04-13T20:21:00.006-04:00

We had quite a little heat wave here in Michigan right before Easter. It was gorgeous with record breaking temperatures, so when Marianne called me asking me if I could "squeeze" in her boss' children for a session Good Friday, you know I was down!

We met up that morning at Ford Field in Dearborn. I can't believe that I worked so closely to it for so many years and never even knew it existed! And now I've had the opportunity to shoot there quite a few times in the last couple of months. It's a beautiful park with lots of willow trees, a beautiful little pond and an awesome covered bridge! What I love the most about revisiting shooting locations is finding different and unique spots for portraits. This park has so much to offer and I know when I'm there for my next session there in October with an OP Love client. Of course, if I have to visit it before then, you know I'm gonna love it!

I have to say that I was a little nervous when I first learned of their ages. I'm used to photographing the little ones. You know the kids that are at the age when everything is funny. All you have to do is ask them a silly question, like "Does Mommy wear diapers?" and they laugh like it's the funniest thing they've ever heard. Teenagers on the other hand, I don't think I'm nearly cool enough for. But this group was so laid back and easy to work with, thank you Maggie, Nick, Sydney and Tommy for making my job so easy!

And here they are from left to right, Maggie, Tommy, Sydney and Nick!

Tommy's in the 8th grade and I can totally picture him being the star of the football or track team in high school.

This is Sydney, she's absolutely beautiful and I'm sure rocking out her sophomore year!

Maggie's in her second year at Western, and it was her idea to get everyone together for a portrait session while she was home from college for the weekend. What an awesome big sister with such a big heart!

Nick's finishing up his senior year of High School and then in the fall he's off to MSU!

I love it when people include their pets in their family session. They're such a big part of our lives and they deserve to be photographed too!

Annette asked if I wouldn't mind capturing a few images of Nick for his senior pictures too. Here's a few of my favorites!

Thank you Annette, Maggie, Nick, Sydney and Tommy for letting me photograph your family! It was so nice to meet all of you!

Killian

2010-04-02T12:34:00.003-04:00

Last weekend I got to spend some time with this adorable cutie and his family. I know Shannon from high school and we recently bumped into each other at Jenny & Tim's wedding. It was so good to see her again and meet her husband, Greg and their new son, Killian and I was super excited when they asked me to come take pictures for Killian!

The light in their kitchen was amazing so we started there with some portraits of Killian wearing his Christening outfit.

Who doesn't love some baby feet?

And look at those little lips. It almost looks as though he's reciting the Rosary, doesn't it?

I absolutely love this image! Definitely a favorite from the day!

The sound of a baby laughing is one of the sweetest sounds ever! And probably the most contagious too. I love these moments I captured of Shannon with Killian.

Yup, another top favorite!

We took a little break so Killian could eat, and you know I couldn't resist photographing his meal time!

You can seriously feel the love Shannon & Greg have for Killian in this image. Such a beautiful family!

And one last image of Killian playing in his crib.

Shannon & Greg, it was so good to see you guys and hang out for the afternoon! I hope you guys like the images!

Samantha's 2!!

2010-03-17T09:32:00.004-04:00

I'm super excited to share these images of this adorable little girl with you! When I first started blogging in the Fall of 2008, she was my very first post! One of the things I love about blogging is not only documenting the lives and growth of sweet little ones, but also seeing how I've grown as a photographer. Looking back at those images, yeah I can see how they were all so "technically" off, but what remains are the captured moments and real smiles that I strive to accomplish with each and every shoot.

I met up with Samantha on the day of her 2nd birthday and we had so much fun! Here's some of our favorites from the day...

Happy Birthday Sam! I can't wait to see how we both grow in the next year!

Kadie & Chris are Engaged!

2010-03-11T17:55:00.004-05:00

I first met Kadie & Chris last year at Clare & Jamie's wedding. They both stood up for Clare & Jaime and even caught the garter and bouquet at the reception! Kadie is Clare's sister and when I received an e-mail from Kadie with the subject line of "Another McCue wedding", I was pumped! I had so much fun at Clare & Jamie's wedding and I know Kadie & Chris' will be just as spectacular. They are such an awesome couple with a very deep and spiritual love for each other.

We decided on a winter engagement session in Port Huron, okay I may have pushed for it. I was dying to shoot some winter lovin' and heavily suggested it to many of my couples. Yay! I got 2 of them to agree! And I love that they were in two so very different locations!

When I left my house to head out to Port Huron for Kadie & Chris' engagement session I remember the temperature being in the high 40s. Not too bad for a snowy engagement session. Of course I didn't take into account that Port Huron is a bit further north and I had forgotten how much colder it is up there! Seriously 10 degrees colder and those little 10 degrees made a big difference. But we braved the cold and the wind and got some great images!

Kadie & Chris' wedding officially kicks off my wedding season on May 1st. They are getting married at the church Chris is a pastor at and I cannot wait to document their day for them!

Kadie & Chris are such a beautiful couple!

We started off at the Thomas Edison Inn. They have a museum right on the property, complete with a train and tracks!

Kadie, Chris is right, you are gorgeous!

One of my top favorite images from the day.

And I love this one of them on the train.

After the Thomas Edison Inn we decided to take a little break and grab some coffee to hopefully warm up a bit. Thankfully there was a Tim Horton's right on the way to our next stop. Kadie & I each got a mocha that came with so much thick whip cream, it took forever for it to melt down. And you know that I couldn't wait and tried to get a taste anyways. And it was right before this image that they had informed me of the whip cream that I had gotten on my face! Mental note: next time remember to order no whip.

I love this shot! I'm standing on the wall you see a few pictures back. Thankfully there was enough snow that I was able to climb it, otherwise there would have been no way my short little legs would have gotten me there!

Another favorite! Yes, I always have so many of them, but I love the way their heads are sort of making a heart.

Earlier in our shoot, I told them to be fierce. Kadie laughed a little and said that she wasn't sure Chris could look fierce. I don't know Kadie, I'd say this one is fierce! :-)

And so is this one!

Kadie and Chris were so kind as to let me try another attempt at adding a little video to the mix, click play below to see their Lifestlye video!

Kadie & Chris, I had such an amazing time getting to know you guys better. Thank you so much for choosing me as your photographer, I know you are going to have a perfect day!

New Website is up!

2010-03-09T14:00:00.004-05:00

If you follow me on Facebook, then this is not new to you, but for those that don't, I'm totally stoked to announce the launch of my new website for Shannon Cherie Photography. Fun, Flirty and Fabulous Boudoir Photography!

For more information come visit me here at http://shannon-cherie.com.

Clicking Through Life will remain the home of all of my wedding and portrait work. So you'll still see updates here. In fact, expect to see another Lifestyle Engagement session coming soon!

And because every post is better with a picture, I'm going to show you what some of the ladies had to say about their Boudoir Experience.

Nick's 60th Brithday!

2010-03-01T16:56:00.010-05:00

I can't believe it's been a week since my last post! The thing is, when I get busy my poor little blog gets put on the back burner. And these past few weeks I've been insanely busy. Of course, it's me and my typical ways trying to do everything all at once. But I can't help myself. When I decide to do something I set seemingly over the top goals, like say launching a new part of my business in a matter of 2 months. It's sort of Veruca Saltish. As in "I want it and I want it NOW!" And sometimes I just have to realize that these things take time. Because I'm also a perfectionist and want everything to be in perfect working order before unveiling it to the world. So... in addition the the Lifestyle Sessions I'm now offering, I've also been working on a new website. It's almost there, and I'm hoping to launch it this week! More on that later, but first I want to share some images from a recent shoot with my fabulous web designer Tammy and her family.

They were such a fun family to be around! Nick is Tammy's husband's step father and what he wanted for his birthday was to spend time with the family. He wanted to take the kids to Marvelous Marvin's! Seriously, how cool is that? I've never been there, but I definitely want to check it out! But first was some family portraits.

David's sister Lisa and her family came into town from Chicago for the party. I love the laughter you see in this image I captured of Lisa and David sharing a laugh over the giant ring on the coffee cup.

Here's all 5 grandchildren! This was my first time working with so many kids at once and I gotta tell ya, getting them all to cooporate at the same time, was definitely challenging!

Of course there was silly faces!

My awesome web guru Tammy and her husband David.

The birthday boy Nick!

A fun shot of Nick with his gorgeous wife Catherine

By now I'm sure you all know what a dog lover I am, so imagine how excited I was when I was greeted by this beautiful 2 year old Akita puppy. Yeah, I wanted to take him home with me, I know Coby would love to play with him!

Sometimes you have to move furniture and other things around to make sure they fit into the image. As I was setting up this shot, I noticed that the statue you see here on the table first sort of appeared to be growing out of Catherine's head. But as I went to move it there were gasps and I was pretty embarrassed that I took it upon myself to move. They carefully repositioned "Buzz" in the middle of the table for me. I'm not really sure of "Buzz's" story, but he looks pretty cute and fits right in with the family.

I'm not sure that Catherine exactly approves of Nick's pipe smoking, but agreed to his requests to include it in their images. All he needs now is a smoking jacket!

Lisa and her husband Nate

Lisa and Nate's family

Tammy & David's family. You remember Sydney and Jake right?

Grandpa Nick with all of his grandchildren!

It was such a beautiful day and the snow was just perfect for a little snowball fight!

Tammy thank you so much for asking me to capture your family and this special occasion!

Introducing Lifestyle Engagement Sessions!

2010-02-25T19:32:00.008-05:00

My favorite part of being a photographer is capturing the pure emotion of the moment. I love the still images I capture showing the power of that particular moment, but they don't always tell the full story. What you don't get with still images are questions like: How did they meet? What do they love about each other? Why do they want to get married? Well now you can see the full story, in their own words below!

And now I'm super excited to share with you something that I've been working on implementing into my engagement sessions! Attending Imaging USA in January was really the best thing I'd done for my business at that point. I learned so much during the 5 day trip with Aly, and I came home completely inspired to try some new things in my business. So being the type of person that I am, decided to try it all at once. This has meant very long days plugging away either upstairs in our spare room that I like to call my "studio", or downstairs on the laptop working on my new website. At least that way I get to have some form of communication with Scott. I work way too much, but he never complains. Instead he does the laundry, cooks dinners, listens to me when I start to go a little crazy and puts fabulous deserts in the oven when they are definitely needed!

E-mail me at shannon@clickingthroughlife.com for more information.

Hannah & Alex are Engaged!

2010-02-23T17:18:00.007-05:00

Hannah & Alex first met when her family moved in next door to Alex. At the time she was struggling with her math studies and Hannah's mom knew that Alex was an engineer, so she asked Alex if he wouldn't mind tutoring Hannah. And that is where their love for one another began to grow.

Then one day they had made plans to go play tennis, and when Hannah walked into her room to change she found a card waiting for her saying that he had hoped she didn't mind, but he made other plans. There lying on her bed was a bouquet of flowers and a beautiful evening gown. Two hours later Alex arrived to pick up Hannah and to her surprise, they went next door to Alex's house. He had made a special meal all from scratch, they drank champagne and danced to their favorite songs. Then Alex got down on one knee and asked her to marry him. Hannah said "Of Course"!

It was a beautiful winter day, sun was shining, snow on the ground. Perfect for a romantic Valentine's Day Engagement session! I met up with Alex and Hannah at the infamous Ice House in Detroit. Unfortunately, the sun had melted a lot of the ice, but we still captured some great images there! Afterwards we headed down to Belle Isle for the rest of our session.

Hannah is a natural beauty!

They were such an easy couple to photograph! When you see the way they interact with each other, you can feel the love that they share.

One of my favorite images from the day.

Do you feel it?

Another top fave!

It was a pretty chilly day, but they braved the cold and even took off their winter coats for a few shots!

I love this series, and Hannah you're looking fierce!

Lucky for us we got to the Conservatory just before they closed so we were able to warm up and get some images that almost look like spring!

Hannah, you got yourself one fine looking man!

Maybe because it was Valentine's Day, but there was plenty of kissing going on! My favorite "kissy" picture of the day.

We were pretty excited to see that the "Ice Tree" was still in full effect. Even found a little cave!

This is my favorite image of the day!

Hannah & Alex, I had an amazing time with you guys. Thank you for letting me be a part of your Valentine's Day, and I can't wait for your wedding!

Wanted to Share

2010-02-18T17:58:00.003-05:00

My dad showed this to Scott and I when we were in Florida. My dad's a little but of a techie himself, even having his computer set up on his tv! And he always finds the coolest music videos. This one really moved me and I wanted to share it with you.

A new addition to the Zimmerman Family!

2010-02-16T17:33:00.007-05:00

Last week Scott and I got to finally meet our newest nephew Logan! My sister and her family have been like little celebrities on my blog lately. If you remember from her maternity pictures, and their family pictures, Melissa was pretty pregnant then, so you knew that this post was eventually coming. :-)

I have to say it's times like these that I absolutely hate living so far from my family. We definitely cherish the time we have together more, but the end of each visit always results in me getting a little teary eyed. But this time I was almost sobbing when it was time to say good-bye. As I was saying my good byes to Logan, I realized that I didn't know the next time I would be able to see him and I knew he would have changed so much. As he slept in my arms, tears started to fall. Melissa saw me tearing up and she lost it. And then there was just no hiding it from the rest of the family, I think my stepmom Kelley and her sister Kim were even tearing up! Tears turned to laughter and then back to tears. And then more laughter, we knew how silly we looked but just couldn't help ourselves.

Okay before I start getting all weepy again, let's bring on some cuteness!

At 3 weeks old, he's already trying to hold up his little head!

Seriously cute! It's sooo adorable the way he's always holding his little hands up to his chin.

One of my favorites!

Logan's first encounter with stuffed animals, he really wasn't sure what to think at all. This was the best picture out of the series, but most of the time he was looking at us and I swear he was thinking "I'm going to get you for this one day Mom"!

Some daddy time...

And mommy time...

And big sissy time!!

I pretty much love everything about this picture, and the hat! The hat is too perfect!

Love the way Logan is looking at his momma.

The whole family!

Courtney and Shawn love acting silly in front of the camera together and I love it!

Love his little fingers...

"I love you momma"

Look at those big eyes!

And one last image. I miss you guys already and cannot wait to see you again! Melissa, count on that webcam coming soon! I'm not going to be able to take waiting to see him again. You're gonna have to sign up for Skype! Love you guys!

Finally got to met Logan!

2010-02-10T15:43:00.004-05:00

Scott and I finally got to meet our newest nephew Logan this week! We haven't officially done his portraits yet, but I wanted to share some snapshots that I've taken. I may be a little biased, but he definitely is the cutest baby eva!

He already knows Aunt Shannon and her camera!

Some sweet Mommy kisses

Shawn is one proud daddy!

Seriously? How can he not be the cutest?

Don't worry, plenty more pictures to come! ;-)

Out of the Office

2010-02-08T07:00:00.000-05:00

Headed off to spend some time with my family and meet my new nephew Logan!

Jenny & Tim's Album Design

2010-02-05T22:33:00.004-05:00

I've been crazy busy working like mad on my business these day. In typical fashion, I'm trying to accomplish too much at once, but it's all starting to come together and I can't wait to share it all with you! I'm making some big changes in my business this year and it's all stuff that I'm super stoked about!

But right now I'd like to share with you Jenny & Tim's album design. Their wedding was amazing and I love the way their album turned out!

Yummy Coffee!

2010-02-03T21:05:00.010-05:00

If you're a coffee lover you absolutely must check out Chazzano Coffee in Ferndale! It's so seriously delicious! Frank is in my BNI group and recently opened his shop at 1737 E. 9 Mile Rd. You have to check it out!

Did you know that there are 750 different flavor profiles in wine? Then you'll never guess that there's double that in coffee at 1500! Frank truly is the sommelier of coffee and was even recently featured on Fox2 news! Check him out here.

I snapped some images on a recent visit to his store. And for my clients reading this, Frank so kindly lets me use his store to meet with clients and since I'm always down for a cup of Frank's Ethiopia Harrar, I would love to meet you there!

All of Frank's coffee is freshly roasted every day right in his store and the smell just blows you away when you walk through the doors.

One thing you'll never see at Chazzano is a regular coffee pot. Every cup of coffee ordered is brewed to order using a french press or a vacuum syphon. Seriously fresh! Oh and did I mention delicious?

This is Chazzano's newest ad for Travel Host magazine and I'm proud to say that Night Cry Graphics decided to use my image for it!

***Updated to say that the ad is being used for the Ferndale Friends, and not Travel Host. Travel Host magazine will have this ad in full color in a couple of weeks! Holla!

Amelia & Kevin - 2nd Shooter

2010-02-01T15:55:00.009-05:00

Last Saturday I had the opportunity to 2nd shoot a wedding with Kevin Murawski of Murawski Studios! I had such an amazing time. It's been over 2 months since I've been to a wedding and I gotta tell ya, I was starting to jones a little bit! :-)

I have a special place in my heart for being a second shooter. This wedding made me remember why I love it so much. It's where I got my start as a wedding photographer, so it sort of brought me back to my roots so to speak. But this time, it was way different. It made me see how much I've grown since those early days. I remember getting home from my very first wedding with Kevin, I was so excited as I dumped my memory cards. I couldn't wait to see all of my awesome images! I just knew I had created some real works of art. I got a few good shots from that day, not nearly as many as I thought I had nailed, but the volume of knowledge that I had gained definitely out weighed the number of keeper images.

I didn't give Kevin any of my images from that wedding, I was pretty embarrassed and thought they were "unworthy" of a photographer like him. But he continued to invite me along and each wedding I learned more and more shots were "usable" and my confidence continued to grow. I even started giving some of them to Kevin (after editing of course).

This time though was an entire different experience, I proudly handed over my memory cards to Kevin so he could use any of them if he so chose to. This is huge for me people. Having another peer seeing my unedited images was unthinkable before.

And now I'm even more in love with being a second shooter. After shooting 9 weddings last year as the "main" photographer, it was nice to not bear the responsibility of the day. I was able to hang back and be a little more creative and try some new things. Don't get me wrong, I will always L-O-V-E being the main photographer at your wedding, but 2nd shooting is something that I hope to continue to do. For me. To help me to continue to grow and learn, and maybe even provide images for the "main" from another perspective.

Here's a few of my favorites from the day. Thank you Kevin for having me along, it's always so nice to shoot with you! You can see Kevin's images over on his blog.

The ceremony was held at St. Peter's church in Richmond. It's such a beautiful church, I love shooting there!

Kevin sent me downstairs to hang with Amelia (don't you just love her name?) and the girls before the ceremony. They found these paper flowers and we thought we'd have some fun with them.

Ruby was such a sweet heart and she just adores her cousin Amelia!

And John was definitely digging his role as the ring bearer.

I love this moment with Mom before the ceremony begins...

I love this image I got of these two cuties! If I would have been at the front of the church, I never would have seen this moment between the cousins.

Amelia and her Dad waiting for their big moment.

Love this perspective of their first kiss.

Another top favorite from the day!

Such a nice brother-in-law carrying his new sister in as they stopped for a drink.

Work it girl!

Candy stations are becoming popular at receptions and I love how everyone has a different take on them. Amelia & Kevin made theirs personal by adding pictures from they were kids. Awe.....

And it was a big hit with me, having all of my favorite candies from back in the day when we used to go to Candy Palace back in the 'Nac. Runts and Sour Patch Kids, Jolly Ranchers and Fireballs, Blow Pops and licorice pieces and Fun Dip! Right on!!

There are definitely some dancers in this bunch!

And one last image of the coolest ring bearer. He's single and ready to catch that garter belt! :-)

My sister's awesome family...

2010-01-17T07:19:00.015-05:00

While I was in Florida for the Thanksgiving holiday, I was able to do a family session for my sister in addition to her maternity pictures. (ah the beauty of having a photographer for a sister :-) And even though she's about to have a baby any time now, she was so understanding when I told her that I forgot about them! Yes, I hate to admit it, but with getting ready for Christmas and filling client orders to make sure they had their albums and prints for the holidays and then leaving for Nashville for Imaging USA and then getting ready for a bridal show, do you see where I'm going with this? What a horrible sister! I'm so sorry Melissa, at least I got them to you before the baby came! :-)

Even though I feel like the worst sister in the world putting her on hold like that, I have to say that I'm a little glad that I forgot. This gave me an opportunity to check off something on my 101/1001 list that I've really been wanting to do for a long time, which is streamlining and documenting my workflow. It feels so good to have accomplished this. And thanks to Kevin Kubota for his awesome Lightroom Workflow tutorial! I've been using Lightroom for over 2 years now and I learned so much watching his video, I was amazed! More on my 101/1001 later, for now come meet my sister again and her awesome family. Words cannot describe how cool Shawn and Courtney are. I'm so glad that my sister found someone like Shawn to share her life with! I love you guys!

Such a beautiful family! With looks like these, you know this baby is going to be adorable!

Definitely my favorite of the day.

Oh yeah, love this one too. I think this baby is going to have a killer smile!

So sweet...

Court really is an amazing soul with the most beautiful smile and laugh. She does it with her entire heart. And she's truly wise beyond her years. With a style of her own, I love how she's not afraid to be herself, really we could all learn a lot from her and I predict amazing things for her future...

Court is super excited for the baby too and I know she's going to be a great sister.

She's also your typical teenager texting nonstop, so I thought I'd have a little fun with it.

Shawn and Courtney have a special bond, and you can tell how much love they have for each other.

And another favorite of the session. I love the tranquil feeling this image gives me.

I love you guys and can't wait to see you again when we meet the baby!

And a quick shout out to everyone that stopped to visit me today at Maniaci's Bridal Show, it was great talking with all of you!

And if you want, here's the rest of the images from our session...

A long, beautiful road

2010-01-15T13:51:00.003-05:00

Just getting settled in after a fabulous, inspiring, educational, and fun trip to Nashville for Imaging USA. I have so much to blog about, but right now I'm still taking it all in, sorting it all out and creating a game plan for some awesome changes I'm planning to implement in my business.

I took this picture at the Lost River Cave on our way home Wednesday, I also used it for my 365 Project I've been working on. I'm sure you'll see plenty more images posted here in the future, maybe even in it's own home. :-)

50 Years of Wedded Bliss!

2010-01-06T21:01:00.003-05:00

Before the holidays I was asked to document Gary & Sylvia's 50th Anniversary party. I love hearing people celebrating anniversaries of any year, but to be celebrating 50 years of marriage is HUGE! All throughout the evening I found myself imagining Scott and I celebrating our 50th anniversary and what we would be like. I hope that in another 41 years, we'll be every bit as in love as Gary & Sylvia!

The celebrated couple of the night!

I absolutely loved the photo boards that was put together for their party. Oh, the timeless memories!

So many years of friendship!

And of course there was dancing!

Can I just tell you how much I love these two? They're my neighbors and have enriched my life in ways that I cannot even begin to tell you. They have supported me so much as I've started my own business even to the point of hiring me for the third time! Remember Cindy's 1st Communion? I also did a family session for them a while back before my blogging days. But to describe them in a nutshell, they ROCK!

I love the feeling in this one as Gary holds Sylvia while their dancing.

Now this is one huge family!

A little Rockette action kickin'!

And I'll end with my top favorite from the day... Happy Anniversary Gary & Sylvia! Here's to many more years of happiness for you guys!

Speaking of love... I still have openings available for the Mini-sessions January 23rd. Contact me if you're interested!

Valentine Mini Sessions!

2010-01-04T23:25:00.011-05:00

A few months ago I was approached by a friend looking for a special Christmas gift for her husband of nearly 11 years. She wanted to give him something timeless, something sexy, something that only she could give him. She described what she wanted to do and I was ecstatic that she asked me to help create this gift for her! **Note that all images on this post were posted here with her full consent**

I found myself inspired by her. Although she said she was nervous, the courage and self confidence she had shown was amazing. The thought and detail she put into the session was awesome, I mean she even managed to get her hubby and 2 kids out of the house! During our session I continued to get inspired by her. So inspired in fact that I'm excited to announce that I will be offering mini sessions to give your sweetie some special love this Valentine's Day! (or birthday, or for no reason at all for that matter, do it just for you!)

So mark your Calendar for January 23, 2010!

Your $225 investment will include a 30 - 40 minute session in a private setting, with up to 2 clothing changes. A Make-up Artist will be available to help you create the look that you want.

You will also receive a 5x7 album with 10 prints and the 10 digital images on a disk.

There are very limited spaces available, so contact me today to reserve your spot!

Here's a look into our session, if you are on the fence about doing this and want to see more images to get a better idea please e-mail me at shannon@clickingthroughlife.com. To anyone considering this, please know that this is kept very private. No images will be posted without the written consent of each individual. Contact me to sign up or get more details today!

Wrapping up 2009 in a slideshow

2009-12-31T15:04:00.005-05:00

For my 101st post and 2 in one day! I've been wanting to incorporate slideshows into my blog for quite a while now, so I'm feeling really pumped that on the last day of 2009 I'm able to check that off of my to-do list with a little dedication to our family and friends.

Thank you everyone who has touched our lives this year!

Have a happy and safe New Year!

2009 Wedding Favorites

2009-12-31T09:45:00.004-05:00

I cannot think of a better way to wrap up 2009 here on my blog, than with my 100th post! As I was perusing my Flickr stream to pick out my favorites, I relived so many awesome memories with so many awesome clients. I've truly been blessed this year with the opportunity to meet some of the coolest, most endearing people. All of you have touched my life and enriched it, and for that I thank you! In no particular order, here are some my favorites from my first wedding season. I'm looking forward to seeing what the next decade has to offer and the amazing people that will enter my life.

From Amber & Matt's wedding...

From Valerie & Justin's wedding...

Jola & Brad's..

Angela & Jeff's...

Lisa & Eric...

Clare & Jamie...

Jen & Jake

Michele & Scott

Beth & Brian

Jenny & Tim

Lisa & Steve

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T14:17:00.001-05:00

Wishing you a magical day filled with peace, love and laughter!

Another reason why I love the holidays!

2009-12-22T09:23:00.002-05:00

Getting cards like this in the mail!

I love seeing what my clients create with their images. Most of the time I do not get to see the framed prints on the wall or the greeting cards that are being sent. But when a client shares these with my, it makes my heart happy. (And if you send me a picture of your framed images, I may just feature them here.)

I have to tell you, I'm like a little kid on Christmas morning with each card I open knowing that they used my images to share their holiday wishes. Scott just laughs as I rip open the envelope to see the present inside. To any of my clients reading this, please do not feel like you have to include my on your Holiday list. But a big Thank You to all of my clients that loved their images enough to send them on their holiday cards!

I had planned on offering custom designed Holiday Cards this year, but unfortunately it was one of the things on my mile long to-do list that I never got around to doing. It's something that I will definitely be offering in the future, so stay tuned.

Hot Mama!

2009-12-21T09:40:00.001-05:00

I can't believe my little sister is going to be a mamma! As kids growing up we didn't really have a lot in common. The fact that she'd rather be out catching field mice and snakes and the almost 5 year age difference left us pretty much on opposite ends of the sister spectrum. Still she must have thought that I was pretty cool and stylish. She was always sneaking into my closet after I had gone to school to steal my clothes and perfume. Since we were in different schools and didn't see each other all day she thought she could get away with it. At the end of the day my silk shirts were back hanging with that day's hot lunch on them and my Sunflowers perfume was quickly deminishing.

Of course this is something that we laugh about now. A few years ago Melissa fessed up and told me she used to think this doll that I had on my bed would tell on her. She also told me that she used to turn the doll over so it couldn't see her in action. Um, hello little sister! How did you think I always knew when you were in my room? :-)

I'm sure she probably hates that I've shared this story here. Only because it's one that's told over and over again. The age gap between us is non-existent and we are as close as sister's can be. Although she doesn't live close enough to steal my clothes anymore, she's still the same animal loving soul that she always has been. Only now the field mice have turned into pet rats and gerbils, the snakes and reptiles have turned into Hercules, her African Spur Tortoise. She's also mother to 2 beautiful dogs, a ferret, and a hedgehog. I call it the Zimmerman Zoo!

The reason I wanted to tell this story here is because that little girl who used to spend her days wrecking havoc in my bedroom and mothering all found animals nursing them back to health, will soon be mothering her own little one. While I was in town visiting for Melissa's baby shower, we snuck in a little Maternity session for her. She's not the biggest fan of having her picture taken, but she was okay with me posting a few. This is such a special time for you Melissa, and these are pictures you will have to treasure forever! I miss you already and I can't wait to meet my new niece or nephew!

Lulu couldn't resist a photo opportunity with Mom.

Attempt to Capture the Spirit

2009-12-18T22:40:00.003-05:00

I love the holidays. I love the music and the lights. I love shopping with girlfriends and all of the festive celebrations. I love eggnog and cookies. I love being ready for the holidays and being able to relax and enjoy them with friends and family. And this year I've been able to do just that. I've made my lists, checked them twice and look out, Scott's even been nice!

Typically he's sort of a Grinch. He never has much Christmas spirit, but this year he must have mustered some up because he's helped with the cards, hauled everything down from the rafters, took me to pick out a tree and even fixed my outside lights when the wind storm knocked them crooked! All while trying not to complain too much. Yes honey, I've noticed. Maybe it's because I all but choked him at the beginning of the season, warning him not to ruin this holiday for me. But really it's because he loves me. although I'm pretty sure the threat helped out a little bit :-)

Feeling all full of the Christmas spirit today and needing to get out of the house and knowing Scott would rather not drive around and sing carols, I grabbed one of my Christmas CDs, loaded Coby up in the car and headed out to see if I couldn't capture any fun Christmas lights. So here I am singing along with The Pussycat Dolls' rendition of Santa Baby, driving along down Jefferson taking in all of the beautifully decorated homes.

Some of them were way overboard and I can't even begin to imaging the electric bills. I would have stopped for a couple of shots, but realized I was running a little low on gas and had better stop. I figured I would stop on the way back. But that's when I realized that I must have left my wallet at home!

At this point Coby's all whiney in the back seat because he just wants to get out and sniff until his nose turns raw, I'm hungry and was really looking forward to a coffee, but no wallet = no gas, no food, and definitely no coffee. I quickly turned around to try to make it home in time, and thankfully I did. Needless to say, my trip was cut a little short and by the time I got home I was about running on fumes! If there was a "walk" reading on my meter, that's what it would have been on. So I didn't get to spend as much time out shooting as I would have liked to. But it's early yet and just maybe I will be able to sweet talk the Grinch into going out with me one evening...

This was taken at the Gross Pointe War Memorial, my first stop before realizing there would be no gas.

Apparently I'm not a techie Goddess...

2009-12-16T19:55:00.005-05:00

So.... I thought I had my e-mail all up and working after switching to a new hosting company and then it stopped. Just like that, it stopped. And then my inbox just disappeared! Yup, just like that. And the thing is, I know it's all in there somewhere. When I search for something specific it shows up!

It's not like this sort of thing hasn't happened before, it has. And it's typically something that I have in my settings wrong and within in a little bit, I manage to figure it out and no one ever knew the difference. Well now there's people actually e-mailing me on a regular basis! And it's not just my friends and subscriptions. And now it's driving me a little nutty because I can't answer e-mails! Bare with me folks, I'll have it all up and running soon. And please if you do not get a response within 24 hours, know that I did not receive your e-mail or I cannot reply and I am not ignoring you!

And because picture's make everything a better, here's one from my recent trip to Florida. It's kinda how I feel right now with all of this web, techie stuff!

Meet Brody!

2009-12-12T14:16:00.000-05:00

Looks like I'm back up and running! Sweet! Gotta love it when things run smoothly, or they seem to be anyways. Website is up and working as normal and it appears as if my e-mail is working too. Just to be sure, if you do not receive a response from me within 24 hours, please try again or give me a call!

I know I've mentioned it a time or two before, but I love my job! Not only because I get to spend my days doing something that I love so much, or the fact that I get to photograph cute little guys like this, but the fact that I can do it anywhere!

While I was in Florida visiting my family for the Thanksgiving holiday, I met Paula at my sister's baby shower. We got to chatting and she asked if I wouldn't mind a session with Brody. I had spent a couple of nice relaxing days re-grouping after a very busy couple of weeks of portraits, weddings and events and was starting to feel recharged and eagerly agreed. It felt great to pick up my camera and feel creative again!

They're huge Gator fans and wanted to include that in our session, I love it when my clients make it personal!

Maybe Brody will play for the Gator's one day?

This year marks Brody's first Christmas so we wanted to get some cute holiday shots.

When Paula and I were discussing locations, I offered to come right to their offices for the session. They own a granite company and with the beautiful countertops everywhere I knew we'd be able to get some really nice images. Like this one on a display that you see right as you walk in. Beautiful!

What a happy little guy!

And just look at those will ya?

I love little baby hands, almost as much as their feet!

I love these images taken right on mom's desk!

And one last image from our session and probably my favorite of the day!

Website & E-mail Temporarily Down

2009-12-11T11:20:00.002-05:00

I'm sorry if you've been trying to e-mail me or access my website, I'm currently in the process of making some changes and while it's in transition I won't be able to receive e-mails. It almost seems crippling, but it's all going to be so much better for me when it's complete!

If you need to get in touch, my phone is working! Or you can also send me a message through Facebook!

And because every post is better with a picture, here's one from a session I managed to squeeze in while on vacation in Florida. What a cutie!

Have a great weekend!

Lisa & Steve are Married!

2009-12-07T19:07:00.003-05:00

Lisa & Steve were married on Saturday, November 14th at St. Augustine Luthern Church in Troy. And believe it or not, it was another perfect fall day! My wedding clients have all gotten pretty lucky with the weather this year, which isn't always easy to come by living in Michigan.

Lisa was such a beautiful bride, her skin was just glowing!

Her eyes are just as gorgeous...

Steve looking all handsome with his little smirk!

Definitely one of my favorite images from the day!

Love this shot I grabbed of Lisa's father giving her away.

The first kiss....

Lisa & Steve's wedding party were all amazing people and I had such a great time time with them!

Love this moment I caught of Lisa & Steve as they were introduced as Husband and Wife.

Another top favorite of the day!

But this one melts my heart!

This little cutie was having the time of her life on the dance floor...

Lisa and Steve, your wedding was absolutely beautiful! Congratulations!

Jenny & Tim are Married!

2009-12-04T09:40:00.005-05:00

This wedding holds a special meaning to me. Just over a year ago I launched my business as a wedding photographer. I remember when Jenny called me to talk about her wedding plans and wanted to meet with ME about documenting her and Tim's wedding. The butterflies in my stomach were comparable to birds caught up in a tornado! This was the first client I was meeting with and my first potential wedding to be booked for 2009. My palms were sweating as we talked about their plans and I was secretly crossing my fingers under the table that they would choose me, so when she told me that they wanted to book with me I all but jumped up and hugged her! I had just booked my first wedding!

Jenny and Tim were married on Friday, November 13th at St. Paul of Tarsus in Clinton Twp. If you remember from their e-session, they L-O-V-E the outdoors! It was an incredible fall day with the sun shining and the temperature actually warm!

Her dress was absolutely stunning!

Jenny made such a beautiful bride...

Almost time....

The flowers were simply gorgeous with all of the red, orange and yellow hues.

Her laugh is so contagious!

A little champagne toast with all of her beautiful ladies

Definitely a top fave from the day. I love the contrast of the flowers against the brown dresses.

I think the girls must have all thought I was crazy taking them in front of a neighbor's doorstep for pictures. But I just love how they came out. It helps when you have such beautiful women to work with!

Tim with his groomsmen, all looking very dapper!

Tim seeing his soon to be wife for the first time as her father walked her down the aisle.

Jenny made my job very easy that day. She was all smiles!

Another favorite from the day!

Mr. & Mrs. Lauricella!

I was enamored with the way they had incorporated their love for the outdoors in all of the details of their day. I adore the custom all natural seating cards they made.

They had 2 trees set up for guest to hang notes of well wishes from. What a great idea!

The whole wedding party!

Sharing their first dance as husband and wife.

Jennifer and Tim, Congratulations again! And thank you for trusting me to capture your day!

Spread the Wealth Release Party

2009-12-03T13:44:00.006-05:00

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to photograph David Breuhan's book release party. I met David and his wife at Beth & Brian's wedding in September. I was sitting with them during dinner and we got to chatting about the upcoming release of his first book Spread the Wealth: More Haves and Fewer Have Nots. I cannot even imagine the amount of time and dedication, heart and soul that gets pored into writing a book. Although, I'm sure David could tell you!

The event took place on Thursday, November 12th at the beautiful Royal Park Hotel in Rochester. It was a gorgeous day and perfect for a celebration! Here's a few of my favorite images from the big event.

David spent much of the evening behind this table autographing books for those that came to support him. The turnout was amazing, and the line to purchase and sign books was seriously never ending!

I have to imagine that David had writer's cramp after this evening!

This guy bought 6 copies!

Everywhere I looked people were taking a chance to peruse through the book. You could tell they couldn't wait to get home to read it.

David got to take a break from all of the signing for a few minutes. He gave a very moving speech and had everyone in applause on more than one occasion!

Standing room only!

David's family and biggest supporters.

David, I was honored that you chose me to document your accomplishment for you. Congratulations!

Wouldn't you like to be my neighbor?

2009-12-02T10:23:00.003-05:00

I'll never forget when we first moved into our neighborhood. We were young and excited to own our first house. Coming from the apartment life and then a tiny little rental house, this was all ours complete with a huge back yard! Oh the gatherings we had... We were even more excited when we first met our neighbors, they were our age and we just knew it was going bring a ton of fun and memories!

It's such an honor when a friend or family asks me to take their family portraits. Granted I'm honored whenever anyone asks me, but when it's someone close to me it means so much. So when Doug mentioned that he wanted to give his mom some professional portraits of him and the boys for Christmas, I was stoked. I've watched these guys grow from infants. I remember babysitting Drake when he was just 1 month old and now he's almost 6! Are you kidding me? Where does the time go?

We decided to head up to Memorial Park in St. Clair Shores for our session. The colors were in full force and the boys were raring to go!

Boys this age can be challenging. They just want to play and do not want anything to do with my camera.

I was laughing as I was editing this series, notice how Drake's taking his shoes off? I tell ya, keeping boys focused is definitely difficult!

Of course we had to play in the leaves! And as with all little boys it quickly led to wrestling! Oh yeah, boys will definitely be boys....

Drake and Dane are very close in age, and I think it's the cutest thing that they're both loosing their teeth together. There's nothing cuter than those little toothless grins!

And of course we had to spend some time climbing trees....

I just love this image of Doug and his boys!

These next two images are definitely my favorites of the day. I just love the smiles!

Lucky for us, they hadn't yet put away the hay wagons from the day before. The boys had so much fun playing in the hay!

And one more favorite from the day!

Craig's Senior Session

2009-11-30T14:05:00.003-05:00

Phew! It's been a nice relaxing time off and now that I sit down to get caught up, I'm realizing just how much I have get caught up on! I can't wait to share images of my trip to Florida, I even ended up scheduling a session with the happiest 6 month old while I was down there. I love that I can work from anywhere!

But first, I'd like to introduce you to Craig. I don't do many Senior Sessions, in fact the 2 that I have shot this year have been for family. It's not that I don't want to photograph Seniors, it just hasn't been the direction my business has turned at this point. So if you are looking for a Senior session, don't hesitate to contact me and we'll set yours up!

Craig is a Senior at Algonac High School and also happens to be my cousin. I was excited and honored when he had asked me to do his Senior Portraits. Even more excited when he suggested the location! Normally my clients rely on me to suggest locations for their sessions and Craig had everything he wanted in mind. Rock on!

We met up on Harsen's Island one morning to capture him in some of his favorite locations. He's a duck hunter and spends a lot of time on the Island, and mentioned this really cool looking broken fence that he thought would be cool. Oh yeah, I was stoked. And it happened to work out pretty good for him too. After we wrapped up our session, he mentioned that there was a draw for that afternoon's hunt and wanted to see if they could get lucky. Turns out they did! They were picked right away and had a great choice of locations. And I got lucky too! It happened to be "Youth Hunt" day and I got to run into a couple of friends and their kids getting in on the excitement.

Here's some of my favorites from our session.

Out of the Office!

2009-11-17T20:47:00.003-05:00

I have been meaning to post this for a while now, especially since I've been out of the office since last Wednesday! Things were just so hectic before leaving, that I never got a chance. Tons of shooting and client meetings, and processing orders and then of course last minute emergencies which only rear their ugly head, when you seriously have an hour before you have to leave for the airport! But I digress...

So here I am now, to tell you that I'm still out of town, just wrapping up an awesome (almost) week with my sister and family and am headed to my mom's tomorrow to spend Thanksgiving there. I'll be back 11/28 and will respond to all messages when I return!

For now, thoroughly enjoying this much needed vacation in sunny Florida with my family! Holla!

And because every post is better with a picture or two, here's a few of my favorite images from some recent shoots. Their own blog posts to follow...

Craig's Senior Session!

David Breuhan's Book Release Party!

Jenny & Tim's Wedding!

Lisa & Steve's Wedding!

Meet the Mace Family!

2009-11-12T14:00:00.003-05:00

This is what I see when I look at this family. I see the love that Julie & Gino share for each other in the way they're touching, how much they love their son and the way Joey looks at his parents, not only with love but as friends.

I'll never forget the first time I met Julie and Gino. We were living in our rental house in Roseville and pretty stoked about having people our age living next door. One day I saw Gino outside cutting the grass and thought it was the perfect opportunity to introduce myself. As I approached, he shut off the motor and turned towards me. All of a sudden I wasn't so sure about them... There he was with his U of M sweatshirt facing me in my MSU sweatshirt.

And that is where it began... From us serenading them while they tried to sleep. Gino renaming my Kitty from Bo Duke to Bo Schembechler. On game day they awoke to a couple of Spartan Scarecrows chilling on their front lawn, only for us to come home that night to the largest U of M sign I've ever seen nailed to a tree in our front yard! It was definitely fun having them as neighbors and I'm so glad that we've been able to stay close all of these years!

I met with the Mace family at Metro Beach for a nice walk through the Nature Trail on a beautiful afternoon. If you remember the surprise Mother's Day session I shot earlier this year, well now they wanted to have some family portraits done! Holla!

Such a beautiful family!

The colors were amazing! We seriously could have wondered around the rest of the evening taking it all in and catching up!

If you didn't notice from the early post, Joey is a crackup! He has such a joyful personality and is always laughing. Wonder where he gets that from? :-)

Just love his toothless smile!

Most of my typical catch phrases that I use to get kids smiling and laughing just weren't seeming to work that day. Maybe I'm loosing my "coolness". ha-ha But Joey sure did have some things of his own to say that had us all doubling over in laughter.

One of my favorites from the day!

See what I mean? You can just feel the love in this image.

Joey & Gino

Julie & Gino

Guys it was so fun spending the time with you and we're looking forward to the next time!

Sterling's Supercuteness...

2009-11-09T13:09:00.005-05:00

Last week I got to visit with Heather and photograph her adorable daughter Sterling. Heather was a little apprehensive of having our session at her house. She warned me of her 4 crazy Boxer show dogs and a parrot. But I assured her I was up for the challenge! I came prepared with some treats in my camera bag, you know, just in case... but when I got into the house I had completely forgotten about the treats and the dogs. Sterling was just waking up in her car seat after a little nap on their way home from the post office and was all smiles! I knew it was going to be such a fun session!

Now I know what my dog is like the instant anyone comes walking up the driving, he's at the gate greeting them in typical Coby fashion. Did you remember me saying that I forgot that there was 4 dogs there? Well, I can tell you, you never would have known. Those dogs were sooo quite! They weren't out when I arrived, but I swear they never even barked when I came in or started talking! Oh, but their parrot was all about saying hi!

Sterling was one of the happiest babies I've met!

And full of smiles...

Who wouldn't want to kiss those little cheeks?

One of my favorites from our day! She loves watching the ladybugs dance overhead.

What made this session so fun was that Sterling was so interested in my camera. She couldn't take her eyes off of it and wanted to check it out in every way. Here she is crawling for it. Hmmm.... Could photography be in her future? :-)

Birds don't seem to like me much, even to the point of attacking me during Jola & Brad's engagment session! And I have to admit I jumped when it squaked at me. But I was all like, "I'm not afraid of you". And then Heather let her out of the cage... Thankfully there was no attack this time. She is one pretty bird though.

Another top fave of the day...

Heather, thank you for having me over! It was so good to see you and catch up, and you do have a very very cute little girl!

Not you're typical girly girl!

2009-11-08T20:03:00.008-05:00

The weather was perfect on my drive out to Clarkston. The sun was shining, it was already in the upper 50s and the temperature kept climbing. It was turning out to be a glorious fall day. A picture perfect day! Which happened to make this session rock so much more.

She is not your typical girly girl. She enjoys shopping and loves the color pink, but growing up with two older brothers and a father that are all avid hunters and outdoorsmen, she has also grown to appreciate the Michigan outdoors. She loves everything that the 4 seasons bring us. Boating, water skiing, and fishing in the summer. Snowboarding, skiing and ice fishing in the winter. And of course planting a big huge kiss on her father's heart, hunting in the fall.

We had so much fun wandering around their property capturing some of her favorite things.

I was in awe of her as I watched her with her bow and arrow.

Look at the way she works that pink bow! Love it!

Love her deep concentration in this image.

Oh yeah, she rocks it!

She amazed me yet again watching climb the tree in stand. I have to tell you my knees were knocking watching her. I don't know that I'm afraid of heights literally, but I do know that I definitely prefer to be grounded!

Lisa & Steve's E-session

2009-11-06T11:52:00.003-05:00

Lisa and Steve are getting married next week and I had the opportunity to meet up with them on Halloween for their engagement session. We met up at the Rochester Hills Municipal park Halloween morning. I've shot there several times before, but the park is so amazing and I love how I was able to make their session unique!
The day didn't start off too nice and as I arrived there, it had just started sprinkling. We were really hoping the rain would hold off so we could at least get a few images in for them and thankfully it did! The day got progressively nicer as we walked around the beautiful park chatting while I was snapping away.

One of the reasons I love shooting engagement sessions is getting to know the couple (in this case the family) before the big day. I love, love, love how Lisa and Steve wanted to include Lauren and Brian in their session. They are going to be one happy family!

Lisa has such beautiful eyes, and I have to tell ya I adore Steve's smirk!

Lauren and Brian were such easy subjects! They loved being in front of the camera. :-)

I love this image I caught of Lisa and Steve. As I was walking behind this tree to see if it was climbable I noticed them loving on each other. So sweet...

So you know that I had to do more with it!

Lauren had no problem "working" it for my camera! I wanted to get some portraits of each of the kids and when Lauren sat down this is what she gave me! So fun!

And Brian was a riot! It was great, when Lisa asked him if he was having fun he looked right up at her and asked "Are you kidding me?" It made my heart smile, boy do I L-O-V-E my job!

Goofing around isn't just for the kids!

While I was shooting Brian, I heard Lisa laughing at Lauren, who was standing behind me still working on her poses. I love that I was able to grab this one of her! What a beautiful little girl!

Since it was Halloween day and they had this haunted house set up in the parking lot, I couldn't resist some fun shots!

Lisa and Steve, I had such a good time chatting with you guys. I just know your wedding day is going to be perfect! Can't wait!

Corporate with a Twist!

2009-11-05T19:04:00.004-05:00

I'd like to introduce to you the beautiful Marianne! I had the pleasure of meeting Marianne through my BNI group and was ecstatic when she came to me needing headshots for work. She's the Senior Account Executive for Airea, so if you're in the market for updating your office space, she's definitely the one you should call!

My professional sessions are similar to my portrait sessions, in that I choose to do them in a natural environment. Not in a studio with boring backdrops. So if you're in the market for some updated images with a twist for your portfolio, I'd be happy to help you out!

Marianne loves the outdoors and her street was lined with gorgeous tones of gold, so it was the perfect place for our session!

If you've been following my blog for a while, you know that I'm a dog lover. So you know I couldn't resist including her awesome Golden Doodle in the session!

I just love the angle on this one...

As I was shooting I couldn't help but notice the way her whole face lights up when she smiles!

I love including my clients' pets in our session whenever possible! And this little puppy was more than willing to pose with Mom.

As we were wrapping our session up, I thought it would be nice to get some puppy pictures for Marianne, well she just wasn't all that into it at this point. But I still love these!

Meet the Pereira Children!

2009-11-02T17:20:00.004-05:00

Okay, is it really November already? The leaves are falling from the trees, and I'm not ready to loose all of the pretty colors. You know what's coming right around the corner right? Yeah, let's not go there...

Instead let's look at these two cutie-pies! Way better than the other direction I started to go... I met Tammy, the mother of these two adorable kids, through my BNI group. She's a super talented web designer, so if you're in the market for a new website definitely check her out! We started off at their house, where the kids were raring to go!

Meet Miss Sydney! Seriously adorable!

I love this image with Cocoa in the back ground. She's such a sweetie and was the first one to welcome me with tons of kisses!
And this handsome little fella is Jake. He had a ton of fun showing me around his room and back yard!

You could get lost in those eyes...
This fall has brought me a ton of little boys loving to climb in the colorful trees. You know I don't mind!

Sydney is such a happy little girl!
Ms. Cocoa!

Jake was getting a little bored and really just wanted to hit the playground full force, but I talked him into posing for just a few more. And I just love this one!
I love catching the smiles of little ones who've started loosing their teeth! I once did pictures for a school and had a parent want re-takes because their child was smiling and missing their teeth. They requested that the child not smile the next time. I obliged and reshot their pictures, the whole time thinking, Really? Missing teeth are a right of passage, and not to mention adorable! Everyone should have some toothless images in their albums! I know I have mine!

YEY! We finally made it to the playground!

Meet the Panackia Family!

2009-10-29T16:50:00.004-04:00

I had the pleasure of meeting this beautiful family last week at Dearborn's Ford Field Park. This was my second opportunity to shoot there. Remember the Inda Family? It's such an amazing park. Thankfully, this meant that I was already familiar with the area, having just made it in time since Blair and Kelly were a little early. I was driving my sister and her family to the airport that day so the timing worked out perfectly. Slammed my Pumpkin Spice Latte and was ready to play with these two awesome kids!

And here they are! Blair, Jack, Hailey and Kelly!

Jack is just the most adorable little guy!

One of my favorite thing about fall are the leaf piles. I remember raking as big a pile as we could to dive into. Hailey had some fun them too!

Just look at those eyes...

One of my favorites of the day, it just feels so peaceful to me.

Some mommy time...

Think I've found where Hailey and Jack get those eyes from!

And daddy time...

I just love all of the expressions that little ones make!

I love these images I captured of Blair and Kelly!

It's been a busy week of shooting so look for some more colorful images soon!

Jennifer & Tim's E-session

2009-10-26T18:26:00.007-04:00

I absolutely love the fall! It's my favorite time of year for all of it's beauty. I shivered as I looked up at the temperature gage reading 40 degrees as I was on my to that morning's engagement session. It didn't even matter though, the sun was out and it was a gorgeous day! I could have driven around all day taking in Mother Nature's colors everywhere. I love the way the light hits all of the shades of orange, red, gold and green.

I met up with Jennifer and Tim at the boat launch at Stoney Creek. It was the perfect place for their engagement pictures. They both are in love with the outdoors. So much in fact that Tim even proposed while they were backpacking North Manitou Island. Yeah, I don't know if I'd ever be up for all of that! I don't mind a little roughing it, but I draw the line at filtering my own water and eating Ramen Noodles at all. Let alone for several days!

It was such a peaceful morning, barely a ripple on the water.

I just love everything about this image...

Can't you just see how much they enjoy each other's company?

Like I said, it was pretty chilly and would have felt horrible showing up with a nice hot drink only for me, so I stopped and picked up a couple of hot chocolates for them too. Yeah, I rock!

We ended our session with a nice relaxing walk through the Nature Trail. Did I mention what a beautiful day it was?

Another top fave

And I just L-O-V-E this series...

On our way out of the woods, I saw this fabulous array of leaves littering the grass and begged Tim for just one more shot! Thanks!

Thank you Jennifer and Tim for a nice relaxing morning.I'm sooo looking forward to your wedding next month! I just know we'll have yet another beautiful fall day!

New Album Design

2009-10-25T15:18:00.003-04:00

Last week was an absolutely incredible week. It was one of those, that you even wonder if it could get any more perfect. It began and ended with family and the in between filled with client meetings, portrait sessions and creating album designs. Three of them are out for proofing right now, so I can't share those until they're finalized. But I'd like to show you a design I created for a sample album with my new album company. I've added some new, fun, trendy albums to the lineup and now offer a little something that will fit everyone's style! Classic leather, silk brocades, metal and even glass block album covers are now in the line-up! Holla!

Here's the layout for my new sample with images from Jola & Brad's wedding in a 8x12 format.

Some Family Time

2009-10-23T12:35:00.004-04:00

Things have been crazy busy this week with playing a little catch up after taking some time off to spend with my family. But I wanted to share some images from their time here. It was so nice having everyone together. I cannot believe it had been nearly 2 years since I've seen my dad! And nearly a year since I've seen Melissa and Shane.

It all started with Shane and Priscilla planning a vacation to Michigan to attend a friend's wedding. Then Dad & Kelly realized it had been a while since he's seen Michigan and wouldn't it be nice to visit in the fall? And Melissa, Shawn and Courtney followed suit! It was such a fun filled week! Here's some of my favorite images from their visit...

Here's one of our tries for a family picture! And my favorite of the bunch.

Even though it was going to be a pretty cool day, we all bundled up and headed to Blake's for the day. Good thing we had plenty of warm coats for everyone. The Floridians left 90 degree weather to come here where it was a high of 46 the day we went to the Cider Mill. This was Courtney's first time in Michigan and was excited to hear that it might snow! Thankfully it didn't, I don't think Court could have imagined it any colder.

Scott got this picture of me petting this little guy.

We were all about to venture into the corn maze when we realized Scott and Priscilla were no where in sight. Here's where we found them, about to cross the finish line of a tricycle race!

Shane and I couldn't resist and had to give it a go! I have no idea how he fit on the bike, I have bruises all over my knee caps from the handle bars!

It was such a beautiful day and everything just came together perfectly. My cousin Kevin was on his way home from college for the weekend, and Craig had a football game in Armada, so Blakes ended up being a perfect meeting point!

Love the light in this image!

Just as the hayride started to pull away, cousin Doug was walking up. Thankfully, Dave our tractor driver kindly stopped to let them jump on.

Kelly grabbed this picture of Scott and I.

After a big family dinner, we spotted a Dollar Store across the street! Bonus! We were able to pick up some gloves, hats, scarves and fluffy socks to keep us warm at the game. And the Muskrats won! Way to go Craig!

Shutterbooth!

2009-10-12T20:08:00.003-04:00

Yesterday I had the opportunity to be a vendor at the Andiamo, Warren bridal show. When Faye had called to ask me to participate, I was excited to say the least. She was referred to me by Rachel, who was the Maid of Honor in Jola & Brad's wedding. Have I mentioned how much I love referrals?

I've done a couple of bridal shows, but I think this one was my favorite. I was lucky enough to have a helper for the day. My brother and his girlfriend Priscilla are in town from Seattle and she spent the day with me helping me set up and greet all of the brides. We had such a great day and I really enjoyed the time we got to spend together!

I tried my best to keep my schedule clear while my family is in town visiting. A "staycation" of sorts for me. Of course, there is still work that needs to be done... One of my favorite things about this show, besides meeting all of the happy brides was that I finally had the opportunity to meet Kim with Shutterbooth! Ever since first learning about these traveling photo booths, I've been dying to check them out. People, this is the coolest thing ever! I seriously think that every couple should have one of these at their reception! And I wish that these would have been around when I got married!

What makes them sooo cool (besides the obvious) is that 2 copies are printed of each visit to the booth. One for the people in the booth and the bride and groom also get a copy of them! And if you'd like they'll assemble a scrapbook right on site that will be ready to take home at the end of the night! AWESOME!

To all of my brides reading this, you absolutely NEED to check them out! And also know that if you have this at your reception, count on me jumping in on the fun! Here's Priscilla and me totally rockin the Shutterbooth at the show yesterday!

Meet the Inda Family

2009-10-06T09:36:00.003-04:00

I am so grateful for the many people that I have had the opportunity to meet in my life and especially those that I have kept in contact with even though we may no longer work together or no longer live near.

I met Arturo during my days at Ford Motor Company. It was always entertaining working with him to say the least! Time passed and we had both moved on from the company, but still continued to keep in touch. I was absolutely excited when he contacted me asking for a portrait session while him Ada, and little Arturo were visiting! It was so good to see all of them! We started off the session at Ford Field Park in Dearborn. Such an awesome place for pictures!

Arturo and Ada are very excited to be expecting another addition to the family!

Meet Arturito! He's such a cutie!

I love this image...

Ada is such a natural beauty!

I think it's the most adorable thing when a little one gives their mom a "flower"!

The happy couple!

She has the most beautiful smile!

After the park we headed over the Sunflower fields near Ford World Headquarters. I've always had a passion for sunflowers. They are just so happy!

A top favorite from the day!

Arturo is such a character! I wish I could show you the image before this that led to the big smiles, but it may be a little inappropriate!

Arturo and Ada, thank you so much for asking me to capture this incredible time in your life for you! Congratulations and I can't wait to meet the new arrival!

Meet the Roberts Family!

2009-10-01T20:59:00.005-04:00

Last week I had the opportunity to spend the evening with this absolutely beautiful family at the park in downtown Rochester. I've known Jessica, for hmmmm let's see. I remember the days of dancing around her bedroom singing and dancing to Sade, then as we got a little older it became the Violent Fems, making grilled cheese sandwiches with "real" cheese... We would go "moon bathing" from her roof at night. And can't forget to mention the beanie caps and late night rides to the Horn of Plenty! Really I could go on and on. But I'll save us both a little embarrassment and move on to her awesome family!

Love this series!

Corinne was very interested in all of the rocks near the stream.

While Elise, was ready to rock out some poses!

Love this shot of them all together! Look at all of those big smiles! I imagine it's pretty fun to be a part of their family!

This is definitely a top fav from the day! I loved just watching the sisters play with each other. Jessica and her sister Vanessa have always been really close. And I know how happy it would make Jessica if her daughters grew to have the same relationship that Mom has with Aunt Vanessa! (I don't think you have to worry Jess, it's there!)

But really, I don't think you have to worry about that at all! Can't you just feel the sisterly love?

Elise and Corinne taking their baby brother for a little stroll...

I don't think Corinne is quite ready to give up her status as "the baby" in the family!

Meet Lewis. This little guy is such a cutie! I'm seriously at a loss for words on how special he is and I just love his little hat!

If I had to describe my ideal client, Jessica would fit the description perfectly! I love how she brought fun little fairy outfits, bubbles, and so many other "props". She was afraid that some of them might be "cheesy", but I love the images we got! Like this one of Elise blowing "fairy bubbles"

Corinne tried so hard to blow bubbles like her big sister did. Although she was blowing a little too hard most of the time and even got a little taste of the bubbles on accident. But that didn't stop her!

Lewis just loved the bubbles and watching his big sisters!

Look at those eyes! Watch out Jessica and Chad! :-)

Jessica once told me that my pictures here on my blog looked "magical". Of course the "magic" really stems from my gorgeous clients. Add fairy wings, and a little post processing and TA-DA!

When Corinne smiles, she does it with her whole heart!

Again, Love how prepared Jessica was. This was her idea and I LOVE it!

Lewis' turn to read to his sisters...

A little Daddy-Daughter time.

I absolutely love this image. I just heart everything about it. This just speaks to me of what a family with 3 little ones is like. Lots of juggling, passing back and forth and laughter!

A little Mommy and Son time...

Rinny is quite the character all ready. And she was all about singing to me and making lots of silly faces!

Yup, another fav from the day! Who doesn't love a little baby foot? Chad gave this necklace to Jessica as a Mother's Day gift! What an absolutely cool gift!

Jessica & Chad, I had such a good time spending the evening with your family! Thank you so much for choosing me to capture you! I can't wait to see you guys again!