Grad sessions are so much fun, but here are some tips to help your photo session go more smoothly!

1. Before your session, make sure to iron your gown! Wrinkled gowns are pretty noticeable in photos, so make sure to spend 10 minutes ironing it beforehand. Your photographer will not photoshop out any wrinkles.

2. Pick up two bottles of champagne per person in your group! This allows one bottle for a group spray at Beaumont Tower, and then another bottle to do solo shots at another location.

3. Wear a comfy pair of shoes and pack your dress shoes to change into. Campus is big! You can swap shoes back and forth and you trek around campus.

4. Bring a bag or a wagon to haul everything in. You’ve got shoes, your gown and accessories, champagne….it’s a lot to carry! If you have a large group, a wagon will be so helpful and easy the day of your shoot.

5. Carefully consider what outfit you’ll wear under your gown. Are you going to do photos with the gown open? Do you want a professional headshot? If so, make sure your clothes are ironed, bra straps are hidden, and nothing is too low cut. Or, bring an extra top to change into. Pack a collared button up you can throw right over your dress. Also, consider colors- you don’t want your outfit to clash with your gown. You also don’t want it to clash with your friends’ outfits!

6. The last tip is an important one- if taking photos the last few weeks leading up until graduation, make sure to arrive one hour before your appointment time to wait in line if starting at Beaumont or Sparty. The lines here can be anywhere from 45 minutes to over an hour graduation week! Nice days will be very long as well. Pack your patience!

It's almost that time again and I can't wait! There's nothing like the smell of freshly sprayed champagne wafting through campus, cheers and shrieks as the champagne sprays (or doesn't spray!), and hearing all the excitement about young grads' plans for post-graduation. If you're an MSU grad, I would love to capture photos of this amazing accomplishment for you so get in touch! And here are some favorite's from Emma's grad session, Class of 2025! Congrats, Emma!

These three are graduating in December, so instead of waiting until the snow fell and the bitter cold set in they decided to have their session in fall. We had a ridiculously warm fall day so there was no shivering in little white dresses happening. Bonus of doing a grad session in fall? NO LINES! We could easily walk up to Beaumont and Sparty and grab photos without waiting in the typical one hour plus lines that are typical in spring. So, congratulations to these three grads! Here are my favorites from their session.

Morgan and Matthew were my first 2021 couple to book! They booked in 2019 and opted for a two year engagement when most have a one year engagement. Little did they know that it was a blessing in disguise, as many 2020 weddings were rescheduled. They are getting married at the University Club next year and I can’t wait!

In addition to having their wedding on MSU’s campus, they also decided to have their engagement photos on campus too! They chose the Children’s gardens and the Horticulture gardens. Because it was summer, all the flowers were in full bloom, including the roses. No other garden can beat an MSU garden— they are seriously the best gardens in Michigan for photos— and they are free…no fee at all, and easy parking! Even if you aren’t MSU alum, Spartan signs are absent from the gardens so you can still use them without any guilt :) .

Aren’t Mallory and Jon the cutest?? We had an absolutely gorgeous (but a tad chilly!) fall day for their engagement photos on the north campus of Michigan State University in East Lansing. People are often scared to wait and do their photos the first two weekends of November, but I swear, those two weekends always have the best fall color!! Thankfully, Mallory and Jon waited, and the fall color was GORGEOUS!! I can’t wait for their June wedding!

Since Annie and Austin both attended MSU and even got engaged on Michigan State's campus, it was only fitting for them to have their engagement photos taken there. We started at the arboretum and then made our way over to Beaumont Tower. I love how these turned out, and can't wait until their wedding at Lovett Hall in Dearborn next month!

So, I found a new favorite place to shoot! The MSU Arboretum has so many great spots for photos including a stunning English garden! I can't believe that I lived in East Lansing for 10 years AND attended MSU as a student, and had no idea the Arboretum existed! I even frequently visited the Children's Garden next door to it when I worked as a nanny throughout my undergrad and had no idea it was there.

When I told Madison and Tom about the Arboretum, they were totally up to take their engagement photos there-- and I'm so glad we did! Tom attended medical school at MSU, so taking photos on the campus of Michigan State University was really fitting since it has some meaning to them. These two were so easy to photograph, and I'm super excited for their 2018 wedding!

Here are a few of my favorites!