Living in the Lansing area means we have access to so many beautiful gardens for family photo sessions, my favorite being the MSU campus! We captured this family’s session after a huge milestone- mom graduating with her PhD!! What a wonderful way to commemorate a significant life achievement! Here are some favorites of mine from their family portrait session at the MSU Horticulture Gardens!
Lifestyle newborn sessions are some of my favorite big life moments to capture. The wrinkly skin, the tiny toes, the little puckered lips…newborns are just so squishy and cute. Lifestyle sessions just feel better- there is no cramming a baby in a basket, no trying to get them to sleep for hours, we just let newborns be newborns in the comfort of their parents’ arms.
This little guy’s arrival was not the first time I met his parents- I actually photographed their engagement session in Ann Arbor and their wedding at the Saint John’s Resort. So it was so special to be invited into their home to continue to capture their big life moments. It’s always an honor.
Here are some of my favorites from Baby A’s newborn session!
The MSU campus is the most stunning back drop for photos in Mid-Michigan. The Horticulture Gardens are a favorite of mine! This was the third time I photographed these two- first at their engagement session, second at their wedding, and this time for their maternity session! It is always so special and humbling to be able to capture life’s biggest moments for a couple and family. Here are some of my favorite’s from their summer photo session on the beautiful campus of Michigan State University in East Lansing.
It’s been the most incredible thing, having my wedding couples turn into family clients. I have photographed this family for years now- first their engagement, then their wedding, Baby D’s newborn and one year photos, and now maternity and newborn photos for little brother. I loved the vision this family had- light and airy, some blur, water and shadows. While I am based in East Lansing, I will always make the drive to the metro Detroit area for my clients. Here are some of my favorites from this beautiful in home lifestyle session last summer.
Grad sessions are so much fun, but here are some tips to help your photo session go more smoothly!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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!
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.
When I graduated, graduation photos weren’t a thing, and I so wish they had been! It’s such an amazing life milestone to graduate from college, and it should be celebrated and captured! I would have loved to have photos like these to look back on as an adult far removed from college. What a fun way to celebrate!
I loved getting to know Mikayla and Macken! These two are headed to Belfast for graduate school in the fall, and I’m so jealous! They will get to hop around Europe in their free time! What an incredible next step. We were lucky all of the spring blooms came early this year and we were able to walk around the campus of MSU snapping photos with them in the background. I love how the photos turned out! Congrats again, you two!
My first full time week back from maternity leave has been a busy one with 6 portrait shoots, multiple wedding consults, an album design, timelines and now, gearing up for the first wedding of the year and 5 more portrait shoots! I am thrilled to be back and connecting with clients old and new! It was especially nice to have a session with these two- I photographed Haley and Derek’s engagement session and wedding, so I felt especially honored when they asked me to photograph their maternity and newborn photos! It’s always a humbling feeling when you are chosen to photograph a family’s life milestones. Can’t wait to meet their baby girl in June!
We photographed their session on the campus of MSU. The spring blooms are GORGEOUS on campus this time of year! I absolutely love how they turned out and here are some of my favorites!
When Julian’s babysitter asked if I could take graduation photos of her and her friends at Michigan State University, of course I said yes! Even though over the weekend it had been 82 degrees, just two days later we were dealt 32 degrees, high winds and even snow! It was seriously crazy. We started at the College of Engineering and then headed over to Beaumont Tower and the bridge for the Spartan sign. We ended by grabbing some individual shots in front of the gorgeous spring blooms that are all over campus. These 6 crazy smart soon-to-be engineers powered through our chilly two hour session in cute dresses and gowns. Here are a few of my favorites!
Fall mini session day in East Lansing on the MSU campus was a success!! And can you believe it was 75 degrees on a Michigan November afternoon?! It was crazy! I love the MSU gardens in all seasons, and they did not disappoint! Even in the second week of November, there were still trees with leaves and we got some great fall shots!
As a former preschool teacher, I know how stressful family portraits with small children can be, so we play games! On this day we played red light green light, going on a bear hunt, Simon says, and had dance parties with their favorite songs. It was the biggest compliment when one family said at the end of their session, “Normally we feel defeated at the end of family pictures, but this was actually fun!”. I can’t promise that is the case every time (30 degree weather just might not give us happy kids), but I try! Here are some of my favorites from the minis…
I can't believe this day finally came! In college, I was Keara's babysitter, and met her when she was two years old! Three years ago, she asked me to do her senior pictures, and it seemed so far away. I can't believe she is graduating this year!
We started the shoot on the beautiful campus of MSU in East Lansing at the horticulture gardens. It was SO pretty! From there, we traveled to Williamston so that Keara could have photos with her new horse, Joey. Joey was *almost* as beautiful as Keara :) . Keara opted to have hair and makeup done by a stylist at Kenneth Brandt Salon in Mason, MI. The stylist stayed throughout the shoot for a hair change and touchups...it was so nice to have her right there to assist!
Congratulations on graduating, Keara, and I can't wait to see what amazing things you accomplish in college!
Class of 2018, it's that time of year again! We are now booking senior portraits! Do you go to East Lansing, Okemos, Haslett, Owosso, Holt, St John's, Grand Ledge, Mason, Jackson, Howell, Charlotte, Williamston, or Dewitt? Get in touch to schedule your senior portraits!
