Their joy was contagious. Two people, in love, expecting their first baby and there’s not another feeling like it. It’s one of those events that happens once in your life and so there’s every reason to document it. There’s also every reason to wear yellow shoes, which gave a pop of color and completed the sophisticated look of their outdoor session. Not only did this vocal professor and doctor dressed well but they did a great job in front of the camera, jumping in to taking pictures and taking my direction while also adding influence of their own. Ben and Michelle came down from the Watertown area to meet me in Rochester for their before the baby session and now that they are getting close to welcoming the baby into their family I’m looking forward to heading up to their new place to photograph him. Here are some of my favorites from the session…

you guys are delightful and are going to be fabulous parents! There are so many more images to look through so head to the proofing gallery and I’d love to know your favorites. Thanks for coming down and I look forward to seeing you again soon.

The early evening light couldn’t have been more gorgeous. It softly illuminated Leah who floated through the tall grasses. She talked about her senior year, the extra classes she was taking at Alfred University and the plans she had for after graduation. She is an all around artist with interests in music, art and dance – which is what she plans to pursue in college.

When we met for her senior portraits I knew two things: her school required a “standard” portrait for the yearbook (I guess things got a little out of control with submissions in previous years) and in spite of that she was up for doing something different. I took her to one of my favorite places to shoot and had her walk through the creek and stand in the midst of grasses… you know, the usual. Before we did that we captured a few more simple images and this was my favorite:

she totally rocks that haircut, which in my mind makes the picture half model / half woodland nymph… and as you can see it translated into our more natural setting.

So I mentioned that Leah studies dance, and while ballet is her background modern dance is what she is most interested in pursing. While I only saw a quick improve of a few minutes, I know she is super talented.

Leah I think you rocked these photos – but you’ll have to let me know what you think! Friends and family – did I capture her… leave a comment and let me know what you think as well. While you’re at it, head over to the proofing site to see the full gallery, just create a profile to log in. Leah it was fun to photograph you and have a great senior year!

Enough about running (for now) and back to a week ago. An overcast morning, and charming small town, and a couple in love… with their two dogs. When I heard that Tom and Madeline had two mini dachshunds I knew they should bring along to their esession and here’s a preview of what I captured:

There are a lot of places to help you navigate the steps of creating a small business – often they are local resources that will provide classes and information for you to get started. Several of the steps include: deciding what type of business you want to be (sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, limited liability company), filing a DBA, checking with zoning to approve your home-based business, getting a business license or anything else your county/city clerk requires, and filling the proper documents to pay and collect sales tax… what am I missing? Like I said, find your local small business administration office or someone to help but a good place to start is online at SBA.gov

First let me back track, and explain why I’m talking about her in the first place (besides the fact that she’s clearly fabulous). I’ve received a few emails/msgs from some people asking questions about my business, what I do, and how I got started. While it’s been flattering that people would ask I’ve definitely struggled with feeling like I could share in the first place. For one, I don’t have all of the right answers so I don’t think you should trust me for hard and fast business advice. There are many people out there way more qualified. Second (and maybe more importantly) I didn’t really feel confident enough. Okay, that’s kind of hard to say, but it’s so true. I make mistakes, I don’t do everything perfectly… so how can I tell people what they should do when I’m trying to figure it out at the same time.

Okay, just to clarify (before this sounds like people are banging down the proverbial door to get in touch with me) I’ve had a few people contact me. That means less than 10. I don’t really know I haven’t kept track exactly. So, before I share some of my experiences with you, I thought I’d direct you over to Jasmine Star who is basically the queen of start up wedding photography and has put so much information out there you can probably learn all you need to and skip me. :)

If you didn’t know, this week Jasmine has teamed up with Creative Live (which I’ve found is a cool online workshop/class type place) and is going photograph a real wedding live tomorrow. She’s spent yesterday and will spend today (2-8 EST) sharing with everyone how she prepares and gets ready and works, and then tomorrow we’ll see her in action (4-12 EST). Viewing the live event is free, but if you can’t view it you can purchase the videos and watch them when you like. So…. all this to say if you want to see how a real pro does it, you want to get ideas for how your wedding day should flow, or anything else I think you should tune in! I’ll be there and we can pretend we’re sitting next to each other watching.

Aileen actually found me through her florist, The Flower Barn in Rochester, NY. They did an amazing job creating classic and elegant bouquets and arrangements to match with the wedding day.

I love the simplicity of the photo above. There are so many details to a wedding day I don’t think you can ever have to many detail shots. Gorgeous eyes, Aileen – you look beautiful!

Aileen’s son’s and daughter served as members of the wedding party and look great in their formal attire. I made sure to get some pictures of the boys in their suits since I’m sure it was a rare occasion for them.

I had the privilege of having Jeremy along to second shoot with me, and I love the image he captured above.

there were many kids around at this wedding and they all enjoyed the bubbles that were set out for them to play with after the ceremony. A hor d’oeuvres reception took place in a tent outside and was a precursor to the dinner reception later in the evening.

the newlyweds! Mark and Aileen were such a happy couple and were surrounded by such a good group of family and friends on their wedding day. It’s definitely one to look back on and remember, and I had a great time documenting it. To see the full set of images head to the proofing gallery and don’t forget to leave a comment here!

Can we all just stop and look at how gorgeous Katie is? Seriously and this is what light from a window can do for you, as well as time before your wedding to take pictures. She was beautiful on her wedding day and I had a great time photographing her + Craig even with a little rain… since we all know I love a little rain. I’m a pro at the double hold – umbrella and camera – and those overcast skies are so nice to work with.

I really can’t believe I only blogged once last week (I missed you guys) but then again I can… since I was spending just about every minute with the xc team. Since I’m also an assistant coach and preseason has started things went from 0 to 100 pretty quickly. It’s been great and I love it (you know I do) but my blog was the thing that fell behind. Obviously now it’s time to catch up! Besides running 50 miles (I’m sorry, I’m really proud of myself and had to share) I was busy working on some editing that you’ll see soon and the day to day works that comes with having a business. I’ve had a lot of people as me questions about my business lately, and while I’m not ready for my tell-all interview, I am planning on posting answers to a few of them this week on the blog. This weekend I traveled out to the other side of the state and more specifically the Saratoga / Glenville / Albany of New York area and was able to photograph Craig and Katie’s wedding as well as an engagement session for Tom and Madeline. So, as always there is a lot in the works and I look forward to posting it all. Until then, if you are repeat song listener like me check out my two new fav’s : Ready to Start (Arcade Fire) & Magic (B.o.B) and see how many times you can play them back to back to back.

I’m excited to be back to posting after a several day hiatus and to start things of with Chris + Beth’s Michigan wedding. Thanks for being patient! This wedding is extra special because I’ve known Beth (and her family) for a really long time, so I was honored to be able to document the day. I actually wasn’t the only member of my family involved, as my sister played the piano and my parents helped out with the backyard reception they hosted. From my perspective, it really was one of those weddings where people came together to not only celebrate but to do what they could to make the day happen. Chris and Beth are two people that give so much to others that their wedding was a chance for people to give back to them, and it couldn’t have been more perfect. Here is a look at the details of the day, starting with the flowers:

Beth’s gorgeous bouquet was created by her good friend and florist Rebecca, who traveled from Oklahoma City and assembled everything once she arrived in Detroit! I don’t really know my flowers but I love the variety she included – there was so much texture and depth.

The most important part – the ceremony – took place with a completely full sanctuary. I’m not sure what the final numbers were but there had to be at least 300/350 people if not more. There’s something about a good ceremony. It makes everyone who attends think about their own relationships – with their husband or wife, family, friends, and of course God.

Afterwards everyone was invited to a dessert reception at the church, and as you can see the cakes were fabulous (and tasted as good as they looked). I was even more impressed with the decorations they put up, since some lights, fabric, and paper lanterns completely transformed the room into a more elegant reception space.

There were a lot of cute kids (many nieces and nephews of Chris + Beth) at the wedding, and I love the card Lily gave them above.

…and who doesn’t love cake – or talking into a fan?

After a quick birdseed send off Chris and Beth drove off for some pictures before joining the reception. The completely restored car they drove in gave us a pop of color to use in the pictures.

They are so in love! There’s nothing like photographing someone on their wedding day.

After pictures we joined the reception that took place at Beth’s parents home. It was set up for a relaxed yet elegant event with small round tables placed in the front and back yards. Dinner was catered by Just Delicious, and there were amazing hor d’oeuvres that lasted throughout the evening. Table decorations consisted of several small milk vases with low flower arrangements and old family photos placed inside glass jars.

As much as the reception was enjoyable for adults it was also made for kids. In fact, I would rate it as the best reception I’ve seen for kids. There was room to have fun and play (you can see pin the bowtie/rose on the groom/bride above) and the highlight was a pinata that was broken open at the end of the night. An ice cream cart served out your choice of flavor, and the night ended with sparklers!

It was perfect! I hope you enjoyed seeing part of their day and possibly got a little inspiration if you’re planning your own. Thanks again Chris + Beth for letting me document everything – and don’t forget to leave them a comment to help them earn an enlargement. Head over to their gallery to see the full set of images and enjoy!

As I write this I think I owe my mom some family pictures. You would think as a photographer I would be good at that, but I’m not so sure. I’m going to make a mental note of taking some this coming spring – once my niece or nephew has arrived and is a few months old!

yum! I love that pizza. Our one piece of dachshund memorabilia: corn holders.

it was simple to make the hangers for the jars. We started with a circle of wire bigger than the mouth of the jar. We put it on the jar and twisted two sides to tighten, also creating two loops to hang from. A long piece of wire was twisted through those loops and cut to as long as we wanted. They’ve been hanging outside for two weeks and are still there! :)