Before the family portrait session started, I walked around the house to get a feel for the landscaping and which areas might look nice. This was where we ended up starting. I love how mom is holding both of her kids’ hands. <3

I love the landscaping!  it’s all gorgeous, really. But this looked so nice, I had everyone gather on the stone steps. We did a series of portraits here in this location, but this was my favorite to share with you!

Then we walked around to the back of the house, where there was this nice landscaping with stone steps leading down to the yard. I had the family sit on the rocks by this tree. This is another one of my favorites — I love how the house is included, but nature dominates the background, so it has a nice blend of architectural and natural elements. And, bonus for my subjects — we were in the shade, where it wasn’t hot! (er, *AS* hot).

A sibling portrait, which I thought was cute….

And then we did some mother daughter portraits. This one looks so lovely, don’t you think?

Mom spontaneously gave her daughter a kiss on the cheek, and I am so glad I caught that moment for them 🙂

Then it was time for the father son portrait. They goofed around a bit too — but settled in for this nice portrait of the two of them.

Someone’s girlfriend made a cameo appearance towards the end of the portrait session (requested by Mom, naturally!).

And last but not least, Mom and Dad. This is a painting created from a portrait that I took.
While I do have traditional training so far as painting goes, I’ve really enjoyed learning to paint digitally. For one, there is less mess. It’s so much fun to create these painted masterpieces for my clients — they LOVE the results, and I really enjoy being able to provide this unique style of portrait art !

Let’s start things off with a serious expression. I don’t know why, but I love this senior portrait. Areonna’s eyes are so intense and I’m just drawn to the image…. and artistically I like how the left side of the image is light, and the right side, in contrast is dark and shadowed.

And here’s one of her smiling, in a different pose. Love that hair!

Areonna’s mom brought along a fun white hat, so we included that in a series of shots. It’s always interesting when you’re doing a senior session in someplace like Nickel’s Arcade — because there is a constant stream of people passing by. Areonna did a great job of ignoring them and I did my best to minimize the distractions . I love the contrast in this image, and how the light frames Areonna’s face, and the little bit of refined attitude that the white hat adds to the image. 🙂

After that it was time for an outfit change. Areonna got to do this in the privacy of my portable changing room — right in Nickel’s Arcade. It’s so nice to do outfit changes this way!

I took a number of images at this spot, because I loved the location, the columns with their lines, and Areonna’s pose.

Areonna brought her guitar with her for the session. So, I told her to sit down and start playing. This is a really nice way to get a cool candid senior portrait — and it also helps my subject relax. Because you can push back everything around you and just focus on the music. Love it!

The guitar lent itself to more serious expressions, so I picked this one as my final sneak peek of Areonna in this particular outfit. Don’t worry, mom — I have some of her smiling for you too 🙂 🙂

And with that, it was off to our second location. Areonna’s element — Graffiti Alley. She changed jackets for this set of images. You can’t see it in the photos, but there were construction workers doing a site survey right as we arrived. I chatted briefly with them to make sure we wouldn’t be intruding on their job, and then we worked around each other. I had to smile when they asked Areonna if she was a model, or what magazine the photoshoot was for …. 🙂 🙂

As usual, I captured a range of smiles and more serious expressions. It’s hard to pick my favorites sometimes! Definitely a little less edgy.

With senior photos like this, I kind of get why the surveyors were asking about us doing a magazine photoshoot. This really reminds me of a fashion photo with that intense serious look. 🙂

A smile changes it up so much, doesn’t it? I love all these senior photos — Areonna just looks great!!

This is one of my favorites with the guitar, I think. And Areonna’s hat with that graffiti — it looks totally planned, but I’m not sure we did that on purpose. Whoops, should I admit that? 😉

Areonna also plays drums. She brought her drumsticks with her for the session. So I told her to play on the wall. She totally got in the zone and just started hammering out some awesome rhythms. This is kind of an outtake photo, kind of an artsy favorite. I loved how the black and white really changes the mood. What do you think?

And then we did a more posed senior photo with the drumsticks. I couldn’t decide between this one and the next — so take a peek and decide which one you like better 🙂

This one is with Areonna’s letter jacket, and is from a different angle, so the look is different — even though it’s really similar to the last one. Gotta include those hard earned letter jackets, right??

I LOVE this portrait of Areonna smiling . It’s definitely a letter jacket senior photo, but with a bit of character. Maybe my favorite one of her smiling too. 🙂

I couldn’t help myself — one last gritty senior portrait from Graffiti Alley. I love how the artwork here is ever-changing. Graffiti is so transient, but despite that the art gets documented every time someone comes here for a portrait session. Kind of cool.

We started out with a classic setting for Miss S’s formal Norwegian outfit. She is so adorable!

Someone decided to be done with sitting on the floor, so we tried several props before settling on the rocking horse — which was a big hit. I’m including this pullback so you can see how someone is always within arm’s reach — safety is always key!

Here’s a cute portrait of Miss S. from the rocking horse series… Love those eyes!

Then it was time for an outfit change — so I switched up the background too. I love how the pink knitted items pair with the grays in this image 🙂 — including Mom’s sweater ;). She’s in here, again, so you can see how close someone is during this whole baby portrait session. Have to keep those precious babies safe and happy!

Once Miss S. settled in and was willing to balance on the chair all by herself, we got some cute portraits — like this one. My sister-in-law made the crochet octopus… isn’t it cute??

Because we all know how quickly babies move from one toy to another ….I have plenty of fun toys on hand. This little rattle, with its pastel color tones, fit in nicely with the whole scene. Miss S. wasn’t big into smiling during this portrait session, but boy did we get a bunch of cute expressions 🙂

It’s always nice to share! I spent a little time handing the rattle back to Miss S. during the session, which was so sweet. You can tell she has good role models in her life since she’s already mastered sharing 🙂 (for now, anyways, right?)

And because mom needs to be in some portraits too… we did a series of mommy and me portraits. Even though Miss S. has a serious expression in this photo, I love it 🙂 And her Mom looks fabulous, of course, right? 🙂

Miss S. was kind of ready to be done modeling for the camera, but she pulled out a few stops to give us this portrait. I like how this portrait is more about baby, even though Mom is in the portrait and amazing 🙂

When we first set Jacob into the Harry Potter theme, he was very awake and inquisitive. Lots of head holding, but still not really moving yet. Perfect for getting this kind of portrait!

I love this expression. He’s so serious!

Those glasses are adorable. We tried a couple times to get them on Jacob a bit later in the series of photos I’m sharing….

What a cute baby smile! And all those details… the books, the broom, the cauldron, the wand….. love it!

Here’s that portrait I was talking about with the glasses. Jacob was not a fan, and they came off almost immediately, but we got one good shot — and that’s what matters sometimes!

We changed up the set a little with my grandfather’s old navy suitcase. It seemed like a great fit with the Hogwartz and Harry Potter theme. This one was to showcase Jacob’s cute onesie 🙂

We put all of those portraits together to create this really great memories panel. I love designing these pieces with my clients — it’s really fun to see the design come together. The Harry Potter quote just makes it perfect!

And with that, it was onto the next outfit. Jacob got a little break and mommy time while we tore down the Harry Potter set, and then it was onto the doctor themed portraits. I love this one…. his eyes are so intensely adorable!  I had a little fun personalizing this one for him too 🙂

Jacob’s dad ended up getting a print of this portrait for his office. No, we didn’t really go on location, but sometimes I’m able to work some computer magic and create whimsical images like this one.  For this one, we set Jacob up next to his parents’ textbooks on a piece of flooring, with a white background.  After some creative work on my part, Jacob magically appeared in a hospital!

And after another break, we moved onto Jacob’s last outfit. He was getting a little sleepy but we got a few smiles out of him….

And then Jacob was tired out. Like that. He fell asleep and just chilled there while I finished up the session.  Love this sleepy smile…. adorable! What cute baby photos, right? This one ended up as a canvas wall portrait — which will look fantastic in their home.

I love how elegant Maggie looks in this series of photos. The lighthouse was the perfect setting… and that evening light from the sun on her hair? Gorgeous.

Here’s another one from the same spot. <3 <3

I know I already said it…. but I love that evening light!

The sun started getting a bit lower in the sky, so we knew it was time to move on. We wrapped up with this outfit 🙂

…by doing a final portrait of Maggie in front of the lighthouse. I love the wide angle feel of this portrait!

Maggie’s next outfit was a little more casual. As the sun kept sinking lower, we walked out towards the beach. This shot is one of my favorites… I love the wide open expanse, the sun glinting off the water, and how the railing leads your eye straight to Maggie.

Here’s a gorgeous close-up portrait of Maggie in the same spot… so gorgeous!

It’s hard to pick a favorite sometimes. I liked this one too.

As we walked up to the bench, we spotted a Little Caesar’s pizza box. Maggie loves pizza, so this silly photo was definitely fitting!

Once we got to the dunes, Maggie changed into her next outfit. Love the light from the sun on her hair. So beautiful.

Here’s a full length portrait of Maggie by Lake Michigan. You can almost see the lake… but not quite yet.

A candid photo of Maggie that I really liked.

And this one is cool because of the darkness that was starting to permeate the evening. Sunset was coming!

Lake Michigan is really so amazing. The beaches and dunes…. just can’t be put into words. I thought this senior portrait kind of captured that sentiment. Maggie isn’t really the main subject in this photo, but a part of the scene.

Time for some fun! And, you can see Lake Michigan finally! Our end goal and destination… just in time for the sunset.

Gorgeous evening light…. xoxoxoxo

….fun, fun, fun…. Who says senior portraits need to be all posed and such? This one is so cute! …and, so Maggie 🙂

The sun was really setting by this point, and I used my studio lighting to get some nice light on Maggie’s face….and that gorgeous red glow from the setting sun on her hair.

This one is just so gorgeous. Sunset on Lake Michigan. Perfect.

And a fun candid portrait of Maggie jumping …because everything is better when you can be yourself!

I seriously adore this portrait. You can’t really see Maggie’s face, but ….those waves… and the whole thing…. is just beautiful.

Love how the waves kept rolling in…. We took a few of Maggie smiling at the camera….

I think this is the one we ended up turning into a canvas wrapped wall portrait for Maggie. It looks fantastic!

And then we did one last outfit change. While this outfit was the most casual, it also was the most representative of Maggie. I love how relaxed she got for this set of images.

That view is amazing. This is one of my favorites! (I feel like I keep saying that…)

This one was a fun photo to create. We took a series of exposures to get the perfect balance of sunset, my studio lights, and then had to time things for the waves to crash on the rocks. Love the result!

Another one from the same series. I think I like how you can see the whole pier in this one.

And….the final frame for the beach. Some of the family had hopped into the boat for a sunset cruise — and we spotted them going through the channel. Perfect time to get them in the photo!

As I mentioned, we met up with the family at Dairy Treat …. and the little cousins wanted to be in some pictures too! Here are the girls….how cute that they all coordinate too (that was totally unintentional).

And here are my boys with Maggie. Lol. Totally not color coordinating, but whatever, right?

And a rooftop photo of Maggie, just for fun. Because what’s the point in doing a senior portrait experience if it’s not fun, know what I mean?

Mom wanted some portraits of David and Joseph together, so we did just that in studio (and on location later).

I know, I just gave the whole spiel about portraits being different and unique. And, here I am, giving you two studio portraits, both posed similarly. But I wanted to include these so you could see how cool the backdrop is — it looks different based on the different shirts — each one brings out different tones in the background. Sorry, I just think that’s so cool!

See what I mean? The blue shirt totally changes the feel of the background. 🙂

One more of the boys together in studio. Mom had requested to see some black and white images, and I think this one was the perfect one to do that. Great smiles, guys!

And onto Mill Creek! We stopped at the boardwalk for a portrait with the train bridge in the background. David went first. I love how the hint of orange in the trees complements his shirt!

And next, David stepped in front of my camera for some portraits at the same exact spot. See how different it looks, but the two images still complement one another?

And then, a portrait of the boys together. Love that sky 🙂

A quick outfit change, and the boys were ready to be photographed in their jerseys. David went first again. I seriously love this setting, no matter how many times I come here…. it’s always different!

And a closer in portrait of David. Fabulous!

Joseph’s turn. Since they both play football for Jackson High School, their jerseys are the same. So, yeah. But I do what I can to make little changes in the posing so that each senior portrait looks a bit different.

…and a closeup serious portrait of Joseph.

David and Joseph didn’t want to be photographed with the same jersey on **at the same time** ….so David changed into the other jersey. One home, one away. That works! Again, those fall colors…. <3

Then we walked down the path by the overpass for Main Street (is it still called that there?). David changed into his pink jersey. The team wore this as part of an awareness for breast cancer thing. So cool!

Joseph chose his other jersey for this shot, so they wouldn’t be in the same jersey.

We did one last set of senior photos with David and Joseph together. David changed out of the pink jersey and into the gray one. I really like this one…but couldn’t decide between it or the next. Let me know your thoughts!

I love that this one has a little more nature in it — would be great as a wall portrait, right?

And then, just so you can see the impact of changing an image to black and white… here’s the same senior portrait again — but no color. I always love how black and white draws you right into the people, all the distractions are muted… <3

And we called it a wrap. Just for kicks, I took a photo of the equipment cart I’ve been bringing along with me. It makes life so much easier for everyone… I can haul my gear, and my clients can stow their extra outfit changes and accessories in the wagon too!

Marissa’s senior portrait session started out by the old farm house. I love the old hewn wood… so much character. And Marissa looks amazing!

Another from the same spot — I love the old window, all the little details that add so much character to this senior portrait.

As we were moving on to the next spot, Marissa saw this fence and thought it looked neat. So, we did a few portraits here. Love how this turned out!!

You might be wondering — “How can I change outfits on location?” Well, I have discovered it is much more relaxing for my clients if I bring along a portable changing room! See that big blue thing? It’s a pop up changing room that has been a lifesaver. Instant privacy!

Okay, onto the next outfit. Marissa loved these stairs, so we stopped for a series of portraits. This one was my favorite. She looks so great!

We walked around to the big barn, and did some senior portraits by the barn doors. They’ve been upgraded a bit, and have this cool veneer on them. Love how this portrait turned out!

And another one. Marissa was rocking the serious model look throughout this entire session. 🙂

When we were planning Marissa’s senior portraits, we spotted an image similar to this, and Marissa really wanted to do this for her senior photos. I love how this turned out. Sh…. don’t tell, but that sign was added after the fact. Would you have known if I didn’t tell you?

And here’s the red wooden mini barn. Marissa’s more casual outfit went great with the red wood… Love it!

I seriously love this portrait — and the next one. It’s a toss up. Which do you like better,…. Marissa smiling….

…or Marissa being contemplative and serious? So gorgeous.

The sun was sneaking below the horizon as we wrapped up the session. I spend a bit of time kneeling on the grass to find just the right spot for the horizon in this portrait. Marissa got to stay nice and dry, sitting on the towel I brought along. 🙂

We were pretty much done when Marissa remembered she wanted a portrait sitting on a fence, or leaning over it. So, we made a beeline for this rustic fence…and did both poses. I love how this one turned out….

But this serious portrait of Marissa is so stunning I had to include it as well. Isn’t it interesting how a few small tweaks can change the impact of a senior portrait?