Heather and Matt: June 4, 2011 . . . Auburn Hills, Michigan

Heather and Matt are a lovely couple who celebrated their wedding day at the beautiful Pine Knob Mansion and Carriage House in Auburn Hills, Michigan, early last month . . . I knew Heather from being friends with her sweet sister, Annie, throughout high school and was quite honored they asked me to come to Michigan. It was an absolutely beautiful weekend with an amazing family! Congratulations Heather and Matt :)



The bride got ready at her parents' home, and made sure there was lots of natural light for photos, which I think is incredibly important . . .



We have a beautiful bride!



Matt got the giggles during the portraits part of the session. Love this :)







I love this portrait of Heather and Matt. Lately I have been sticking with keeping this relaxed, beautiful and simple. Good light and a gorgeous couple . . .







This is darling . . . :)













There is lots, lots more to see in the slideshow . . . click here and enjoy!

Hannah Marie is ONE!

The beautiful Maxwell family, long-standing clients and just about some of the kindest people I have ever known, had me over for a beautiful little family session the week before the littlest Maxwell, Hannah, turned one - which is TODAY! So Happy Birthday, Hannah! You are the happiest little baby I have ever met and deserve the most special day ever!

I am actually off shortly to photograph Hannah's first birthday party at their home . . . praying for a nice afternoon, but either way, this babe gives beautiful smiles. Enjoy! :)



Before there was Hannah, there was just Ayden . . . now she is even more beautiful, and a wonderful older sister :)













I work with such beautiful families!



Happy Birthday, Hannah!

shooting wiiiiddddddde open . . .

Lately I have been feeling the need to challenge myself . . . whether it is shooting at different angles, working with composition, or wanting simply a different feel to my images, I have been seeking a new creativity. And of course, it brought me right back to where I began, which is to shoot wide open, as much of the time as I possibly can.

To the non-photog, this means shooting so that you have the strongest depth of field possible that your lens allows. To the photog, this might be making you cringe. :)

It is not something I do with every single image, but excluding family and wedding party photos, it is something I am doing as often as I can. To me, it creates an etheral look about my images. It turns a simple portrait into something with depth. It is equally as beautiful to me as shooting a couple in love with the sun setting behind them . . .

Lately I have been involved in some casual discussions about why people book me, why they book others, what makes them decide on a photographer . . . and my response is always, because photography is an art like any other. You are either drawn to a person's work, or you aren't. So while we need to provide a certain consistency among the images we take, and ensure we are capturing the most important events of a wedding celebration, we also need to photograph in a way that reminds us why we do this for a living. In a way that brings us happiness and excitement for the next project. And in the end, I am honored and thrilled to book the clients I do, and I am extremely happy for couples who choose a different photographer, because I respect the need to feel someone's work out, and go with their gut. I really am. For me, this is my style, and it is how I love to shoot.

Brooke and Brendan: May 15, 2011 . . . Lake Placid, NY

My beautiful, oldest friend in the world invited me to photograph her wedding this past May back east in upstate New York, where we were born n' raised . . . I couldn't have been more honored, and spending the day with her, her family and our friends was wonderful. Her handsome groom, Brendan, was equally as wonderful. He forgave me for all the times I called him "Brandon," and he cried during the first dance. He's a keeper :)

Brooke and Brendan's wedding was held at the beautiful Whiteface Club & Resort in Lake Placid, New York, one of my all time favorite upstate NY places to be. The views, the lake, the shopping, the restaurants. The rain. It downpoured the entire day, but it really didn't put a damper on anyone's spirits. It was a day filled with genuine emotion, love and beauty. Brooke and Brendan, thank you from the bottom of my heart for allowing me to be there with you.

I arrived to witness the first smartest decision a girl can make on her wedding day - getting ready in natural light.















Click here to see plenty more from the slideshow . . . Brooke and Brendan, I love you both and wish you all of the happiness you can imagine!

an intimate engagement: jennie and randy

I am the type of person who, when a camera is put in front of my face, I either smile big, or I make a face. I can honestly tell you that I have no idea how my clients do it . . . they come into our first shoot together not knowing at all how I shoot, what to expect, and what I expect of them. And what I usually tell them is what I have heard several times from other photographers, but it's the truth, so I will say it here . . . the best moments in photographs happen after I've given you an instruction. They happen when, after I direct a certain pose, my couple looks at each other and laughs out loud. They happen when my wonderful, handsome groom is whispering to his bride that I have something in my tooth, she cracks up laughing, and while she is looking at me to see exactly what is in my teeth, he is adoring her in an intimate, loving way . . .

The most flattering, honoring comment I ever received from a bride was that I made them look sexy, and beautiful, in a way that nobody else would ever be able to capture in just a random, candid photograph. That is my goal. Please know I know the importance of safe, wonderful portraits for you, for mom and dad, for grandma and grandpa. But I also know the emotion behind a beautiful, intimate, sensual photograph that captures a moment between two people truly in love. No matter how much I may set up a moment, those moments don't happen unless the love is there, and strong, and they are simply given the opportunity to be reminded. Those are my favorite photos, and they are photographs I will take for the rest of my life, and will hang happily on my walls.

Jennie and Randy met me at the Gallatin Gateway Inn for an indoor shoot this weekend . . . they were here from Wyoming for one last weekend before their June wedding at the Story Mansion, and I took the opportunity to photograph them intimately as much as I could. It was a wonderful shoot for me because although I focused on these types of photos, their personalities together were joyous and fun, with a lot of laughter and big smiles. And on their wedding day, the sun will shine, and I am very excited to capture those types of moments for them as well. Jennie and Randy, thank you for being so fun, beautiful and kind to work with . . . enjoy!









We had about a 3-minute window to shoot outside . . .









And then we came back inside to warm up with some fake tea and a snuggle ;)





A very Happy Memorial Day, and a very Happy Monday! Stay warm and close :)

gone with the wind

Happy Tuesday, everyone! Here are my thoughts at the moment . . . 1) I just ate two pretty big slices of pizza; 2) I have two shoots to wrap up this week that I better get my hiney on pronto (coming up next after this blog post); and 3) I am missing some good, personal blog posts. :( I always love sharing that side of my life. I am planning on becoming One with my blog again, especially over this long weekend . . . the hard part is recovering from such a sleepy winter.

I honestly have not been up to much other than a few recent travels, one to Walla Walla, Washington, wine-tasting with Joe's parents and having one of the most lovely weekends in a very long time. Two weeks ago I traveled back to New York to photograph the wedding of one of my childhood best friends - those weddings mean so much not only because of the history, but because she was so grateful to have me there. Those personal elements make the day a marriage, not just a wedding. The shorties are still short and sweet, and Joe is still very tall and loving. : )

But life in Montana is freaking WINDY!!!!

The real purpose of this post is to seriously elaborate on this insane Montana weather that just seems to get more bizarre each year . . . right now, it is a constant flow of wind and rain, with a few bouts of sunshine and a lot of rescheduled photo shoots. It is also a guarantee that if a client and I reschedule a photo shoot because we have to travel, the clouds surrounding us are dark blue, and the forecast at the time of commencement is lightening and a tornado, it will end up an incredibly beautiful evening. Boo . . . but one day you can't reschedule is your wedding day. You are stuck with the light you get, and the breeze you get, and yet quite often, because you have no choice but to embrace it, it adds a beautiful element to a photograph . . .











Group portraits are the best right before a storm :)



Hopefully June brings some genuine warmth, good photo opportunities, and a few trees in our backyard. :)

sarah and chad are engaged!

This darling couple came back to Montana from Texas for the Easter holiday, and in a rare bout of weather luck in April, we only had to reschedule the shoot one time . . . the light in these photos is why I am so picky about holding off for a beautiful, sunlit evening if we can . . .

















And my favorite . . . :)



I can't wait to do this again wedding-style! Sarah and Chad, thank you for being so kind and wonderful to work with!