Brad, Betsy, big bro Henry and little baby Dexter make up the Swope tribe. Aside from the friendliness of this family, what I loved most about shooting them was their wish for candid, authentic, natural images. My directive was to capture a ‘morning in the life of.’ Posing wasn’t really an option and I was ALL for that! Henry is a little guy with live out loud energy. Dexter is this sweet creature who is perfecting tummy time and is starting to sleep through the night. Betsy is the amazing wife and mama who makes motherhood look easy while Brad is the gentle, kind, thoughtful husband and papa who loves his family fiercely.
Lucy turns 1 year old!
Bethanny asked me to document Lucy’s 1 year photos as well as capture the fabulous birthday party she was hosting…and I of course jumped at the opportunity. The 1 year shoot was at the Ann Arbor Hands On Museum and the quaint celebration was hosted at their welcoming and cozy home. Once again, in true Lucy fashion, she made my job behind the lens easy-breezy. Here are some of my favorite images from both events.
Amy & Phil get engaged!
Amy & Phil asked me to shoot their engagement session and their wedding and I couldn’t be happier (or more flattered to tell you the truth.) Forgive the cliche here, but these two seem perfect for eachother. They speak their own language, they love and support one another and they appear to be completely comfortable in eachother’s presence. Who wouldn’t want to document ‘love’ under these conditions?
We started in their bright, creative, funky home, captured a few of the felines, made our way to downtown Berkley, goofed around in the nerdy used bookstore and ended at a bar throwing back a few beers. In my mind, the perfect way to end a really great shoot! Thanks Amy & Phil for trusting me to capture your story and I can’t wait for part two in September!
Self-portrait
I had a portrait lighting studio class this past semester and our final project was to venture into self-portraiture…and i must say this was much more challenging than I had thought it would be. I decided to document my love of yoga and the fusion between my physical self and spiritual self. This is what I came up with…Namaste
BIG ZOEY & lil cole
What happens when cool derby mamas procreate? They make really cool little humans that are super fun to hang with. Sham Wow, aka Jt, asked me to shoot lil baby Cole and big sis Zoey laughing, playing, drooling and fooling. These two were so entertaining, leading me all over their comfy new home showing off their new digs, which by the way had an abundant amount of amazing natural light making this shoot easy-breezy. Grateful for another opportunity to test my new camera and work the new lens to capture these candid, perfectly silly moments.
lil lucy is 10 months!
10 months ago i photographed this sweet baby girl who was so responsive to the lens (even at a week old)…well some things never change. her mama asked me to get some shots of this little ham and let me tell you how easy this was based on her continued comfort level in front of the camera. this girl LOVES to laugh, crawl, play + explore. such fun following her in her world. 
the muffy-puffy session
A friend from my old derby days asked me to capture some portraits of her and her beloved in their element. Leah, aka Muffy Mafioso and Puffhead, aka Puffy were utterly adorable to shoot. Once Puffy stopped barking at the camera the fun began. Shooting outdoors in a downtown setting is quickly becoming my favorite backdrop, perfectly complimenting my rad new gear!
the stokes family
i was quite stoked for this shoot – pun intended. lil neive, mama christine, papa chris, penny the canine and bones the feline were so much fun to work with. they are nestled in ferndale and wanted to capture a day in the life. starting off at their home, walking downtown, warming up at the rust belt and ending at the WAB was the perfect way to spend the morning and capture this family in the places they love. bonus was that i was able to use my new gear – the canon 60d coupled with the delicious 24-70mm 2.8 lens. loved this shoot!
dezi, lola, bebe, mama & papa downey
can someone please help me find the right words to describe how stunning and beautiful this family is? john and jess are a fantastic couple who live in a home that is filled with comfort, good energy and laughter. they now share that home with their precious daughter lola belle, the downward facing dog dezi and the ‘bebe’ bun in the belly. the downey’s welcomed me into their home to capture a day in their life.
the shoot started on the grounds of a local church to capture some family shots and ended in a cozy, beautifully lit sunroom for the more intimate belly shots of jess. stunning – is all i can say. for this shoot i used my 50mm f/1.8 lens and a borrowed canon 7d to take for a test drive (hello next tax return!) i’m so happy with how these images turned out and i’m so excited to be able to stop these moments in time for this fabulous couple. i look forward to completing this project when ‘bebe’ joins us earthside in early december!
they melt my face
the grande nationals, every time, they melt my face. by far my favorite detroit band – these guys know how to rock. i had the privilege of shooting them at the loving touch in ferndale. BUT prior to heading out for the night my hubby gave me an early birthday gift - more camera crack – a 50mm f/1.4 II lens to take for a test drive…so stoked!
