Aynna & Craig // Kalamazoo Engagement Photographer

Craig and Aynna must just be lucky people because fall was weird this year. It sorta showed up and then all the sudden seemed over. We had a ton of rain and really windy days that blew all the leaves off of the trees quite early. They weren’t even supposed to have their session until later this week but they were in town and we were able to move some things around to make it work and boy am I glad we were! The light was INCREDIBLE and the leaves were perfect at heritage hall.

We shot around heritage hall many years ago before it was totally renovated so when we came back to it for the first time, we were amazed at how much it had changed! It is such an incredible building. Aynna’s dad was actually the architect on it so it was cool to do her engagement photos there. We have shot weddings here as well and just love it.

These two are just the definition of kind and laid back. They made our job super easy and were such a joy to shoot. We love when people just play around and do all the weird stuff we ask without questioning the process haha If it doesn’t end up being a cool shot, at least we all got some laughs out of it :)

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😂 OUTTAKES 😂

I had recently done something bad to my right foot. It’s like turning in weird and I can’t bend it properly.

I really shouldn’t have been walking on it but we all know I am not going to cancel sessions because of a bum foot.

However, climbing hills was like climbing everest to me haha. It’s super hard to hobble up a hill and we all need a little help sometimes! hahaha :)

Taylor & Sam // Muskegon Engagement Photographer

When we are shooting anl engagement session on a fairly overcast day and then all of the sudden THE SKY EXPLODES. We run as fast as we can to get to the water to get some sweet sky shots before it’s gone. Now, I’m not much of an “athletic” person and Ryan was carrying a bunch of gear but none of that matters when you see a sky like this. YOU RUN!

Great memories are made when you think your lungs are about to explode. hahaha

For funzies, here’s a majestic outtake in the wind. :) Not every image is a winner hahah!

Jes + Tim // Muskegon Engagement Photographer

When I made a fart joke about this painting on the side of a building and he immediately posed in front it, I knew we would all get along swimmingly 😂

Renee + Cullen // Spring Lake Engagement Photographer

This was so exciting and scary! This is the first time Ryan flew the new drone over water. I was panicking (as usual) but he did such a great job and managed to not crash it :) He did however decapitate a bee, which I am pretty happy since a I just got stung a few days before that giving me cellulitis.

Then there is the rest of the session which is all awesome, they were such naturals together and in front of a camera! So nice meeting you guys and you family, enjoy!

Amanda + Mike // Muskegon Engagement Photographer

We love people who love pictures! Amanda said she's been dreaming of her engagement pictures since she was a little girl which I thought was interesting. Usually it's just the wedding little girls dream about but this girl means business! hahaha

Amanda and Mike came to Muskegon State Park for one of our local engagement sessions and I'm so glad they did! It was a perfect evening and we love making trips to the beach even if it's just for work :) 

Justin & Claire // Grand Rapids Engagement Photographer

These two have the most interesting and awesome personalities. Claire has the most wonderful dry sense of humor that I feel like not that many women have for some reason and Justin's personality compliments that so well. 

They were INCREDIBLE at taking direction. I love when people just submit themselves to the weird process, let go and see where it leads us haha! Overthinking is the killer of pictures with personality and I can confidently say we all did just the right amount of thinking because I'm just crazy for this set of images. 

I'm SO excited for their wedding coming up since they are at an awesome venue on top of being awesome people. Double win for us! 

But for now, enjoy all these super cool pictures :) 

Kaitlynn & Justin // Ann Arbor Engagement Photographer

Whoaaaa awesome light, awesome people and an awesome location! We went to Ann Arbor for their session and I just LOVE this spot. We lucked out with pretty much the most perfect weather as well. Thank goodness it was before this crazy heatwave hit! 

I had such a hard time picking my favorites and not making this a massive blog so I hope you enjoy them as much as I do! 

Jennifer & Josh // St Joseph Engagement Photographer

Being playful together I think is such an important part of relationships. My favorite thing in life is laughing with Ryan so that is probably why it's such a big part of the work we do. I think it connects us as people and smiling is often where the spark of relationships start. 

Jennifer and Josh have a very obvious connection and are just...delightful together. Perhaps that is a weird word but it also feels perfect. They are relaxed, playful, happy and just enjoyed being together. Being someone who just met them, I found hanging out with them to be delightful as well and that's always what I hope for and I think gives a nice ease to images when everyone is enjoying the process.

I am so excited for their wedding coming up in about 5 weeks which is our last one of the season. What a way to finish of 2017 weddings! 

PETE & CHELSEA // HOLLAND PROPOSAL PHOTOGRAPHER

Pete contacted us in late June about taking pictures of his proposal he was planning for mid August. Ryan was already booked for that date so I said I would do it since it was far enough out from having Grace so I figured I'd be up and moving by then! 

While waiting out on the pier, trying to act like I was just admiring the view, I looked down to see bugs crawling all over me! So I kept getting up to shake them all off but figured sitting looked less suspicious so I kept getting covered by them again! 

Once they passed me and he proposed, we did an engagement session on the walk back to the cottage and oh my goodness, I just love how everything turned out! When they got back to the cottage, all their family and friends were waiting there to congratulate them and the moms were VERY excited haha! I met them before going out to the pier and they were all just so nice and completely jazzed about the engagement. 

Oh, and their puppy munch was also super pumped about her parents getting married. So pumped that she kept falling asleep hahah! 

Najat & Paul // Kalamazoo Engagement Photographer

I am BEYOND excited for Najat & Paul's wedding! When we first met them I swear we sat and talked for hours without realizing how long it had been. That is always a great sign since connection is such a big part of photography. They are so much fun, know how to make each other laugh and can we take a second to talk about Najat's glorious red hair. The color is perfect and the curls are super bouncy! Perfect hair color for fall engagement photos thats for sure :) 

Leah & Jim // Kalamazoo Engagement Photographer

Leah and Jim got one of the most awesome fall days for their engagement session so let's all take a minute and appreciate how warm it was not that long ago...

Now that I've made you all sad because it's -10000000 degrees outside these days, we can all warm up with the giggles and happiness from these two :) 

Jana & Cody // South Haven Engagement Photographer

WHOA. Seriously...this session, these people, that sunset. It's all so whoa-worthy. 

This was filled with all of my favorite things. A super happy little family with a kid full of character and energy, beautiful weather, an incredible sunset, a couple who truly love and enjoy each other and a general laid back, up for anything spirit. I was literally jumping around because I couldn't contain my excitement from how awesome I knew these pictures would be. 

There's just such beauty in not overthinking things and just enjoying being with someone. It's really about not worrying about us and if you look good in the pictures, we will always worry about that. Your part is just to do your best to make your person happy and that is really what makes photos meaningful and what makes people beautiful. I know it sounds so cheesy, but loving someone changes them. It makes their posture better, their smile bigger, their eyes brighter, their laugh full of energy and gives them courage to let go and have fun. 

So that is the lesson we should all learn from this session. Let go, stop worrying and just love the person you are with and we will take care of the rest. 

Part of me wanted to post it backwards since the sunset stuff is so great but then this kid is so cute so it was such a hard choice. It's a long post, but the end is worth it! 

I am so beyond excited for their wedding next year! 

Jayde & Andrew // South Haven Engagement Photographer

You know what I love? I love people who enjoy each other. Five minutes into the session, they had each other laughing and that pretty much set the tone for the rest of the evening. After almost 10 years together, still being able to make each other laugh with such ease is a wonderful thing. I think laughing together makes us closer as humans and also puts people at ease which is why I love it so much. All of these smiles are real in these photos and the way they look at each other isn't something we could manufacture. Simply by being themselves and finding comfort and joy in one another allowed us to just do what we do and it was a super great experience for us as well. This did not feel like work, thats for sure.

So..funny story. As this peaceful, sorta private, beautiful image was happening on this hill, down on the main part of the beach someone was taking photos of a few boys for their senior photos. No big deal, right? Well...they were all belly flopping in the sand. My question is #1, why would anyone want to belly flop into sand? (ouch!) and #2, Why take photos of sand flops? Well, that distraction was funny and weird to watch, but still not enough to break their focus because THIS happened! AHHH it's one of my many favorites! It feels sneaky, and I like sneaky.

I hope everyone really enjoys the shot below because I got a stick literally stuck in my butt in the process of taking this photo. Those pretty little grass things look nice but they are sharp and out to kill.

I was sorta bummed when the sun went away and this HUGE cloud rolled in right at the beginning of the session because I was worried we wouldn't have a cool sky for sunset photos on the beach. Lucky us because this stormy sunset cloud is awesome.

We all know how much I love shooting jewelry and stacked engagement rings is a first for me and I LOVE THIS IDEA. She told me she gets 2 more at the wedding as well. Brilliant, absolutely brilliant. Jayde has such awesome taste. Everything she wore was amazing and I wish I had it all. It was eclectic, layered, cute but sophisticated which I think is perfect. Then she tells me about the stacked rings and I was just thrilled.

We had such a lovely time working with these two and it's the best part of my week to work on photos for people like this. Seriously, it's what I look forward to most in my life. It's always such a rush to get the shots and then when we cull it down to the best ones, looking at the full set of two people so happy together is just what it's all about and it's an honor to be a part of it.

// BONUS FUN THINGS! //

We recently upgraded our iPhones and Ryan can't get enough of the slow motion capabilities and the new hyperlapse app. These would be better if I did something cool with them or had more clips so I could string them together, but oh well, maybe I'll do things like that in the future. I'm always just too focused on taking photos and don't make time for stuff like this usually but Ryan's on top of it! :)

Joe & Kellie // Engaged

Meet Joe and Kellie...and Zoey. From when we first met them at our meeting months ago, we knew right away they would be a great fit for the kind of work we do. So I've been really excited about doing their engagement photos for a while. It's not only super fun to do portraits with Ryan again, but these two were just so easy to shoot because they are happy together.  It's really that simple. Happy people just photograph wonderfully and it has nothing to do with outward appearance. Thats typically just a bonus.

I also realized on this shoot how much I love photographing movement. I think if your not winded by the end of the session, I haven't done my job good enough, haha! There was a lot of skipping, running and spinning happening and it was great. I think it gets a good energy going and creates a fun atmosphere which calms nerves and creates more genuine happiness.

I'm beyond excited for their wedding but for now, enjoy all the laughter and happiness from these two :)