Meet Jessica ~ Class of 2012

Meet Jessica. Class of 2012. She has these amazing green eyes that just sparkle in the light. Her smile is endless. And her personality is relaxed and happy. Someone you want to be around all the time. 
I met with her and her mom last fall in October and we had such beautiful weather for Jessica's senior photo session. She and her mom are very close to one another. Almost like sisters. Giggling together. Smiling and laughing. Talking about their family, school, and Jessica's plans for college. Their easy going way about things relaxed me. Jessica's natural ability to pose and smile in front of my camera created such beautiful images of her. I couldn't have been more thrilled with how these turned out.
Thank you Jessica and your mom for such a fun couple of hours together!





Yes, she is holding a snake. Her mom and I were screaming like little girls when we saw 
this snake slithering across the trail we were walking on. Yes, I loathe snakes! And it was quite apparent her mom is too! Jessica, full of confidence and fearless of reptiles, picked this snake up posing for a picture. Jessica, you are far more adorable than the creature you are holding!

Meet Andreas ~ Class of 2012

Meet Andreas. Class of 2012. Big smile. Super sweet. Did I mention funny? This session left me feeling thrilled, content and yet sad. Andreas had recently found out his dad was diagnosed with a dangerous form of brain cancer. This broke my heart. So much so and ironically because it is the same type of brain cancer my husband is facing. I had spoken with his mom before his session and learned of this cancer news. I was instantly taken back in time to when my husband was diagnosed, reliving everything she was telling me that was happening to her husband. I felt shaken. And angry about this cancer. Yet, I felt suddenly connected to Andreas and his family. I so wanted to reach out to them and tell them it would all be okay. 


During his senior session with me, we laughed. Alot. But we also talked about brain cancer. He had so many questions about it. What his dad was going through. What would happen next. Radiation. Chemotherapy. Emotions were riding high for him and I hoped all of my answers would provide him with some comfort, knowledge, and hope. 


His close friend Aneesha, who I photographed a few weeks before, accompanied us. She really helped Andreas feel more comfortable in front of my camera. I think her being there helped ease any nerves he was feeling about being photographed. And after about 20 minutes he loosened up and seemed quite comfortable posing for us!

Andreas has plans to attend Northern Michigan University in the fall and I am so excited for him.  I attended NMU for a short while myself and I think he will really love this college. His dad continues to heal and beat this cancer. Which makes me so happy for them. I can only imagine his dad feels extremely proud of Andreas!












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Photography Class May 12th!

This idea to hold my own photography class has been popping up in my mind alot lately. I have so many moms who come up to me and ask me questions about how to capture better pictures of their kids, pets, flowers scenery and on and on. I always love these questions. I love to help them in hopes they will take better pictures. But there is more to just pressing the shutter button on your camera and hoping it will magically take a perfect picture. Ha! Been there. Done that. We don't live in a perfect world do we? Sure, we can set our cameras to Auto Mode and let the camera do all the guessing for us, but we bought our fancy DSLR camera to take awesome pictures. Right? Why not learn what all those other buttons do? Why not be as awesome as our camera??



Of course you can learn how to move out of Auto Mode. Yet, it takes practice. Lot's of practice. And patience. Tons of patience. Trial and error. Learning to take charge of that black box in your hands called a camera. And learning to move away from having the camera choose all the settings for us. You own the camera. Why not really own that camera?



Taking pictures is not rocket science. It is however about learning what I call photo recipes. Each particular photo situation involves a special recipe. Ingredients and skills. Lighting. Aperture. ISO. Shutter speed. Exposure. Oh my.



With such an interest in photography all around me I have decided to share my talent. My passion for photography. With hopes to teach and guide others along so they can achieve more from their camera. Lose the red eye! The blasted whiteness of flash. Dark pictures. Blurry moments. Become a better photographer and take those pretty pictures. Make your friends jealous.

On May 12 I have decided to hold my own photography class directed towards beginners with DSLR cameras(cameras with interchangeable lenses). This class will mainly be geared towards woman who want to take better pictures and move outside of that green auto mode box!

I will be teaching about lighting, aperture, ISO, shutter speed and how all of these are used to create better pictures. Learn composition and taking a photo journalistic approach to your photography. I will share some of my photo recipes and how they worked for a particular pictures. I will share what type of lenses I use and how each of them works for various photo situations. And this will be a fun time! Not complicated. A chance to develop your photography skills. Take your picture taking to a higher level. And feel more confident about that black box in your hands!

Class will be held on Saturday, May 12 from 1-5 pm. Cost for this class is $50 and will include notes from the class, hands on instruction, and light snack and beverage.

I will also be having some random giveaways through out the day!! Oh yes! You will love these giveaways!

If you would like more information on attending this class, please send me an email to dvmswife@aim.com

Meet Chad ~ Class of 2012

Meet Chad. Class of 2012.

Let me just say Chad is the nicest kid around. Mature. Responsible. Polite. All around super nice. I had such a fun time with him and his dad during Chad's high school senior session. Chad picked out the perfect location to begin his session. A "railroad graveyard" and a place I didn't even know existed. And it is an awesome place. Old empty train cars? Yes!

Old train cars create perfect backdrops. They bring an edgy, dramatic look with so much contrast which really makes a subject stand out. I know I want to do future sessions here!
Chad's idea to set up his drum set inside a vacant train car was absolutely the coolest thing and I had a blast during this photo shoot. Not to mention Chad rocking out on his drums truly made it extra fun. Talk about great acoustics!! He is super talented behind a drum set!

Thank you Chad for a fantastic few hours photographing you and creating some fun images!

Chad is a huge football fan and was a key player for his high school's football team last fall.

That is his dad in the background catching the football. Great catch!

Meet Kirstin ~ Class of 2012

Meet Kirstin. Class of 2012. Lovely brown eyes. Gorgeous smile. Awesome style. She rocked her photo session. She is just the prettiest girl!

I so enjoyed working with her. Every picture is stunning, in my humble, honest opinion!

We hit a couple locations near where I live with perfect country-side settings, tall grasses, vibrant color. Perfect. These locations set the stage for Kirstin's photo session creating beautiful backdrops. I bring along a few chairs to these sessions and the one shown in Kirstin's pictures was my Grandma's antique chair. I know my Grandma would have been giddy to see me using it for these pictures!

Thank you Kirstin for such a fun evening with you!