Big City Girl

Apparently this was Kate's second attempt at Senior images...her first attempt at a local beach at the beginning of her Senior year , according to her best friend Nikki, did not feel like Kate.

    Because Kate, is a big city girl at heart!

This tiny girl with her love of the big city is headed to Purdue West Lafayette come Fall, where she will major in Elementary and Special Education.  And while West Lafayette may not be a huge metropolis, Kate definitely sees herself finding her dream job in a large city after graduation.

After spending her entire school career in the Munster school system, Kate is just a few weeks away from graduating from Munster High School.

Good luck to you Katelyn as you begin your journey to fulfill all your dreams!

The days are long but the years are short...


My latest session with the Whiting family was a lifestyle session in their beautiful new home in Milford Michigan. In the stage of final touches, it was a definitely a gorgeous setting for an indoor shoot.
 

According to Wikipedia, lifestyle photography is "a style of portrait / people photography which aims to capture and document real-life events, situations, or milestones in an artistic manner and the art of the everyday."
I am truly starting to love lifestyle photography more and more. And while my passion has been outdoor location sessions, there is definitely something to be said for capturing the beauty of a 'day in the life' of a family in their own environment.



Always one of my favorite families, I have been photographing the Whitings since 2 year old Ashton was just an adorable little baby bump in Kiersten's slim frame.


Fast forward to the last time I photographed the family and it was around this time last year. Ashton was a sweet 16 month old, still very much a baby.
This year I found a little boy, just as sweet and adorable but definitely in the throes of what is commonly referred to as the 'terrible twos' lol!
When he is not mimicking and idolizing big brother Paul, age 7, he is antagonizing him. Of course, Paul, as a typical older brother, antagonizes right back!  Such is life with multiple children--you may have 2 minutes of peace followed by 500 minutes of crazy. ;)

The days are long, but the years are short :)

When I first arrived at Paul and Kiersten's new home Ashton was just waking from his nap. So the session began with my documenting the ever so fun task of trying to dress a squirming 2 year old. There should be some type of parenting award for this, just saying!



From there we had our ups and downs, from little Paul wanting to be anywhere but taking photos, to Ashton wanting to run, and throw, and eat, and cry, and yell, and be two years old :D


And yet a couple of days later, when I sat down to go through the images and flag my faves for this blog post, I had an incredibly hard time eliminating photos, I wanted to post so many! 

Real life, with it's good and bad moments, is truly a beautiful thing.
(Of course, throw in a gorgeous home filled with natural light and a family that looks like they stepped off the pages of a magazine, doesn't hurt either) ;)

Thank you to Paul and Kiersten for always welcoming me into your home, and lives, and allowing me to witness both the joyous and the not so joyous moments.
You are definitely a photographer's dream :)

“If John Lennon was right that life is what happens when you’re making other plans, parenthood is what happens when everything is flipped over and spilling everywhere and you can’t find a towel or a sponge or your ‘inside’ voice.” ― Kelly Corrigan, 


 

Every ending is a new beginning..

Last September I met Erin Cantrell, owner of Erin Cantrell Fitness, when I photographed her oldest son's Senior photos. It was a gorgeous sunrise session out on Huron River documenting Ronnie's talent and love of rowing.

(Make sure you check out the blog post from September 2016)
I also had the opportunity to take some family images that included Erin's other son, Nicky, and her boyfriend of 5 years, Jay.  Every time I look at this photo of them it makes me want to smile and buy whatever it is they are selling in this picture perfect ad :D

Now, nearing the end of Ronnie's Senior year, Erin finds herself preparing to see Ronnie graduate and go on to his next adventure-- experiencing college life in the oh-so-faraway-Oregon. 
For anyone who has experienced the moment when your first child leaves home, you will recognize such a life event as both poignant and heart-wrenching.

But every ending is a new beginning, and never more so then in Erin's case, because as she readies her mind to bid farewell to her oldest child,  Erin is also preparing to welcome her third child into the world and their family dynamic, this June.

As someone who personally had my fifth child 16 years after my youngest, I can completely relate to the concept of starting a second family as your older children have left the nest or are in the process of doing so.
 

And while many will shake their heads and say 'no way, not I!' I can tell you unequivocally that experiencing a second stage of motherhood is one of the sweetest joys you could ever be blessed with.
 

It is at once beautiful as well as bittersweet.
This time around you have learned to revel in each and every moment, even the not so perfect ones, and to appreciate them all. 
Bittersweet because of the now constant reminders of all the moments that you cannot repeat or relive with your older children, moments that passed in the blinking of an eye.

At the end of the day, you will feel awashed in the glow of the joy that this second round of motherhood brings.

While some things will definitely be familiar, this is still a time for so many firsts.
This will be Jay's first child, Erin's first girl, Nicky's first younger sibling, Ronnie and Nicky's first sister...
what an exciting time in this family's life!

Getting lots of advice/horror stories from friends on the dynamics of raising a girl versus boys, Jay and Erin seem nonplussed by it all and ready to handle whatever comes their way with their newest addition. 
And since Ronnie has one foot out the door to college, it will be Nicky that will be at home year round playing big brother to their new baby sister. While he is a little nervous about handling a small infant I am pretty sure he will make an awesome mentor to his new sibling and teach her lots of cool stuff-- from playing hockey to how to use hair styling gel (did I mention 12 year old Nicky is obsessed with his hair, as of late, haha?).
 

No images were taken unless Nicky had perfected his cool hair swoop ;)


Congratulations to parents Jay and Erin, and to big brothers Ronnie and Nicky, on their impending arrival. I cannot wait to meet her and document all of her newborn sweetness and witness the joy she is sure to bring your family.
Thank  you for including me in another wonderful life changing milestone!
Much love to you all xoxo!





 

   

         Makeup by Nicole Elizabeth  www.makeupbynicoleelizabeth.com