i'm so luck to have such gorgeous cousins! you may remember a while back when i blogged jake, cadi, and baby maple? well, this girl here is jake's big sister. and this is her sweet family. they and we were all in lansing together around christmas time, when we had this incredible ice storm. it was stunning. so we had to adventure outside together, cold as it was, to do this sweet little family photojournalism session before they headed back to philadelphia. 
family photojournalism
new photo books with all family photojournalism sessions
i am ever so pleased to announce a new type of photo book available to all my clients. as you may know, all the family photojournalism sessions come with a small album. up until now, they've been 20 pages long, 7x7 inches in dimension, and printed by Blurb.com. these books were nice, but i've found something that really excites me! i was recently introduced to the incredibly Artifact Uprising. now i'll be using their 5.5x5.5, 40-page albums in the family photojournalism package. the paper is so pleasing, the size and feel so pleasant. you'll love it.
i love it. i want to print a million of them for my own personal use, too. but i guess i'd better keep myself in check. :)
my heart
these two. these children who by their neediness leave me exhausted each day, who don't sleep as much or as easily as i wish they would, who make messes all over the house and my clothing....
these children who enlarge my heart to dimensions i didn't know it was capable of, who fill my cup to overflowing...
they are my heart.
family photojournalism : oliphants + pecks
two sisters, each with a life dedicated to obediently following Jesus wherever and however He leads them. for one sister, that's meant marrying a widower who happens to also be a farmer and a "recovering baptist," blending their families, and then foster parenting and adopting more children together. for the other sister, that's meant spending the last 10 years preparing, along with her husband and as they grew their family, to enter the mission field, full time, and overseas in unreached people groups. sister number two is leaving on that mission very soon. and so before she went away, she wanted some time in front of the camera with her sister and her family. what followed was a sweet late afternoon playing at sister #1's house, where all is green and open and the animals are plentiful (particularly the sheep). i just bore witness to the simplicity of their time together, and did my best to tell a story that will be cherished by them for years to come, when they might not get to see one another nearly as often as they would prefer.
God bless rachel and jamie and their families. 
family photojournalism: jacob, cadi + maple
oh these three. they are really just too adorable of a family. such class, such tattoos, such a smile on that little girl. i'm proud to call these folks my cousins. enjoy these special images.
on the other side
this past weekend, my little family got to be on the other side of the camera. usually that means that i've put the camera on a tripod, but this time that wasn't the case. this time, a real life photographer came from across the big lake, along with her husband, spent a night with our family, and did a slice-of-life, family photojournalism session with us on a saturday morning as we cuddled in bed at 7:30 a.m., made and ate a pancake breakfast, played in the yard, drank our coffee by the fire, and all other manner of ordinary activities. i admit that i felt a little self-conscious. more than i thought that i would. and i was a bit preoccupied with the overcast skies because the lack of clean morning light made me worried that Sarah would have trouble getting the best images. i felt a little self-conscious about the in-process state of our [new] home, wishing that i were more lived-in already, more filled. i also will admit - though it's a bit embarrassing - that i often caught myself extending moments and interactions that i thought were cute or beautiful so that Sarah might grab a shot of it. apparently, even when we're technically not posing, it is still a temptation to pose.
but after she left and i started processing the experience, my excitement grew. because here's the thing: i know she caught us. it doesn't matter a bit about the state of the house or the color of the light. we were really just doing our thing. we were being a family, as our family is in this season of our life. it's not an easy season. truth is, it's a really difficult season on a number of fronts. but it's still worth documenting, will still be something to recall with gratitude. and having these images will help us to do that, years from now. my loose belly skin peeking through my t-shirt, tim's less-than-ideal haircut, hazel's chipped tooth and "crazy face" expressions, and gus' pasty white chub, the house with a few too many bare walls... oh, that's the good stuff. that's the stuff worth remembering. because it's human. it's family.
i haven't seen the photos yet. i'm doing my best to wait patiently. meantime, i have this one preview to look at a grin (isn't my son the cutest little chubby buddy?!):
this probably sounds self-interested, but i have to tell you, friends: you really ought to be photographed in this way. please don't wait until you feel like you're in shape enough, or your child outgrows a difficult developmental stage, or your house finally gets the pinterest-inspired make-over you dream of. do it now. then do it again in 2 or 3 years.
i promise you won't regret it.
what about the money? again, it's so worth it. we planned ahead for this... like 8 months ahead. i put a line item in our budget so that each month we were setting aside some to save up to pay this photographer (who is worth every penny she charges and probably more!). i value this a great deal; enough to sacrifice some other things along the way so that we can do this every couple of years.
besides, i couldn't strongly urge you to do it if i wasn't doing it myself, could i?!
family photojournalim : the verwys'
this session was a long time coming. emily won this session in a bidding war (in which she put up a fierce fight) at a silent auction and movie screening event almost exactly a year ago (i'm so flattered!). and then she had a baby. and then they bought a house. and then they gutted and redecorated the entire house. and finally, when the backsplash tile was laid, it seemed that everything in her life was settled enough to have me come on out and capture some images of this life they've been working so hard to create together as a family. the house is awesome and they did a great job with it. but even better than that are their darling girls, audrey and claire, and the dancing, baking, cuddling, love they all have for one another.
family : the tenderos
this family is so dear to my heart. so dear. jenn and tony have adopted me and my little family into their hearts and have been spiritual parents to us these last several years. so there are many, many things i have learned and assimilated from them. and though this may be one of the shallower lessons, i have learned from them that beauty matters. choose to surround yourself with beautiful things. if you choose to bring only lovely things into your home space, even your messes will be beautiful. :)
jenn bravely resisted the temptation to "style" her home and her kids for this session, allowing me instead just to come photodocument a a typical afternoon in their household. but even without the "styling," there was ample beauty and inspiration to be found in the simplicity of the life this family has built together and the affection they so quickly express for one another.
enjoy.
tribe : the kranzos
this is the second time i've gotten to photograph this family. last time they were pregnant with this little guy below (isn't he adorable!?). what i love about the kranzos is how social and inviting they are, what class they have, and how they live with quiet integrity. i'm hoping they'll let me photograph them again one day soon, because i want to watch these kids grow up. :)
family : the hoekstra-kooles
when i met this family, they were only two. now they are six! can't hardly believe it. they have moved and changed jobs and started companies and been surprised by twins, and through it all they remain lovely and true. what a joy it was to spend an afternoon watching them play together.
becoming a specialist : the plan for 2013
after spending more than 10 years with my eye pressed up against the viewfinder of an SLR camera (first it was 35 mm, then digital), after pointing it in the direction of so very many things, places, and people, some things have come started to come clear. you look at my portfolio right now and you’ll see i have been a generalist: weddings, engagements, families-who-are-posed, mini-session portraits, babies, kids, graduation and anniversary parties, multi-generational family groups, seniors, boudoir, and birth.
what a lovely, lovely world filled with a billions of beautiful faces and thousands of good reasons to celebrate and document those celebrations. i’ve seen the fresh love and creative pinnacle of a wedding day, the flirtatious adoration of an engaged couple, the traditions of families stopping to commemorate, the sensual daring of a woman who’ll be photographed in her undergarments to give some joy to the man she loves, and the tentative coming-into-self of a graduating senior. i have loved it all, each in its own way.
today, feeling now so blessed to have been allowed to witness and document so many sorts of breath-taking people and their moments in time, i feel i can now step back and ask myself: out of all of this varied glory, what is the one thing that resonates most deeply, that brings me so much life that i want to spend as much time around it as possible?
i might have answered this question differently 5 or 8 years ago, had i bothered to ask it of myself, but i didn’t. so today, the answer to this question is this:
that which is raw and ordinary, which is family, which is life.
more specifically:
family photo-journalism
(the kind where no one gets especially dressed up, and they probably stay home and just do the sorts of things that families do while i just happen to be present to make note of it on film)
and
birth stories
(the sort where women - and their men - are transformed as they undergo the process of giving life to a new little person, and are brave enough to allow me into that space to witness it through my camera’s eye)
mmmm, yes. those things get my heart pumping. these are the ones that i look forward to doing more than any other sort of photography job.
so.
what if those two things became unapologetically my specialty? what if i began to say “no” to other sorts of work so that i could indulge in and master these two sorts? what if i gave myself over to that which i really love, and that which i think i do best?
there’s a degree of risk. will it shrink my client base too significantly? will it disappoint certain folks? will i be going back to square one to re-establish myself within these new parameters?
yup, risky, but it feels right.
this is the new plan, friends. website and blog and facebook page will begin to reflect said changes very soon (well, maybe after my maternity leave).
i’m very much looking forward to this new chapter of my photography career. i hope to see you there.
tribe : the hackers
four kids rather close in age makes for a busy and lively household! and they sure are good at playing together: making pizzas, playing soccer in the backyard, reading books while all squeezed onto one couch. i had a great evening following these guys around with my camera as they did one of their typical evenings together.
tribe : the susies
after several years of not being in touch, facebook worked its magic and reconnected me with jana. last i'd seen her, we were single college gals in a weekly bible study together. now we're both married with kid(s)! i was so excited when she invited me to come do a session with her family because it would be an excuse to catch-up, too. i did this session en route to madison, wi, where tim and hazel and i were headed to visit family. jana made us a stellar lunch to compensate us for going out of our way. i love the playful spirit of this family, and the creativity they have with cardboard boxes! :)
tribe : the joneses
meet jeremy. he would be one of grand rapids' most eligible bachelors, except that he's already spoken for (and she's wonderful). :) jeremy is a small business owner, lover of design and Jesus, builder of the family of God, and father to four amazing teenagers and a cat named princess. they live together on the NE side of town in a house that they spent over a year working to restore and renew. it's also very near to my favorite park. so we spent a little time in both places, me photographing this tribe just being the unique and loving family that they are.
tribe : the sellers
these are my people. my family. every year i photograph them. they've gone from two young newlweds to a family of four. and it's been a sweet ride. they'll delight you with their understated sense of humor, their generous hospitality, and their thoughtful parenting. i love them and these two nieces of mine so very much.
new : will
remember the birth i posted a little while back? well, two weeks later i went back to tracy and adam's house to pay them a visit and get some photos of baby will while he was still absolutely a newborn! :) here are a few photos of this now family of FOUR. seems so right to be four.
newborn : coleman theodore
here he is! the little guy whose birth i missed because he came so fast. but i was so happy to be able to call on these three a couple weeks after Coleman's birth and to take some photographs of them together as a family. i'm really pretty taken with them. think they'll mind if i build myself a little house on their property and move into it? ;)
mini-session sunday : spring 2012
more details on the facebook event page.
badger-howard family
this session was done in december, but i like it so much, i wanted to share it here, albeit tardy. this was a late-blooming winter. it meant that we had these grey-brown days, chilled but not yet frozen. it is its own kind of beautiful, if we'll let it be.
this session is a really special one to me. sara is my midwife. she's the one who caught my hazel girl and lifted her to my chest on the day that she was born. sara is fierce, compassionate, wise, and generous. i was so privileged to have her be the one to take care of my family as we welcomed hazel into the world. so when sara asked me if i would take their family portraits -- a thing that they had NEVER had done -- i was thrilled. i wanted to be able to use my own skill to bless her in return. sara picked out blue and red sweaters and scarves and dressed her family in them warmly, then we all met up at blandford nature center to play a while. the result is a set of photos that i think allow their unique love and mutual affection to shine through in a really special way.
so i'll be quiet now and let you decide for yourselves. :)
for the complete set, click here.