David Storck {Senior 2012}

We just love it when we have the opportunity to photograph high school seniors and truly enjoy getting to know them on a deeper level.  We have met so many amazing and incredible 17/18-year-olds this way!  David was no exception to that rule and we had a great time chasing down some amazing fall color with him last week.  We met up with him and his mom in Plymouth, but traveled up to Northville during the course of the evening.

David discovered us because a friend of his family (the Rich's) referred us to him after their portrait session with us last fall.  We hadn't met David before, but we were really excited for his shoot after discussing his ideas via phone and email.  He is an extremely talented drummer and plays in the marching band, as well as on his own kit.  We loved it when he asked if he could bring his drum set out for the session.  Our answer was an enthusiastic yes!  In the end, David decided it was easiest to just bring the drums themselves, but we were so thrilled to set them up in the middle of the woods surrounded by fall leaves.  We wish all of our clients were this inventive and enthusiastic!

Check out David - a.k.a. James Bond - in the images below.  David makes a mean secret agent or perhaps a member of the mafia.  Just a bit of advice - don't mess with the family ... 

But seriously, David is a great guy and we really appreciated how happy, carefree and laid back he was during his session.  We personally want to wish him the best as he sets off on his medical internship soon.  We hope it's an amazing and invaluable experience.

~ Kevin & Heather

Jordan Uzoni {Senior 2012}

Our portrait session with Jordan last week was fun, inspirational and very interesting.  We had a great time getting to know Jordan and his mom, Carrie, and we were blessed with an absolutely beautiful evening touring the area in and around Plymouth, Michigan.

The time we spend with seniors during their sessions tend to really give us a glimpse into the type of young person they are.  We were certainly impressed with what we saw during the time we were with Jordan.  Over the course of the evening several adjectives came to mind to describe Jordan's character.  Some of these adjectives include: talented, dedicated, passionate, respectful, distinguished, fun-loving, and chivalrous.

During our portrait session we got to see a bit of Jordan's chivalrous nature first hand.  While we were right in the heart of downtown Plymouth, an older, gray-haired gentleman stumbled over to where we were photographing Jordan.  For sake of our story, we will call this fellow "Fred".  Carrie was standing to the side holding Jordan's props and clothing when Fred came up to ask us what we were doing.  At first we assumed he was just curious about our large strobe and bags of gear, but we were all surprised with how close he got to Mrs. Uzoni while he spoke.  Kevin and I politly answered a few of his questions, but tried to discourage him from sticking around by turning our attention back to Jordan.  Quickly however, Fred focused all of his attention on Carrie, as if the rest of us no longer existed.  Jordan was obviously uncomfortable with Fred's attention to his mom and was immediately spurred to intervene and rescue her from the uncomfortable situation.   There was no doubt that Jordan was either going to need to step in and address Fred, or we needed to abruptly move on to another portrait location.  After we walked away Carrie laughingly said to us that she thought she might be feeling a little tipsy because of the amount of alcohol she inhaled during Fred's conversation with her!

The experience was a funny one, to be sure, but during the course of it, it was refreshing and encouraging to see Jordan's immediate desire to stand up for and protect his mother.  We consider that to be a chivalrous act and I am sure Carrie has much to be proud of in Jordan.

Fortunately, the rest of our session together was much more relaxed, comfortable and definitely less awkward, and we certainly hope that Jordan and Carrie enjoyed their time with us.  We had fun playing with a few different lighting ideas and were glad the sunset cooperated for some dramatic evening sky shots.

Check out these teasers from Jordan's shoot and leave him some feedback about his images.

~Kevin & Heather

Gabby and Jake {Homecoming Portraits}

Gabrielle Gow has practically become a member of our family over the past few weeks.  We recently started boarding her horse, Romeo, on our property and because of him, she is over pretty much every day.  We all love her (even Kevin, although his display of affection is the brotherly sort - complete with sarcasm and practical jokes) and we think her boyfriend, Jake Champagne, is obviously a pretty great guy too.  :)

Well, when you know two professional photographers as well as Gabby does, it's hard to settle for the average, awkwardly posed homecoming pictures that are the norm.  So, what's a girl to do?  Break the mold and buck the tradition!  Gabby hired us to capture images that were much more her ... much more her and Jake ... and much more her, Jake and Romeo.  Check out what we were able to capture in just one brief photoshoot together in our backyard!

(Gabby's hair and make-up were professionally done by Jen Schumaker)

~ Kevin & Heather

Lauren Kos {Senior 2012}

Have we shared with you yet how much we love to photograph high school seniors?  Well, let us remind you again about how passionate we are about capturing the individuality and uniqueness of each senior we have the honor of photographing!  We. Love. It.

Last weekend we had the opportunity to spend the evening with an incredibly talented, naturally beautiful, perpetually joyful young woman.  Lauren is so sweet and radiates God's love in her smile and her grace.  Lauren was referred to us by her good friend and fellow homeschooler (and one of our Senior Model's), Elizabeth Hunt.

Although the weather once again looked dreary earlier in the day, we were surprised and thrilled when the sun broke through the clouds just before sunset right in the middle of our session together.  The colors of the sunset with the cloud formations made an amazing backdrop for a few of Lauren's last images of the evening.  Simply gorgeous.

~ Kevin & Heather

September PUG: ignited Studio Spotlight

Last week we were given the amazing opportunity to share with other local professional photographers at the September PUG (Pictage Users Group) in Dearborn, MI.  What an incredible experience!  The evening included a studio spotlight where we shared about our photography, business and lighting style - complete with a live photo shoot and strobe lighting demonstration.  Because we wanted to get the right "look" straight out of the camera, we hired Griselda Uvario, our gorgeous professional model, to nail the poses and style of our images.  ::LOVE those dimples!::

We had so much fun with our fellow photographers and loved being open and instructive on how to incorporate strobe lighting in specific portrait and wedding photography.  We are so blessed to be surrounded by such an amazing group of photographers and are glad to call them friends!

One of the things we shared with the PUG attendees was how to capture a great image straight-out-of-camera (SOOC) with the very first shot.  The image above was captured with a single strobe light and has no image correction or photoshoping done to it.  All images below are the same:

One amazing group of photogs:And of course, no night would be complete without a few out-takes (you just can't take photographers too seriously, we sure don't...lol).  Top image:  Griselda Uvario and Kristina Sikora.  Bottom image: (back L to R) Eric Boehm, Jim Shields, Joel Hernadez, Sue, Chris (front L to R) Nemo, Danielle Murphy, Shaleena Cole, Julie Paszczykowski, Kristina Sikora, Heather and Kevin Autry.

A BIG thank you to our fearless leader, Kristina Sikora, for coordinating such a great evening and for working so hard on each and every PUG meeting!

~ Kevin & Heather