Johnny & Amber {Maternity}

We just love Johnny and Amber and were so excited to be able to capture their maternity portraits for them!  We scheduled the portraits for approximately 4 weeks before baby Caleb's due date - close, but normally plenty of time to get the portraits turned around for Johnny and Amber - especially since it was their first baby.  However, Caleb decided to make his debut a few weeks early, and less than a week after we took the portraits, Caleb arrived!

We are so happy for Johnny and Amber and so excited to meet baby Caleb!  We know these two lovebirds are going to make great parents and have no doubt that their home is going to filled with laughter and lots of fun times!

Congratulations you two!!!

~ Kevin & Heather Autry

Justin & Emily Fenner {Wedding!}

It is always a pleasure to work with couples as amazing as Justin and Emily!  We met them over a year ago at the the Novi Bridal Expo and quickly connected with them as professionals and as friends.  They are both laid back and fun, but also extremely organized and thorough.  We always coach our couples on their wedding timeline, but were thrilled when Justin and Emily not only took our suggestions seriously, but also allowed for more time and cushion for the unexpected things that always creep up on a wedding day.  The results were an extremely calm, well thought out and planned wedding day that everybody enjoyed!

The wedding took place entirely at the Glen Oaks Country Club and the weather was sunny, slightly breezy and hot.  We began our day with Emily, her bridesmaids and family at the Rouse home for "getting ready" shots of everyone.  The morning was very quiet and relaxing until the power on the whole block went out about halfway through the preparation process!  As much as this event could have thrown everyone into a tailspin, Emily and her entire group remained calm and collected.  The fact that there was no more electricity made it difficult to finish up hair and make-up, but everything fell into place seamlessly.  The lack of air conditioning was probably the biggest complaint of all since it was in the high 80s and still getting hotter as the morning progressed.

After the electricity mishap, the day went along smoothly and we had a great time with everyone involved.  We were helped out incredibly by our amazing assistant for the day, Joy Bural, who traveled all the way from Canada to help out and learn from us.  She is a great photographer herself, so it was nice having someone so capable by our side!

Enjoy these teasers from Justin and Emily's beautiful wedding and be sure to leave them some feedback and love!  Also, to find out how they put together this gorgeous day, check out their list of vendors at the bottom of this blog post.

A wedding as beautiful as Justin and Emily's requires the work and skill of many talented people.  Here is a partial list of the people involved in the Fenner-Rouse day.

Venue:  Glen Oaks

Wedding & Bridal Dresses:  Arena Bridal

Flowers:  Lori Secord of Rochester Hills, MI

Cake:  Laura Amodeo of Sterling Heights, MI

Linens:  Rita Gumbal of Candlelite Linens, LLC

DJ:  Tim Miller of Sound Horizons

Honeymoon Travel Arrangements:  Valerie Hetkowski of Gold Key Travel

Pianist:  Ricky Nalett of Dewitt Music

Video Cameras:  Wed It

Photography: ignited Photography

~ Kevin & Heather Autry

Kendra Warren {2013 Senior Model Mini-Session}

It is so fun planning out the summer and it's exciting looking forward to picking our Senior Models for each new school year.  We look for someone friendly, outgoing and personable, as well as someone who is willing to have fun and be relaxed in front of the camera.  When we met Kendra in the Spring at our church district's Fine Arts competition, we immediately thought she'd make an excellent rep.  Of course, her gorgeous red hair and bright green/blue eyes were also a big draw because of how striking we knew she'd look in camera.  We were thrilled when she said yes after we asked if she'd be our model!

Getting to know Kendra has been so much fun since she is such a talented and gifted young lady.  She is well known at her school for her successful nail and make-up business, Kb Nail Design, she plays the flute, she is super active at her church and in her youth group, she loves girly things, but is not afraid to get down and dirty.  She is a very well-rounded, solidly planted young lady, and she has a genuine smile that truly lights up a room.  We loved how adventuresome she was during our photoshoot, and how she and her sister had scouted out some great, new locations for us to try.  The most beautiful was the small stream and dam they found nestled at the back of their subdivision.  Kendra did not even hesitate taking off her shoes and wading into the chilly water for some really cool shots by the falls.  Of course, Kevin and I were completely on board the idea of getting out into the river to get something different and unique.  :)

Our senior models get a free mini-session in the spring/early summer so they have images to advertise and share, and our session with Kendra was last week.  We love these short little sessions, but we are always left anticipating our full session with them in the fall/winter.  Although our time with Kendra was limited, she was so easy to work with and we were able to capture a great variety of really stunning images.  Here is just a few of our favorites from the mini-session:

Kendra nearly stepped on this turtle as we were packing up our gear to climb out of the water.  I was impressed that she didn't even hesitate to pick it up and pose with it.  That's my kind of girl!  :)
~ Kevin & Heather Autry

David + Rebecca {Engaged!}

Earlier this year, we launched a HUGE wedding giveaway where one engaged couple could win a complete wedding package with full wedding day coverage, an amazing engagement session, a CD of all of their wedding proofs, plus a whole lot more for free!  The competition was intense and the voting was neck-to-neck all the way to the very end, but we would like to introduce to you our winning couple - David Schmitke and Rebecca Schneemann!!!

Last Tuesday we went out for a night-on-the-town in Downtown Ann Arbor, and enjoyed the opportunity to connect and get to know David and Becca as we captured timeless images of their relationship.  We loved having the opportunity to learn a new area of Ann Arbor, as well as enjoy a fabulous dinner with David and Becca at Zingerman's Deli.  Becca works at Zingerman's Roadhouse so she was our tour guide through the Zingerman's experience.  And what a yummy experience it was!  If you've never been to this Ann Arbor classic - definitely put it on your bucket list.  :)

Enjoy these few teaser images from David and Becca's engagement session, and stay tuned in late August for images from their wedding!

And one last fun, completely candid shot, just because ...  :)

~ Kevin & Heather

Taylor Buis {2012 Senior}

We have been planning Taylor's portrait session for months and months, and it seemed to be one of the most challenging sessions to nail down on the calendar.  Taylor had to reschedule once, the weather didn't cooperate twice, BUT we did get to spend an entire evening with Taylor last week - FINALLY!  :)  The time with Taylor was fun and we loved capturing her eclectic style and personality.  She is so laid back and easy-going that it made our evening simply relaxing and enjoyable.

For our session together we had fun exploring some of the back corners of Howell and Brighton.  We visited an abandoned old house, a DNR tree farm, Bishop Lake, and even used the new landscaping in our front yard to stage some portraits.  Taylor and her puppies were the first ones to use the new split-rail fence, boulders and flowers as backdrops to their portraits, but it's our intention to have it available to any others who may want the look.  We're happy to travel anywhere for photography of course, but it's nice to have photo-worthy locations right in your own backyard too.  :)

Enjoy these few teasers from our portrait session with Taylor and be sure to let her know how beautiful she looks!

~ Kevin & Heather