family photojournalism :: the saigeon family (once again)

This family. I have a lot of heart eyes for them. This is my 4th time helping them tell the story of their family life! It started when 4-year-old Sienna was very small and 2-year-old Maxwell was yet in utero. We met at a nature center and took some simple and unscripted maternity photos. Then I visited their home shortly after he was born, and again when the kids turned 3 and 1. 

Now they are transitioning. Having sold their sweet Eastown home while the market was hot, they've taken the plunge and started to design and build their dream home on a little piece of land outside Grand Haven. Which means that for now they are renting a small-ish apartment downtown, biding time until their new home will be ready for them. Here the kids turned 4 and 2, here Max will learn to use a potty, and here Sienna finished her first year of Montessori preschool. As eager as they may be to move on, life keeps on marching along, rich and full as ever, with Michelle and Eric setting the tone and culture of a warm and enriching home environment. So, even though the smaller space might make them a little nuts right now, I'm really glad they decided to have it documented anyway, because someday these are the kinds of memories they'll really enjoy looking back at!

What joy to spend a bit of one evening shooting a Short Story Family Photojournalism session with them, walking to the park to read and swing, chatting with the neighbor's dogs, and lounging in their sweet little yard. It always feels like spending an evening with friends. 

family photojournalism :: the sellers family

You'll remember that this past weekend this family was also featured in blog post about a fun experiment I roped my poor husband into doing with me, in which we took a look at how much of a difference a professional photojournalist makes compared to attempting to document your family life yourself with your entry level DSLR. So if you missed that, go have a look.

Now let me properly introduce and blog about these beautiful people! This is my brother Justin, his wife Marguerite, and their three kiddos Claire (6), Anja (4) and Sam (7 months). These are siblings who are also friends and heros in my life. Both Justin and Marguerite live with incredibly thoughtful intention, giving themselves quietly and often to serve others, practice hospitality in the most natural and generous way, and work diligently at their professions, while also parenting their kids with gentle boundaries and lots of affection. I couldn't be more fond of them, nor more grateful for them in my life. 

On this particular evening, there was nothing unusual at all going on. Just dinner prep, eating dinner together outside, cleaning up the kitchen (each girl has their role to play), playing on the floor and in the front yard, eating popsicles, giving baby brother a sink bath before bed, reading books and cuddling, putting on pajamas and brushing teeth. And in all this really normal stuff there's so much life and such personality in these kiddos. I invite you to come along and spend this evening with this family of 5. 

vacation photojournalism :: the esis family

One perfect and breathlessly beautiful morning on the shores of Lake Michigan with the Esis family at a beach house (an airbnb rental) near St. Joseph. I could have stayed all day. And not just because of the aesthetically pleasing rooms, the views, or the weather, but also because the company of this family was so easy and natural.  

Antonieta found me through a FB group we are both a part of due to having both taken the same course at the Define School a few years ago. She's from Ohio, but as her family was vacationing in MI this summer, she needed a MI photog (and wonder of wonders, she chose me)! Though she obviously brought her own cameras along on the trip, she had also just turned 40 and wanted to celebrate that milestone, this vacation, and the importance of mama being in the frame with her kids by arranging for a photo session. I'd say those are three GREAT reasons. 

She is a gifted photographer, seeing light uniquely and capturing expansive joy in human beings, and most especially her two "bigger kids," her sons. I highly recommend that you take a few minutes to jet over to her website and get lost in her work when you've finished here. 

But for now, come along for a whirlwind hour at the lake house, where there is Jenga and kites, beach walking and shenanigans. 

family photojournalism :: the malinowski family

Eric and Jessica are getting ready to leave the house to which each one of their babies has been brought home from the hospital following their births (or, in the youngest's case, born in the living room!). Needless to say, there's years of memories layered up in this house. There's been incredible joy and deep sorrow, faith put into action, love chosen and demonstrated across all the seasons. 

Jessica and Eric invited me to do this documentary, in-home session as a way of immortalizing their beloved house and bringing some closure to their years there. Already the house isn't in quite the same state is had been, since it's already been listed and staged and sold, but for now, it is still theirs. I got a little teary right alongside Jessica as I empathized with the process of saying farewell to a place where so much life has been lived. 

I love these images. I love the way this family plays together and loves one another. 

belly :: the jamail family

They're thisclose to welcoming a fourth member -- a boy -- into their family, into this home they've redesigned in the last couple of years, into their hearts and routines. But for now little Audrey is still the center of their world, and these last days with her positioned securely and solely in that privileged role were something they wanted to capture. 

And besides that, Adrienne's beautiful belly needed a little camera time. This is how I capture bellies: like all other things, in context. I'm interested in your swelling, ripe belly going about all the daily normalities, whether that's a date night out with your husband or chasing around the other kids at home. Like anything else, it's part of you, so we don't need to bare it and decorate it and make your husband take off his shirt and then kiss it. Haha, nope. You just be amazing you, pregnant and powerful and on the brink of a miracle... I can't add anything to that that matters. 

I'll stop chatting at you now and let the pictures be the thousand words that speak to the love and affection present in this family as they wait for their son. 

My favorite parts: the drumming and the tossing on the bed. and maybe the rock collecting, too. Um, and the little toddler tantrums that they let me capture (yes!). Oh, there's lots of good parts. You'll just have to see for yourself. 

family photojournalism :: the deboer family

8:30 am and the babies have just woken up and are having their breakfast in pajamas. They're a little out of sorts. Their big brother is running around recklessly as big brothers do. Mom is still trying to get through her cup of coffee while dad wipes messes from faces. This is how we began. 

And then the routines -- so daily, so ordinary -- of getting little people dressed for the day. Then playing music and reading books, and cuddling in soft seats and changing diapers mid-way through. This is the reality of Mel and her little tribe. They're doing life with twin one year olds and a three year old boy. So many days are just about getting through. And the cuddles and kisses and hilarity. Though many days it may feel otherwise, these are the good days.