Engagement Sessions by Telltale Photography

derek & kristin – e-session in grand rapids, mi

I first met Kristin last year at Bethany and Justin’s wedding (she even makes an appearance in the blog post about their wedding). Kristin loves photography and so we talked about cameras and picture making. Fast forward about a year and I was excited to get an email from Kristin saying she was engaged and wondering if I would be available for her Illinois wedding. I am thrilled that it all worked out and that I will be able to photograph her wedding to Derek next summer. On a recent trip to Grand Rapids to visit Kristin’s family I had the pleasure of meeting Derek and photographing their e-session. We started the session at the Calvin College Nature Preserve to take advantage of the last of the fall color—although I had been to the Nature Preserve as a student I have never photographed there and it made for a great location. Afterwards we headed downtown and found some great spots while avoiding a short rainfall. Derek and Kristin shared with me that they love doing jigsaw puzzles so it seemed appropriate to bring along a puzzle to our session, turns out this is the same puzzle they did together on their first date and it made for some of my favorite images of the day.

lisa & brian – e-session in east lansing, mi

I had eagerly anticipated Brian and Lisa’s e-session for weeks. Lisa and Brian live in Illinois and so all of our communication about their wedding has been over the phone so when Lisa said they wanted to come to Lansing for their engagement session I was excited to finally meet them in person. We spent the better part of the day together and I had such a fantastic time with this couple. They are so clearly in love and just adorable together. It was a pleasure photographing them and they were sincerely up for anything (I took them everywhere from gardens, to wild fields, then to downtown alley ways—I had to take advantage of a warm fall day). I got to hear lots about their life in Illinois, their weddings plans, and about their two dogs. I absolutely can’t wait for their wedding next year, but in the meantime here are a few shots from their e-session.

jill & matt – e-session in lansing, mi

It was such a pleasure photographing Jill and Matt’s e-session. The two traveled from Massachusetts to Michigan to celebrate their marriage with close friends and family. I had only ever spoken with Jill on the phone so it was really great to be able to meet and photograph Jill and Matt the day before their wedding. Both Jill and Matt are easy going and had an incredible ease around each other that was really fun to photograph. Since they were getting married in a garden (which I will be blogging later this week) they wanted to photograph their e-session in a more urban location so we decided to shoot in and around Lansing’s capital building. Here are a few of my favorites from the session.

maggie & tommy – e-session in east lansing, mi

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I had a blast photographing Maggie and Tommy’s e-session around MSU’s campus. Tommy is an engineer and Maggie is currently interning at the Detroit Zoo. Needless to say I spent a lot of our session quizzing Maggie on what it is like working with large mammals—she has one of the most interesting jobs I can imagine! Maggie and Tommy were naturals in front of the camera and a joy to photograph. They are clearly so in love and they were up for anything, including jumping into a fountain. As soon as we saw the fountain Maggie was game for cooling off in the water and after a little coaxing Tommy rolled up his pants and join her. Love that they were up for a little fun and a photography first for me!

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jb & rachel – e-session in lake, mi

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I have been eagerly waiting for JB and Rachel’s wedding. And yes this is an engagement session post, but since JB and Rachel live in Florida we shot their e-session just a few days before their wedding (and you will see lots more of them in a wedding post later this week). When we met last spring I was immediately excited about working with this couple. JB enjoys making photographs and the couple made it clear that photos were an incredibly important part of their wedding and that they wanted me to have free range on their wedding day to create unique and personal images for them. Ah, yes please. And if that wasn’t enough the couple didn’t bat an eye when in the middle of our meeting I had to excuse myself to handle a sick dog (one of the more embarrassing predicaments I have found myself in while meeting with clients at my house). So I was excited to meet JB and Rachel again but this time in Lake, MI at Rachel’s parent’s home. Lake is a beautiful and remote town in central Michigan and we were able to take advantage of some amazing light and color on an unseasonably nice day in mid-October. JB and Rachel were up for anything (in fact they encouraged me to push the envelope) so we had some fun and they were wonderful sports as we traipsed around the woods and explored the acres of trees around the lake. Here are a few of my favorites with some great wedding images to come soon….

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sara & steve’s e-session in mt. pleasant, mi

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This engagement session includes two things I love—shooting in a new city and a dog. I was excited when Sara and Steve asked if I would meet them in Mt. Pleasant, MI for their engagement session. I have actually never been to Mt. Pleasant and I loved exploring the city and getting a little tour of Central Michigan University. And Mt. Pleasant made a perfect backdrop for this session; we found some great light and more than a few beautiful locations. But the biggest reason why this location was perfect is because this is really where Sara and Steve became a couple and where they recently became engaged. Although they are both are from Lansing, MI and began dating in High School (even going to the senior prom together) they both attended Central Michigan University and are both working towards their masters’ degrees there. Plus, meeting in Mt. Pleasant allowed us to incorporate their very cute dog Quinn in the photos. Here are a few of my favorite pics from the session, I love how joyful Sara looks in all the pictures—it made it super fun to photograph this couple.

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sherif & feyza’s e-session in lansing, mi

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I can’t tell you how much I have enjoyed getting to know Feyza and Sherif and it was such a pleasure photographing their engagement session. Since Feyza is an MSU alum we decided to shoot the session around the MSU campus beginning at the horticulture gardens. It is a joy to watch this couple together—they are so loving and considerate of each other and it was wonderful to watch them interact.

One of my favorite parts of my job is getting a glimpse into different people’s lives and learning what makes each person unique and different. During Feyza and Sherif’s e-session they shared with me some of the traditions of Ramadan, which had just started observing. They had just started fasting a few days before and the conversation couldn’t help but drift towards food. I couldn’t believe how patient and good-natured Feyza and Sherif were despite the empty stomachs (I am usually a bear after a few hours without a snack—and by bear I mean raging lunatic who can only think about food!). I am so excited for Feyza and Sherif’s nikah ceremony and reception in September at the Lexington Hotel in Lansing!

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phil & andrea’s e-session in east lansing, mi

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I first spoke with Andrea nearly a year ago and she told me all about her fabulous Michigan wedding—the fabulous Michigan wedding that she was planning on from Orange County, California. And while Andrea and I hit it off on the phone and via email we didn’t actually get to meet until this past week. So while it may be a bit unusual that I shot Andrea and Phil’s e-session only a few days before their cottage wedding, after communicating long distance for the last 12 months I was thrilled that Andrea and Phil opted to take time from their busy week for an engagement session. Andrea and Phil were a joy to photograph and they were so relaxed and joyful even while dealing with a hundred last minute wedding duties (they actually said it was nice to have some alone time with how crazy the week has been, well, alone time plus me, ha ha). So for these Californians we explored MSU’s horticulture gardens and some of MSU’s agricultural fields and I did my best to bring the beautiful California light to Michigan.

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judd & caryn’s e-session in detroit, mi

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I had a blast photographing Judd and Caryn’s e-session. I have ALWAYS wanted to shoot a session at a museum and when Caryn and Judd wanted to shoot at the Detroit Institute of Art I was SO excited. I love museums and the Detroit Institute of Art has a great collection in an absolutely phenomenal building. And since Caryn is studying to be an art historian the museum was a natural fit for this couple. We had a good time exploring everything from Greek artifacts to modern paintings and even got to take a few photos in between. I also had a wonderful time getting to know Judd and Caryn better on our drive to and from the DIA—I learned a lot about this great couple and a few things about Detroit style Coney Dogs too. Thanks for spending the day with me Judd and Caryn!

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pete & jen’s e-session in lansing, mi

telltale-pj-16 I had such a good time photographing Jen and Pete last week. I have known Pete for a little while now (he is my husband’s cousin), but I couldn’t wait to meet Jen after lots of emails and even a brief and ill-fated skype date. Jen is phenomenal and it was immediately clear that she is definitely a great match for Pete. Jen and Pete drove up from Peoria, Illinois for the session and let me pick out some of my favorite locations in Lansing. So after a little scouting I found some fabulous new Lansing locales. However, the highlight of the session was definitely our stop at the Lansing Lugnuts stadium. Pete is a huge baseball fan (as you can see from his Cardinals jersey) and even played in college so on a whim we decided to take a chance and see if we couldn’t shoot at the stadium. It must have been our lucky day because we got into the stadium and the rain that we forecasted stayed away all afternoon. Check out a few of my favorites from the session (and thanks again to the Lansing Lugnuts for being so accommodating!). telltale-pj-21 telltale-pj-31 telltale-pj-41 telltale-pj-51 telltale-pj-71 telltale-pj-151 telltale-pj-81 telltale-pj-91 telltale-pj-101 telltale-pj-111 telltale-pj-131 telltale-pj-121