Last fall I got to photograph the very lovely Veronica at the MSU Horticulture Gardens, so I was thrilled when her mom Karin asked me to do a special mother’s day session with her mother. It was really fun documenting Veronica with her grandmother and to spend some time with these three lovely ladies.  And since Veronica will be a big sister in only a couple of months it was extra special to capture some special moments of this adorable little girl with her mother and grandmother before her brother arrives. Here is a little sneak peek of my session with Veronica, Karin and Isabel.

Telltale Photography - a wedding and portrait photographer

The fun of my baby’s first year package is that I get to document a family over the course of a year and share those pics on my blog. So it is bitter sweet that I am posting Stella’s one-year-old photos because it means this is our last session in the baby’s first year package and that she is officially a toddler. But now that Stella is walking and mobile I imagine the fun is just beginning for her parents. Stella is such a sweet little girl and as usual she was an absolute blast to photograph (although a tad bit harder to keep up with this time around). It was wonderful photographing Stella and her parents over the last year and I can’t wait to see how she grows and changes as she becomes a little girl.

Telltale Photography - a wedding and portrait photographer

I knew photographing the Ruby family was going to be a lot of fun when Shannon and Jeremi asked me if I liked pets and would mind including their Great Dane in some of the photos. Their beautiful dog was one big charmer and it was wonderful getting to know the whole family. We began shooting at their new home and then took advantage of the more rural surroundings in Byron Center. And I adored Shannon and Jeremi’s two girls—who were all too happy to have fun, tell secrets (to each other), and giggle…a lot. Here are a few of my favorites from the session.

Telltale Photography - a wedding and portrait photographer

My favorite part of this photo gig is getting to photograph a family as they change and grow over the years. I first met the Dillon family exactly two years ago when their son Jonah was born and I was thrilled to photograph Jonah, Christina, and Derek again with the addition of beautiful Marina. Marina is a pretty amazing baby—I don’t think I heard her make one peep the entire time I was there. She was very alert and so curious about her world and what was going on. And Jonah is going to be a great big brother—it was great to see him now that he is a very chatty and outgoing little boy. It was wonderful catching up with the Dillon clan and photographing them as their family expands.

Telltale Photography - a wedding and portrait photographer

I love when I get to photograph something a bit different—so I was pretty excited when Molly called me to see if I would be able to photograph her along with some of her sorority sisters from Pi Beta Phi. It was great meeting Molly, Agnes, Lauren, Meredith, and the Sarah’s and getting to photograph them together. It was really more like a color-coordinated party than a photo shoot and it was a pleasure documenting these lovely ladies (and they were so patient with all my sorority related questions—like, how does the house thing work?). I am a dork for photography and I think it is pretty awesome that these women asked me to record this important time in their lives. Thanks ladies and congratulations to Molly and Sarah on your graduation from MSU!

Telltale Photography - a wedding and portrait photographer

It was really fun to photograph Kevin and Lyndsey’s engagement session–they are so clearly in love and have such a great time making each other laugh. And although it was still a bit chilly out it is definitely spring in Michigan and we took advantage of the gorgeous sunsets we have been having and the beautiful spring colors. Kevin and Lyndsey wanted the best of both worlds for their e-session so we started out by shooting in downtown Grand Rapids and then headed out to country just in time for sunset. I love the images of Kevin and Lyndsey and can’t think of a better way to officially kick off spring.

Telltale Photography - a wedding and portrait photographer

I am so excited about photographing Dan and Kate’s wedding this fall. I met Kate a few years ago through my book club and I think it is fate that we became friends. We both have the same ridiculously specific and uncommon masters degree in arts administration (hers from Boston University, mine from The Ohio State University) but we met each other here in Lansing after I had become a fulltime photographer and she had begun law school (so I guess that makes us non-practicing arts administrators). And so I was overjoyed when she called me and announced that she and Dan, a fellow lawyer, were going to get married this fall. And since they are planning a fabulous fall wedding we thought a winter engagement session would be a really fun option. Given our usually snowy and cold climate in Michigan I thought this would be an easy task but the weather has been so mild that we had to take advantage of the snow when it finally came—Dan and Kate were great sports even though this meant very cold temperatures and hikes through the snow. But before we braved the snow we took a few pictures at their new home with their puppy Steve. This puppy is a real charmer and it didn’t take much for him to take over the session. I could have easily blogged a whole session of Steve but I have tried to restrain myself. So here are some pictures of Steve, and some of Dan and Kate as well.

Telltale Photography - a wedding and portrait photographer

My job allows me to take part in some pretty special moments in a family’s life, and it is a huge honor when I get to document a family over time. So I was over the moon excited when Andy and Suzanne asked me to photograph their son Lucas. I photographed Andy and Suzanne’s beautiful wedding a few years ago and it has remained one of my favorite weddings I have had the pleasure of photographing. Their wedding was filled with a lot of wonderful moments and a lot of laughter so I was excited to photograph this former twosome as a threesome. And Lucas is one cute kid—happy, energetic and an adorable chubby guy. It was wonderful catching up with Andy and Suzanne and documenting a little piece of their life with little Lucas. And Lucas was a trooper throughout the shoot, even when it interfered with his naptime. Here are a few of my favorites from the session.

Telltale Photography - a wedding and portrait photographer

I was so excited when my friend Jeanette facebooked me about taking pictures of her beautiful daughter Margot. I went to college with Jeanette (and we even lived together for one brief January) but since she now lives in San Francisco with her husband Joel it has actually been a couple years since I last saw her. So I was more than thrilled to hear she was coming to Grand Rapids and I would be able to meet her new baby. Margot is such a lovely baby and even though she has a bit of colic (an experience I can certainly sympathize with) she was content and even happy throughout our photo shoot. Margot is definitely a charmer and it was wonderful to see how in love Jeanette and Joel are with their baby girl. It was wonderful seeing them again and I am so glad they asked me to document their growing family.

Telltale Photography - a wedding and portrait photographer

More so this year than any other New Years I have been spending a lot of time rejoicing in the past, thinking about the future, and trying to establish priorities for the next year. 2010 and 2011 were absolutely amazing years—but also a complete whirlwind. 2010 was jam packed with fabulous clients and great weddings and I managed to top that (just a bit) by welcoming my daughter into the world spring of 2011. Since Tilly insisted on making her arrival right as wedding season began I scaled back on shooting weddings last year and found a new passion for portrait photography. As I enter another year I finally feel like I have time to take a breath and also take a good look at my business.

I have been so blessed since I started Telltale Photography and have the unique privilege of loving what I do. But I also know that since my daughter was born my time is a lot more precious to me now. So I want to make sure that I don’t loose sight of why I started this business—I love photography and I want to be able to tell stories through great images. It’s so easy to be distracted by what is trendy, what wedding blogs are claiming is the next big thing, and shooting for publication and exposure instead of for my clients. This year my resolution is to stay focused on what I love, which are people, their personal stories, and creating images that actually mean something.

While some changes are in the works (a new website, maybe some new branding), what I am really excited about is staying true to my convictions by creating the very best images I can and continuing to hone my skills as a storyteller. I look forward to lots more weddings and portrait sessions in 2012, and I am excited about every opportunity I have to create not just pretty pictures but important images. I want each client to feel like their wedding images or portrait session really captured the way they are and how they felt—I want to tell the story of their lives not recreated in fiction but told in authentic detail through beautiful images.

So it isn’t just the New Year that has brought on this feeling of rebirth and renewed passion, a lot of it has been brought on while editing one of my last shoots of 2011, the birth of Shiloh Diane. I have always wanted to shoot a birth and I feel so blessed that Lauren and Kory asked me to document the arrival of their first baby. What an amazing honor and changing experience. It was so overwhelming emotionally (yes, I bawled my eyes out when she was born) and it has helped rejuvenate my enthusiasm for photography and helped me realize what a gift it is that I get to use a camera to share someone’s personal experience. So instead of posting my favorite images I am posting a slideshow that chronicles the over 30 hours of labor it took to bring beautiful Shiloh into the world. It isn’t too long (I promise) but I hope you take the additional time to watch the entire slide show and that you experience the raw emotion of the day and the absolute joy of welcoming a new life into the world. Thank you Lauren, Kory and Shiloh for letting me tell your story. (If you would like to view the slideshow in a new browser window you can reach it at www.telltalephotography.com/Plockmeyer)

Telltale Photography - a wedding and portrait photographer