Lifestyle and Family Portrait Sessions by Telltale Photography

lucas – lifestyle session in east lansing, mi

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.

stella & mack – lifestyle session in white lake, mi

Stella is becoming quite the regular on my blog. This is the third time this year I have been able to photograph the lovely Stella, this time for her 7-month photos. I couldn’t believe how big she is now—she scoots around so well and even sits up on her own. And Stella is definitely one of the most expressive babies I have ever met. Her smile is absolutely infectious and you can tell that she has a ton of fun with her mom and dad. I just love the images of the three of them interacting together. This session was also special because it included Stella’s little cousin Macarius. After taking some pictures of the cousins together I got to spend some time photographing Mack and his parents Elisa and Jackford. Mack is absolutely adorable and it was so much fun getting to see this new family together. Stella and Mack are going to have so much fun growing up together and it was a pleasure to photograph their first official joint photo shoot.

boonstra family – lifestyle session in grand rapids, mi

A little over a year ago I had the pleasure of photographing Cora and her parents, Joel and Leslie, right after she was born. To this day it is still one of my favorite lifestyle sessions—it was filled with some incredibly sweet moments including Cora getting one of her first baths. You can see my favorite images from that session here: http://telltalephotography.com/blog/?p=1420. So when Joel contacted me about photographing Cora again I was so excited. Cora is now just over 1 1/5 years old and she is incredibly cute, not to mention sweet and very bright. I got to hang around with this threesome for the afternoon and capture them just hanging out (my favorite kind of lifestyle session). We did some playing and reading as well as a trip to the local park. It was so wonderful photographing this family again and documenting this great time in their lives.

george & richard – lifestyle session in lansing, mi

I was so happy when Richard contacted me about doing a portrait session—he had purchased a session package I donated to the annual Westside Neighborhood Association fundraiser and I was excited that he had won the package and was supporting our awesome neighborhood. The session included Richard and his son George who is sweet and very mature for his age. I had a wonderful time hanging out with these two guys at Richard’s lovely Westside him and Francis Park—my favorite local rec area. I wanted to capture George, who is in middle school, just being a kid and doing the things he enjoys doing with his dad. So they spent some time playing Nintendo DS, Xbox Kinnect and telling jokes, then we headed to the park to fly a kite on this especially windy fall day. I loved capturing the wonderful relationship Richard has with his son and it was a honor getting to document this time in George’s life.

derek & julie – lifestyle session in lansing, mi

Derek and Julie have been incredible neighbors and we are so sorry that they will soon be leaving our little neighborhood on the Westside of Lansing. While I am sorry to see them leave I am so excited for Julie to be completing her PhD in Music Education and to continue her life in academia, now as a professor. And as sad as I am to see them go I was so excited and honored when they asked me to shoot a lifestyle session with them to commemorate their life in Lansing and their beautiful home. Since we wanted to capture their real life we decided the perfect Sunday afternoon activity of baking an apple pie was in order. So maybe baking a pie wouldn’t be so natural for me but for Julie who learned how to bake from her mother, an award winning pie baker, this was perfect. It was really lovely to watch Derek and Julie bake together—they had an ease that only a couple that has been together for a long time and are truly in love can show. We also took some great shots around their really beautiful home and even took some photos in their double office (and you know they must like each other to make that work). Good luck to Derek and Julie on their move and I am glad I get a few more months with them before they leave.

april & kathryn – lifestyle session in lansing, mi

When April called me about photographing her daughter Kathryn I couldn’t believe it had been nearly two years since I last photographed these two lovely ladies. Kathryn has grown quite a bit but she is still the same sassy girl with beautiful brown eyes who likes to throw her hand on her hip and pose like a rock star. We started our session at the Country Mill Apple Orchard in Charlotte where Kathryn got to do a little apple picking and then spend some time at the orchard’s playground. Afterwards we found some beautiful fall colors and Kathryn founds slugs—I have never seen a slug in a field before but Kathryn found several. Here are a few of my favorite images from the session.

harkema family – lifestyle session in grand ledge, mi

I had a wonderful time photographing the Harkema family and meeting their adorable and charming kids: Morgan, Lucas and Jacob. During the session we spent some time exploring Grand Ledge, skipping stones, playing in the leaves, feeding the ducks and of course topping it all off with some ice cream. The kids were great sports on what ended up being a little bit of a wet day but I imagine the promise of ice cream didn’t hurt. And I have to admit that the images we got of the kids sharing their ice cream cones are my absolute favorite of the day. Morgan and Lucas’ expressions are incredible and I think completely sum up most sibling relationships.

veronica – lifestyle session in east lansing, mi

I was so excited to shoot this lifestyle session featuring Veronica. V, as her parents call her, is absolutely adorable and so much fun to be around. And since her mother Karin is a fabulous gardener it made absolute sense to shoot at the MSU horticulture gardens (and you would never guess from the photos that we were dodging tailgaters preparing for a home game at MSU). Veronica is so sweet and even though she has a happy disposition I just love the few images of her crying, she looks so little and innocent and you just want to grab her up to give her a hug. And I think that it is so great that V’s blankie made an appearance in a number of the images. I had a wonderful time with Karin and Veronica and am honored I got to document this time in her life.

yorko family – lifestyle session in lansing, mi

I was so honored when my friend Jessica asked me to photograph her wonderful family. She and her son Nick were joined by her mother, brother, sister-in-law and two adorable nephews for a very fun family session. To capture the three very active boys in their natural busy and exuberant state we started the session at a park near Lansing’s City Market. Then the group headed to Lugnuts baseball stadium where they could dance on the dugouts and explore the stands. I had such a great time getting to know Jessica’s family and capturing some special family moments.

kobus family – lifestyle session in lansing, mi

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Kelly Kobus from A Piece o’ Cake is not only one of my favorite wedding vendors (and trust me her work is fabulous) but she is also one of my favorite people. So I was excited when she asked me to photograph her along with her parents John and Wendy with all their wonderful dogs. Riley, Penny, Charlie and Oliver are a motley crew and more than a little bit fun to photograph. But the real star of the show was Riley. Riley has been diagnosed with a degenerative neurological disorder and the Kobus’ wanted to take some pictures to remember Riley along with his puppy brothers and sisters while he was still feeling good. And it is very clear from the photos how much Riley is loved—even getting a bit off scraps off the dinner table. I had such a wonderful time photographing John, Wendy, Kelly and the dogs, here are a few of my favorites.

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