Katie || LHS Senior Model

Well it has been a very long time since I have posted on my blog. For that I must say I am so very sorry but don’t worry, you’ll be seeing more from me in the up coming weeks!

Marisa and I are finally moved into our studio and my computer is officially in my new office! It has been one heck of a ride with tons of hard work and a lot of late nights but it is FINISHED!

I wanted to share Katie’s session here from June that we did over at Rosey Mound Nature Center in Grand Haven. It was gorgeous out there even though we had a bit of a chilly, and windy day.

Here is miss Katie!

Studio?!

Well I know I have not been very good at blogging these last couple weeks but I do have a good reason for it! KB Photography is partnering up with Photo’s by Marisa Henry and we are opening up a studio together right in downtown Ionia. Our new address will be 217 West Main Street.

We have been working hard the last couple weeks beginning our remodeling process and we have really made huge progress in our plans. We even knocked down an entire wall of plaster uncovering the underlying original brick. We could not do all of this work by ourselves, we have had some AMAZING friends/clients/family members to help us out along the way. We of course have a ways to go but we are so very excited for the things to come.

This new studio will be a joint studio. Marisa and I are not combining our businesses, we will still be running them individually but we will at least have a nice place for clients to come when they want to have meetings, studio sessions, and much more! In the studio we plan to have a viewing station where clients will be able to come and see their images for the first time on a nice big screen. I plan to host ordering/viewing parties for all of my senior and wedding clients, we will make it a great and fun time!

When it comes to shooting in the studio, we will have a few different backdrop stations for you and your families to choose from. This studio will allow us to expand the type of studio work we will be doing as well as offering our small town a wonderful photography experience. Between the two of us, we offer a wide variety of photography ranging from newborns to weddings. We are so very excited to have a place to call our own right in the heart of Ionia.

To stay up to date on our progress and to be the first to know whats coming next follow our Facebook page at the following link: Photography Studio Facebook

Marisa and I are hoping to have our Grand Opening on August 25th. We will be having a little celebration at the studio on this date so if you want to be invited make sure to follow our Facebook page! The next step in our remodeling process will be to finishing painting the walls and to get that carpet ripped up. Stay tuned for more great images of the finished product!

Did Someone Say Fair?!

Well today is the day! It marks the first day of the Ionia Free Fair right in my little home town. I will be down there tonight and every other night for the next 10 days. It is the 10 best days of summer you know!

The fair is one of my favorite times of year. I don’t know if its because everyone complains so much about it that I just have to be there proving them wrong, showing that is a lot of fun and not just a pain in the butt, but either way I think it is awesome! I take pictures down at the fair every year of families who love the fair just as much as I do. We take them in front of the ferris wheel, next to the carousel, under the grand stands, and all over trying to include some of the best features of the fair. I have six of these sessions booked for this summer and I cannot wait!

The fair is more to me than just photos though. My family takes their camper down there and we plan family dinners every night of the fair. It has been one of the best bonding moments for my family and I. Our dinners are usually better than the fair food most nights but heck even I can’t deny myself one of those greasy corn dogs or basket of fries. What about those carmel apples or deep fried Oreos?! My mouth is watering just thinking about it!

I grew up at the fair. I used to enter crafts into the 4-H barn. I was never very good at crafts but I sure could bake! One year I got the best of show award on my banana cake! It was delicious. I showed my pup, Comet, at the fair in 4-H for six years and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I was able to spend time with my dog and get a great experience doing it.

Don’t think of the fair as just some smelly old fair that a lot of random people go to. Think of it as a great time to spend with family and friends. You don’t have to go to the fair just to ride the rides, make sure you head back to the barns and see all of the animals! I’ll be photographing the pigs on Saturday afternoon! Be sure to check out the Miracle of Life exhibit, they have newborn baby animals of different types. I think they just had a cow and some guinea pigs born in the last couple days! Don’t forget about the Antique Village, where you can show your kids the history of Ionia and the history of the fair. There is more to offer than just the rides!

Anywho, enjoy some of these photos I took down there last year! Keep an eye on my Facebook page for new images from this year !

 

Isabel || Trash the Dress

The images you’re going to see in this post are of my gorgeous niece, Isabel.

I recently got some new equipment. I got an octabox and a battery pack for my Alien Bee 800. I decided I wanted to test it out with my beautiful niece here! She put on a pretty dress and went frolicking in the weeds by the studio so I could play around with a few things. I only ended up using the light for a few images, but what can I say, I love using natural light.

Isabel, my sister, and I had a lot of fun creating these images. They were just for fun for me and it gave her a little something to do on a summer night. One thing that is special about these images, her older sister wore that same dress two years ago when I wanted to test out using off camera flash. They both look just simply stunning in this dress and I can’t handle how grown up this little one is.

When I first met Isabel, she was a little dorky 8 year old who LOVED to play in the dirt. She still loves to play in the dirt but when she put this dress on, it was like a whole new child! You could tell she felt beautiful and had a lot of fun twirling about throughout the session.

Well, enough talking, here are the images she loved most from her session. Yes I let her pick them all out!

The session we decided to do with Isabel is called a “Trash the Dress” session. You can book a session like this with any senior or wedding package! And NO we do NOT have to actually trash your dress! Plus, seniors, you’re welcome to use any dress out of my style closet to wear during your Trash the Dress or Glam session!

I think the ones in the road here are some of my favorites! The light here was all natural and it is just perfect!

 

I hope you enjoyed these photos!

Kayli || CMHS Class of 2017

Meet Kayli.

Kayli came to me asking about my senior model program but I had already had a full list for senior models. She completely understood and wanted to book a full session with me anyway. I could not be happier with meeting Kayli and her mother and being able to work with them. They are some of the nicest people I have ever met. Plus this young woman is just gorgeous!

Prior to Kayli’s session, I sent her  a questionnaire. I love getting to know my seniors prior to their session. From this questionnaire I learned that Kayli wants to attend Alma College or Ferris State University! She is undecided on her major but as of now she’s looking into becoming a nutritionist. I love being able to see what these young kids have in mind for their future.

Kayli and I met about a week prior to her session to go over locations, outfits, and other questions they may have had about her session. Kayli and her mom decided they even wanted to add in some make up to her session. They were able to work with my make up artist, Cydney Robinson, right before getting ready to shoot. During her make up session, we pulled out her outfit choices and hung them up to see what she had. We were able to narrow down some spectacular outfit choices!

Kayli brought quite a few outfit choices. She had some of her favorite things in there, as well as a few things that she wasn’t sure about. The amount of shoe options and jewelry choices was amazing! We had so much to choose from and I was really able to help her pick out what would be best for her images. I really loved that one on one time with her prior to her session. I hope to start doing this with more clients! Please feel free to bring your outfit choices into the studio prior to your session! Kayli curled her own hair but I do have a hair stylist that we can work with if we book it in advance! Her hair looked wonderful though.

We started Kayli’s session right outside of the studio. I’ve got a wonderful field and little wooded area right next door to my in home studio. It is just beautiful and makes a great spot for photos! We then headed downtown Ionia to capture some more urban style shots and I loved her first outfit choice for the downtown shots. You just can’t go wrong with some bright red heels!

What I loved most about working with Kayli, she wasn’t afraid to try new things that I suggested posing wise. She might not have known it before but she does now, she is a natural in front of the camera! She’s absolutely stunning and I told her just to show it off, by the end that is just what she did!

After shooting downtown, we headed over to my grandpas barn. I had suggested that during her pre consultation when discussing locations and shared a few images from the barn. She really liked it and thought it seemed like a great idea. Her being from Montcalm, she let me kind of guide her to what locations I really liked and what locations I felt really would fit her style.

This girl was just so much fun to photograph. Her and her mother were willing to go wherever and do whatever it took for a great photograph. We were a bit nervous this day as it was supposed to storm all day but we could not have asked for a better lighting situation. Due to the storms, the clouds were just perfect and the lighting was magical! I had so much fun during this session, I absolutely cannot wait for Kayli’s fall session!

A few things about Kayli:

Kayli told me that some of her favorite things to do outside of school is play volleyball, power lift, hunt, and much more.

She seems to be very involved in school activities and she is such an outgoing girl.

Some of her favorite candy is Reese’s, Tootsie Rolls, and Snickers. No wonder we got along so well, these are some of my favorites as well!

She also loves to listen to Fall Out Boy, Country, and today’s hit music.

 

Thank you so much for such a wonderful session Kayli. I am really looking forward to our fall session and especially for your reveal of your summer session!

Brown to Bailey

My fiancé and I just recently had our first photo session done that wasn’t by me or my best friend. These images were taken by our wedding photographer, Marisa Henry, she allowed me to edit them but she did a wonderful job shooting! Check out Marisa’s work on her website.

I wanted to share these because I honestly cannot stop looking at them and I cannot wait to get some of these enlarged and hung up on the walls in our new house. For those of you that don’t know, we have officially moved to Ionia. We have been living here for about a month now and we absolutely love it. I must admit, I was so nervous to move back to Ionia. I loved living in Grand Rapids, having everything I could ever need right at my finger tips. However, now that we have been here I realize I truly missed that small town living. I just love that there is not much traffic to deal with!

I was nervous moving my business back to my home town but I think it will turn into one of the best decisions we have made! My studio space is roughly the same set up, its a tad smaller but hey we are making it work out just fine! My office however, is a bit larger and it is so nice being able to have a nice little set up that people can come visit. The end goal is to be able to have clients come over and see all of their photos how I see them, on my giant computer screen in full color! I can’t wait to have my first client over once the office is completely finished (its so close!).

Any who, onto these images that I love so much. These were taken right outside of our new home. To me, that makes these even more meaningful. This is Logan and I’s first official home that we own and having images near by really makes it special. I can’t wait to marry my best friend next October.

10.14.17 #browntobailey2017

Photos taken by Marisa Henry

Make up by Cydney Robinson

All images were edited by myself, does not directly represent Marisa Henry’s image style.

Love Is All You Need

Meet Ashley and Elizabeth!

Elizabeth came to me a couple months ago asking about wedding packages. Ashley and herself really enjoyed my work so I was excited to get them their welcome packet. They came to visit me at my office to discuss some questions they had and they decided to book with me.

The next day we were chatting about their engagement session. They both attended GVSU so they really wanted to include some photos over there in their session as well as downtown Grand Rapids. Their session was beautiful! The amount of love these two shared between them was amazing. They were so full of laughs and so comfortable with each other, it really shows in their images!

Their wedding is coming up in August and I cannot wait! Its going to be gorgeous.

I hope you enjoy these photos as much as I enjoyed taking them. These two were great to work with!

Where Am I?

Hey everyone!

It has been quite some time since my last blog. It looks like its been about two whole weeks! That is far to long for me. However it has also been a CRAZY two weeks. We are officially moved into our home in Ionia! The studio is coming along nicely as well as all the other things that come with home owner ship such as painting, remodeling, and what not. I’m sure you could believe that we still have so much to do! Heck, I’m not even into my office yet, still working at my desk out in the cluttered studio space. Oh well, I’m just happy to officially own my own home!

I’m sorry if this blog becomes a bit lengthy but I wanted to share with you a little snippet of all the things I have been doing the last two to three weeks! I have had some wonderful sessions including two weddings, some prom photos, graduation photos, and more! I must say that all of my clients have been amazing during the session and with their patience while waiting for their final images.

Here are just a few of my favorites from different sessions!

 

Prom?

 

Prom.
One of high schools crazy traditions that every student feels they have to attend. Well maybe not every, but most. Now days the boys and even the girls sometimes come up with all of these crazy ways of asking their boyfriend/girlfriend/friends to prom. I always love seeing the videos of these kids holding their signs or doing something crazy to ask their significant other to the dance.

This wasn’t for prom but for their “Fling” dance, whatever that is, Sonja had one of her teachers pull Konner out of class to take him to the office. They made it seem like he was in a lot of trouble but once he got down to the office, she was standing there with a cute handmade sign she made asking him to the dance. Adorable right?!

Then came prom. These high schoolers and of course their parents spend all of this money on just one night of fun. But it is one very special night in every sophomore, junior, and seniors life that they feel like they need to do. The girls of course spend all day pampering themselves. Getting hair done, nails, make up, the whole shebang just to put on this expensive but gorgeous gown so they can go out dancing for a night. Its quite spectacular really. Konner here got all spiffy in his tux and he even got his wonderful lady a beautiful corsage.

When you have a couple that has been together for quite awhile and has gone through so many memories together you can’t help but see all of that young love between the two of them. I know they had a wonderful evening and I am so glad I was there to capture some photos of these two. They look amazing dont they?!

We did these photos at Kuyper College in Grand Rapids. It was a perfect spot for a few photos, plus it was near by to the spot they got ready at. I can’t believe my niece even went to prom though! She walked up those stairs in her gorgeous dress and I about cried at how beautiful she was.

I hope you can enjoy some of these photos from their prom night last month!

Hair done by Paula Guppy. Make up by Cydney Robinson

 

Apple Orchard Wedding

Hey there everyone! I know lately I have been slacking quite a bit on blogging. It has been a crazy couple of weeks though!

It’s official, Logan and I will be moving back to Ionia. My old home town. I was going to wait to announce it but who knows how many of you will even read this so if only a few of you know thats fine with me! We have already taken about half of our things over to our new home, we even started painting the new studio space. Woot woot! I can’t wait to share some pictures once we get all settled and everything looking the way we want.

Any who, enough about myself, I want to share with you some gorgeous photos from the McKeown wedding! These photos were taken at Meckley’s Flavor Fruit Farm in Jackson MI. It was a gorgeous day and we got so lucky that it didn’t rain!

Nicole got her dream of being married in front of the apple trees in full bloom and let me tell you, it was absolutely stunning! Nicole and Chad met at a church in Belding and they had the cutest little proposal story!

In the words of the bride herself when I asked about their proposal “THIS IS MY FAVORITE STORY. Chad proposed by taking me on a ‘surprise picnic’. He blindfolded me in the car until we reached the picnic spot. It turned out to be the marina in Holland (I have ALWAYS wanted to go sailing). I was shocked beyond belief, and still expected nothing. After about 2 hours of learning how to sail on Lake Michigan with our captain, he suggested that we sit on the edge of the boat and enjoy the view. While sitting, he started his speech and asked me to marry him. :)”
How cute right?!

Well, lets get on with it as I am sure you’re all dying to see some of their images!

How awesome that a rainbow appeared right before their ceremony!

The amount of love between these two was amazing! You could just tell every time they looked at each other that they were meant to be. It was such a beautiful day!

I had so much fun working with these two and their families, they are just all around great and wonderful people. The entire day was planned out wonderfully and everything was so easy!

I am now booking weddings into 2017! If you are interested in a digital welcome packet, don’t hesitate to ask!