08/06/2026
Weddings will probably always have my heart.
I love the excitement of a wedding day. The anticipation. The happy tears. The dance floor. The beginning of a family's story.
But this summer...something unexpected happened.
I've fallen back in love with photographing extended families.
Maybe it's because in just two weeks, I'll be helping my own son move into his college dorm. Somehow the little boy who used to hold my hand is about to start the biggest adventure of his life, and if I'm honest, I'm feeling all the emotions that come with watching your family change.
As I've photographed grandparents surrounded by grandchildren, siblings who only get together once a year, cousins running barefoot down the beach, and parents soaking in a summer they'll never get back, I've found myself seeing these sessions through a different lens.
I know these aren't "just family pictures."
They're evidence.
Evidence that, for one brief moment, everyone was here.
The kids were still little enough to climb into Grandma's lap.
The teenagers still laughed with their cousins.
Mom and Dad were still the ones organizing everyone for one more photo.
Because life has a way of quietly changing while we're busy living it.
As a photographer, I've always believed photographs preserve memories. But as a mom preparing for an empty nest, I'm reminded that they also preserve seasons we'll never get back.
If this summer has taught me anything, it's this: there is no "better time" to schedule the photos.
One day, today's ordinary moments will be the ones you miss the most.
To every family who invited me into your vacation, reunion, or tradition this summer—thank you. You reminded me why this work matters so much.
And if you're wondering whether it's worth getting everyone together for family photos...
I promise you, someday you'll be so grateful you did.
🤍100 Hours of Memories Update 🤍
44 of 100 hours booked.
My goal is to book 100 hours of photography between August 1, 2026, and February 1, 2027—helping families and couples preserve the moments they'll treasure for a lifetime while helping me send my son to college with as little debt as possible.
Every session booked is another chapter of your story preserved... and another step toward his future.
Thank you for being part of both.
📍Northern Michigan Family Photographer | Extended Family Sessions | Traverse City • Glen Arbor • Frankfort • Arcadia • Sleeping Bear Dunes • Wherever your family gathers.
