Maternity Monday | Shelby Township, MI Photographer

Gosh, the weekends go by so quickly and I am never ready for Monday morning to come. At least the sunrise is pretty and makes it a little more bearable. I had a busy weekend and it's definitely true that time flies when you're having fun. Saturday I went boating all day long. Literally, all day..from noon until 12:30am! It was a great time and I only got sunburned on my shoulder blades which feel like they are on fire. Ouch! Of course I had to burn the most inconvenient place where I can barely reach to put aloe on myself, ha ha!

Sunday I met a couple for a maternity session. This was my 5th maternity session in about a month or so. I really enjoy photographing maternity sessions and this one was just amazing. They had a lot of ideas of different poses, listened to my ideas, and they were so easy to talk to. And I loved the fact that they weren't afraid of getting dirty and were up for just about anything. We spent nearly two hours shooting in a gorgeous location and I couldn't wait to get home to go through the photos and share a sneak peak. So here you go! 

I told you they were amazing! :)  

Almost every shot turned out perfect, no joke! So now you can see why I can't wait to start editing this session!

Make your Monday a great one! 

Oh! And if you have a couple minutes to spare, I would greatly appreciate your vote for me for best portrait photographer in the Detroit A-List Contest. I came in 6th last year and I would love to beat that this year :) Right now I'm in 8th and every single vote counts! Thank you!! 

Vote Here!

The "D" Family | Mount Clemens Family Session

What a fun session this was! The "D" Family is amazing, funny, and just all around awesome. We had a great time in downtown Mt. Clemens during the photo session, even though it was somewhat chilly that morning :)

Free Session?!

Are you a fun, outgoing soon-to-be senior*? Niki Collis Photography is giving away a free high-school senior portrait session! The winner will have their session fee waived and receive a free set of senior rep cards along with a free 8x10 print (a $125 value!). You will also receive a discount on all collection purchases. If you are interested, please fill out the following form. All entries must be completed by Friday, May 4th. *Class of 2013 only


CLICK HERE FOR FORM!

One-Hour Photo? I Think Not.

So often I have heard from clients, "Oh I am just going to print the photos from the local one-hour location." And I cringe. I know what these one-hour store produce. They are decent, if you want to stick 4x6's in a photo album and call it a day. But to actually use them for displaying in your home? Ehhh...I don't recommend it. At all. Their printing machines are just not up to par with those from a professional printing lab. Check out this example from fellow photographer, Nadia Hurtt. 

As you can see, Nadia took the same photo and had it developed at a professional lab as well as three big-box one-hour photo locations. The difference astounds me as they are not even close to the original version and the pro lab version. The quality is just not there. Going the cheaper, less-expensive route is not always the best idea. This is the main reason I have stopped, for the most part, giving discs with my photo sessions. The one-hour photo labs do not reflect the quality of my photography of you correctly.  I want you to have beautiful custom artwork hanging in your home for all to enjoy for many years to come. I'm not being gimmicky, or trying to sell you tons of prints, I just honestly want the best for my customers :)

I do plan on doing like Nadia has done, have the same photo printed from a variety of places. I will post my outcome on an upcoming blog post. I will also have these examples with me during our session so that you can see for yourself the difference, not only in the quality of the photograph itself, but also the quality of photo paper that  is used. 

Thank you so much to Nadia Hurtt for allowing me to use her example for this blog posting! :)

Spring is in the Air

Birds are chirping, flowers are blooming and baseball is back! That can only mean one thing....Spring is here! I am very excited about the upcoming months and working with my amazing clients. I've got a lot of new ideas for my photo sessions (and some new gadgets too!) and I can't wait to shoot your sessions! 


Often times before a session, I am asked, "What should I/we wear?" or "Can you give me some ideas of what I/we should wear to our session?" To give you a visual of some amazing clothing combinations and color choices, I look to the great Corina Nielsen who always posts some great clothing combos on her blog.

By no means do you have to go run out and purchase these exact combos! But hopefully it does aide you in deciding what color combos and styles work together. I do want you to be comfortable so please don't get dressed up in something that is not "you" or puts you completely out of your own element. I of course am always interested where YOU shop as well so please do share :)

Operation: Love ReUnited | Royal Oak Military Session

Friday, April 6th, I met with an amazing couple in downtown Royal Oak, MI. He is deploying very soon and they contacted me, through another photographer, through the wonderful organization, Operation: Love Reunited. This organization, which I am proudly a part of, provides photo sessions at NO cost to those in the military, either predeployment, deployment, or homecoming. 

It was a tad chilly out but other than that, it was a beautiful day. We got some amazing photos throughout the city. Here is just a sneak peak of a few of those photos. As soon as I go through the rest, I plan on showcasing another few. There are some great ones that I can't wait to share! 

As per guidelines, the name-tag has been blurred out and the following statement posted: 

“The photos and other content of this publication do not imply any endorsement or recommendation by the Department of Defense.”

Half-Off Friday!

Since Friday is "Good Friday", I am slashing all of my sessions fees in half for one day only! If you have been wanting to get photographs done, then make Friday your day! I only have TWO spots left so contact me asap to schedule your session!

Freebie Friday!

It's Friday and time for a freebie offer!!

Book a session with me and receive a FREE accordion mini album with any print collection purchase! That is a $35 value!  Accordion mini's are great little keepsakes and are perfect gifts as well! This offer ends Sunday and deposit is required.

My days are filling up quickly! Contact me today :)

Attention! High School Juniors

Time for me to face the facts. I have a son who is a junior in high school and will soon enough, become a senior. Yikes! Where ever did the time go? I still can't wrap my head around the thought! lol For high school juniors, there is so much planning and whatnot that needs to be done. Time to start thinking about the future and future college plans. My son is thinking of joining the National Guard, which I think is really great! Even if he changes his mind, I will fully support whatever he decides for his future. It's also a time to start thinking about senior portraits!  It's never too early to schedule your senior portrait session. Or, for those seniors who haven't gotten their senior pictures taken yet, you still have time! 

Your senior portrait session with me will last up to two hours and during that time, you will have unlimited clothing changes. I also accommodate up to two locations in your fee, as long as they are in relative close proximity to one another. I do have my seniors (or soon-to-be-seniors) fill out a short survey prior to our session that gives me a better idea of their personality, likes and dislikes, etc. This helps me personalize your session to you!

I will be looking for two senior reps from each high school. My reps receive a discount on their session as well as a free set of rep cards to pass out to their friends. The rep cards will feature the senior as well as have my information on them. Each time one of their classmates turns in a rep card and books me for their session, the senior rep can earn free prints, albums and more! It's a win-win situation! If you are interested in becoming a senior rep for your school, contact me before your friends do! 

My high school junior...soon to be senior! 

Happy Valentine's Day

Sam and Brandon's Engagement session. Downtown Royal Oak, Michigan 

It's that special day of the year...Valentine's Day! I loved Valentine's Day as a child. I couldn't wait for my mom to take me to the store so I could pick out a box of Valentine Day cards to pass out to my classmates. What would I pick? The decision was always so hard; Care Bears? Rainbow Bright? Cute kittens? Once I finally picked out my box, I then couldn't wait to start writing out the cards. I would sit the night before, carefully writing each friends name on the card and signing my own name. The next day in school we would have a Valentines Day party which involved passing out our cards, passing out candy and sometimes, the teacher would wheel in the tv on a cart (you know the one!) and we would watch a movie or cartoon. Super fun!

As you grow older, Valentine's Day means something different. It means picking out the perfect gift for the one you love. And for some, it's the start of something really big. Big as in engagement! I recently read (and forgive, I forgot where) that 10% of couple get engaged on Valentine's Day and more than 2.2 million couples get married each year in the United States. That's a whole lotta engagements and weddings!

So if you are one of those 10% who has proposed or has been proposed to today, a huge CONGRATULATIONS to you!

To make it "official" why not get some engagement photos taken? These are a great way to announce your engagement to your friends and family (and the world!). They are also great when used with "save the date" announcements for your upcoming wedding. Contact me and we can create the perfect setting for your session. Engagement sessions are free if a retainer fee is received for your big wedding day. Otherwise, I do offer just engagement packages.

Boudoir Sessions | Warren Boudoir Photographer

Anytime you do something, anything, for the first time, there definitely is a part of you that is somewhat nervous. I admit, I was a teeny bit nervous just before I photographed my first two boudoir sessions over the weekend. But I seriously couldn't be happier with the results. Each of the women I photographed are absolutely gorgeous. They both had some ideas of what they wanted to do and how they wanted to pose (thanks to Pinterest! lol). I am 100% positive that their husbands are going to have HUGE smiles on their faces when they see the photographs for the first time.

Please contact me if you are interested in a boudoir session. My Valentine's Special ends on Saturday, February 4th. You can read all about the details HERE. Gift certificates are also available. I will also be offering boudoir photo parties, more details coming very soon!

The above photo is from one of my sessions (and I did request permission before posting). 

What to wear?

Often I have clients who ask me for suggestions on what they should wear for their photo sessions. The possibilities are pretty endless. My suggestion for children is to make sure they are comfortable. If a child is uncomfortable in a certain article of clothing, chances are they will get antsy and are less likely to sit still and won't be too enthused about getting photographs taken. Now that I just wrote that, I believe that it can go for any one of any age! If you don't feel comfortable, you won't look comfortable. I want your session to be comfortable for everyone from the time we start until the very end. I do stress that character clothing and huge logos on clothing can be distracting. You don't want to take away from your smiling faces :)

The amazingly talented Corina Nielsen has compiled a few clothing suggestions for January sessions and has graciously allowed photographers to use these images she came up with. Thank you Corina! I think my favorite out of the three is the second one, but they are all pretty great! I love the reds in the first set and love the darker cooler hues in the second and third sets.

So if you are having difficulty deciding what to wear for your upcoming session, check out the following ideas and go from there. Hopefully these ideas will give you some inspiration :)

Beach Fun Photo Challenge [iheartfaces]

This weeks challenge on iheartfaces is the beach fun theme! How can you not have fun at the beach?! I love it and wished I lived ON a beach. Well, maybe not year-round, but during the summer would be nice! My entry into the contest features my daughter jumping into the lake. My aunt and uncle have a beautiful place up-north right on the beach. The kids love to be able to walk out the door and they're at the beach where they can swim, fish, and just hang out. It's a hike to get there (an over four hour long car drive) so we don't get up there as often as we'd like. When we are there, we enjoy it immensely and most of the time is spent, you guess it, on the beach!

Don't forget to check out the other entries at:

It's Friday!

Yay, it's Friday! Not only is it just Friday, but it's Friday the 13th (are you superstitious?) AND it's iheartfaces Fix-It Friday! I had a lot of fun with editing this photo (as you can tell!). What a cute little guy and those eyes are just stunning!

The Original:

Edit #1

edited in CS3

Defog, Color Pop, Cropped

Edit #2

edited in CS3

Defog, Color Pop, Converted to black and white, cropped

Edit #3

edited in Lightroom 2.3

Self-created action (Meadows) and cropped

Edit #4

edited in Lightroom 2.3

gave it a vintage look with a self-created action, cropped and added some vignetting

Edit #5

edited with Lightroom 2.3

used action PH Surreal Moment and cropped

Edit #6

edited in Lightroom 2.3

self-created action (DreamsAgain), cropped and slightly rotated

First Communion

Fix-It-Friday #65

Another Fix-It-Friday from iheartfaces! I just love this lil guy's bright blue eyes! He is such a cutie!

The Original


Edit #1, ran through CS3 with a defog and color pop


Edit #2, ran through Lightroom and used a b&w converter preset


Edit #3, again in Lightroom, a tighter crop, used Creative Catalyst 19 preset


Edit #4, Lightroom, even tighter crop, used a preset called Metropolis


Check out more edits and gain some great tips and you can even submit your own edits!

Waterford Michigan Wedding Photographer

I was honored to be asked to shoot the wedding of E & J. They are good friends of mine and they make a really great couple. Though it was overcast, not a drop of rain was to be seen. The ceremony was just beautiful.

Purple

This weeks IHeartFaces challenge is the color purple which is the color that many little girls call their favorite. No exception here as this little one wears a cute purple and pink tu-tu that I made :) To see more purple-y fun (and beautiful!) entries, check out the weekly challenge on iheartfaces