My Inspirations

Recent sessions

2010-08-23T08:12:00.000-07:00

I recently held a neighborhood session (well, two, actually) in my backyard--featuring the red sofa and a new orange chair. Between the two sessions, I photographed 23 neighborhood kids. The sessions are short, but we manage to fire off lots of pics with some nice variety and really cute expressions!

Long Time No See

2010-08-19T07:05:00.000-07:00

Ok, ok, I admit it's difficult to keep up with my blog on top of photographing, editing, and client slideshow viewings! Aaaahhh! Not to mention that I'm more of a visual person rather than a writer, so I actually post images regularly on Facebook (hint hint). If you haven't seen my Inspirations Photography page on Facebook, please feel free to visit there and "Like" it =) You'll be able to see much more of my work on a timlier basis! However, for now, I am posting some of my recent faves since I'm already here typing this, anyway ;) Hope everyone is having a GREAT summer! NOTE: If you want to schedule photos this fall for Christmas cards, fall color, etc., please call soon to book your appointment!! Saturdays, especially, go FAST!

3rd Annual Casting Call Event!

2010-02-12T09:42:00.001-08:00

It's time for the Inspirations Photography and ID & Company Casting Call Event!

Call to sign up now at 616-891-0154.

We are looking for 13 new faces to be featured on the walls of ID & Company in Caledonia. Your child could be one of them! We are looking for boys and girls ranging from 1 to 13 years old.

We are now scheduling mini-portrait appointments on March 5, 6 and 8. There is no cost for the appointment, and you will have the option to purchase prints at special Casting Call Event prices if you wish. Appointments are limited and fill up quickly, so call today!

To learn more, go to the Inspirations Photography website and click on the "Special Events" link at the bottom left.

Tina and Chris

2009-11-16T08:50:00.000-08:00

Ok, since I don't do weddings normally (unless I'm second camera), I don't usually get the pleasure of doing engagement photos. Well, thanks to a dear friend (you know who you are), I had a new client call me and ask for a photo session to celebrate their engagement.

Well, we did studio photos and had a great time, then headed downtown for an even BETTER time! These peeps were SO fun and open to so many ideas...I could have photographed until the sun went down. You can see the laughter in many of the photos...this was geniune, they laugh a lot and you can just tell they are so in love! I even thought we might get arrested a few times downtown because they are not shy when it comes to PDA (heehee, just kidding!! After all, I WAS encouraging them =). So, I had to share some of my faves here...enjoy! Thanks you two...what a blast!

My Rockford Family!

2009-11-11T07:23:00.000-08:00

Several weeks ago I had the pleasure of meeting a brand new client from Rockford. They asked me to come up to Rockford to photograph them by the dam...I'm SO glad I did because I had no idea how beautiful it was up there! We had a perfect day, and it was a perfect family...they were adorable and SOO nice!! Thanks, guys, we really enjoyed our session with you!

Cameron

2009-08-25T10:02:00.000-07:00

Had an exciting session downtown with Cameron...just getting around to posting some fun pics now! Check out the one with the train coming up behind him...we had to run to the track to catch that one, and I think he was just a little nervous as it was coming up on us!! But I'm so glad we did it, and I hope you are, too, Cameron!! I love it =)

Taylor's 3 Year Pics

2009-07-30T12:32:00.001-07:00

Taylor came all the way from St. Louis to visit Grandma and Grandpa this month. She came and visited me while she was in town and we got these awesome shots!! I LOVE the tutu/boot combo--great pick, Mom! Enjoy!

Little Collin

2009-07-09T10:20:00.000-07:00

This little guy was born at the beginning of June. He was about 9 days old when we photographed him. He and his parents are adorable and great to work with! I love photographing newborns...they are precious little angels. And Dad gave me the opportunity to play with my "Father Figure" concept where he holds the baby over his head. We practiced a LOT with a stuffed racoon first before we brought Collin onto the scene =) Enjoy the pics!

Family Time

2009-03-17T11:24:00.000-07:00

Had a great session this weekend with this beautiful family from the east side of the state. They are so much fun to work with and so light-hearted. You can't ask for a better family session! Not to mention the outfits the mom scored for the girls...how great are those?! Thanks for the opportunity to capture your family's relationship--I really enjoyed it and I hope you all did, too.

Sweet Makayla!

2009-03-16T15:08:00.000-07:00

Cute little Makayla, now 6 months old already. I cannot believe how time flies--I photographed this family when Makayla was still in mommy's belly! We had another great session, lots of smiles and lots of fun. She amazes me--she was awesome through all of her clothing changes, which is unusual for a six-month-old. I love watching these little people grow. It's one of the best parts of my job. Thanks for making the trips from Kzoo to see me!

Casting Call Voting in Progress

2009-03-02T13:15:00.000-08:00

Hi! Wow, our Casting Call voting is in full swing and it's a serious event out there!! We've had over 7000 votes come in so far for our 83 entrants, and we're on day 3 of 7. Stacia and I are so grateful to all of our beautiful participants for joining the fun, and to their families and friends for supporting them and voting. We are enjoying watching the status each day...well...each hour to be honest--it keeps changing! Keep sending your friends to vote for your favorite contestants because the ball is still in the air. I've noticed many people are using Facebook to get the word out--great idea--I did it, too. Voting closes on Saturday and winners will be announced on Sunday. Remember, there will not only be the 13 winners for the store walls at ID & Company, but we're giving away gift certificates as well.

Here are some of the images from the mini-sessions. Some are images on the voting page, some are extras I put in a gallery on my Inspirations Photography web site, and some are new that haven't been posted anywhere else yet. Hope you're enjoying them!

Casting Call 2009

2009-02-23T09:21:00.000-08:00

Wow! We are halfway through the Casting Call photography days and it's going well. It's been crazy busy at times, but a ton of fun! We have today and tomorrow to go (we added some hours on Tuesday because of the snow storm on Saturday--had to reschedule some sessions). The voting starts on Saturday, so make sure to come and vote for your favorite kids! I'm working on editing down the images now and I can tell you I'm having a VERY HARD time getting down to just one pic on these cuties...I have a long week ahead of me!! Thank you everyone for partipating and we look forward to the voting days!!

Little Jack-man!

2009-02-02T12:09:00.000-08:00

Saturday was a great day! Had 2 sessions: a new born baby girl (will post pics soon) and then this adorable daddy/son combo up from St. Joseph, MI. This little guy is 6 months old and he is one of the happiest babies I've photographed at that age! I'm glad Daddy got to join in the fun this time. See you guys soon!

Calling All Cuties!

2009-01-23T11:30:00.000-08:00

IT'S TIME FOR THE 2ND ANNUAL CASTING CALL EVENT!

On February 20 and 21, ID & Company and Inspirations Photography will once again be holding the Casting Call event to find 13 new faces to put on the walls at ID & Company for the coming year! We are looking for boys and girls, ages 1 - 13 years. For more information, check out my web site! Spaces fill up quickly, so make sure to call right away if you are interested in signing your child(ren) up!

An Exciting Month

2009-01-20T11:15:00.000-08:00

Well, this past week I went to Phoenix, Arizona to attend Imaging USA (the annual Professional Photographers of America convention). Two of my prints in the Loan Collection were on display along with many other amazing images by gifted photographers around the world. It's always so inspiring to see such beautiful work! There is also a HUGE trade show where we photographers can keep up with the trends in the business and check out new products to offer our clients. Fun stuff! My husband and I had the opportunity to head up to Sedona where I was able to capture some images of the landscape there--amazing color!

The main reason I went to the convention this year is because I received my Master of Photography degree from PPA! Through education and competition, I have been working toward this degree for the past 4 years. It was a lot of hard work and tough love, but well worth the effort! I wanted to share the good news with all my clients, and below are some images from the awards night as well as some Sedona pics. =)

I hope everyone's year is starting out bright and I wish you lots of warm fuzzies during these cold months ahead. Hopefully, I will get to touch base with each of you this year.

My husband, Brent, and me after the Awards Ceremony. He is my biggest supporter and an amazing husband! I love you, babe!

Jim Churchill and me; he was my sponsor and is a gifted photographer from an area north of Muskegon.

My print "Ashes to Ashes" on display at the Kodak Gallery Elite Awards event. It was one of around 60 images from across the United States to receive the Kodak Gallery Award last year.

Dakota!

2009-01-20T11:04:00.000-08:00

Well, I had a great session on Saturday with Dakota! I love his edgy style and we had fun (albeit we were COLD) shooting on Saturday in those giant snowflakes that were falling from the sky! I also got my dog fix with his beautiful Dalmation. Here are a few of my faves...can't wait for you to see them all, Dakota! Enjoy =)

Sweet Little Makayla

2008-12-09T07:37:00.000-08:00

Well, I don't know about you, but I've been crazy busy getting ready for the holidays. So many orders to finish in time for Christmas! I had to post these from last night because she's so adorable, but I'm keeping it short and sweet. She's only 3 months old, and we wore her out, poor thing (as you can see in the last pic). She slept on her way here from Kzoo, and was asleep before she left again. Hope mom and dad got to sleep last night, too, and that they made it home safely in that freezing rain.

An Honor for "Heads"

2008-11-13T08:20:00.000-08:00

This is pretty cool. I received a call from PPA today. My image "Heads are Gonna Roll" was apparently part of the travelling Loan Collection that was recently in China. There were 100 prints in this collection, and a magazine over there named Chinese National Reader Magazine chose 4 prints to put in an article about PPA. Mine was one of the 4. I just thought that was cool and I'm very honored! Wanted to share this little tidbit with you =)

Weekend Shots

2008-11-06T14:42:00.000-08:00

I've been MIA once again on my Blog. It's hard to keep up this time of year!! So many awesome sessions, it's hard to get them all on here. Soooo, here are just a few shots from this weekend that I did. We had great weather and we took advantage of it!

Congrats to Jenny, Homecoming Queen for Caledonia! (She's the first image below.) Followed by Tristan and his Mom and Dad. Tristan is only 9 months old--how cute is he???!! That boy loves balloons...=)

Sweet!!

2008-10-03T11:20:00.000-07:00

PPA launched its updated website yesterday. As I was browsing around, I located my "Heads are Gonna Roll" image on display on the website! Since it's a new site, I don't know how often they will change images (or IF they will), but I am honored as they have many, many, MANY images from which to choose.

If you want to see it, click on the link below. You should see a small "01" and "02" beneath and to the left of the thumbnail images on this page. Click on the "02" and look through the thumbnails for my image--click to enlarge.

http://www.ppa.com/galleries/5/Images-on-ppacom.php

A Beautiful Day!

2008-09-14T14:43:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Shelly and Al! I had the pleasure of photographing their wedding a week ago and I wanted to post some of the images from the day. They had a perfect day to get married--beautiful, not too hot, not too cool...just right. And what a nice couple to work with--I couldn't have asked for sweeter people! Enjoy, and we'll be in touch soon to set up your viewing appointment =)

Mac and Jack

2008-09-05T15:03:00.002-07:00

Wow, what a fun session today! Mac and Jack are brothers who are almost exactly 2 years apart. What cutie pies! Although it got HOT in the studio today (lots of activity--we were melting!), we got some fabulous shots! Look at those baby bottom dimples--too cute. Thanks for making the 2 hour trip to see me. Mom, I know you won't see these for a while so I wanted to give you a little preview. Enjoy =)

Finally Rachael!

2008-08-18T11:16:00.000-07:00

Sorry that it's taken me this long to get some of these out for you, Rachael! I've been having "Blogger" issues for a few weeks now...Have a great vacation and I'll see you when you get back! Enjoy the pics -- you look fabulous =)

Little Dude!

2008-08-17T11:08:00.001-07:00

This little dude is such a peanut--look at those blue eyes! He's 6 months old and is sitting up already with no problems. We didn't have one tip-over! Way to go, Tristan! I'll see your Mommy this week--you did great and I think she's going to be a happy Mama!

New Baby Coming

2008-08-05T14:54:00.003-07:00

I had the wonderful pleasure of photographing 2 expecting couples in one week. I love pregnancy portraits, so it was a great week for me! Another great session with amazing parents-to-be. I'm so excited for you guys!! Enjoy your sneak peek and I'll see you in a few weeks =)

Mary and Company...

2008-08-03T17:27:00.000-07:00

About a week ago I had the pleasure of photographing Mary for her senior pics! What a gorgeous gal--her parents make beautiful girls (I had the honor of photographing her older sister a few years ago, too). We had a great session and got some amazing pics =) Isn't the field of flowers fantastic? We also mixed it up with a few family shots at the park...I'll try to post some of those in the near future, too, but for now, here's a sneak peek for you Mary. Enjoy!

Wow! Great Expectations!!

2008-07-22T10:26:00.001-07:00

I had the opportunity to photograph a beautiful husband and wife as they patiently await the arrival of their first child. We had a great session and they were a lot of fun to work with! I am so excited about the images we captured, so I wanted to share just a few of them here...enjoy! Angie and Eric--can't wait for you to see them all!

An Evening at the Park

2008-07-21T20:28:00.000-07:00

I was very excited to see these two little faces for their 2 and 4 year portraits! They are such a cute family and we got to enjoy a beautiful evening at the park together. They were even treated to ice cream by Mom and Dad after the session--yum! Of course, a session with 2 little ones is not without its moments of, well, less than desired cooperation--but that's how it goes at this age. =) It all worked out in the end and I think we got some great expressions!

Mark and Vince!

2008-07-21T20:09:00.000-07:00

Ok, I had a great session with Mark and Vince for their senior pics! They are good friends and were up for having some fun with their 2-for-1 session. You guys were great, and I hope you love your images! See you soon.

Laura's Kids

2008-07-15T22:19:00.000-07:00

Here are a handful of cute images from my session with Laura and Ron's kids from St. Joe. We captured some really fun images--but I'm saving a few for your viewing, Laura! I can't give up ALL the good ones here ;)

Back for more!

2008-07-14T21:07:00.000-07:00

Well, I've been buried in projects the last few months! So sorry to have disappeared. Many of you have commented on my absence on the Blog, so here's a little update about what I've been up to:

We completed a successful first annual Casting Call for Inspirations Photography and ID & Company, a local store in Caledonia that specialized in personalized gifts. Thirteen new models were voted in by the public. We coordinated products, held studio sessions for each new model, created fun, new designs and images, and they now grace the walls of the ID & Company store. We hope all the participants had as much fun as we did doing this!

I also participated in the first Main Street Merchant's Western Week in Caledonia in June. Deb Sportel, of Sportel Photography in Caledonia, and I photographed families and children with a western twist in an old bank in downtown Caledonia. We also ran around doing candid portraits of those in attendance. It was great to meet some of our fellow Caledonians!

As a board member of the pool this year, I've also been busy doing photography work for the Dolphin Swim Club, located in Kentwood. They held a kids triathlon in June, and I photographed that event. I also photographed the lifeguards at the pool and posted their images on the Club's web site. They are a fun bunch!

I've also been spending time with my family, which will hopefully be easier now that I have a new rockin' computer that works at warp speed compared to my last one. That, too, has brought along it's own issues, but I'm working through them. They are all worth it, though, and thanks to Kris, my PC guru, he made the setup so much less painful than it could have been. It's amazing how many types of software you realize you have when you need to reconfigure a new computer--yikes!

On top of this, I've been working hard to create wonderful memories for my clients in the form of unforgettable images. I'm blessed to have so many amazing clients. Thank you for your patience as I've been wading through my sea of projects this year.

Ok, that being said, here are some images from a session I did for Taylor from Texas when she was in town. Stay safe, sweetie!

Laura, I'll upload some for you later today!

Where have all the photos gone?

2008-04-24T18:37:00.000-07:00

Well, I've been MIA lately on my blog--just been busy trying to finalize prints from the Grand Rapids Children's Museum fundraiser, keeping up with my client sessions, trying to find a new assistant, and now working diligently on scheduling our new models from the ID & Company Casting Call event (which went over VERY well with almost 1500 votes received). It's been a crazy few months and I think I'm finally coming up for air! So, I've gathered a few images from recent sessions to share.

These are images from my daughter playing with a hat in the studio before one of my sessions (of course she won't do this stuff when I'd LIKE her to, only when she's ready to =)... But I love the images, so I'll take what I can get. That's one of the benefits of having a studio in your home, I guess =)

Nope, this is more like what she does "on demand"... We tried to do a portrait session with my parents when they were in town. It was mildly successful, but not what I'd had in mind. It's MUCH easier to work with other people's children!!Now, here, I got to visit one-day-old Carson and his proud new parents at the hospital. Wow, what a beautiful little boy! They are already so much in love with him--you can just feel it. It's amazing how God does that for us! What a wonderful gift...a tiny little life.

This was a great family session I did earlier this week. They were awesome to photograph--aren't they gorgeous? And the little boy, wow, I could just eat him up. He was such a little firecracker and a willing little subject! I love the one of the girls by the lake...check out the black strappy sandals, sweet! Kick it, ladies!

Little Sophia

2008-03-24T21:18:00.000-07:00

Tonight I got to meet little Sophia, only 1 month old. Oh my gosh, what a sweet baby. Love the Mohawk! We did images of her alone, then some of her with her mom, dad, and all together (grandma even jumped in for a few shots of her and Sophia). It was fun and we got some great images--I'm SO excited! She was naked most of the time and only peed twice, though once was on her daddy (sorry dad!), but he took it very well. I'm sure that's not the first time that's happened...=) Her mom likes "fluffy" things, so we used feather boas and tulle which turned out adorable. If I have a chance, I'll post some of those later, but for now, enjoy...

Mac

2008-03-18T13:05:00.000-07:00

On Saturday I had the pleasure of meeting Mac. Mac with the big blue eyes. What a cutie-patootie! He and his mom came all the way from St. Joseph, MI. What troopers! Anyway, he did a great job and I wanted to show a few of his pics. Enjoy!

Molly and Campbell

2008-03-14T09:53:00.000-07:00

Had a fun (and little bit crazy!) session with Miss Molly and Campbell yesterday! 15-month-olds are sooo curious about the world around them, and they don't have any interest in having their photo taken! I love these types of sessions because you just never know what you'll get. Well, mom and grandma, you can rest-assured now--we did it (but then, how can we go wrong with those gorgeous kiddies??). Enjoy the teasers and I'll see you in a few weeks...

Senior Photography Special for 2009 Graduates

2008-03-10T20:30:00.000-07:00

This year, call to book your senior portrait session by Friday, May 30 and you can receive a 2-for-1 special! Book your session with a friend (same location/same time) and the session fee will be the same as it is for one person. So you can split the cost and have fun with a friend while you're at it! Call or e-mail me if you'd like more info.

Also new this year, when you place your order, I'll send you a thumbnail image of your choice from your session for your Myspace page =)

Casting Call!

2008-03-10T19:14:00.000-07:00

Last year I partnered with a local Caledonia specialty store called ID & Company to put portrait-style images on the store walls featuring their products. ID & Company sells personalized gifts for every occasion--from babies to adults, and pets too! It's an amazing store, and SO easy to fall in love with the products there!

Anyway, this year we decided to do a Casting Call for new models to update the images at the store. On March 29 and 30, we are holding "mini" photo appointments at the store (located in the Glen Valley Retail Center at 9175, Cherry Valley Ave. in Caledonia). We will photograph each child/teenager, and the best image from each entrant will be placed on a web site for public voting, which will determine our new faces for 2008!

We've had an amazing response and our younger age groups are already filled up. We only have about 2 more spaces open for males in the 15 to 18-year age group.

The 13 winners will have a professional photo session featuring products from ID & Company. We will choose the best image from each session to be displayed on the walls of ID & Company for the coming year. We will also be holding a grand prize drawing for two lucky winners to receive a $100 gift certificate to Inspirations Photography or ID & Company.

For further information or to sign up, call ID & Company at 616-891-0154. Saturday is completely booked, and there are only a few openings left on Sunday, so if you're interested, call the store soon!

Children's Museum Kids at Heart Fundraiser

2008-03-09T15:46:00.001-07:00

Whew! Friday night was a ton of fun! Mindy Peterson (This Photo Story) and I photographed the 2008 Kids at Heart Grand Rapids Children's Museum fundraiser. We were prepared to do formal portraits, but instead decided to use the icon that, to me, is the epitome of the museum--the yellow Volkswagen bug in the corner! The guests were having a great time at the event, and we captured that in many of the images we created that night.

They also had a very talented band playing that night, Domestic Problems. Nice work, guys =) You rocked!

Thank you to Scott and Maggie Lancaster for giving me this wonderful opportunity to photograph such a fun and important event in our community! Check back later this week to see the images we shot that night...

Welcome to my new site design!

2008-03-06T23:37:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been LONG overdue, but I've finally finished my new web site design. We've been working on this for months, and it's so rewarding to see it come to fruition. Thank you, thank you, thank you to Stacy Niedzwiecki who has labored endlessly to make this new site design happen!!

I plan to use this space to talk about things that are happening with me, my family, and Inspirations. Especially when I am excited about a recent session--I will use this Blog to post images from the session to share! So make sure to check here if you've had a recent session with me--you never know what you might find.

Please look around and feel free to let me know what you think (or if anything needs to be fixed!). Thanks for visiting and I hope you will stop back often to see what I'm up to =)

In the News

2008-03-06T20:59:00.000-08:00

This week's Southeast Advance newspaper features an article about my recent awards from Professional Photographers of America and Professional Photographers of Michigan. Feel free to check it out.

Read article...