This photo session was on a warm day last October. This couple was married at Meadowbrook in Detroit last summer and really were not happy with their portraits together…(I did not shoot their wedding!) sadly ;( because as you can see….they have character!! So….they called me and asked if I could fit them in and shoot at Meadowbrook for some beautiful portraits. I agreed and can’t believe how it was difficult to capture these two…they were truly amazing, in love and easy to capture. So glad to have the opportunity! Here are a few faves!

I adore the Pottenger’s…..and their daughter Lexi has been so much fun to photograph, so I was not surprised that her new brother Max was equally as adorable….and thank you Amy for his adorable outfit, or lack of should I say I LOVE his rolls. *just a few for fun..

and you have a camera with a little heart….please come to an informational night to hear about a program that is healing families.

I am posting this on my blog because this it really is the most important time I spend using my camera. At the same time I started my photography business, I also began volunteering for families in the the Michigan area who needed bereavement photography. I know to some this sounds crazy and morbid…but I know some of you understand…but for both I share this story…

With permission from my friends Matt & Lydia, I share Finn’s story ….his short life inspired this program…

About 6 years ago, our friends moved to Toronto. Lydia was due to have her baby soon after they moved there. We were very excited to get the phone call telling us that they had baby Finn. They said he was healthy. Then we got a call saying to pray, something was seriously wrong and he was having seizures. The next phone call we received, was telling us that baby Finn was not going to make it. Matt & Lydia lost Finn within a few days of his birth.

This was a life changing experience for Matt + Lydia and many of their friends and family. When they returned to Grand Rapids, Lydia had shared so many rolls of film of she had taken in the hospital of baby Finn. I realized how invaluable and important those photos were to them. To help them remember, value, grieve, and share Finn. They were so valuable to all of us again, as we gathered on what would have been his one year birthday, to hear, share, and look at his photos. Yes, it was sad, but also freeing to grieve, and remember, Finn deserves it…he was and still is God’s child. A life to be valued.

The hospital calls us to photograph babies who are as little as 25 weeks gestational age to babies who are in the NICU, or babies who have past away just before their due date, or shortly after birth. This is not an easy place to be….

Do I cry? Almost in every session, on the ride home or later watching my own children sleeping. No matter how many I’ve done, it does not make it any easier to watch a parent lose their child. The second session I ever photographed, I was in the corner on the opposite site from where the door was because there were so many family members in the room. I was the present when the mother took her baby off life support and watched her scream as her baby died in her arms. I listened to her plead with God for her son.

I don’t know why things like this happen, but I do know that God has planned every life….and every life is created with purpose. This is why I started this program in Grand Rapids and am now the area coordinator for NILMDTS here in West Michigan….to share in each parents journey.. to validate that their child’s life and to remind them their life is valuable and worthy of remembering.

Please if you have a DSLR camera….we need your help. Spectrum Hospital L & D has 8,000 births a year, a very small number are losses, and the NICU has about 50 losses a year. We don’t photograph all of those, but we do need your help!

We have one informational meeting planned for Monday, April 18th from 7:30-9p There is no obligation to join…just come and listen to the details of the program, experiences. To actually become a volunteer photographer for NILMDTS, you need to enroll through their website, become a Spectrum volunteer, and agree to be on call one day a month, and volunteer once every 6 months. The photographers that have been helping the past few years are so valuable to our program, and I appreciate each and every one of you. But we all know we need more!!!

If you have questions about any of this, please email or call me.

I wanted to included a documentary slideshow for you. It is a family that called me that was would be delivering their baby, that because of many anomalies, she would not live more than a few hours after birth, that was if she even survived the delivery. They weren’t even monitoring the baby during labor, so no one know if this little girl would be alive when she delivered. None the less, mom wanted pictures of her baby when she was put on her chest, so I was there for the delivery. MIraclulously, she was born alive and her parents were able to spend hours with her. You will see in these photos the joy and love that these parents have for this little girl admist the grief that was to come. That is beautiful, these moments for them to remember. This is why you need to volunteer….

**CLICK HERE FOR SLIDESHOW** ~this song has impacted many of our families and photographers, it’s “Held” by Natalie Grant.

a2 (squared) was their theme and it was adorable…abbe + adam were more adorable and I really enjoyed getting to know them! As you can see, their day was just amazing. The weather tried to thwart their day, but even giant puddles on the ground didn’t even phase them! And we captured some amazing moments!!! They had their ceremony + reception at a tented outdoor reception site at COSI in Columbus Ohio. They have an amazing group of friends and family who helped them have an amazing celebration. Abbe LOVES to dance + entertain….so as you can see, we have a ‘few’ pics of her showing off her moves Enjoy just a *few* favorites….