30 Day Photo Challenge | Ann Arbor Photographer

A photographer friend of mine had made up a 30 day photo challenge on Facebook and I decided that it would be fun to participate in it. There were no rules other than the theme for the day, so instead of using my pro camera, I challenged myself to only use the Instagram App on my Android phone. Just to think outside the box (which is ironic because Instagram images are square) and I figured it would be fun to do something different. I did skip about a week of images because of moving, but here's what I've come up with so far. They represent (in order) self portrait, teeny tiny, mail, movement, everyday life, silhouette, something you hate, metal, transportation, green, and white. If you'd like to keep up with what I'm doing for the 30 day challenge, you can follow along on Instagram: @nataliemaephotography.

The Holiday Pig | Jackson, MI Pet Photographer

I couldn't resist photographing the Pig again this holiday season. He's just such a good model for me and listens so well. Here's the cuteness that came out of his mini-session.

Fill in the Blank Friday | Jackson, MI Photographer

I borrowed this idea from an amazing photographer in Portland, Motormouth Studios (seriously check out her blog, I love her design style and her photography work. I have this feeling that if we ever met in person we'd be great friends!) Anywho, she posts a series of random questions and answers them as a little deeper insight to who she is, so I thought it would be fun to do that as well.

What makes you happy?
My two dogs, a good cup of coffee, and a cozy bed.

What's one piece of clothing you can't live without?
I'd definitely have to say either my flats or a great pair of jeans.

What's right with the world?
That there are people who still care about others and will go out of their way to help their fellow man/animal.

Are you a morning or night person?
I am 100% a night person (I think most photographers agree), I get most of my work done at night when things have calmed down and I can really focus.

Name one quirk about yourself.
I have to put everything in order. CD's/DVD's/Books are all in alphabetical order in my house and my closet is organized in order of the rainbow. Things are just easier to find that way :)

What is your favorite food your parents make?
Okay this one is hard because I LOVE to eat and my mom makes such good food, but my top three are her homemade pizza, vegetable beef soup, and mush (I've heard mush called other things, but it's just fried cornbread that you eat like a pancake with butter and syrup). My favorite food that my dad makes is crawfish  etouffee...seriously the best thing ever! Think a creole dish with rice, garlic, butter, lots of herbs, and crawfish, NOM!

And I can't leave without a photo, this is me (left) and my little sister when we were young. I'm probably 10 years old and she's most likely 2 years old.

Mother Nature Pt. 2 | Jackson, MI Photographer

Some of you might remember the first half of these photos I posted a few weeks ago (click here to see them), well I finally had enough free time to finish editing them. They were inspired by Sue Bryce posing episode on Creative Live. We even did some images on a trampoline, but those will have to be used for another project, so keep checking back for those. We had so much fun doing these, hope you enjoy them as much as we did!

Models: Amber & Jena

Right: A little behind-the-scenes, of how we got the shot below.

Michigan Renaissance Festival | Jackson, MI Photographer

If you remember from last year (2011 post), I LOVE the Michigan Renaissance Festival that goes on annually in Holly, MI. The sights, sounds, and smells are a sensory overload! There's so much to do there and all kinds of fun performances to watch. This year we sat and watched a man balance a bench on his chin, the Ded Bob Sho (I definitely recommend this one if you're going to go. And get there early, he always has a full house), and lastly the jousting. The food they have is so savory and rich; my favorites are the turkey drumsticks and ginormous pickles they have. The drumsticks are so huge, I had left overs for lunch the next day!

I couldn't decide which version I liked better of this man, but I'm leaning toward the b&w. Every year I go, I see him and never have had the courage to ask permission for his portrait. This year, I did, and I'm so glad because his presence and the effort he puts into his appearance at the festival is just astounding.

Mother Nature | Jackson, MI Portrait Photographer

A couple coworkers and I decided to have a fun shoot this past weekend. Jena and Amber modeled, along with Desi the horse and Tagus the dog. These are only a few of the photos I captured, I still have a lot more to go through and edit, but I wanted to share these because we had SO much fun. We spent almost 6 hours shooting at various spots on the property. And these ones were only from the first location! When we were leaving to go to the last spot, there was a really bright rainbow going all the way across the sky. I didn't have a wide enough lens to capture the whole thing, but you can see a piece of how awesome it was at the end.

Keep checking back on the blog because I will be posting more of the images when I finish them.

Emerald Autumn | Jackson, MI Senior Photographer

The past week I've been watching a webinar for photographers online and the speaker was Sue Bryce. I had heard other photographers singing praise about her, so I had to check her out myself. Let me say, she's one of the most amazing people I've watched speak. I love how she works, her style, and how she's so resourceful. So for fun, Taryn the owner of ToughLove MPD (check out my Featured Vendor blog post for more about her), and I decided to do a shoot together. She got the model Jamiee, did her hair and makeup, and the Jamiee brought her prom dress. 

We had a blast with this portrait session and I had a hard time narrowing down the final photos, as you can see by the post haha. It was nice to get out and do a session with no pressure and free creative reign to do what I want. Not to mention the great girl time we had while prep was getting done.

While photographing Jamiee, we kept talking about how these would make a great homecoming/prom session. Homecoming's right around the corner so start planning now if you want to secure your spot.

Hair & Makeup by Taryn of ToughLove MPD