Blossoming Love J+M | Jackson, MI Engagement Photographer

Absolutely LOVED photographing J + M!! I'm sure it helps that M is one of my really good friends, but I was just so excited that she found the love of her life and they're getting married! We had a blast with these and I think we might have laughed more than we took photos, regardless I think we got some great images.

Long Overdue Update

I know I've been MIA for awhile now, but all my focus was on school. I put my business and everything else on hold to make sure my portfolio was the best that it could be. However, tomorrow is my last day and I am so excited that I'll be able to relax and take a breathe for a minute before jumping right back into the game. May is going to be a big month for me, my website will finally be done and launched (that project took way longer than I expected!!), I'll be working on some new things for the business, and I've got some new (really adorable) props for newborns that I still haven't got to try out yet.

All the while, I'm looking for a slight career change (full time employment as a graphic designer while still doing photography) and am applying for jobs all over the US, so I might even be moving!! But I will give everyone forewarning before that happens.

So last week was the Washtenaw Community College Digital Media Arts Student Gala. All the hard work that I've been doing since January was all for this day. I had to comp up all the packaging and layout my portfolio for judges to review, then after the judges were done the show was open to the public. The turn out was awesome! There were loads of students families, then there were various professionals in the area scoping out the new talent, and then there were people that just appreciate art. It was pretty amazing to see the support that the students have.

What to Wear Wednesday | BOHO

This outfit would be great and super versatile for the spring. You could dress it up with some heeled boots or have it be a little more casual with some cute flats. Now, I'm not saying rush out and buy everything I just posted, just consider the styling, color combination of the pieces and how a little goes a long way.

Cute Casual by nattyjphotography featuring elastic waist pants

What to Wear Wednesday | Army Chic

I am completely in love with this look, but it might just be because green is my favorite color. Now, I'm not saying rush out and buy everything I just posted, just consider the styling, color combination of the pieces and how a little goes a long way.

Army Chic by nattyjphotography featuring leather handbags

Unique Memories | Jackson, MI Senior Photographer

I started doing these videos in the fall of last year, but I've decided to step it up this year and make them even better! Check this one out that I did for the D Family.

Also, I want to showcase the guestbook below, if you remember from the fall when I posted about photographing my little sister's senior photos (still is weird to me lol)...well here's her guest book for her open house. I am SO pleased with the book, it's a lay-flat book making it easier for guests to write in it. Plus, it doesn't look weird having a photo going across both pages because you don't have a part of it stuck in the gutter of the book!

{FEATURED VENDOR} Ella's Lead

Usually my Featured Vendor has something to do with weddings, but I want to switch it up and give you pet lovers something awesome. But wait! This month has a twist, you can use them for your wedding too!

For the longest time I have been an enormous fan of Ella's Lead! Their collars are absolutely stunning and are all handmade by the owners Ben and Rebecca. They make custom collars AND leads ranging from simple to extravagant, plus they have a set of collars that are specifically made for various charities and a portion of each sale goes towards that charity. How sweet is that?! Did I mention they're parents to two rescued bullies, Ophie and Luke? Look at those sweet faces!!!

So you're probably thinking, "What the heck does Ella's Lead have to do with weddings?" Well, if you plan on including your fur children in your wedding, they're going to need something stylin' to wear. Ella's Lead is a high class alternative to those silly bow tie collars, plus they have a variety of stone colors to adorn the collar with and can match them to your wedding colors!

Before photography I worked in a retail setting for 10+ years, so customer service is really high on my list of musts if I'm going to deal with any business. Ella's Lead has AMAZING customer service! I wanted some flashy collars with the boys names on it to make them stand out when we go for walks, but also wanted something for them to lounge around the house in. So we just ordered two sets!! When I placed my order I kind of had an idea of what I wanted, but wasn't too sure on how to explain it or if it would look good on my dogs, but Rebecca walked me through it and gave me some great recommendations. Both sets of collars look absolutely incredible on the boys and go SO well with their fur color. I couldn't be happier :D

Personally my favorite part (besides getting the collars of course) is Ella's Lead usually posts a picture of the collar on their Facebook page or at least that days work! The set below is their "lounging" collars, but don't let that fool you because these are amazing! I love the leather Ella's Lead uses, it's so soft and perfect, and smells SO good. Rebecca recommended the black leather for Niko, and I have to say that I am ecstatic that I went with it because it looks stunning on him, very sophisticated!! Piglet's been strutting around all day like he's the coolest thing since sliced bread hahaha.

The embroidered collars take a little longer to make, so I don't have pictures of those yet, but I will for sure post some when I get them.

CHECK OUT THEIR:
Website

Facebook

Blog

Twitter 

Ella's Lead gave me permission to use their images in this post. 

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UPDATE: The embroidered collars arrived a couple of days ago and I could not be happier!!! Ella's Lead has tons of pictures of their collars on their pages, but seriously pictures do not do them justice (the copper looks like the first image, when I uploaded the rest the color got desaturated). I was in love with the pics, but now that I've held the collars in my hand, I'm even more impressed. I ordered 2in wide collars, because I think wider collars look better on big dogs, plus Pig can be pretty strong so I wanted it to be able to hold up. They're perfect! The collars are nice and thick for my strong boys, the embroidery is spot on, and the hardware is perfect for big dogs. I've never seen a collar as gorgeous as these two.

And look, I have shoes that match Pig's collar so when we go for a walk we will match!

Look how thick they are!!

 

 

Piglet loves his so much he's smiling!

Spring is Here!! | Jackson, MI Family Photographer

I was SO excited to photograph Alicia and her family! I've known her mother for a couple years now and she's like my third mom and I've always heard about her kids, but never met them for more than a couple of seconds, so I was pumped when she contacted me. Originally we were just going to shoot outdoors, but last minute changed to both outdoors and studio and I'm so glad we did! We had a blast coming up with fun shots like the Charlie's Angels and the "thug" shots below. Then we headed outside and went for a short walk, which turned out to be way longer than I had remembered from previous years...oops...but everything was good and turned out great.