Last weekend’s {Home}school Portraits went great and were a lot of fun!  Here is a sample of the morning’s best!

 

 

A few that made me SMILE, smile, SMILE (and will hopefully make some proud parents smile, too!):

I promise I was not torturing him—we were having FUN!

I met this adorable brother and sister and their beautiful mom at Pine Tree Apple Orchard in White Bear. 

 

It was a sunny fall day and made for perfect pictures of these cutie-pies!

 

Oh, the facial expressions!

 

Thank you for all the smiles! 

You guys were the best part of the apple orchard (which says a lot considering the apples there were FANTASTIC!). 

I have some lovely sisters-in-law.  One gorgeous sister-in-law has these two gorgeous sisters, one of whom is a high school senior this year.  Here are her senior pictures—she was beautiful in way too many for me to choose just a few to post, so here are my many favorites!

She brought along her adorable dog and I was so glad!  I love dogs and he was a great “subject”! 

Love this fun one of the sisters—sisters are the best!

Thank you, Lynsey, for sharing your beautiful smile, for jumping fences in the line of duty, and for making my “job” so much fun!  Best wishes to you in your senior year!

Summer and fall are busy times for photographers in Minnesota.  They are two of our best seasons and we all want our family pictures to capture these beautiful days.  I find myself with sessions to edit and little motivation to add to that by taking pictures of my own family.  Fortunately, school time is here and as homeschoolers, I feel myself responsible for school portraits.  The first session was my test run at a location where I will be offering school portrait sessions for other homeschoolers (check out Clear Sky Portrait on facebook to see pictures from that).  Here are just a few of our “session,” part two. 

Super sisters!

And the reward:

Fall colors started awhile ago in our neck of the woods and with the beginning of fall, I was able to start off fall photo shoots with this family.  They had a beautiful yard that backed up to a wooded area that was showing off some of those early fall colors.  It was so much fun to venture down trails and photograph this family. 

I am offering a fall special on school portraits for homeschooling families in the Grand Rapids area.  I am starting with one morning session (more will be added if there is a need).   There are a variety of ordering options including individual prints and/or packages.  Younger siblings and non-homeschool families are also welcome!  Click on each image below to see a full-size image.

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To me, there is rarely much of a difference between a “client” and a friend (I don’t even like to call “clients” by such an impersonal title, so I have to put it in quotes!).  Sometimes my clients start out as friends, such as this family that I photographed recently in Brainerd.  A friend calls and asks if I can take pictures and because I am blessed with sweet and beautiful friends, I love to say “yes”! 

Sometimes clients begin as just a name—an unknown person or family—written on my schedule.  I get a phone call or an email and then I get to meet a new couple or a new family.  By the end of a session, I feel as though I’ve found new friends.  (Okay, they might still look at me as the weirdo lady with a camera, but I think of them as new friends!  And hey, if I’m taking your picture, wouldn’t you rather I saw you through the lens of friendship?!!)

Well, as I mentioned, this darling family falls in the category of old friends who flatter me by asking me to take their pictures.  I always have so much fun with them!

We had some fun with some random old chairs and a sign outside of a driving school.  You never know where you’ll find your best “props”!

She is the sweetest thing ever, but isn’t she giving some good sass on this picture?!  I love it!

Cutest couple ever….I say it every year we take the annual family pictures!

When in the Brainerd area recently, I was able to take pictures on a beautiful lake for this beautiful family. 

I love this picture of brother and sister:

 

Beautiful—like Mother, like daughter!

The guys fishing—isn’t this one just like a greeting card?

Aren’t they a lovely couple?

No wonder their children are so lovely!

I always have a weakness for the candids.

Thank you for the opportunity to spend a morning on the lake with your family!  Many blessings to you!

A beautiful summer day greeted this couple on their wedding day.  After a lovely service at the church, we headed out to Ruttger’s Resort on Sugar Lake for pictures and for an evening reception.

Here is a sneak peek of pictures from their day, starting with the pictures I snapped pre-ceremony:

Here they are sharing a couple of moments during their ceremony:

 

The bride and the groom each have a son—here is a fun family picture (the little guys fascinated by a sailboat or something equally exciting out on the water):

The bride looking ethereal:

And the groom—I assured both of them that they are very photogenic, and I think I was right!

 

What a beautiful way to end a perfect day:

These sweet little girls were a delight to photograph.  They were so relaxed and playful and silly in front of the camera, which makes it fun to get these kinds of pictures.  They were breathtaking in B&W (see previous post) and they are just as adorable in color!

Dancers:

 

Being silly:

And just being beautiful: