Memphis Wedding and Portrait Photographers

Maternity Portraits | Grand Rapids, Michigan

2009-01-13T10:50:00.017-05:00

After photographing Christy's wedding over a year ago it was a pleasure to meet up with her for a maternity photography session. Since she lives in the Grand Rapids area it was less of a commute than when we saw her at her wedding in the Detroit area.

She had the pregnancy glow and it showed in her beautiful photographs!

This is Christy's 7th month of pregnancy. For maternity photography we always recommend clients schedule their session around the 7th month. Although some like to get their photos taken around the 7th month and again right before the birth of their baby. We recommend that mothers keep in mind that because babies keep their own arrival schedule a secret until the big day and we don't want anyone to miss the opportunity to have their maternity portraits taken they should think about scheduling their sessions slightly ahead of time.

Christy is an army wife. Daddy was unable to attend the maternity session. We asked Christy to bring along a few things to represent him in the maternity photographs. We thought her tee was so cute tied up like this to show off her growing baby. Daddy served in Iraq and we thought he'd appreciate these photos of his gorgeous wife and baby to be.

You'd never know that Christy is self consious about her expanding belly from these pictures. We got her to have some fun with the camera and enjoyed some of these sassier pregancy portraits. She has nothing to worry about, she's one hot mama!

Whenever we schedule a maternity session we ask our clients to bring along a few photography props that have special meaning. These cute baby pink Converse high-tops were Christy's contribution to her maternity session. They are so unbelieveably cute that we had to give them their own mini portrait session! Christy is a shoe lover and she's starting her baby off in the cutest of pairs!

A few portraits that we think really captured that gorgeous preganancy glow Christy had during her maternity photo session!

Christy brought along her husbands wedding shirt to wear in her photographs.

This picture of the shoes on Christy's pregnant belly was one of her favorites. It's such a fun pregnancy picture!

Christy is a teacher so it's only natural that we captured her reading a book to her unborn babe! We can't wait to meet her little girl at her first infant photo session!

-Tracy-contact me

Memphis Portrait Photography

Nice Comments From Another client | Children's Photography - Saranac, Michigan

2009-01-10T13:04:00.006-05:00

One of the great privileges about taking portraits of children in the Ionia, Michigan area is creating images that parents will treasure and share with their friends and relatives. It always lights our hearts when Tracy and I receive warm comments from parents about the photographs we take of their children. I just received another such response from a very gracious client:

"Hi Charlie,
Thanks for everything. We are very happy with the pictures. I will be sure to recommend you if any of my college roommates decide they're ready to get married. It's really the best anyone has been able to get my daughter to smile.
-Kathryn"

Your very welcome Kathryn! Thank you for letting us share in creating some memories of your daughter.

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Memphis Photography

Are We Done Taking Pictures Yet?

2009-01-04T15:25:00.002-05:00

One of the great things about having kids if you are in the business of taking pictures of children is that you always have an available model on hand to try out new equipment, lighting, poses etc.. Even better, they are under permanent contract - at least until they turn 18 - and they have to do what YOU say! That and they take cookies and suckers as a form of monetary payment....The only downside is when something "more important" comes up they quickly evince their loss of interest, as this picture of my 2-year old will attest.

Anyways it wasn't even a fair competition - the Wonder Pets were on! How am I supposed to to compete with a pet duck, guinea pig and gerbil that have speech impediments, can fly a rocket-powered toy sailboat, wear impossibly fashionable head-gear and save the world from imminent destruction on a daily basis?.....Exactly!

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Memphis Wedding Photographer

Children's Portraiture | Saranac, Michigan

2008-12-29T15:58:00.008-05:00

As a children's portrait photographer in the Grand Rapids area I am so blessed at being able to meet and take pictures of many uniquely adorable children. This little girl was no exception; Charlie and I had a great time photographing her yesterday! She made our job a cinch. Her little dress was so cute and the vibrant colors really made the pictures pop! My favorite is the top one of her peeking over the flower; she has beautiful eyes and for a child this young she seemed really comfortable in front of the camera!
-Tracy

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Memphis Childrens Portrait Photographer

Children's Portraiture | Ionia, Michigan

2008-12-19T21:52:00.006-05:00

One of my favorite things about photographing children is their beautiful piercing eyes! Whenever I have the opportunity to take a child's picture I'm always looking for that shot that seems to capture the essence of a child's innocence. This is one of my favorite recent pictures; the desaturation of the colors really makes the irises pop!
-Charlie

Angelina's Senior Recital Pictures | Frankenmuth, Michigan

2008-11-29T15:55:00.008-05:00

As a photographer based in the Grand Rapids area it's always great when we have the opportunity to photograph college or high school students for their senior pictures. It's especially wonderful when we get to share in moments that are uniquely special for our clients. It's for this reason that Tracy and I had such a great time photographing Angelina this week! She needed some casual portraits for her upcoming senior music recital at Grand Valley State University (located in the Grand Rapids area of West Michigan) and we were excited to oblige. She's a beautiful girl with an amazing voice and a bright future after graduation! Good luck finishing up your senior year Angelina!

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Kudos to Tracy for setting up this awesome photograph on the piano...She has a wonderful eye!

Presque Isle Lighthouses | Up North, Michigan

2008-10-19T22:17:00.005-04:00

It's October in Michigan which means it's time to get our butts Up North to enjoy the autumn colors!!! We stayed a couple nights in Atlanta, Michigan hoping to see some elk - it's supposed to be the elk capital of Michigan, but we struck out. The highlight of the weekend was our car ride across M-32 to Alpena, which has the nicest Big Boy I've ever been in by-the-way, and up the Lake Huron coast to the Presque Isle Lighthouses. We had heard that the old lighthouse was haunted so we wanted to check it out for ourselves.

The old 19th century lighthouse. This one was an easy climb!

The HAUNTED lighthouse cabin.

The more "modern" lighthouse.

This one took some sweat to climb up, but it was well worth it. I think we picked the perfect week to come, the views of Lake Huron and the fall colors were breathtaking.

-Tracy

New Wedding and Portrait Photography Website! | It's finally here!

2008-10-12T22:56:00.008-04:00

The new Left Shoe Photography wedding and portrait photography website is finally LIVE and I'm thrilled to be able to finally share it with all of you! We've uploaded some of our most recent pictures from weddings we have photographed around the state of Michigan. Please check it out when you have a chance - I designed it entirely myself and it took a lot of blood, sweat and tears, but I'm so happy with how it turned out....hopefully you'll all agree! I was a little apprehensive when I first decided to tackle this beast myself since I hadn't done any HTML coding since I was an undergrad at the University of Michigan, but surprisingly it came back pretty easily. Also, I'll be adding a FLASH component shortly to sparkle up the slide shows, so it's still a work in progress. Some of the things that I've added that I'm really happy with:

1) A new client link (up on top) for direct logins to session images.
2) The new wedding photography and portrait pages for portfolio viewing.
3) The About Us page - I finally included some of my personal images.
4) Recommended vendors - I'll be adding these shortly after I finish compiling.
5) The new logo!

Here's a screen shot from the homepage that I took using Paparazzi!:

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Memphis Portrait Photography

Dan and Tessa's Wedding | Alpine Valley Ski Resort - White Lake, Michigan

2008-08-25T19:18:00.004-04:00

We had a blast photographing Dan and Tessa's wedding at the Alpine Valley Ski Resort in White Lake, Michigan. Having skied there many times when we were living in the Detroit area of Michigan, I can tell you it looks totally different in the Summer! The wedding day weather was beautiful and provided the perfect opportunity for us to take some nice outdoor photos of the wedding party. My favorite photo is of Dan lifting up Tessa's wedding gown as they cross a dirt road...what a Gentleman!Tessa's beautiful eyes!

What a bunch of wedding party cuties! One of the greatest thing about being a wedding photographer is seeing the joy on people's faces during on one of the happiest days of their life. Young kids are no exception; they are always so happy to be contributing in a significant way during the wedding.

I loved the beautiful green grass covering the ski slopes. With the mid-afternoon sun shining bright it made a vibrant backdrop for some great wedding photographs of the bridal party.

Hey little guy...What are you looking at?

Bridal Party entering the reception!

One of MY other favorite photographs of the day. I love the warmth that the desk lamp cast on the bride shortly before the wedding ceremony.

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Ionia Free Fair Photography Contest

2008-08-05T22:35:00.003-04:00

I'm so glad to see that my young daughter is inheriting my love of photography! She bought her first Canon this year from money she received at her first communion party and she is already putting her new equipment to good use. Every year the Ionia Free Fair sponsors a photography and art contest for amateurs and professionals and I'm proud to say that my daughter won an award in the youth photography division this year...way to go!!! We were all so proud of her! I just love to admire all the creative talent that is on display every year. Some of the paintings this year were absolutely breathtaking! I'm so jealous, I wish I could paint like that!

Here is the photo my daughter took:

If anyone knows what kind of mushroom this is I'd love to know...I couldn't figure it out. She took it during one of our hikes at Hoffmaster State Park in Muskegon, Michigan.

Ionia Free Fair 2008

2008-07-30T16:30:00.001-04:00

The Ionia Free Fair is here again so in addition to enjoying all the rides, shows, animals and people watching I've been stuffing my face full of elephant ears, fried twinkies and fresh squeezed lemonade - I'm salivating just thinking about it. For those of you that haven't been, the Ionia Free Fair is held every year at the fair grounds in Ionia, Michigan. It's great fun and my kids absolutely love it. We walk down pretty much every night to watch the Circus. Circus Pages does a great job!

Here are some pictures I took at the fair this year:

I felt so sad for this little chick...He must have been so cold sleeping all alone.

Cool facepainting!

I'm love taking pictures of the rides at night. They always turn out so interesting!...Just thinking about riding this makes me feel nauseated.

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Marion Photographers

Children's Portraiture | Ionia County, Michigan

2008-07-20T21:54:00.002-04:00

I love the happiness that this picture evokes; it makes me smile every time I see it! This is my favorite shot out of the shoot...I think it's the combination of the hat and the giddy excitement of a baby girl discovering the world.

Christy and Bruce | The Henry Ford; Greenfield Village - Dearborn, Michigan

2008-07-20T19:44:00.002-04:00

We had a great time taking pictures of Christy and Bruce on wedding day. The Henry Ford at Greenfield Village located in Dearborn has got to be one of the most beautiful places in Michigan to have a wedding! The Summer gardens were absolutely breathtaking and it provided the perfect backdrop for Bride and Groom's wedding photographs. Their reception was held in the historic Eagle Tavern and illuminated entirely by candlelight, which is of course both extremely beautiful and pretty much a photographer's WORST NIGHTMARE! But I think it allowed us to capture some pretty unique images. Congratulations Christy and Bruce!

Children's Portraiture | Ionia, Michigan

2008-07-19T19:13:00.004-04:00

I had a great time photographing this youngster in downtown Ionia, Michigan a couple weeks ago. He warmed up to the camera so quickly

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Memphis Childrens Photography

Maternity | Grand Rapids, Michigan

2008-07-04T13:16:00.002-04:00

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Memphis Tenessee Photography

Maternity

2008-06-27T13:11:00.004-04:00

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Marion Arkansas Photographer

Natalie and Dusty | Grand Rapids Michigan Photography

2008-06-21T21:41:00.002-04:00

We had a GREAT time photographing Natalie and Dusty last week. These beautiful photos were taken in Riverside Park and in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan. The park borders the Grand River as it meanders slowly towards Lake Michigan. My favorite shot is the B/W photograph of Natalie and Dusty on the bridge with the the sun reflecting in the water. The park was packed full of evening joggers and frizbee golf enthusiasts, but the happy couple did a wonderful job of posing for the camera...they made our job easy!

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Memphis Engagement Sessions

Amy and Chris's Wedding

2008-06-01T17:50:00.005-04:00

As a photographerAmy and Chris had their elegant wedding at the War Memorial in Grosse Pointe Michigan. The ceremony was on the beautiful grounds overlooking Lake St. Clair. It's always nice to go back to the War memorial; so many of my friends and relatives have been married there...even my mother and father.

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Memphis Wedding Photographers

Grand Canyon, Arizona, United States

2008-05-27T22:19:00.005-04:00

The Grand Canyon has to be one of the most majestic places on Earth! After sleeping off the first full day of of a long backpacking trip down to the Colorado river, I stepped out of the tent to stretch my sore muscles, turned around and this is what I saw. Breathtaking!

Grand Canyon 1

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Memphis Wedding Photography

Children's Portraiture

2008-05-21T00:35:00.001-04:00

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Memphis Photography

Yellow Jacket

2008-05-16T17:03:00.002-04:00

I'm usually holding a can of RAID when I sneak up on one of these yellow jackets in our backyard, but thankfully this time I was holding my camera with my macro lens mounted. This little bugger landed just long enough to pose for me and allow me to snap a picture.

Yellow Jacket on Peony

Children's Portraiture

2008-05-06T21:37:00.001-04:00

Ionia Free Fair 2007 | Ionia, Michigan

2007-07-25T16:39:00.003-04:00

We make a point of going to the Ionia Free Fair every year. It's only a short walk from our house in downtown Ionia and it's a real fun event. The kids have a great time riding all the rides, watching the circus and petting all the farm animals. We have a great time just people watching. I took several shots at the fair this year, but this was my favorite. It was actually quite dark when I took this shot, but I waited until the ride stopped so I could get a lengthy exposure to burn in the sky and allow the moonlight to illuminate the ferris wheel buckets and bring out their vibrant colors.

-Tracy

2007 Ionia Fireworks

2007-07-19T15:14:00.001-04:00

Tracy, the kids and I attend the Ionia fireworks at the fairgrounds every year. Although most of our time is spent having fun with the kids, I did manage to take a couple shots of some of the fireworks. I really like the top picture because you can see the entire progression of the firework from the ground up to the explosion in the sky!

Firework 1

Firework 2

Backpacking Isle Royale National Park, Michigan

2007-07-02T21:57:00.000-04:00

Just returned from a backpacking/photography trip to Isle Royale National Park. What an amazing place! Isle Royale is the least visited National Park in the United States-lucky for us!-due to its remote location in the middle of Lake Superior. We drove all the way to Copper Harbor, Michigan at the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula and took the Isle Royale Queen IV over to the island. It was a great choice considering some of the dilapidated-looking boats some of the other groups motored in on. Thankfully the lake wasn’t too choppy, although a few passengers still suffered some reversal of fortune…BLAH! I was amazed how cold it was in the middle of the lake. The air temperature was easily 40 degrees colder than on land and the middle of lake including the island was covered in a veil of biting fog.

Although I’ve taken pictures all over the United States, Isle Royale is easily one of the most picturesque of the national parks. With all the breathtaking vistas, northwood forests, and wildlife it is a photographer’s paradise. We had a great time trying out some new gear that Tracy won in a photography competition. Here are some of our favorite exposures from the trip:

Departing Copper Harbor for Isle Royale on board the Isle Royale Queen IV.

Mom and her baby moose. These three woke us up as they swam across the bay towards our campsite. This picture was taken the following morning.

Fresh wolf tracks!!!

Things we loved:
1) Loon calls in the afternoon.
2) Solitude
3) Baby moose
4) Bright stars
5) Lapping of the Lake Superior Surf.
6) Flaming Sunsets
7) Howling wolves
8) Tasty Perch
9) Eagles fishing
10) No BEARS!!! I met enough of those in Glacier N.P., Montana.

Things we hated:
1) Loon calls at 3am.
2) Quarter-sized blisters.
3) Heavy Packs.
4) Backpacking food – Thank God for microwavable bacon and cheese!!
5) Leaving the island.

Katie and Evan's Wedding

2007-06-30T15:26:00.001-04:00

Katie and Evan were married in a picturesque garden courtyard surrounded by their family and friends. The weather was spectacular and the beautiful flowers provided an exquisite backdrop for their special day. I really love the first picture which shows the flower girl diligently practicing one last time before the wedding. The sunlight peeked through some leaves at the perfect time, illuminating the spot right where she was walking. These are the type of candid photos that I love to capture at weddings.

Zion Canyon, United States

2007-06-22T16:51:00.002-04:00

Zion Canyon 1

My New Blog!

2007-06-07T22:22:00.001-04:00

Welcome to the Left Shoe Photography Blog! This is our first official post! Left Shoe Photography is my wedding photography and portraiture business based in Ionia, Michigan. Although we predominately serve the West-Michigan, Grand Rapids, Ionia and Lansing areas my wife and I have photographed clients all over the state. One of the best things about doing photography is getting the chance to meet so many amazing people all over the state of Michigan.

The purpose of this blog is to communicate with you and introduce you to Tracy and I while learning more about our photographic styles and personalities. It will include information about our photography business including new products and promotions, posts on general interest topics and happenings in West and Mid-Michigan and of course – lots of photos! Thanks for stopping by!

-Charlie & Tracy