Downtown Lansing, MI Intimate Couples Photography
Wowee, wow, wow- this session.
(You know, how you start a professional blog post for your professional business)
I love the winter for many reasons. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a "winter" person per se. Honestly, as positive as I try to be... I could find something to complain about with almost every weather scenario, LOL. But, winter has its special perks for me. After the busiest and most constantly buzzing part of the year, winter is a welcome season of rest. I have the time to start moving slower, to be more conscious, and to hibernate with new ideas and concepts for the upcoming year. I don't think you'll find a single photographer- whether they're in Lansing MI like I am or somewhere else- who doesn't agree that we should shoot just for ourselves whenever we can, and winter in Michigan is perfect for me to take that time and pour into my work, my approach, and my personal growth as well.
With this session, I aimed to focus more on creating connection, genuine intimacy, and incorporating cinematic inspiration into my couples and family portrait photography. I want my finished galleries to include images that look like stills from a movie. I had this kind of intimate, intuitive session on my heart for a long time and had just spoken to Jazmin and Rance a few weeks earlier about modeling when I found out they were expecting a baby! I was looking for bridal models at the time, but when I saw the location in Downtown Lansing, MI- which just so happened to be my BFFs new apartment- I immediately knew I wanted to document them at this stage in their pregnancy, in a raw, stripped-down, organic environment. How perfect. They are so, so visibly in love. You can see just from being around them how much of a safe haven they are for each other. Jazmin + Rance are the kind of parents everyone wants-- the soulmate kind. And they are the stuff of intimate photographers’ dreams.
This session with them taught me so much. I practiced new posing in a new location, but more so I practiced going slowly. It takes time for me to warm up and get fully immersed in the session/surroundings, and that's okay. In fact, it's wonderful. It's necessary, it's part of my process. I learned how to step back- and why I should. Because those moments I'm looking for don't happen with me hovering over them or trying too hard to carve them out. How to stay present, to continually view my subjects and what I'm shooting as a collaborative art piece throughout the entire time we spend together. In focusing on a product, I can deliver a product, but in focusing on the experience, I can deliver the truly intimate, personal, and vulnerable moments I want to deliver. I can make the art I truly want to make. Life is all about the experience, after all.
