Lauren - Kalamazoo studio portraits

I always find myself craving creative work to help make the Michigan winters seem a little more bearable, and a little more … short. Don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty of cold weather activities to be enjoyed, but for me, they are drastically overshadowed by the lack of sunshine and drivable roads. Paired with the overwhelming amount of brown and beige, I look for color in photos where I can.
When Lauren reached out to me, we went back and forth on portrait themes until we landed on this moody and colorful concept.
She does her own hair and makeup, and she put together this sweet look to complement a lot of experimental photo techniques, and I had the best time working with her on these (We even snuck a film soup by Dubblefilm shot in here).

Thanks for making the season a lot more joyful Lauren!

Kelsey - Rosé styled portraits

Have you ever been presented with a bottle of Pino Grigio so vibey it prompts an entire styled portrait session?
Same. That’s how we began looking for the perfect summer evening to bring out the wine and Trader Joe’s flower stems, and get shooting.
Kelsey was my model, and the original plan was to photograph primarily in her boyfriend’s beautifully restored vintage boat. In classic “best-laid-plans” fashion however, upon arrival to the location, we found the boat launch area of the lake was covered completely in a thick mysterious layer of green goo (??). We’re all used to being flexible at this point, and we made it work with the props we brought in the sunniest spot we could find, and I will admit the photos still make me want to pour a glass whenever I see them.

Rosé picnic season is right around the corner, but in the meantime, hopefully these photos get you through the last of winter!

It's my party - Styled fashion editorial

Every once in a while I get to do a photo session with awesome people who are phenomenal at what they do, and this was definitely one of them.
Back in December, I picked up a cross screen photography filter that gives highlights kind of an old Hollywood glamor effect, and immediately started planning out the perfect styling to emphasize what that filter had to offer.
Lindsey was not only the model, but coordinated half the wardrobe, and found the sweetest, coolest makeup artist, Alma, who could kill every look on our mood-board.
I love the vibe of all the finished photos, and I can’t wait for the next styled project!

Credits

Model: Lindsey Khamphouy -
instagram.com/lindseykhamphouy

MUA: Alma Rodriguez -
instagram.com/cakeupbeautybyalma

Photographer: Esther Tuttle -
instagram.com/entradaphotography

Published in Selin Magazine

Emily - High fashion portrait photography

I had the pleasure of getting in one last studio session a few days before the stay-at-home order was announced, and I was so thrilled that I did.
Emily is a crazy talented model who came to me with the concept of shooting portraits inspired by the sign Aries. She stylized the wardrobe like a boss, showed me her inspiration board, and let me go crazy with my lighting and camera tricks.

I used a 1/2 stop Pro Mist filter to get the dreamy vintage vibes, and edgy strobes to bring the drama. Additional drama was brought by Emily killing it.
This was the perfect mood booster to be editing within the first few days of home office life, and I can’t wait until we’re able to work together on a new concept!

Nicole - Kalamazoo studio portraits

Michigan winter is kind of an odd beast from a photography perspective. On one hand, you can’t feel your feet for several months and the sun might not show itself for three weeks at a time. On the other hand, snowy engagement sessions are amazing, and the frigid weather is the perfect opportunity to utilize cool lighting and indoor locations! Our Kalamazoo studio ends up being my cold weather sanctuary most of the time, and the coffee is always flowing.

Nicole is not only an awesome model, but an incredible person as well. I’ve known her for years, our first shoot together taking place in 2016. Nicole is consistently stunning, and my work has been through quite an evolution since then. She came to me with a portrait concept and then just let me go crazy with experiments and camera tricks. It was a refreshing shoot and a great time featuring gels, shutter drags, and Butter’s the cowboy corgi.