I'm Rachel! I'm so glad you stopped by, because I'm totally a people person. I value kindness, empathy, and positive attitudes. I'm kind of like a golden retriever in that way (I LOVE corgis, but seriously, have you ever seen a golden retriever that wasn't wagging its tail?) I strive to always view the world through a positive lens and spread love whenever possible.
I'm happiest when I'm surrounded by the ones I love: my husband Max, our three sons, Lucas, Jonah and Finn, our two corgis, Bowie and Nova, and our family and friends. And I love making new friends!
I spent 6 years teaching high school English and journalism before I decided to focus on photography full time and stay home with our boys. Teaching will always be close to my heart and a big part of my identity, and the skills I learned in the classroom still serve me well in my new role.
hey there, friend!
Photography is powerful. It is the only thing that makes time stand still — and time, as we know, does not like to stand still. Weddings fly by in an instant. Babies grow up before our eyes. Memories fade, but photos live on for generations. In this way, photographs become our most precious family heirlooms.
I saw my grandparents' wedding album for the first time in my late 20s. It was such an incredible experience, flipping through history and seeing their 18 year old faces smiling back at me. I knew in that moment that I wanted my own children and grandchildren to have the same experience.
My editing style is timeless with naturally bright, true to life colors. I want my photos to still be beautiful in decades, no matter what editing trends come and go. I also strive to make sure your photos are authentic. Along with posed and prompted moments, I love to capture genuine, candid moments for my clients. I want you to look at your photos and feel joy and connection. I want to create beautiful images for you to hang on your walls, so every time you pass by them, you smile. Photography brings me joy, whether I'm behind the camera or in front of it with my own family. How lucky am I to be able to spread that joy?
grandparents
why photography?
Read more about my grandparents and see more images at my blog post about them here!
my
meet the family
MY HUSBAND, MAX
Our 5 year old,
LUCAS
our first born,
bowie
our middle child, nova
Our 3 year old, JONAH
Our BABY,
FINN
a few of my very favorite things
-Clean sheets
-Meeting a new dog
-Harry Potter (I'm a Hufflepuff!)
-Christmas decorations
-Perfectly ripe strawberries
-Pretty fonts
-Listening to Jack Johnson
-Traveling to a new place
-Ice cream
-Soft fabrics
-Singing in the shower
-Sleeping in
-Binge watching a good TV show
-Reading emotionally cathartic novels
-Springtime blooms
-Going to breakfast
-Online shopping
-Home renovation
HOW MY PHOTO JOURNEY STARTED
I walked into my first classroom as a nervous 22 year old, freshly graduated from Michigan State University and ready to jump into my next adventure teaching English, Newspaper, Yearbook, and Video Broadcasting at a small rural high school near Lansing. My principal showed me drawers and drawers full of cameras and lenses for my student journalists to use, and I had a small panic moment of, "Oh! I don't know how to use these! How do I teach them?" before taking one home to practice.
My corgi Bowie served as the perfect model for me as I learned my way around my first DSLR camera. I spent nearly every free moment I had taking pictures of Bowie, trying to get the perfect shot. I made him an Instagram account (@bowiethecorgi), and soon he (and later, his sister Nova) had over 13,000 followers. Bowie was featured on Buzzfeed and published in Women's Day Magazine. When we had our son Lucas, I stopped keeping up with his account because life got too busy, but I'll always credit Bowie for being a huge reason why I'm a photographer today.
a tale of two corgis
A few of my favorite family photos
*There are a lot because how am I supposed to only choose a few?
"
Rachel made it so easy to laugh, chat and feel confident and comfortable in front of her camera and I can’t wait to have her hang out all day with us on our wedding day!
"
-SYDNEY & ANDREW
