The Wilbanks Family

I have known Mr. Wilbanks for many years, but it wasn't until recently that I got to meet his wonderful family. These little people are among the sweetest and most well-behaved children I've ever worked with!

The children were having a jumping contest of sorts and it was hilarious to watch (see below.) There were no tears - and the young siblings were more than happy to to pose for a couple of pictures... a rarity!

Here are some of my favorites...

Enjoy!

The Guindi Family

Last Saturday fall was upon us in full force! It was a freezing 45 deg F at 10:00am... yet without any thought, the Guindi Family chose to grin and bear it - and I'm so glad they did!

Anyone know what the biggest challenge for family photographers is? You're probably gonna' say bad lighting... or a grumpy child. Nope, we are trained to fix that stuff. It is, without a doubt, stressed parents! That being said, it is rare that I come across a set of parents that are so completely stress free and just let the session happen. Well, this family did... and it was soooo much fun!

They were running through the park, tickling, playing and laughing the whole way through the session. Truly an amazing family. You can tell they really mean a lot to each other. To be honest, this family reminds me of my family. We play - we laugh - and after thirty years, I can say I am very close to my brothers and parents. I don't yet have a family of my own, but when I finally do, I want to have a relationship with my children like this...

I hope you enjoy the images as much as I enjoyed taking them!

Yearbook Photos!

This evening I did a quick photo shoot for these girl's senior yearbook photos. (The main shoots were done outside.) The yearbook requires they be in-studio with a dark background. Here are the final two they chose!

Enjoy!

The family that started it all...

For those of you that don’t know how I got started doing photography, it was because of one of my very best friends needing some pictures for her son. With my new SLR in hand, I went over to her house to try out an experiment: children’s pictures. I had never taken a picture of a child before and had little to no clue what I was doing. About four hours and (literally) about 1,000 pictures later, we had the final pictures. (She had to practically kick me out of the house; I was so worried about not getting “the shot”!)

For the final pictures, I created an album to surprise my friend. Well, she liked the album a lot and showed everyone… and I mean everyone. Two weeks later, I started getting requests for photo shoots from people I have never met before, and viola… Beth Merritt Photography was born. So, if you like my work, thank my friend because without her, bethmerritt.com would not exist!

A ton of classes, about a hundred photo shoots, and many many books later, I have now managed to take a good cross section of pictures in under an hour, shooting considerably less than 1,000 pictures per session (can you imagine?!!)

Here are some of my favorites from this very very special family… (and look at how big the little boy that started it all has become!)

Enjoy!

Tiffany's Senior Pictures

On Saturday afternoon, I met up with Tiffany to do her senior photos. What are fun girl! She let me have free reign, and we had a riot…

It was literally about 90 degrees outside and despite the heat, Tiffany was able to keep cool under pressure and didn’t complain once about being in the hot sun for over an hour. (Thank you Tiffany!)

Here are some of my favorites from the session… (I love the ones of her in the hat!)

Enjoy!

The Champoux Family

On Saturday morning, I was lucky enough to meet the Champoux Family during my early session. Their son was one of the most energetic little boys I have ever met (which, by the way, is always great for pictures!) He was jumping, exploring, and playing throughout our entire session.

During the session, we were lucky enough to see a gorgeous sunrise and also deer (…being chased by a golden retriever no less!) This was no doubt a reward for starting our session so early!

Here are some of my favorites from our session…

Enjoy!

Introducing Metro Detroit's Happiest Baby...

Last winter, I took a class from Stacy Bratton, one of the premier children's photographers in the US. Among other things, she explained that it's a general rule that all children's shoots should be done in the morning, with as few going past 2 pm as possible. (Children are almost always happier in the morning.) She said that she has done very very few successful shoots after 4pm, and now refuses to schedule at such times. I have heeded her advice very closely since that class and have had much success as a result.

But yesterday, I discovered what may be the happiest baby in Metro Detroit... I have photographed her twice and have yet to see her cry. Our on-location shoot began at 4pm, and this little girl is all smiles! I was able to take advantage of the setting sun, something I am rarely able to do. The pictures came out fabulous, albeit because the weather was cooperating, but mostly because of this darling little girl.

Here are some of my favorites from the shoot...

Enjoy!

Beth

The Birmingham Community House

I've had a couple of folks ask when the Community House Early Childhood Development Center Photographs will be published. Originally, everything was scheduled to be complete by Monday, but I wanted to get a couple of the pictures redone, and so the pictures will likely be delivered the middle of next week.

The proofs will be sent home with each child, and as always, the gallery will be online at Pictage.com. (Of course there will be a simple password to ensure privacy.)

I don't have model release forms for all the children, and therefore I cannot post any image on my site without that paperwork. However, there is one image that I can share. This image respects the privacy of each child but still allows each of you to see how cute these little kids are!

I had blast photographing this. The children were all extremely well behaved and the faculty was wonderful to work with...

Enjoy!

The Robinson Family

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of meeting the Robinson Family for the first time. They are a very close family and this is obvious in their pictures.

The little boy was hilarious. He was at his happiest when running somewhere - anywhere - at full tilt. I think the first picture describes the shoot quite well. He had the cutest little grin, and was moving about 100mph! (Thank God for fast lenses!) Fortunately, the day was gorgeous and the grounds were vast, so he was able to run just about everywhere he wanted.

Here are some of my favorite "fleeting" moments from this shoot...

Enjoy!

Mr. and Mrs. Sanderson

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of assisting in a wedding. A wonderful photographer and friend of mine, Slavica Vidojevski had the reigns on this. I am going to post a couple of pictures for the bride, groom and the family on the website until the duration of the pictures are ready to post. Remember, these are only the few that I took as the assistant!

Okay, now about the wedding... I must admit, of all the weddings I've ever shot, I have never seen two people more in love than these two. Every time they looked at each other, it was like they were in their own world. This was the couple's second marriage, and their children played a huge role in the wedding. The entire event was all about family and fresh starts. It was truly a joyous occasion.

The day was absolutely breathtaking. The sunset was gorgeous and the location they chose to get married at was incredible. However, I must admit that the couple is what made the pictures. I'll take a couple madly in love in the middle of the rain over an awkward couple in sunshine any day...!

Attached are only some of the pictures (the main ones from Slavica will be posted to my online gallery in about three weeks.)

Enjoy!