Giovanna + Matt | Detroit Wedding Photographer

Giovanna + Matt were married at Holy Family Church in Detroit with there reception at Penna's of Sterling Heights. Their day was celebrated with 450 of their closets friends & family. Many of whom were visiting the United States for the 1st time. Here are few highlights of their beautiful day.

a HUGE thank you to my second shooter, Erin Schmidt Photography

About me- lets get crazy real & uncomfortable together

we all have the “about me” or “meet the photographer” section to our sites. Two lines of information doesn’t even scratch the surface of who we really are! Not to mention that we really only post what we want potential clients to know about us. So I’m going to get a little nuts here and post who I REALLY am....


I am a candy crush addict, I love Downton Abbey so much that I re-watch them all the time, I fell in love with my husband all over again when we had daughters #1, 2 & 3. My dog, Willow, is my 4th daughter. I am one of those crazy dog lovers that would take my dog everywhere if I could. It’s almost embarrassing how deeply I love her. Even though she is about 70 pounds I will still pick her up and snuggle her. I like big butts, and I cannot lie. My husband is the funniest person I have ever met in my life. He never stops shocking me with his humor and perfect timing. I love laughing. I like to be alone, a lot. My family thinks I’m a workaholics but the truth is I LOVE what I do. The most important part of my job is helping people see the beauty in themselves. We all deserve to feel beautiful. I am a feminist. I prayed for daughters and now that my daughter is in the throes of puberty I’m starting to rethink that (Ha!). I thank God everyday for the beautiful life that I live. I’m equally excited and sad that my baby is 5 and going to kindergarten this fall. I often feel that I have no idea what I’m doing when it comes to parenting & photography. I LOVE to cook but don’t always have time. I love music! Jazzed that all my girls know most of the Black Keys songs and, request them to be played often. It tickles my soul that my little Maddie looks just like her daddy. I believe this is enough truth for one day.

This is my beautiful Willow girl ♥

Maternity

The most beautiful time in a womens life is pregnancy. It's so full of hope, love & anticipation. This will be the only time you'll never have to share your child with anyone. For 9 months he or she is 100% yours. Every movement is yours to keep to always remember, to bond you for life with this tiny person you haven't even seen yet.
Thank you Alicia for allowing me to capture how beautiful you are (inside and out).
a Special thank you to Make-up Artistry by Jill Sollars.

1 Million Tabs for Gabriel

I was super lucky to photograph this little sweet pea and her family recently. Gabriel was born with a heart defect and underwent open heart surgery at 6 days old.
During Gabriel’s hospital stay her parents were able to stay in the Ronald McDonald house so they could be close to her. They are grateful for all the blessings they have received. As a way to say thank you and pay it forward they have collected 1 million soda can tabs for the Ronald McDonald house and continue to do so. I asked Kyliegh if she would mind sharing how we all can help and here is what she said...




"It's a super easy way to help out, it costs nothing and it's a really fun way to get your work/school/church/etc. involved in a great cause. I honestly believe the Ronald McDonald House helped Gabriel in her heal that much faster by allowing us to be involved in her care and be an active part of her medical team. We were lucky to only stay for a month, but there are families who stay at RMH for over a year at a time so donations like this help keep it inexpensive and possible for families to be near their children. You can check out her Facebook at www.facebook.com/poptabsforGabriel or take tabs to Mills Gymnastics in Southgate or My Place Bar in Wyandotte. We encourage EVERYONE to share Gabe's story with everyone person/group they know because every single tab counts. We are trying to repeat our success of last year by collection 1 million, or 673 lbs of pop tabs but our ultimate goal is to beat the world record by collecting 2.8 million by May 2013"

Thank you to Kyleigh, Nick & Gabriel! I loved capturing your beautiful family.

Sweet Dreams minis

Sweet Dreams minis will take place on Sunday June 10th. To book your session please e-mail me at caron@photographybycaron.com

little Maddy, 2 years old

Ashley contacted me a while ago for her daughters 2 year old pictures. We talked and planned it out together. then of course, Maddy's outfit didn't arrive in enough time, and then when we went outside it started to rain. Ashley was nervous and I was a little too. okay, maybe not so much. I'm a photographer and a mom, I deal with stuff like this all the time. It all worked out and we got some great images of mommy & daughter. Maddy is a dream! she even let me hold her, several times. I ♥ her! Ashley, you my friend are STUNNING! really. wow.simply beautiful.
enjoy,
Caron

the evolution of a mom-ographer to a full-time pro photographer

my love for photography started when I was a teenager... all I had was a Kodak purple & white 35mm. I use to have photo shoots in my garage with my sister..if I could find the pictures I'd risk my sister's embarrassment just to show you...good times!

I was the one that always had her camera...taking pictures of everything. Then when I was an "adult" maybe 22 I met a photographer, Joe, he was very kind and mentored me. As much as I could be mentored working full time and going to school. Then life sorta happened. Marriage & kids become the main focus in my life. My desire to be a mother and wife were overwhelming. I still always had my camera but now it was documenting my new daughters life. Time went on and I was still documenting her life and now her sisters.

Right around the time my little Maddie was born something in me changed.I was living a perfect life, married to the funniest person I've ever met. someone who totally gets me, 3 beautiful little girls, we just bought a new home, what more could I ask for, right?

As my girls grew older I felt more secure about being a mother and started to relax a little. The person I was before motherhood started to come back little by little. And that's when the photography journey started again. For the second time in my life. But this time I was older and wiser (okay maybe just older).




SO through all of my insecurity and self doubt I started to post a few pictures that I had been taking of my kids. It's kinda like standing in a room full of super models.naked.after you've had 3 kids.it's painful! I forced myself to just put them out there..to share a part of me in a very different way. Any photographer will tell you their images are for more revealing about them than they are about the people we photograph.
I did get a lot of positive feedback and had people asking me to photograph them, their kids, etc. At first I was reluctant but eventually I did. I started to slowly put myself out there more and more (this is still hard for me at times).
One shoot lead to another and before I new it I had built a nice little portfolio. Knowing that I still had a lot to learn I enrolled in a photography class. the rest is what they call history. Now, 2 years later here I am. Don't get me wrong, I still experience self-dout, feel like I'm not good enough, etc. but that only pushes me to learn, change & grow.

since a blog post isn't really complete without an image or two..I will share a few oldies with you. you can clearly see the growth and changes I have made as an artist (hopefully for the better). thanks for reading and please ignore all my bad grammar.

remember the good old days of having a date stamped right into your image so you won't forget when it was taken...blah! btw- this isn't even the right date..we all know Michigan never looks like this in January!

this is a "test" shot. I was trying to learn backlighting.

this is proudly displayed in my home

What is a senior rep?

I am looking for FUN juniors interested in becoming senior representatives for the class of 2013. As a senior rep you will help promote my business to your friends. I will be collecting applications until March 12th, 2012 from anyone interested in being considered as one of my reps. I will choose one female and one male student from each local high school.

If accepted, you will representing photography by Caron by telling your friends about our senior session throughout your senior year. For every friend you refer, you will receive discounts on your print order.

In order to be a senior rep, you must:
• Have great sense of style, lots of personality and enjoy being in front of the camera
• Be a current high school junior graduating in 2013
• Live in and attend school in the Metro Detroit area
• Agree to tell your friends and classmates about photography by Caron
• Have your parent or legal guardian sign a model release form.
• Agree to represent ONLY photography by Caron and use the images as your senior pictures.

As part of the senior rep program you will receive the following:

• Complimentary photo session with unlimited clothing changes
• Complimentary hair and makeup with the fabulously talented Jill Harrison
• Print credits for every person you refer
• Low-resolution watermarked files to share on social networking sites, such as Facebook.

To be considered just send me an e-mail @ caron@photographybycaron.com

us vs them?

For whatever reason, my girls love to spend most of their time in our bedroom. They like to watch TV in there, play with their toys, read books, etc. It's probably their favorite room in our house, next to our closet. This for some reason drives my husband crazy. Sure I don't like tripping over barbies & princess crowns when I walk into our room either but its temporary. They are children and some day they will be “too grown up” to play in our room. The thought of this breaks my heart. I remember as a kid always wanting to be where my mom was, or the smell of her. So I think I understand it a little more than Chris.
If I’m being total honest, I want my girls to be around me all the time too! I want to bottle up their laughter so I’ll never forget what it sounds like. I want to have their childhood burn so deeply in my memory that I will always be able to recall every little detail about it. I want a pause button on this beautiful journey of motherhood. I fight to hold on to every little detail about them & their childhood, whereas my husband looks forward to their future and them growing up. It’s so odd. Don’t get me wrong, they get on my nervous, drive me crazy, and when they fight I feel like my head is going to explode. but more than not they inspire me. They remind me every single second of everyday what life is all about- love. And for that, I will always allow them in our room.