Hillebrand Photography Blog » Families

Luca: 3 Month Portraits

jhillebrand — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 12:31:00 +0000

Meet baby Luca. He’s the adorable, bright eyed, newly adopted baby boy to parents Rose and Drew. Together, the three of them make an awesome and fun-loving family. On a dewy, spring evening, we had a riot hanging out with them in the backyard of their gorgeous Bloomfield Hills home. Rose is second generation Italian American, so it was really cool to have her mother on the shoot, singing Italian baby songs to Luca. They also have an adorable dog who is so sweet and playful! It’s our guess that she thinks Luca is her pup because she kept licking him at any chance she could get…hilarious!! Rose and Drew: It was such a pleasure to meet you and to photograph your beautiful son! We hope to have many more opportunities to photograph him throughout the years! Enjoy the photos and don’t forget to link to the slide show at the end!

To see a slide show with more images and to link to their full gallery, click here!! (Click on the “Order Pictures” icon to link to the gallery.) The gallery is password protected, so please contact us or Rose if you would like to view it.

The Conroys

jhillebrand — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 15:40:48 +0000

This is the Conroy family. As you can see, they are super cool and tons of fun! When Bonnie called to schedule her session, she said she has two adult sons and that the family was looking for photos that are edgy and cool. We were happy to oblige. Bonnie and Dan own R & A Insurance Services, where they do property and casualty, as well as auto insurance. We highly recommend their services! Their two sons, Rick and Dennis, are both super photogenic and are really into music. We were even able to snap a few shots with Rick and his lovely and equally very photogenic girlfriend, Kelsey, as shown below. Like I said, this family has a great sense of humor and kept us laughing most of the session. Here’s a fun fact: Apparently, Dan wears khaki pants and a black shirt, literally, every day. So the family decided to bring their “Dan clothes” and do some fun shots dressed like him (see the last image). We’ve titled it “The Dan Clan.” Enjoy their images and be sure to check out the slide show as well as link to their full gallery below!

To see more images and to link to their full gallery, click here!!

Meet London James

jhillebrand — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 21:33:53 +0000

It was so awesome to be able to photograph our dear friends Mary Grace (aka MG) and Brandon, and their first child, London James. In the past few years, Brandon and MG have lived in Chicago, London (where they brought home a little souvenir by the name of, you guessed it, London) and are now living it up in the gorgeous city of San Francisco. Brandon is a manager for a hip, young company called Meltwater News. MG is an avid photographer, writer and new mommy, having given birth to London James in early January. These two are a hilarious couple who are loved by many in their home state of Michigan. We were glad to snag them for a few hours to capture their first ever family portraits! Enjoy a few of our favorites below and don’t forget to check out the slide show and full gallery at the end!

To see a slide show and to link to their full gallery, click here!!

Leona Jagels

jhillebrand — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 19:00:17 +0000

It’s not often that you come across individuals who stop you dead in your tracks and inspire you. We met the beautiful, ethereal, saintly Leona Jagels in December when we were doing a family session for her daughter, Mary Sue. We didn’t have much time to get to know her because it was a busy shoot with a gorgeous family of five! However, during the short time that she was there, I became intrigued by her. There’s just something special about Leona. As I dug around and got some information on her, I found that indeed, I’m not the only person she’s had this effect on. In fact, many people have said that they feel they’re in the presence of a saint when they’re with her. There’s just something special about this woman. Leona will be 88 this coming March. She’s a mother to 6 children, a grandmother to 12, and a great grandmother to 5. She was born and raised in Detroit and is a devout Catholic. At a glance, these are just facts and figures, but I supposed the real magic comes when you’re simply in her presence. Her spirit is full of peace and her joy is contagious. She exudes wisdom and steadfastness, but at the same time, is full of child-like glee and wonder. The following images are my attempt at capturing 88 wonderful years in a few, small frames.

Leona in the kitchen of her Rochester home, which she’s lived in for several decades:

Leona looks over a book detailing her personal history. It’s an heirloom that she created for her grandchildren:

Mary Sue is the second-to-youngest child, and Leona’s only girl. Behind them is a painting created by Leona’s daughter-in-law, Pati, who is married to her oldest son. The painting was a gift for her 25th wedding anniversary:

A devout Catholic, Leona prays the Rosary daily:

A section from a book called Momilies, mini “homilies” written for anyone who needs a mother’s advice. At one point in her life, Leona owned a Christian bookstore in downtown Rochester:

Leona with a painting of her late husband, Leonard Jagels. He was also born and raised in Detroit and the two were introduced by mutual friends. He passed away in 1983 at the age of 63:

Leona reflected in a photo of her and Leonard on a trip to the Middle East. They were laughing as they struggled to climb onto the back of camel:

Leona loves to laugh, and her joy and inner peace is felt by anyone who’s around her:

Leona and her 6 children at a family member’s wedding. Pictured from left to right: John, Mary Sue, Mark, Leona, Jim, Mike, Paul:

Radiant with life and love, Leona’s sparkling blue eyes dance like sunlight reflected on water:

Thank you, Mrs. Leona Jagels for inspiring me to photograph you, for being a light and a hope to the world. May we all learn from you and live to the fullest, embracing each new opportunity and inspiring those around us.

To see a slide show of her session and to link to her gallery, click here!

Gundale Family Portraits

jhillebrand — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 05:13:07 +0000

We spent the holidays with Gabe’s family in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul. There are some adorable kids in his family so naturally, we photographed them! How could we resist? For this set of images, we took a very loose, au naturel approach. It was great to capture the people we know and love in their environment, all defenses down. So, enjoy some of our favorite family pictures featuring beautiful baby Brenna, precocious and precarious Micah, the absolutely adorable Anja, and the new Australian Shepard puppy, Cedar.

To see the full gallery, click here!! Then just scroll down to “Gundale Family Portraits.” The gallery is password protected, so please contact us if you’re interested in viewing.

Ortiz Family Portraits

jhillebrand — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 19:40:20 +0000

Introducing the beautiful and fun-loving Ortiz family of Rochester Hills. It was such a treat to photograph this incredibly gorgeous, dark-haired family on a lovely, snowy, December day! We want to thank P.S. Cosmetics in downtown Rochester once again for doing a fabulous make-up job on Mary Sue. This family really has a good time together and their laughter, love, and faith is evident to all who are around them. The three daughters; Emily, Anna, and Melissa, (one in high school, one in college, and one world-traveler) were an absolute riot! Especially the little one…she kept us and the rest of the bunch laughing most of the day! Mary Sue and Fernando have much to proud of in raising such delightful girls. Without further ado, here are a few of our favorite highlights from their session!

To see their full gallery, click here!! Then just scroll down to “Ortiz Family Portraits.” Their gallery is password protected, so please contact us if you’re interested in viewing.

Smith Family Portraits

jhillebrand — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 23:02:47 +0000

This family portrait session makes me smile for several reasons. One is because the Smiths are family, and it’s always really great to photograph familiar faces. Another reason is because these kids, my cousins, are hilarious and adorable. Especially Dylan, the little guy. We had riot with them on a gorgeous and unusually warm fall evening at Van Hoosen Farm in Rochester. Afterward, the kids changed into their pj’s and had a good time jumping on mom and dad’s bed. This was great for us, too, because it gave us an opportunity to do some fun indoor stuff heading into the cold winter season! The Smiths truly are an awesome and fun-loving family. Enjoy their pics, they will surely leave you smiling!

To see their full gallery, click here!! Then just scroll down to “Smith Family Portraits.” The gallery is password protected, so please email us if you’re interested in viewing: foto@hillebrandphotography.com

Wind Family Portraits

jhillebrand — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:20:53 +0000

Robyn and Mike Wind are the super laid-back, fun-loving parents of little baby Reagan. We had so much fun hanging out with them on a gorgeous fall day at their rad, downtown Royal Oak house. When he’s not spending time with his gorgeous wife and daughter, Mike works as a knee and hip surgeon. Meanwhile, Robyn is taking this season of her life to enjoy being a wife and mother. We loved getting to know this friendly family and their hilarious dogs, Tessa and Abbey. (Abbey is pictured below. When we took a break to calm a crying Reagan, she just kind of laid on the couch with a “No big deal, just another day in my life” look in her eyes, hilarious!! Couldn’t resist posting this shot!) Enjoy their beautiful images!

To see their full gallery, click here!! Then just scroll down to “Wind Family Portraits.”

Russo Family Portraits

jhillebrand — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 17:41:05 +0000

Meet the beautiful Russo family: Tanya, John and little Addyson. They’re a laid-back, fun-loving bunch who loves being outside, playing sports, and hanging with Addyson. We loved photographing them at their parent’s *gorgeous* Washington Township home! Some of my very favorite moments were towards the end, shown in the quiet and intimate black and white portraits of these new parents and their first baby. I cannot get enough of these images and hopefully you won’t be able to either! So without further ado…enjoy our favorite images from their session!

To see their full gallery, click here!! Then just scroll down and click “Russo Family Portraits.” Enjoy!

Slimak Family Portraits

jhillebrand — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 22:15:00 +0000

Having a rough week? All you need to do is look at these pictures and everything will be okay. Meet the Slimak family with baby girls who are guaranteed to make you smile. Every time I sat down to edit these, I would seriously end up laughing because the youngest one, Easter, is soooo squishy and cute! We had such a great time hanging out at their family’s vintage farmhouse in Bloomfield for this shoot. I really love these pics in particular because as we’re rapidly approaching fall, these are so warm and summery, and the family has such an awesome love for each other. Well, enough of my rambling! Enjoy, smile, laugh

To see their complete gallery, go to http://www.hillebrandphotography.com/, click on “Client Viewing & Ordering, click the link, and scroll down to Slimak Family Portraits. The gallery is password protected so please contact us if you’re interested in viewing!