Specialty & Location: Weddings, South Florida & Destination

DA: Tell us a little bit about yourself…
JL: I am in love with savoring this life’s most beautiful blessing: relationships. To me the most precious moments are the ones that happen naturally, organically. When you reflect back on your favorite memories, they are about emotions experienced with loved ones. Those are the moments that captivate me.

DA: What has been your most memorable image and why?
JL: That is an impossible question for me to answer. There are so many memories attached to my images that I could never choose just one.

DA: If you could tell photographers that are just starting out one thing you wish you had known before starting a business, what would it be and why?
JL: Avoid going with the flow. Don’t make decisions based on what others around you are doing. That means in how you price yourself, how you spend your money, the types of things you shoot, even how you shoot them. Figure out who you are as a photographer and business person and then weigh all of your decisions against that. It will save you countless hours, dollars and mistakes!

DA: Where do you find inspiration?
JL: Mostly nature. Light, Water, Wind, Motion. Combine those with genuine organic emotion and I could get lost forever.

DA: If you had to move to a state or country besides the one you currently live in, where would you move and why?
JL: Italy, the coast. The food, the sea, the culture. It’s truly magical and I have never experienced anything like it.

DA: What are you most grateful for?
JL: Grace.

Specialty & Location: Children, Weddings, Families and Seniors. I’m located in what we Mid-west folks refer to as The Heartland, specifically St. Louis.

DA: Tell us a little bit about yourself…

MH: I always stall when I get asked this question. “How much info is too much?” “When do I cross the line of complete ridiculousness?” Well, I’ve had too much coffee this morning so I’m just going to go with what comes to me first. —I’m a feisty red head with a vast love of the outdoors. I am mom to the most beautiful children in the universe, and wife to the most AH-mazing man. I talk to myself in the mirror, dance in my underwear more often than I should, and I walk like a gorilla every time I try to wear high heels. Not.graceful.one.single.bit.
DA: What has been your most memorable image and why?

MH: So many come to mind for so many different reasons. Right now I believe this one is the freshest in my mind. It’s of my girl, roaming along as if she were the illusive Vivian Maier. You can’t see it in this picture but she has a camera in her hands.

DA: If you could tell photographers that are just starting out one thing you wish you had known before starting a business, what would it be and why?

MH: Fostering healthy relationships with other photographers in your area is very important. Listening to the advice they can give you regarding running a successful business, pricing, etc. can be extremely helpful, and is crucial to a healthy market. I know I wouldn’t be where I am today if I hadn’t listened to the advice of others that had come before me.
DA: What is your favorite book of all time?

MH: I have always loved reading but I must say the first book to ever render me a sobbing mess was “Where the Red Fern Grows”. I remember reading it in my advanced reading class in 7th grade. I had taken it home and was reading in my room when my mom entered. I was crying so hard I couldn’t breathe. Her immediate response was, “What’s wrong, did that boy break up with you?” Sha-right (insert Wayne’s World dialect) mom…like I had a boyfriend! It was because Old Dan’s intestines were ripped out by a mountain lion…geesh.
DA: What one thing have you not done that you really want to do?

MH: I long to go to Europe. To see the green countrysides of Ireland, and the rolling hills of Italy. Oh sigh. Someone hire me to shoot your wedding there…please?
DA: What is your favorite film of all time?

MH: Anne of Green Gables. My dad and I would have weekend marathons, watching each episode from start to finish. He still calls me carrots. Anne (being a redhead like me) gave me the confidence to just be myself. I loved her spirit, hotheadedness, compassion, and wit. LONG LIVE ANNE!

See her amazing work on her website or in the Luxe Wedding Studio Magazine and learn some of her styling tips from the Design Aglow Style Guides for Seniors, Families & Engagements. Michelle will also be featured in an upcoming Design Aglow book, set to release in this year.

Wendy and Tyler will also be featured in an upcoming Design Aglow book, set to release in 2013.

Sandi will also be featured in an upcoming Design Aglow book, set to release in 2013.

Sara will also be featured in an upcoming Design Aglow book, set to release in 2013.