Geelen family photo shoot at the Suikerunie

This was just a totally awesome shoot. IT ENDED IN A PILLOW FIGHT. COME ON! Meike found me through my good friend and regular client of mine, Rebecca, and I'm so happy she did. She and her family were so playful and fun, and we just spent a while running around inside and outside the amazing old Suikerunie factory in Groningen. Such fun :)

Meike is a big advocate of baby wearing, and I liked how the wrap looked like it gave her wings in this shot with her little girl.

Meike is a big advocate of baby wearing, and I liked how the wrap looked like it gave her wings in this shot with her little girl.

Oh hi, fashion models.

Oh hi, fashion models.

And then, there was a pillow fight. Back in June, there were plans to host a massive pillow fight in the city center, but it wound up being postponed - lucky for us, the city decided to store the pillows in the factory. Oh yes.

And then, there was a pillow fight. Back in June, there were plans to host a massive pillow fight in the city center, but it wound up being postponed - lucky for us, the city decided to store the pillows in the factory. Oh yes.

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Ik voel me altijd gelukkig als leuk en aardig mensen mij vinden of online tegen komen en denken dat mijn stijl goed bij hun past. Zo was het dit familie - wij hebben een gezellig familie shoot gedaan bij hun thuis en ook in het Noorderplantsoen. See for yourself!

Michelle and Henk's ceremony in Tynaarlo

More international love today! Michelle is American and Henk is Dutch, and they had a short and sweet ceremony at the city hall in Tynaarlo in Drenthe. Michelle had a home-made crocheted bouquet, and Henk's sense of humor shone through as they were surround by family and friends on a gorgeous day here in the north!

Modern glamour shots, now featuring less stone-washed denim!

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Hooray for more fellow American collaborations! I met Candi last October during the TEDxGroningen event, and found out that she had actually already heard about me (since the international circle in Groningen is, in fact, one inch in diameter) while looking around for a photographer to do some updated professional photos for her. After months of weather thwarting our plans, we finally got together a couple of weeks ago at the CiBoGa terrein (which I continue to be obsessed with) in Groningen to do some photos for Candi to use in her upcoming projects - she's working on a memoir of her Sex in the City-like life before winding up in the Netherlands, and she's a party planner/designer/self-described "domestic goddess" with a soon-to-launch website. After I sent Candi the photos, she sent me back an article that the New York Times had just published yesterday about professional head shots not being something that's just for actors anymore - in other words, selfies don't cut it! Aren't we trendy :)

An ice cream cart and a gorgeous red Boretti oven inside Het Gasfornuis cafe made unexpected but serendipitously pin-up-like guest appearances, and Candi was just a great model to work with! To be totally honest, I'm still honing my portraiture skills, and probably always will be - and having a setting like the CiBoGa terrein and a subject like Candi really made me feel comfortable and confident. Thanks again for working with me, Candi!

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Stephanie and Thomas

More international love here in the North! Stephanie, who's British, and Thomas, who's Dutch, had a short ceremony at the city hall in the town of Meppel on the Tuesday following second Easter day (since the Dutch love making two holidays out of one as often as possible), and they wanted to have a laid back shoot along with their families in the nearby Wilhelmina park. I was happy to oblige! It was a fun morning, spent dodging aggressive geese and finding the prettiest trees in the park. Congratulations, Thomas and Stephanie!

New collaborations: Flytographer and Earlybird Foundation

I am so very pleased to share two wonderful new organizations that I am a part of! The first is an innovative concept called Flytographer, founded just a few months ago by Nicole Smith. The concept: families, friends, couples and individuals on vacation nearly anywhere in the world can hire a professional photographer to document their trip. It's a perfect fit for my photojournalistic style, and I'm happy to save travelers from selfies and well-intended but unreliable strangers. I've already done two shots for Flytographer in Amsterdam, the first of which was with Sara and Josephine, two best friends traveling through Europe together.

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The second is a non-profit called the Earlybird Foundation, a group of professional family photographers throughout the Netherlands who provide free photo shoots for families of premature babies. Although I am not a mom just yet, I understand how important it is to have pictures of your family members, and being able to provide the first professional photographs for families who are acutely aware of the value of those images is a privilege. I admire the importance, the sensitivity and honesty of the group. Not every pregnancy goes exactly according to plan, and the children and families in such a situation deserve to have some joy brought to them. I am proud and honored to be one of Earlybird's photographers.

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Jeroen, Karin & Alexander!

There is a major baby boom happening here in the Netherlands! Well, at least in my social group, which is wonderful first and foremost because more wonderful kids are entering the world, but also because I get to be the one taking all their pictures. I always feel lucky and flattered when my friends hire me to be their photographer, and this shoot was especially, well, special - I was Jeroen and Karin's wedding photographer three years ago (along with my fiancee Elger), and yesterday I got to take their first family photos with their adorable and already very loved son, Alexander. We all laughed so much throughout the shoot, and Alexander mostly slept through it, but it was so cool to see that this kid is guaranteed to have two of the coolest, nerdiest, sweetest and just all-around awesome parents possible.

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The beautiful, Japanese-inspired design on the left was created by the always lovely Anniek Olsder - Jeroen and Karin both love Japanese art, and wanted a design that reflected the summertime to use in their birth announcements for Alexander. To the right, some of the first congratulations cards from friends and family :) It got very strangely Disney very quickly.

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I love how serene Karin is in this shot. It feels like a stolen moment, like I wasn't ever there. That's what it felt like for much of the shoot, as they just loved on their little guy and I just happened to be nearby taking photos.

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And then it was playtime with hats and puppets. Alexander already rocks so hard. I can easily imagine that this will be a wonderful microcosm of his coming childhood and life with these two.

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The Little Prince

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Source: http://traciwhiteweddingsblog.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/dsc_8715editbwblog.jpg

Olya, Chris and Casper family shoot

occ036 Olya jokingly referred to herself during our family photo shoot on Sunday as a "copy machine" in explanation for the clear Mini Me effect of her sweet son Casper - he is a tiny, rambunctious copy of his Dutch dad, Chris. Olya thankfully sought me out about a year ago to work with for a photo shoot, and luckily we have gotten together a couple of times since then, but this weekend's shoot was really special. The family will be growing by one in the next couple of weeks, and it was really a pleasure just hanging out with them in their well-lit and colorful house of love and occasionally questionable humor (mostly Olya and I)!

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Source: http://traciwhiteweddingsblog.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/occ022bw.jpg

Miranda, mom-to-be

miranda009bw Miranda may be the true personification of a ray of sunshine. She is just non-stop positivity and awesomeness, and she has been a good friend of mine since we lived together in a pretty awful international student house together in Groningen - the housing was so bad, it was actually torn down a few years ago! We called it The Containers, since it was essentially shipping containers that had been sparsely furnished and stacked on top of each other, and then exchange students were made to live in them. Miranda found a way to brighten up the containers with a plastic purple chandelier and copious cups of tea, and she was actually one of the very first people to encourage me to pursue photography back in 2005. Now, eight years later, we're both back in the Netherlands, she's having a baby, and I got to take pictures and laugh with her this weekend. I can't wait to meet her little girl and I could not be happier for her new little international family!

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Bryn, Cees and Tobin in Groningen

tobin014If Tobin doesn't turn out to be a sweet, geeky, hilarious guy, I would lose faith in the science of genetics. His mom and dad, Bryn and Cees, are two friends of mine, and their son was fittingly born into laughter: his dad was performing in the English-language improv group, Stranger Things Have Happened, monthly show back in October, and his mom was laughing so hard at their nonsense and hilarity that she actually went into labor early! I was very happy to finally get to spend a few hours with this new little family in their house with wonderful window light and, naturally, lots of laughs.

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Source: http://traciwhiteweddingsblog.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/tobin014.jpg