photo by Mak, cactus photo by me.
HEY, there!
i’m hallie.
I love taking photos,
among other things.. such as unruly weather, farmer’s markets, lingering light, not going the highway route, my orange tabby cat, cooking meals for friends, the vastness of Lake Michigan, beach bonfires, and watching the moon rise.
I never imagined I’d call myself a professional photographer - documenting was how I’ve always interacted with the world around me. My impulse to record, recollect, and preserve impermanence has long been a driving force, starting with an early-2000s point-and-shoot and progressing to film cameras, video cameras, and eventually my first “big” camera in college. I’ve doodled, sketched, collaged, and painted, too. Documenting life with an array of notebooks, pens, pencils, and watercolors.
Today, as a wedding and portrait photographer, I strive to create heartfelt, genuine, relatable, and meaningful photographs for all humans who choose to invite me into their world, home, celebration, or family.
This idea of documentary photography is relatively new to weddings, and certainly trendy, but as a firm believer from day one I’m not in it for the Instagram clout. I hope you, too, are choosing this style of photography because it truly resonates with you:
A documentary approach requires you as the subject to let go of control and allow yourselves to be seen. It requires trust, but in turn, you can be fully present. Forget about the photos, and me, entirely. Often I disappear amidst a swarm of joyful camaraderie and can witness each moment just as it happens. I always prioritize people (moments) over aesthetics (your table decor) and I promise to fabricate nothing.
Weddings are not celebrated for the sake of photography, people do not love each other to get pretty portraits. We do not nurture and hustle and sacrifice just to post nice photos on the internet. Your relationship is so much deeper than this.
