Family Photography on the beaches of Lake Michigan

Lake Michigan Family Photography Sessions

{Saint Joseph, South Haven, Saugatuck Michigan}

If you are planning a wonderful trip to Southwest Michigan this year, then know you are in for a treat. Lake Michigan is almost like heaven on earth in the Summertime, and the perfect vacation spot for families to come and enjoy much needed time together and create amazing memories. In the midst of all that fun is where we come in! I love coming out to Lake Michigan to photograph vacationing families! My goal is to keep things fun and relaxed while creating images that will be loved and cherished for a lifetime!! We service the towns of Saint Joseph, South Haven, Saugatuck Michigan.

Meet the Photographer….Melissa Gregersen

I have been photographing vacation families at Lake Michigan since 2011 and LOVE meeting families from all over the country and create gorgeous photographs that they will cherish for a lifetime. I have a wonderful team that works at the studio with me to edit your images and make sure they look great!

We offer two sessions at the beach.

Morning Sessions at 8am :: $695

Sunset Sessions 40 minutes prior to sunset :: $795

40 minutes of shooting time with Melissa. She shoots fast and with purpose and knows the area very well to get the most of our your session in the shortest amount of time.
A typical session yields about 40 images.
Up to 40 images are included in the session fee.
Option to purchase more images available if there are more than 40 images available. We then let you pick your top favorite 40, or the option to purchase more.

What makes us stand apart?

Our goal is to shoot for quality over quantity.

Edited images are a big deal. We go through each chosen image and make sure to soften your skin and laugh lines as well as wind blown stray hairs. We know it’s so annoying to have a photograph you just love but then you have that pesky piece of hair that got caught in the win, or someone’s eyes are closed in the big group photo!
We have a high standard of excellence and make sure you have a gorgeous finished professionally edited printable image that you will love! If you have a specific editing request, please ask. We do offer additional photoshop work for an additional fee. This is a popular option- it allows families to then LOVE an image because we were able to do a little more photoshop magic to make it perfect for them.
Lake Michigan photography sessions are quick and yet casual as you are all in the vacationing frame of mind. 🙂 We have a pretty fast turn around time of 1 week from the session date. So that when you return home from your amazing vacation, you know you will have your lovely proofs to choose from very soon. Proof galleries will be emailed to the main contact person who booked the session in your family.
We also will give you direct access to a professional printing lab we recommend to ensure you are getting high quality prints that look just like the pretty digital images on your computer.

What session works best for you?

Morning or Sunset?

Morning Sessions start at 8am. Why so early?

It gets warm fast.
The sun comes up very early in the Summer, making the beach very bright.
People squint and no one wants a family portrait with squinty eyes.
Kids do much better with morning sessions than sunset sessions due to the sun setting so late in the Summer (around 9:30pm).
It is nice for a vacationing family to get up and get dressed and ready for their photography session and then be done before 9am and you can head off to breakfast and enjoy the rest of your day!

Sunset Sessions start 40 minutes prior to Sunset.

The sunset is approx. 9:30pm during the Summer months, so most sessions would start around 8:45pm.
We can not control the skies, so we can never guarantee a sunset, however, we found that most skies are beautiful no matter what on Lake Michigan.
This session is not ideal for little ones who struggle to stay up past 8:30pm. We find little ones really struggle to be happy for their session later in the evenings after a fun day at the beach. So please keep that in mind when determining what session to pick.
You may ask why is the sunset session more than the morning session? They are in high demand in the summer months, and require extra time and equipment.

Feel free to click here to contact us with your dates that you will be vacationing, how many will be photographed and the location/town you will be staying at that week.

Here are some examples. Please note images are taken at either St. Joseph, Saugatuk or South Haven beaches. Each beach setting offers unique backdrops.