african – True Light Images

The Oteto Women

August 21, 2017Posted in children, family, fashion, grand rapids, modeling, models, photography, UncategorizedTagged african, beautiful, family, grand, kenya, michigan, rapids, west, womenLeave a comment

There is nothing like coming across genuine, honest, from the soul, people.
There are times when it just flows, and you have this natural and sincere connection.
It is like a breath of fresh air.
That is what it was like working with the Oteto family.
I had an amazing time with this family and getting to know them.
Even with a rain shower in the midst of our overcast day, it was a fun and fulfilling experience.
I truly appreciate and treasure this opportunity to be able to photograph these beautiful women. Their beauty truly resonates from the inside out.

Rose is expecting her second child and while all of her sisters were available she wanted to take photos to commemorate the special occasion.

Mother Dorothy and her daughters Mariam, Julia, Carra, Gianniana, Rose and her three granddaughters donned traditional Kenyan Maassai jewelry (the Oteto family is Luos) with beautiful bold prints.

Thank you Rose for entrusting me to capture your vision and congratulations on your growing family!!

Seniors Class of 2017

September 7, 2016April 7, 2017Posted in children, city, college, families, family, fashion, grand rapids, modeling, models, parents, photographer, photographers, photography, photojournalist, portraits, senior, Uncategorized, west michiganTagged african, american, beautiful, black, child, children, city, class, cute, daughter, family, fashion, female, girl, gorgeous, grand, grand rapids, images, life, light, michigan, model, modeling, people, photographer, photography, portfolio, portraits, pretty, rapids, teenager, true, west, womanLeave a comment

So I have not been as busy as I would like, but I did have the chance to photograph a few awesome seniors.

They are the class of 2017 and they are poised to take over the world. Beautiful, bright, amazing young ladies!!

I am so honored that I had the chance to capture your senior photos for you!

Enjoy your senior year! Take it all in. In the blink of an eye time passes and it becomes a distant memory you wish you could hold onto just a bit longer.

CONGRATULATIONS Elora, MaKayla, and Jacqueline!

Caius and Latesha

August 27, 2015August 27, 2015Posted in babies, boys, celebrities, children, city, clothes, fashion, grand rapids, magazine, michigan, modeling, photographers, photographyTagged adorable, african, american, babies, baby, beautiful, black, bond, boy, child, children, cute, editorial, ethnic, family, fashion, gorgeous, grand, handsome, love, magazine, male, michigan, model, modeling, mother, photographer, photography, photojournalism, portfolio, preschool, rapids, son, westLeave a comment

One of the many rewards to being a photographer is being able to watch the little ones you shoot grow up.
I have done quite a few shoots with Caius and am honored to have been able to document and create memories for him and his wonderful mother Latesha since he was a newborn.

This three year old has such a big, fun personality. An absolute joy to be around!

Natalia – Class of 2015

August 5, 2015August 19, 2015Posted in celebrities, children, city, clothing, families, family, fashion, grand rapids, magazine, michigan, photographers, photography, photojournalist, portraits, seniorTagged 2015, african, american, beautiful, biracial, black, children, cute, daughter, fashion, female, grand, grand rapids, michigan, photographer, photography, photojournalist, portraits, rapids, senior, west, west michiganLeave a comment

This beautiful young lady is my goddaughter (though I call her my niece).
I am so proud of the intelligent, strong and compassionate young lady she has become.
Stay strong, keep moving forward and always reach for your goals. (Yes totally cliche but I mean it).

Congratulations Natalia!!
I love you!

Grand Rapids Power Weekend

March 11, 2015March 11, 2015Posted in business, clothing, fashion, fashion show, models, photographer, photographyTagged african, american, beautiful, biracial, black, business, catwalk, city, class, clothing, cute, daughter, ethnic, fashion, gorgeous, grand rapids, michigan, models, photographer, photography, Power, show, WeekendLeave a comment

October 17 and 18, 2014 there was a fantastic event held.
The Grand Rapids Power weekend.
Kristian Grant and Michael Buxton put on this wonderful two night event.
The first night was a mixer for everyone to connect and enjoy the evening.
The second night was a fashion show that showcased fantastic fashion and some great local models.
Both of these nights were a blast. The energy was amazing and everything was flawless. Hopefully there will be more events like this in the future.

All-Star Couture: Fashion Show

November 11, 2014November 11, 2014Posted in basketball, celebrities, college, fashion, fashion show, football, magazine, modeling, models, pageant, parents, photographer, photography, sportsTagged african, american, athletes, ball, basketball, beautiful, biracial, black, business, class, college, couture, cute, davenport, drew, fashion, football, grady, grand, GVSU, kelvin, local, male, michigan, modeling, models, neitzel, photographer, photography, rapids, runway, sports, state, thomas, university, valleyLeave a comment

Here are a few shots from the All-Star Couture Fashion Show that took place back in September.

This was an all male fashion show. The first one in Grand Rapids, actually. It featured some of our local athletes modeling fashion from local stores.

It was so much fun! I absolutely love fashion shows, and I would love to shoot a lot more of these. I felt so at home while snapping, it was an incredible sensation.

I also had the opportunity to capture the athletes/models as they prepped for the runway.

True Light Images Photography

May 18, 2014May 18, 2014Posted in babies, celebrities, children, concert, family, magazine, modeling, music, parents, photography, portraits, UncategorizedTagged adorable, african, american, baby, beautiful, child, children, daughter, family, female, grand, images, life, love, michigan, model, modeling, musician, new, photographer, photography, portraits, true, womanLeave a comment

I put together this sort of digital portfolio at the beginning of 2014.

It was sort of a motivation tool to keep me focused on my goals.

Cecil and kids

April 15, 2013April 18, 2013Posted in babies, family, magazine, modeling, parents, photography, UncategorizedTagged african, american, beautiful, black, child, children, daughter, father, female, grand, grand rapids, images, life, light, love, michigan, model, modeling, new, parents, people, photographer, photography, pretty, rapids, single, son, true, westLeave a comment

I always love collaborating with the lovely Latesha Lipscomb owner of I Got Face Cosmetic Concierge. This time was no exception. It was such a moving and wonderful experience being able to photograph this single father and his children. It is not every day you see a single dad step up the way he has. Kudos to him and all the other single dads out there taking care of their children!! You deserve so much more credit and recognition than what you get!!

Tonya – model

February 8, 2013February 12, 2013Posted in magazine, modeling, photography, UncategorizedTagged african, american, beautiful, black, business, female, grand, images, life, light, michigan, model, people, photographer, photography, pretty, rapids, shoot, true, west, womanLeave a comment

last summer I had the pleasure of photographing my cousin Tonya.

she wanted to update her portfolio and asked me to be the photographer. considering she has worked with some of the big names here in Grand Rapids I was honored. I loved working with her! It is always fun working with family and the fact that she is very professional made it all that much better.