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Shelley Torgerson Photographer
The most beautiful moments are your real moments.

I call them clovers {just a peek}

I did a photo shoot of William and Braylin in some clovers (weeds?).  Is it alright to say that I totally Love my own photos?  Cause I do, these at least, and I think I just said it.  Here's a peek:

anytime, lil ones, portraitsShelleyJuly 27, 20104 Comments
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just because

lil ones, portraitsShelleyAugust 2, 2010portrait, william2 Comments
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Welcome Emery

lil ones, personal, portraitsShelleyJuly 13, 2010
Ferndale, MI 48220
shelley@shelleytorgerson.com
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Shelley Torgerson is a family photographer specializing in documentary family photography. She lives in Ferndale, MI and serves the Metro Detroit area including, but not limited to Birmingham, Beverly Hills, Bloomfield Hills, Detroit, Ferndale, Grosse Pointe, Rochester, Royal Oak, Troy, West Bloomfield and other cities in Oakland, Macomb, or Wayne Counties. Also available to travel. She also spends time in the Tampa and Naples Florida areas. 

 

Services available include: Metro Detroit Moments of Motherhood™ sessions, Metro Detroit Day in the Life sessions, Metro Detroit Documentary Family Photography, Metro Detroit Family Photography. 

Kisses. May 2019. Don't you just love it how so often a little one's kiss is actually a lot more like "I'm totally going to eat your face!” Message me to book your family's Moments of Motherhood or Day in the Life session. Or message me if you want to chat about any questions you might have about what a documentary family session will be like. It's so easy, you're going to love it, I promise! Come on, don't you want me to capture your kids lovingly trying to eat your face too?! * * Follow the link in my bio to my contact form or DM me here to book or chat. I'm putting together a blog post to share more of this session with you, but in the meantime here is one of my MANY favorites from this wonderful family's Day in the Life session. Something about the reaching and touching of their hands. The matching grins and shared joy. This photograph represents to me the side of parenting that often slips by us too quickly to notice. The simple, wonderful moments that are captured in a documentary family session to revel both now and as our children change and grow. And no, they don't keep their kid in a plastic box or let him play in plastic! They are gardeners and their little one was helping them, assisted by papa, to put up a small greenhouse to go over one of their garden beds. It was refreshing to see how involved this little one is in helping his parents in their daily life. Run, don’t walk to book your session spring or summer with me! _______________________________________ **Current Availability** I have room for one more family in May and three in June and weekend availability is very limited. Contact me now to reserve your date!** _______________________________________ Time and time again, I have families who tell me how wonderful their session was, how fun and how easy. And then when they see the photographs of their children and them together, they cry every time. There is something so special about seeing your family together like this. These photographs are such a wonderful reminder of all that you are doing right as parents. If you want photographs of your family and you want the experience to be easy and fun, If you want your photographs of your family to be real, AND beautiful. If you’d love a way to preserve a bit of this time in your lives, then this session is for you. What are you waiting for? (And don’t forget, you might want to get you session booked before my rates go up!) **Cousin love. Easter 2019** Milo's first time holding Fletcher. I think they were both pretty happy about it.😂❤️ Want to hear one of my secret mom tricks? Milo loves his baby cousin so much. Anytime I want us to declutter and get rid of some toys or clothes all I have to do is ask Milo if he wants to give it to Fletcher and he is more than happy to give them up. Hey you over there, the one who's been following along waiting for the “right" time to book a session. How about now? Yep, now. Just do it. Take the leap, send me an email, let’s pick a date. That’s the hardest part about a session with me! The rest is you and your family just being you. Easy as can be! I know what it’s like, I’m a busy mom too. We know we want to do something, but we put off sending the email or committing to a date thinking, “oh, I’ll do that later.” I get it! But I can give you another really good reason to contact me and get your session booked now. I’m in the process of working with a business guru and working my numbers and the results are that my rates are going up soon. This gives you another incentive to take the leap and get in now at my current session rates! Not to mention the reason that is always there.. your children are only the age they are right now, right now! Almost anything else in life can be done later, I’m a huge believer in it’s never too late. BUT you cannot get back the moments with your children at the age they are now. Let's preserve a little of that with a documentary family session. My weekend sessions are full for May, but I have one weekday May session available still and am booking for June. Send me an email and let’s chat about when is best for you and how easy and rewarding this session is going to be! * * **Felix. Age 7. Easter 2019.** I am always in the process of continual learning both in my profession and personally. Right now I am taking a great business class created especially for documentary family photographers. One of the questions we had to answer was “What is our why for being a documentary family photographer?” I realized that I have multiple why’s, but this one below is a big WHY for me. WHY AM I A DOCUMENTARY FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHER?......... Go to my most recent blog post to see the rest. Link in profile. This kid. Milo, March 2019 Milo and I just finished up a 10 day break together and honestly for the most part it was pretty great. I love being home with him and doing things with him. I love being a mom, love being his mom. It’s always a little confusing to me when it’s time for him to go back to school because I’m excited to get a little time to myself and to get back to work, but I also end up really missing him and wishing he was still home with me. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not all rainbows and sunshine. He says he’s bored sometimes and I start to feel impatient about things not going my way sometimes. And there was one day where he never stopped talking to me. He was totally happy but just really wanting to tell me everything. By the time Tim got home from work that day I was so exhausted! And I’m a talker too!! But overall, I can always see this extreme level happiness and contentment in him after our days together. It makes me wonder if it’s supposed to be a little more like that? How can I so much want him to be with me all the time, but also so much want time to myself? As I said, being a mom can be so confusing, at least for me! This is Milo’s last year at the school he’s at now. Right now he goes four days a week and next year it will go up to five, that just seems like so many days for him to be gone… Somedays I think I want to homeschool, but I do think it is great for him to be in a school and great for me to have time for my business and myself… Where is our hybrid school that is less than five days a week but still a school? That has a lot of outdoor time and respects and nourishes the individuality of each child? Someone tell me where this magical hybrid school is please. During break, we made a hopscotch on the front walk. It’s right on the way to the car, so we’re always doing it now. Milo thinks it’s the greatest. I love seeing him learn and try new things. I love seeing him find new things so fun. I love this kid. Seriously, the connection here just melts me. Such a silent knowing of being each other’s person. I live for capturing moments like this. ❤️ I've shared quite a few photographs from Jillian & Lennon's Half Day in the Life session on my social media posts recently, so I figured it was about time I shared their full slideshow over on my blog. I think you're going to love it! Follow the link in my profile, go to the blog, check it out, and leave this family some love in the comments. Did you know that with a Half Day or Glimpse of a Day session, you can use 15-30 minutes of your session for relaxed portraits? Sometimes I have families who really want a documentary session, but still like the idea of having just a photograph or two of their family posed together. Or my clients love and understand what a documentary family session is all about, but the grandparents are all, “wait a minute, you’re not all going to be posed in matching outfits smiling hugely into the camera?!” This part of the session allows you to get the photographs of your family you want, the real moments that tell your family’s story while also still being able to give grandma and grandpa a posed picture for their mantel if that’s what they prefer. (Sorry though, unless it's how you normally dress everyday, matching outfits are still not allowed!) You have the option of having up to 15 mins during a Glimpse of a Day or up to 30 minutes during a Half Day Session for relaxed portraits directed by me. You can have the best of both worlds! What are you waiting for?! * * Want to see more examples of relaxed family portraits? Check out the post on my blog. Link in profile. Spring Break is coming up soon! If you're not taking a trip somewhere and the kids will be home, this is a perfect time to schedule your Moments of Motherhood or Day in the Life session. I'm opening up a couple of extra spots for the first week of April, but space is still very limited. * Have me come over and make art of your moments together. Show your family and yourself what being together looks like. Your are giving yourselves such a gift, not only for your children when they are older, but for yourself right now. * Every single session I do, I get comments from the parents about how emotional it is for them to see the love, the looks, even the tantrums or mad faces that are so their children. There is something so special about seeing how your family interacts and how you are together. I promise you, it is so much greater than you can imagine. * Have you been waiting to book a session but just aren't sure when to schedule it for? Spring Break may be your answer. * Link in profile to contact me. Let's make one of these very limited spots yours! Wondering what it might feel like to have a session with me? * Want to know what others are saying about the photographs I've made for them? * I received this message after sending over a gallery to a mom. * "...woman.. you need to understand how much of what you do effects people. The pictures are so beautiful and they show so much about life’s ups and down , raw loving & sad energy. Quietness & togetherness yet complete chaos and explosions. I’m sitting here writing thru the blurriness of the tears pouring out of my eyes. My throat is in a total knot my hearts racing and. I’m surrendering to all that has now been passed through my eyes. I’m laughing one moment & snot balling the next. Kids are in the background coloring not knowing my total complete meltdown of their toddler hood. And this moment I feel like a total f'n mom. I love you so much Thank you" * * This message is seriously the best. My eyes well up, my heart feels so full. Thank you Shannon for reminding me of how important this work really is. For reminding me that these photographs, that documenting your family, is not just to look back on someday. It is for RIGHT NOW. It is to see ourselves and our family, our relationships and all that we are doing right. All of it that is beautiful because we are human and because we are together. Message me and book your session today. I'm booking for April but have two spots still available in March. Dropped this guy off today for the first day of his three day trial at what may be his new school next year. As I walked away from him, leaving him trying to be brave, but with a look of panic on his face, I saw another mom whom I know and love. Seeing her smile and look of "I know", the tears found their way out of my face. I know he's okay, but I don't know if I will ever be comfortable walking away from him when he doesn't want me to. I remember being a brand new mom and having people tell me it just gets harder as they get older. I felt like how could it be harder?! This baby needs me 24 hours a day! But now I get it. This dance is so much harder. They need us so much, but it is also our job to teach them to lean into themselves, to be brave and try new things. To push past their fears when what's on the other side may be really good. Now I need to learn to rein myself in when all I want to do is scoop him up and run home and stay there together forever. (Can I do that? I can't do that, can I?) This is all going way too fast. ***Being a kid isn’t always easy. Sometimes you just want to scream. And being a parent of that kid sometimes you just need to step back and give them the space to scream. And you know what’s awesome? That is okay! Not all of our moments as parents, as families are perfect, whatever perfect may mean to you. To me, right now, feels like, each family leaning in to who they are, living in the now, loving and supporting each other, without the pressure to live up to any one else’s standards. Social media makes it hard sometimes to remember that we are doing a great job as parents. You are doing a great job! As a documentary family photographer, I know how important it is to capture the whole picture. To make photographs that represent all the moments of a family’s life. It’s important not only to the families these storytelling photographs represent, but also for the family across the street or even across the county, for the parent on social media who’s kid is also screaming. It’s time for us to stop trying to be better than each other. Time to put our real selves out there, our real moments. We are so much stronger when we stand together than we are apart. I know that what I am saying is not new, there is a movement going on to be more authentic, some may even say it’s trendy right now. But I’m okay with that. It’s important to remember that being our real selves is how we are really going to shine and make a difference in the world. Side note: How amazing is this Dad? He had done all he could do, offered all the comfort and support that he could but this is where they were at, so he stepped back and offered space instead. Please reach out to me, ask me any questions you have about a documentary session and let’s get your session scheduled. What are you waiting for? A year from now, you’re going to wish you had photographs made of your family now. I know this, I’ve been there, I’ve made that mistake before. There are a couple of sessions still available in March and I’m currently booking for April. @brentinrose Saving Superheroes from the Bad Guy! February 2019 Sneak Peek for @brentinrose ❤️ Summer, Port Austin. July 2018 I love summer. Like really, really love it. I love the heat and the sunshine, the long days and the warm twilight hours. I love humidity, bike rides, and picnics at the beach. Playing outside, looking for bugs with the kids, working in our garden. I even love to run in the heat and humidity, the more my shins are sweating the happier I am. I love it all. I love it all so much that I feel an ache for it when I'm typing about it right now. This all often has me wondering if we should move to somewhere warm. I think to myself, "How amazing would it be to be doing these things all year long?" But then I wonder, would it be as special without the contrast of winter? To be able to feel extreme happiness, we need to also know the feeling of sadness. To know what we want, we also need to know what we don't want. If, like me, you live somewhere with all four seasons, you know that excited anticipation of the next season almost being upon us. Would I miss the seasons changing if I lived somewhere that was warm year round? Would summer not feel as special? Taking a break. August 2018 Kid, I love so much that you ride your scooter around the block in a Ghost Buster costume and rain boots in the middle of August. And then decide to stop and take a break on a manhole in the middle of the alley. This is so you. Can you tell I'm dreaming about warm days and blue skies? 21 days til Spring! The more personal development work I get into, and believe me, I’ve been getting pretty deep, the more I realize how important right now is, how now is really all we have. But you might be asking, okay, but what does that have to do with documentary family photography? Seeing yourselves now is a reason to have documentary family photos made of your family that isn’t talked about as much. The reasons that involve the future are important and valid. It’s heart warming and wonderful to think of your family 10-20 years from now pouring over these photographs reminiscing about the old days. Or thinking of your grandkids flipping though your album of theses photographs, being able to get a feel for what a day was like for your family. Having this heirloom to pass down for generations, all of that is beautiful and wonderful reasons to have your family’s day documented. But what about right now? Feeling all the feelings NOW, seeing your value NOW, loving on each other NOW, pour over photographs of your family right NOW, and really see all that you are together, right NOW. It's funny how it's almost coming full circle, what really got me started with documentary family photography years ago was my desire to show moms their right now, their everyday, and how much they're valued. The little intricacies of being a mom, a parent, I was seeing them go unrecognized. I was seeing the moms I know not seeing the value in all of their little everyday moments. How their kids looked at them, how they casually grabbed for their mama's hand, how they buried their heads into their mama's neck when they were upset or feeling shy, how they would look across the room to connect eyes with their mom for reassurance. I wanted to show moms how important their time at home is, how important their time with their kids is, how much it means to their children. These moments we have with each other, with those we love, they are everything. So have your family's photographs made for the future, cherish and revisit them for years to come, tell your kids all about what they were like in those photos, tell your grandkids all about what their parents were like while showing them what it felt Documentary sessions aren't only for families who have children! I loved so much spending time with this couple. They truly inspire me to remember that being with a partner means to really love and appreciate each other. Looking at these photos again, months later, I am grinning and so happy to know them and to have been let in to record a bit of their love. Want to see more? Check out the amazingness that is Haley and Hans on my blog. Follow the link in my profile. I'd follow you anywhere. December 2018 ************************** This is the second year in a row that I've photographed this family and I can honestly say it's an honor to be in the presence of so much love. The awe for this little guy just oozes from his parents and I am so in love with how they love. Now if you're sitting there thinking, "Well I shouldn't have pictures made! My kids are driving me nuts! I don't feel very lovingly, oozing about them right now," trust me, these moments are there, in all of your families. Sure there are the other kind of real moments too. The rough, crying, tantrum, eye rolling (by the parents or the kids) kind of moments. But they're all important, they're all YOURS. They all make up this beautiful record of what this exact time in your life and your children's life is like. As always, it's such a pleasure to hang out with you Andria & Troy & Declan. xo
 
 

All photos and content copyright Shelley Torgerson Photography 2019