As the dog days of summer come to a close, we are left reflecting on sunny memories of travels, relaxing days, and visits with close friends and family which will warm our hearts even as the chilling winds of fall come rolling through.

Looking back on my fun-filled summer, I wanted to share one of my favorite sessions with a man who decided to capture his memories in portraiture with his three greatest blessings: his dogs Bear, Clovis, and Cosette.

The most important thing to remember about our loved ones (and pets) is that our time with them is precious. Portraits give us the gift of capturing their youthful spirit and all the joy they bring to our hearts.

Jack Kabrel wanted to do just that.

Jack is a creative guy in his own right. He has a strong appreciation for Film and black and white photography. At our very first meeting, I knew that this was going to be an incredibly fun and creative session.

At our planning session, we decided to incorporate My Hasselblad 2 ¼ film camera along with my Canon Digital SLR. This gave us a wide range of artistic expression when capturing Jack’s relationship with his best friends. After looking at the final shots, we agreed that the black and white look was the way to go- delivering strong character, emotion and detail.

While the the final portraits he picked looked similar to Mike and I, Jack found that each portrait presented different sides of the dogs’ characters. When you have a pet, you know their many facial expressions and what they mean- all the sweet ways that they communicate with you!

Bear is Jack’s oldest dog – a 15.5 year old Pomeranian, and is still ornery at his age; Clovis is a 12.9 year old Yorkshire Terrier, blind and mostly deaf but still a good boy; and Cosette is the only girl, a sweet and gentle 12.3 year old Shitzu.

They spent all their lives walking, sniffing and cavorting around with dog friends as well as thousands of neighbors and guests at the Wharf in Salem. This made the perfect location for their photo session: a beautiful home and playground. It was easy to capture their true spirit and personalities in their favorite spot.

We photographed Jack with each dog individually and all together, and he even brought his friend Will along to participate in the session!

Will is a close friend of Jack’s and loves all three of his dogs dearly, but has a special affection for Clovis.

It was remarkable to capture the bonds between both 2 and 4 legged friends at the same time. One of my favorite images from the Hasselblad was of Jack and Will sitting on a wall holding the dogs, with two bare trees behind them. We felt that the trees stood as metaphors for their friendship, which gave the image a special meaning.

Truthfully, we came out with so many great images in this session that Jack ordered a beautiful photo album – enough for a lifetime of memories. I absolutely loved the design he chose.

Of course, there had to be a favorite: one portrait that would live on Jack’s wall and bring a smile to his face every day. Jack chose a beautiful panorama on canvas of Bear, Clovis and Cosette to hang in his living room.

I was so honored to be able to capture such a sweet and profound bond on camera, in such a creative way! Mike and I both had a wonderful time working with Jack and his fur babies, and his feedback from our session completely melted my heart.

“Professional. Creative. Passionate. These are but three – of a dozen or more – adjectives that come flooding into my brain when I recall my photo shoot with Louise.

I chose Louise from several other photographers for no other reason than her proximity to my home. Wanting a photo shoot of myself and my dogs with a nearness to their environs for an outdoor session was important. This decision was fortuitous.

By the way, the other skill that Louise posses, if I haven’t mentioned it, is a unique talent for understanding what the customer wants. She knew exactly what I wanted from her after only minutes in her office. Her photographic eye for detail, unique angles, and symmetry in her shots was astounding. I ordered 95% of all the photos shot that day including a series of portraits and a panoramic of my three dogs before a backdrop of Salem Wharf.

Luck was on my side that day I randomly walked into Louise studio. The memories of my dogs are beautifully preserved because of the magnificent talent of an unassuming artist with an innate ability to sense exactly what I wanted. Thanks Louise!”

– Jack Kabrel

Are you ready to say “I do?”

Engagement sessions are one of the most exciting parts of planning for a wedding.

Not only do you get to commemorate your excitement for your new life with your partner, you also get great photos to use for invitations, gifts, and home decor!

We recently worked with a lovely couple who had a great sense of the time it takes to prepare for a perfect wedding.

Megan and Brian were a lovely couple who had recently decided it was time to say “I do,” and planned to get married in Salem, MA in the Summer of 2023.

After the chaos of the past few years, it is always a good idea to start getting details set in stone as far ahead as possible.

Salem has a rich history and many beautiful venues and outdoor locations for photos, which made it the perfect location to celebrate their special day. They began looking for a local photographer to photograph their wedding ceremony as well as their engagement portraits! We were so happy when they reached out to us.

They had already booked their ceremony at House of the Seven Gables, a venue we were familiar with and knew to have a wonderful staff. We were excited to start working with them!

We began chatting and planning details for their engagement session over email. Ultimately they would need about 20 final images to use for their “Save the Date” cards, albums and gifts for parents and grandparents, social media and more. We wanted to incorporate several locations and outfits to make sure they had a lot of variety to choose from.

After establishing their goals for the engagement session, it was time to choose a date. When picking a date for your session, it’s always best to have a few options you can commit to. We had the couple give us two available times to ensure the best weather possible. This means you won’t have to worry about rain or harsh sunlight ruining your portraits!

Pre-Session Consultation

After establishing a Plan A and Plan B for their session, we also scheduled a video call to discuss natural and comfortable style, outfit options that would photograph well, and general tips to prepare them for the best session possible.

Since Megan and Brian were from out of town, we gave them some location suggestions for portrait backdrops, and referred them to a great hair and makeup artist we knew and trusted, as well as a great place to eat afterwards! We love being able to share our favorite spots in Salem with our clients.

After our zoom call, Megan and Brian felt fully prepared and were excited for their portrait session a week later!

The Day of the Session

We met Megan and Brian for the first time at our studio the day of their session. This was their first formal portrait session, so we wanted to ensure they were comfortable and able to give natural, beautiful expressions.

When taking portraits with your spouse-to-be, its important to look good of course, but what’s more important is that you look comfortable together. These photos are ultimately about your relationship with one another, and should show the most authentic version of your love and connection.

This is what brings a smile to the faces of your friends and family when they see them.

As we began shooting their portraits, we gave them pointers as to how to pose together, paying attention to the smallest of details for the most naturally flawless results. The couple had fun posing in different outfits, and we all enjoyed the scenery as we drove to different locations for their session.  We brought them to an awesome Salem MA. landmark – Winter Island.

“We were so worried that we would look/feel awkward, but we were immediately at ease with Louise’s suggestions for how to stand, where to look, etc and everything actually felt very natural. We were able to take photos in a few different areas so that we have several types of backgrounds (on the beach, in front of flowers, etc). We were even able to do an outfit change for more variety.”

– Megan Brewster

Megan and Brian looked naturally stunning together! We really got a feel of their loving relationship while working with them. Most importantly, we all had a great time, and we were so excited to share the results with them a few days later!

Their engagement portraits came out beautifully- we aren’t sure who loved them more!

We cant wait to see their Save the Date cards, and are so excited to work with them again at their wedding next summer!

We see a lot of couples at Louise Michaud Photographer, but Megan and Brian’s planning and enthusiasm made them absolutely fantastic to work with.

We are so happy for this gorgeous couple!

If you are ready to start planning your wedding, contact the studio to start planning your picture-perfect day!