Grand Rapids Wedding Photography

Christine and Patrick met at Grand Valley State University, so they thought it would be the perfect place for a wedding!  It was the most perfect fall day anyone could ask for!  If you want to see more, make sure you watch the slideshow here!

I just realized that I never made a post here about this!  I posted it on Facebook, but not on my blog…

I am now a Certified Professional Photographer with the Professional Photographers of America.  In the United States, you do not have to be certified to be a professional photographer, so most photographers are not certified.  In fact, at the begining of the year, there were only approximately 1000 certified Photographers in the United States. I started studying for the test last May (besides my last 8 years of photography experience!)  I will have to admit, it was a lot harder than I anticipated.  You see, since I am self taught, I know what I do.  I know how to get the results that I want.  When I started studying in May, I started studying a lot of things that I did not use in my business, but things I had to know to become certified.  I had to study things like the internal parts of a camera, the film process and emulsion layers, the scientific way the light creates an image, view cameras (the old fashioned cameras that you put your head under a cloth), filters (filters are not used as much now with photoshop)… etc…. you get the idea.

There are two parts to the exam.  There is a written test, and an image submission.  I submitted my portfolio last August.  5 Judges review your portfolio, and they all have to agree to pass it.  In September I received the letter that my images passed the review.  Then, the first week of October, I took the written exam.  It was hard, and I was nervous.  2 weeks later, I received a letter in the mail, congratulating me on passing my written portion of the exam!  So, now I am Kari Douma, C.P.P.

I looked on the Certified Professional Website, and I am only one of 6 photographers in the Grand Rapids area that is listed as a Certified Professional Photographer.  I want to say thank you to my clients for trusting your cherished memories with me!

Thank you,

Kari Douma, C.P.P.

Muskegon was the place for Derek and Staci’s wedding last weekend!  It was a beautiful day, and Staci was a gorgeous bride!  We started out the morning at The Creative Edge in Muskegon.  Lindsey did an AWESOME job with Staci’s hair and makeup!  The ceremony was at Forest Park Covenant Church.  After the ceremony we stopped at Lake Harbor Park for some awesome pictures with the wedding party!  The light and location were just perfect!  There was just a little bit of fall color, which was perfect for the wedding portraits!  And finally, the reception was at Dockers Fish House. The Food was absolutely amazing.  If you would like to see more from the day, watch the slideshow here!

Michelle and Paul had a beautiful wedding last weekend! The ceremony was at Brookside CRC, and the reception was at Glendevon Banquet Center in Grand Rapids. I love it when Plan B turns out to be perfect! We were planning on some outdoor portraits at Glendevon, but when we arrived it was raining. So, we started doing some portraits by the pillars under the porch over hang. Well, the light was perfect, and the pillars were gorgeous, which made some beautiful wedding portraits for Paul and Michelle! I love it when things like that come together, because I might have overlooked that location had it not been for the rain!  If you want to see more, watch the slideshow here!