My Story
January 2024
Hi there! I’m Christina and welcome to my little area of the world wide web! I'm a wife, mother and dog mom to the cutest little family I get to call mine! I was born and raised in Michigan and lived in the Metro Detroit area all my life. I have a bachelors degree in Music Education and a masters degree in Educational Technology from Michigan State University. The past eleven years I taught in public school, directing a middle school choral program, musical theater productions and teaching computer courses before becoming a stay-at-home-mom the summer of 2023. Although I have a strong love for the performing arts, raising my daughter and taking care of my young family will always be my number one priority; I am so blessed to have this time with her, to experience and capture precious moments of her childhood! They grow up way too fast!
I'm passionate about the arts and have always needed a creative outlet to express myself. I've always loved photography but never committed time to learn the art form until I transitioned from public school teacher to stay at home mom to my daughter Hailee. I first picked up a digital camera photographing her at every milestone one month, two month, three months old, etc. It slowly became a habit photographing her next month's milestone. By six months old, I made it a goal to make every photoshoot better than the last! I would spend my evenings learning Adobe photo editing software as well as investing mentoring time into learning how to use a full frame digital camera. Sitting down with this 'new to me' technology, it honestly became so addicting! Fast-forward to today, while writing this story, we just celebrated my daughter's first birthday! I have photographed her since she was one month old and will continue to collect month-by-month aging photos for as long as she lets me! It is so important to me to photograph these memories because before long, she will be all grown up (even though I’d love for her to stay my little baby forever). I’m so grateful already, that I have these pictures to look back at. So, that’s where my passion for photography really took off.
I love this art form; it feels like Christmas morning every time I get to capture milestone moments for families. If you are nervous in front of a camera; I’ll make it fun and memorable for you! (I'm very easy going,...I’ve seen it all…eleven years of teaching middle school, directing and producing concerts and musicals with adolescents. There's nothing that would surprise me that could happen during a photoshoot that I haven't experienced before in a school setting)! Call it the former teacher in me, I come to sessions with plans for posed photos however my favorite photos taken are usually the in between moments when you're not thinking about posing for a camera. I keep it light through natural posing prompts during your photo session and embrace the moments of love and laughter along the way!
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A little more about what makes me ME…. I would describe myself as an organized and creative mind set. Currently on my phone I have over thirty different lists…. anywhere from packing checklists and list of errands down to bucket list travel destinations. I sleep better at night if the kitchen is clean, and the dishes are in the dishwasher. A clean house is the best feeling ever (I must get that from my grandmother, she loved to clean). My family says I daydream a lot..I guess my mind never stops creating NEW, which is where my phone comes in handy (is phone journaling a thing?!) Does any of this sound like you?!
When I’m not playing the role of photographer or “momma”, other things that bring me joy include spending quality time with family and friends, going on walks with Hailee and my six year old Pomeranians Marco and Polo, spending time outdoors and in nature, singing in an adult choir, listening to audiobooks and music playlists (sprinkled in with some impromptu kitchen dance sessions), decorating and designing my home, making my Pinterest boards a reality, cooking, playing the piano, gardening in the summer, having girly spa nights (doing my nails and a face mask while watching rom-coms or bad reality TV), shopping (I’d describe myself as a fashionista- I enjoy fashion trends), working out (yes I actually enjoy exercising- give me all the endorphins) and traveling! I have a long bucket list of places I’d love to travel to. My husband and I enjoy planning trips to foreign places, site-seeing, experiencing the culture, cuisine, and capturing travel photos we’ll have with us forever! If you need any travel advice, don’t hesitate to ask! We've been to five continents and have a goal of going to all seven by the time we've reached our retirement years! A big BIG thank you to my husband, in telling my story, because he has been my biggest mentor along this journey and also fostered my passion for photography over the past seven years. If you love travel as much as we do, check out the “Travel" section here, where I share some photos of the travel we've done over the past seven years before having our daughter Hailee.
So, if you made it to the end here, I hope you've learned a little bit more about me. There’s something so intrinsically rewarding capturing milestone moments for families. Photography is an art form and creating art is and always has been my biggest passion in life! If it sounds like I’d be a good fit capturing your milestone moments, let's connect; Please fill out the contact form here and let me help tell your story!
All the best,
Christina Welling
There’s something so intrinsically rewarding capturing milestone moments for families. Photography is an art form and creating art is and always has been my biggest passion in life!