Not taking on new clients at this time
I’m stepping away from the business for awhile, and quite possibly forever.
Thank you to all my past clients for being a part of my story, as much as I was a part of yours.
Tween + Teen WHO I AM Photo Sessions In BEND, OREGON
With select dates in Orange County, CA and elsewhere upon request
relaunching soon!
dates will be announced later this year
Where a photo session is just the beginning.
As a parent, I know you struggle watching your kid live through things you wish you you could magically make better…
Self-esteem can be developed or crushed in an instant, especially in those preteen + early teen years. This is a notoriously rough age, and I'm pretty sure we all have "survival" stories of our own.
There's no easy solution to this. But I am doing what I can to help. Incorporating my extensive background in psychology, child development, art therapy and photography, I am offering a beloved photo project that helps kids feel uplifted and better about themselves!
You’ll get an Inspiration Book filled with favorite images + heartfelt quotes from family…
for your kiddo to flip through whenever they need a reminder of how awesome they are and how much they’re loved!
It’s like having a personal cheering squad at the ready, whenever they’re in need of a little pick-me-up.
“What a beautiful reminder of who you are and why people love you…
“We've been having a hard time with 5th grade this year, and Diego has been struggling with finding self-worth. He came home angry from school the other day and started saying some pretty disparaging things about himself.
I told him to go grab his photo book and take a moment to sit and read the comments people that love him made about him.
We left him alone on the couch reading the comments and going through the book and after a while I heard the sniffles. I took a look at him and he put the book down and came to us with a big hug and apologized for his harsh words.
It worked! I knew it would, but seeing it in action was so great.
-Jenny S., Diego’s mom
An Empowering Photoshoot
I photograph what they’re already feeling confident in… getting pics of them in an everyday outfit that they LOVE, and then more pics to show off a sport, hobby, or favorite passion of theirs.
Collecting Uplifting Quotes
I’ll provide a questionnaire link to share with 5 other family members or mentors of your kiddo. I'll collect the responses and will hand-pick the best quotes from each person to be included in your kiddo's experience.
Enjoying Emotional Results
Those quotes are combined with their new photos for a one-of-a-kind VIDEO for the entire family to watch together. (Cue the waterworks.) Those quotes + your favorite pics are also added to the Inspiration Book for them to keep!
…minus the embarrassed eye-rolls and chorus of "Mo000ooom" that typically follows anything nice you try to say.
You + I both know they need to hear all this GOOD STUFF about themselves. So the WHO I AM Project provides a unique way to get it all across... all the ways you SEE them, love them, and are proud of them.
By doing so in a way that helps them internalize what was said about them, and call upon your words of love + encouragement again and again.
Want to SEE what a session with me is like + what makes it so unique?
Check out my featured article in the Winter 2022 issue of Click Magazine.
Even better… scope out this UPDATED version I’ve rewritten with YOU in mind.
I’m Michelle Simmons, and I’m the one behind the camera.
And I do what I do because I’ve got adolescent “survival stories” of my own.
I was majorly awkward, a choir geek + creative wallflower, and never felt like I truly fit in anywhere. And even though my parents were wonderfully supportive, it still took me a loooooong time to actually feel confident in mySELF.
So now that I’m on the other side of it all, I’m using my SUPERPOWERS of empathy + understanding to help “get through” to the tweens + teens of today to help bolster their self-confidence and feel more comfy in their own skin.
Because especially in this 24/7 social media world of ours, they’re gonna need AAAAAALL the support they can get.
I’m also MORE than just a photographer.
With my degree in psychology and years spent working in children's group homes, I've learned to instantly connect with a wide range of personalities and work with all sorts of moods. And psychology still guides a lot of what I do.
I specialize in FUN and stress-free photography experiences for tweens, teens, and graduating seniors.…. where creativity and connection is at the heart of it all.
SEE what it’s like to work with me (SOUND ON):
I hear you, mama. In fact, this is one of the questions asked most often.
Here’s what I can tell you: NINETY-FIVE PERCENT of the kids I photograph aren’t actually excited about getting their photos taken. At first.
And most kids come to me feeling a lil bit shy + nervous about it all. That’s totally normal.
But with the way I do things, it’s never just about taking their pICTURE.
It’s about creating a safe space where they feel seen + heard. Offering choices + chances for self-expression. Having conversations + geeking out to what they’re most passionate about.
Where even the most introverted kids come alive before my eyes. And you can WATCH their self-confidence grow.
Don’t believe me?
I was able to be myself.
“"I love how she would play music based on how you wanted the photos to come out, and that she let me pick the music. I appreciated how she let me decide where I wanted to have the pictures taken and that she kept things very personal, just between me and her. I felt very comfortable and I was able to be myself."
-Lexi (session to celebrate her 15th birthday)
I felt calm and confident.
"I LOVED my photo session with Michelle! She made me feel calm and confident, so that her suggestions of cute poses I was typically a little shy to try became something that I felt comfortable with. I had so much fun on the beach with my dogs, my water polo ball and myself! I hope to get to do future shoots with Michelle!"
-Megan (senior portrait session)
Still NOT SURE?
TRUST ME…
Because everything I do is designed to make a positive and lasting impact on every tween + teen who steps in front of my camera.
I’m able to meet these kids in this “awkward” stage they’re at RIGHT NOW… to help them feel beautiful (inside & out) and have REAL + unshakable confidence in themselves as they make their way through middle + high school, navigating social circles + the real world and all the other stuff that life will be throwing their way.
And YOU get to be a BIG part of it, too. Because you + other family members will be SECRETLY filling out questionnaires about the participating tween/teen. Your uplifting words will then be combined with their fantastic new photos to create an emotional video for the entire family to experience together, as well as a KEEPSAKE BOOK to touch + hold + flip through whenever they need a reminder.
Think about it... if someone surprised YOU with 15-20 positive quotes about yourself, how would you feel?
I bet it would be pretty dang powerful.
Meet a few of the super-rad kiddos I’ve worked with already:
and VIEW a few of their actual “WHO I AM” VIDEOS:
Not taking on new clients at this time
I’m stepping away from the business for awhile, and quite possibly forever.
Thank you to all my past clients for being a part of my story, as much as I was a part of yours.
Expect a reply within 24 hours during Office Hours (Mon-Fri, 10-4).
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The Suitcase Studio offers FUN portrait sessions for tweens + teens in Bend, Oregon.
“Watching her open up as you guys chatted was incredibly heart warming for me as a mom. She still has the book I ordered and I caught her looking through it the other night. I only wish I’d had the foresight to have had my Gramma fill out one of the family surveys so she had her words forever.”