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valerie + alex, engagement photos in Lansing, Michigan and at Saginaw Valley State University

  • Writer: Lisa Calandrino
    Lisa Calandrino
  • May 4, 2023
  • 2 min read

Updated: Jan 29, 2024

Every time someone asks me to take their photos, I am honored. I feel excited, nervous, and so incredibly blessed. I want to do my very best and take photos that my clients will love and be proud of. When I was asked to take my little sister's engagement photos though, all of these feelings tripled.


I am a perfectionist, and I wanted these photos to be extra perfect for Valerie and Alex.


Valerie's two main requests for her photos was that her cats were in the photos and that we found some flowering trees. We took their photos at Alex's apartment in Lansing, Michigan where he lives with their two cats, Arya and Morgan. There, we realized just how difficult it is to take engagement photos with cats in them. Cats are not fans of photos.


For the flowering trees, we went to Saginaw Valley State University where not only were there beautiful trees, but great memories. Valerie and Alex met at SVSU their freshman year of college and quickly hit it off. Watching them grow and fall in love with each other throughout college was a true blessing.


While we didn't stop at a lot of the popular photo sites on Saginaw Valley's campus for their engagement photos, we did make sure to take some pictures on the path that runs around SVSU's campus. This is a special spot for Valerie and Alex, as it is where they first held hands and where Alex proposed.


I'm so excited to see where life takes these two and to celebrate their big day!



  • Engagement photo of a couple smiling into the camera
  • Detail engagement photography featuring a woman's hand clasping her fiancé's arm with her engagement ring visible
  • A man kisses his fiancee's hand in this couples photo taken by Michigan photographer Lisa Calandrino
  • An engagement ring sits on a tree branch covered in purple flowers
  • A couple snuggles into each other under a tree covered in pink blossoms in this portrait photo by Pabitel Photography
  • Black and white lifestyle engagement photography by Pábitel Photography
  • A  woman rests in her fiancé's lap on their apartment floor

A few of my typical side notes:

  • I am currently booking all of the sessions! Contact me to learn more, or check out the session types listed below "services" at the top of this page.

  • Make sure to check out my photos from the Holland Tulip Time Festival published in my last blog post.

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