The Story of the Photographer
Welcome I am so glad you are here!
Hayley Hamlin Photography was established in 2006….fast forward to 2026 and it is so exciting that I will be celebrating my 20-year business anniversary in August! Over the past 20 years I have had the honor to photograph, children, newborns, families, weddings, seniors, dancers, and every milestone in between. After about 10 years I switched my focus to specialize in High School Seniors and Dance Photography and that has dominated my business ever since! I have Seniors and Dancers come from all over Michigan and even travel from out of State to have me capture these big milestones. It truly is my honor to create Art to document these fleeting moments for my clients!
A little more about the Artist
My earliest memories of photography are the moments I shared alongside my Dad as he processed film from his 35mm camera. I can still remember all the details about the dark room and sharing that experience with him, it was a very fond childhood memory. Maybe that planted the seed but photography was never part of my life until the birth of my children. My husband bought me my first camera when we found out we were expecting, it was the first camera I ever owned. As I began documenting every moment of our children’s lives, I fell in love with the art of photography and 3 years later my small business began.
When I first began my photography journey, it’s probably no surprise that I mainly photographed children. My approach was always that of a “silent observer.” I wanted the photos to feel natural and draw you into what the subjects were doing/feeling. As though we are "peaking into their lives”. For it is in these non-intrusive moments that you will capture the most honesty in your subjects. Even though my direction in photography has shifted to seniors and dance, you will still see my early approach used often. While some senior and dance portraits absolutely need to be posed, you will much of my work revolves around movement, and real unposed moments. Sessions are very relaxed and it feels more like hanging out for the day, with of course alot of laughter! I absolutely love photographing Seniors and Dancers. What I love most about seniors is they each have such a unique style and I love to capture their individual beauty and style.. Dance photography is such a creative outlet for me. I love the artistry, movement, and beauty of a dancer and I love to capture the very fleeting moments of that beauty that truly are only present for a quick moment. As you can see, we circled back to fleeting moments, they come and go in an instant, I’m grateful to be able to capture them before they become a memory.