Meet Erin

Photographer. Storyteller. Mom. Horse girl.

Hello, I'm Erin - the photographer behind Erin Castro Photography

For me, photography has never been about simply creating a beautiful image. It’s about preserving the people, relationships, and seasons of life that mean the most to us. I believe the photographs that mean the most are not just the perfectly posed ones, but the ones that remind you exactly how that season in your life felt and of the connections you cherished most.

The way your little one reaches for your hand or fits in your arms. The confidence in your senior as they stand on the edge of something new. The quiet connection between a horse and the person who loves them, who knows every expression, every quirk and every piece of their story. Those are the moments I want to preserve because life moves incredibly fast. And if there's one thing being a mom has taught me, it's that the ordinary moments we're living today have a way of becoming the extraordinary ones we wish we could return to tomorrow.

My approach to photography is relaxed, thoughtful, and intentional. I’ll guide you when you need it, help with all the little details, and give you permission to simply enjoy the people—or animals—you love. You don’t need to know how to pose, have perfectly behaved children, or worry about whether your horse will cooperate. Some of the most meaningful photographs happen in the moments we allow to happen naturally.

A LITTLE ABOUT ME

I’m based in South Lyon, Michigan, and photograph families, seniors, equestrians, and the horses who are so much more than “just horses.” I’m drawn to soft light, beautiful natural settings, genuine emotion, and photographs that feel timeless rather than trendy. I want your gallery to feel just as meaningful hanging on your walls twenty years from now as it does the first time you see it.

But more than anything, I want your experience with me to feel easy. I know being in front of a camera can feel uncomfortable. Kids have their own plans. Horses definitely have their own plans. And sometimes the moments that feel the least perfect while they’re happening become the photographs you love the most. So come exactly as you are. I’ll take care of the rest.

When I’m not behind the camera, life is wonderfully chaotic. I’m a mom of three, a lawyer, a photographer, and usually a chauffeur to someone's soccer game or hockey practice, or, in the moment just for me, I'm headed to the barn. Somewhere in between, you’ll probably find me baking something, building something, crafting something—or drinking coffee that could more accurately be described as cream with a little coffee.

I’m a Midwestern girl through and through. I could happily eat buttermilk pancakes for every meal, and our family includes not only the five humans, but a Bernedoodle, three guinea pigs, and one very special horse.

And then there’s Kisses.

Kisses is the first—and only—horse I’ve ever owned. Nearly 15 years ago, I adopted him as an off-track Thoroughbred. Owning a horse had always been a dream of mine, and somehow this one horse became so much more than the realization of that dream. He became part of our family. I’ve had the privilege of raising my babies around him, watching them grow up at the barn and experiencing firsthand the indescribable kind of relationship that can exist between a person and a horse.

That connection is a huge part of why equine photography is so meaningful to me. I can remember the name of every horse I've ever ridden, but only have photographs of the ones I showed and even then those are only show photos. When I look at those images, my mind goes to the show day, how we did, what could have gone better - everything but how I felt when I was with that horse and the role that horse played in turning me into the rider and person I am today.

MY APPROACH

Whether I’m photographing your family, your senior, or you with your horse, I want your experience to feel relaxed and genuinely enjoyable. You don't need perfectly behaved children. You don't need to know how to pose. And your horse definitely doesn't need to stand perfectly still and look at the camera for an hour. Real life isn't perfect. Mine certainly isn't.

I’ll guide you throughout, help with the little details, and take the pressure off so you can simply be present. Sometimes the unplanned moments—the laugh between poses, the child who suddenly wants to be held, the horse who decides he has an entirely different plan—become the images that tell your story best.

WHY PHOTOGRAPHY MATTERS

Between raising three kids, working as a lawyer, serving others as a photographer, sports schedules, animals, and everything else that fills the space in between, I know how easy it is to feel like life is moving faster than we can take it all in. Maybe that's why photographs matter so much to me. They give us a way to keep a little piece of it, hit the "pause" button and a time machine to return to that day, that season, that connection forever.

Not just what our children looked like, but who they were. Not just the horse we loved, but the relationship we shared. Not simply what happened during a particular season of our lives, but what it felt like to be there. That's what I want to create for you, what I need to create for you.

Timeless photographs capturing your most meaningful moments.

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