Babies, Babies & More Babies

This past couple of weekends I have had so much fun photographing newborns with my good friend (and a great photographer as well) Sandy Rubin-Warner.  Sandy went to a newborn workshop for photographers and has been ever so kind as to share what she learned with me.

Sunday we photographed Miss Paighton.  This beautiful darling was 9 days old.  Miss Paighton was tolerant of us as we put her in different poses and dressed her up.  We couldn't get enough of her!

The weekend before we did a photo shoot Miss Adalynn who was 8 days old.  Miss Adalynn couldn't have been any better; she actually spoiled us, making us believe all newborn shoots would be a breeze.

The same day we photographed Miss Paighton, we also photographed little Mr. Zachary.  He broke us in and proved to be our challenging baby.  Poor little guy was having tummy pains, so we ended up holding and soothing him more than we photographed him.  Not that I ever mind snuggling a newborn ;0)

All I can say is that I love photographing babies! :0)

Photographing Miss Kahli...

I just love photographing high school seniors.  It's an exciting time in their life as they begin to make plans for their future.  This past Sunday I had the honor of photographing Miss Kahli for her Senior portraits.

Kahli is a beautiful young lady, with the most amazing smile and incredible eyes.  Kahli is a Senior this year at Olathe South High School.  She is a pitcher for her high school's softball team and plans on going into nursing after graduating next Spring.

We held the first part of our shoot just outside of Baldwin at Black Jack.  Black Jack has these impressive maple trees lined up in rows.  The trees used to be tapped for the production of maple syrup, back during the civil war era.  The trees make a fabulous backdrop for a photograph; Add Miss Kahli to those trees and you have beautiful portrait.



The last half of our shoot was held in Vinland on a private farm.  We took advantage of all the natural backdrops and captured some great shots.  In this part of the shoot we pulled in Kahli's boyfriend Scott.  Scott just returned home from a recent tour in Iraq.  Scott is enlisted in the Army and stationed in Ft. Hood.  (Thank you for your service Scott!) 

It took a little coaxing for Scott to warm up, but all I had to do was ask him to look and Kahli and he would smile every time.  All in all, it was a fun afternoon and we captured some really great shots.  Thank Miss Kahli for sharing your day with me.  :0)

Cowboys, Babies & More....

This past weekend was full of photo shoots; cute little cowboys, families, babies, & teens.  My photo shoot on Saturday was with Megan, Aaron, Hunter & Wyatt.

Hunter just turned 6 and is in 1st grade.  He is mutton buster and getting ready to graduate up to the Mini Bulls.  Hunter was very shy at first.  We talked about rodeos, school, and what he wants to be when he grows up (he wants to be a horse rider).

Once Hunter warmed up, he had me following him around asking me to photograph him doing some stunts, running, etc.  He was a lot of fun and sure to be a heart breaker when he gets older.

Wyatt, Hunter's 5 month old little brother, did an incredible job.  He was very happy the entire time.  Rarely do I ever get to photograph a baby that isn't fussy at some point during a shoot.  Wyatt has the most amazing big, blue eyes.  Whenever he smiled, you couldn't help but smile too. 

Thank you Megan & Aaron for inviting me out to your home.  I had a wonderful afternoon and enjoyed photographing your family in the place you all love to be.  :0)   

Kayla and Ritchie, with their 5 month old son Aidan, got up bright and early on Sunday morning for their photo shoot.  We shot on location at the Lawrence Arboretum.  I discovered this location after a bride of mine showed it to me.  I'll be shooting her wedding there on September 10th.

Aidan was so happy and smiley when he first arrived.  The poor little guy had some bad allergies, which caused his nose to run frequently.  Mom and Dad were continually wiping his nose, which of course he was not too happy about. 

Later that afternoon I had another shoot with Miss Bailey, a freshman at Eudora High School.  It was last minute mini shoot.  It was fun, laid back shoot.  Miss Bailey was quite entertaining.  I love photographing her, she has a beautiful smile and the most amazing green eyes.

Our photo shoot that afternoon had us traveling to a few locations.  We started out in downtown Eudora, making use of the walls, lamp posts and anything else that caught our eye.  We later found ourselves out in the country, near Weaver's Bottom.  I love photographing Miss Bailey; she is lovely young woman who has the most amazing green eyes.  She has a bubbly personality and is very confident in who she is and who she wants to become.  I think we captured some pretty amazing shot of Miss Bailey that afternoon.  I can't wait to do her Senior portraits in another 3 years! :0)

Photographing Miss Lacey

Yesterday I had the honor of photographying Miss Lacey for her Senior portraits.  Miss Lacey has a soft, beautiful smile and her eyes twinkle with the excitement of what's to come.  Miss Lacey also happens to be one of my 2012 Senior Rep's for Eudora High School.

We spent our shoot out at her home, Gabriel Farms.  Her mother, Michelle, joined us for the shoot and was generally the one who brought out Lacey's "real" smile.  You can always tell when a smile is forced; not showing the real person who is behind that forced smile.  All I had to do was ask Lacey to look at her mom and her beautiful, true smile would appear.

Miss Lacey plans on attending Kansas State University when she graduates next sprint (GO CATS!).  She hasn't decided for certain what her major will be, but she is leaning towards agriculture.  Whatever she chooses to do I know she will be successful, as long as she keeps flashing that beautiful smile of hers.

Moving on Up....

So tonight I finalized all of my ad information for The Eudora Reporter.  It's really exciting to be the first photographer featured in their business guide.  It's even more exciting that I finally am making just enough extra that I can start spreading the word.  Up until now, everything has been by word of mouth for the most part.

Thank to everyone who has ever passed my name along to your family and friends.  It always makes me feel good to know that a client is so pleased with my work, they tell everyone they know.  I hope to take lot's of pictures in the years to come and I hope to make even more people happy with those photos.

:0)

Still Figuring It All Out...

This is one of those times when I wish I was just a little bit more proficient in geek.  I mean c'mon, shouldn't nearly everyone be able to code in html??  It always seems like there is so much I want to learn and do, but I never have quite enough hours in the day to get it all done.

I guess the most important thing to do is to remember and make time for my family, above all else.  The kids are getting older and they are a little less interested in hanging out with mom and dad.  This is especially true of my oldest.

Taking my own words to heart, I'm gonna get off of her and go snuggle with my husband.  :0)

Romeo & Juliet

Last Spring I went for a walk on the Baker campus and was inspired by the beauty of all the flowers in bloom.  As I walked around, snapping shots of flowers, I came across a bed of tulips.  This single Red tulip among all these yellow tulips caught my eye.

I snapped several photos of the tulips that day, but I never did anything with the images.  Occassionaly I have this need to be creative and artsy.  So, as I went back to through the photographs of the tulips, it struck me that there was story playing out in this bed of tulips.  This lone red tulip was destined to be entertwined with this yellow tulip; kind of like Romeo and Juliet.

Crazy right?  Well, crazy or not, this series of images are my interpretation of Romeo and Juliet.  Hope you enjoy! :0)

TA DAH!!!!!

Woo Hoo! I finally finished buidling my blog!  It's still a work in progress, but I think it's coming together pretty well.  First post out of the way, what next? :0)