Going into a baby portrait shoot, you have no idea how it will go. You don't know if the baby will show you it's beautiful smile that day or if they will just cry the whole time. If I had my preference, I would want the baby to go through all the emotions...smile, cry, threaten to punch me, stick it's tongue out at me, etc.
Just in case anyone was thinking it...I don't drive around with a fishing pole in hopes of finding a big fish to shoot with a couple ;) Tracey + Mark had the idea as they wanted the photo for a friend. They wanted photos with KC landmarks, so we did some sightseeing for the day. It was a hot day, but very fun. I can't wait for their wedding day as it will be super eventful!
Here are some of my favorite photos from my session with the Quigleys. They are a great family and it sounds like their kids are going to do great things in the coming years.
Becca + Elias have such a great relationship and love for each other. It was awesome to be with them on their day. Here are some of my favorite photos of the newlyweds.
I had a fun time with Brooke + William during the engagement session. We were in the River Market area and when I saw a 10 foot ledge and asked William to get on it (which I thought would have been impossible)...he found a way to get up there. When I asked him to pop the balloons with his teeth...he did it. Put on these stupid 80's glasses...DONE! ;)
I can't wait to see what kind of crazy things I can get Brooke + William to do on their wedding day ;)
I took Katie + Ryan down to the West Bottoms for their engagement photos. I worked with Katie years ago and I just met Ryan...then I learned he REALLY did not like doing photos. I told him to put trust in me and the session won't be that bad.
The photos turned out great and I hope I gained Ryan's trust. I can't wait to see Katie + Ryan on their wedding day (minus the August humidity and heat ;)
Kristi + Brett are a smashingly awesome couple and it's always fun to see a couples dynamic play out through the shoot. They had no problem joking with each other and it really made the day easy.
It's hard to tell, but Kristi's dress has pockets...she was very proud of that (and I love how much she loved having pockets ;)
You might remember Michelle + Jimmy from their engagement session last year. After an engagement session and getting to spend some time with the couple, I am always anxious to meet their family and friends. I was definitely not preparred for the awesomeness that their friends and family contained. I laughed from the grooms men dancing, almost cried during Mike's best man toast, and smiled from the tag team toast by the maids of honors.
Michelle was simply stun to the ning!
I've really grown to love the first look that the groom gets of his bride when it is before the ceremony...
...and this is why.
Michelle and I were joking at how Jimmy looks like a big teddy bear who you could just hug the heck out of. I wanted to get a photo of Jimmy looking like someone you don't want to owe money to...mission accomplished, and here is that $20 I borrowed ;)
The flower girl and ring bearer instantly clicked and became inseparable.
I love this sequence of photos. I attacked the top...
Holleigh attacked the bottom...
And the wedding part proceeded to attack the dance floor.
The previous two days before my shoot with Jill + Johnny, the weather was MAR-VAH-LOUS...so I figured it would be clear skies and sun. As I got in my car to meet them, I saw the darkest clouds and mumbled 'oh crap' to myself. Then I thought, we WILL make this work...and we did l)
We took some photos for a good 15 minutes before it started to rain. Luckily I had scoped some covered areas downtown for a wedding as a backup plan so we went and utilized them.
This photo is definitely not representative of Jill + Johnny because they are always with smiles. But gosh darnit, I wanted some moody and mysterious photos and they pulled them off like some professional models.
Jill asked me if shooting a couple with such a height difference would be a problem...what height difference? ;)
Super mysterious...super suave...super sexy!
AND back to the normal, super happy Jill + Johnny...I can't wait until later in the year for the wedding!
I thought I would never get to shoot Becca + Elias' engagement session. We were limited to only shooting on a Sunday. I swear for 1 month straight it rained or looked like it would rain on every Sunday so we kept re-scheduling. But as you can see, the shoot finally happened.
I try to get the couple to do something high energy to loosen them up. Not really going for a photo that you would put on your wall, but these photos never cease to put a smile on your face ;)
I love these next two photos...the eyes say so much!
I will see Becca + Elias in less than a month for their wedding and I am sure it will be a great day!
Sandra + David's wedding was at the newly renovated Villa in Westport (beautiful venue and an awesome staff).
I don't remember why Sandra was doing the Popeye face, but it cracks me up every time I see it ;)
David and pretty much all of his friends are into music. BJ, one of his groomsmen, played the trumpet during the ceremony. If I wasn't shooting photos, I would've joined him...I play a mean oboe ;)
The flower girl was a straight ham for the camera! ;)
Ahhhh...the good ol' Michelle + Obama fist bump...
David = crazy, futuristic, outerspace groom
During the first dance, Sandra did a switch-a-roo and made David dip.
Who doesn't love it when the couple feeds each other the cake...
Jennifer, the maid of honor, and Cedrick, the best man...that's who doesn't like it ;)
Since David's crew lives out of town, I got some shots of them looking tough. Ten seconds later, they beat me up and took my camera ;)
Luckily I harnessed my photog super powers and got the camera back to get a shot with the wonderful bride and groom. I had a blast at this wedding and I hope Sandra + David can get some time to relax once the school semester is over.
I learned some new math on a shoot...David = Adorable ;)
Looking through the cute photos of David I realized there are so many faces that babies do that you never really notice until you have it captured in the camera. I will point out my absolute favorite from the shoot, but here are my overall favs:
I look at this and imagine David revving Carlos' finger like on a Harley ;) VROOOM VROOM!
My absolute fav.
And this would be a close second ;)
That's a nice hat you have there Carlos...
Like I said, David is super adorable and it will be interesting to see him grow up...
Get ready to see a bunch of engagement photos on the blog in the next couple of months. The weather is starting to get nice and there are a lot of people I have waiting to shoot. I am soooo stoked as this downtime of not shooting because of the weather/off-season has been killing me...but now let's focus our attention to the lovebirds:
Sandra + David are both teachers and they met at the elementary school they work for. We started the shoot at the Plaza...Sandra and I kept joking how David should be a model. Look at the intensity in his eyes ;)
We then headed to their elementary school for some photos inside and....HEYYYYY, no kissing in class!
David teaches music so we went to get some shots by the piano he uses for lessons.
You will be seeing Sandra + David very soon as their wedding is only 3 days away!
I walked in the parade with the wonderful local store, Stuff. Their theme this year was "Are You a Lucky Duck?". They tossed out small ducks with numbers on the bottom and you can take the ducks into the store to see if you are a winner. Check out video and photos below. The rest of the photos can be found here.
Stuff has by far, the best window designs in Brookside. This week it had the words LUCKY and a pile of dice, ducks, and horseshoes underneath it to match their parade theme.
The stuff chear team had a plethora of energetic kids helping out.
A woman on the sidelines of the parade had a Stuff shirt from years past. I'm jealous because I don't have one :(
Don't worry...I am not becoming a videographer. Video is not my favorite of mediums, BUT my new camera does awesome video, so I will be playing around with it for a while.
The first part of the footage was shot outside my parents house. We then went to the Waldo Bar & Grill for a drink. You can see my sister making custom jewelry and the necklaces that she is wearing are also made by her. Go check all the cool things she makes on her website: http://www.ellesilverworks.com/
We then went to Strouds for dinner and I can't wait to eat my leftovers for lunch!!!
Enjoy the video below. Don't forget you can sign up at the top right to have new blog posts delivered directly to your e-mail!
I was reading one of my favorite blogs (Tony's Kansas City) a couple days ago and came across a post that caught my attention. Tony has a great blog because he cuts the bull and has some humorous things to say, but I have to defend the 'engagement sessions' he questioned in said post.
Tony basically says he doesn't understand what kind of guy would partake in an e-session with his fiancee. He also wonders if the "differences are race or class based". I have shot white people, black people, brown people, and yellow people (well, no red people...so if you are Native American and need a wedding photographer, holla at me! ;)
Before I became a wedding photographer, I never heard of e-sessions and thought they weren't important and sort of lame. I am the polar opposite now. With the right photographer, the couple get great photos that aren't completely cheesy and they turn from clients into friends.
I push e-sessions and have recently made all of my packages include it. Why? It's simple...I want to build a relationship with the couple that I will be shooting on their wedding day. It gives me a chance to get to know them better. They also learn my shooting style. This way on their wedding day, they don't have the feeling that some weird stranger is taking their photos. A bride might spend a couple hours with the hair-dresser and make-up artist, 30 minutes with the officiant, 4 hours in the same room as the DJ, but I spend the WHOLE wedding day with the couple so it is imperative that I get to know them and form a relationship early on.
E-sessions are a breeze for the couple though...I am the one who has to do all the work ;) Normally we meet at a bar or restaurant, and I recommend the couple have a drink while we talk so they can loosen up and not worry about the camera. I want the couple to talk, have fun, and laugh during the shoot. I will 'direct' the couple on what to do, but sometimes I will put a zoom lens on and tell the couple to just talk to each other and walk away to shoot from afar.
And if Tony was worried about not looking like a man's man...here are some shots where the guys kept their street cred. ;)
Come on...how can you not be a pimp next to an El Camino??? ;)
And I forbid Tony from posting the photos from my site where the dudes are all lovey-dovey with their fiancee to counter what I just said ;)
Here are some photos that I took while driving back from Ottawa, Kansas after we visited some of Holleigh's relatives. The first place was a beautiful, newly abandoned red barn. The clouds were very dramatic that day.
See, it is red, I wasn't making that part up ;)
We also came across a car lot that had a ton of vintage cars. I have an affinity for old cars and maybe one day I will have a gallery show with my car photos. This lot also had a bunch of roosters walking around..I just had to chase one ;)
We were told to check out an abandoned plant south of Ottawa. If you look at this Google map, the place (Buildex) is on the left. It is interesting to see how lifeless the place is compared to the business across the street on the right. I am pretty sure the place on the right is the sales office for Buildex. They still have two other plants where they mine shale.
There were a bunch of old machinery (like bulldozers and cranes), a gas pump, a couple office buildings, as well as other things that were a mystery to me. The following photo is of a crane.
This place had a quarry and they mined shale. These are the controls inside one of the buildings. Not sure what the machinery inside actually did. My guess is the machines broke the shale into smaller pieces.
Inside the office's bulletin board, there was a memo dated March 27, 1986 and it was addressed to all plant employees. It stated that "due to the current farm economy and reduced oil prices" the Ottawa Buildex plant will be closed indefinitely and will not reopen unless business improves. Looks like after 23 years, business never improved enough.
Exploring abandoned buildings is one of my favorite past times and it's always interesting to slowly learn the history that was left behind.
4
