ericamay photography blog: thought studio.

The photo blog of www.ericamay.com.

Photo Coaching Session… Featuring Lauren and Mark August 7, 2009

This week, I had a “photo coaching” session with Kasie, whose work you’ve seen a little bit of on the blog already! I am super excited to have Kasie in training with the ericamay team. You’re going to hear a LOT more about what she’s going to be doing with us, and you can look forward to seeing much more of her work in the future. More on those details later. :)

For now, I want to share with you a coaching session we did together, where she got to learn how and why I do the things I do and then test them out for herself. It was so much fun to explain (and have to put into words) what I’m thinking when I set up a couple in a specific location or why I choose a certain spot because of the light that’s reflecting there… photography is such a fun art, and the coolest part is that two people can be in the same moment at the same location and still come away with completely different “takes” on the scene. 

Below, you’ll see photos that both Kasie and I took of our fantastic models, Lauren and Mark (thanks for letting us practice on you guys!). I’ll put a photo credit before each photo Kasie took, so you know which are her shots and which ones are mine. Sound good? :) Okay, here we go…

Lauren and Mark were too much fun. They’re dating, after becoming reunited after they finished college at different schools — but they first met as high school students! How adorable are they? :)

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We met in downtown Kansas City, and most of these photos were taken in a 2-block radius from the central library location at 10th and Baltimore. Speaking of the library, how awesome is the library parking garage? I love the big book staircases and the book spines on the side of the building.

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Here’s my take:

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And here’s Kasie’s:

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Another one of Kasie’s (I love this one!):

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Right across the street was a cool alley, and Kasie switched to the wide angle lens to capture the whole scene in this shot:

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In a random event of happenstance, we met the super nice owners of The Sawyer Room (a sweet downtown venue!) on the sidewalk as we were walking around. Eric and Jodie were so kind to point us to an awesome rooftop location that they use during weddings that take place in their venue. How cool is that? Thanks so much for the tip! :) If you’re looking for a great venue in downtown KC, I’m going to bet that Eric and Jodie are just as awesome helping people plan their events as they were helping us find great photo locations — we didn’t even ask! :)

These next few shots are mine, taken on the rooftop area:

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The setting sun was giving us some awesome light to work with — both with flare and with shadows! :)

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A few of Kasie’s shots on the rooftop:

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After we were back safely on the first floor, we stopped at a street corner for a few more close-ups. So much of photography is about the light in the location — not necessarily about the location itself — and this was the perfect example. We were really standing on an very un-cool street corner, but I love how these turned out. :)

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This one is Kasie’s view:

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And my view (goodness, Lauren, you are just gorgeous!):

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A huge thanks to Lauren and Mark for volunteering to participate! :) I hope you both had fun, and maybe learned a few of my “secrets” of photography along the way… I hope you have an awesome rest of the summertime!

Leave a comment here and tell Kasie how awesome you think she is. :) I promise I’ll pass them along… aren’t you excited to see what else she’ll do? I know I am!

Also, if anyone’s interested in participating in any type of photo coaching/group workshops/etc. leave me a comment here, too. I’d love to coordinate some of these in the future for other aspiring photographers — if anyone would show up. :) Let me know if it’s something you’d be interested in doing!

 

Kansas City Engagement Session: Michael and Sara at Union Station and Crown Center July 7, 2009

Nine years ago. Okay, almost nine years ago. It was then that Michael and Sara started their love story. And today, nine years later, I have the extreme privilege of capturing their engagement and upcoming wedding this fall.

I met Michael through HOBY, which by now I’m sure you’ve all heard of if you’ve been reading this blog for very long. Michael joined our volunteer team and brought along his infectious smile and willing attitude. Everybody loves Michael. They have to. He’s just that kind of guy.

But nobody loves Michael the way Sara does. It was awesome to see the two of them interact together during their photo shoot. They have history. The kind of history that makes two people completely comfortable around one another, and the kind that allows them to be silly and have fun and share little moments together, even in front of my camera lens. 

I am so excited to share these photos with you, from our engagement session tonight in the Union Station/Crown Center area of downtown Kansas City.

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Seriously… these two are cute! :)

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I love the patterns that Union Station’s architecture creates:

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I love summertime engagement sessions! The light is always so warm and beautiful.

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Okay, I couldn’t resist posting this one — they’re so cute it’s killing me… :)

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I asked Sara to take off her shoes for this one, so she’s be shorter. I wasn’t planning on doing a full-length shot… but I like it too much! :)

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I love the steps that lead up to Liberty Memorial across the street.

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As we were walking to the fountains at Union Station, I noticed these awesome patterns reflected onto the wall by one of the taller buildings downtown — they look like huge flowers to me. Of course, we stopped for a few photos. I love this!

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The fountains are super fun. It’s a great place for kids to play in the summer, and a neat stop for engagement photos. :)

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And the picnic tables are really cute with their bright colors. I also love the expression on Sara’s face in this one:

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Michael and Sara, Jeff and I are so excited to photograph your wedding in October. You have no idea! :)

 

Engagement Photos: Mallory & Kylan, Kansas Farm/Eastborough Park June 12, 2009

Every once in a while I meet a couple who makes my heart so joyful. A couple whose love is so pure and sweet that I just want to sigh as I take their photos, edit their photos, and blog their photos. Mallory and Kylan are one of those couples. :)

Mallory is the cousin of one of my brides, Molly, and she caught the bouquet at her wedding. It just so happens that Kylan also caught the garter at that wedding. :) And now, here we are, a few months later doing their engagement photos!

We met before 7 a.m. (Gasp! I know! Are we crazy or what?!) because Mallory really wanted photos at her grandpa’s land out in the country near where I grew up. I knew that the best time for these type of photos would be in the morning light, so they gladly agreed and got up REALLY early to make the drive.

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I asked Mallory to bring a quilt to sit on in the field… I didn’t know she’d bring the perfect quilt — a gorgeous handmade one that her great-grandmother crafted! Isn’t it beautiful?

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I love this one. I didn’t even tell them to do this. Yes, they are just that cute.

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After a wardrobe change and a little drive, we met up again at Eastborough Park in a little town within a town in Wichita. :) They went to this park on their first date, and then again when Kylan proposed. I love going to places that are special for a couple!

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We were followed for most of our session by this cute little group of 11 baby ducklings! How sweet!

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Seriously. Beautiful.

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Mallory and Kylan, I loved meeting you in person and capturing your love. I can’t wait to be there for your wedding celebration!

Family and friends can click here to view all of the photos online once they’re ready to go! :)

(One more reminder… I’m still away having a great time with high school students who are learning about leadership and volunteerism at HOBY! If you’re trying to reach me and haven’t heard back, I promise I’ll be in touch early next week!).

 

Baby Portraits: Oliver, 9 weeks old June 10, 2009

Baby Oliver is so sweet. He also made my job really easy — staring into the camera almost the whole time. :) I don’t think I’ve ever seen a baby so young do that! It was great. And he’s just too adorable for words. So I’ll keep the words short and get right to this sweet little guy and his proud parents!

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We did the session in their home, where babies can be most comfortable, and have a bottle handy just in case… :)

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We even got to head outside for some photos — I love these!

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I can’t get enough of cute baby faces:

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A big thank you to Oliver’s Aunt Kelsey for setting up this session. :) He’s such a cutie!! Can’t wait to see how big he’ll be in August.

(Reminder: we’re attending Kansas HOBY this week, and this post has been previously scheduled for your viewing enjoyment. :) If you’re trying to reach us and don’t get the usual quick response, we’re just busy having fun with 125 high school sophomores! We’ll return all e-mails and phone calls early next week!).

 

Outdoor Wichita Wedding: Allyson and Rafe – Part 2: Bride and Groom Portraits June 4, 2009

If you missed part one, click here to view the first set of images from Allyson and Rafe’s wedding day — some of the details and the preparations!

There were so many fun photos to share from their backyard wedding in Wichita (at Allyson’s family’s gorgeous home), that I’m breaking this up into sections. :)

Part two is here, and I’m going to dedicate this post to only the portrait session we did with Allyson and Rafe. These were all done in or around her parents’ backyard. They opted to see each other before the ceremony for a “first look” and portraits outside before the day’s festivities began. This works out especially well for weddings that have everything at one location.

So, on to their super sweet first look — under Allyson’s favorite willow tree in the front yard:

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(This one is Jeff’s):

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A few individual portraits:

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The yard has some beautiful spots for photos with lots of shade, which was great since we were shooting in the middle of the afternoon heat on a 90+ degree day! :) I love these:

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Allyson was seriously stunning.

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And Rafe had the “handsome groom” look down… :) The first one is Jeff’s.

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Allyson’s dad built this huge, awesome playground set in their backyard years ago. They repainted the set white for the wedding, and it was a great spot for photos.

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Rafe proposed to Allyson on this merry-go-round after he planned out a reenactment of their first date. So cute.

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I love this one Jeff captured of Rafe’s expression. Can you feel the love? :)

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The rings!

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There was a beautiful wheat field right next door. When I showed up, they said “We knew you’d be excited about that wheat field over there…” and they were all for heading out into the field for portraits. Do I have the best cliets or what?! We did these immediately after the ceremony, when the sun was lower in the sky and we had some beautiful golden light and storm clouds were headed in from all directions… except for right over the wedding. It was great!

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Jeff’s shot:

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And one more… :)

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Stay tuned for the photos from the ceremony and reception! You won’t want to miss those… trust me! :)

For family and friends who want to see all of the images once they’re posted online, click here to sign the online gallery guestbook and you’ll get an e-mail when they’re ready! :)

 

Backyard Summer Wedding in Wichita: Allyson and Rafe – Part 1: Getting Ready

I am super excited to start sharing Allyson and Rafe’s gorgeous wedding with you. I know it might have been just a little mean for me to only post ONE image and then make you wait a few days for any more… :) I realized that I have so many photos I want to share with you from this wedding that I’m going to now break it up into parts. So you might have to keep waiting in suspense to see all of the parts of the day, but I think you’ll agree that it’s worth it. :) In the end, you’ll get a more complete idea of what their day was like and the awesome moments that made for great photography. :)

So this first “installment” will cover some of the details and the preparations before the ceremony. Allyson and Rafe’s wedding was held in the backyard at Allyson’s parents’ house — a gorgeous location for a very elegant yet casual atmosphere. I absolutely loved the vibe of the whole day!

I love images of brides getting ready for their big day. The first set of photos were all taken during the preparations to make already gorgeous ladies even prettier. :)

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I love this!

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Beautiful… Allyson is just beautiful.

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And, the handsome groom… waiting for the fun to start…

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And getting his microphone on for the ceremony:

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Okay… now on to a few of the details. First, THE DRESS. Allyson chose a gorgeous Maggie Sottero dress… which are always some of my favorites to photograph. The details are amazing.

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And the shoes (in a cute wicker rocking chair in her parents’ master suite):

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The bridal bouquet (in front of the fireplace screen in the living room):

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And one of the tux jackets, hanging on a water spout outside. I loved that the guys wore brown pinstriped tuxes. Jeff grabbed this unposed shot:

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Alright… coming up in the next post: the bride and groom portraits! :) Stay tuned!

 

Engagement Photos at William Jewell College: Kevin and Anna May 31, 2009

We just got back from a whirlwind weekend in Wichita, filled with awesome photo shoots… and I’m finally getting to share with you all some of our shoots from last week! :) We’ve been so busy — which is AWESOME — so I have a ton of great blog posts coming your way soon.

First up is a super cute couple — Kevin and Anna! I was so excited to take their engagement photos. Kevin and I were RA (resident assistant) staff partners at K-State, and he was always the most cheerful person. All the time. Seriously. 24/7. And Anna… well, what can I say? :) Anna is one of the most beautiful girls with a quick laugh and a great big smile to match.

We went to William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri, for their engagement session because it’s a gorgeous campus. The entire time, the sky was filled with thick gray clouds and we were getting misted on — can you tell? I love that we were able to capture their relationship, rain or shine!

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I love the little pair above… but I had to give you just one more in the series! :)

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The campus is filled with beautiful flower beds and amazing landscaping:

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Cute. cute. cute.

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And even cuter… if that’s possible!

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This tree swing was just perfect. See how sweet they are? :)

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And I’ll leave you with my favorite set. Kevin and Anna have a long-distance relationship right now (he’s in grad school at the University of Texas while she’s at K-State!), so the phone booth was not only a cute photography backdrop, but very fitting for their relationship. :)

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Kevin and Anna, congratulations on your engagement! You two are so, so cute. I am so happy for you!

 

Element Creative Studio: Kansas City Wedding Invitations, Announcements, Graphic Design May 22, 2009

“Your news is anything but ordinary and your invitations and announcements should be too.”

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I share a little preview post with you late last week about an awesome design studio here in Kansas City. I’m excited to show you more photos of the owners — Sonya and Lindsey — along with some samples of their creative work! Their new website has just launched, so go take a look at it!

Sonya and Lindsey are two of the most hard-working, creative, and fun people I know. I can say with absolute confidence that if you need wedding invitations, save-the-date cards, birth announcements, or anything else — you’ll love their work and their personalities!

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Sonya:

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Lindsey:

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A few of their gorgeous custom designs:

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And some more of them:

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You can view more of their work and get details on how they can create beautiful, custom design pieces for the special events in your life by visiting their website.

Hmm… let’s do something a little different. I want you to visit their website –www.elementcstudio.com — then come back here and leave me a comment (just click on the Comments link in the bottom right corner of this post) and tell me your favorite design from their portfolio. Then I’ll randomly choose one commenter on Friday, 5/29/09, to win a Starbucks gift card! Make sure you leave me a valid e-mail address so I can get in touch with you!

Ready… go!

 

Kansas City Family Photography: The Wilsons May 20, 2009

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I met up with the Wilsons at their home for a fun family session — they were the first family to step up and participate in the awesome opportunity to help HOBY. It was fitting, too, since I first met R.J. when he was running the Kansas seminar and I was a high school volunteer. R.J. was one of the people who shaped my life and Jeff’s life early on… now, we’re doing what R.J. did when we were young. So I was very excited to meet the entire family and capture some great portraits of them in the front yard of their home!

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R.J. and Julie have three gorgeous children… absolutely adorable.

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James, the big brother:

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Jenna, the middle sister:

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And Joy, the baby sister… I’m titling these next several photos “Ode to the Third Child” — as my little brother can attest, there are never quite as many photos of the littlest sibling. So here’s little Joy, looking incredibly adorable:

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And back to the whole family:

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If one photo summed up family life, this one might be it… I love this — the giggling girls, the mischievous older brother jumping into the photo in the background — too funny:

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I love sibling photos… personalities tend to shine through, and it’s so fun to capture that!

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And one more shot of the whole family!

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Wilsons, thanks so much for asking me to take your photos and for supporting HOBY! You have such a sweet family, and it was a joy to capture your kids’ personalities!

For others who are interested in taking part in our portrait special to benefit HOBY, click here for the details!

 

 
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