Nathan and Laura in Wichita’s Old Town June 11, 2009

Okay, I just want to start by saying how much I love these two. They are so easy to photograph… AND they do photo sessions “just because.” :) Laura and Nathan’s wedding was last July, so these are what I’m calling their pre-one-year-anniversary portraits. I love that as soon as Laura heard about the portrait special to benefit HOBY, she jumped at the opportunity to participate. Laura and I actually went through the HOBY program at the same place in the same year… although we didn’t know each other and I’m sure she never imagined that someone there would someday be her wedding photographer. :)

Anyway, we got together for some fun portraits of this adorable couple in Wichita’s Old Town district…

I believe it was right about here in the photo shoot that they were talking about how unphotogenic they are… um, yeah, sorry to break it to you — but you’re not fooling anyone! :)

We did a few headshots of each of them — Nathan graduates as a Chiropractor in a few weeks and needed some headshots for the practice he’ll be working for. And Laura… well, what girl shouldn’t have her portrait taken? :)

More photos of the cute couple:

Laura and Nathan, thanks for being so awesome. :) And a big thank you for helping support an awesome youth leadership organization! Enjoy the photos!

(Reminder: I’m at Kansas HOBY right now… I set up these special blog posts for you all while I’m away so you don’t have to wait to see the photos… if you need to reach me, I’ll be answering e-mails and phone calls early next week!).

Kansas City Family Photography: The Wilsons May 20, 2009

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!

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

James, the big brother:

Jenna, the middle sister:

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:

And back to the whole family:

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:

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

And one more shot of the whole family!

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!

Sonya and Lindsey: Kansas City Graphic Designers May 16, 2009

I took headshots and promo photos for two of Kansas City’s most talented designers. I’m super excited to share more photos with you and tell you more about their awesome design business (specializing in wedding invitations, birth announcements, etc.!!) after their website launches in the next few weeks.

For now, here are some teasers posts so you can see just how beautiful they are. :) If they’re this lovely, you can only imagine what gorgeous creations they design for their clients… :)

… more of Sonya and Lindsey and their beautiful designs coming soon!

 

For now, have you booked your portrait session to take advantage of the awesome special that also benefits — 100% — the most amazing youth leadership organization?? :) Scroll down for the details in previous posts — or send me a message through the contact form at www.ericamay.com to schedule your $150 portrait session (all portrait sessions qualify!!) where all the proceeds go to HOBY! Yep, don’t miss it. :)

Senior Portraits: Aaron, Kearney High School April 26, 2009

I met Aaron for his senior photos, just two weeks before his graduation day! Aaron is headed off to K-State next year (smart guy!), and we met up at his home in Kearney, Missouri, and then off to Hodge Park in Liberty for the session. Taking senior portraits of guys is always fun, and luckily the strong winds didn’t mess up Aaron’s hair one little bit. :)

Check out a few of my favorites:

I love how we captured all of the sides of Aaron’s personality and interests — with his letter jacket (he’s a swimmer!), casual shots, his hunting gear and dog, and a professional look. Senior photos are perfect for bringing a variety of outfits and things that tell the story of a high school career and look forward to what’s in store in the future.

Aaron, congratulations on your graduation, and have an awesome time at K-State next year.

Kansas City Senior Photos: Jessica April 23, 2009

It’s been a while since I’ve done a senior portrait session… since last fall, actually. I forgot just how much I love doing individual portraits — and Jessica… well, what can I say? She was awesome! :) Beautiful smile, the best eyes, fantastic hair… yes, this senior session was e-a-s-y!

Jessica is getting ready to graduate and plans to head off to K-State in the fall (smart girl!). We met at a park in Kansas City to capture some photos of her pre-graduation. I absolutely love how they turned out.

I love how the purple in her shirt matches the purple buds on the trees!

Umm… hello, beautiful girl! :)

The soft, warm, romantic light here is just perfect.

These next few are just too cute for words. Jessica is too cute for words. :)

Gorgeous. These are so classy and girly and everything else that I love so much. :)

Jessica, you did such an awesome job. Congratulations on your graduation and have a great time at K-State! Say hello to the Call Hall ice cream counter for me. :)

Operation Love Reunited Day at Fort Leavenworth: Part III April 22, 2009

A big thank-you to the families who have been waiting to see their sneak peek from the afternoon sessions! Here’s my final post about the Operation: Love Reunited day at Fort Leavenworth. We fit in as many families as we could in one day, offering free portrait sessions to the families of deployed soldiers. The soldiers will all get an album of photos in the mail while they’re away — something to cheer them up and remind them of the people back home who love them!

This was such a fun day. I love doing OpLove sessions, and it gets harder to fit them into my schedule during the busy summer season, so I’m very glad we were able to work in a day FILLED with them!

Here are the photos:

For all of the families who participated, your online galleries should be available soon! Watch for an e-mail from Pictage. If you missed the first two posts, click here and here.

Other families of deployed military personnel: since the busiest time of year is starting up, I can only accept a limited number of OpLove sessions each month. If you’d like to schedule a session, don’t wait! :)

 

The photos and other content of this publication do not imply any endorsement or recommendation by the Department of Defense.

My pretty friend Kali April 17, 2009

Last weekend, I got to hang out with my friends Kali and Kasie. We got together for a little photography tutoring and Kali volunteered to “model” for us for a few minutes while Kasie tried out various lighting situations and learned all of the fun details about ISO, aperture, shutter speed and everything else technical. :)

I took some shots of the lovely Kali and wanted to post a few here. She claims that she only likes “far away” photos of her, but I’m going to argue about this one. She has the prettiest eyes and takes awesome head shots! :) What do you all think? Feel free to leave a comment (just click on the Comments link at the bottom right of this post) and tell Kali how wrong she is. ;)

These were all taken in my house or on the front porch. :)

For Tricia February 24, 2009

I’m not even done going through all of the amazing shots from Tricia and Russ’ photo shoot on Sunday, but I heard a little rumor that Tricia might be just a little bit excited to see their photos. So, Tricia, this one’s for you. :)

A tiny preview… the full blog post (and I’m promising you LOTS of sneak peeks!) of their awesomely urban session is coming before today is done. There, I typed it. That makes it very official. :)

Sneak Peek: Kelsey and Danny’s KU Engagement Photos February 15, 2009

Jeff and I shot Kelsey and Danny’s engagement photos this afternoon, and I am SO excited about these images! I can’t wait to share the entire post with tons of photos from their entire shoot, but for now here’s a few from one portion of our session to get you by. :)

Details coming with the next post… I bet you’re wondering how we got access to the KU football stadium, huh? Oh, the suspense!

Kelsey and Danny, I promise I won’t keep you waiting very long for more! You guys are amazing!

Valentine’s Day Photo Shoot – West Bottoms, Kansas City

Since it was pretty chilly on Valentine’s Day, one of my photo shoots was postponed until nicer weather and the other was postponed because of sickness. I had been pretty excited to shoot in some new locations on Valentine’s Day, so my sweet husband and I set out to scout out some new spots and do some “photo hunting” for future shoots. Of course, since we already had a camera in the car, we had to test out the spots ourselves.

Here are some of the shots from our Valentine’s Day photo session of each other in the West Bottoms district of Kansas City — basically the old stockyards, railroad tracks, abandoned warehouses, etc. Basically a photographic dream. I (obviously) took all of the photos of Jeff, and he took the ones of me! Here are the results:

I am in love with that background… and the guy in the foreground, too… I mean, how could I not be? Check out this cute face:

Jeff did a great job with some shots of me. I really like this close-up. It’s cool in color, too, but I love it in black and white.

We always make it a goal to capture the true personalities of our clients. Here, Jeff pretty much captured mine perfectly (ha ha… oh my…):

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I just shared that on my blog. I’m not ashamed. :)

Okay, some more shots of my super sweet valentine:

Awww… a heart, just for me (and all of you now). You know, since it was Valentine’s Day! Yep, we are that cheesy. :)

My husband is just so sweet. I love you! :)

Isn’t the West Bottoms a great spot for photos? Who’s up for a session there??