It’s Family Photo Season in Kansas City — Family Portrait Session in the Park! October 23, 2009

Fall is such a great time for family photos. I love the colors of the trees in this area, which help brighten up the dreary weather we’ve been having this fall. :) We somehow missed the sprinkles right before and right after this session, and I was so happy! My portrait sessions for the year are starting to wind down as the weather gets colder and we all start to stay in our cozy homes for the winter. :)

I really love getting to see families multiple times for portrait sessions. The last time I saw little Carson, he was little and definitely not as fast as he is now! It’s amazing how quickly little ones grow up and how quickly they become very quick. I get some great exercise during sessions with kids around this age, for sure, and it’s so much fun. Here are some of my favorites from our session at the park!

Carson has the biggest, bluest eyes!

His little grin is the cutest!

How cute is this? :)

Thanks so much for asking me to take your family photos again! Have a great fall season!

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!

Operation: Love Reunited Portraits at Liberty Memorial, Downtown Kansas City May 12, 2009

I recently met up with this family, really soon after their soldier returned home from his deployment for a reunion shoot! I was so excited to do an Operation: Love Reunited session for this family — all of them together and happy on a beautiful spring day in Kansas City.

Having a little fun:

What a beautiful family!

Love from their dad… these are just so cute:

I had to use a few tricks to get these little guys to look into the camera… :) Sometimes I have to be a little bit sneaky! :) It worked, though! 

Thanks so much for scheduling your session with me! It was so nice to meet you… I’m glad I got to meet the WHOLE family! :) Enjoy your time together, and welcome home!

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

Engagement: Marisa and John at Kansas City’s Union Station February 4, 2009

I met Marisa and John for the first time this past weekend after several weeks of chatting about their wedding on the phone. I was already excited about their wedding before I met them, but after spending time with them (and the ADORABLE boys!), I’m even more excited to make the trip to Garden City, Kansas, for their wedding in May. Yes, that’s right. Garden City.

They made the 7+ hour drive to Kansas City for their engagement session. John wanted a modern, urban feel. Marisa wanted the great outdoors. So, like anyone entering a marriage relationship knows how to do, we compromised. :)

We started out in Union Station, the gorgeous and historic train station in downtown KC. The light was beautiful streaming through the tall windows.

Then we headed right outside — these are taken outside the modern building where Science City is housed, connected to the old traditional station.

Any time there are young kids — especially boys — in a photo shoot, I always look for locations that can engage their interest, so the photography portion isn’t so boring. The old trains outside of the station were perfect, and helped capture some candid shots of their adventurous spirit… as well as some great family photos!

Marisa and John are so cute! :) I love these next two images.

Our next stop was the front of Union Station, for some architecture-focused shots with a little wide-angle lens action…

It’s hard to resist the fountains at Crown Center, especially with two little boys!

Here, they were trying to convince each other to run through the fountain… guess who had the courage to actually do it? The little guy… :)

Our next stop was for more outdoorsy photos, since they’re from a farming community and didn’t want all of the images to be really Kansas City-focused. So, we were off to the park!

Huge piles of leaves offered some entertainment for the boys, and some great photos of boys being boys.

And, one more of the happy couple!

Marisa and John, I am so excited to see you again in May. You were so awesome to work with!

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