Senior Sara

I love photographing people in places that have meaning.  I met Sara and her family at her grandparent's home just outside of St. Louis, and the two of us explored their property together.

One thing that I love about photographing seniors is the glimpse you get at the childlike spirit they are leaving behind and the adult they are becoming. You see the expressions their parents have seen since they grew up and also can see the maturity they have growing in them.

I have no doubt that Sara's parents are thrilled to see both and are proud of their daughter as she prepares to graduate high school. 

Red Thread Session

I am a volunteer photographer for Red Thread Sessions, and I have really been enjoying sessions of new families who have joined together through adoption. This family is really special to me because we have ventured together on this journey and brought our sons home a week apart. We shared in the trials of adopting from a virtually closed nation but never giving up because our sons are fully worth every bit and more. 

Though I briefly met this brave, sharp young man just hours before he flew to the US from his birth country, I had the privilege of sharing part of the morning with him recently.  Welcome to St. Louis, E! We are very glad to have you. 

Black and White Boy

I have had the honor of photographing this family from engagement session to wedding to the newness of a son at all his young ages and stages, and even of their homes as they have moved and transitioned.  I was so excited to continue to document their journey as a family at a new house with their now three year old boy.  His vigor mixed with contemplative spirit really shone through in a number of the black and white photographs I created of him.  I am eager to share a few!

Red Thread Session with a BAM!

It's been quiet here for a while, as I have been on maternity leave.  We adopted our youngest son and brought him home from Ghana after quite a lengthy battle to bring our family under one roof.  It was fitting for me to ease my way back in to a short fall season with a Red Thread Session.  I volunteer with Red Thread Sessions to provide photography for families who have recently adopted, and it's such a an honor to introduce a new family through photographs.

Not only did we photograph these two lovely ladies in a way you might expect from a PLP family session, but we also did something special.  Part of their personal adoption story included a special connection to DC comic book characters.  A few years ago now, a friend donated a very large poster collection to Brian and I to aid in our fundraising efforts- a large portion of which was DC comic book characters.  We got bogged down in paperwork and never sold them.  As soon as I read their story, I knew that the person who donated the posters would be honored by them being used as a background for their portraits- a story-telling element and something really unique.  This person has a huge heart for adoption and is an adult-adoptee.  They gave the OK for us to use them in this way and I set to trying to find a way to create something.

My favorite part of the session was when this lovely young lady asked me, "Can I hold my mom's hand and look at her? She just makes me so happy!"

This photograph also really touched me.  You can see this new mother's heart through her facial expressions of tenderness, protection, and satisfaction.  This daughter is so dear to her. Likewise, her daughter's face is so joyful.  She simply could not stop smiling when she was close to her mother. It was so beautiful.

Kansas City Parking Garage Portraits

I am so excited to share a few images from this session for two reasons.

First, when I am walking or driving around anywhere, I have a small conversation going on with myself in the background of my mind. I am asking, "If you had to photograph here, how would you do it? Could you make it work? How would you light it?"

I was headed to Kansas City for a conference last weekend, but knew that I was going to photograph the wonderful Peres family. Having checked the weather, I saw that it was going to be a rather dreary day. Rain. Not quite warm enough to feel refreshed by the rain. And yet, I didn't have any other days with which to reschedule. My tight schedule on the day of the session also, didn't allow us to travel far from the conference location so I could choose a suitable indoor location.

What to do? Use what you've got- a parking garage. I knew that we were going for cityscape backgrounds, so I figured getting us higher than street level was a win anyway, and the overhang from the garage would provide coverage from the rain and perhaps even good light.

After we shot in the garage, the rain let up just long enough to for us to quickly play around in the sprinkles and highlight the families love for superheroes and karate on the roof. Inspired by The Incredibles, "It's a whole family of supers!"

The second reason I love this session is because of the ability of a photograph to show the realness of a person. I love when people respond to photographs with an exclamation about how an expression so fully displays the "real" person. I have known this couple since I was 11 years old, and they hold such a special place to my husband and I that they stood up for our marriage by serving as the Best Man and Matron of Honor at our wedding.

I don't often know the couples and families I photograph quite that well.  However, since I do with this family, it was a special gift for Brian and I to look through each frame and find ourselves amazed  that we can almost hear the exact laugh that Wendee or Josh uttered. Or we know the tone of voice that slipped through Josh's lips at a certain moment. It might not have been the technically perfect "photo face," but yet it was just the exact moment that we know that expression so well, and it feels dear.

My Lovely Levi

As important as it is to create the images to accompany your wedding day or the growth of your children, it is also so valuable to me to document my own children.  Not just on the big, important days of their lives, but also on the silly afternoons spent laughing on the couch.  These are the days that shape the lives of my children, and the days that I value so much.

Here are a few photographs of moments I spent with my middle-est, no longer my little-est. 

Value of the Photograph

This past week, Brian and I ventured off to Atlanta for a photography conference, to continue to grow as a photographer and as small business owners.  I am a member of Professional Photographers of America, as well as a Certified Professional Photographer (and certification liaison) through this organization.  While we were there, we were able to stay a night with one of our dearest friends.  In a moment, I want to share a small story of what happened during our short few hours together.

Sometimes I wonder about the value of my work, as many surely do.  In the last couple of years, it has become quite apparent to me how valuable the photographic work that I do really is.  We live in a really amazing era with photographs being available to us. They help us remember people and events that so quickly pass us by, and more important than that, they to help us draw encouragement via photographs of those people who mean so much to us.

Lives are fragile, and when we have a photograph to help us remember someone, it can bring such comfort.  You can not only remember certain events, but the photograph can draw us into remembering a laugh, a smile, the look in the eyes, and so much more than that.  Photographs can evoke us to remember the gift that we have in our families and friends.

Many people that I have photographed, from the very young to the very old have passed away.  I know from notes written to me, emails, and posts on Facebook that the photographs taken at family portraits or weddings are cherished and hold so much value. I count it an honor to have created a photograph of a moment that will help a family member draw comfort in remembering.

Though we had just a few hours to spend with our friend, I was able to celebrate in the value of the photograph.  She is in a challenging season of many difficult changes, and with just a short time together do you know what we did together? She showed us a few photographs of her family history. With giddiness, she pulled this aging photograph from a box to show us her grandparents on their wedding day.  What a bit of delight added to a weighty season.  She has discovered many special photographs of her grandmother and has been able to talk to her and learn more about her family with these photographs as illustrations.

It is sincerely a pleasure for me to photograph weddings and moments like this that one day will delight your grandchildren and children.  I find such delight in knowing that I can create the illustrations to the stories your family will tell for years to come.