Posts Tagged ‘kansas city photographer’

One year old pics~ Kansas City Photographer

Wednesday, September 1st, 2010

In the first year of life, babies change so much.  I only get to see the babies in my life (my clients)  about every 3 months that first year,  so it amazes me how fast they change. They go from scrawny, bony, newborns, that can’t even control the direction of their eyes.  To pudgy, happy, wiggly babies that mostly just want to eat and witness the world around them.  Before I know it they’re crawling and pictures become a teeny bit more difficult, because now they want to become  a part of the world.  They explore, touch, taste, and want to learn.  By the time they are one they are still rather reckless, but they are now entering childhood, no longer babies.  Ready to walk and start learning to talk.  They still have their adorable baby features, but their adult face is starting to take shape as is their personality.

This is baby Keaton.  An adorable little one year old ready to make the transition into childhood.  And while newborns turn into children fast, I think children turn into adults even faster.

His perfectly soft little feet will soon start getting calloused from walking, running, and tripping.

His little hands will soon be capable of throwing a ball hard, catching frogs, and getting very dirty.

This little look will be for a girl and not the camera.  He had the most grown up serious camera face, but I’m not going to lie he liked me.  While shooting in the studio he would crawl over and into my lap.  I would pick him up and he would laugh.  It’s hard to believe he’ll be bigger than me someday.

Soon he’ll be too cool to hug his mom, or sit on his dad’s lap.

And then there’s little Sophi.  Also one, and probably the happiest baby in the world!  Seriously, she never stopped smiling.  It was sooo easy.

But eventually she’ll stop wanting stuffed animals and start wanting name brand clothes.

Eventually she won’t want to sit around topless with a tutu on.  Haha so cute!

She’ll learn to be less violent when she kisses.  She’s seriously giving her cat a kiss.  Hilarious!

And unfortunately she’ll start caring what others think of her, although with Sophia I think she might be the exception.  It seems to me the only thing she cares about is having fun, and maybe being the center of attention.  While I was talking to her mom Bethany, she would randomly squeal.  We would look at her and she would smile.  This one might have potential for the silver screen.  Seriously!

Life goes by fast, enjoy the ride, and take lots of pictures along the way!

Children photography~ Kansas City

Wednesday, August 25th, 2010

Meet most perfect adorable Colton and Keira!  As you can see they are a perfect pair.  This is one of my favorite shots to take of the siblings when the little one is still too young to sit up by themselves.  However, it doesn’t always turn out this perfectly!  Notice the contrast in eyes!

Keira is a spicy, fun-loving ,little girl that adores life like she adores her momma and daddy.  Here she’s smiling at her mom Devin camera left.

Colton is the typical chilled out second child.  He’s chubby, happy, and makes faces like this!  I love it!

This picture should remind us all the close our eyes every now and then and take it the perfection we call life.

Kids love to try to see me through the lens.  I love the pics I get in the process.

When you’re 3 and adorable you can do things like dance around the studio in nothing but a crown and tutu.

Jason, Devin, Keira, and Colton thanks again for allowing me to capture these fleeting moments.  I cherish them, and look forward to the next time.

Maternity Photography~Kansas City

Friday, August 20th, 2010

Meet Sarah and Matthew.  Two happy people, happy to be in love, and even more happy to be pregnant.

Some women seem to be nervous when they’re pregnant, or anxious, or just down right scared.  That would be me.  But Sarah was at ease and so very excited to be a mom.  I think you can tell from the pictures that she has definitely got the love gene.  She has so much to give.  Matthew just soaks it up.  During our sometimes I felt like they didn’t even notice I was there.  They are a real unit, and little Tavin is lucky to have them as parents.

Sarah and Matthew I wish you the best of luck as parents not that you’ll need it.  Just keep loving eachother the way you already do!

Wedding Photography ~ Kansas City

Tuesday, August 17th, 2010

This love started with a boy and a girl.  A boy not sure of marriage, and a girl sure of love.  And sure enough they found each other!

It wasn’t coincidence, it wasn’t by chance, it wasn’t a random meeting at a bar, this relationship was fate.  Let me explain.  Amber is a teacher, and at parent teacher conferences one of her parents, Cheryl, tried to hook her up with her handsome cousin Sean.  Amber was all no way, so of course she didn’t pursue.  Then a year later while coaching cross country, Cheryl again tried to convince Amber that dating her cousin was the best idea ever.  Amber must have given in because Sean called her and they had a fateful first date.  I guess the rest is history because after 5 years of fun, they are now married.

The day started flawlessly.  A warm breeze in the air, blue skies, and Amber with all her besties getting ready for her big day.

The dress was perfect.

The flowers were perfect!  This is the 3rd wedding I’ve seen use Hy-Vee and each time the flowers have been this good!

Minus the fact that she had a few butterflies, Amber was perfect!

Her bridesmaids were gorgeous and ready.

Makeup and hair…Perfect!  Thanks to Alecia and Shannon at Shag Salon.

But then the skies went from blue to grey black.  And sheets of rain started coming down.  While everyone followed the Doppler radar, I prayed to the rain gods. Amber wasn’t so worried about the rain because she knew at the end of the day she would be married to the man of her dreams, her best friend, Sean.   So while the rain poured down I headed to see Sean as he prepared for his big day.

Just as we arrived at the chapel the Gods granted my request because the sun was out and there was a big blue sky.  It was hot, sweaty, humid, did I mention it was horribly hot, but it wasn’t raining.  And the bride and groom were glowing.

The picture below was taken by my mighty assistant Cara Doumitt!  She is so talented!

Amber and her momma are so close, so this is picture perfect.

The chapel was perfection!  Pilgram Chapel

And as they exited there were bubbles.

The bridal party was fab!  They were up for anything like walking down the middle of a Kansas City street.

Typically the grooms are ready to get to the reception in a hurry, but Sean loves photography so we were able to get some fabulous pictures.

They are so in love that taking beautiful pictures on their wedding day was easy.

This one might be my fav!  There was this most perfect golden light coming in and hitting Amber perfectly!  Not to mention their expressions are magazine quality!  Kudos!

You know I can’t resist a cute baby!

Amber you are absolutely gorgeous!

Amber and her mom are close like sisters, act like sisters, and look like sisters!  So cool!

Boulevard beer, wine, Italian cookies, and cake.  This is the perfect night for me.

The reception was at Boulevard Brewery.  I’m so proud of this Kansas City landmark so I was excited to shoot the reception.  The weather was flawless so everyone stood out on the balcony most of the night.

Amber and Sean I have no doubt you will have an amazing life together!  Full of love, babies, and adventures to remember.

It’s a good thing this girl was able to convince this boy that marriage was for him because they make a perfect team.

If you or someone you know is interested in booking a 2011 wedding, please have them contact me.  I only take on 10 weddings a year and currently have 6 scheduled for 2011. :)  That way I can give my brides my whole heart!

Marketing Tips

Monday, August 16th, 2010

A few weeks ago Jon looked up from his mac and said “you’re a little marketing facebook wizard”.  My immediate response, “Does that mean I can go to Hogwarts?”

Recently I’ve been getting tons of comments about my marketing techniques, and some requests for info.  My first reaction is yah right 90% of the time I have no idea what I’m doing.  But since Jon thinks I’m a wizard, I guess I’ll give this a go.  I can’t guarentee that any of these techniques will work for you, I just know what works for me.   I’m a list maker so that’s what you’re gettin’.  Here goes.

1. Branding- You gotta have a brand.  When I say brand I mean your look, your logo, even you personal image is important.  In my bus. I am my product for the most part.  So everything is important, how I dress, what I say, it’s all part of the package.  That’s not to say any look goes, I’m just saying if I showed up to a shoot wearing hiking boots, and a khaki shirt with tons of pockets, I’m giving people a different impression than perhaps the one I want.  So brand carefully. My brand in the simplist form is the AC you see on everything.  Now that I’ve taken on the fine art in my bus.  the AC is what will tie it all together.

2. Social Media- Most of you know how I market in this department.  I think there’s a fine line between just enough and way too much.  I want to be present on your facebook page, but I don’t want to be in your face.  Haha  The last thing you want people to do is hide you.  eek.  It’s also important to blog regularly.  2 reasons, it keeps your clients up on your most recent work, and it helps your ratings in the google dept.  So blog and blog often.  You can’t blog too much.  Go for it.  Just be sure to tag each and every blog you write.  You can see what words are searched most often if you google keywords. See  http://www.google.com/search?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=1G1GGLQ_ENUS270&q=keywords&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=

3. Google- Gotta let google see you and make it easy for them to read you.  Wordpress is great for now, but that could change.  I’ve heard that blogger is no good for google to read, but google ownes them so who knows.  By changing over to wordpress you’ll lose blogger followers, but you might possibly get higher on the google pages.  It’s a give and a take I tell yah, and sometimes I just throw my hands up.  My whole page is wordpress with some jquery.

4. Website- Speaking of wordpress, it’s great, but I had a flash site before, and was at the top of most pages for Kansas City newborns, maternity, and babies!  Then I switched to wordpress and lost that ranking.  No idea why.  Google is a mystery, and I think they like it that way.  You can try to web optomize by tagging, updating your page regularly, and being old, the site I mean.  Even still it’s a bit of a mystery.  If you really want to get to the top, hire someone, but be careful, some companies are dirty and they’ll get you kicked off of google.  Give Justin over at Cowtown a buzz.  He’ll take care of you. http://cowtownmarketing.com/ They can build your website too.

5. Advertising- Ugh!  So hard to know what works.  I’ve tried a variety of things, but what I’ve found that works best is google ads, facebook ads, and word of mouth.  You can sign up for both google and facebook ads and only pay for clicks on your ads.  That’s awesome.  But it can get expensive too.  And it’s really hard to track clicks that turn into customers.

6.  Peeps- The last bit of advice I give you is to be yourself and love your people.  Show them your true colors.  Hold nothing back, share your up times and your down times.  Celebrate and cry with your fans.  They’ll love you more for it.  Probably the hardest thing I’ve had to learn to do.  I’m a private person (pause for sarcastic laughter) and sharing my  failures is hard to swallow, but it’s getting easier.  Be you, be loving, and reward your peeps for sharing you.

I hope these tidbits help.  If you have your own tips I’d love to hear them just comment below.  If you have a question you can comment that too.

Much love my friends!