Remember baby Elliott from the Elliott’s Fresh 48 two weeks ago? He came back to my studio for his newborn session. This little boy showed same characteristics from his Fresh 48. He was almost awake the entire time from his newborn session. Elliott’s mom loves to bake and wanted to a baking theme. He decided he wanted to be awake while he was starring in the baby bakery as the master chef. He was so strong to kick off the mixing bowl and pul off his own chef hat. I shot in tethered mode, so we could see the images right on my computer screen. His daddy and mommy said that newborn babies do not have to be asleep in all images, so we passed on the chef theme. Still baby...
The first six years in a person’s life is really important. According to theories of Dr. Montessori: “From conception to age 4, the individual develops 50% of his mature intelligence; from ages 4 to 8 he develops another 30%…This would suffest the very rapid growth of intelligence in the early years and the possible great influence of the early environment on this development.” Audrey and Wesley were going to an in-home daycare for two years. It was the perfect place for little kids. Their teacher has a garden in the backyard, cooks homemade meals, teaches them preschool curriculum, and loves them so much. They also love her so much. It was such a hard decision to make when I heard from my company’s daycare… The prestigious Montessori learning center had...
I had the honor to photograph baby Eliott’s first 48 hours in Shawnee Mission Birthing Center. After more than 24 hours labor, new mommy Suzy was exhausted. So do new daddy Kendell. Baby Elioot is their first baby. I could imagine how excited they are to welcome him to this world. Baby Elliott was having a rough day when we were shooting his Fresh 48. He was awake almost the entire time, but that’s okay. Fresh 48 is all about capturing the interaction among family members with the newborn baby. Suzy was already doing a great job feeding and burping her baby. Kendell also took the tough job – diaper changing. I could feel the love between Suzy and Kendell. This is the firs time that I brought Audrey to...
It has been a busy and fun summer. We’ve taken Audrey and Wesley to Virginia to see my mom in early July followed by another weekend trip to Iowa City to attend a good friend’s wedding. They did great in both road trips. This is also my first time to Iowa city. I truly this college town. It reminds me my college town Blacksburg, VA. Since we only had two and half days in town, we had to take any opportunity to explore town. Audrey was the youngest flower girl for the wedding, so we were in both rehearsal and wedding. We made the effort to walk in downtown Iowa City the morning of the wedding. Kids are so excited to see Herky in different outfits in downtown. This big...
Erin Barnes from Pretty, Polished, Perfect came for headshots. She is a mom of three boys, a Kansas City based fashion blogger, and a stylist. Erin is the most goofy blogger I know. I really like her personality. She said that her current headshot on her blog is outdated and would also like to use the same headshot across all social media sites. Her requirements for headshots were a little unusal than most clients. She wanted the headshot to be fun and goofy like her personality. She definitley does not want a glamour headshot. She want her audience to recognize her from multiple social media sites by looking at her headshot. When her fans meet her in person, they will say, “Erin, you really look the same with your profile picture”...
One of our good friends Sandy left Kansas City for her new adventure in Salt Lake City, UT. We have known each other for 9 years since we moved to Kansas City for our current day time job. We thought our kids were going to grow up together, but this opportunity would change everything. Sandy likes to take challenges and this is a great opportunity for her. She is a solution architect in the day and fashion blogger by night and weekend. She is the magic behind Sandy A La Mode. The week before she left, we had Sandy and her two years old boy Austin over for dinner. Sandy is expecting her baby #2 and is due in September. Austin is such a mommy’s boy. He spends more time...
It has been a while since I used my studio for a session. We have been shooting outside a lot since it is so nice. I had a series of headshots coming up that were originally scheduled outdoor, but the forecast said that thunder storm every day for a week, so studio headshot was my backup solution. I wanted the light to be evenly lit on subject’s face for this one, so I used a square setup for this one. From the photos, can you tell how I set up the lights? There’s a slight difference in between the two settings. Can you tell? Audrey volunteered to test the light for me. She had lots of fun in my studio. Wesley even got excited and wanted to play in my...
I had the pleasure to photograph a beautiful mom and her two boys last month. The session was rescheduled due to thunder storm the first time. It was about to rain the second time as well, but we decided to shoot as much as we could. The thunder storm was chasing us in the first half of the session. You could never tell whether or not it is going to rain. It was so dark by the time we started shooting, then it turned so humid, and the dark clouds moved away. We were both so glad that we decided to shoot and not reschedule again. As usual, I had a full list of scenes planned. Danily want this session to be a casual one for just her and her...
I have been dreaming of working on this concept archery shoot since last year and it finally happened! The timing and weather is just perfect. Our model is a thirteen year old girl – Brianna. She has been doing archery for two years. I first met her through my last year’s Valentine Mini. Then I saw her again during her baby brother’s lifestyle newborn and three months sessions. She has really grown into a beautiful young lady. As I was chatting with her mom Nancy, I found out that each of her child is gifted with different talents and also a warm heart. Brianna is such a caring big sister. She takes care of younger siblings when her mom is busy home schooling all the kids. Nancy has a degree...
Remember the gorgeous model in the Redoux Fashion Shoot I did last year? She is actually a mommy! Kleigh is a hard-working young mommy of a little boy. Karson is her world – her everything. He loves his mommy so much too. This session is just perfect timing for Mother’s Day! Kleigh is the most independent young women I know. It was tough to have a baby at young age and raise him all by herself. She does not complain, but keep going. She is able to rent her own apartment, send Karson to daycare, and pay all the bills by working two jobs. Kleigh also has dreams. She wants to attend University of Kansas and major in zoology. I just love all these images so much! Hope she would...
