Wedding at The Elms

I had the priviledge of shooting a wedding with my friend, Arissa, this past weekend. We had a great time shooting together. Arissa shot this couple's engagement and newborn pictures, and now the beautiful wedding at Elms. You can check out Arissa's pictures on her website www.siteskins.com/arissas.

This couple was so much fun to shoot! They are so much in love, and so easy going. I don't usually cry at weddings that I'm shooting, but this was a tear-jerker. Just watching them look at each other was so wonderful. The groom even scoped out some places for us to take pictures on the Elms property. I love that!

The Elms is a beautiful setting for a wedding and reception. It was a wonderful day, but quite warm for the bride in her beautiful (but thick and heavy) dress and the guys in their tuxes. There were also more spiders than we prefer while taking pictures, but you have to expect that outside in the woods.

I loved the ring bearer's bare feet and the little flower girl in her gorgeous wagon. They were too cute. It was just a perfect day!

Kelsey's Senior Pictures

It is so hard for me to choose a few pictures for these sneak peaks! There are always so many that I like. It's especially hard because the beauty on the inside of Kelsey matches her beauty on the outside. When I shoot girls who are dancers, I never have to remind them to smile. What's usually hard for them is to try not to smile. Kelsey did both extremely well.

It was so fun to photograph Kelsey dancing in the streets downtown! We found some new places to go to that worked perfectly with her outfits. And, of course, her mom was a great assistant!

I really appreciate the opportunity to photograph Kelsey! Check out my website soon for the rest of the pictures. Enjoy!

Jake and Emma Engagement

It's so much fun to hang out with young couples in love. Emma and Jake are no exception. They were so playful during our engagement shoot last weekend. It is so cool to watch them look into each other's eyes. I could just feel the love!

I'm so anxious to shoot their wedding in January! I shot Emma's sister's wedding two years ago, so it will be fun to see her family again. I also shot her sister's friend's wedding the year before that. I get such great clients from my referrals!

You can check out the rest of the engagement pictures on my website in a few days. So for now, enjoy this preview!

Tucker's Senior Pictures

This photo shoot with Tucker had lots of bonuses. Besides capturing amazing pictures, I got to enjoy Tucker's guitar playing, I learned some interesting things about football, and I was reminded how guys are different than girls. As soon as Tucker sat down on the railroad track, he immediately picked up a rock. You can see it above. Girls don't do that! Tucker may look like a handsome, tough football guy, but he also has a great personality and is quite the gentleman. It gives me hope for the next generation knowing that guys like Tucker are close by.

It was so much fun to hang out with Tucker and his mom. She made a great assistant and worked very hard. I'm sure she'll agree that the keys and hat really make some of these pictures!

Tucker and Barb: Thanks for letting me have a glimpse into your lives! It is such an honor and a pleasure! Enjoy your sneak peek and check my website soon for the rest of your pictures.

Kelsey's Senior Pictures

Wow! I got some amazing shots of Kelsey on Saturday and am finally getting them posted. I had so much fun with Kelsey, her friend, and the audiences we had at a few locations we stopped at. You don't typically see a ballerina in the west bottoms. Even under the pressure of male on-lookers, Kelsey did very well. And, of course, we got some good laughs out of it. Kelsey's fun personality and glowing smile really made the day. Not to mention her beauty, dresses, and fabulous shoes. (I think my next post will include the fun shoes the girls wore these last few days.)

I really appreciate the opportunity to hang out with Kelsey and her friend and to be able to take these cool pictures. Enjoy the sneak peak!

Sarah's Senior Pictures

Yeah! I am loving these pictures too! It's so hard for me to choose a few to post when I have at least 50 favorites. I had a great time with Sarah and her mom on Friday as well. We had fun hanging out at some cool places. Besides being beautiful, Sarah is also kind and sweet. I am so honored to be able to photograph Sarah. Enjoy this sneak peak!

Alicia's Senior Pictures

I'm so excited to post Alicia's pictures! We had a great time with her mom on Friday. The weather was beautiful, but it did get a little warm. We went to some fun places and just enjoyed hanging out. Alicia has a quiet gentle spirit and is simply beautiful. Thanks, Alicia, for the priviledge of taking your senior pictures. Enjoy this sneak peak!

SMNW Coalition 'The Big Event"

I had the pleasure of attending the SMNW Coalition "Big Event" on Friday night at the Lake Quivira Sailing Dock. Yes, it rained a lot, and we got pretty wet. But the kids had a great time. What's even better is that despite the bad weather, they raised $1000 for schools in Uganda! The guard working at Lake Quivira even donated. That is such a blessing! The kids worked really hard to plan and host the event. They had a lot of volunteers as well as several bands. It gives me hope for our future when I see high school kids involved in things so much bigger than themselves! An interesting tidbit--they ran out of bottles of water long before they ran out of soda. That also tells me that kids are drinking healthier these days. Yeah!

Ali Senior "Business Cards" and Photo Book

Hi Friends: Can I just tell you how much fun I have with photography? I just designed a photo book for Ali and posted the front and back cover above. (As soon as I can figure out my new software, I will be able to post these photobooks on my website.) I can't wait for my next FedEx delivery to get the book! Today FedEx brought me these "business cards" that I designed. These can be used as an alternative to including wallet photos in your graduation announcements or in your thank you notes for wedding gifts or new baby gifts. They are actually less expensive and more creative than wallets. There are all kinds of fun things to do with digital images! I've got 3 more senior shoots, 1 engagement, 1 sports team, and 1 baptism in the next week, so I won't bore you with any more pictures of my daughter! I still need to post a pregnancy session from last week. I think I need a nap!

Evan's Senior Pictures

As most parents know, life gets crazy when school starts and even crazier when sports and activities get going. I've had a great time taking lots of pictures recently, but am far behind in getting them posted. Although I did get all of Evan's pictures posted on my website before I posted this sneak peak entry on my blog.

I should call this session "Evan Round 1" as well. We didn't have much time, and I wasn't happy with the position of the sun at the places we wanted to go. So we'll be doing another session soon. Which I am looking forward to because Evan is such a great guy to hang out with! He has such an outgoing personality, and is involved in many things. He did a great job in the senior lip sync on Thursday night (I can't wait to see my crazy pictures!), and he also did a great job on his saxophone solo at the football game last night. (Go Cougars--we won the game)!

We also love Evan's family. We have known them for quite a few years since my step-daughter went to school with Evan's older sister. I also had the pleasure of taking Evan's older brother's senior pictures last year. This family has also been blessed with amazing good-looks!

Ali Senior Collage

Here's one more to go with Ali's senior pictures..

Ali's Senior Pictures -- Round 1

The anticipation of taking my daughter's senior pictures has been exciting and scary. When she was finally ready to do it, she only gave me two days' notice that she would be available, so I didn't have too much time to think about it. I woke up very early Saturday morning "all a-twitter" as my husband says. So I prayed about our time together and asked the Lord to bless us with a fun shoot as well as great pictures. Then as I really thought about "my daughter's senior pictures", it really hit me that she is a senior (duh!) and that she'll be leaving soon. I am very excited about her future and what God has planned for her, but it still makes me cry anyway. By the grace of God, she is an amazing young woman, and we are very proud of her!

Ali has already agreed to do another shoot later this fall, and I'm sure I can get one more done in the spring. So enjoy this sneak peak at "round one". All pictures will be on my website soon.