Platinum Salon

Last week I was able to take part in a special annual event at Platinum Salon in Wichita. When Tambra, the salon owner, was married last year, we were here wedding photographers. So when she needed a photographer for this special event, she came back to us and we were happy to be a part of it. Every year Platinum Salon has people write in with their stories of special women and mothers in their lives and why these women deserve a makeover. Then for Mother's Day they select a few of these special ladies to surprise with the makeovers.

This year there were eight ladies selected, and Tambra had me come in to do before and after photos of all of them. While they were all beautiful to begin with, the makeovers were really remarkable, and everyone involved was having a blast.

I had a great time meeting all of these ladies as well as all of the stylists at Platinum Salon, and we can't wait to work with them again!

Mark & Traci

The other day I got to do a really fun shoot downtown with some good friends of mine who were celebrating their 10th anniversary. I met Mark & Traci downtown and we soon realized we were going to be facing a few challenges...first of all, it was FREEZING. Mark was dressed in shorts and poor Traci was just wearing a sundress, so we tried to stay out of the wind (not really possible in Kansas) as well as out of the way of the thousands of people who were downtown that morning for the River Festival. We walked down to the waterfalls on the river bank in front of Century II, which is where Mark proposed to Traci. The river was super-high and covering some of the steps and even a couple of park benches. After that we decided to let the poor couple put on some warmer clothes and move into Old Towne, where it was considerably less crowded.

We walked around Old Towne for an hour and had a lot of fun...Mark and Traci are a very fun, goofy couple, so they made it pretty easy. I had a lot of fun and we got a lot of beautiful images.

Happy Anniversary!

Fearsome Foursome

So a few days ago we did a photo shoot with some of my favorite subjects...my nieces and nephew. I've been shooting their pictures since they were babies, so I love to see how much they've changed every time. I also enjoy how much easier it is to shoot the triplets now than it was when they were first learning how to be mobile!

The kids came over dressed up in their Easter clothes and we did some formal portraits for Mom's gallery wall that she's planning for their brand-new home.

When I told the kids I wanted to try something different, something that would involve them posing for a picture while fighting with each other, they were more than willing to accommodate me, and everyone in the family is appreciating the "true" personalities of the kids reflected in the final product :)

Alexa, Kaydran, Josie, & Gaige...we love you!

Courtney Family

Last week I finally got to meet the newest member of a family near and dear to my heart. The Courtneys used to be the youth pastors at my church for several years before they were called to be missionaries to Paris. I met them when they were newlyweds and had the opportunity to do family pictures with them when they had their first baby, the beautiful Natalie.

This time the Courtneys were in town for a visit and wanted to have some newborn pictures done of their brand-new son, Landon (who looks exactly like Natalie). I was more than happy to see them again and meet their new little man. He was an amazingly good baby, very cooperative, and we had no trouble at all getting a bunch of images of him by himself, with his big sister, and with his whole family.

The Courtneys will be off to France very soon, and I will miss them like crazy, but wish them all the luck in the world!

Engagements

April has been a crazy month for us with engagement shoots. We ended up having to reschedule several due to the crazy unpredictable Kansas weather, but it was well worth it. Jennifer and Keith opted to have their pictures done at Botanica, which is always a fabulous choice. It is nearly impossible to get bad pictures in such a beautiful setting.

I had a lot of fun with Tara and Chad walking around Old Town and trying out new stuff whenever any of us saw something that looked remotely interesting. They were willing to put up with my crazy whims and try anything, and we ended up with some really great images.

James and Andrea are actually friends of ours from our church, so we had an advantage in that we all already knew each other and were comfortable around each other. They are also a couple whose love & affection for each other shows in everything they do, so we definitely took advantage. We walked around Old Towne for a while before heading out to the farm where James grew up to continue our adventures. It was one of the longest engagement sessions I've ever done, but it was completely worth it...we wound up with a ton of beautiful pictures to choose from.

I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know all of these couples and can't wait to see them again on their wedding days!

Brox-Koftan Wedding

On March 28, in the middle of the worst blizzard Wichita has had in years, we braved the weather to shoot the wedding of Nancy & Ken. The two were married at the beautiful St. Vincent de Paul church in Andover. Luckily this church is so beautiful on the inside that we didn't need to go outside to shoot, anyway :)

Nancy and Ken are another of our couples who met online and fell in love. The priest told a bit of their story during the ceremony, which was fun to hear. The wedding itself was beautiful, and the happy couple very photogenic.

The reception was held in a fabulous room created to look like an intimate little courtyard somewhere in Europe. There were building facades, spiraling staircases, and beautiful chandeliers everywhere you turned. The tables were decorated with beautiful daffodil centerpieces grown in the gardens of the groom's parents.

We had a great time working with Nancy and Ken and wish them all the best!

Leslie & Lucy

I recently had one of the most fun photo shoots in recent memory...with my cousin's amazing daughters, Leslie & Lucy. Two more fabulous supermodels in the making I have never seen. These girls were completely comfortable in front of the camera and made my job so incredibly easy. They had no problems striking crazy poses and being totally and completely themselves for me...all I had to do was push the button. They also had no problems being close & affectionate for some of their pictures together, which turned out beautifully. We ended up with tons of great images....I can't wait until our next photo shoot together!