If Marilyn had been a brunette...

Jenni and I decided on a Marilyn Monroe theme during her glamour session design consultation, in spite of the fact that she's a brunette. The session was a blast and she looked great as a brunette Marilyn! Jenni is really just a mom and the "girl next door", but she photographs like a super model!

Glamorous Katie

Katie is another one of our Moms that scheduled a Hollywood Moms Glamour session, just in time for Valentine's Day. It was a fun session with lots of various sets. All of them turned out great, but sometimes the simplest images are the most powerful. Here's a great closeup that really showcases Katie's natural beauty!

Another "Glamour Mom" portrait session

Kim came in recently for one of our new glamour sessions that is designed specifically for Moms. Kim has three sons, ages 6, 11 and 12. She loves horses and has had "Chey" since she graduated from High School.
The idea for these sessions came from the fact that I have discovered that most women never get a really nice portrait done just of themselves after their senior portraits. The closest thing to is wedding portraits. After that, it's all about kids and family, which is great, but I wanted to do something special just for the moms that come into my studio for these other types of sessions. I wanted to capture how beautiful they are, even after having a family. I also wanted to customize each session specifically to each woman, to feature something of her life and the various unique sides of her personality.
Here is a few samples from Kim's sessions which I think achieved these goals.

Six month Baby Portraits

Great session today! With over 100 babies in our Baby Plan, we photograph a lot of babies every week. I think the six month session is my favorite, because babies are so smiley at that age and usually haven't started developing stranger fears yet.
This session was a really cute one, so I wanted to share a couple of images from it.

What's In a Smile?

I have photographed some truly beautiful High School senior girls this year, more than I ever remember in a single year. Nobody I've ever photographed though, ever, has had a more stunning smile than Casey! It was a reluctant smile, but I could always see it in her eyes and all I had to do was wait. She could never hold it in for long.

Casey, you are absolutely stunning and I don't ever remember having more fun on a session!

"Friends On The Road Together"

I knew I was going to be doing a family portrait session tonight near the location where we do our "Little Hobo" children's portraits every year. I also knew that the family had a beautiful, and very sweet Doberman. So I suggested we also do a couple of Little Hobo poses and I brought some Little Hobo stuff along. I had I aslo thought it would be fun to put the dog in one of the portraits. I really didn't know if it would work, but I love how it turned out!

The original "Hollywood Glamour" look

I used the 1930's Hollywood Glamour technique that I talked about in the last post to create this portrait of my wife.

"Hollywood Glamour" Moms

I have been working hard on a new line of portraits, one that is a little different for us, but is still focused on mothers. Most moms have had a professional portrait that was just about them done only once in their lifetime, that being their Senior Portraits. Since that time there may have been wedding portraits, family portraits, possibly Mother Baby portraits, but even pregnancy portraits is about mother and unborn child. And for some mothers, that is exactly how they want it. But in my informal market research (a few months ago I started asking moms that came into the studio what they thought of the idea) a lot of moms really like the idea of a session just for them, something that makes them feel special, glamorous and beautiful. so I started asking a few of them to come in and be models. Almost everyone I asked said yes, so all that is left is to do a consultation, which is really just a time to sit down with them and get to know what fits their personality and desires and plan a session. It's been a little slow getting off the ground because of our very busy schedule, but slowly "Hollywood Glamour" sessions have been appearing on the schedule as we have found openings to fit them in. Holly wood Glamour is a working title, but one I like and will probably stick with. We have been using it already with a more limited meaning for a certain look we introduced this year for High School Seniors that reminded me of 1930's style Hollywood Glamour. In it's current context, the name will have a much broader meaning, as these sessions will be specifically tailored to each woman, her personality, likes, etc. Every one will be different.

This is certainly illustrated by this first session. Niccole is not the typical model posing with a Harley, she owns the bike and rode it to the studio. The biker chick style fit her personality quite well, but when we got into the studio, her "angelic" side came out as well. (She says that side is more fantasy than the other!) Either way, this is one very glamorous Mom!

Catching Up a Little

I am way, way behind on updating my blog. I've been a little busy lately to say the least, but I'm having a lot of fun.

Working with Samantha is definately one of the fun things that has helped keep me busy. We've done a couple of really creative location sessions so far and still have to do some work in the studio to wrap up her Senior portraits. Because of time I am only posting a couple for now, but when we get finished I'm sure she will have her own gallery!

Here's two from each session:

I love duotone images, I love dramatic lighting and I love portraits that evoke feelings that are different than you might expect to get from a portrait. I try to create portraits that do not quite tell a story, but simply suggest one. It's up to the viewer to create the story in his or her imagination that is being told. I find all of these elements in these first two portraits of Sam.

I personally see this portrait as being less about storytelling and more about composition. The colors connect, the curves and angles combine with the highlights and shadows in a balanced composition that draws the viewer straight to the only truly important element, Sam. But, who knows, there could be a story there too.

And this is just about Sam, in a dance studio where she feels at home. I love mirrors, even though they can be difficult to work with. The reflection in the floor is nice too. Making the mirror black and white seemed to really make this portrait work.

Also worth noting, Sam has a beautiful smile, which comes easily and often and lights up the room! I just happened to choose some of her more serious looks to highlight today.

Time for a Baby Session

I've been kind of focused on seniors lately, but in reality I photograph more babies than seniors or anyone else for that matter. So today I decided to feature a baby session. There were several good ones to choose from but I decided on this 3 month session, in part because we included a couple of Mother Baby poses. This one just seems to capture that beautiful Mother/ baby bond so well.




The antique scale is a standard part of our 3 month sessions, and the antique "touch of color" treatment is the my favorite presentation for this pose.

This is a fantastic example of the pose that is most often chosen for the 3 month image in the year long Baby Panel.

Surrounded by Natural Beauty (the waterfall's nice too)

I almost never photograph more than one high school senior at a time. I prefer to focus completely on a single subject. But when the seniors are close friends and it's a mile hike into where we had planned the session, I make an exception. We met near the trailhead at 7 AM yesterday to get the best light and cooler temperatures. It was a beautiful hike and a lot of fun.

You might recognize Melissa from my gallery. We did a session with her earlier this year at an old restored barn. I often do more that one session when my clients want a lot of variety. We have another session scheduled with Tiffanie, and even have a third session planned with Melissa. That one will be something entirely new and different!

You get to go first, Melissa (no particular reason except alphabetical order, I guess). Let me know what you think of these!

You made it to the top! (I won't tell anyone we were actually only a few feet from the trailhead. :)

I like the painting effect on this image.

Note to Melissa'a mom: She's really not about to step off of a cliff, my shooting angle and lens create that illusion. I made sure she was quite safe! :)

The water really isn't that cold after your legs go numb! :)

Yes, I still think you look like sisters!

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Ok, your turn, Tiffanie. I'm really curious which one is your favorite.

You were becomng quite the natural model by the time we took this one on the way out!






Your back was getting soaked from the waterfall, but you did a great job of ignoring it and posing for me.

I shouldn't tell you that this is my favorite until you decide which one is yours, so I won't. :)

The "I conquered the mountain" pose, standing near the very top of the falls. It was worth the hike, wasn't it?

Savannah Smiles

I haven't posted anything new here for a while because I've been gone for over two weeks to Southern Kansas. This was mostly a vacation trip, but I did do a couple of sessions while I was there (it's really hard for me not to work for two whole weeks!) This in not the flat, prairie country that everyone associates with Kansas, but the southern part on the edge of the Flinthills, which has a beauty all it's own. And what better way to enjoy that beauty than photographing a beautiful girl in the midst of it. Savannah is a born and raised country girl and these portraits were nearly all created practically in her back yard.

Mountain Streams and Mystical Forest

Wow, what an awesome session! It was back to my favorite place on earth again yesterday, this time with Sarah. Sarah is a natural in front of the camera and very enthusiastic about everything - except actually getting IN the water - although she finally did go wading later in the session. :)

Sarah, I had a terrible time picking just five images for this post, there are a lot of other really good ones. I probably should have used something else, instead of two by the little waterfall, but I really liked both of the waterfall images and couldn't pick just one. The first one is when I was in the water with the camera right at water level, but the second one shows off the little waterfall better. Of course you look great in both of them which is really the point, right? One of the things we talked about when we planned your session was to try to create a mystical image. How do like the way it turned out?