Desirea | Lee’s Summit Senior Portraits

Working with high school seniors has always been, and will probably always be, my favorite thing to do. They tend to have great fashion sense and personal style, and they enjoy being in front of the camera (I wish I could say that every client is like that, but some people are forced by their bosses to get headshots, and sometimes there’s a less-than-enthusiastic member of the family who has things they’d rather do than spend their free time posing for portraits). Additionally, I’ve had the joy of working with young people who have great confidence in who they are and where they are heading in life. I love this. It makes a senior’s personality easy to capture and allows their style to flow naturally.

This was definitely the case with Desirea, a Lee’s Summit North High School class of 2017 student on the verge of graduation and exciting next steps. She knew from the start that she wanted to explore Kansas City’s Crossroads Arts District for her portrait session, as she is an art student who often spends First Fridays at galleries in the area. I could tell that she felt right at home in this area, which is pretty much a photographer’s playground. The interesting doors, grungy alleyways, wide array of architecture, and colorful façades make this one of my preferred locations to shoot any kind of session, but it worked especially well for this young artist. Hopefully one day not too far down the road, I’ll see her back in the Crossroads in a gallery of her own!

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Christine and Ryan’s Engagement Session | Kansas City I’m So in Love

These two adorable love birds celebrated their engagement with a Kansas City-style photo session. It was the first bitterly cold day of the season, and after enjoying such mild autumn weather up to that point, the sudden shift in temperatures solidified the KC experience for us. And they enjoyed lots of snuggles in the process. Because hypothermia is no fun.

We began our journey at the Country Club Plaza on a walking bridge where Ryan proposed to Christine. I love incorporating such meaningful locations in photo sessions, so this was a perfect place to begin. After exploring the area, looking for any place that could offer a break from the brutally chilling wind, we moved to the Crossroads Arts District to visit the recently famous “Kansas City I’m So in Love” mural on the south side of Fortuity at 19th and Baltimore. Christine and Ryan were troopers to say the least – they wore their Charlie Hustle KC t-shirts (while I was bundled in several layers and still freezing, so I can imagine they were certainly numb at this point). We took a quick walk around the block to capture some street scenes in the background, and I fell more in love with Kansas City in the process. The area we were shooting in felt alive and bright and modern, when not too long ago, it would have felt more like a ghost town. The revitalization of the Crossroads has done amazing things for the city and for people like us who love and adore it.

Congratulations to Christine and Ryan, who are so in love!

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Brian and Phil’s Kansas City Engagement Session

Brian and Phil warned me several times that they aren’t fans of having their pictures taken. Maybe that’s partially true? And they also claimed that they’re not photogenic. That certainly isn’t true. I’m not sure that they were looking forward to their engagement session, but I definitely was. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to document their engagement and work with them prior to their wedding this fall, which I’m fairly certain is going to be the celebration of the century!

…And I think they ended up having fun at their session. That’s always a relief for me!

The location they chose – the Crossroads Art District in Kansas City – is not only one of my favorite backgrounds for photos, but it is especially meaningful for these guys. They love the beautiful KC skyline, which can be perfectly viewed from the north lawn of Liberty Memorial, and they were excited for the opportunity to take some dusk and nighttime shots with the city lights in the background. With plans to end the session there, we wanted to start the session closer to the heart of Crossroads. I asked them to meet me in the parking lot at Lidia’s, not knowing until later that Lidia’s is where they enjoyed their first date… fourteen years ago.

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Lyndsay and Matt’s Midtown KC Engagement Session

I had a feeling that Lyndsay and Matt were a little nervous heading into our photo session. And I get it. It can be awkward to have your photo taken. It can be a little challenging to act naturally when you’re well aware that someone 5 or 10 feet away from you is snapping your photo. When I perceive that my subjects are feeling a bit uneasy, it means I have some extra work to do. Beyond setting up the shot, deciding which lens to use, deciding how to light it, and exposing the shot properly, my interactions with my subject can become the most crucial aspect of my job. Because who cares about a well-lit, perfectly exposed photo if the subjects don’t look comfortable or natural?

So I thought I’d have some extra work to do. But I was so wrong. They tricked me! My oh my. These two are in love. They entertain each other. They act naturally and beautifully together. They rocked this session!

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Special thanks to Ben Money for being an awesome lighting assistant for this one! You rock, Ben!

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Excene and Tyler are Engaged

Tyler is the closest thing to a little brother that I’ve ever had. I’ve known him since he was in elementary school – ever since his sister Lacy became one of my best friends. So I have a special place in my heart for him; it makes me incredibly happy to know that he has found a wonderful, beautiful woman to share his life with. It’s been a joy getting to know Excene over the past couple of years (typically at sports bars where we watch Mizzou football games with mutual friends – a.k.a. our parents). Excene is a truly beautiful person and a wonderful fit for my honorary little brother. I loved taking these photos for them in some of the most photogenic areas of KC. And with their gorgeous dog, Armani. And his tie.

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Special thanks to my rockstar lighting assistant, Michelle Kabrick, for all her hard work – and for making sure none of us were hit by a car.  🙂

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Charles – Our Brothers Keeper

Working with complete strangers can be one of the most intimidating aspects of what I do. Luckily, Charles immediately became a friend. Meeting him first in the Destiny Audio recording studio as he laid down some tracks for a very personal song about his experience as a Marine deployed in Iraq meant that he was bearing his soul to me within minutes of meeting him. I learned so much about him with just a few verses and a chorus of lyrics. He earned my respect and admiration for the things he has witnessed and experienced that I will never come close to understanding. And he allowed me the honor of documenting some of his time in a pretty badass studio, so he gets points for that too.

During our promo shoot a few days later, I learned a lot more about who he is and his goals with his music career. It’s touching to learn about his passion for music as a form of healing. I hope that’s what it does for him. He deserves it. He deserves good things. Always.

Recording a track at Destiny Audio:

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Promo photos in the Crossroads and at Liberty Memorial:

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Jacey and Dan

Back in the day (circa 1990, that is), I was a Girl Scout. I was an AWESOME Girl Scout. I think. I don’t really remember much about being a Girl Scout except that I was given the task of selling cookies, I was presented with awesomely colorful badges and beads for my vest each time I did something awesome, and Jacey was in my Girl Scout troop. Troop 1412, I believe. We go way back, my friends. So when Jacey asked me to be her wedding photographer, I was like, “Oh my honor, I will try to serve you with some fantastic engagement pictures, take wonderful pictures at your upcoming wedding, and live by the Girl Scout law.”

Here are the results of the promise that I made to my fellow scout: