More of Ariel's Shoot │Ottawa Kansas Senior Photographer

I can hardly pick just a few favorites from this session. While working on Ariel's shots I was struck by the contradiction she seems to be. She's so quiet and shy in person and yet in the photos she comes across as a very strong presence. Even while shooting her, I didn't sense it as much as when I see the pictures now.

I really liked the diverse choices she made with themes and wardrobe. It allowed for so much creativity with the shots. I love that!

Remember this was her too:

From that..to this:

Ariel and Jenn, thanks again for such a unique opportunity!

Mixing It Up │Ottawa Kansas Senior Photographer

Remember the elf session? Well, today after long last we were able to shoot the second half of Ariel's session. She had originally wanted to be able to cut her hair in order to do some different gothic sort of shots. I'm totally game for something different, so we headed out to the cemetery in order to find some old crumbly stone structures.

Here's a few from that part.

She did awesome as usual! And many thanks to Jenn, her mom, for helping me with these poses. I'm totally going to hire her as my creative assistant!

Then we headed downtown for a more urban look. We fought a little with the harsh mid morning sun, but in the end we got lots of great shots!

I've got tons of work to do on these, but here are a couple that have jumped out at me so far.

You'll have to forgive me. I have a feeling I'm going to want to do a few more posts as I work on these. I super duper love shoots like these and am so proud of how they turned out.

Thanks again to Ariel for being such a willing model! We asked her to do some crazy stuff...

Some Fun In Colorado │Ottawa Kansas Photographer

I haven't updated for awhile, so I thought I would post a few photos I really love from our recent vacation to Colorado Springs.

The Cuteness was cute, even in Colorado.

I worked up the nerve to ask to take Christina's photo when she was visiting. Believe it or not, this is way out of my comfort zone. Usually people ask me to take their picture and I'm always seeing people I want to shoot and hardly ever ask. I'm glad I did.

Another thing I rarely get the chance to shoot is rain. It's not like I'm going to take my camera out in it, and the awning on the porch allowed for this great suspended shot of the rainfall.

And our gracious host, Dianne. She's a photogapher too, so we took turns shooting each other one morning and it was hard on both of us to be on the other side of the lens. She did a great job!

Mast Preview │Ottawa Kansas Photographer

This is Norm and Ellen. Almost all the photos you've seen on my website have been taken out at their place because they are the most generous, joyful people I know. When I first started taking pictures for people, I had no idea where I would take people. But after shooting one session out there, I asked if it was ok to come back because it's so beautiful there and there are so many possibilities.

Aside from being totally awesome people, Ellen assisted with the delivery of my 4th child two years ago. She was The Best labor and delivery nurse I've ever had. And I'm not just saying that because I know her. Norm comes from a family of photographers, so we always have something to chat about.

Here are a few snippets from their wonderful family's shoot yesterday.

Thanks for asking me to take your photos! I had a great time.

Sneak Peek for Norm and Ellen │Ottawa Kansas Photographer

I had actually hoped to have more of a preview up tonight, but time got away from me...as usual. I couldn't resist posting this storyboard first. These shots practically shouted to be put together. And these two are just so darling.

Stay tuned for another sneak peek tomorrow...or I guess today, since it's already after midnight...

Sneak Peek for Lisa and Family │Ottawa Kansas Photographer

I had a super fun time hanging with Lisa and her great family. I was slightly nervous about doing a shoot with eleven people and wondered if I had what it takes to corral and entertain. But once again, all the credit goes to the wonderful people in the photos.

Not only did they all chip in to encourage the 4 boys to look at the camera, but they had fun doing it...and looked good too!

Here's just a little sneak peek of what I'll be working on from their session.

And here's one that cracks me up. This is actually one in a whole series of what some people would consider outtakes,

but I think it's a rather honest portrayal of boyhood. Don't worry Lisa and Joan, there are other ones of these where everyone is looking at the camera...kind of.

Thanks for the opportunity to photograph your beautiful family.

My Cousin Chelsea │Ottawa Kansas Photographer

I think I'm going to make it a pre-requisite that if you come to stay at my house, in order to eat you have to pose for me. At first my 14 year old cousin Chelsea tried to deny my request, but people can't resist me for long.

I think we got some loveliness in our little mini session. And we didn't go anywhere fancy, just my room under the north facing window.

The last two are obviously the same, but I couldn't decide which one I like best. What do you all think?

Another Sneak Peek at Erik's Session │Ottawa Kansas Photographer

Thought you'd all like to see a few more of my favorites from this session.

I really enjoyed this session. There's something I love about photographing a person up close and trying to capture a snippet of their personality.