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I just sent out my September newsletter -- if you did not get it and would like to be added, please send me an email or else you can subscribe yourself via the area in the right hand column of my blog -- down under my little photo. It's a good way to keep up with what's going on at my studio, and I also have special discounts and incentives that I give only to my newsletter readers.

A historic presidency

We are on the brink of a truly historic presidency - check it out:

Lori for president

How cool is this?

The Beauty of Dance - Carly

I have had the luck to be able to photograph some of Kansas City's most beautiful women over the last month - tonight's subject of my dance portraits was the stunning Carly Prenger, 22, a dancer and dance instructor. I have to admit that these "sneak peak" blog posts have been difficult -how do I choose only 3-4 when I love so many of them? Carly's session was just amazing this evening and I'm so happy to be able to share these portraits with you.

Isn't Carly a beauty?


And finally, Carly really touched me with the story of her remarkable grandmother, and the inspiration Carly has gotten all her life from this amazing woman. Carly told me about portrait of her grandmother, herself a dancer, in pointe shoes, and Carly was eager to create a similar portrait this evening. Here's Carly's homage to her grandmother. I'm proud to have helped her honor her grandmother in this way.

The Beauty of Dance - Krystin

The lovely and talented Krystin Quilty Sanford is just the latest dancer to be photographed by me for my new "dancer sessions." She is such a great person, a talented choreographer, and a skilled dancer as well. Besides teaching at the Academy of the Arts dance studios, she also coaches the drill team at Shawnee Mission North high school in Overland Park.

It was fun photographing you Krystin - I can't wait to show you the rest of your gallery.


Krystin's choreography is a theatrical mix of dance and drama, so I thought a masquerade mask was an interesting way to illustrate that side of her.

Sugar Plum Fairy - online now

You can find your Sugar Plum Fairy portraits here:
Sugar Plum Fairy

Thanks to my sweet Gwen for playing her part so beautifully!

Another birthday boy!

Happy birthday (tomorrow) to this little guy. He is just so sweet, and cute, that I wanted to cuddle him, not take his portraits! Seriously! And you should hear is tiny little voice. Oh.my.goodness.

Anyway, he was in with his brother and sister for portraits - the little girl got to play in my pettiskirts, and everyone had fun!

Thanks, Kris! The rest of your proofs will soon be ready.


The following portrait is so cute to me! Proof that Center Stage kids have fun at their sessions! ;)

Photos with the Sugar Plum Fairy

Hi everyone! Those of you whose children were photographed today with the Sugar Plum Fairy should check back - by the end of the weekend I will have your pictures online as well as directions on how to find them. Thank you!

The Beauty of Dance - Julie

I continued my work today with professional dancers. This time it was Julie's turn in front of my camera. Julie has taught my daughter ballet for many years now, and is such an excellent teacher and a beautiful dancer as well. The only disappointment is that I haven't gottten to work on her session yet as my laptop's monitor stopped working just after I finished this one portrait. The monitor is being fixed - and I may get to work on a different computer later this evening. But I really wanted to share the only one I have ready to show - as it's a beauty! Doesn't Julie's *dark* hair (not black, right Julie? =) ) look great with the ruby tones of my backdrop and drape?

I'll post more when I can! Thank you, Julie! It truly was a pleasure!

By the way - I think these dancer sessions are a wonderful way for competitive dancers (teens); as well as adult professional dancers to document their love for this amazing art form. If you are interested in your own session, please contact me. I have special pricing and collections for dancers.

Late Tuesday update:

Senior Portraits - Elaine Part II

This evening I photographed Elaine for the second time -- this time in and around her hometown for the outdoor portion of her senior portrait session. Elaine is the classic Girl Next Door - sweet as can be, so photographing her is always enjoyable. This evening another side of Elaine came out - not so Girl Next Door, but sultry beauty! OK - yes, there are some Girl Next Door here, too!

Adding to the fun of this session? Her sister was with us for part of it - in labor! I've got a cute snapshot of them before Holly left to go home - I may post it later.

Elaine - I had *such fun* - and I know you did, too! Thank you so much for choosing me for this very special portrait session. Enjoy!

The end of the Summer of Mommy!

Ever since I became a mom almost 10 years ago I have wanted to be able to spend the summer at home with my kids; but I've always had at least a part time job that kept that from happening. But since June 1, Center Stage Photography has been my only job (and it's enough!), so I was able to spend my first ever summer at home with my babies -- we named it The Summer of Mommy, and it has been such a special time for all of us.

Today was the last day of The Summer of Mommy, as Paige goes back to school tomorrow; and Connor starts kindergarten on Monday. So to celebrate we went for frozen custard, which has been a bit of an obsession for us over the last few weeks. I am sad that The Summer of Mommy has come to an end.... but feel so fortunate that we were able to have this adventure together! I hope the summer has been equally special for all of you!

Here -- a fun summer quiz for you -- I'm a cherry popsicle -- what are you?

You Are a Cherry Flavored Popsicle

You are sweet and friendly. For you, summer is all about doing your favorite things. You are a nostalgic person. You love old fashioned things like ice cream trucks. You savor everything. Every taste of summer, the feeling of the sun, the smell of the beach... Of all the types, you love summer the most.

What Flavor Popsicle Are You?

What a difference 6 months make!

I had the most fun today photographing this little guy for his 6-month baby's first year session. It is so amazing to see "my" babies change from session to session. It seems like in a blink of an eye this little guy has changed from a tiny newborn to what he is today - a sitting, smiling, bright-eyed baby full of chubby goodness! Julia and John are a very modern couple and like very modern portraits - so I think they will love these very modern baby portraits, too.

Here you go Julia! Just a few to look at while you wait. (By the way - depending on your monitor resolution, these may look pixelated. If they do, just click on them to see them better.)


By the way - I was working on his portraits this evening at the dance studio, and two of my friends, Lisa and Shelly, saw the following portriat and exclaimed that they think he looks like an actual doll in this one. "What a doll baby!" Lisa said. Awww! I agree!

And just for fun, here's one of the baby, just six months ago!

The Beauty of Dance - Marquette

Oh.my.goodness. What can I say about these portraits? Absolutely breathtaking, thanks to the fabulous Marquette "Marky" Shannon who I was lucky enough to photograph today. I am so loving these dance sessions, and hope you are enjoying seeing them. Marky's entire session, as well as Gwen's and Allison's, can be seen on my web site. Go to my site, click on "Portrait Site," and then "Dance Sessions." I have special pricing and collections available to dancers. If you want a session for yourself, please contact me.

Marky - here you go! I can't wait to show you more.

The Beauty of Dance - Allison

Today the wonderful Allison Kaut graced my studio for a dancer session. Allison dances for Kacico Dance - Kansas City's only full-time professional contemporary dance company. She also teaches at the Academy of the Arts, and elsewhere. I've begun to offer these dance sessions, because the dramatic lighting I've become known for seems to be a natural fit for the beauty and drama of dancers. If you are interested in a session of your own, please contact me - I have special collections and pricing for dancers - professional dancers as well as younger dancers.

Allison - it was so difficult to choose some portraits for your preview because so many of them are simply lovely - but here they are. Your gallery will be ready in a few days.

(Click on this one to see it bigger!)

Happy birthday to my little man

Five years ago at about the time I am writing this blog entry, I gave birth to my sweet baby boy, Connor. I can remember it all so clearly. The moment I first touched him; the suspicious look on his face (I'm not joking!); the way my daughter fell in love as soon as she saw her baby brother (whom she immediately named "Poopy Moo"); the lightening in the sky the moment the midwife told my waiting mom and sister that Connor had been born; having to get out of bed during the night a few hours later to nudge my husband because his loud snoring was keeping me awake; seeing my dad cry the next morning at the sight of my 4-year-old daughter holding her tiny brother for the first time.

Five years has passed since that amazing night. I wanted to make his 5th birthday extra special for Connor. He's my little fish, and so we appropriately took him (and Sissy) to Oceans of Fun for the day. We were there for 6 hours; and on the way home, he told us it had been the best day of his life. Oh how I love my little man!

I photographed him this evening with his birthday cupcakes from a local bakery - a momentous occasion in itself, as this is his first birthday cake after he outgrew his (at one time life-threatening) egg allergy - meaning, he didn't have to eat an eggless cake baked by me this year. It was a wonderful day and I'm sad to see it coming to an end!

Happy 5th birthday, Connor. Mommy loves you so much.


Five years ago...