Repeat clients make me happy

Katie brought her two "older" kids today for black and white portraits to hang by the large portrait of her new baby boy that came from his newborn session a few weeks ago. Having clients return to me for portrait sessions makes me so happy - I get quite attached to the people (and faces) I photograph so I love to keep in contact and do more portrait sessions for them as time passes.

Katie - it was so nice to meet your other children today - and I can't wait to show you your gallery - I think you will be very happy with what you see!


Awww! Look at the baby smiling! To see how much the little guy has changed, check out my "Just like snowflakes, no two newborns are alike" blog entry below.

Happy Birthday to Krystin's Baby Boy, part II

I photographed this little guy last year for his first birthday (and I photographed his babyhood, too); and am proud to show you portraits from his 2-year-old session today. His mom, Krystin, is one of my most faithful clients, and a good friend, too. Thank you, Krystin, for trusting me with your sweet boy's portraits. I hope you and Steve enjoy the preview.

You may notice all of the outdoor portraits I've been taking lately - for being such a studio girl I really do enjoy getting outdoors for portraits - nature makes a beautiful backdrop, don't you think?

Of course, I still did some studio shots - the little guy's daddy has been gone for the last couple of months and is about to leave for Kuwait after a brief visit with his family. Krystin thought it would be fun to put K. in his daddy's jacket - the jacket is bigger than he is!

Getting the camera out for *me*

This June, I've photographed hundreds of children and teens for the dance portrait side of my business. It's fun seeing all of the (mainly) girls all dressed up in their recital costumes, feeling special and pretty and excited for recital - and I'm happy to play a part in that excitement. But as many of you know, I have two kids of my own and oftentimes it feels like I take pictures of everyone's children but mine. Sometimes I need to take pictures just for me, and there's no better place for me to do that than on my family farm, south of here in rural Kansas. My great-grandparents bought this farm back in 1880, and it's always been a magical place for me; and my kids love it as much as I do.

My goal recently was to get some sunset portraits of my kids on the farm, so we went to the meadow at the time of day photographers like to call "the golden hour," ... but unfortunately my little boy's allergies went crazy in the meadow so I only got to photograph my daughter. And my daughter wasn't that thrilled with the photo session herself, until we (my twin sister and I) pulled out the "America's Next Top Model" card deep into the golden hour. So not a perfect portrait session - which seems to happen quite often when I want portraits of my own kids!

I thought I would share a couple of her - I plan to get a little more personal here and there on my blog from here on out so you all can get to know me a bit better. Anyway - here's my daughter on the farm I love so much.

Recital Portraits - Aspire Dance Center

All recital portraits from both the Academy of the Arts-Shawnee and the Academy of the Arts-Aspire are now online. Photos taken during dress rehearsal on stage are in the process of being uploaded. Please check the site often for updates.

Kristy Finds Her Prince

I've known Kristy since I was 14 years old... which means we've been friends for 24 years! But she's been much more than just a friend to me and my twin sister, Karen - she is almost like another member of our family. Karen, Kristy and I all lived together during our college years; she was the one who Mom asked to tell us that our beloved Grandpa Carl had died; she gave our parents' dog her enduring nickname (Bonnie Blue Bell); and Kristy kept vigil with my family at the hospital the night I was in labor with my first child. She's been there for us -- a very loyal and true friend -- all of these years.

Today I did something very special - I photographed Kristy and her fiance, Bob, for their engagement portraits. And, since Karen, Kristy and I were a bit like the Three Musketeers, I think it was only fitting that my sister was also there for the portrait session tonight.

I am so happy for you, Kristy, and come September, Karen and I will wear those crimson dresses with pride.

Here's a few to look at while you await the rest of your portraits. All the best, Kristy and Bob!

Look who is 5!

Happy birthday to J., who is one of the sweetest little girls I know. I am so lucky to get to photograph this little face often. It's always a treat, because she's not only beautiful but she's also such a good poser and not shy with the camera at all. It helps that she's the daughter of good friends and the sweetheart of my 4-year-old son. I could have taken pictures of her all night, Shelly, but I know you already have a hard enough time choosing. So here you go - a preview for you to enjoy until your gallery is ready. Happy birthday, sweet thing!

(remember, depending on your monitor resolution, these portraits may look a little pixely - if they do on your monitor, simply click on them to see them better).

The unplanned portrait

So, Deb and her family came today for a portrait session - she really just wanted family portraits with her daughter, husband, dad and herself. Of course, the darling petticoats I bought recently were just sitting there, forlornly in their box, just waiting for for some equally darling little girl to come along and put them on. I've photographed this little girl before, during my winter ballerina portrait event at the Aspire Dance Center, and I already knew how much she liked tutus, so I figured pettiskirts would also go over well. Boy was I right! Isn't she sweet? And really, what more could you want - pretty little girl, Victorian settee and a pettiskirt! Pretty nice for a portrait we didn't even plan to take, huh? =)

Here's a preview of a few portraits Deb - I will get the rest of your gallery in about a week. Thank you!

P.S. I'm so happy you brought your dad today - I have written on my blog before how special I think grandparent portraits are - I just love the look on your dad's face - so proud.

Perfection

These little baby boys simply stole my heart yesterday. So soft and warm and cuddly and sleepy and just sooooo cute. I'm so happy to be able to show them off to you on my blog. They are the tiny little sons of my recent twin maternity session (see a few blog posts below this). This session took about 3 hours but it was so worth it. Daddy Jonathan, who is deployed overseas, was able to be here for the babies' births, and for this portrait session, but goes back tomorrow. It was so special for me to be able to do this session for them during their brief window together.

Congratulations Julie and Jonathan - the boys are just perfect, and I can't wait to show you all of your proofs, Until then, enjoy these.
And look at that smile! Awwwww!

Attention Recital Portrait Families

Information about your portraits:
(EDITED -- All Academy/Shawnee recital portraits are now online. Look for an email from Tonya Ebner giving you the password to the gallery.)

1. All prints are sold individually – Center Stage Photography does not have “packages” or “collections.” You are free to buy as many as you want in whatever sizes you need.

2. Prints will go online about a week after they were taken. You will have until July 14 to place your order.

3. To purchase your recital portraits,
-- Go to the Center Stage Photography Web site: www.centerstagephotography.net.
-- Click on “Dance Site”
-- Click on “Recital Portraits”
-- Click on the gallery that corresponds to the portraits you are looking for – we will have galleries divided up by studio, and day of the week the portrait was taken.
-- Tonya Ebner of the Academy of the Arts will email all dance families the password to the recital galleries.
-- You buy prints by placing them into your online cart, and paying with a credit card. Prints are shipped directly to you.

If you have questions, please contact me at lori@centerstagephotos.net