So Valerie is 5'2", and Jeff is 6'4".... this poses a few photography issues!  Fortunately this wasn't the first time I've had to deal with a height discrepancy (why do the tall guys always date much shorter girls?)  They had to do a lot of sitting, and Jeff had to do a lot of leaning, but it really wasn't too hard to get some cute shots of these guys.  We had a beautiful day to work with - I hope it is this nice for their outdoor wedding next June!

I got to see this little guy again for a bit today.  I've been photographing Thatcher since he was a bump in his Mom's belly, and I couldn't resist taking a few quick shots when she told me that he started crawling over the weekend.  He's a cute little explorer!

I keep getting questions about whether or not I photograph children - the answer is YES!  I love photographing babies and kids!  So I finally got around to putting a mini-gallery of kids photos on the website.  I don't shoot in the studio (nothing interesting ever happens in a studio).  Instead, I do lifestyle portraits, photographing you and your family wherever you feel comfortable and getting a more natural portrait.  They are a lot more fun, and far more relaxed.  Plus, I'll never make your kid sit in a pot or wear a boa. :)

Elizabeth is my album designer - isn't she cute?  She needed an updated photo for her new website that is just getting off the ground.  Of the ones we took today in the park, this one is my favorite.  You'll have to check out her site in the next few weeks to see which one she selects (this is where I would insert a link to her site, if I knew what it was!!)  I love Elizabeth because she keeps me from being totally bogged down in album designs - trust me, she does a better job much faster than I ever did!  Thanks Elizabeth :)

Tricia and Jon chose Francis Park for their engagement portraits today because they used to walk around it in the early mornings back when they were becoming friends.   Now they are getting married, and I will be photographing their wedding in October.  These guys were only the second couple I've ever had that began carrying on conversations each time I told them to look at one another (most people just laugh or make weird faces!)  They are both exceptionally nice, and we had a great time wandering around.  I did make them kiss a lot for photos, which caused Tricia to exclaim at the end of our session "Now I don't have to kiss you again for like a week!"  Sorry Jon!

Christopher claimed he would be happy if we got one single good image from our shoot today - hopefully he'll agree we managed more than one :)  We wandered around the Grand Basin in Forest Park, getting a little hot and sweaty in the process, for some fairly last-minute engagement portraits (no worries Jenn, there are worse offenders yet to come!)  Towards the end they agreed to make some weird faces to make a kind of series.  I'm not showing most of them in case Christopher wants to hide the evidence...The wedding is in November, so I'll be seeing these guys again soon - looking forward to it!

I know when I was a senior in high school I took some hard classes, but every time I chat with a senior and hear their schedule I am amazed.  Hannah was no exception - she's taking classes like AP Calculus and AP History and AP Biology and probably 5 more AP classes I can't even remember.  Good for her!  In addition to being smart, she's also really sweet, which made it fun to take her photos today in Tower Grove Park.  I think she said she has a test tomorrow, so I hope she's studying right now - good luck Hannah!

Robin and Walter are getting married in October, so we headed out today to take some engagement photos at Union Station.  The weather was beautiful (I can only hope that spring is finally here!)  These two couldn't stop laughing when I asked them to look at one another, which I always love.  You can't take yourself too seriously.  Thanks to these two for shooting with me today - here are some of my favorites from their session.

Amber and Ken had such great laughs today during their engagement photo session at the Laumeier Sculpture Park.  They just kept laughing, and I just kept shooting because those are some of my favorite photos.  We had to hide out from the rain in one of the sculptures for a bit until it cleared out, but overall it was fantastic weather (considering it is August in St. Louis!)  These two are getting married in Forest Park in May - I hope to see more laughter and good times at the wedding!

Many of you have contacted me about doing boudoir photos, and I've decided to hold my first all day boudoir photo session on June 29th.  Boudoir photos are fun and sexy, and show off how fantastic you are.  The photos are not about nudity - you can wear whatever makes you feel comfortable and gorgeous.  We'll help you select the perfect look and do your hair and makeup for you so that you look extra hot.  We have the use of a beautiful downtown loft space, and you'll end up with a DVD of your high resolution files.

These photos make a great gift for your fiance or husband, and give you an excuse to feel high-fashion and glamorous.  Only a few spots remain, so if you are interested let me know as soon as possible and I'll send you the details.   It should be fun!

Abby starts her senior year in about a week, so it was time for her senior photos.  We shot in Lafayette Park (a favorite of mine - especially because it is walking distance from my house!)  Abby was a total natural - I think she made mention of watching America's Next Top Model a lot...whatever it takes!  She is really into cars, so we made sure to take some photos of her in the car and tinkering with the engine.  I had a great time shooting with Abby and I wish her all the best in Honors French 3 this fall :)

The rain tried to scare us off for this shoot on Saturday, but I am so glad that Renee and John were willing to give it a shot.  The lighting ended up being really nice, and we had a blast shooting around town.  We went to the Spirit of St. Louis Airport first, since John is a pilot.  It was fun to shoot with the planes - brave Renee even got on top of one (John's idea, not mine!)  Then on a whim we went to the graffiti wall downtown before heading to Lafayette Park.  These two were so fun and did pretty much anything I asked.  There are a ton of photos above because we spent so much time together it was hard to choose my favorites!  I can't wait to shoot their wedding in Ste. Genevieve next April.

We may have broken a few rules by climbing around on the sculptures at the Laumeier Sculpture Park (I swear I didn't see that sign...even though I took a photo of it...), but fortunately no one was around to notice.  Elizabeth was really great about hopping up and down off those things, even though she was wearing a white dress - I appreciate her sense of adventure!  I hope they had as much fun playing around in the park as I did this weekend.  These two are getting married next July, so I look forward to working with them again!

The rain around here is getting a bit nuts!  We rescheduled Sarah and Kevin's photos twice already, so when the weather looked threatening again this week, we just decided to chance it.  The rain stayed away, but it was a bit muddy in the park.  Fortunately these two didn't seem to mind - they still sat in the grass when I asked them to and didn't complain. They were too busy smooching the whole time to worry about things like mud :)  Thanks to Kevin and Sarah for being such good sports - I look forward to shooting their wedding this August!

Ashley and Adam were so much fun to photograph this Sunday at the Delmar Loop.  I've never shot an engagement portrait there before, but it was the perfect setting for these two.  We got a few inquisitive glances from people who were wandering about (particularly as Adam was dipping Ashley in the street), and I think someone even cheered them on at one point as they were smooching.  But these two were not camera shy, which made it really easy to get great photos.  They are in the process of moving to New York City this week, but they'll be back to get married this October - I can't wait for the wedding!     

I'm having a really productive Sunday, so I'm doing two blog posts today!  Jennifer and Patrick got engaged in Lafayette Park a year ago, so we went there today for their engagement photos.   I couldn't resist putting a ton of their images in black and white - these guys just look so good in black and white for some reason :)  They aren't getting married until October 2009, so I probably won't see them again for another year.  They are such planners! 

I held my first boudoir photo sessions last Sunday - these girls were a blast!  If anyone was nervous before the shoot, they shed their inhibitions pretty quickly.  We were shooting in a loft space off of Washington Ave, and one of the girls was actually honked at while she posed in the window (whoops, I guess they can see you...)  But she didn't seem to care too much, and we just kept on shooting!  Thanks to Sabrina Torti of Proposing Dreams for her help with the session.  I'm only posting a few photos so the girls can keep the others under wraps (they are still a surprise.)  Thanks to all who participated!

Initially Meg and Rusty wanted to go to a different location for their portraits.   I won't say where it was, but it was a spot I've grown tired of shooting over the past few months.  So I tried to talk them into doing a more urban shoot and driving around town with me to find all the cool run down buildings in St. Louis.  Fortunately for me, they went for it, and the photos turned out awesome.  They climbed on all kinds of weird stuff (including a dresser someone was throwing away...) and waded through crazy weed patches for me, it was great.  At one point we were all so covered with these stick weeds it looked like fringe.  They couldn't have had a better sense of adventure about the whole thing, and I think it paid off.

You'll see these two on the blog again very soon - they are getting married this Sunday!  They really pushed their engagements to the last minute, but I'm glad they decided to do it.  Based on this session, the wedding this weekend should be a blast!

It's boudoir time again!  I'm now scheduling appointments for the upcoming all-day boudoir session.  It will be held on Sunday, November 9th.  The session will include:

*Professionally styled hair and makeup

*Use of a downtown loft space

*1-hour long portrait session, with no limit to the number of photos

*A DVD of all the high resolution images to use as you like

Contact me if you would like more details or want to set your appointment time.  It should be fun!

It's definitely fall around here.  Poor Laura had a dress on at first, and with that wicked wind that was blowing through Forest Park, I think she was completely freezing.  Thankfully they had a second outfit with sweaters and jeans so we could keep going.  All of you who still have portrait sessions to come this fall, keep that in mind!  We found a few more trees with color than there were last week, so you can actually tell it is October in their photos.  Laura and Bryan are both really nice, and so easy to work with.  I'm sure their wedding next year will be just as great!

Like most babies, Taylor had her own agenda today - and it didn't include having her portrait taken.  She just didn't seem up for it today.  So I put away my things and chatted with her mom for a while, giving her time to chill out just enough to take a few snapshots before she began fussing again.  I'll probably end up photographing this little one again (preferably after a night in which she's had a little more sleep!) but these few are still cute enough to share!

Lindsay and Dan are hilarious.  They were dancing, jumping, throwing each other around, playing in the fountain, and making the best expressions.  The shot of Dan cheering on the bridge happened after he beat Lindsay at that hand slapping game....what is that called, anyway?  It was so fun playing around with them in the park.  But before we headed to Forest Park we took a few shots at Dan's firehouse - he's a fire fighter in Granite City.  They had a bit of an audience, which means Dan will probably never live this down with the guys he works with.  I know the over-the-shoulder shot is a little bit of a repeat from the other day, but I could not resist it when Dan was in his work garb.  A family friend already snagged the job of shooting their wedding next September - I'm a bit bummed I don't get to work with these guys again.  Oh well, it was a fun afternoon!

Stacy teaches yoga at a studio I teach at, and she Tim are having a baby girl in December.  I've been hoping they would do maternity photos since I found out she was pregnant!  Since it ended up being a beautiful day, we decided to take the maternity shoot outdoors into Tower Grove Park.  Stacy had just gotten this fantastic henna tattoo on her belly, which looks amazing up close and looks very Earth Mama in her bare belly photos.  The baby Vans are so cute, too - I love baby shoes!  It's hard to see on the blog, but in the ipod photo the song playing is "Could You Be Loved" by Bob Marley, which apparently is already one of the baby's favorites. Seems like I have a lot of friends and clients getting pregnant lately ... I hope more of you call me for some maternity stuff :)

At first, boudoir is awkward - how could it not be?  But once each of these girls relaxed into the photo shoot (and had a glass of champagne!) they all did awesome.  We shot in a loft downtown, and this time the windows faced a fairly dead street so no one was honked at while they were posing.  I love the giant windows in those lofts, so they are featured in a lot of photos.  Thanks ladies for being so fun, and for letting me post a few of the images online!

Thatcher turned one this weekend, on July 19th, and his parents had a little party for him.  I was fortunate enough to be there to photograph the event - watching little kids shove cake into their faces is a welcome break from the dainty cake feeding at a wedding!  Thatcher didn't disappoint with his cake scarfing, either.  He ate it straight off the high chair, and ended up with frosting down his chin and all in his hair.  I also caught a few shots of him opening gifts and running around the house buzzed from his sugar fix (although the sugars were all natural, as his Mom made the organic carrot cake from scratch.)  He eventually crashed with his Dad just in time for a nap.  I can't believe I've been photographing this little guy for a year now - I hope he continues to tolerate my lens in his face well into the future!

Like most people this time of year, Tracy and Jason were desperate to get some fall color in their portraits.  Unfortunately, we only found two trees turning color in the area of Forest Park where we went today.  We made the most of those two trees, though!  At least we had sunshine and warm weather - that fall chill is coming quickly!

Ivy Hill is a boutique just opening in the Central West End.  They needed some promotional images for their website and various things, so I basically just played around in the store for a few hours taking photos.  The owner, Hillary, has stocked the place with some cool accessories and clothes and all kinds of fun random stuff.  I couldn't leave without getting myself a t-shirt (it has a yogi on it and says "enlightenment rocks :)" - I'm a sucker for yoga shirts!)  The store is now open off Maryland and Euclid - go check them out!

I think Angela stalked the weather report for about a week to figure out if it would rain for their portrait session on Friday.  We decided day-of that despite the cloudiness, it would be a good day to shoot in Faust Park and headed off.  Unfortunately, we only had about 15 minutes of patchy sunshine until it started raining on us.  We were trapped on the front porch of one of the old houses for a bit until we decided to head back out to shoot quickly before it started raining harder.  It's a good thing cloudy days make for the best lighting!  Thanks for tolerating a little rain, guys!

I love when couples like old run-down stuff as much as I do :)  Angela and Sean liked the more urban stuff I've been doing, so we wandered around downtown for some cool backdrops.  I've never seen someone so excited to sit in front of a pile of scrap wood - it was great!  We also took some photos at Angela's grandfather's house for good measure, which had some pretty fall colors.  I think they are my last engagement session for a while - thanks for making it so fun, guys!

All three of these little cousins have sweet faces - they are so cute!  We made a quick trip to Forest Park for some portraits of the three girls and their families, and the weather was perfect.  The girls were playing in the leaves a bit when Carter found a giant stick bug - you can see it on her hand in one of the photos.  They were having a great time with that bug while all of us adults made faces about not wanting to touch it!  I'm so glad that these families came out for their first family portraits.  Hopefully they'll make it a yearly tradition!

It was COLD today!  Poor Sarah was freezing out there in her little sweater - eventually she had to stop taking the coat off for photos and just keep herself warm.  Fortunately, she and Dan didn't have a hard time smiling and laughing in the cold wind.  We shot a few photos at City Hall (which is where they got engaged last July), and then wandered over to Lafayette Park.  Hopefully it will be warmer for their wedding in March!