Kansas City Maternity, Newborn, and Baby Photographer | Kansas City Birth Photographer | Overland Park » Families

Golden Hour Light at Antioch Park in the Fall

Jessica Strom — Fri, 03 May 2013 19:46:26 +0000

Nickie is one of my dear friends. We worked together for quite a while and have become really close, she’s one of those people who just ‘get’ me. I don’t need to explain myself around her or to her, she just understands the way I am. She knows I wear my emotions on my sleeve and that I am a bit of an easy crier. We share a mutual love for The Walking Dead, SOA, Revenge, and both agree that Ian Somerhalder IS Christian Grey (she said it first, I totally agree). So I knew that by investing 6 months of convincing her to BE in last year’s family portraits rather than just the boys, I would eventually get my way. I probably cried and she probably felt bad for making me cry. But hey, whatever I did, it worked! Because she & hubby Justin both got in on the pics AND THEY ARE SO CUTE!!! I TOLD YOU!!!

Moms don’t miss out on being IN your portraits with your kids. Because let me tell you, after Nickie saw these, she LOVED them.

We did last year’s photos of the boys in Antioch Park and decided to keep up the tradition. There was one image of Corbin from last year that I wanted to recreate this year to document the change. He’s getting closer to breaking hearts ladies, watch out!

Cooper can be a bit shy around people he doesn’t know very well, like me, since I don’t see him often. I hear he can be kinda crazy though when you do know him and I so wish I could capture that spunk! One day, Cooper, one day.

The light, oh the light. It just was perfect. Total textbook definition GOLDEN HOUR LIGHT. Swoon. Love.

Until this Fall, because Nickie, you know it’s going to happen again! Can’t wait!

A Beautiful Lifestyle Family Session at Home

Jessica Strom — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 19:02:55 +0000

Often the best sessions come when you have no expectations! It was a cold wintery day in February, a couple days after our first blizzard of the year and I went to the home of Kelly & Ryan and their sweet little 1.5 year old Owen. Now Owen, like every other 1.5 year old I’ve ever met, is a VERY busy little boy. There would be no holding this little guy down for posed images which is totally fine, because babies don’t pose, they play! So I just spent the next 90 minutes photographing them playing. And it was like magic. They are such a beautiful family and Owen is so very loved, I had a WONDERFUL time. I think the images will speak for themselves! These sessions are great for families to have to capture what life really is like at a certain age in their child’s life. It’s just so very precious and I can’t wait to do it again when Owen is older! =0)

Here’s some favorites of mine from the images and a little video of the whole shebang! Enjoy! ***Please keep in mind that my website has compressed the video so it doesn’t look it’s best. If you’d like to see it in a different window, you can view it directly at https://vimeo.com/61925502” THANKS! ***

Peek-A-Boo I See You!

Jessica Strom — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 04:23:24 +0000

Just a fun little series of Aubree from last fall I came across when selecting images for my new signature album. LOVE this! She’s so stinking cute!!!

A Great Family Session Down in the West Bottoms KC

Jessica Strom — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 04:26:04 +0000

So truth be told, even though I’ve lived here for 3.5 years, I’d never done a session down in the West Bottoms. I was always very leery of the stories of crime and trouble that occurs down there plus since so soooo many other local photographers go down there I wanted to NOT go down there so my clients didn’t have the same backdrop as so many others. But I finally gave in last fall and took one of my sweet returning families down yonder (can take the girl out of the south but not the south out of the girl…) for some fantastic backdrops. It was time to do something different and we did have a great time on a rather quiet afternoon down there in the West Bottoms. I’ve photographed Kipton (younger one) since he was a newborn through his first year and it’s been so fantastic to have the family return for the 3rd year, the boys keep getting cuter and cuter just when you think it isn’t possible for them to get any cuter. Case in point? See their past sessions!

In general, photographing down in the West Bottoms wasn’t so bad. I’d do it again for sure, there are a lot of fantastic backdrops down there though I did see a lot of evidence of others vandalizing property for the sake of cute pictures. If you go down there with any photographer please know a few things:

1) NO TRAIN TRACKS! They are live and it’st not only unsafe but illegal. VERY illegal! Get arrested illegal peeps!

2) Much of the area is private property. Do not chalk or paint anything on any surface anywhere. Ever. Need I mention no trespassing on said private property?

3). Use common sense, if it doesn’t look or feel safe, it isn’t.

I could have really spent some time down there, but hey, when you’re 2 & 4, life moves pretty fast. =0) Please excuse any compression of images on the site, you should see these in full resolution! Loved this session!! I’ve already got some ideas cooking for this year’s session! =0)

The Blessings of Being a Birth Photographer 1 Year Later

Jessica Strom — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 18:30:52 +0000

One year ago today, sweet & beautiful Tess was born into this world by two absolutely amazing parents. It was such an amazing experience to witness and document, so much love (and many family members) surrounded this beautiful birth. I haven’t photographed another birth since then due to me having to go back to a day job to get us through grad school (which I have since left to go back to doing photography full time) and I’m looking forward to my next experience, whenever that will be. I don’t seek out people to hire me for their birth, it just has to happen naturally that the parents find me and we totally click because I ~~think~~ know that you can’t invite just anyone into your birthing space if you want them to capture YOUR emotions and the little details that make the experience yours. Tori & TJ did a maternity session with me first (think like an engagement session before the wedding) and we just… clicked. They’ve become sweet friends by sharing this experience with them and documenting their sweet little girl’s growth has been such a treasure.

From first breath to among the first steps… I was there. That, my friends, is the blessing that photography has enabled me to be a part of. Keep scrolling…

We followed up Tess’ birth with a newborn session at home since they change so much in that first week alone. Getting that stunning image of Dozer & Tess was no small feat as Dozer was the only baby for 10 years & was a little ornery, so we had to get an updated shot just to compare how big she’s grown. For the next series of images, you may notice a lighting difference. The newborn images on the left were all shot with natural window light and a very wide open f/stop since with newborn sessions we have the luxury of taking our time as there’s not a whole lot of movement. When you have a very busy 1 year old, there’s not so much of the taking our time bit. So I brought in my studio lights to help with a darker room so I could shoot a smaller f/stop to get everyone in focus and it does alter the look of the images, thought I’d just share that for any photographers reading the blog or anyone who was curious in general.

Dozer still hasn’t gotten used to not being the center of the universe yet. Can’t you tell?

I have so many more images from Tess’ 1 Year session to share, but for now I’ll leave you with one from her cake smash at the end. She was hesitant at first about the cake, but once she realized how yummy it was, cake eating is very serious business!

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY TESS!!!

And for anyone feeling nostalgic, I leave you with her birth video. Keep in mind the images are compressed in the video and don’t show their full beauty & crispness, but they still tell the story and tell it well. Enjoy!

Spring 2013 FAMILY Mini-Session info!

Jessica Strom — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 17:56:33 +0000

I get a lot of requests for Spring Family mini-sessions and so I’ve planned ahead this year and picked out a date for May. Mini-sessions are a fantastic way to get beautiful updated images of your family without a large investment because it’s one of the few ways you can get an All-In-One price that includes digital files! Please check it out and plan ahead, only limited spots available!

Adorable Family Session at Loose Park in Kansas City

Jessica Strom — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 03:09:19 +0000

I don’t often go down to Loose Park for sessions. Not because it isn’t beautiful, because it most certainly is beautiful. It’s spacious, large and has lots of beautiful options for back drops. So why don’t I go there more than once or twice every couple of years? Because the crowds are insane! Especially in the fall. I think I saw no less than 40 or 50 photographers in the couple hours I was there plus 3 or 4 bridal parties. But I hadn’t shot there in a while and this family was certainly worth fighting the crowds for. This was my 3rd year photographing Nate & Sandy and kids and I make sure we mix it up from year to year. Since last year we did urban in the River Market, this year was chose to do a beautiful park and Loose Park it was. You can’t tell how packed the park truly was because I paid very close attention to where others were and positioned myself so the crowds were hidden behind the family. I wanted it to look and feel like we were the only ones there and I feel confident we achieved that. The light was gorgeous and we had a great time catching up. And listening to Daniel’s incredible impersonations. =0)

The individual portraits are always fun to compare to years previous to see how the kids have grown. Paul and Mary are the oldest two and they are little parents to the little girls, it’s so sweet. Sara is most definitely the middle child and this kid cracks me up. Ally & Anna were only 6 months with barely any hair when I first met them and they are just too cute for words. What I love so much about these kiddos is that even though I only see them once a year, they are so excited to see us every year and they sure love to give hugs. I can’t get enough of their hugs. =0)

Thank you Nate & Sandy for returning again this year, Daniel & I had a blast! Now that the little girls are getting a bit bigger, I’ve got some fun fantastic ideas to try out for next year!

Myranda at 3 Months | Overland Park Family Photographer

Jessica Strom — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 02:52:45 +0000

I’m at about 90 sessions for the year and have only blogged a fraction just based on time, I really hope to find more time to blog as I LOVE sharing! This adorable family is another I photographed while in Calgary this past summer. Mom Robin and I go way back to concert band in highschool (as with Dora) and I was just thrilled when she and Chris brought their beautiful new baby girl Myranda out to get their first professional family portraits done. At the time of the session, Myranda was 3 and a half months old and while 3 months can be a tricky age to photograph babies based on their limited strength, Miss Myranda made it so easy for me. Plus she’s pretty much the Gerber Baby, right down to those kissable pinchable cheeks! And those eyes!! I wish I could fly home to Calgary more often just to photograph all my friend’s babies all the time. I’ve got two more to blog just from this past trip!

Thanks for coming out to see me Robin and introducing me to your precious family. I hope to see you again next time I’m in town! =0)

And just a few more because there were so many great ones!

Corbin is ONE! | Kansas City Baby Photographer

Jessica Strom — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 21:38:45 +0000

Just a quick little blip to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY today to Mr. Corbin who turning the BIG ONE today! We had a joint cake smash after their family session with his big brother who turns 4 this weekend and I couldn’t help but share just one to celebrate today’s big day! Cake courtesy of their mom!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Do you have a little one about to celebrate their first birthday? Contact me ASAP to book your CAKE SMASH session to celebrate! It’s also INCLUDED in the WATCH ME GROW baby plan!

Eva! | Family Photography with a 2 Year Old!

Jessica Strom — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 03:07:28 +0000

Back in August, I flew back to my hometown of Calgary, Alberta, CANADA for a 4 day weekend to go to my childhood best friend’s wedding. I always try to make time to book sessions while I’m there to help pay for trips home and as a way to see old friends and their beautiful families. This time around, I saw 4 friends from my high school with their families of which 2 I hadn’t seen since graduation, 13 years ago! I’m thankful to live in a day and age where you don’t have to go to reunions just to see old friends because pretty much everyone is atleast on Facebook. So when I announced I was coming back just for the weekend, I was just delighted with who booked sessions. The first up I’m going to share is my friend Dora, her hubby Rich, Bonita the dog and their absolutely stunningly gorgeous two year old daughter Eva. Of course I couldn’t help but say Eva’s name like it’s said in Wall-E, “Eeee-va!” (partly because my hubby says it ALL the time) and what’s hilarious is that Dora & Rich got the idea for Eva’s name while watching Wall-E. I’ve been known to be psychic every now and then. Ha!

Now, you never know what you’re going to get when doing a family session with a two year old in tow. I’ve done plenty and have learned that TODDLERS RULE THE WORLD. Eva was fun, playful, giggly, adorable and… VERY FAST. It’s a mighty big world out there and this girl is going to see it all! You can’t go into a session with any toddler having any expectations but you have to go in as open minded as possible and capture the rambunctious fun that toddlerhood is! Because as fast as toddlers are, this age goes by just as fast and you don’t want to miss it! What made this session really special is that it was their first family photo session! Hopefully when I come back next year I’ll see you guys again! =0)

Thank you Dora & Rich for coming out to see me! It was so wonderful catching up since our concert band days! More of the Calgary sessions to come!