hocus outta focus

Happy Birthday, Genna!

She started out as a client. Then she became an intern. And then she became a friend. Today, she's like family.

Most of my client's know her. You've seen her on the blog before. She's often with me at shoots and over the last couple of years she's practically been my right hand. She is such a blessing to me and my business. Her dedication, enthusiasm and creativity are just a few of the many things that make her so amazing. 

I adore her. My family adores her. And I know all of my clients adore her, too. 

Happy 20th Birthday, Genna! 

Lots of love, 

H

Anytime Is The Right Time | My Family Portraits

Last year, my friend Deb Schwedhelm wrote a blog post and posed the following question: Is there ever a perfect time to have photographs taken of your family?

I strongly encourage you to read her entire post, but in short, the answer is no. There is no perfect time. I know Deb would agree that anytime is the right time. We've both heard clients say, I'm too fat or I'm growing my hair out or I'm waiting for my son to get his braces off...and a whole slew of other reasons why NOT to have your family portraits taken. 

Life is precious. Every single moment. And you never know what's around the corner so take all those reasons and excuses and throw them out the window. RIGHT. THIS. SECOND.

Twenty, thirty, even forty years from now the last thing your kids and grandkids will say when they look at your family photos is, "Wow, I really wish Mom would have lost some weight before this picture was taken". They'll just be happy to have them. And so will you.

I'm guilty of it. I hate being in front of the camera. I'm way more comfortable behind it, but for my kids' sake I've got to hand it over now and then.

Last summer after a session I handed the camera over to the makeup artist and had her snap this shot of me.

Was it a little scary? Maybe even a little uncomfortable? Yes. But did I survive? Yes. And I even loved the shot.

A few years ago my best friend Misty Bull and I shot each other's families. It was a super quick session - just enough for a shot for a holiday card but Misty got this amazing image that we printed as a 24x36 on canvas for our living room and we simply adore it.  

Same thing when my fabulous friend Monica McAtee and I shot each other's families at a carnival in 2009.

It was disorganized chaos (at best) and we barely pulled off a few shots of our families and our kids. While I love those images like crazy, I realized the last time we had an actual family session was in 2006 when the amazing Laura Siebert and I traded sessions. I wish I had those images handy because I'd love to share a few. Can you say waaaay too many hard drives?

So, this past November I enlisted my dear friend and fabulous photographer Tracy Routh to shoot our family and I couldn't be happier with the results. Now that I've (finally) sent out my new years cards I can actually share the whole session. 

Ahhh...my peeps! I love them so.

Being the photographer I have hardly any photos of myself with my girls so these are especially dear to me. 

I love that Tracy captured those missing teeth. There's just nothing cuter than a toothless grin.

I'm pretty sure this one will be a HUGE print in our bedroom. I just love it!

This was probably my favorite family image. It made the front of our card.

But I love these, too...

And this is SOOOOO Rilee - always cracking herself up in such a dramatic way.

We couldn't leave Frankie out of the action. Silly little weiner dog.

Quite possibly one of my all time favorites of our girls!

Thank you, Tracy, for the amazing gift of our family photos. We love them and we're forever grateful for your talent and friendship. 

I've made a promise to myself to not let another year go by without doing a full family session. 

So, what are you waiting for? There's no time like the present! In fact, call me during the month of February to schedule your 2011 family session and receive a $100 print credit. 913.722.3046

Until next time, keep smiling!

H

My Peeps

I got to borrow a friend's new camera yesterday for a commercial shoot and I snuck in a few shots of my peeps beforehand. 

Roo.

Lu.

Hope you've had a fabulous Monday! 

H

 

A Long Overdue Share | My Peeps

Rilee turns eight this month so we've been working on her party invitation.  I'm not sure who's more excited about the animal theme - me or her!   

And how is it possible for my little freckle-faced Lucee to be six (and a half)?  

Hopefully I'll get around to some more blogging over the weekend.  I've got LOTS to share, but that big to do list is calling my name. 

Happy Friday, friends!

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Back to School and Booking Up | Fall Portrait Sessions

If you're anything like me you don't get much done in the summer other than playing with your kids and enjoying the time you have together.  This was one of the best summers we've ever had.  I worked less, played more.  And loved every minute of it.  Here are a few random shots from our summer adventures.

We dove right in.

We ate popsicles. (sometimes for dinner)

We got haircuts.

We took road trips.

We camped and fished.

We sang and danced with Funky Mama.

We rode horses.

We went to theater in the park.

We went to baseball games.

We wore silly hats.

We (tried to) rescue injured creatures.

We spent time with friends.

We dipped our toes in the cold creek water.

We went waterskiing.

And now it's back to school.

I can always tell when the kids go back to school because the phone starts ringing and the emails start pouring in, everyone wanting to book their fall portrait sessions.  Once the kids go back to school moms have more time on their hands to take care of business.  In the last week alone I've booked more sessions than I can even count.

Most of our weekends are now booked, but we've got a few weekdays left.  If you're thinking about a fall session, now's the time to schedule!  Call us at 913.722.3046 or email [email protected].

Until next time,

H

I Hate Goodbyes

If I've photographed you in the past year, you've likely met her.  She's a client, turned intern, turned dear, dear friend.  I was thrilled to get to photograph Genna in the summer of 2009 and even more thrilled to learn she had an interest in photography. 


 

It wasn't long into her senior portrait session when I offered her my 2009-2010 intern position.  She's been invaluable to me this last year, taking time to join me for so many sessions.  She's a very talented photographer an absolutely incredible young woman. 

We've spent a lot of time shooting, editing, grabbing late-night dinners, chatting about photography and our love of food, fashion, music, iPhone apps and....just life in general.  We've got a lot in common and we've had a great time getting to know one another.  I've been blessed to have her in my life and I'm not the only one who adores her.  My girls are simply crazy for her, too!  Genna and her mom are like family to us. 

The three of us had a lovely dinner tonight.

In a couple of days Genna will head off to college and while I will miss her dearly, I can't wait to see what life has in store for her.  She will do great things.  I just know she will.  

I hate goodbyes, so I'll just say this...Genna, you are amazing in every way.  You are wise and strong, you are beautiful and kind and you are a gift to those who have the privilege of knowing you.  Stay true to who you are and please, please stay in touch.  

With lots of love,
H

Brain Purge

So much on my mind tonight, but it's all just kind of running together so here goes...

Last week Chris and I celebrated our eighth anniversary.  We had lunch at Classic Cup where I really would have fought him for the last bite of Goat and Garlic (but being the great husband he is, he let me have it).  It's a roasting of goat cheese and garlic, served with a spicy tomato sauce and olive oil bruschetta.  It's one of our favorite appetizers in all of Kansas City.

After lunch we stopped by the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art.

We both loved David Bates : The Katrina Paintings.  Admission is free and it's a great, little afternoon getaway to help you beat the heat.  

And speaking of beating the heat...we also visited Glacé Artisan Ice Cream, the newest venture of famed Kansas City chocolatier Christopher Elbow.  I could have sampled every flavor and I think they actually would have let me, but I settled on Fleur de Sel Caramel and Salted Pretzel.  Chris had the Venezuelan Dark Chocolate and the surprisingly sophisticated Peanut Butter and Jelly.  I wasn't expecting to like that one, but it was incredible! 

To celebrate Father's Day we spent a few days camping at Crawford State Park.  Stop trying to wipe the smudges from your screens, people.  This is not a typo.  I camp.  In a tent.  Outside.  For real.  And I'll swear on the last bite of Goat and Garlic.  It was crazy hot, but we had a good time.  It's always nice to get away and just spend time together.

My birthday is coming up and I like to start celebrating early.  What better way to celebrate than to buy myself an early birthday gift, right?  I ordered this gorgeous necklace from CuteAbility.  You can't tell in this image, but it's on a 24 inch chain and she's going to add two more chains to bulk it up a bit.  I've already started planning an outfit around the necklace.  Everyone knows the foundation of every great outfit is either shoes or jewelry!  Can't wait for it to arrive.  Will post a pic of the final piece when it comes. 

And tonight, I had my first Mexican Coke, which may explain why I'm so wound up.  How have I, Heather Morrow who speaks to NO ONE until she's had a Coke in the morning, never had a MEXICAN Coke?  Have you tried it?  It's like Heaven in a bottle.

Oh, and P.S. - I hate raccoons.  Before my fast, little fingers could click the publish button I heard a noise coming from my back yard.  I swear I heard my patio furniture moving around and then I heard glass break.  HELLO, FULL ON FREAK OUT!!!  The husband is on duty and the kids are at grandma's so I called 911.  The three officers that responded found two raccoons had moved a wrought iron table on the back porch to get to the glass jar where we keep our cat food.  They knocked the jar down the stairs and were enjoying a lovely, late night meal while I was inside having a heart attack.  EFFING RACCOONS! 

I'll be sharing a couple of recent sessions this week so stay tuned.

Somebody Pass The Twinkies, Please.

The day before Father's Day Chris came home with this.   

Really?  REALLY???  And don't even start with the, "but he's so cute" and the "he looks so sweet".  That's what he said.  But you must know that this dog is a complete pain in the butt.  He's torn through screens...three of them to be exact.  He's thrown up in the house...at least four times - the dummy likes to eat grass.  And he even ran off.  For three days. 

If the girls didn't love him so much I would have played the witchy woman card and sent that dog packing. 

It's not that I don't like dogs, it's just that right now I need a dog like I need to eat another freaking box of twinkies.  And now we need two dog houses.  One for Oz and one for Chris.  He's gonna owe me for this one.  BIG TIME!!!    

Beetle Juice! Beetle Juice! Beetle Juice!

Okay, they're not beetles, but it's just not the same when you say, "Cicada juice!  Cicada juice!  Cicada juice!"  I'm re-organizing hard drives and stumbled upon these shots from last fall that I never posted.

So, I'm deeply concentrated, channeling my inner National Geographic photographer when my prankster husband comes up beside me, tickles my arm and yells out, "There's one on you!  There's one on you!"  Wish someone had a camera on me at that moment.  That might have been a record high vertical jump.  I'm a total girl and I'm soooo not a bug person so I totally freaked.  You know, jumping around screaming, arms flailing about.  Not pretty.  At all!  Yeah, maybe I'm glad nobody had a camera on me afterall. 

The girls heard me screaming and wanted to know what we were looking at so Chris picked one up so The Lu could get a closer look.

When he put it back on the rope he found it on we realized his fingers had torn off the tips of the wings and we noticed some kind of fluid seeping out of the ends.  We touched it and it kinda felt like baby oil.  It was crazy.

I'd love to know more about it.  If only there were more hours in the day.  I'd do some googling, but instead I'll take the lazy route.  Blog about it and hope a reader knows or is incredibly bored and decides to google it for me.  *wink*wink*

Have a fantastic day!
H

Happy Father's Day!

When it comes to parenting I'm the disciplinarian and Chris is the fun one, which is probably why this quote struck such a chord with me. 

My father used to play with my brother and me in the yard.  Mother would come out and say, "You're tearing up the grass."  "We're not raising grass," Dad would reply.  "We're raising boys."  -Harmon Killebrew

We're raising girls, but the same theory applies and I can always count on Chris to remind me of this.  He's such an incredible father. He's a provider and a protector.  He's a storyteller and a snuggler.  He's a hide-and-go seeker and a human jungle gym.  He's a boo-boo fixer and a buddy.  If you were to ask, I'm sure our girls would tell you he hung the moon.  Of course he did.  He's their daddy and he's their hero.

I'll probably never get over the amazement I have for the relationship between Chris and our daughters and these next two shots pretty much sum it up.   

They simply adore him.

I grew up without a dad, but I had an amazing grandpa (and a couple of awesome uncles) who stepped up and played that part - and then some.  Papa was always such an inspiration to me, and Chris actually reminds me a lot of him.  You know...the kind of man who will drop anything, anytime for his kids because nothing is more important to him.  I learned a lot about life from Papa and I know our girls will learn so much from Chris.

Whether you're a father or a father figure, you've got a very important job.  The most important one you'll ever have.    

He didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it.  -Clarence Budington Kelland

Happy Father's Day!