just because i don’t want her to feel left out, here are a few images from mia’s first year. mia participated in our baby plan, so i got to see her every couple of months for photo sessions. i looked forward to every single one – mia has such a beautiful soul already. she is a kind little girl and so cuddly!! here is a sampling from her first year, including her cake smash storyboard!
the first time i photographed parker, he was about 5 years old. it was also the first time i met his mom and dad, and little did i know how much i would love this family! they are just good people who are an absolute crack-up to be around, and parker is all-around great. (i base my judgement of people solely on how they participate in photo shoots) – parker has always been my perfect “client.” he doesn’t complain, he has manners, and he laughs at my dumb jokes – the trifecta.
for his senior pics, part II (we did a part I in the fall), we headed out to the west bottoms and wandered around. every time i go down there, it is different these days. i love that the area is coming back to life, although i tend to gravitate to the torn down areas for photos!
this year was the year we have talked about for 13 years – his senior pictures year. i put an incredible amount of pressure on myself to make great photos when i love the family so much. i was also able to convince parker’s parents (and fur-sister) to participate…i always love when i can get a family photo (or at least the parents) during the senior session because there is a proudness in parents’ faces that is so obvious. i always love those images (and so do the parents).
congratulations, parker!! your FAVORITE photographer is incredibly proud of you! 😉
these two are just fun. chloe is always smiling and laughing, and greg is always ready to go along with her. i love being around them. somehow, we chose the hottest day of the year for photos, but luckily greg is a sweater too, so we were both dripping sweat together. TMI? 😉 their dog, isabella, was perfect. she smiled, she posed, she chased her ball – everything i want when a pup comes to a photo session. their wedding is just about a month away, and i can’t wait to see all the fun they have planned!!
this little family is one of my favorites! i have known the mama, ashley, since she was a teen-ager, but we used to share a mom. riddle me that, batman. 😉 actually, her mom was my step-mom for many years, and i attribute my scrambled eggs culinary skills to her. ashley and i decided to call ourselves “psuedo-sisters.”
i suppose that means liam is my psuedo-nephew and evelyn is my psuedo-niece. woohoo! liam is turning 3 (obviously), and this little guy has the sweetest little voice you have ever heard. i could listen to him chit chat all day.
miss evelyn has the prettiest face and the biggest eyes. i am going to need her to slow down because she is going to be bigger than liam soon, and that is just going to make for some awkward pictures. heehee
liam and i share a love for thomas trains, so i was geeky-excited that he brought his collection for pictures. my boys loved thomas, and i still have a huge bin full of the engines. i am not sure i will ever be able to part with them. i loved seeing how much liam loved his!
our photo session was great, and even daddy matt joined in. we got some great shots, and i am already looking forward to evelyn’s next milestone photoshoot – sitting up by herself! -w
I have put off writing this post 
because it’s going to be a sad one. The ending of the story hurts my heart, but I really want to tell it. In December, I was asked by Parenting Children with Special Needs magazine if I would be able to photograph a family for an upcoming
cover story. I am always super happy when I am asked to do these photo sessions, so of course I said yes. When I found out who the family was, I was even more excited than usual. The family was the Williams family, and the special little girl was Miranda.
I have known the Williams family since before they were even a family as I have known the mom, Michelle, since we were on the younger end of being teenagers. I knew Michelle when we played violin together in the Raytown High School orchestra, and she was “my ride” to school for several years until I learned to drive. I remember sitting on my deck with her when she told me she was having her first baby, Trent, and I remember thinking she was the strongest friend I had because she went to school, worked, and was a mom all at the same time.
As time does, we 
drifted into our own worlds, but we crossed paths a lot through the years. Michelle married Randy and they had a daughter, Miranda. I even started seeing them at my kids’ school because Miranda and my boys went to the same school. I remember seeing Michelle and Miranda at the school carnival one year, and Miranda looked so cute in pigtails with little bows on them. Shortly after that carnival, I 
found out that Miranda had been diagnosed with a disease. I am not going to pretend I know what the disease is all about, but it’s a mitochondrial disorder called MERRF, and there is no cure.
Fast forward several years, and here we 
are with me being asked to photograph Miranda and her family for the magazine. We had initially thought we would do the photo session in December, but Miranda had a bought with pneumonia and the poor girl was in the hospital for weeks. She finally made it home in January, and I drove to their house on a super cold and rainy Sunday to set up my traveling studio at her house.
I brought a couple backdrops with me, my lights, and an assistant, Amy. Miranda has quite the teen-ager pad set up in the basement. She has two brightly colored rooms to herself, and they are both covered in posters and picture
s. Amy and I got all set up while Miranda hung out with her cousins and two aides. These two aides must be angels sent directly to Miranda. Both of them doted on her, and never lost focus of keeping Miranda happy and safe.
Miranda was just a few days shy of 15 years old on this day. Even though she spends a lot of time in a wheelchair and isn’t super verbal anymore, Miranda is still as sassy and spunky as every teenage girl i have ever met!
This girl has bright red hair and loves her make up! She was wearing the prettiest lip color ever that day, and I learned all about her LipSense addiction. The funniest thing happened when Michelle walked in and Miranda saw her lip color. Miranda started pointing to Michelle and seemed somewhat agitated. As it turns out, Michelle was wearing Miranda’s LipSense, and Miranda totally knew! I was cracking up!
For our first set of photos,Miranda sat in her wheelchair, and I posed her Mom, Dad, and Trent around her. After some family shots, I asked Trent to sit on the arm of the wheelchair next to Miranda. I should have done this pose earlier because Miranda lit up. Her entire face was smiling – this girl loves her brother. I found outthat Trent has been helping take care of Miranda, and it was clear to me that she loves it. How special is it that these two siblings get to spend so much time together?
Miranda was only able to whisper on the day of our photos. Her disorder has weakened her vocal chords, so it’s a huge struggle for her to speak. She does a lot of communication with her eyes and with her smile. I definitely picked up on her language by the end of our session.
I also quickly found out that Miranda is a daddy’s girl – she loved when we sat her on the floor for some shots of her leaning on her d
addy. We added in her mom and brother as well, and we were able to get a series of family images sitting on the floor. Most of Miranda’s 
smiles happened when her two awesome aides were behind me squishing slime into a small canister so it made farting sound. We were all laughing!
I guess I should mention that Miranda has a cart of machines that follows her bright pink wheelchair everywhere she goes. At one point during the photo session, somebody mis-stepped and landed on part of her ventilator and broke it. I was completely impressed when Michelle immediately took control and explained to Miranda’s nurse where the spare parts were. The two of them got the machine fixed fairly swiftly, but I was honestly pr
etty panicked that Miranda would have no air. The girl just sat there calmly and waited for them to fix her vent. That’s how you know when a person completely trusts another – Miranda never panicked because she knew her mom had the situation under control.
After about 90 minutes, we finished up the photo session. I came home and got to work prettying up the images we had made. I loved working on them, and was sending sneaks over to Michelle on facebook. I was literally so happy that I was able to make these images for her. I think Miranda had a good time too, and that is always important to me as well.
The magazine came out about a month or so later, and as usual, I was completely proud to see my photogr
aph on the cover. I was extra happy that it was a photograph of my friend and her family. A couple weeks after the article debuted, Miranda’s doctors told her family that it was time for hospice care. Miranda’s body was too tired to fight any more. When I heard the news, I was just so sad. I have seen hundreds of photos on facebook showing friends and family coming to see Miranda and say good-bye. It seems like all day long during this week, a stream of photos of friends and family with Miranda takes over my feed. I love it.
I started writing this blog last week, but I could never finish it because I would just get sad. Last night, though, I read the news that made me even sadder. Yesterday, on Easter morning, Miranda smiled her last good-bye. I will never understand why little children have to take on these massive diseases, and I will never understand why a parent has to say to good-bye to their baby. Like I said at the beginning, there is no happy ending to this story. I am happy, though, I was able to make these photos for Michelle and Randy and Trent and all the family and friends who love Miranda. She will be missed by so many people, and I hope her photos can bring a peace to those who love her.
i got to meet this sweet angel recently for her newborn photo session. she is just delicious! i fell in love the moment i saw her. when she arrived with her mama and daddy, her mom let me feed her. i was in baby heaven. once she finished her bottle, we headed out into the studio to begin photos. i had several sets planned for a sleeping baby, but alyvia was afraid she would miss the party, so she kept her eyes wide open.
we moved to plan b, and i started posing her in some nice awake poses. i do like to get a nice family shot with the baby awake, so alyvia was a perfect model for that.i thought after we got some family shots, alyvia would be exhausted…i was wrong. 🙂
it took us over an hour to get herto sleep. luckily, alyvia’s parents are way cool, so i had a fun time getting to really know them. her poor daddy was so sleepy that at one point we looked over and he was totally asleep in the chair. poor guy.
we finally got alyvia to close her eyes, and once she gave in to sleep, i was in “go mode.” we were able to get a bunch of gorgeous shots of her, and she slept right through it. success!
alyvia was so well-behaved that i convinced her parents to stay an extra hour so i could get more photos of her. i think starvation had set in for chris by the time i finished. we kept talking about what restaurant they were going to head to. (they talked about mexican food so much that i had to get some chips and salsa for myself that night too!)
it was a great photo session, and i am definitely looking forward to more with this family. i promise the next one won’t take as long! thanks for being so cooperative, chris and aveon, and of course, baby alyvia!!
these two make my heart smile. when they came over to chat about wedding plans and pictures, i knew i had to be a part of this wedding – even if it was just as a guest! lucky for me, they chose me as their wedding photographer! thank you siera and jake!!!
the location for the wedding was the historic Belvoir Winery in liberty, missouri. This winery used to be a sort of group home,and it is known now for it’s frequent paranormal activity. my mom and my sister are always dragging me on ghost hunts and making me watch shows about the paranormal, so i knew immediately that my sister, Laura, would be my extra assistant for this wedding (and let me tell you, she was stoked!).
when laura,myself, and amy (my other assistant) arrived for the wedding day, i felt my usual wedding-day mix of excitement and nerves. Laura couldn’t get in the building fast enough to start feeling for spirits, and poor amy was more than willing to hang back and wait for laura to scope the place out alone. haha.
we found siera with her bridesmaids and mom getting all dolled up in the bridal suite – what a cool space this was! siera had already ordered her first starbucks with her new name on it. ijust thought that was so cute. the boys were in the room next to us, playing video games, and treating this day like just another friday the 13th (did i mention the wedding was also on friday the 13th?!).
when i saw siera’s dress for the first time, i am pretty sure i audibly gasped. it was gorgeous! she had it custom-made, and i am sure i will never see another dress like it again. the dress was all black with a red lace overlay on the bodice. it had a full skirt and a banded waistline.
i could not wait for her to get into the dress! she also planned for the entire bridal party to wear red converse – love!!
once everybody was dressed, we headed outside to the belvoir grounds for photos. somehow, siera+jake chose the hottest friday the 13th ever for their wedding. i was sweating so much that my hair was soggy and stuck to my face – the exact description of a hot mess.
siera looked gorgeous! we followed her around with a small fan and even hid it behind her bouquet so she wouldn’t melt.
we set up a “first look” for siera and jake at the base of the stairs to the main winery building. siera walked down the stairs, and her dress billowed out behind her – it was stunning. when jake saw her, his smile was as big as his face. siera also could not stop smiling. and in turn, i couldn’t stop smiling either (although i may have appeared to be crying due to all the sweat dripping down my face).
siera and jake, along with my photo entourage, walked down to the metal and concrete gazebo near the fountain. we made a bunch of photos there, and we also created several in the grassy area. i could have photographed these two all day. we eventually made our way back to the main building for the group photos. everybody was super cooperative, and we were laughing the entire time (it also helps that we were at location serving alcohol – this tends to keep everybody happy and agreeable).
the ceremony was awesome. the bridal party gets to walk down this super long path as they enter the ceremony area. siera’s dad walked with her down the long path, and they eventually met up with siera’s mom at the fountain. both of her parents escorted her down the aisle to jake. i loved it (if you were looking closely at me, you may have noticed those pesky sweat tears again).
siera’s grand-pa, boob (yes, boob. not a typo), officiated the ceremony. he made it very funny, and he was dressed to perfectly match the theme of the wedding, with a “six-shooter,” a huge bible, and full-on garb from the era. it was perfect.
after the ceremony, the bridal party joined us for more photos at the nearby cemetery (thank you to siera’s brother, sage, for driving us. i am glad i was in the cab of the truck and not the bed though, as sage would be perfectly suited to drive in a nascar race.)
the sun began setting as we were in the cemetery, which added a perfect glow to all the shots back there. (and not to worry, we were very respectful of the graves). after our cemetery shots, we found some abandoned buildings on the property that were awesome for photos. we did some very old-fashioned poses, and boob even stuck his head out of a window to create this super-creepy shot that is one of my favorites.
while we were setting up the creepy shot, i started hearing some shuffling and strange sounds coming from the building beside us. since the sun was setting, it was getting dark and very spooky in our location. i looked at my sister, and she immediatly perked up when she heard the sound. i am not kidding when i say this girl put on her game face, like she was being called up to the major leagues of ghost hunting. she started tip-toeing to the building, and the rest of the bridal party started to go inside. (meanwhile, poor amy was gripping the side of sage’s truck and not going anywhere near that building).
the group made their way inside, and i suddenly heard a bunch of screams! i jumped just from nervous energy. as fast as i heard them scream, i heard them start laughing. it wasn’t a spirit at all – it was siera’s dad, craig, hiding in the building and just waiting for his chance to scare the snot out of all of us. (he was successful).
after our fake-poltergiest encounter, we headed in to the reception. i have one word for the food – italian. it’s pretty hard to top macaroni and cheese in my world. actually, it’s impossible. the reception was a good one – people were dancing and laughing and just having an excellent time. the best man gave one of the best speeches i have heard – everyone was laughing and crying at the same time. dilly dilly! the father-daughter dance definitely brought me to tears (but, let’s just call it sweat, shall we?). as siera danced with her dad, i had to keep wiping off my viewfinder because my tears kept fogging it up. i happened to look up, and i noticed siera’s mom, kristi, video-ing this dance. she could barely hold the phone steady because she was constantly wiping away tears. i had to look away so that i didn’t start ugly crying. the entire room was losing it. (*tip: if you want your entire reception to be sobbing, choose “i can only imagine” for your daddy-daughter dance).
the night ended with no paranormal activity, which totally bummed my sister out. amy, however, was relieved. and i was just so happy to crank down my air conditioning to arctic-cold temperatures. siera and jake’s wedding was one i will always remember. it was a great day, and the entire group was fun. i loved being a part of this day! siera and jake – congratulations!!!
in january, i had a photoshoot unlike any i have ever participated in! i was meeting a friend of mine and her son, who was a senior, for a “quick session.” since i have four boys of my own, i know these quick boy sessions very well. 🙂
i met her and her son, aaron, on a cloudy morning at a dusty loading dock behind a building. she told me she just wanted a few photos and not to go overboard. (i do tend to go overboard.) aaron was in agreement that he didn’t want to spend too much time making these photos. i kept my focus and chatted up aaron – one of my favorite parts of photo sessions is learning about the person i am photographing. aaron told me that he graduated early, and he was leaving for bootcamp the following week.
as a mom of boys, and the daughter of a retired air force captain, i am always a tinge sad when i hear the somebody is deploying. aaron, though, was super excited, and so was his mom. he had been in rotc during high school, and he knew exactly what he wanted to do in the air force. his mom was so proud and told me how she was happy he was going to get to see the world. i had never saw it that way. aaron went on to tell me that he was going to train in SERE, and that he will eventually train others how to survive in tricky situations. i was so impressed by him!
we finished up at our grungy urban set, and i asked aaron and his mom if they wanted to try any other locations, or if they felt like we got “it.” aaron jumps in and tells me about this cave nearby that would ma
ke for cool shots – did this mean he wanted to keep the photo shoot going?? when a senior boy has fun at a photo session, i feel like i have succeeded.
so we agree to hike over to this cave, and i must say i was a bit apprehensive because i am not in my best shape 😉 , and i tend to injure myself just walking normally. i was also wearing Sanuks, which i can guarantee are not rated for hiking through mud. aaron suggests i put target sacks over my shoes to keep me from sinking in the mud and ruining the shoes. i felt completely stupid, but i did what he said. and guess what?? it worked!! he told me to walk on the leaves instead of the mud so i wouldn’t slip, and that worked too! i have to admit, i was impressed.
we found the cave, and it was absolutely worth it! we got some killer shots, and i learned so much cool stuff. i was just so impressed with aaron, and i am positive he is going to do great things. it makes me so proud that young men like him are protecting our America.
thank you Aaron!
i am always trying to choose the perfect location for our photo sessions. i want to make sure the location fits the personality of the person, and also that it matches the vision the family has in mind for their images. i am hoping this little location guide will help us all make sure we are in the perfect spot!
CROSSROADS ART DISTRICT
i love love love the crossroads district! it has a little bit of everything. there is graffiti…brick walls…garage doors…vines and leaves….alleys …and TONS of color!
RAILROAD PARK
railroad park is a great park in blue springs. it is exactly what you think of when you think of a park – lots of green, trees, a lake, and (bonus!) a gazebo.
DOWNTOWN KANSAS CITY
now that we are growing a cool downtown area, it is fun to head down there for some adventures in photography.
UNITY VILLAGE – THE WOODS
my favorite secret spot is the back woods at unity. i love going back here! normally there aren’t any other people back there, and there are un-mowed fields and quite possibly the coolest bathroom structure i have ever seen.
THE WEST BOTTOMS
this is a great spot for graffiti. the colors are super bright, so it makes for super happy photos. there is also a lot of grunge down there – plenty of old doors and ramps and metal stairs. definitely plan to come home dirty, but it is such a fun experience!
BURR OAK WOODS
Burr Oak Woods is a true treasure in Blue Springs. it is beautiful at all times of the year with lots of trees and fields and trails. there is a gorgeous area of woods that is perfect for so many different ideas.
KAUFFMAN STADIUM
so many of us are royals fans, and what better place than to show of that love than kauffman stadium?
LAKE JACOMO
if you wanting a raw, outdoorsy style of photo, this is the place. there are so many little spots at lake jacomo that i haven’t even begun to discover them all. the lake is huge, and there are tons of trees and coves, and a lot of sailboats!
LIGGETT PARK
i kind of made up the name “liggett park” because it really isn’t exactly park. it’s more of a parking lot with some cool surroundings. that said, i LOVE this little bit of beauty. it’s a great location for boys (little boys, senior boys, and especially daddy boys) because it is small enough that they know it will be a quick session, but it has a lot of nooks for tons of variety.
LOOSE PARK
loose park is kansas city’s version of central park…wowzas. it’s always gorgeous. it’s full of trees, a lake, a rose garden, fields, bridges….sigh, it’s just all around lovely.
DOWNTOWN BLUE SPRINGS
downtown blue springs is a great location for a mini session. it’s not gigantic and overwhelming, and yet it is super charming.
DOWNTOWN LEE’S SUMMIT
if you want a mini downtown, lee’s summit has it! there is an urban feel to it, but there are also bits of small town. it has so much to offer, and something different around every corner.
JAMES A REED WILDLIFE RESERVE
this is one of kansas city’s most beautiful, serene locations. there are lakes, docks, trails, fields, flowers, bridges – everything you want from a nature location. depending on the time of year, you can find sunflowers, wildflowers, berries, field grass, but it is always gorgeous.
LIBERTY MEMORIAL
this is the place if you want our city skyline in the background. they have a huge yard to play in as well as lots of stone and tile textures. there is also a huge stairway that looks great too!
PINK HILL PARK
pink hill park is located in blue springs. it is a small little park with lots of grassy area and trees – it is gorgeous in the fall and spring. there are lots of huge trees too that make for great climbing.
POWELL GARDENS
Powell Gardens is just outside of Kansas City, and it has a million beautiful little spots for photos. there are bridges, pergolas, water, and obviously, TONS of flowers. There is a small fee to enter the gardens, but it’s worth it.
simply|moore STUDIO “PARK”
i wish it was as big as a park, but the yard at my studio is quite nice for photos. it works best for small families and kids or seniors. i have some huge boulders, a wildflower garden (in the summer), a koi pond with waterfall, and trees. it’s perfect when you want outdoor images, but want to keep it simple.
welcome to the newly revamped simply|moore blog! I have tried blogging several times, and I just never follow through. the thing is – I love writing! so, this time, I am all in! I want this blog to be a place where I share my photography and my life. you may learn more about me than you care to. 😉
I have always been making photos. I love that phrase – making photographs. it sounds so beautiful. making portraits really is a beautiful thing – as long as I don’t have to be on the other side of the camera.
that’s sounds terrible, I know. I am trying to be better. I really am. I realize that there are very few photos of me and my mom when I was a little girl. there are tons of me and my sister, but few of us with our mom. the two I have found are true treasures to me, and I wish there were more. I want to be able to give my boys enough photos of us together so they never have that feeling.
for the past year, I have tried extra hard to make sure I am in photos with my boys, and my husband. I will never be as thin as I would like, or as stylish as I hope, but my boys aren’t looking for that. when I was little, my mom was the most beautiful person on earth. I like to think my boys feel that way about me, no matter how I feel about myself. of course, in all honesty, I absolutely photoshop every single photo of myself that I print or upload – a little “help” in the fitness and style departments never hurt anybody. heehee
so here in my “hello” message, I am also encouraging all you beautiful women out there to not forget to make photographs of yourself. you are beautiful, and you deserve to feel that way! any photoshop after the portrait is made can be our little secret.
show kindness – wendy
