Cole & Carrie | Lebanon, MO Senior Photography

They're just like peas & carrots, but as different as black and white. Sweet and structured. Artsy and funny. Cole and Carrie were my first seniors in my small hometown of Lebanon, MO, and boy they are something!

 Despite some adverse situations these two have faced together, there was no shortage of smiles, jokes and banter to go around during our session outside of Lebanon. The first stop was a place near and dear to both, their sweet little church where some close family members had been laid to rest. Locations with such strong emotional ties really do make for great shots.

We packed up shop and convoyed down the road to the next stop, land that their father once owned that the twins will soon inherit. The old barn was his pet project until he passed so finding forgotten family momentos shrouded in dust made the experience one to remember for all of us.

Carrie is by far the driven, assertive, go-getter of the pair. A bit of a tomboy at heart, she's sweet and kind and knows exactly what she wants out of life.

Ever the jokester, Cole has style, passion and creativity that's evident from the moment you meet him.  I loved hearing the excitement in his voice as we talked about the Lebanon high school football teamthat he and Carrie help manage (Go Yellow Jackets!)

We wrapped up the session with some gorgeous light at a location that my fiance and his business partner own, just down the road from my own house.

Hip.

Lovely.

Cole & Carrie, you both were fabulous; I'm so blessed to call you part of the BigStar Seniors Family! Best wishes on a future that's full of promise...oh, and...Go Yellow Jackets!

To watch Cole & Carrie's Session Preview, look below!

-KB

Sweet Teyha | Lebanon, MO Children's Photographer

I'm pretty sure I squealed when I got Joslyn's text.

Barely able to contain my excitement, I texted my childhood friend back, I would LOVE to photograph Teyha!

Between barrel racing on the same NBHA circuit, showing lambs against each other and playing on the same basketball teams, Joslyn and I spent a good deal of time together growing up in our little hometown. As with many childhood friendships, we drifted apart but I always enjoyed running into her at Target or on Facebook. 

Her text request was extraordinarily flattering and gave me a chance to catch up with my old friend during her daughter's early morning session in Cheyenne. It was Trail Days week, and if you grew up in Southeast Wyoming, you know what fun there is to be had at all the festivities held in our small hometown. We wanted to wrap up our session with enough time to allow Joslyn, Dustin and Teyha to make it back for the Trail Days Parade. 

After chugging down my go-to morning drink (Starbucks nonfat chai with cinnamon), I met the Thompson's at one of my favorite shooting locations in Cheyenne. 

During our pre-session consult, Joslyn mentioned that our session would probably progress smoother if Teyha was outside. True to prediction, it only took a couple rounds of Itsy Bitsy Spider for her to warm up to me.

That's one of the benefits of shooting children; thanks to my goofy personality, I'm usually one of the funniest people at the session. :)

Plus, this tutu?? It kills me! Too adorable!

Oh, sweet Teyha! Such a darling girl with two awesome parents. Just a few more years and we'll be doing her senior pictures ;)

See Teyha's Session Preview Video by clicking below. Have a fabulous week!

-KB

Ty | Wheatland, WY Senior Photogrpaher

Back in Wyoming, August means only one thing.

Not Back-to-School Time.

Not Soak-up-the-end-of-the-summer-by-the-pool Time

No, no my friends. August in Wyoming is County Fair Time. Ty's mom and I were unsure about when the best time for scheduling Ty's session since their county fair would just be wrapping up and state fair would kick off soon after. I knew that Ty really wanted to have some shots with his show steers so we decided to kick off the session at at the ole Platte County Fair.

Instead of just shooting him and his steers in a nice patch of green grass with trees, I opted for keeping context in the photos and shooting them right by his stall set up at the fair. Plus, we could get his family's farm sign in the background, which is kinda neat.

Ty is so soft spoken (and uber smart!) I had to work my tail off to get a chuckle out of the kid. 

We got to spend part of our session at, hands down, one of the coolest locations I've had the chance to shoot in - an old sugar beet processing plant. You can see more about the great location here.

Ahhh, I just adore this photo in B/W...

 We found ourselves back at Ty's farm as our session was winding up, and as I walked past this old barn stacked full of hay, I knew it would be a winner. The light from the big door was just perfect and the setting was fitting for an country boy from Wyoming. Dontcha think?!?

Pensive. Serious. Intelligent. Just a great BigStar Senior!

-KB