Elfkin | St. Louis Lifestyle Photographers

Posted on November 28, 2010

We have a visitor that comes the day after Thanksgiving and leaves us the night before Christmas. His name is Elfkin. He is our Elf on a Shelf and we learned about the tradition last year HERE. The kids LOVE it. And last year I rocked it! Elfkin did crazy things and hid in funny places which the kids loved. Because you see, the purpose of Elfkin is he watches over the kids during the day and at night he magically flies back to Santa to let him know how good they’re being! And then every morning he comes back and hides in a new spot. So that when the kids wake up the first thing they do is look for Elfkin. I’m talking running and screaming through the house looking for him and then running and screaming into our room at the crack of dawn to drag us out of bed to show us where he’s hiding.. .you know… right where we hid him the night before!

So Friday the kids woke up and found Elfkin sitting on Bailey’s horse up high in their room. And they almost DIED they were SO excited!

Then Saturday they woke up and found Elfkin sitting on Bailey’s horse up high in their room. And when Bailey came in all concerned that he hadn’t visited Santa I told her there was a HUGE snow storm and he couldn’t make the trip. Which she told everyone she met that day because she was so worried about Santa!

Then today they woke up and found Elfkin sitting on Bailey’s horse up high in their room. Because I suck at being a parent and forgot AGAIN to hide the damn elf! And when Bailey came running into our room at 6am today to tell us that Elfkin STILL hadn’t moved all I could do was roll over, look at C and mouth “SHIT!”

Luckily my five year old and her younger siblings still believe ANYTHING I tell them and as soon as they went downstairs I ran into their room, moved the damn elf and wrote a note that “explained” it all… turning Elfkin into a SNEAKY little elf this year!

When we went up to get dressed Bailey noticed right away that he was gone and couldn’t believe her eyes! Here is a couple pics of her finding him this morning…

She then ran right down to show Daddy Elfkin’s SILLY note!

And she was so proud she could read it herself!

Tonight, the SECOND they all fell asleep I moved him! UGH! I’m going to have to write a note on my hand or something this year! If you haven’t tried this tradition, it’s worth it… it’ll be a fun family tradition for years I think b/c you know I’m totally hiding this little guy when they come home from college still! HA!

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Mohr. The Final.

Posted on November 24, 2010

I’ve had croup coughing+puking kids for days and now I’m not feeling awesome. Perfect timing for Thanksgiving!

So although I just NEED to go to sleep I wanted to finish this tonight for Katie, Russ, Joe and Dana… because I know they’re dying to see the rest of the sneak peek!

I’m not gonna lie. I am in love with these images.

But this one just totally gets me! Save the date card? Yes please!

Kim’s on vacation enjoying her family and I will be praying the plaque leaves our house asap! My nieces are in town and I want to love on them so I am hoping a good nights sleep will help! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

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styled part two | St. Louis Engagement Photographers

Posted on November 23, 2010

When we first started the session on Saturday we were on a roof. And the first thing I did when we got up there was spin around singing CHIM CHIMNEY CHIM CHIMNEY… HA! But seriously, the roof was awesome. And we were there FOREVER working with the lights and letting Katie pose Dana+Joe before we headed to the second location (from the images up last night). It was so so great though! We’ve never had so many awesome+creative people at one session and it was incredible! Katie and Russ are a creative force to be reckoned with! They are so talented and we love working with them… Katie wrote about the session HERE if you want to hear her take on the day!

I’m going to show you some behind the scenes shots in case you’re curious what we were doing! I’m sure most of you understand and know how to use lights outside a studio, and I guess we do too (Kim is really the master of lights!) but some of you might not so if this can help, great!

See Russ holding the lights in both photos? The wind was brisk enough it kept threatening to take the entire light away!

So before I show you some of the shots we got with the light… here are a couple that I took with just natural lighting. I really did love what we got with the light, but I will always love natural light as well. It’s just where my heart is I think. But I’d love to hear what you think! And now, how about some LIGHT!

And I might as well start with the BEST shots of the day! HA! These were while we were testing the light… inspired by my singing maybe? SO funny!

Now for the REAL photos! Sorry Russ, but I HAD to! You know Katie would have done it too… it’s all for the blog!

I’m not crazy, I swear! HA! I just had to post this though!

And our beautifully creative couple!

Thanks again Katie+Russ and Joe+Dana… one more post coming tomorrow and then we’re taking a break for Thanksgiving!

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a styled photo shoot | the mohrs | St. Louis Engagement Photographers

Posted on November 22, 2010

I’m sure you all know the Mohrs by now. They were my VERY FIRST Jodified family and since then they have moved effortlessly into Fresh Art. We look forward to their sessions literally more than any others because all of us love to push the envelope more and more each time. We’ve taken them to new+crazy locations, tried new styling ideas and now attempted to take our studio lighting out into the world experimenting with light! It’s always a new adventure and always a ton of fun!

This time was different on SO MANY levels. First, we used lighting in an entirely new way, pushing ourselves in ways we never have before. Second, we gave up complete creative control! We told Katie and Russ to pick the locations, choose the wardrobes, get their hair+make-up done professionally and gather+plan the props. That’s huge! Normally we have some idea of where the shoot is headed and this time we didn’t. We literally showed up at their house, followed them to the locations and just made sure to rock the shots! THEY DID ALL THE WORK!

And you guys, they ROCKED it. They brought along their sweet+young friends, Dana and Joe, who are newly engaged to be the models… and then of course they brought their son so they could get in some of the shots too! They rocked it SO much that we are working on a way to get them on our payroll! We’d LOVE to have someone to work with who can do all the leg work and planning (with our input of course)… so look for a new session to be added in 2011 that includes hair+make-up+styling! SO excited about this!

The images are SO different from the session that I’m breaking this sneak peek up into many parts. It’s also a super fun way to spend the days leading up to the holiday! SO here are just a few from one of the set-ups Katie and Russ thought of and executed beautifully. I’m really proud of what a good team we all make because they’ll have to let us know, but I think we understood their vision perfectly and I am SO in love with these images!

This one was taken while we were setting up but I had to post it because there’s something about it that I love!

I am kind of obsessed with this shot. Dana and Joe. Happy engagement you guys! And then we tried to recreate it with the addition of a four year old!

Oh man. I can’t tell you how much I love this session! Kim and I agreed we are buying some equipment so we can offer these types of sessions to more couples!

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to Katie and Russ and Dana and Joe for sticking with us for the SEVEN hour session and for Ninfa for the awesome hair+make-up!

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the Burke family | Webster Groves Family Photographers

Posted on November 21, 2010

Was this weekend awesome for anyone else? Today it felt like Christmas was in the air for the first time. I had mulling spice simmering on the stove, I made pumpkin bread (Trader Joes), we played soccer outside, the girls climbed trees, everyone took long naps, I helped Terri rearrange part of the kitchen, I planned Christmas surprises, I cooked dinner for our family of eight (it’s hard for me to cook for 5 so cooking for 8 is nearly impossible!), we celebrated Parker’s birthday with GoGo, Bubba and Uncle Jack and we ended the day with a little movie night watching The Grinch. It was awesome. So so awesome. We had to skip church to make it happen but you knownwhat? Sometimes you have to sacrifice to create good family time you know?

And I love family time. It’s fun to be with friends and there are times I wish we had lots of kids living near us for the kids to play with, but truly, I love that we are together so much as a family. I love that my kids play together so well and that I really enjoy the days I get to BE with them. I had Friday off work and aside from a SIX hour photo shoot yesterday I have been with the kiddos non-stop. And I feel more like myself now. So much more like myself.

I have never worked so much outside the home since I had kids. And it’s been really hard. Good in lots of ways too but hard. I love being home with my kids. I love jammie days and playing on the floor and art projects. I love myself as a non-busy mom. But that’s not my reality right now. Right now I’m working outside the home 40 hours a week (part for KCCI and part for Fresh Art), I run the kids around, do the normal mom stuff like grocery shopping and still work at least 4 hours a night for Fresh Art (and that’s not counting how much we work on the weekends!). It’s tough. Two full time jobs. And three young kids who I really want to spend my time with.

SO ANYWAY.

This was a much needed and very relaxing weekend!

And this post was SUPPOSED to be about our sweet friends the Burkes! HA! Totally unlike me to get off track right?

We met the Burkes one day when I was picking up Bailey from school and she was going to DIE if she didn’t have a play date with her new friend Vivian. And Vivian being a little social director wrote her number on a scrap of paper to give me! It was hysterical! SO Jill and I started chatting and since then, as I’ve gotten to know their whole family more, I know we’ve been blessed to have them in our lives. Bailey and Viv are so cute together, Jill and I got to be partners on the last field trip and her older girls actually knew Chris from summer soccer camps! Oh and if you ask the girls what their families have in common they will tell you that both their dad’s are named Chris and HAVE NO HAIR! HA!

I don’t do this often, but I adore this family so when they invited us over for dinner (and were brave enough to have three young people run around their house!) I brought my camera and we had an impromptu photo shoot. Just super quick, in their back yard, as the sun dipped behind the trees. I guess it’s the benefit of having a photographer as a friend right? HA!

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Jenny | St. Louis Maternity Photographers

Posted on November 20, 2010

Last week on a COLD and blustery day we met up with Jenny and her two sweet boys downtown for her maternity session. We love using our maternity mini session as a way to capture those last days with your children before the new baby arrives and changes the family dynamic adding in a bit of perfect chaos! SO it was great to meet Cooper and Aidan because they are going to be GREAT big brothers to their soon-to-be baby sister!

They couldn’t be any cuter could they? They are laughing here because I was pulling Kim’s hair! I pull Kim’s hair a lot actually! HA! I’m sure she’s not totally sick of that little trick of mine!

Jenny wanted 90% of the session to be about the boys and the rest to be about her or her+boys… but seriously… she’s so cute we have so many good ones of her! And her and the boys laughing (hair pulling again) just kill me! SO cute!

These next two are some of my favorites… I was trying to get a shot of Jenny but the boys kept running over to her… so we made a game of it and they loved every second!

I just love those!

And this last shot of Jenny?

Gorgeous.

And you can’t tell that she’s in the middle of the city sitting on garbage in this shot can you? Doesn’t it look like she’s out in the country or something? I LOVE what a camera can do!

And speaking of what a camera can do… we are leaving in 10 minutes to go EXPERIMENT! PLAY! With our cameras and new locations and two awesome couples! One newly engaged and one happily married! Anyway, you guys, if we can do what we HOPE to do we’ll have some fun new shots to show you! We are SO excited!

Thanks to Jenny and her boys for coming out on such a chilly day! I hope you love your sneak peek!

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because this is totally blog worthy!

Posted on November 18, 2010

In case you don’t follow us on Facebook (you should! ha!) yesterday we opened up questions in the discussion section of our FB page and it was SO fun hearing from everyone! But then at the end of the night I wrote one page of questions to Kim… and tonight she answered! And now I just think it’s totally worth posting here!

1. Where do you find the motivation to ROCK OUT your weight loss?

2. What’s your favorite part of having a gazillion kids?

3. How do you keep the crazy of life in order?

4. What’s your favorite part of a photo shoot? The sigh at the end in the car? HA!

5. What EXCITES you about our work?

HOW MUCH DO YOU LOVE WORKING WITH ME? HA!

Anyone else have a question for the amazing mom of seven?

Kim’s response…

1. I think I’m more stubborn than motivated most of the time… ha! Then knowing I feel better and better, keeps me moving! Blog post to come as I have now passed the 70 pound down mark!

2. Never a dull moment! I have to say, our game nights are pretty darn rockin’… and I always look around and smile that we have so much fun together.

3. I don’t think I’m always in very good order, and am always always striving to be more organized.

4. HA! Definitely the sigh, especially after knowing we totally ROCKED out a session!

5. Always thinking of new ideas and how we are going to bring them to fruition… then seeing it all come together. I also get giddy when I see something we’ve both shot at the same exact time… seeing our two unique perspectives is so cool, and I think it’s an exciting thing to be able to offer our clients!

We go together like peas & carrots, my friend!

If you have any questions we will be checking the discussions tab when we can!

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