The Fothen Family....

I went to grade school with Kim, so when she contacted me through facebook to do a family session with her family, I was thrilled! I LOVE catching up with friends from my past. And then, she told me she had TWIN GIRLS!! And anyone who knows me somewhat well, knows I LOVE twins!!!! So, I was even more excited about the session. Here are just a few of my favorites from this session. ENJOY!


Absolutely love this picture. Both Tim and Kim love their sweet twins...


I was driving to the session wondering if Kim remembered playing babydolls in Kindergarten with me and trolls/barbies as we got older. And the first few things we talked about was how we used to have so much fun playing. This was such a special session for me. (Poor Tim had to just listen as we caught up on allll of life since 8th grade!) Kim, you are just as gorgeous as I remembered you, and your family is wonderful!


Fav. family picture!


Ava and Claire...sweet little babies!


We were taking pictures and Tim said, "They have found each other." LOL! It was the cutest thing, as soon as they noticed each other, they couldn't take their eyes off each other.


FAVORITE OF THE DAY!!! Love how twins interact!


Claire is adorable and was so very alert the whole photoshoot. She loved looking into the camera and you could tell she was really thinking about everything going on. She is just so adorable!


Ava is just as cute as her twin!!! She was so focused on the park and it was great seening how different twins can be. My favorite thing Ava did was hold her hands together. She did it almost the whole photoshoot. It was adorable!


Tim, Kim, Claire, and Ava, it was WONDERFUL doing your session!! Kim, I loved catching up with you!

The Wonderful Meyer Family!!!

The Meyer family is a family that is close to my heart. I was so excited to shoot their session! Here are some of my favorites from their session with me:

When you start out a session with this gorgeous light and a wonderfully gorgeous family, you know the session is going to rock your socks off!


The wonderful family!!! Norm and Krista just light up together, and Hugh just makes them light up even more...




Norm and Hugh...love this one!


And Hugh gives Krista some sweet kisses...


FAV. of the day! Hugh is just adorable!!!!




Oh, did I mention, Krista is pregnant!!! She is so cute and pregnant with a sweet, little girl!


Hugh loves putting on his daddy's glasses...so these candids just made us all laugh!

NASCAR & Miss California!

I had the amazing opportunity to go to NASCAR at Gateway International Raceway to take pictures of the cars from the garage and pit...and hang out with Miss California. It was a wonderful day and I had a blast...never been to NASCAR and it was very fun. It was a rush; feeling the wind rush past you as the cars flew by going 130 plus miles per hour.

This was where all the trailers were stationed inside the track. It was awesome and very cool to be able to stand onto the trailer and see the racecars.


I was in the "garage" and they just told me, "watch out for the cars..." they come in fast of the track. I was a little scared that I was going to get hit. BUT I made it safely through!


Millions of tires around!






Miss California and awesome SUN!


Some of you might know these racecar drivers...see if you know anyone!




LOVE this one!! Gorgeous day plus cool candid!

Grantham Family Session!

I have a few favorite people in this world that I get to photograph and Mary Kay is one of those people! I love her and her family!!! They are incredible people and I feel blessed to know them all! I met Mary Kay through the amazing Breakdown STL group that Tony and I do photography for. When I met Mary Kay I immediately had a connection with her nd was super excited last year when she asked me to do a photoshoot for her amazing daughters. This year, I got to meet with her family for a photoshoot, plus I got to meet her mom, dad, and grandmother. It was awesome! Here are some favs. of the day:

The whole family!




Whenever I do families with grandparents, parents, etc, I always think it is a good idea to still do a few family pictures and this was my favorite picture of the Grantham family!


Sisters! Ashley and Hailey are amazing girls who are gorgeous inside and out!!! I think that the bond between sisters is...well, beyond words. So I always love taking sister pictures, especially when they make a point to ask for the pictures!


Mary Kay, you could not be more gorgeous...Dodd, you are looking good, too, man!


It was their anniversary!


Mary Kay and her parents...and I am going to add this here, her dad is HILARIOUS! He had me laughing the WHOLE photoshoot. I really hope to do another session with him soon, he loved the camera!




At the end of the sessions, Dodd, Mary Kay, and the girls work their Breakdown shirts. Breakdown is their life and ministry! LOVE this shot!


They asked for a silly picture, and Mary Kay said, "I'm not that strong..." and just then she dropped Ashley...got this picture right in the knick of time!

Only TWICE a year....BOUDOIR MARATHON!!

Twice a year I have a boudoir marathon. Starting off the year,on January 22nd, I am having a wonderful boudoir marathon! This is PERFECT timing to give your hubby the HOTTEST Valentine's gift ever! I have sessions running from 12pm-7pm. Every boudoir session is completely personalized to you!!!

Here are all the details:
Where: The Wildwood Hotel in Wildwood, MO
How to book: Send me an email to lifesnotstaged@yahoo.com to inquiry and/or book your session. $200 retainer is due to secure your session. The balance (including tax) is not due until your session.
Where to see samples: Ladies, simply email me to see a sample session online.

$250 (plus tax) Pretty Pink Package:
* One hour session with studio lighting
* 30 finished images on a CD with copyright release (Review your pictures through a password protected gallery to pick your favorite 30 pictures.)
* 1 female photographer (Kristen)
* Up to three lingerie changes

$375 (plus tax) Red HOT Package:
* One hour session with studio lighting
* 40 finished images on a CD with copyright release (Review your pictures through a password protected gallery to pick your favorite 40 pictures.)
* 20 page 8x8 coffee table book
* 1 female photographer (Kristen)
* Up to four lingerie changes

$575 (plus tax) Sassy DIVA Package:
* One hour session with studio lighting
* 40 MAGAZINE EDITED images on a CD with copyright release (Review your pictures through a password protected gallery to pick your favorite 45 pictures.) These pictures will blow you away with the amazing editing done above and beyond conventional editing. These pictures are ready for the magazines....you will look like a flawless MODEL!!
* 20 page 8x8 coffee table book
* 1 female photographer (Kristen)
* Up to four lingerie changes

(Note: Your pictures will NOT appear on our blog or website!!!)

Here are some comments from my January 2010 boudoir's session:
"It was awesome, you made it such a comfortable and fun experience. I was kinda nervous going in and my thought was, "I'm never going to do this again" but once the photo shoot was under way I was thinking, "I need to do this once a year!" :) It was so up beat. I love the way the pics turned out, they're super classy and my Hubs is gonna die!"

"You did an amazing job again! I absolutely love them and I know my husband will too! Thank you thank you thank you! You made me feel very comfortable and at ease!"

"I had so much fun at my session! I'm normally a fairly reserved person, but you made me feel really comfortable. I had the freedom to be creative with my shots and you gave me great direction and posing tips. The photos are beautiful and I can't wait for my husband to see them!"

Hannes' Senior Picture

Hannes came to the states this year as a German exchange student. He is currently living with one of my favorite brides, Natalie!! It was wonderful catching up with Natalie and her friend Ashleigh at the session...plus I got to meet the incredible senior, Hannes. He plays football and has an incredible personality. I had so much fun taking his pictures. Here are some of my favorites from the session!!!


He has such a wonderful smile, it actually makes me smile instantly when I see it!


I love this picture...the shadowing/lighting is rockin' here...and so is Hannes.


And here is Hannes and his "mom", Natalie:


And Hannes brought his football jersey...loving it!




I love candid pictures of people walking...this one is no exception!


FAV of the day!!!


Hannes, you are a wonderful guy! I had so much fun taking your senior pictures...have a wonderful year next year and enjoy all that life has in store for you!

Kevin & Jennifer :: Engaged!!

Pretty sure that I laughed more at this engagement session than any other! Kevin and Jennifer had me smiling and laughing the whole time. I had a wonderful time during this session and am looking forward to their May 2011 wedding! (And as crazy as this is, I know the time will fly by and their wedding will be here before we know it!)

Enjoy some of my favorites from their session:




Love this picture....the sun makes me sooo happy in this picture!


The bling....Kevin did a NICE job!


The happy couple!


My favorite of the day! They are just so in love and all smiles!


Jennifer, you are just gorgeous! Can't wait to take your pictures on your wedding day!




Kevin and Jennifer, can't wait till May....looking forward to your big day!