photography and design by lindy rhodes
Last weekend I shot family photos in the Leawood area, and despite the extreme Kansas heat, it didn’t slow down the energy of these adorable boys (or their parents)! I always enjoy shooting photos for this family – they’re so kind and so much fun. And those eyes on the boys!
With spring comes warmer weather…and wind! We definitely fought wind this portrait session, but the kiddos (and parents) did great. I couldn’t believe how much little Ethan smiled and posed for the camera. I’ve been doing this family’s photos since their engagement session close to a decade ago. Those photos were actually at the same park – in the wintertime! They live on the other side of the country now, but we’re always able to catch up when they come back to visit.
Last weekend I took photos of my most loyal customers at a new location to us – Lake Lenexa.! Even though the fall leaves weren’t quite at peak yet, the colors and the setting were gorgeous. And I snapped a few extras of their sweet, independent girl – who is almost three!
Check out last year’s portraits here.
I was so excited when this family reached out to me to take photos at Ted Grinter’s Sunflower Field near Lawrence, Kansas. I had wanted to take pictures there last year but didn’t have the opportunity. Farmer Ted plants acres and acres of sunflowers and lets the public come visit and take photos free of charge. What an amazing place!
The beautiful views, coupled with the little guy’s huge smiles and adorable dimples, made for an awesome photo shoot. I have so many favorite images from this session! This is just a handful.
If you wonder why I only book portrait sessions at the beginning or end of the day – this is why. We squeezed in a visit to Grinter Farms last week between church and lunch, which was unfortunately right around noon – the worst possible time of day to take outdoor photos. Notice the sun beating down on us, the awful shadows on our faces, and the squinty eyes? The “golden hour” right before sunset or right after sunrise is the best time for natural light. I will say I’m still happy we got to visit this huge, beautiful sunflower field. Next year we’ll be sure to visit much earlier or later in the day so I can get even better photos.
One of thousands, maybe even millions, of sunflowers at Grinter Farms, in … you guessed it … Kansas (the sunflower state).
I’ve been busy editing portrait sessions, so I just now got around to editing personal photos from last weekend. I had Friday off work for Independence Day, so we had a busy day with family and friends. We started the morning off at Deanna Rose Farmstead. To my surprise, Lil’ Miss K had no fear feeding the ducks or goats. She let those goat gobble pellets right out of her hand! She even speaks their language – she kept yelling “baa!” at them.
After that we drove to my in-laws’ a few hours away, where we visited my husband’s grandma in the nursing home and went to a fun park in Independence, Kansas. Lil’ Miss K had a blast riding the carousel and train, which cost a whopping nickel and a quarter each. Nothing like good ol’ fashioned family fun!
(I was having so much fun being Mommy that I really slacked in the photographer department. I kept handing my camera to my husband all day – so thanks to him and my brother-in-law Matt for these photos.)
