kaley from kansas

i can’t even describe what a day this was. 715 for brunch, wind in our hair, an afternoon drive through beautiful parts of lawrence. places that i had no idea about. camera in hand, friends by my side, and even a couple polaroids taken? probably my best day in lawrence thus far!

here are a few photographs from that afternoon with elyse + justin. woo!

hello, friends.

it’s sunday night and i couldn’t help but post this tonight instead of the morning. it’s just too beautiful.

tara and kyle are new parents to the beautiful little babe, ivy sue. i have been looking forward to this shoot for quite some time, and so happy that i got the chance to work with this amazing family.

kyle owns his own construction business, check it out here! he actually built tara’s parents’ home on the konza prairie. this home is gorgeous! it sits up on one of manhattan’s flint hills and looks out over 100 acres of land. this is where the shoot took place. i was more than excited to pull in to the farley ranch.

i always hope to do shoots where i can get my hands dirty, literally. stomp through mud, lay on the ground, hike through the woods, etc. that’s exactly the type of shoot this was and i was so thrilled!

despite the wind and a little chill, ivy did amazing and tara and kyle are going to be wonderful parents. there’s something so attractive about a new dad, so i wanted to photograph how special kyle and ivy were together, and the fact that he told tara how beautiful she was up on this hill with their new love. it made my heart happy!

congratulations on your new family, tara + kyle! here is part one of your story .

happy thursday mornin’

meet aubrey and michael. this is their wedding story. they got married on a chilly day in march at this outdoorsy hideaway called lake of the forest.  we had beautiful overcast light with which these two made my job so easy. they are both so genuine and their faith inspires me.

one of my favorite things about this wedding was the story behind this lucky penny that aubrey had with her on this day. her granddad found a penny, heads up on the day her mother was born. from that day on, until he passed, he carried it in his wallet. how incredible!

i thought i would ask aubrey and michael a few questions about their big day:

how did it feel to see each other for the first time?

M: I was incredibly nervous before seeing her and incredibly calm after.

A: I don’t think I have ever been so excited about something in my entire life. I had butterflies times a million. I could not stop smiling.

what was the first thing that drew you two to one another before you started dating?

M: I just loved how sweet, outgoing and friendly she always was and is.

A: I loved the way he made me laugh and everything. He was always trying to get me to smile.

What was your favorite part about the wedding?

M: Seeing Aubrey and her dress for the first time.

A: Being able to be with every single one of my loved ones in one place.

i loved working with these two. they were so outgoing and up for anything. i can’t wait to see what the future holds. congratulations, hubbards!

be inspirational.

become inspired.

inspiration is out there.

find it.

I am a Kansas native. A visual storyteller. A young, freckled, ginger with a creative mind and a soulful heart. I am inspired daily by fashion, music, and my environment.

I take the environment around me and turn it into something magical. I pay attention to detail. I like to inspire others by what’s around, even if they can’t see it.

I show them.

I like one’s lifestyle. I like to photograph friends, family, strangers, couples, randomness and just embrace the creativity that flows through me.

I feel as if I would be able to lend my spirit, hand, and creative knowledge to the Urban environment.

Within this project, I was inspired by a beautiful couple after 7 years of marriage who still exudes a certain playfulness and whimsey, a girl who finds, collects, and wears effortlessly, an object enthusiast who inspires me with her talent, beauty, and friendship, a blond who has great heart and an eye for fashion, and my best friend who continually wow’s me and who lights up any room.

These are just a few of the people who left inspiration at my feet and exhilarated my eye over the past year.

Now I am going to let the images speak for themselves.

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what’s playing?

“breakers” by local natives

Happy happy Tuesday!

How great is it to be able to photograph in your hometown? I have never shot a full session in Ottawa until Ashton asked me to do their engagement session.

I’ve known Ashton for years and years. We have plenty of fun high school memories with some college ones thrown in there. We played varsity soccer, were both editors of our high school paper senior year. we also had our share of embarrassing moments. Then reality hits and some of your closest friends go to KU while you go off to Manhattan.

I’m happy to say we have stayed in touch and I was so excited to photograph her and Clint. Ashton is rarely seen without a pair of heels so when she said she forgot shoes on the day of her session, I just laughed. She ended up having them brought by so we had plenty of options. She was so fun to photograph because she’s a little beauty who I made Clint pick up quite a few times. He actually got pretty into the shoot towards the end. I’ve always known Clint to be witty and a crowd pleaser. You can tell he has a good heart and I feel like these two are great together. I can’t wait to see what the future holds.

Ottawa can be quite the picture-taking little town. We used Clint’s blanket from his Grandma and we caught the sunset on one of the most gorgeous days in january.

Enjoy!