Shanon & Kyle

    Shanon & Kyle’s recent engagement shoot was more fun than I can shake a… camera… at. (‘Cept that would’ve made for blurry pictures).

    One of my favorite parts of working with a client is the part that happens before I ever pick up a camera, or before the day of the shoot even rolls around. It’s when we sit down to

                                                        BRAINSTORM

     which is a thing that is easy to forget to do. But brainstorming can mean everything. When we get to take that time to collaborate and I have the opportunity to challenge my subjects to think about what makes them who they really are, great things happen. 

 This shoot basically functioned as an ongoing series in which each idea led into another, all taking place at the home that Shanon & Kyle built together.

  Hope you have fun looking through these!

 

it’s all lovey-dovey until the 2nd level. 

some people kind of get into it. 

we switched from Kyle’s favorite hobby to Shanon’s- painting. 

loved the silhouettes here. 

SNOW DAY

    I was sitting in the coffeeshop looking at the snow earlier this week, when it hit me: I’d be kind of lame, after complaining about not having snow all winter, if I didn’t go shoot something in this. 

     So I threw up an impromptu invite on the 9art facebook page and set up a couple of snow-romping-mini-shoots to celebrate the white stuff. We’ll open with the Fishers… Campbell, Kimberly, & little Truman.

 

this one cracks me up… if you know Campbell at all, you know he can be a little ridiculous… and when I asked if they would sit in the snow (which Kimberly promptly did) Campbell asked if THIS pose would work so he didn’t have to get his pants wet…

Next up is Jordan… she’d already done some of her senior pictures, but couldn’t resist the opportunity to take a few more in the snow after her aunt (the lovely Sarah) let her know about the special I was running.

 Hope YOU enjoyed the snow too, this week… talk to you all soon! 

-Mark 

Samantha + Greg :: post marriage engagement photos?

    Sometimes, folks are already married and realize they never had the proper chance to have engagement photos taken. I’m always excited to hear from people in this situation… I very much enjoy working with couples and enjoy seeing love continue to be celebrated after the vows have already been said; whether that’s 5 decades later, or less than a year.

    These two have only been married a short while…and Greg is in the Navy, stationed in Washington DC and here for only a week on leave. I was so honored to have been contacted to take up even a small fraction of the short time they had together for this.

    To make things more interesting, I also decided to take my minivan off-roading that day and got stuck in the mud/ice. Alright, so off-roading wasn’t my real goal… I was actually location scouting and parked in a not-so-smart place to park. Samantha & Greg were very kind to come pick me up so we could do the shoot anyway, and were also brave enough to withstand the freezing temperatures and wind that day.

So thankful for clients like these. 🙂

   

Caroline, session 3 (+ olivia)

    If you’ve followed my work or this blog for any length of time, you’ll recognize these two…a couple of my favorite little muses from springfield missouri, Olivia & Caroline. Olivia wrapped up her baby’s 1st year plan last year and Caroline began hers this year. Can’t believe we’re already on our third session…

As always, a million thanks to Sarah (the mama) for putting so much thought into outfits, props, & location- her planning always makes it worth the drive to springfield- and for just being awesome and having such outrageously cute children. My goodness.

almost just seems like this one has never had her portrait taken, you know? 😉

the set up. sometimes that’s my favorite picture of all.

Max on the move! 2 yr session

    Max is a kiddo w/ a pretty awesome toddler advantage; his parents own a gym. You know how little boys like to scoot around as much as possible… but most don’t have constant access to poles, trampolines, & gymnastic know how. 

    So, of course, we started this session off at ‘Amplify’ gym here in Joplin, owned by some mutual friends of mine & Leslie & Casey, Max’s parents. We then headed to a relative’s house to finish up. Couldn’t have asked for a cuter kid or better outfits/props… I think I had even more fun photographing this session than I did Max’s 1 year session back in 2011. 

   I live for shoots like this! 🙂

a ‘behind the scenes’ shot…. 🙂

love the way he hops down steps. Max’s super movement is certainly not confined to the gym….

Max’s much loved cousin. She’s a princess, in case you couldn’t tell.

 

baby Truman; the story we haven’t told

   Some of you that keep up with my work- or know me personally- may recognize this couple:

They are old friends of mine, Campbell & Kimberly Fisher. There is, however, a THIRD member of their little family you HAVEN’T seen… even though I’ve been taking pictures of him for the last year. He’s been referred to as ‘baby K’, his identity somewhat protected until now since he has been in the foster care program, w/ the Fishers serving as his temporary guardians since he was just a few days old. 

The word ‘temporary’ bites the dust today. In fact, as of RIGHT NOW, the Fishers are officially baby K’s parents; having legally adopted him after a very long, anxious wait to be able to do so.

Now that it is official, I have the very great pleasure of being able to show you a few shots from sessions over the last few months that I haven’t been able to display until now. 

So, so, overjoyed & excited for my friends on this day as they are able to make their family complete. 

And baby K, henceforth, can be known by his official adopted name; Truman Kade Fisher.  

SESSION 1:

SESSION 2:

SESSION 3:

 

baby agnes (& family!)

    You know it’s going to be a good shoot when the dad is wearing a shirt you just bought the night before and you (the photographer) are wearing a shirt that he’d like to go buy today. Great minds think alike… or maybe just ridiculous ones…

     Well the shoot was meant to be for baby agnes, but of course there were plenty of shots of mom, dad and big brother henry. Such an adorable baby girl, and such a funny, wonderful family!

    For something different, scroll to the end of the post… the boys had to have some fun too, you know.

baby Olivia :: session 4

    Another baby’s 1st year package comes to a close…. doesn’t feel like it’s been a whole year since I started working with little Olivia. I feel much better about wrapping up the package with the thought that we’re not really done… Olivia has a little sibling on the way, so I’ll be back for more pictures in no time. 🙂

    And for you photo-happy technical followers… there’s a little something for you down closer to the bottom of this post. 

The following 2 images really display the balance I try to achieve between natural light 
& off camera flash; both of which I’m in love with… depending on the setting.

#1: Obviously, it’s all off-camera-flash here. w/out that pop of light on little Olivia, she’d either be real dark, or to bring her into the light, the gorgeous city backdrop would be blown out. Long live OCF! 

#2: Here’s a totally different look, within a few feet of the last shot; but when keeping in mind the difference in the subject (a more tender moment, lighter outfit), the difference in the backdrop (the beautiful trees back there weren’t in full sun, therefore not as bright) & even the direction of the subject (her facing a different way meant the light reflected on her in a different way… the light structure below her acted more as a big reflector here…), it led to a completely different approach; no flash needed. In fact, I think flash on these shots would have just been overkill. 

It’s a delicate balance, playing the strobist way of lighting without letting it get in the way of pre-existing light that can be magic all on its’ own. A balance I’m constantly working on when I shoot. 

What are your thoughts on lighting, photogs?

   

Ashley :: senior 2011

      I did senior pictures for Ashley Wilson’s sister Haily last year.. as a matter of fact, a couple of those shots are hanging up in the studio. So it was a lot of fun to work with this family again and to get to meet Ashley, who of course has a completely different personality from her sister. We took it to the park to snatch up those first bits of green making their way into the scene… I am really loving the ivy. 

      You’ll see one last Wilson sister when she becomes a senior in a couple more years… we’re not through yet!

dallas ::: senior 2011

      I love this shoot. Dallas was the perfect senior for me to ‘experiment’ with in the basement, elevator, & roof of the loft apartment of a friend of Dallas’ family. You can see me going crazy with the motion blur on the final shot. A little extra artsy for me.

Dallas really got into the shoot, playing the part of pro model while I had fun with the amazing settings that happen to be 1/2 a block from my studio (what are the odds?). See more on my facebook page…