I have always loved the magic of Disney. There is just unmatchable magic and happiness associated with anything having to do with a pair of Mickey ears. When Julie extended the invitation to some sail with her on the Disney Dream and sneak in a once-in-a-lifetime photoshoot on the boat, my photographer dreams became reality.
Some of the famous ‘media shoot’ locations on board are next to the red funnels!
A princess overlooking her kingdom!
Life through a porthole
Officer life is the best life!
Officer Julie and Captain Donald!
Castaway Cay, Disney’s private island, is a photographer’s paradise. Shooting beside the turquoise waters and the white beaches is a postcard perfect background!
#islandlife
Rose gold Ears, blue waters and white sandy beaches
Disney Dream
Before we sailed, I found the picture on the left, and said it was the one picture that I wanted to recreate. It was everything I wanted it to be!
Disney is the only cruise line to celebrate every cruise with fireworks at sea
After a cruise at sea with my new friends, I keep asking myself “when can we do this again?!”
In the Hispanic culture, a young woman’s 15th birthday is an event to celebrate! I was so excited to get to celebrate with Amanda and her family on her special day fit for a princess!
A party fit for a princess!
All the pink decorations! The birthday girl is ceremonially gifted her last childhood doll, and their dresses even matched!!
A special ceremony was held welcoming Amanda from the world of a growing up into the world of becoming an adult.
A special father daughter dance is a special part of the reception.
A mariachi band is a special tradition as well! The music was so much fun! Congratulations on your big milestone, Amanda! Here’s to all that the future holds for you!
Celebrating one of my favorite couples, and pup during one of my favorite times of the year! I LOVE shooting in the spring in Branson, the colors are amazing, and they are everywhere! This session will always be remembered as extra special, because it was the last session I got to do before the world went crazy with COVID-19. I’m so thankful we took these pictures when we did, even though it was before their actual anniversary.
“The first time I saw you my heart whispered “that’s the one” and I never let go”
We lovingly refer to this location as “the yellow bush”…and it’s in the most random spot in town. The rest of the empty lot isn’t very scenic at all, but it’s proof that a photographer sees the world a little differently. Add two perfect subjects, and suddenly one bush is all it takes!
“She felt the most free when she as wrapped tightly in his arms”
Before this session, Cat and I were talking about how when she looks back on every session she and Jason have done as couple the session has held it’s own special memory and celebrated ‘the time in their life that…’. That’s why they celebrate every anniversary with a photo session, to remind them of THAT year, THOSE moments and THOSE memories. I love that!
“I choose you. And I’ll choose you over and over. Without pause, without a doubt, in a heartbeat. I’ll keep choosing you.”
“And together, they built a life they love”
Someone once said…”A good marriage isn’t something you find, it’s something you make. And you have to keep on making it.” Cat and Jason are proof of making that decision every day. Oh, and choosing to keep making each other laugh and keep the dogs fed and happy!
I first met this sweet family when Big Sister was a few months old and I went to their house to do a lifestyle session with them. Over the years I’ve gotten to capture some of the most magical sessions with them watching Big Sister grow up. I have been waiting to capture the magic of Little Sister’s arrival for the last (never-ending) 9 months, and it was TRULY a magical moment capturing their first meeting as a family of 4!
Love at 1st sightDaddy and his 3 perfect girls
Watching Big Sister meet her new best friend for the first time brought tears to everyone’e eyes. The sweetest moment ever, and pure love and happiness all around.
Squishy baby cheeks, and ALL that hair!Their 1st game of peek-a-booBest Friends Forever
A rainy day in a hospital room has never been this sweet or perfect. These types of moments are what I love capturing forever! I can’t wait to watch Baby Charlotte grow up surrounded by all the love in this family!
I’ve gotten to celebrate some fun milestones and memories with the adorable Hopkins family over the last few years! I’m so excited to get to help them celebrate this new member joining their family!
Nile was SO excited to get to have fun during this quick mini session, and I think he’s excited to be a big brother come this summer! He said he definitely wants a baby sister…
Downtown Branson is one of my favorite places to do sessions, especially in the winter. The light is just right, and the buildings and historic urban feel just make it all come together.
These next few months are going to fly by, and this sweet new baby is going to be here soon! Can’t wait to meet this sweet little one!
I love taking time every January to look back at the year before, go back through the thousands of pictures the last 12 months have produced, re-live memories I may have forgotten about, think about all the clients that meant so much to me, all the amazing opportunities I had to capture memories here in Branson, Arkansas, Kansas City, South Beach, Peru…it was a year of LOTS of miles under car miles and airplane wings! Let’s take a trip back through 2019…
January
January was a month 60 degree weather, sunsets…and 1 snow storm. I got to shoot at the lake at sunset the 2nd week of January and didn’t freeze my butt off. We shot downtown with B-Town Threads for the launch of their spring line and were only slightly chilly in t-shirts. 96 Miles and I had a great time shooting inside Fritz’s Adventure, their love AND talent are two things I’m super envious of! Cat and I spent 15 minutes in the ONE snow storm of the winter and thought we were going to freeze to death. The Blackwood kids and I braved the cold AND the rain to shoot some promo pics for their grandparents to use as marketing material. Moral of the story, you never know what weather January in Branson will send you…so you work with it! January also always gets me excited about the rest of the year and gives me chance to try new techniques and ideas!
March was the month of weddings (from the photographer who doesn’t do weddings!) It also marked the start of Senior Season with my shoot with Grace that I LOVED! There’s never a bad night at the Branson Ferris Wheel (hollow foggy nights!), more shoots with B-Town Threads, a trip to Miami, Oklahoma with the Massengale family and opening shows on the Showboat Branson Belle! Hello, full swing of the 2019 season!
April
Alllllllll the spring sessions happen in April!! Princess sessions with Everlee, birthday sessions with the Edmonson family, B-Town shoots with Emily and Cat, Bark for Life with Diskey the Wonder Dog, Chiefs sessions with Melody and Billy, Dogwood Canyon during peak dogwood season and the spring musical Peter and the Star Catcher at Parkview High School!
May
May saw maternity sessions, proposals, engagements and Silver Dollar City back in full swing! Sweet Ryker made his entrance into the world just a week or two after we got to do his mama’s maternity session (so glad he waited!) Brandon proposed to Kelsie on the showboat (total surprise) and we got to do their engagement session that same week before he went back to South Africa. I got to sing along with 50s music at Hot Rods and High Heels and my favorite 90s Country tunes with Diamond Rio at Silver Dollar City Country Nights.
June
Sunset flights with Chopper Charter, family sessions in Kansas City AND Branson, Lady Gaga at Legends in Concert, Snow White and The Little Mermaid came out to play at the lake, yoga sessions in Arkansas and crepes at the Ferris Wheel. Summer is in full swing!!
July
Extended family sessions at golden hour, maternity sessions in a field behind a bank (hey, don’t judge locations until you’ve shot there!), family sessions and engagements at Table Rock Lake (they looked at me funny when I asked if they wanted to jump in the lake, but they were all for it!), Kansas City trips for family sessions with some of my long-time forever clients, and SUP yoga sessions at sunset. All the summer feels!
August
Dogwood Canyon sessions with families AND the animals (check out the buffalo and the long horns!!!), Mom and Me shoots at Expresso with two of my favorite models, SIX show and celebrating another year with Terry Wayne’s variety show. I got to meet Doug the Irish Terrier (who loves Expresso as much as I do!), and love and kisses under the lights at wedding receptions.
September
September was a month of never slowing down, barely breathing and soaking in every single moment. I made some of my biggest photography dreams come true getting to shoot at Wonders of Wildlife ( THE PENGUINS!). I got to celebrate with some of my favorite Branson families and help announce a little sister coming in 2020. I got to shoot at a Dierks Bently concert and capture the magic of the #1 Hits of the 60s Show as well as Pumpkin Nights at Silver Dollar City. I capped the month with a mission trip to Peru and got to capture pictures in places I never imagined!
October
October…the month for photographers that’s comparable to April for tax accountants. So much love, so many smiles, so many memories, so many sessions! Kansas City, Big Cedar, Branson…a wedding; newborns; seniors; All. The. Dogs.; families and hayrides. I love EVERYTHING about this season!
More families and senior sessions, sunsets, shooting for Shoji Tabuchi, the Oak Ridge Boys, and getting to celebrate a new coffee shop (Finley Farms is definitely a new favorite!).
Remembering October wouldn’t be complete without remembering the epic proposal I got to help with at Gaston’s Resort. Faking a stolen plane, a proposal on the runway and a helicopter flight home…Michael pulled out all the stops…and I am SO excited for this couple to celebrate forever together!
November
Hello Christmas card season! I LOVE this time of year getting to capture magic for everyone’s Christmas cards!! I got to help celebrate engagements, newborns, Christmas shows, fall theater productions and of course one of my favorite trips of the whole year to It Factor Live. I got to offer lifestyle sessions to all the VIP mastermind attendees at the conference as well as update Brad and Casey’s portfolio as well!
December
I was so thankful this December to purposefully get to take some time and enjoy the Christmas season and all the magic that goes with it this year. Magical nights at Silver Dollar City and Christmas parties with some of my favorite medical staff. I also got to help welcome in the new K9 officer to the Branson PD. And my favorite way to celebrate the end of the decade and the beginning of a new decade, ringing in the New Year with my friends and the crew at the Clay Cooper Theater with the biggest balloon drop in town! Here’s to 2020!
And that’s the year in a VERY short and abbreviated way! Every year I ask myself…could the upcoming year be as full of as many adventures, opportunities and excitement? And every year…the answer has been yes. I can’t wait to celebrate 2020, capture events, memories and all the excitement this year has in store!
The princess sessions strike again! This chickadee may be tired of me before the summer if over…on the other hand…she has enough facial expressions to last for at LEAST the rest of the princess season!
E’s mom and I have such a great time putting these shoots together. Steph has the most amazing creative mind to put together the costumes for both kids, and we all have a great time at sessions laughing and chasing the never-to-be-still princess!
Snow White was next on our Princess list. Add in a few trees, a mirror and an apple that really took the brunt of the evening…and it was like walking into a fairy tale. We just needed the 7 Dwarfs!
“Mirror, mirror….wait, hold up a second…”I know I’m cute
After Snow White decided she was done…it was on to the the water and a mermaid tail!
My favorite part of these sessions is getting to capture the pure genuineness of an almost-two-year-old princess. She doesn’t know ‘who’ she’s supposed to ‘be’ in a princess dress, and yet, she seems to portray the character in her own special, individual way!
All the catching-up happening over here! And re-visiting some of the awesome shoots and opportunities I’ve had this spring! This trip to Miami, OK was one of my favorites! Getting to shoot for one of the most talented families I know, in one of the coolest theaters I’ve gotten to shoot in!
The Coleman Theater opened in 1929 and with a full house, seats 1,600 people. It is the home to the “Mighty Wurlitzer” pipe organ, and one of the most popular events at the theater is the showing of silent movies with soundtrack and sound effects played on the Mighty Wurlitzer!
Melody Hart is one of the most talented fiddle players in the Ozarks. She’s not only talented on stage, but fun, outgoing and kind off stage! She stars in multiple stage shows in Branson, MO as well as Branson Country USA which is seen is million of homes every week. She also tours with her talented husband Wayne, her talented boys Dillon and Garret and her talented band!
Getting to travel to new towns, new theaters, and new locations, especially towns and venues with historical stories behind them are one of my favorite parts of photography! Miami, OK and Route 66 are filled with historical treasures and stories to tell!
Didn’t we all want to be a princess growing up? The dress. The shoes. The prince charming. I wasn’t a princess growing up, but as a photographer…sometimes I get to help make little girls dreams come true!
When big brother volunteers to be Prince Charming for the evening…you don’t tell him no!
Sometimes, the right shoe can make any problem better. Don’t you agree, girls?!
But even a princess has to do laundry on laundry day…
We all know the story of Peter Pan and Wendy and Never Never Land. I learned this spring, thanks to the theater department at Parkview High School that there is a story BEFORE that story! A story about a sailor girl named Molly who rescues a nameless orphan, travels the sea fighting against the pirate Black Stache, saves a chest of star dust…and encounters countless adventures!
The students at Parkview Theater did an astounding job on this production and I was proud to capture their talents and hard work!
TGC Photography 