Allison Carenza
Beyond the shot, is a warmth
Maternity Photography~ Kansas City
I have been taking so many pictures of bellies lately! I absolutely love it. Pregnant women are stunning and Deanna is no different. Here is the story of our wonderful time together.
Deanna tried for years to get preganant with her now ex husband before they finally gave up. With severe Endometriosis and cancer in her past the doctors told her she was unable to conceive. So she stopped trying, and stopped worrying about it all together. She has a huge family with tons of nephews and nieces that she was very close to. She had accepted the role as an aunt as her reality, and the closest she was ever going to get to being a mommy. After her divorce she started living her life again. No worries of babies or trying to make babies. She started dating a long time friend, and you can see where this is going. That’s when she got the news!
She was surprised to say the least and her mom was so surprised that she didn’t even believe her.
Deanna you are going to make an awesome mommy! Thanks for letting me take your maternity pictures, I had a blast! I can’t wait to meet the little man.
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4 Generation Photos ~ Kansas City Photographer
And this is a four generation picture!
Meet Great Grandma Cora, Grandma Karen, Mama Cindy, and Baby Kenley! I know that first you noticed the beautiful women in the picture, then you probably noticed that they all have the same warm smile.
I noticed those things too and then I wondered. I wondered what a picture of my Memo, Marnie, Mom and I would have looked like. And then I wish. Wish I had that very picture. This picture is timeless just like the women in it. We all want to go out being remembered and I think this picture does just that, helps you remember, linking the past to the future.
Let me tell you about my wonderful experience with these ladies. Cindy came to me months ago for maternity pictures, then newborn, and then she told me she wanted a 4 generation picture. I was in awe, and excited, and nervous all at the same time. This was the first time I’d done anything like this and I totally understood the importance and value of what I was about to document. History.
From the moment they stepped into my studio we were bubbling over with laughter, tears, and amazing conversation. And of course there was lots of googooing and gagaing on Kenley’s part. I’m sure she was entirely overwhelmed by the whole experience.
Now for the tears. I’m not the mushy emotional type. I get the uncomfortable lump in my throat in movies on occasion, but rarely do I cry. I think of life as a series of experiences that are just tha,t experiences. But this moment, the one you’re seeing below, brought me to tears. Let me explain.
You see I didn’t realize that Karen had just finished her chemo treatments a few months before our shoot. While talking about her battle with cancer and eventual victory she told me that her motivation was baby Kenley. She wanted to see Kenley become a woman. So I asked her if she would be willing to throw the wig off for a bit. She was more than willing. I guess those things are itchy. While watching Karen interact with Kenley the room got quiet. All the joyful, bubbly laughter was gone in the wake of raw emotion. This will be one of those moments I get to store away for a rainy day.
I wish I were a better writer so I could do Karen’s story justice, but really the story isn’t about one woman overcoming cancer it’s about a group of women that love and support eachother with unconditionally. In the center of it all, baby Kenley!
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Kansas City Baby Portraits ~ Sophia
Sophia is the beautiful daughter of Bethany and Zachary! I had so much fun taking their pictures. Get ready for cute, cute, cute!
Sophia had the most beautiful blue eyes. She was also bubbling over with smiles, which makes my job sooo easy. Sophia’s smile is the reason I love my job so much. When you look into her eyes you see pure joy. Where else can you find that.
ahhhh!
Below is a new shot I’m experimenting with. I haven’t quite perfected it, but I do like the effect. The light is just right on little girls face, but I haven’t quite got the parents lit like I want. It’s such a challenge to play with creative lighting when you’re working with little ones. I guess I need to invest in a nice doll.
Now you see what I mean. Smiley, happy baby in all the pictures! What a doll! Thanks guys, I look forward to seeing you again soon!
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Everglades ~ Photos of the natural reserve and some GATORS
I love traveling! I love taking pictures of my traveling. In fact travel photography is probably my big passion.
Jon and I went to south Florida for a spring break this year! Everyone with me now ahhhhh….. Ah is right, we stayed with my best friend and little sis Maggie! Mags is a photographer as well. She does amazing work and I know those of you that have followed my blog for awhile have heard me talk about her alot. I encourage you to check out her work if you have the chance. She’s the best wedding photographer in the world and was recently choosen as one of the top 10 wedding photographers in south Florida. She is a real inspiration to me. www.maggiestolzberg.com Anyway enough talking about the amazing, loving, perfect mags, let me tell you about the pics.
Of course we picked the gloomiest day to go south, but the treat of continued rain the rest of the week pushed us to go when we did. As it turned out we had happy Florida sun almost every day.
Jon and I took an airboat ride. It was awesome. http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-2819920-miccosukee_indian_village_airboat_rides_miami-i For only 12 dollars we got a loud, fast and fun airboat ride. If you don’t mind the cotton balls, and the fact that the guide can’t speak english, it’s the best. We saw a ton of gators. I got some crazy pics of a few. Just wait, it’s kinda scary. Maybe I should put one of those warnings on here. Ok here it is!
Yup that was a for real sign. They have to tell people not to touch them! I think those people might be me. Just wait.
During our boat ride we made a stop off at this worn out old dock. They told us to roam around. I’m not going to lie, the thought that this was some sort of dirty trick did cross my mind. I thought maybe that’s how the Native Americans kept the gators happy. Tourists as gator food. We walked around and saw some gators. smile! If you think it looks like it might fall apart you’re not seeing things, I thought that too.
Here she is, and yes I’m using a zoom, but still leaning out over the rickedy planks to get an unobstructed shot. NOW that I look at these pics I’m not thinking it was the smartest thing I’ve ever done. If my memory serves me right I think I remember in the crockodile hunter that they can be real fast and snappy. Maybe gators are more laid back, look at this next pic.
She was sleepy..
I know close right. I didn’t even crop this. ahhhh. Look at that skin. Makes you want to reach out and touch it right? Jon had to tell me to step away from the gator.
This big girl was actually about 10 feeet long. I told Jon to put a hand out so we could get perspective, but he wouldn’t. Silly boy.
And then this was at the backside of the dock. Maybe you have an answer?
Here’s goober one and goober two. We always manage to look so cool in our pictures. I just don’t know how we do it. haha!
If you made it this far thanks for reading or looking. I would love to hear your gator stories. YOU know you’ve got them!
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Baby Nolan
This is baby Nolan with his parents Carrie and Brian! He is one adorable little guy. He was so alert during our shoot he was all about having fun! Looking everywhere including the camera. We got so many great shots, but here are a few of my favorites. I love his big laugh. Brian was actually over my shoulder making a hilarious noise/face at him. He just couldn’t stop laughing. This is one of many. It’s pretty funny what we’ll do to get a good smile.
Ahhhh….
Ahhhh…
And there there are those blue eyes. Actually there are some cute little teeth in there too, but you can’t see them in this picture. What a fun baby. I can’t wait to capture some more of Nolan as he grows in his first year!
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