{Dilks Family Portrait Session | June 2012 | Davis-Monthan Air Force Base | Tucson, AZ}
Mariby found me online as she 'searched the snot' (slight paraphrase of how she described her photographer hunt) for a family portrait photographer. I had yet to shoot on base and was THRILLED to hear of her different ideas with red, white and blue and her desire to capture her little girl's 1st year. Both Mariby & Ken beam with pride to be an air force family! | lkm
Sotello Family | Tucson Baby Portraits
{Baby Sotello | March 2012 | Tucson, AZ}
Little bundles of humanity...babies are really mind-blowing for me. I just can't quite wrap my head around that this ball of helpless awesomeness will one day morph into a man or woman. The level of dependence, reliance, desperate need for training and intentional upbringing--it's overwhelming. And I'm already on #3 and STILL feel like I haven't fully grasped the full length and breadth of my role's significane as mom; a child-rearing, bottom-wiping, snot-swiping, laughter-loving, sleep-needing, patience-building parent. Amos & Dulce let me capture a bit of their little one's first stage and it was a treasure :) -- though, i will secretely admit that i take a meniachal level of deep satisfaction in watching newborn parents. I giggle to myself while I think, 'oh boy...they have only JUST begun...' Cheers to beginnings friends... | lkm
MICAH | Musician Meets Mad Men | Urban-Styled Tucson Senior Portraits
{Micah | Senior Portraits | April 2012 | Tucson, AZ }
This kid is so suave. Literally--my husband came bounding home after a shift at Starbucks uber excited to tell me he found a rad Senior client for me. He began to sing accolades about Micah's chill sense of humor and ability to carry on conversation--you know, little things that a regular customer/barista relationship can establish. His mom set the session up, I met Micah in downtown on a blistering hot late afternoon. He was down with caravaning around 4th/5th street finding a wicked cool building that the sun was hitting just right. We stopped near this wearhouse, i gave him the basic run down of how 'a guy looks cool in senior pictures' and we hung out for the next hour or two playing with different poses, backdrops, wardrobes, inside jokes, etc. I was thankful for the extra time Micah and his mom chose to invest in. It really made a difference in the session experience. I felt like I reached a myriad of emotional expressions, we weren't rushed, we laughed a ton, we're able to relax... it was a blessing to be trusted with these milestone pictures! | lkm
"now...Micah, i want you to jump off that step with your top best air guitar impression"
i love the composition of the two pics below. maybe it's just how the colors work against the sky...i dunno...
i vote album cover...
headshots below are probably top fave :)
Micah just naturally slid into 'subject' role and was awesome to shoot...
MICAH | Musician Meets Mad Men | Urban-Styled Tucson Senior Portraits | teaser
{Micah | Senior Portrait Sessions | Downtown Tucson | April 2012 | teaser}
I'm doing it backwards again. HERE is the facebook highlight album for Micah's Senior Sesh... I'd love to write about this shoot but I'm pretty sure i'm going to nod off and hit my head on the keyboard any second now. Last time i checked, head-banging isn't the most effective method of blog writing. for now: This senior session goes down as one of my top favorites. I mean, who gets a highschool senior dude to crank out 'the Zoolander face', mixing suave and goofy effortlessly, and a offering 12-point model pose series without blinking? Micah was amazing to work with and skirting around 5th avenue for an hour and half was a blast! | lkm :)
Best Mother's Day Ever | personal
{Saguaro/Colossal Cave National Park | Mothers Day 2012}
God is so good. It's taken a pretty incredible 4 years to get to this point of celebrating Mommy Day 2012. I won't hash out the heart struggles today. I just wanted to share something personal today--my joy in my family. These are my 2 children. I'm pregnant with #3. (sadly we failed to get any baby bump pictures...you can whine at me later - i just look mostly fluffy anyways.)
Lawson suggested we find a place to go hike with the kids. So weird how he reads my mind sometimes. Ive been wanting to check out Saguaro National Park the past few weeks (confession: yes there was an alternative motive that was work-oriented. I've been craving to find some crazy awesome Tucson backdrops for portraits...and yes also, I confess I tend to pronounce it SAG WAR OH. laugh and call me gringo. do it. I dare you)
Lawson snagged some great accent shots of desert stuff. 
the kids haven't been hiking since last summer. I've said it before and i'll say it a thousand times henceforth--the older they get the more fun it is to do stuff like this! Jordyn was so thrilled with the freedom of treking on her own two feet. :D Judah was a little obsessed with stepping on snakes. Dad, in all his mighty warning wisdom, told the kids to be 'careful of snakes'...Judah freaked a little and we had to coax him a little to be brave and trudge forward...carefully.
they pretended to hunt for tigers in these tall sticks...
as you can clearly see, Judah was a very committed tiger hunter.
by the end of our trek in the desert, you could tell we had run our little munchkins ragged
while resting back in the picnic area Lawson went to go destroy a dead tree with Judah. While ripping off the bark Jordyn was about to thrust herself upon the trunk and try to scale the darn thing. I heard this very fatherly yell, whipped around to find Lawson swopping the kids up and backing up about 10 feet from the tree. Apparently he found a spider cluster. I think he attempted to protect his manhood by insisting it might have been a brown recluse nest. What a hero.
we also had a grand time catching this lil lizard and helping the kids get friendly with it. Judah was pretty sure he was going to lose a limb but still giggled hysterically when he got to feel the poor thing's racing heartbeat. 
all in all, it was my most favorite mother's day thus far. definitely beat's last year's lonely experience and watching these spawn of mine grow and change rocked my face off. So to sign off...this is them, my offspring, yelling 'happy mommy day' at the top of their lungs. :D Peace. | lkm
Tyler + Megan | Tucson Engagement Session | Pt.2 - "Romance in a Desert Wash"
{Tyler + Megan | Engagement Session | North Tucson | April 2012}
After we hit up T + M's favorite date spot (See Part One), we sauntered over to the nearby wash (a common landmark in Tucson). I wasn't sure what to expect. As a photographer stationed in the desert (grin) I'm still workin' on my collection of locations and backdrops to shoot in...I'll have to write more about the changing and challenging scenery later. While Megan was anticipating a couple romantic hugs on the bridge I suggested we jump down INTO the wash (which was an impressive feat for a client in a sassy dress, a pregnant photographer and a grip of camera gear). But we did it and I was so glad we did! The sun was setting and provided a soft glow as a few tall, assuming weeds played off the neutral tones of the lovebird's wardrobe. I was eyeballing the sunbeams streaking through the bridge pillars knowing that that was where i'd wrap up the shoot...
Tyler + Megan are getting married in Alburquerque, New Mexico next month. I am SO excited for them to start this new chapter...AND finally get to live in the same city. They've been doing long distance for the past few months and my heart goes out to them. While distance is a pretty 'safe' way to do the engagement period, it's gut-wrenching. Been there. Done that. Thank you so much for letting me be part of these memories T + M. I hope this last month of preparing for the celebration and the rest of your lives ROCKS and is full of great, great amazing joy! | lkm
Child's Play in Tucson | personal
{Judah + Jordyn | Play Time | January 2012}
I found a few pictures snagged while kids were playing outside a bit ago. Lately i've been enjoying these play times more. They're hilarious...
they really like to play 'dead'...is that morbid? It's pretty entertaining regardless. they'll just fall down and then whisper vigorously--"pssst. moooom. i'm D E A D" - with great gutteral grunts and moans. :)...(do note that even buzz lightyear died)
this whole conversation he had on the phone was hilarious. he was pissed. like royally. and he kept saying things in a nice even tone that got more and more stressed until he was yelling. he must have been dealing with credit card collectors or something. 
Tyler + Megan | Tucson Engagement Session | Pt. 1 - "Favorite Date Spot"
{Tyler + Megan | Engagement Session | North Tucson | April 2012}
There is something super sweet about leaving an engagement session overjoyed for the couple you just shot. I watched eyeballs light up and laughter dance even over the silly things and left Tyler + Megan's session with a HUGE smile on my face. AND--that's EVEN after my phone fell out of my camera bag and shattered its screen in the parking lot seconds before I met up with the couple--a fantastic way to glaze over that travesty! Here are a few highlights from our time together - PART ONE. (Stay tuned for PART TWO later this week :D)
they really got into their dancing...
(song playing softly in my head "when a man loves a woman...")
Tyler's top favorite food is Pizza. And this particular parlor is one of their favorites.
these stairs were SO cool. :D
one of my absolute favorite collections of images... :)
"tyler can you just grab that woman and embrace her please."...yes, thank you.
check out her eyes!! 
PART TWO coming soon... :D
Knowlton Family | Arizona Portrait Photography
{Knowlton Family Portraits | Agua Caliente, Tucson, AZ | January 2012}
I met this sweet family at a homeschool co-op day. I set up a little booth, shared some pictures, advertised a 'bonus' promo for those who booked on the day of and came home with a grip of new families I'd get to capture memories for! The Knowltons showed up dapper and ready for an amazing session!
so much stinkin' personality!
the boys ate UP all the attention...
daddy-daughter really get to me. I've been missing my dad a lot lately. It makes me get all tender and mushy when I direct the daddy-daughter moments during a session...
Seriously, i've never had such willing candidates to whip out funny faces on the fly!
I ADORE the in-between moments when shooting families...those bite-size 'rest' times where the kids get to do what they want. You get to really snag some AWESOME faces... :)
Mom NAILED it in the 'prop' department. I really encourage families to bring a little momento that would be a special icon of who each member is... costumes are most favorite! :D
this little guy took his legos REALLY REALLY seriously. it was awesome. below are three images of about 20 as he explained how cool this particular contraption was...
Little bit on the right (below)...yea, this is what he called his VIKING costume. check out those fuzzy boots! SO. BOY.
And parents of three youngsters can still get sweet on eachother....i LOVE these moments...
My most favorite thing about the time i got to spend with the Knowltons, was watching Karen. Just in that hour and a half, I was so impressed by her constant giddyness with her kids. You could tell she had the 'im a mom of two crazy boys' thing DOWN. She wasn't faking. She wasn't pushing through to make. She let the wildness slide off her shoulders and laughed WITH her kid. Seriously. My eyes just welled up thinking about it. She challenged me, so much, to dive into my kid's fun. She did more than TOLERATE the craziness. That strikes a chord with me in so many ways... :)
Alison | California Baptist University Senior Portraits | sneak peak
{Alison Moore | Senior Portrait Session | Downtown Tucson, AZ | March 2012}
Here is a sneak peak into my senior session with Alison Moore. More golden loveliness can be seen on her gallery HERE. :D