Kansas City Family Photography | Nine Months Photo Session | Baby Sam

I can't believe I'm blogging Baby Sam's NINE MONTH session!! Time has gone by so fast! ALL of Sam's one-year sessions have been an absolute blast, and I've come away with favorite images left and right - BUT! I'm fairly certain out of all of Sam's first year shoots, this one was and is my favorite!! 

Sam has developed SUCH a little personality, he's so entertaining, and SO cute! He loves to try and walk those chubby little legs around with the help of his Mom + Dad. And also, grinning/cheesing, he loves to do that too :)

For his 9-month session we did our normal spots inside Beth + Evan's home - Evan's striped chair, Sam's crib, his changing table etc. But to really mix things up this time around, we also decided to photograph Sam having a kitchen sink bath. Followed by putting his half naked self in a bucket... 

Just wait for it. 

Beth & Evan - I'm SO glad to be tagging along on this journey with you guys! Sam continues to make me love photographing him!!
 

Didn't take him long before he was splashing!!

That. face.

Check out Sam's 6 month's session!
And, his 3 month's session!
And! His newborn session!
And of course, Beth + Evan's celebration session! 

Go here to see more ELP family/lifestyle sessions

A House in the Sky - book review | book nook

I knew the basis of this memoir, A House in The Sky, before I picked it up - young female journalist working in Somalia is abducted and held for 460 days as a prisoner. That alone made me so eager to read the story. 

The fact that she was female and my assumption that her captors were likely male made my mind race over the ideas of all she likely endured during those days. To say the least, it's every horrible thing you can imagine plus some. 

The insanely unreal, yet somehow real story of Amanda Lindhout will haunt you. Admittedly, I felt at first judgmental. Kind of - you knew the risk, you put yourself in danger type of judgmental. But those feelings faded fairly quickly for me when her life as a prisoner began. By then I just felt so sorry for her. And I can tell you that if you read this book - you will constantly, over most every page - wonder and ask yourself, how on earth did she survive. 

My feminist tendencies flared up several times. It sickens me the ways women are treated simply because they are women. And while I know this happens every day all over the world, I'm still thankful it isn't nearly as horrific in America as it is in so many third world countries. 

Do I recommend the book? Oh absolutely. 
This was a book I devoured, couldn't put down, and won't ever forget.

5 STARS
 

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn - book review | book nook

A couple of years ago, on a total whim - I decided I needed to read a few of what I'd consider "American classic" type books. The fact that I barely made it through To Kill a Mockingbird in high school should have been a bright neon sign to me, that this might not be the best idea. But, once I have an idea in mind, watch out world! I have to do it!! 

So for Christmas that year, I had a list of 6 or so "classic" type novels on my wishlist - and each one came wrapped up in pretty paper to me. 

Since then I've slowly and robotically made my way through TWO of them. Two! Ugh. The first was Little Women - which you can go read my thoughts on that one over here. This time I chose A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Once again, just like with Little Women, I desperately wanted to love this book, anddddd once again, I did not. 

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is really, to me at least, a book simply about LIFE. Nothing more, nothing less. In the beginning pages, little Francie Nolan is just a young girl with a perspective of the world around her that is 20x bigger than she. The story throughout essentially follows her life as the grows up into a young woman. Like real life itself, there are ups and there are downs. I kind of feel like if the book overall had followed the path of a faster storyline, it might have maybe kept my interest a little better. Sooo much was drawn out in chapter after chapter after chapter - to the point where you can only think about how you have no idea what the point of this is and ultimately begin to feel like you don't know what you're even reading. 

Francie's character was a little bit relatable to me, in some ways at least, which was nice. She's clearly a dreamer in every sense of the word. She loves to read. She loves to observe. She's quiet. She's different, and sees the world differently than most around her - which lands her the position of an easy target for cruel people. 

Do I recommend? Oh goodness. I think I have to say no, though there were moments of pure literary poetry. 

The best part of the entire book, in my opinion, was when Francie decided she needed to freeze a moment in time by cutting a lock of her own hair, and placing in an envelope for her to open in fifty years. From there she prayed, a prayer that was full of so much hope for her life, for all the possibilities, all the experiences and moments. She prayed, - "Dear God, let me be something every minute of every hour of my life. Let me be gay; let me be sad. Let me be cold; let me be warm. Let me be hungry...have too much to eat. Let me be ragged or well dressed. Let me be sincere - be deceitful. Let me be truthful; let me be a liar. Let me be honorable and let me sin. Only let me be something every blessed minute. And when I sleep, let me dream all the time so that not one little piece of living is ever lost."

Now THAT is a way to live :)

2.5 STARS
 

The DeLeon - Winter Open House | Kansas City Wedding & Event Venue

One of Kansas City's newest event spaces, complete with a chapel and outdoor garden - The DeLeon Event Space & Chapel celebrated a Winter Open House on Sunday, January 31st. A day of warm sunshine, perfect blue skies with smeared white clouds and unseasonably warm temperatures. The oh so lovely and wonderful owners, husband and wife - Jodie and Eric DeLeon were on site to give tours, answer questions, and greet each and every attendee, with the help of their precious daughters - Rayven and Nadia. You want to talk about two incredible individuals, who take so much pride in what they do - you're talking about Jodie & Eric. 

Alongside a handful of other wedding professionals that Jodie & Eric asked to be a part of this day - I was there, camera in hand, to document highlights and moments of the afternoon. 

Every room was perfectly decorated to showcase just what this place can do for a wedding event by the oh so talented, and lovely Shana Vaughn of Shana Vaughn Designs. From gold to silver, to pinks and creams - the color scheme and decor were absolutely on point. 

Fernando Productions had a set up in the corner and ensured there was never a dull or quiet moment for us all - keeping the music going and the fun alive was Fernando's wife, Kate, who is just simply an awesome gal. 

Shining Stars Catering was on site at the bar providing bartending services for all the guests and vendors. Great group of people, and great/fun drinks such as the "blushing bride", and a concoction of raspberry tea - um, delish!

Plaza Catering had quite the spread of yummy finger foods and samples for everyone there - and there was rarely a tray that hadn't been dove into.

Rounding out the event was Sandy Danner with Creative Cakes by Sandy - who made one of the most beautiful wedding cakes I've ever seen to display in the reception hall. Sandy also came well prepared with so many wedding cake samples - her corner of the room always had an eager hand for a slice of perfect cake. 

Brides came from all over - receiving gift bags and lots of information to help plan their wedding days! Some spent time in the chapel, planning out with their Mom's how their ceremony will look. Other sat and enjoyed the good company and good food. 

I'm excited to share a few highlights and favorites from the fun we all had! 

 

A NEW LOOK + LOGO for Elizabeth Ladean Photography

SOOOOOOO EXCITEDDDDDUH!

For any one of you guys who follows me closely, you might have noticed that each time you visited my website or blog recently, there were little changes happening here and there. It's true, for a short time I've been making some branding and style changes to my online presence, and I'm soooo excited about the look and feel of it all! Definitely don't want to go as far as calling this a "rebrand", but, it's kinda close.

NOW though... it's time to release something bigger! :)

When I first started the planning process of opening my photography business several years ago, one of the biggest hurdles I faced was my logo design. Of all things you guys, a LOGO! Ugh.
I love the world of design, and a good strong logo was and still is important to me. When I land on someone's website and they have a strong/awesome logo, it makes me want to know them more, it makes me more interested in whatever they're selling. I wanted that for my own logo, for my own business.

The issue back then was that I was so fresh out of the gate that I just didn't know MY BRAND yet. I knew little tidbits here and there of what I liked, what I felt represented me etc. But that wasn't really knowing who I am as a brand. A logo eventually came together - after many, many months of staring at my computer screen, making small tweaks, big changes, scrapping it all together and starting the process again. That old logo, it definitely did the job - and for the most part, I was happy with it.

Here's a little peek at the old, previous logo - 

But NOW you guys. These days! I'm so much more aware of who I am as a brand. I'm so much more comfortable in it all - and this NEW LOGO that I'm soooo excited to release - This sucker took no time at all to create.

The idea came to mind almost effortlessly. I knew what I wanted it look like, the feeling I wanted it to evoke, what I wanted it to represent. Designing wasn't really all that hard since the plan was so much more clear than before!

So here it is, friends.... AHH!!



*drumroll*



My new logo for ELP! - 

 

Personally, I think it's beautiful. Ha.
I love it. I'm extremely happy with it!

I felt I needed something a bit more professional. I wanted a less scripty/handwritten font and more classy, timeless font. My name needed to stand out more because this business is who I am you guys. 

I'm sure someone at some point will wonder why my name is in lower case and I definitely have my reasons. It's just me, little Elizabeth. That sounds ridiculous, but it's true. My grandpa feared for my life the first day I rode a school bus because I was "so little" he said. I'm a short girl - it isn't always ideal, but it's completely who I am. In my mind keeping my name in lower case was so much more true to who I am than any other option, and on the other hand - taking "PHOTOGRAPHY" to all upper case made perfect sense in my mind as well. To quote Shakespeare - "Though she be but little, she is fierce!" - I mean, come on. Fierce in my career by working hard and hustling! ;)

I've had several people mention that they will miss that gigantic dandelion I had previously, because to them, that was "so me" - and truthfully it is, I'm a dandelion kind of girl! But that didn't need to be so focused on!

It still needed to be who I am, and that brand of mine - which to me is light, ethereal, slightly whimsical, and fun. So out with the dandelion, and in with that oh-so-fun and oh-so-me whimsical doodle line! :) And of course, my favorite number, 3, had to make an appearance with 3 yellow dots! 

My primary colors haven't changed much at all because let's face the facts - I know my brand when it comes to colors! And earthy browns, grays, creams - oh yes. Combined with my oh-so-happy yellow - oh heck yes.

For giggles, and for anyone who appreciates design like myself, here is a little snippet from my mood board I created to kind of catapult the overall style inspiration I wanted to achieve -

I think I nailed it.
What do you guys think?!! :) :) :)