Suzanne McGrath Photography

Photo Session Special

If you read my last blog post, you know what this is about.  It's that time of year again!  Picture Time!

I absolutely love taking pictures of kids and families.  It's so much fun and I truly get so much joy out of it.  That's why I'm offering photo sessions for the third year in a row!  For $200 you get everything - the session itself and a minimum of 35 images - all hand edited -available to you on a jump drive.  You are then free to do with those images as you wish.  (Although I'd recommend a beautiful canvas from Costco.)

I shoot all over the city and can meet you virtually anywhere.  I put together a post last year with 10 Tips for Better Family Pictures.  Take a read if it piques your interest!

Here are some fun locations.  I love all of these for different reasons except one - they all have a ton of vignettes within a small walking radius.  I love that!

 

1.  Iron Woods Park is always a perennial favorite for me.  It's really close to my house and yet it's still beautiful:

 

2.  Loose Park.  Sometimes it's fun to get out of the "bubble".

 

3.  The River Market.

 

 

4.  West Bottoms.  Tons of great scenes and texture.

 

5.  Black Hoof Park (95th St. west of I-435)

 

6.  Ermine Case Jr. Park (downtown)

 

7.  Unity Village is fun and it feels like a hidden gem:

 

All right.  That's all I've got for you tonight!  If you would like to look at weekends, give me a shout!

 

Photography News and Baby Addie

Before I get to the images of Baby Addie, I wanted to take a minute to chat about my business...  

It's HARD.  I absolutely love the art of photography and editing, but by the opposite token I absolutely detest the business side.  And let me tell you, the business side of photography takes up the majority of my time.  So I've made a decision that I've grappled with for a long time.  I'm closing my virtual door.  I'm letting my website go dormant and taking down my business email address.  (I'll have to change the post at the top of my blog.)  I'll still shoot friends and family, but I'm no longer going to try to make it my day job.

I am going to become a "shoot and burn" photographer.  I'll shoot and edit but then just hand over a CD or jump drive.  I won't print anymore which actually takes quite a bit of time.  Time that is precious.  And there you have it!  I feel good about this decision and I think my photograpy will become fun again!

Without further adieu...here's Baby Addie at 8 days old:

I have to tell you - I loved, loved, loved taking these pictures.  Baby Addie was just a doll and her mom and dad were pretty cool, too!  Congratulations, Todd and Stacey:)

 

40"x40" Gallery Wrap Canvas...IRL (in real life)

Check this out!  

Do you remember a few months back when I shot the ballet, "Life of Cosette"?  If you recall, I designed a few different options for gallery wraps.  Well, we finally decided on the ONE, ordered it, and I delivered it yesterday.  I was so excited and nervous to deliver it.  It was HUGE but oh so cool.  And I totally wanted Chloe's mom to love it.  Thankfully, my mission was accomplished.  I was honored to be able to shoot the ballet and put this together as a way to commemorate Chloe's success!

For the record, that's #1 holding it.  But I wanted to be able to demonstrate the scale.  Totally cool, huh?!  I know this piece will make a beautiful statement hanging on my client's walls.  Love.

I love Gallery Wraps!

Check this out.  I finally got my gallery wrap.  I've been waiting years to get the perfect picture.  I finally gave up on perfection and settled for pretty great.

I totally did not stage this image.  I was too excited.  Plus, I'm in the midst of re-decorating my family room so I didn't want to have to think too hard.  That part will come later.  Here's how the gallery wrap looks sitting on my mantle.  It's 26" x 30" which is big enough to make a statement rather than get lost.

It comes with a wire hanger even though I didn't need it.  (And yes, #3 and #4 were hiding behind the picture.)

Finally, here is what it looks like from the side.  You can see how the image wraps all the way around it.  The frame is actually an inch and a half thick so it's pretty significant.  It really allows the image to pop out!

Cool, huh?  

Cool Photo Grouping {Overland Park Children's Photographer}

First, let me start this post by jogging your memory.  Remember when I said I was in the mood to paint?  Well, I painted - a lot!  I painted our entryway and the hall upstairs.  They were originally two very different colors that never blended that well.  Given the entryway is two stories, I hadn't felt the urge to "fix" the colors!  For some reason, the urge struck and I had to listen to it. 

I wanted a more modern color palette so I choose a light gray.  It's light enough that the rooms feel light and airy but dark enough that the white trim really pops.  It's taken me awhile to get used to it, but I think I like it.  Here it the process I went through:

Yes, it took me 5 tries before I found a color I liked.  Gray is really tricky - it can take on a lot of different undertones. 

That all leads me to this...  I received the most awesome box in the mail last Friday.  It contained six stand out prints.  Since I had painted the foyer, I wanted to start fresh.  So I put together this great collection!  And these stand out prints are awesome.  They are so light I actually hung them up with 3M double-sided mounting squares.  They come with holes in them so you can hang them in a traditional manner, too.  (However, I'm all for FAST.)  I just love the outcome.

And ta-da!  Don't you love it?