Melanie Shoemaker Photography 816-679-9813 shoemaker.melanie@yahoo.com

New blog...

2010-01-11T20:45:00.004-06:00

I won't be posting to this blog any longer. I've got a new one- please check it out...
www.bestkcpics.blogspot.com

Kalyn & Steve

2009-10-02T12:30:00.006-05:00

You might recognize Kalyn from a previous shoot. She called me to see if I could squeeze her in for a session before Steve got deployed. We set something up and I instantly fell in love with this couple. . .I had a hard time just picking a few...so I picked quite a few to share with you all!

Oooh La La...

2009-08-17T22:10:00.002-05:00

Melanie & Kyle made a trip to KC for an engagement session...

I've known Mel for years, but hadn't met Kyle before this,

but I immediately saw the chemistry between them.

Kyle adores Mel...but can we blame him?

They had tons of great images and it was hard for me to narrow them down to just a few...

But this one below is one of my favorites...

not much is sweeter than the look of 2 people in love!

Thanks for making a trip to KC guys...I can't wait to capture your big day!!

Meet Mr. Handsome

2009-08-17T21:15:00.006-05:00

I can't tell you how much I LOVE the curls on Drew. How can you not? And look at those eyes...

Won't he make quite the business man?

Drew was full of smiles for the camera...

I just loved how excited he got...oh, how he'd move those arms and laugh!!

Time for some updates...

2009-08-17T21:07:00.004-05:00

I just realized I never posted any of these photos from my photo shoot with the Kendrick family. It's not because I don't like them...I love this family, and thought they look pretty good all cleaned up :)

Here's one of my favorites!!

Ten little fingers, ten tiny toes...

2009-08-10T12:06:00.004-05:00

the sweetest of smiles...and a cute little nose!

I couldn't just pick a few favorites after meeting lil Bradi. I immediately fell in

love with this sweet baby.

I love how the sun is shining in on Bradi in this picture.

Look at all that hair... Bradi with her amazing Mom & Dad...congratulations Beth & Eric!

Bradi wasn't camera shy at all- she was only 6 days old when we took these pictures

and she showed us her sweet lil eyes.

I love how she has her leg up in this picture...she just looks so relaxed.
And she started getting sick of our picture taking and decided to take a big yawn..I love when babies yawn!!

I don't love baby tears, but I still thought this was a cute picture of Bradi.

And then here is a body-parts collage...look at those tiny fingers and toes.

Patiently Awaiting...

2009-07-30T08:30:00.006-05:00

the arrival of "Baby T". Until then, here is an album I made of Meg & Rob's Maternity Session...

My lil' nephew...

2009-07-15T11:03:00.008-05:00

should be quite photogenic by the time he enters this world for us to meet. My sister, Megan and I have been visiting my studio frequently once she found out she was expecting. I wanted to share a few pictures with you...I'll have more soon once Rob & Meg both come in for a session.

This first one is Megan at 19 weeks. We tried hard to get her positioned so we could see that little bump..

And then this one below is when Meg was 33 weeks along...the bump has definitely grown a bit!

Seniors 2010...Book your appointment today!!

2009-07-14T08:44:00.004-05:00

Mr. & Mrs...

2009-07-04T00:29:00.006-05:00

Here are some more pictures from The Adams Wedding.

I love this picture of Derek as he is watching Kendra walk down the aisle..

And I can't say that I blame him at all. She looked amazing!And this picture below might be one of my favorites- you can see the love!!

Congrats Derek & Kendra. I had a great time working with you on your special day!

Congratulations Mr. & Mrs. Adams

2009-05-31T11:56:00.002-05:00

What a beautiful wedding yesterday---I had to post one picture.
Many more to come later...

Oh BOY!

2009-05-27T17:31:00.004-05:00

Talk about some handsome lil boys!!

The Quinn family met with me in Monroe City for some family portraits

and boy did they look good!

Daddy's boys...

You can tell these two are best buds...

Look at that smile...it's so true that smiles are contagious!

AND...look at those eyes!!

Here comes trouble!!

Thanks Jaymee & Joe- you have a beautiful family
and I had a great time working with you!

Timmy's 1st Communion

2009-05-27T17:26:00.004-05:00

Timmy came over and we snapped a few shots of him all dressed up...

I love this silhouette of Timmy and how you can see the outline of the Rosary.

And here were some Thank you cards that I created for him...

A day at the park...

2009-05-27T17:16:00.007-05:00

A beautiful day at Loose Park + An adorable blonde haired girl =

Isn't she too cute for words?

A Growing family...

2009-05-15T18:21:00.008-05:00

Krystal and her family came into the studio for a family photo session. The lil' guy, Aidan was full of smiles. Here are some of the many photos that I loved...

I definitely think Aidan is Grandpa's boy...

And a group shot with all eyes looking at me, big smiles, and all eyes open..
(this can be a challenge with such a big group)

And then another...

Great job guys!!! You have a very loving and beautiful family and
I really enjoyed capturing all those smiles...
and I also believe a CONGRATS is in order as well
as I've heard that Aidan is going to be a big brother!

RIP Diamond

2009-05-15T17:59:00.004-05:00

I am so glad that I got some pictures of my sister, Monica with her dog Diamond. Unfortunately, Diamond was ran over this week and got her angel wings.

RIP Diamond

Myra

2009-05-15T17:48:00.005-05:00

At Easter, I took a few snapshots of my lil' cousin, Myra. She is beautiful...look at those eyes!!

TGIF

2009-05-15T10:51:00.004-05:00

As I went back to see which pictures I've forgot to post on my blog, I came across these that I took of a group of friends. They came in one afternoon with a few bottles of wine and some fun personalities. We had tons of fun in the studio and here are a few of my favorites...

Cheers to it being Friday!! I hope everyone has a fun and safe weekend!

Happy Easter!!!

2009-05-15T10:33:00.004-05:00

I realize I am a little behind on posting, but I strive to get caught up each day and wanted to get a few posted today. Marissa came in around Easter and we had a lot of fun. She didn't like to sit still for too long, but we still managed to get quite a few pictures. I think by the time I do her next photos, she will be running from me...

I thought this one of her with her basket was just too sweet.

The Most Handsome Future Firefighter

2009-04-06T12:51:00.006-05:00

Does this give you a little bit of baby fever?

I fall in love with this lil firefighter over and over again. It's impossible not to!

Kylee

2009-04-06T12:44:00.005-05:00

Here are some more of my favorites from the photo session with Kylee. I loved the color images, but I also am loving the antique look as well.

I had such an amazing time capturing Kylee.

She really is a happy girl that is so full of life!

Miss Thing...AKA Kylee

2009-03-18T17:36:00.003-05:00

I had the pleasure of taking some pictures of my niece this week and had to share this with everyone. More to come soon...

Beautiful Eyes...

2009-03-02T13:51:00.004-06:00

Need I say more than beautiful eyes??

Beautiful Baby!!

Connor's Body-Parts Collage...

2009-02-26T12:20:00.004-06:00

Here is a body-parts collage that I created of my friends baby, Connor.
I hope to have more images from this session posted sometime this week.
He is such a sweet baby...

Handsome Tugg

2009-02-23T09:50:00.004-06:00

I fell in love with this 'lil man' as soon as he came into the studio.
From the pictures, you would never know that he didn't like the posed positions.

He is adorable in his swim gear...

And I just love how sweet he looks in this picture...

ad this one too...

And look at Tugg all decked out in his chef hat...

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY

2009-02-07T23:59:00.011-06:00

Happy (early) Valentines Day!! I couldn't wait any longer to post this on my blog. My nephew, Cason came over for a few hours early this week so we could take some pictures similar to ones that we took of his older brother when he was his age.

These pictures of Cason mean a lot to my family. If you look close at the image you will see the scars that he has on his chest from the open heart surgeries that he has had. Cason was diagnosed with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome prior to his birth. Click here to learn more about HLHS. Cason has been very blessed with his health since he came home from Wisconsin. Unfortunately, he will be having another surgery in July.

For my nephew, Cason and our other heart friends, my family and friends will be walking in the Heart Walk in Kansas City on Saturday, May 30th. My family has set a personal goal to raise funds for the American Heart Association and we need your help to reach my donation goal. We are raising critical dollars for heart disease and stroke research and education. A great example of where these research dollars go is obvious to me each and every day as I look at my nephew, Cason. The future holds strong for him and many others because of this research. When you support CHD research and screening you are helping to save a life!

You can help us reach our goal by making a donation online. Click here and you will be taken to our personal donation page where you can make a secure online credit card donation. If you are interested in joining our team on the walk please contact me and I can give you all the details for this. Thanks for your help.

Lily Maree

2009-02-07T22:03:00.008-06:00

As you might recall from a previous post, our friends Jon & Alison were pregnant. They delivered Lily Maree on Dec. 15th. She is the sweetest little baby and I had a lot of fun taking pictures of her.

I LOVE the "baby-parts collage". . .

And this was right after Lily's little accident that she had on the towels.

I think it might have even shocked her a bit,

but we repositioned the towels and got some great shots... And what's sweeter than baby feet and diamonds ...You can quit thinking now because you won't come up with anything :)

The Wilson Family

2009-01-25T13:59:00.004-06:00

I am going through all of my pictures today and trying to make sure I have posted all so I can get caught up. I really thought I had posted some from the day with The Wilson Family, but I hadn't. We met at a park and got some great shots...

I love this one of them all walking together. It's definitely one of my favorites!!

Kate was quite the little poser... And Leo is at the age where he doesn't like to sit still,

but I liked this picture of him walking around

playing with this leaf. And then there was Olivia...she's a super sweet girl that wasn't always ready to get her picture taken as you'll see below.

But we still managed to get this great shot

that captured her sweet expressions.

And I love this picture of everyone throwing leaves!

Shawna, Gil, & Cooper

2009-01-25T13:38:00.007-06:00

Shawna, Gil, & Cooper made a visit to my studio awhile back and I'm just getting around to posting a few of their pictures. Cooper took a few minutes to get used to the pictures, but once we started taking pictures, he wanted to be in all of them.

This is one of my favorite pictures from the shoot.
We were actually just trying to get a few pictures of Shawna and Gil alone,
but Cooper wanted to be in the picture too!!

They are such a beautiful couple...with so much love for each other and Cooper too!

Cooper loves chewing on his ball.

This is another one of my favorite pictures.

I just think its too sweet for words!

The Kauble Family

2009-01-12T15:41:00.007-06:00

Mindy, Chris, Skyler, and Kylee (AKA "Miss Attitude") came down to my studio this past weekend. Believe it or not, I have all their pictures ready to share and post on my blog. I thought I better do this before I head back to school tomorrow.
We had a lot of fun getting Kylee to pose and sit still long enough to get a picture in, but as you can see...we still got plenty.

Family is one of nature's masterpieces...

2009-01-08T12:17:00.006-06:00

I spent a few hours one morning photographing the Turnbull family. It was a chilly day outside, but luckily we scheduled pictures for the morning and missed the afternoon rain. Following are some of my personal favorites...

Our Holiday Card

2008-12-23T10:25:00.002-06:00

This is our precious dog, Carlos.
He loves his sweater and
I somehow managed
to get him to sit still
so I could get this picture...

I love bellies...

2008-12-13T17:48:00.001-06:00

My friend Allison is prego and I thought this image of her turned out great...

Love it...

2008-12-13T17:37:00.003-06:00

Monica and James wanted some pictures together. Well, I'm not sure I can say that James wanted them, but he did a great job...especially considering it was misty and cold the whole time we took these pictures. I'll post more after they get their Christmas cards sent out, but I had to share some...

I love this picture below. Cooter is James dog that is with him

all the time. As we were taking this picture Cooter decided he

wanted in the picture. I thought it was perfect and told Monica

that she might as well get used to this as Cooter will always come first...

My girls...

2008-12-13T17:32:00.004-06:00

are growing up too fast. These pictures are of my two nieces and I can't get over how grown up both of them look in these pictures. My sister is going to have her hands full in a few years trying to keep the boys away from these girls...

Now aren't they just too sweet!!

Typically my biggest challenge...

2008-12-13T17:15:00.005-06:00

is taking pictures of my nephews. I convinced Cuinn that this would make a great gift for his parents Christmas and it wouldn't cost him any money. He has been around me long enough and he knew that was a good deal. We wouldn't let my sister come to the studio until we knew we had gotten some good shots because we knew that they might not listen once she arrived. I can't share all the images until everyone gets her Christmas cards, but here are a few for now...

Cason is so grown up and looks so handsome in this chair.

I love this picture of Cuinn above. He doesn't like

to smile in pictures so it's definitely one of my favorites!

Meg & her fur babies...

2008-12-13T17:03:00.004-06:00

Finals are over and I'm going to try to get my blog caught up with some pictures that I've been busy taking these past few months. Meg has been wanting to get some pictures of her with her dogs, so we played around one morning and here's what we got...

I did learn after this shoot that before doing any pet sessions, I need to recommend a long walk for the pets. They were pretty hyper at the beginning and I'm pretty sure a walk would have done the trick!

Rhetts 1st Halloween

2008-11-07T11:08:00.007-06:00

Here is a collage that I created of the handsome lil' golfer, Rhett from Halloween night.

Isn't he adorable?!?

Weddings

2008-11-06T14:18:00.002-06:00

Here are some images that I got at an October wedding. The colors were beautiful and the connection that the bride and groom had was even more beautiful.

And more weddings!

2008-11-06T14:07:00.005-06:00

I've been shooting lots of weddings with Becca from Catchlight Photography and thought I would share some images that I've captured.

Halloween Portraits

2008-11-06T13:38:00.004-06:00

Halloween night was a huge success. I had a studio set up at my parents house and took portraits of many trick-or-treaters!! Following are some trick-or-treaters that decided to stop in...
It was exciting to see all the different costumes come in and out. I'm hoping to make this an annual event. Thanks for all those who came by!!

1 DAY ONLY STUDIO SPECIAL

2008-11-06T11:07:00.003-06:00

Call for your holiday portraits.
I'm having a studio special
for 1 DAY ONLY

Halloween Pictures

2008-10-28T13:31:00.010-05:00

Sunday, I took a few pictures at the studio.
Following are some images of Bailey & Madison
in their Halloween costumes.
These girls are adorable
and had a lot of fun
acting silly in front of the camera.

Halloween Night

2008-10-14T09:03:00.002-05:00

Mandi, Joel, & Marley

2008-10-13T21:08:00.009-05:00

I've been looking at some pet photography and was excited to try it out. I convinced Mandi & Joel to bring along their dog, Marley when they came to get their portraits. I wasn't sure how she would do in the studio, but she did great.

We sat her in a bucket for a few pictures, and before we knew it she was sound asleep.

Marley is definitely "Daddy's lil girl"...

Although Mandi tries hard as she continues to give her treats :)

We were also on the lookout for some grafitti so we could play around with that a bit. I'm so glad we found this wall as it worked out great...

I loved how it happened to say "bark" on this wall as well...

Halloween Studio Special

2008-09-29T14:55:00.009-05:00

Halloween is right around the corner and I hope you can make it to my new studio for a "special treat". See below for details...

Daddy's Little Girl

2008-09-22T11:20:00.003-05:00

One of the most beautiful things to see is the bond that is shared between a father and his daughter. This photo session showed that bond over and over. ..

Like mother, like daughter

2008-09-22T11:07:00.005-05:00

Here are a few of my favorite shots that I took of my friend, Jen and her daughter, Addi. We took these in my new studio in Rivermarket. We had so much fun getting these shots captured that at the end of the session Addi asked if she could come back anytime to get more pictures!!

My 1st Maternity Photo Shoot

2008-09-16T13:07:00.006-05:00

Hello everyone...I am going to warn you that you might start getting baby fever after looking at these portraits from a maternity session I did this weekend with my friends, Jon & Alison. I had an amazing time capturing these memories. Enjoy...

Soccer Game

2008-09-10T15:13:00.002-05:00

Here are some of my favorite shots that I took

at my nephews soccer game. I had a lot of fun shooting these and would love to start doing some sports photography on the side.

Skylers Week in KC

2008-08-28T10:49:00.004-05:00

My niece Skyler came to KC to spend the week with us before she went back to school. We had a lot of fun, and of course we had to sneak in a small photo shoot while she was here. Unfortunately, Cuinn isn't as crazy about pictures as she is so we didn't get too many with him, and the few we did were a silly ones!

I love this picture of them two making

their funny faces...they were quite entertaining!

Meg & Robs Wedding

2008-08-21T07:05:00.007-05:00

I didn't get too many shots on the day of Meg's wedding, but I got some before and Alex also took a few during the wedding that I thought I would share. And by the way if you weren't there to see it, the wedding was beautiful!!

Myra

2008-07-25T15:13:00.002-05:00

Here are some pictures that I took of my cousin, Myra.

She was a lot of fun shooting because she couldn't stop smiling!

The Pennewell Family

2008-07-25T14:37:00.006-05:00

I took portraits for my Aunt & Uncles family. They have four very handsome boys!! I had a great time taking their pictures and below are some of my favorite pictures from the shoot.

More of Meg & Rob

2008-07-25T14:20:00.002-05:00

Just wanted to share a few more pictures from Meg & Rob's engagement session. 8 more days until the big day!!

Meg & Robs Engagement Pictures

2008-07-02T09:48:00.003-05:00

Meg & Rob asked me to take their engagement pictures. I still find myself getting nervous before doing these things, but we had a great turnout. I haven't even gotten a chance to go through the other 100 that Meg likes and wants me to give her. We found a beautiful park that helped so much in creating these beautiful shots and it never hurts to have beautiful people in front of the camera. I hope to have some more pictures from this shoot posted soon.

Studio Class

2008-06-18T13:21:00.002-05:00

I submitted my picture for my final in my Studio class today. I think it turned out ok. It helps that I had my handsome nephew to use as a model!

Summer fun...

2008-06-16T22:50:00.003-05:00

So I'm not doing the best at keeping my blog up to date, but it's been a busy summer so far. I'm taking some summer classes which end this week and in my spare time, well I don't really have any right now. I've shot weddings the past few weekends with Becca. (http://www.catchlight-photography.com/) I have learned a lot in those weddings and can't wait for my first one as the main photographer this coming weekend. Here are a few pictures that I got in the first wedding that I shot on June 7th...

Hope to do a better job with my posts, but we'll see. Time to work on some homework for school now!

Playin in the mud

2008-05-24T13:43:00.002-05:00

This picture was taken after I told my niece and nephew to see who could get the dirtiest...my sisters didn't find it too funny :) but we had fun anyways...

2008-05-21T08:25:00.000-05:00

Here are some other pictures I've taken this year for some of my classes...

2008-05-19T22:28:00.000-05:00

Here are some children portraits that I have taken throughout this past year...

2008-05-19T21:57:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone. I've finally decided to sit down and start my own blog. It will be a great way to share my pictures and keep you updated in my busy life. I'm currently taking a few summer classes and waitressing part time which is keeping me a little bit too busy, but that's what college is all about! Photography has been my passion as long as I can remember and I decided last year to change my major and I don't think I could have made a better decision. I have been taking a few portraits here and there, and will shoot a few weddings this summer. I can't wait!! When I'm not busy with school or work, you will probably find me with Alex or one of our families. We are both blessed with great families and love spending time with them. I'm hoping that this blog will be a way to keep everyone updated with my busy little life, and possibly a start in my photography career!