Farrah Fite » parents

A Christmas “Bell” {baby & family}

farrah — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 06:31:29 +0000

Baby Drew is back and this time he brings holiday cheer! At three months old he was adorable as ever and unlike his newborn session, he was awake most of the time…meaning I had a chance to capture his big blue eyes and sweet smiles he was sharing with his mom and dad (Stephanie & Chris).

We began with bundling Drew in a big red basket in front of their living room fireplace. Kudos to Chris for lighting the fire.

Next we brightened things up with a pop of festive holiday color. Look at that smile!

And for contrast we next tried out a crisp white and steel blue setting. He loved the soft, snowy fabric his mom picked out.

A quick change and it was time for photos of the entire family.

Drew started getting sleepy while he was in mom’s arm. So as he drifted off, we nestled him into a green wreath and the results were some of my favorite from the session.

Sweet dreams to this little “Bell!” And happy holidays to a great family!

The Gordons {family & pets}

farrah — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 18:24:05 +0000

Meet the uber-awesome Gordon family! Rebecca and Darren, along with their son Jared, met up with me at some great Jefferson City locations for a family session in early November. The weather cooperated and this family was beyond photogenic! We started our session at the Old Shoe Factory.

Just look at these two! I didn’t even have to prompt them to snuggle up.

We gave the lovebirds a break and snapped this series with Jared.

Jared and his dad striking a few guy poses…

And some so sweet ones of a great mom and her son!

And here’s the entire family – including Biscuit! What a sweet pup!

We shifted our session to downtown and captured a few images with the capitol in the background before taking advantage of some side allies for a different take.

In case you didn’t eat up enough of Biscuit in the family shots above, here he is alone. Check out those Hollywood poses from this Gordon family cute pooch.

Thanks for choosing me to photograph your family, Rebecca. I hope you had as much fun as I did!

PS Thanks to the Chamber Friday Coffee where Rebecca and I connected to make this photo shoot happen!

The Planks {family}

farrah — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 19:01:16 +0000

Bill, who I met through hYPe last year, and his family took advantage of one of my holiday special mini-sessions and I loved the results. His beautiful wife Beth and personality-loaded little guy Will made for a great session. We met up in the governor’s garden in early November to take advantage of the great fall foliage.

I love the next series, especially the one of Will and his mom on the left.

There were lots of giggles during the session, and Will had the most adorable expressions.

Like this one…

And the even cuter “showing off his muscles”…

The next series is at Lohman’s Landing, I love how the next two turned out…

Will takes center stage again. What a sweet boy!

Ending with this photo of Will between his parents. I love how he’s making sure he had ahold of both their hands so tightly, linking this terrific family.

Thanks Bill and Beth for letting me photograph your family!

The Olivers {family}

farrah — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 17:25:44 +0000

One of the great things about photography is it introduces you to so many wonderful people. In this instance, it reunited me with a childhood friend. Barbie and I grew up in a small town in southern Missouri together. We were in the same class and had plenty of sleep overs when we were young. At our high school reunion last year, we touched based and realized we were now in neighboring cities. That along with staying connected on Facebook gave me the chance to photograph her beautiful family!

Shawn and Barbie are the proud parents of adorable Audrey and sweet Dane. Let me tell ya, for a 2-year old Dane is quick. But I managed to snap a few of him amid his playfulness. Meanwhile, Audrey was quite the young lady.

I love this one of Shawn and Barbie.

A quiet moment after all the horsing around…

Closing with the ladies. I loved that Barbie brought hats along because her and Audrey like to wear them. So cute!

Old friends are the best – thanks, Barbie, for letting me meet and photography your beautiful family!

The Herveys {family & pets}

farrah — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 18:03:47 +0000

Meet the awesome Hervey family! I met Erin through the Leadership Missouri program this year where I learned about her work and her family. I was ecstatic to get to meet them when she signed up for one of my holiday special mini-sessions. We met at the governor’s garden on a beautiful fall morning where Brian and Erin, their adorable daughters Lauren and Lindsey, and super cute little guy Brendan gave me their best smiles.

Oh, and Truman the golden retriever, too!

Erin’s mother has a history of public service, so the kids made sure we snapped a photo in front of the building where she used to work.

The proud parents…what a great couple.

Each of the kids took a moment to pose for the camera. First up was Lauren, the oldest who set a great example for the others.

Brendan gave me his best “pirate” pose, while Lindsey posed pretty in between a few tickle fights.

Sisters!

From the landing, we scooted over to the old Shoe Factory in town where we wrapped up the session.

We made sure to let Truman be in the spotlight because he had been such a good sport, and who wouldn’t love that sweet, pale face!

A little throw back, retro feel to go with Brendan’s fun look as a farewell to this session…

If we had this much fun this year, I can’t wait to see how great next year will be! Thanks, Erin!

The Kleffners {extended family}

farrah — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 20:14:28 +0000

I met Ann earlier this year through Leadership MO. I was designated class photographer and that later led to Ann asking me to capture some family photos for her. And she has a beautiful family that is growing with some adorable grand kids.

Ann and Steve are the core of the family, with two married children and five grand children – the youngest just weeks old.

Here are all the grand kids together.

Amanda is married to Brian…

and they have Tristyn, Adam and baby Brianna.

Brad is married to Danielle…

and they have the darling Lauryn and her new baby brother, Chase.

The lovely Kleffner ladies…

And the charming guys…

Ann, it was wonderful getting to photograph your beautiful family! Thank you so much for the opportunity. I can’t wait to see all those adorable grand kids grow!

Ken, Kelsey & Lillian {family}

farrah — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 14:20:34 +0000

Ken is one of my oldest friends in Jefferson City. We met briefly years ago when he interned at the capitol and I was just starting as a journalist there. A few years later, he returned to Jeff City to run the YMCA’s Youth in Government program that I volunteer with. Needless to say, when we finally decided to forego the commute from Columbia, we had great friends from the start in town with Ken and his lovely wife Kelsey. Since then, they have added adorable Lillian to make three. I joined them the first weekend in October to photograph their family on a great, crisp fall morning.

We started at the capitol grounds and then made our way over to the governor’s garden.

Love those fall leaves! Lillian didn’t need much encouragement to kick and throw them around.

This photo of Ken and Lillian is my favorite from this session.

Lillian is high-energy and I did my best to keep up. Below, I caught her taking a quick rest on a stoop in front of the governor’s mansion. And I love the one of her and Kelsey – such great smiles.

We also spent some time on the beautiful tree-lined Madison Street.

We ended the session with a stroll through downtown…

Thanks Ken and Kelsey for letting me spend a great morning with you!

The Laffoons {extended family}

farrah — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 21:23:31 +0000

This summer I met Gretchen. She’s a stylish mom with a radiant smile. In conversation she told me that her family had a tradition of taking family photos every fall. Her husband Gary is originally from Jefferson City and they had recently moved the family here. I was very excited a few months later when she asked me to capture their extended family, too. So despite grey skies, we set out for a fun session in mid-September at the Governor’s Garden. We began with Gary and Gretchen, and their two adorable boys Jackson and Austin.

I love the one on the left catching all their giggles with the capitol in the background.

And so the boys wouldn’t have to sit still for too long, we played a game of peek-a-boo in the openings in the stone wall.

Next up was Al and Sue who will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary next year.

Cathy (middle) is Al and Sue’s daughter, and her daughter Madeline makes the third generation.

And here’s the whole extended Laffoon family, plus one of just grandparents and grandkids.

Boys will be boys and, boy, did they climb on everything!

I plotted with the boys to see if they could show me how they “get” their grandpa’s nose and ears. Al confessed later that he’s know to “clown” around.

We ended the session down at the landing so the boys could check out the trains. Austin was a little alarmed at first by how loud the train’s horn was…

But he warmed up and waved as the train passed by – a perfect ending to a fun shoot with the Laffoon family!

Thank you Gretchen and Gary!

Chris & Stephanie + Darling Drew {baby}

farrah — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 15:23:14 +0000

Say hi to Drew! Chris & Stephanie who you’ll remember from our baby bump session this summer, gave birth to a beautiful baby boy! His name is Andrew Joseph, but they call him Drew. I got to meet him just nine days after his birth and he was incredibly sweet, which you’ll see as you scroll through this post.

Drew was napping for most of our session, but above he gave us a quick peek of his baby blues. Below, he snuggled up bare bottomed on the beautiful blanket and set of pillows his two grandmas lovingly made him.

In the next series, I love the contrast between his soft, light skin and the warmth of the dark blanket we wrapped him in.

Stephanie is always prepared. She had ordered this adorable knit hat for his photo session and I love how it frames his cute face!Chris and Stephanie also had the idea to use some of the baby blocks they had in Drew’s nursery. We used them to spell out his name, as well as the phrase “I AM CUTE” to mimic a photo of Chris when he was a baby.

Above, Drew’s smile hints that he’s having a very sweet dream. Below, I got close-ups of all those wonderful baby features. Button nose, little eyelashes, baby toes – with mom and dad’s wedding rings resting on them!Chris and Stephanie had some fun ideas for our session, and we tried them all. The size of bookcase emphasizes how tiny Drew is, plus I love all the photos of family surrounding him. Drew’s dad Chris is a rugby player and coach and had the idea to lay Drew in a deflated rugby ball. The two below turned out, but I’m not sure rugby(or at least the feel of the ball) will be Drew’s cup of tea.The next series of images capture Drew with mom and dad individually. They both already have a wonderful bond and connection with their little guy and it shows…
At Stephanie’s shower, friends and family each gave their favorite children’s book. Needless to say, Drew has a full library. Soon they’ll be reading these classics to him, but for now they work as a great place to curl up on under the window.
We also replicated an image from their baby bump session, with Drew all curled up in front of his mom’s tummy.
And we would have been remiss to not picture this Baby Bell with a few bells. By the end, we were all tuckered out, especially Drew. So this new family snuggled up on their bed for some closing shots…

Congratulations Chris & Stephanie! Welcome Drew! Here’s to your beautiful, new family!

Tiefenthaler Homestead {family}

farrah — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 02:02:51 +0000

We recently had some quality family time visiting my sister and her family at their home in Salem. It was beautiful, cool weather for August and I took the opportunity to grab a few shots of some of their pets and other animals, plus my family catching up on their front porch.

Meet Luke…

My sister Karla also tasked me with capturing Dave, her husband, with his hunting dogs. And both were in good form…Luke is above and veteran Cricket is below.

My dad and Dave caught shooting the breeze while enjoying the breeze on the front porch. And Taffy got in on the action as well. Gotta love Corgi butts(above right)! Below she poses with my nephew Kutter.

I also got my folks to play along. My dad’s impression of a “pancake face” followed by a few happy, smiley shots…

Even the Tiefenthaler’s hogs were photogenic. Gus seemed to be their new best friend, too.

And meet “Naughty Piggy!” She’s the last to survive of her litter and is always begging to be bottle fed. She got her name because everytime you pick her up she throws a fit…such a naughty piggy.

Thanks to my sister for a great weekend visit. Can’t wait til we all can get together again soon!