The Fraser Family

I love summer for so many reasons and one of those reasons is because I get to work with The Fraser’s. A Summer Mini Session together is becoming a tradition with this amazing family. As always, they did a wonderful job during their session. They are easy-going and a lot of fun to work with. The boys are always fun to tease, which in turn creates the sweetest grins from them. Abel adores his big brother, oh so much, and you can definitely see that in the images of them together. I love the way he looks at Gavin. You can tell that they have a special bond and are best buds. Mix in their precious parents, Luke and Hannah, and you will see why I always refer to them as the "Picture Perfect Fraser Family"!

Thankfully, we are already making plans for their family session next year, so I am counting down the days. Until then, I'm excited to share a few of my favorite images from their summer session with everyone today. Enjoy and I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! 

Sydney | Senior 2021

I knew I was going to have a lot of fun with Sydney at her Senior Session from the moment that we said “hello”. Her smile and excitement for the evening was definitely contagious. Instantly, I felt like I had known her for years. What a doll! 

It was so enjoyable to leisurely walk around downtown Springfield, talking about her plans for the summer and upcoming Senior Year. That evening she brought along her mother and cousin, both absolute sweethearts. I had the best time with all of them! We laughed and laughed throughout her entire session.

I was sad to see the sun beginning to set in the evening. However, I was excited to get back to my office and start going through her proofs because I knew I got some amazing shots of her that really showed off her sweet personality. Putting this blog post together put me right back to that day and I smiled just as much now and I did back then. Sydney, I know I’ve told you this before, but I mean it. You were a DREAM to work with. I wish you the very best as you start this next chapter in your life. I hope you enjoy every minute of your Senior Year. It goes quick, so take lots of pictures and soak it all in. :-) I hope our paths cross again in the future.

Without further ado, I give you some of my favorite images of Sydney - Senior 2021. Enjoy and Happy Wednesday Friends! 

The Knapp Family

I’ve had the wonderful privilege of photographing The Knapp Family for over seven years. I look forward to working with them summer after summer. It’s been fun to watch Kase and Kynlee through the years and as always, Brandi and Wade are a dream to work with. The summer temps had officially arrived the evening of their session. It was hot hot hot outside, but everyone did an awesome job. They were all smiles, giggles, and absolutely adorable! I’m excited to share some of my favorite images with you today. I love each and every image and you can easily tell why I enjoy working with them so much. Without further ado, I give you The Knapp Family - Summer 2020. Enjoy and I hope everyone has a wonderful day!

Kole | Senior 2020

Graduation time is always so memorable; but for the Class of 2020 their Senior Year will stand out just a little bit more than all other graduating classes. When the COVID-19 crisis began to progress in our area early this spring, my heart immediately went out to all high school seniors. My heartstrings tugged a little bit more for my seniors who I’ve had the wonderful privilege of photographing this year. At each of their sessions we talked about their plans for the rest of their senior year, graduation, and what they’re going to be doing this summer. Sadly, most of their plans were changed due to the worldwide pandemic we are facing. However, with everything that is going on, I think the Class of 2020 has handled it very well. 

     This is definitely the case for Kole and his session. We’ve been planning his Senior Session for months. However, when COVID-19 came into the mix that changed our plans ... several times actually. After the stay-at-home order was lifted and we were given the green light to proceed with his session, Mother Nature decided to step in and mix it up a bit more with some inclement weather. Needless to say this guy handled all of the changes and rescheduled sessions like a champ. 

     The day of his session arrived and I couldn’t have hand-designed more perfect conditions. It was a beautiful evening and Kole was an absolute dream to work with! At the start of his session he was going through the different items he had brought with him to change into. Once I saw that one of the items was a FRIENDS sweatshirt, I knew we were going to have a lot of laughs that evening. I really enjoyed walking around downtown and listened as he excitedly talked about his plans for the future. Of course, we couldn’t end his session without mentioning our favorite FRIENDS episodes and quotes. I mean, who doesn’t love the one where Ross gets a spray tan or whitens his teeth way too much? Ha! Good times and lots of laughs indeed! 

     Kole, I wish you the very best as you close this chapter of your life and embark on a new and exciting one. I hope you have a wonderful time at your graduation in August and enjoy every minute of it. You definitely deserve it! 

     Without further ado, I give you a few of my favorite images of Kole - Senior 2020. Enjoy and I hope everyone has a wonderful day!

Madison | Senior 2020

The last time I worked with Miss Madison she was about ten years old. It was a photo session that I did with her and her siblings just after sunrise on a November morning. It was so cold that morning, but none of them ever complained. Fast forward eight years later and I can tell you that she is just as sweet now as she was back then. Although it wasn't as cold as our last session together, it was still on the chilly side. Once again, she never complained. She smiled and giggled through her entire session. She is a doll and a dream to work with! 

Some of my favorite images from her session is an idea that she had been wanting to try with colored smoke bombs. Not only did these images come out really cool; the behind the scenes moments keep me smiling to this day. We had so much fun testing them out at different locations with the various colors. Madison was such a trooper to continue smiling through the VERY intense smoke smell. Ha! We laughed and laughed while working with the smoke bombs. Those will always and forever remind me of Madison and her Senior Session. 

Picking out my favorites was a little harder when it came to Madison's session, because I love each and every one of them. I narrowed it down to the ones that were always at the top of my list and I wanted to share them with you today. Madison, I hope you have an awesome Senior Year. Enjoy every minute of it. Graduation will be here before you know it! I wish you the very best as you embark on this new chapter in your life. Enjoy and Happy Friday!

The Horton Family

This is the first time that I’ve worked with the adorable Horton family, and I hope it won’t be the last. They were truly a dream to work with! We had to reschedule their original date due to inclement weather; however, we were rewarded the day of their family session because the sun was shining and it was absolutely perfect outside. We did this session at their home and it’s hard to put into words how beautiful their property is. Between the gorgeous setting and the weather conditions outside, I don’t think I could’ve designed a better afternoon for an outdoor family session. My photographer heart was so very happy!

It’s obvious that Shamain takes good care of the family because they were dressed to perfection. You can tell she put in so much time and effort getting everything together for that day. Everyone did such a wonderful job that afternoon. We had a lot fun together and it was a nice and relaxing session. I was able to capture a variety of images and combinations and I’m not exaggerating when I say, “I love them all.” Whether I was photographing the entire family, just the kids (Anara and Sam), or sneaking in a few shots of just Mom and Dad (Shamin and Will), I couldn’t stop smiling. They are such a beautiful family and so easy to photograph.

I said it before but I’ll say it again, I hope this won’t be the last time that we see The Horton Family here on the Steph Layne Photography blog. I am so excited to share some of my favorite images from their family session with everyone today. I know you will enjoy them as much as I do. Happy Friday and I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

KC Goes To Miami | Our Super Bowl Sunday 2020

Raise your hand if you’re still smiling because the Kansas City Chiefs won Super Bowl LIV. Me! Me! Me! Wow! Not only was it a great game but a great season for the Chiefs as well. Sunday’s game wasn’t the first time they had us all on an emotional roller coaster for four quarters. Ha! In the end, the Chiefs did what they do best, come back and dominate the game and then go on to win it. Hands down the BEST.  SUPER BOWL.  EVER.

The last sentence from last year’s blog post was, “I’m already counting down the days until next year and we will hopefully be cheering on our Kansas City Chiefs!” Did that play a factor in them making it to the Super Bowl this year? Probably not. : ) However, it’s been such a fun season cheering them on and knowing that each game they won was another week closer to the Super Bowl.

Since this was such a huge game; we actually didn’t do our traditional Wing Off like in previous years. We wanted to be able to focus on the game one hundred percent. Even though we weren’t having our yearly wing competition, the “themed party planner” in me went right to work the day after the Chiefs won the AFC Championship. Well actually I started planning the party a few months ago in hopes that the Chiefs would be in it, but started purchasing items the day after they won the championship. I enjoyed putting together this “Chiefs Themed” Super Bowl party and couldn’t get enough of the red and yellow colors. Justan had the amazing idea to put the game outside on our projector and watch it on the big screen if the weather was warm enough. I can’t tell you how excited we were as we watched the temperature for Sunday inch warmer and warmer. It was absolutely perfect outside and his vision came to life. Being able to watch the game inside or outside by the fire was so much fun.

Even though we didn’t have a lot of wings to choose from, everyone did an incredible job and brought the most delicious food. We had a spread and feast that Mahomes and Kelce definitely would have approved of. I’ve loved putting this blog post together and I’m so excited to share a little behind the scenes look at this year’s Super Bowl Sunday extravaganza.

My Dad and I have said it over and over, “this won’t be the last time that we will be cheering on our Kansas City Chiefs at the Super Bowl.” We’ll see you again next year! Go Chiefs!

We are so bummed that a few of our friends had to leave before we took our “end of the party” iPhone photo. Happy Super Bowl Sunday! Until Next Year ….

Alexus | Senior 2020

I've been looking forward to Alexus's Senior Session for many years. I had the wonderful privilege of photographing her older sister, MacKenzie, in 2016 and I've been anxiously awaiting Alexus' senior year since then. Alexus was a dream to work with. Even though it was a little chilly that afternoon, she was so happy and was smiling non-stop. She definitely has a contagious laugh; so I found myself giggling right along with her. Joining us that afternoon was her awesome Mom and Dad and her best friend, Haley. We had the best time together! I was sad when the sun began to set because I knew our time together was quickly coming to an end. I could have stayed outside for a few more hours photographing her and laughing and enjoying the evening with everyone.

Something that Alexus and I have in common is our love for traveling. I enjoyed hearing about some of the unique places that she has visited over the last couple of years. She brought along some memorabilia from her favorite traveling expeditions to Europe. I loved listening to her recall some of the incredible moments from her trip. It’s obvious that traveling the world already holds a very special place in her heart and she is just beginning. Alexus, I can't wait to see all of the amazing locations you are going to visit as you embark on this next chapter of your life. "Oh the places you will go" is a phrase that comes to mind when I think of you. I wish you the very best and I know that you will have the time of your life. Enjoy my dear and take lots of pictures! 

     Without further ado, I give you a few of my favorite images from Alexus' Senior Session. Class of 2020! Enjoy and I hope everyone has a wonderful day!