As a Springfield Senior Photographer, I love when my worlds cross and I get to capture seniors who love theatre and Jaxson was no exception. I got to experience the new home of Springfield Contemporary Theatre at the historic Fox Theatre for the first time. I love old theaters - the smells, the magic, the history of storytelling fills the air. 

Jaxson was such a lovely young man to capture and get to know. We started our session at the Fox Theatre, and then wandered downtown finding cool spots and good lighting. 

As a digital illustrator, I loved the idea of incorporating a little of that into one of his photos. What do you think? 

If you're looking for Springfield Senior Photographer, don't hesitate to reach out! 

Email: DesigningIndie@gmail.com
​Call or Text: 417-848-0932

I was honored when the Springfield Daily Citizen reached out to ask me to do editorial illustrations for a 4 part series on Domestic Violence in Springfield, MO. My first job with them was earlier this year when I illustrated a story they did on working from home. In this blog, I'll take you behind the scenes of my editorial illustration process for this Springfield Daily Citizen job. 
 
​For the first illustration, they wanted to subject featured and wanted to be able to have a version with the title of the series "Living in Fear" and without, as well as a version they could use as the logo for the series. 

Below are my first two mock-up sketches for the concept based on their requests, and above is the final version in full color. Some time after creating this illustration, I nearly spat out my water as I was driving home from a doctor's appointment and saw my illustration on a billboard! Pretty cool--unfortunately, I wasn't quick enough to get a picture of it. 

The second illustration in this series was intended to illustrate the things most women in domestic violence situations feel make it harder for them to leave: kids and pets. In this illustration, we see our main character in a dark whole or pit with their cherished loved ones, the kids and the pets, surrounding them--money and keys also appearing signifying the opportunity (or lack thereof) to flee. The sketch of the main character appears more feminine presenting, but the newspaper requested a more gender neutral character for this one, as men, women, and non-binary individuals may all be the victim of domestic violence.  

The third illustration in this series was to depict the ways the justice system in America is often bent towards the perpetrator and against the victim, thereby re-victimizing and further traumatizing the victim. For this, we see a court scene with the scales of justice leaning in favor towards the perpetrator, while the victim takes the stand. 

In the final illustration in this series, the newspaper requested we see all the people who are in the victim's corner, helping them to safety, to heal, to get justice, and shine a light on what has been happening in the shadows and behind closed doors. Each of the people surrounding our main character here are actual, real local people in Springfield, MO who work to help victims of domestic abuse. 

Check out the incredible reporting done for this series Living in Fear by the Springfield Daily Citizen. 

If you are looking for editorial illustrations to help bring your story to live, or custom illustrations to give as a gift, don't hesitate to reach out!

Call or Text: 417-848-0932
Email: DesigningIndie@gmail.com

If you're looking for Senior Portrait Photography in Springfield MO that's going to stand out from the other graduating Senior's and really capture YOU, don't hesitate to reach out! I love capturing all graduating seniors, but I have a special spot in my heart for fellow creatives who want to do something fun and different for their session. I've shot a teen pilot, an aspiring actress, a cereal addict, and this past weekend, I was lucky enough to shoot roller skating artist. 

To collaborate on the concept for this shoot, Jane and I shared some ideas back and forth, she sent me a Pinterest board of pictures she liked and we discussed two different looks/locations. Eventually, we settled on a Roller Skating shoot with colorful streamers on a basketball court overlooking Lake Springfield and a "downtown that doesn't necessarily look like Springfield" shoot with neon signs. I haven't felt this inspired in a long time and love how these turned out!

If you are looking for a creative Senior Portrait Photographer in Springfield MO (or the surrounding areas), don't hesitate to reach out! My pricing starts at $150 per look/location, $300 for 2 looks/locations, and so on. I am available to collaborate on concepts, scout locations, props, clothing, help with make-up/hair, and I edit and deliver the photos digitally in both Print Size and Social Media Size albums.

Call or Text: 417-838-0932
Email: DesigningIndie@gmail.com

Jaylan and Tyler's Grandmother reached out to me about doing Senior Portraits in Springfield, MO at the Mizumoto Japanese Stroll Garden. Grandma, another cousin Trinity (a former senior photo client), and their pup accompanied the graduating boys for the shoot. I always recommend bringing your own cheering squad! Grandma came prepared too, she brought little blankets to put down for sitting on rocks so their pants wouldn't get dirty. 

While my favorite types of senior portraits showcase each senior's personal interests, like this Teen Pilot shoot or this young actress shoot there is something to be said for creating photos at the special request of a loving Grandmother. I remember going to my Grandma's house and seeing the gallery of all us grandkids and it always made me feel special and loved. While these boys wouldn't normally be the type to schedule or collaborate on an editorial photoshoot, they were happy to oblige their Grandmother's request to sit in a beautiful garden that had sentimental value to their Grandmother and take some nice portraits. 

If you are in need of senior pictures for you or your graduating senior, don't hesitate to reach out! Sessions start at $150 per look or location and include editing and digital delivery of both print size and social media size files.

Call or Text: 417-848-0932
Email: DesigningIndie@gmail.com

This custom Performing Arts Logo Design for Conway Fine Arts was such a fun project. Conway Fine Arts is a new arts organization on the East Coast. They combine music, dance, and drama. They focus on promoting new art, and creating narrative programs with music. They collaborate with dancers and use a variety of venues for their performances. Below is their original logo - they knew they wanted it to feel both old fashioned and modern. They wanted dark blue, gold, and maybe pink. 

They wanted their logo to include the multiple artistic disciplines like music, dance, and theatre. They thought they wanted the middle clef symbol included, but ultimately decided different. Since there were a lot of things they wanted included, but they also liked more simple logos, I created several different mock-ups:

We also made an option with just the name, and an abbreviated option:

If you are looking for someone to collaborate with and bring your logo design to life, don't hesitate to reach out! 

Call or text: 417-848-0932
Email: DesigningIndie@gmail.com

CD Cover Creative Design is one of my favorite types of projects as it often blends my photography work with my graphic design work in a really fun, rewarding way. Plus, working with other artists who are masters in their field is always an added bonus. I've been fortunate to work with many artists in a variety of musical genres, but this was my first time dipping my toe in the Opera world. Working with Opera superstar Michael Spyres on his newest album art was a super fun project. He originally wanted something very kitsch with a nod to classical, and something more playful than usually seen in the Opera scene. So, we really went for it! Here are some of the first mock-ups I came up with.

I LOVED these. And so did Michael, but in the end, the winner winner chicken dinner used was more formal and classic. Still, Michael is getting use out of these images on his website. Click here to listen/buy to Michael's newest album, out April 21st. 

If you are a musician looking for a fellow artist to collaborate with and create a unique album cover that will stick out from the rest, don't hesitate to reach out!

Call or text: 417-848-0932
Email: DesigningIndie@gmail.com

Cassie & Harrison's downtown Springfield, MO wedding was beautiful. They got married and had their reception at the 425 Event Center and for portraits, they wanted some outside so we walked down to the twinkly lights that spread across the downtown streets, walked to the Vandivort to get warm and grab a few shots, and then stopped everywhere the lights twinkled their magic on the way back to the event center for the reception. 

Also, look how cute this little flower girl is!

Cassie & Harrison opted for half-day wedding coverage. We shot for 4 hours, captured over 1000 photos, edited and delivered about 700 photos just 5 days later. Photos are delivered digitally in Print Size optimized and Social Media Size optimized albums for download. 

If you are looking for a wedding photographer in or around Springfield, MO - don't hesitate to reach out. I can also travel to you!

Text or call: 417-848-0932
Email: DesigningIndie@gmail.com

When Shannon reached out to me to create a Custom Illustration for the Publication Springfield Daily Citizen, she started off by referencing two previous illustrations of mine and pointing out the aspects she liked. She said she needed a custom illustration for an article they were working on about 'working from home' and they wanted to show a woman working from home at a desk with multiple screens and a calendar with dates marked off.  She liked the way I had illustrated the person in this first image below on the left and she liked the background of the second image below on the right. 

She also said she had a quick turnaround time--she would need the image less than a week later. I said that was no problem and had a few clarifying questions like:

1. Is there any preference on the type of person (age, gender, size, ethnicity, type of work)?
2. What type of content should be on the screens or should what's on the screens not be detailed enough to be able to distinguish? 
3. Should the calendar be on the wall, on one of the screens, on the desk? And what month should show?
4. Any color preferences?

Once she got back to me with her reply, I got started and this was the first draft I sent over a few days later:

She liked this version but felt like it wasn't clear enough that she was working from home--she wanted to see more details that made it feel like she was working from home. She also wanted the subject to be moved more to the center so when they share it on social media it wont crop the subject off. Lastly, she thought the background could have more abstract "pizzaz" like the image she had sent. 

I felt like with this feedback I could go one of two directions, so I went ahead and created both of those options for them to choose from. One which filled in the background with a room in a home and one which added just a few more "home" detail hints on the desk but had a more abstractly "pizzaz" background. Which do you prefer?

As I'm sure you guess from the header image on this blog, the option with the more detailed room in the background won from the client's perspective. 

Check out the article here!

If you are in need of a custom illustration, don't hesitate to reach out!

Call or Text: 417-848-0932
Email: DesigningIndie@gmail.com

For anyone looking for LGBTQ Family Photos in Springfield MO, I empathize with how tricky that can be to navigate. As a member of the LGBTQ+ community myself I've experienced first-hand the challenges that come with trying to find LGBTQ+ inclusive services in an area of the United States not well known for its inclusion and diversity.  So, I was extremely excited when Karly reached out to have me create family photos. 

I've got to say, this kiddo has got to be one of the easiest and happiest little hams I've ever had in front of my camera. Just look are this little baby model! Doing family photos with small children can be difficult, so I always like to encourage play, snack breaks, and genuine interactions as much as possible. My approach to family photos is less department-store-formal and more genuine and laid back. I think family photos should be a memorable experience of familial bonding, laughing, and enjoying each other where you just happen to have an extra friend hanging around taking pictures. We will capture some posed shots to make sure we get everyone looking the same way with eyes open (ideally), but I think 9 times out of 10 my clients favorites shots end up being the ones they don't even realize I caught because they were so in the moment. 

If you're looking for LGBTQ+ Family Photos in Springfield MO or the surrounding areas, don't hesitate to reach out! I would be honored to capture your beautiful family. 

Call or Text: 417-848-0932
​Email: DesigningIndie@gmail.com