Family Photos by Nicole Coleman

For years I’ve been wanting to get some family photos shot of Trent, Lu and I, and for years I’ve put it off. Why? No idea. Probably a combo of money + time + convincing Trent to do it, but for whatever the reasons, we’ve always held off. So when my friend Nicole moved to KC a year ago, I knew I’d be asking for her services. You see, Nicole is a real photographer. In the very sense of the word. Not only is she super-talented and endlessly creative, she has been crafting her skill forever. You know that awesome picture of me as a modelesque 6-year-old that’s on my About Me page? Yeah, she took that.

So one ridiculously hot day in June we got together to shoot some family portraits. Except it was a Friday, Trent was grumpy after a long week of work, Lu was grumpy after a long week of school and it was (no lie) 107 degrees outside. And humid. Gotta love Kansas City.

The shoot was done in parts of the River Market area downtown, and then out at our favorite pizza joint by our house. And although it was so hot that Lu really wasn’t the sparkplug she usually is, I almost like these pictures better because of it. Nicole captured the serious Lu, which I just don’t think to photograph much. And I may be biased (obviously), but this kid, she is just gorgeous.

A few other favorites from the day:

I wish I could post all 50 photos so you all could oohh and ahhh like I’ve been doing, but instead I’ll just link to the Flickr set of the shoot here. Nicole is going through a business redesign right now, but you can find her old website here, and you know I’ll be linking to her new one once it’s completed. (It’s so good, y’all, you have no idea. Just wait.)

Thank you, Nicole, for capturing our family of three before everything changes. Thank you for making me look skinny. Thank you for dealing with my grumpy family. And of course, thank you for that lovely photo of 6-year-old me. It has nothing to do with this shoot, but is so awesome, you deserve heaps of praise.