sweetheart sessions! {valentine's mini-sessions}

New Year's Greetings! I hope you had a wonderful holiday and are ready for a great New Year! I sure am. I'm planning lots of great things for YOU! First up are Valentine's Day mini-sessions! Valentine's Day is right around the corner and this is a great way to show off your little sweetheart! Maybe with some custom Valentine's Day cards or with just a few portraits or a digital file so you can go make your own cards.  I will be doing mini sessions on January 21st at the Country Club Cafe in Shawnee. 

What is a mini-session you ask? It's an awesome way to try out custom photography or get a few shots of the kids in between your main session. To find out more, see the flier below or get in touch and I'd love to fill ya in!  Oh, and be sure to pass this on to anyone you know who might be interested. There are only a set number of spots that day, so call soon!

Did I mention we'll have lots of fun? ;) Hope to see you there!

Laura and kids {Joplin Smile}

This family was my last session on the day I spent in Joplin. I felt so blessed to meet them. They are all great kids and Laura is a great mom and such a gentle spirit. They survived that horrible tornado and lost their house, but they have each other. You can tell they are a tight group and they take care of each other. It was hard to choose only a few to post. There are many more!

Meet the beautiful mother of this fun crew...

It's Yainer's senior year and we were able to grab some fun shots for he senior portraits while we were at it!

The Whites

It was so fun meeting and working with the White family! They were playful and open to fun ideas. Even had the awesome idea of the first image you see below. 

The Bret Family

This lovely family has been with me since the beginning! They are more than just clients. They used to live two doors over and our girls played about every day. Since they've moved, we don't see them as much. So I really enjoy my time with them during our yearly session! Enjoy a few from their session.

The Unruh Family

I met Maggie at a good friend's baby shower this past spring. We got to talking about our businesses and just hit it off! Before long, we were partnering to do giveaways, auctions and just promoting each other. You've heard me brag about her before, so if you guessed it was Maggie of Lily Cole Designs, you were right! I just love this gal {and her creative ideas} and now that I've met her family, I love them just as much. What a fun bunch to be around. Maggie had some great ideas and we ran with them. The result: fabulous and fun images! (which were very hard to select for this post I might add!) Enjoy.

How Divine!

Meet the Divines. I loved our time together! It was a gorgeous day and so fun to watch them interact as a family. They sure know how to have fun! Enjoy a few.

The Nelsons!

This is my second year photographing this lovely family and it was such a pleasure, once again! They are so fun to work with and turns out we know a lot of the same people! :) Enjoy a few from our session in the park.

Ashleigh & Joseph {Joplin Smile!}

These two were my second session of the day in Joplin and tons of fun to work with! I'm not sure Joe knew what he was getting himself into. But in the end, I think he had a little fun. ;) Best wishes to you both. Enjoy!

The Miller Family [Joplin Smile Sessions]

This wonderful family was the first of my Joplin Smile sessions last weekend and they rocked it! I had been looking forward to these sessions with excitement since the day I signed up on the Joplin Smile team and it was all I hoped it would be, and more. JS began with a wonderful couple in Kansas City (The Fantasma's). They had a wonderful idea to gather photographers from surrounding areas who would volunteer their time and photography skills to help tornado survivors rebuild their portrait collections. Meeting these people was such a blessing for me. Hearing about their strength and perseverance was so inspiring!

The Millers were preparing for a bbq at their house on the day of the tornado. Cindi's daughter, April, was in from Dallas and Richard's daughter, Sarah was over as well. Richard was grilling when he realized the "thunder" he heard was not thunder but the roar of a tornado. The family quickly went in a closet together and seconds later the tornado hit. The closet was left intact and they had escaped the havoc the tornado left in it's place.

When I spoke with Richard on the phone and asked who he wanted in the photos, there was no hesitation. It had to be the four of them, because they survived it together. I feel honored to document the beginning of this new chapter, post tornado.

Enjoy a few images from our time together. There will be more wonderful stories and images of my day in Joplin coming soon!

Giveaway & Valdez Family

Congratulations Kathryn Harter! She is the lucky recipient of the $25 Lily Cole giveaway. Thanks for playing everyone!

I love a post with photos, so below is the latest session with the Valdez family. It was such a pleasure to photograph them. They were all so laid back and we had a lot of fun.

Enjoy the beautiful fall weather!

Lily Cole Designs Giveaway!!!

I’m so excited about this giveaway! You've heard me brag before but if you haven't checked out Lily Cole Designs yet, you must! Maggie creates beautiful heartfelt prints for nurseries and toddler rooms, embroidered pillows, wall hangings, paper garlands and fabulous note cards. (I have a set and love them!)

One lucky reader will have their very own Lily Cole design! Maggie is graciously giving away a $25 credit to the Lily Cole shop so YOU can decide which of her products suits you.

TO ENTER PLEASE:
1."Like" Denise Williams Photography fb page (right up top) AND
2. "Like" Lily Cole Designs fb page {CLICK HERE}

BONUS ENTRY: Rally your friends and have them do 1 & 2, PLUS leave a comment on fb saying you sent them and you’ll be entered twice.

The winner will be announced next Wednesday, September 28th at 9:00 pm CST. Any of her items would make great holiday gifts or a nice treat for yourself. ;)

Meet Maggie, the awesome talent behind Lily Cole Designs...

Psst...that's Lily!

1. My only celebrity sighting: I recently saw “Big” from Sex and the City. Funny thing is I saw him in a bar in NYC while I was drinking a cosmo. Doesn’t that seem like a coincidence? Especially since I am never in NYC. And never drinking a cosmo.
2. I am a Kansas girl born, raised and never strayed. One look at me and the fact is confirmed: everything pretty much IS flat in Kansas.
3. My most favorite thing to do is to curl up on the couch and watch a DVR’d Real Housewives, and crochet. No judging allowed.
4. I don’t own a full-length mirror, so I am pretty sure all of my jeans look 80’s mom style. Yet I don’t know so I don’t care.
5. I have never been happier in my whole life than I am right now.

You can find Maggie’s work in her Etsy shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/LilyCole or on her fb page. She'd love to hear which pieces are your favorites!