the photographer

Hi! I’m Cristen!

I love Netflix, coffee, Kansas sunsets, photo booths, good music and vintage EVERYTHING.

I get asked occasionally by clients how I happened upon photography or started a photography business. Is this what I always wanted to do? Well, the (not so) short answer is this: I have always loved photography. I was that person who was defaulted “the photographer” when pictures were needed. Were they good photos? Well, not particularly but I loved it nonetheless. I developed a life crush on National Geographic from a young age and by 9th grade I had determined that my dream career was to become a photojournalist for the magazine. Shortly thereafter, however I also discovered my love for science and biology which led me down a different road, one that pointed to a nursing career. For 9 years I worked as a pediatric home health nurse and had the honor of meeting and caring for some of the most amazing and inspirational children and their families. Photography had been on the back burner for a long time when my son Julian arrived in 2009 (lovingly nicknamed “Pickle” in the womb.) I tried hard to hold on to my nursing career over the next year or so, but my heart yearned to be home more with my little boy. Driven by my need to capture his life and our new day-to-day existence, I was inspired to pick up the camera again and this time my passion was tenfold. I became obsessed with learning anything and everything I could. The rest is honestly a bit of a blur, but taking the leap to start my own business was equal parts terrifying and amazing. While working from home has come with unique challenges and sacrifices, I’m so excited that I now get the opportunity to do THIS as my job. It makes the 9th grader in me very happy! I also absolutely adore working with children and families. Being there to witness and capture my client’s families as they grow and change is something I am VERY passionate about and for this reason, I have centered my business 100% on family portraiture.

Now that you’ve learned a bit about me, I’d love to have the chance to get to know you and your family too! Feel free to use the contact form to get in touch with me!