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Thanks for checking out the blog, here I'll share recent sessions, tips for choosing your outfits, location features, and more.

Max | West Bottoms Kansas City

The first time I photographed Max was in 2012 when he was the oldest of just 2 kiddos and now he’s the oldest of 7, what a blessing it’s been to have photographed his family over all these years and to have been able to capture his senior photos for him. We had a great time down in the West Bottoms walking around and finding great little nooks and crannies. I’m very familiar with the WB of course but always nice to just go for a walk and see what sticks out to us. I do have atleast one parent join us for every senior session so knowing Max’s parents well after the past 13 years it was nice to be able to catch up and the session flowed more like friends hanging out and having a good time.

So the West Bottoms is fantastic for the urban look but I do clean up images in post processing and remove out anything I can’t remove while on location. So while certain graffiti can stay if it’s not’s distracting from our subject, I do remove minor tags (which I did in the images of him sitting on the brick wall) and polish up images where appropriate, such as removing signs from windows and any random sticks or dirt on the ground. Having the eye for what makes a good location for any photos is essential but also making sure the images are polished is a top priority for me. I digitally develop all my images in Lightroom and every single image is hand edited and reviewed carefully to remove minor imperfections that most people may not even have ever known were there to begin with (unless I left them in). This is something I have always done in all my sessions as shooting on location is great, but you still want that really impeccable image.

If there’s green I can find to add into an image I will do what I can to add it! It’s not only my favorite color but I truly believe that a touch of green in images not only makes the portrait feel more grounded but our eyes are naturally, and I think biologically, drawn to seek out the color green and gives us that little joyous boost like what we all feel when things turn green in the Spring. Just happiness.

Adding in a touch of baseball to his session. It wasn’t the main focus but just a quick little attribute to his high school days.

This green door has been a favorite of mine for many many years. The pop of color in the artwork is a nice change of pace from the all brick / concrete feel of an urban backdrop.

Right as we were about to wrap up walking back to the cars we came across this beautiful Ivy wall and I had Max change back into his neutral shirt. When shooting I will intentionally look for location that I can shoot wide at so to give parents options for graduation invites, which the bottom photo below was shot and used for exactly that. Max’s invite info text was added at the top of the image and it looked great. So when I send out the gallery, I will intentionally include images that are wide angled as options for invites just as a little something extra.

Thanks so much for a great session, Max! I wish all the best in your exciting new chapter of your life!



If you are interested in working with me for your senior photos, please shoot me an email at jessicastromphotography@gmail.com for more info, I’d love to work together!

Eastin | Downtown Kansas City

Oh this session was so much fun and we lucked out on a gorgeous 60+ degree day in early February! Eastin was a dream to photograph and our two hour Gold session flew right by. Our two main areas we focused on were in the Crossroads and then up here at Liberty Memorial. Getting the cityscape shot in the background can be hit or miss depending on the sunlight (since it faces south) but again, we completely lucked out as clouds rolled in just as we headed up there allowing the city to say hello!

Eastin’s blue dress proves that it truly is best to dress for the location. It worked beautifully here at Liberty Memorial with the assorted blue tiles on the building and then added that pop of color needed to make her stand out in the other portraits with the stone and the tall golden grass, bringing the eye’s attention directly to her.


Switching it back to the beginning of our session, we started on the Freight House Bridge attached to Union Station, accessing it from the crossroads side. The black top and jeans were perfect for this spot as it complimented the steel of the bridge and the lines brought the focus directly to Eastin’s beautiful smile.

After we left the bridge, we went for a walk around the area and stumbled upon this cute KC mural which happily worked great with her outfit and sunglasses. We didn’t have a set location in mind but rather enjoyed finding little nooks and crannies as we (Eastin, myself, and her mom) walked and chatted, we really had such a great time!

I have used this building before with my family mini sessions and I absolutely love the lines bringing the focus to the middle, which was perfect for Eastin’s outfit.

And a little pop of green, which was so nice to find in February!

And our last image of the night to round out the blog post. I truly had a blast and love how these turned out! Check out her mom’s Google review below, thank you so much!!



~ Shoot me an email at jessicastromphotography@gmail.com for more info, I’d love to work together!

Anna | John’s Greenhouse

Anna’s Senior session was such a great time. With Taylor Swift playing in the background, we enjoyed a fun hour out in this cute little 100 something year old greenhouse in Brookeside. The appeal to this particular greenhouse is its unkempt look, which actually photographs very well and can be used year round, which is definitely appealing in the winter when there isn’t much green to be found!

Prior to every session, we have a text thread where we chat about outfits and what looks best in a specific location we’re planning on shooting at. For this greenhouse, it for sure calls out a boho type of feel to photos and I was able to help curate the images before we even met up by suggesting styles of clothes to look for and I pulled items from my client accessories collection to round out the finishing touches.

During my sessions we do a lot of combo expressions between smiling, semi smiling and not smiling and deliver the varieties in the online gallery for viewing. Anna completely rocked both with her expressions and it’s always great to have options to choose from to decide which mood of the photo you like best!

I had found these fun green sunglasses off Amazon and knew I needed them for the greenhouse for some fun shots as well as the earrings she’s wearing, all together it brought out a cute retro vibe to this series of images. I also provided the stool to match the boho feel of the greenhouse.

As our hour was coming to a close, we managed to sneak in one last shirt change to a long sleeved green top however as sometimes we discover during sessions, not all outfits work with the location and that particular shade of green made Anna blend in a bit too much with the greenery. However we did still get a great shot of her amazing naturally long eyelashes with the soft lighting coming through the roof.

Thank you Anna for such an incredible session!

We shot this session in early March and as I mentioned, it’s a great spot year round. The greenhouse does charge by the hour to shoot there so if you want this unique location for your shoot, I just have client’s pay the current fee to shoot there as they accept cash the day of the session and we have the whole place to ourselves for the time we rent, it’s awesome.


~ Shoot me an email at jessicastromphotography@gmail.com for more info, I’d love to work together!

Hello {again} world!

New site, but I’m not new. Not by a long shot. =)

Over the last 17 years as a professional photographer, the last 9 have been mainly focused on my incredibly popular 5 Minute Photo Shoots for families with some newborns and seniors sprinkled in there from time to time. On average I photograph around 500 families a year in my mini sessions with the bulk of those sessions between Labor Day – Thanksgiving, Fall is a crazy time indeed. My business is known mainly via word of mouth as I don’t really advertise and I’m honestly terrible at social media (I’m too busy photographing families!) but I try my best.

Over the last year or so, I’ve really felt the want to be able to also get back into the more creative side of portraits with longer sessions and a more personal feel, which is how I’ve landed on broadening my Senior Session offerings I can do year round. I have had plenty of parents book me for Seniors over the years and I’m truly excited to offer a brand new space here on its own website just for them. This domain has been the original home of JSP since its inception in 2008 and I hope you love the new makeover.

Staying consistent with the way I photograph my families & newborns over the many years, my vision with my Senior sessions is to create truly timeless images that never appear dated or trendy. My editing style is light, bright with true to life colors. I walk everyone through natural poses so it’s guided but not forced or cheesy. We have a great time and it’s truly a blast!

My family mini-sessions are still just as much as part of my business and even provide an option for Seniors who may only want a handful of photos for either Mom, the yearbook, or just to keep. Big hit with the guys. =)

So, please take some time to check out the site, see what I’m offering and let’s connect!

Me with my wonderful husband Daniel and our two amazing kids, Charlie & Rachel

JESSICA STROM PHOTOGRAPHY

providing you with fine art beautiful, lovely curated images to last you a lifetime