rhonda stark photography: minneapolis children’s photographer

i met up with “M” the other night for his senior session and let me tell you i was glad that i brought my step stool .. although i could have used a ladder .. for he was pretty tall. now i’m not short by any means (5′8″ on a good day) but i felt it when i stood next to him!

anyway .. and this is the very cool part .. he could do that thing with the basketball where it spins on his finger .. i was amazed at how long it kept going!

after shooting a few at his house (oh .. the basketball court was at his house .. another cool thing) we headed over to Dundee Nursery to finish up his session. i have always thought it would be a cool place to shoot a senior session and finally called to see if it was possible. they were so nice and allowed us to do so! when i told my husband that i was doing the shoot there he was a bit skeptical .. but i knew it would be cool and have great little spots .. and i wasn’t disappointed.

loved this cool little building .. do you see what i mean about him being tall!

and this spot too ..

and since i’ve title this entry ‘very cool’ i have to show this shot .. isn’t this the essence of cool here .. i love the stare and the tiny bit of a smirk!

thanks again mom & dad & “M” for having me out to capture this milestone in your life! and a special thanks to Dundee Nursery for the use of their property!
and thanks for putting up with all my cool comments .. i’m totally dating myself here aren’t i

i met up with these cute brothers the other night. and as i was going through the images for their sneak peek i really noticed the differences between “A” and “G” .. both in looks and personalities. and it always amazes me how different each child is even though they came from the same two parents and have the same upbringing.

but no matter how different they are they seemed to be best buds …

or partners in crime

mom & dad (and “A” and “G”) .. it was a pleasure to meet you all .. you have a great family! i hope you enjoyed yourselves at the session .. and didn’t go away with too many bug bites!

when talking with “A”s mom prior to his session we had decided on a golf course location and another location that i like to use for his senior session. but come the day of the session, “A” really just wanted to stick with one location. no problem and so off we went to my location .. and proceeded to capture some great images like this one .. which i love the eyes with the shirt .. great call mom!

and then after a bit of persuasion from his mom & me we ended up at the golf course location .. and captured this image .. again those eyes are killer!

and so you know that mr. “A” has a killer smile to go with those eyes .. here’s another we captured at yet another location i talked him into .. thanks for being a great sport “A”!

thanks again mom & dad for choosing me to capture this time in your son’s life .. i’ll be in touch when the full gallery is ready! and “A” .. enjoy the last few weeks of summer!

this little guy had just turned one and i loved seeing how he had grown from his newborn images. he still had the sweetest face ..

but let me tell you he did not want to stay in one place like he did at that session .. he was all over the place!

thank goodness i had packed up this little ball .. it was about the only thing that kept his attention .. not that he stopped when he had it though!

thanks again mom & dad for allowing me to capture this time in little H’s life .. i’ll be in touch when the rest of the gallery is ready!

i had last photographed miss L when she was just 7 days old at her newborn session .. and you could tell she was well loved by mom & dad ..

well .. i was so glad when mom & dad called to schedule another session for little L .. and i could see that nothing had changed in terms of the love ..

but miss L sure had grown and her hair had lightened up .. but was just as pretty as ever!

i love this shot .. her little toes peeking out of her dress and her look of concentration .. so curious!

mom & dad .. thanks again for having me out to capture this time in your life .. it was a pleasure and i enjoyed seeing how miss L has grown into her own little person! i’ll be in touch when your full gallery is ready .. enjoy the week!

do you see what i mean? miss M reminds me of that classic beauty of the past .. she was all spiffed up in this gorgeous dress when we met at her house. and i thought to myself .. well this will be an easy session for sure! and it was .. well except for the traffic we encountered when we reached our destination .. como zoo. but after cruising around a bit we finally grabbed a parking spot and got started. and the above image was from one of our first stops .. easy peasy!

it was a hot afternoon but we managed to stick to the shade and cooled off with a ride on the Cafesjian’s Carousel .. which was one of the reasons we came to the zoo for miss M’s senior session .. she had fond memories of it and chose it for her location .. i loved it! i have to say it was my first time riding the carousel and taking pictures .. and i’m sure i looked quite lovely up there trying to hang on to both my horse and my camera!! but i think it was worth it ..

i was glad that miss M brought a change of clothes (thanks to her sis for letting her borrow the top!) as i think it brought out another side of her .. i just loved the way she was working the camera!

thanks M (and Mom) for choosing me to capture your senior session .. it was a true pleasure meeting you and spending the time with you! and thanks for putting up with all my stops towards the end of the session .. i think you’ll be quite pleased

i’ll be in touch when your full gallery is ready .. enjoy the weekend!

at first this was just going to be a typical sneak peek .. but then i came across this while picking out the images for this families peek …

and how could i not give a shout out to father’s day when i see this image .. the joy on dad’s face .. the big bear hug that fully engulfs little L and the sweet smile on L’s face! there is just something about seeing a father with their children .. how their heart comes out on their face no matter how tough they seem to be! so this post is not only a sneak peek .. but also a big thanks to fathers and all that they do for their families! i know i wouldn’t be who i am today if not for my father and his love and those lessons he taught me .. and also for my husband who shows me and our children every day the meaning of this quote!

He didn’t tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it. ~Clarence Budington Kelland

oh .. and here are a few more images that i loved from this session .. hopefully mom & dad will too!

this one just makes me LOL .. gotta love a silly boy who puts on his sisters hat

big sister was so good with her brother & little sister .. and such a beauty too!

if you notice the toes up in the air .. mom says that little R doesn’t quite like the feeling of grass and will put her legs up like this. sometimes even with both legs up! we didn’t catch any like that .. but i’m glad i was able to catch this one!

A & B .. thanks for giving this another go .. i hope you enjoy the peek and i’ll be in touch when the full gallery is ready .. and B I hope you have a great father’s day!

miss “E” was just the sweetest newborn .. only 7 days old and very curious and awake during most of the session .. but so content too!

towards the end she started to get a bit sleepy and we managed to get a few sleepy shots .. i just love this one and how she posed herself!

mom .. it was a pleasure to meet you and little miss “E” .. she really is just the cutest little thing! hope you & dad enjoy the sneak peek and i’ll be in touch when the gallery is ready.

these two were just too cute .. and did wonderful for their session .. which we did on location at their house in plymouth. hope you enjoy the peek mom & dad!

love little sisters expression here .. she still wasn’t quite sure of me yet!

big brother .. what a handsome guy ..

and the little sister .. deep in thought ..

and i was so glad i caught this sweet smile .. she wasn’t exactly handing them out

mom .. i enjoyed meeting you and your family. good luck with your move .. hope all goes well for you! i’ll be in touch later next week when your gallery is ready.

i had the pleasure of meeting this little cutie and his parents on saturday. we were scheduled for the previous saturday but cancelled when snow decided to make one last entrance .. and i’m so glad that we did .. cause the weather was beautiful! and i don’t think little TNT (love those initials!!) would have had as much fun in the cold.

mom and dad it was wonderful to meet you both .. you can tell you are both crazy about your little boy and it is so fun to see. i loved this image of the 3 of you!

someone once asked how I manage a 1 year old session and is it the hardest age. well to be honest, they can be a bit more difficult in terms of posing and as having them in one place. they are usually just learning to walk and want to do lots of it .. so i tend to just allow the child to explore their surroundings.

now sometimes they may not want anything to do with me ..

and other times they show off .. “ha .. i climbed this myself”

but in the end it all works out and i get shots like this one that i just absolutely adore .. go on .. i dare you not to smile

K & S .. thanks again for a great time .. i enjoyed getting to know you and little TNT! i’ll be in touch when the rest of the gallery has been proofed!