Tender Portraits bio picture
  • Welcome!

    My name is Laura.  I'm a natural-light, custom photographer specializing in lifestyle, birth and wedding photography.  My portrait art goes beyond that piece of paper...it is a piece of my heart and my soul.  It is real...pure...beautiful. In order to give the most of myself to my clients and my loved ones, I take on a limited number of sessions, weddings and births per year. 

    Located at 310 St. Joseph Street, Wathena, Kansas; I serve the surrounding Northeast Kansas and Northwest Missouri regions; that includes but not limited to St. Joseph & Kansas City, Missouri as well as Atchison, Topeka & Manhattan, Kansas regions. Call now (816-676-8054) to reserve your portrait date!  Gift certificates and registries are available.  Please visit as often as possible, and thank you for the lovely comments.  xoxo

St. Joseph, MO Photography | Casey’s belly

Gorgeous afternoon/evening spent with this pretty lady.:)  I was thrilled knowing how excited they both were for the outdoor portraits. I love my job when I’m surrounded by individuals who say, “yes – we love the country.” Casey, thank you for joining me for your maternity session. You have a gorgeous little baby bump and I can’t wait to meet the precious babe. xo~Laura

St. Joseph, MO Photography | Our home – inspired by Pinterest

Have you found Pinterest yet? If not, do not delay and go now: HERE . Not only can you view my boards but you can register as well. I love Pinterest so so so much! I get inspired in so many ways – from photography to food. It’s without a doubt my favorite online site to lose myself in.

If you know us, than you know we’ve recently built our home. What an experience it was! I was so worried about how I would decorate, what color scheme to go with, how would I fill all those walls with more than just pictures. My worries were put at ease once I found pinterest. Below are just a few areas of my home that were Pinterest inspired.

#1 – welcome to our home – the outside, front porch. Frame filled with a banner, cross hung and doors painted.

#2 – Two of our bathrooms: left shows our master in which we used a barn door for the door and a cabinet as vanity; and the right shows the kids’ room in which I refurnished a desk as a vanity.

#3: Left shows our kids’ ‘masterpieces’ framed (this remains one of my fave pins); and right pic shows open shelving in our kitchen…yes please!:)

#4: Our boys’ room…clouds w/ raindrops. (Soon to come – a post showing off our kids’ rooms, which I have hand drawn & painted on the walls.)

#5: Another fave pin – my 31 organizer being used as a filer when paired with Container Store.  Score!:)

Like I said, these pics show just a bit of our house and how I have been so inspired with all the amazing creativity that is out there, and can be found on Pinterest. There is so much more I have done from spaghetti/hotdog spiders to homemade playdough. Again, you have to join in the fun! xo~Laura

St. Joseph, MO Family Photography | The Burrell family

This gorgeous little family is one of my most favorite.:)I love getting together with the Burrell family for their portrait sessions. I love even more seeing the babies grow every few months. They are so cute! Becki & Matt – thank you again for joining me for a session. I look forward to another this fall/winter. xo~Laura

St. Joseph, MO Photography | Emmarie

Every time I photograph this girl, I fall more in love. Isn’t she gorgeous! Those big, brown eyes – that soft, wispy hair. Thank you Jessica, for bringing your darling Emmarie to me again for portraits. xo~Laura

St. Joseph, MO Photography | Weis Family

Gorgeous evening for a portrait session with the lovely Weis family. Nicole, it was great meeting your adorable children. I loved how each of your girls has their very own, fun personality. I so enjoyed our session together. xo~Laura