Happy 13th Birthday to Jack

Jack is my firstborn. The tiny tot I used to call “The Calotype Poster Child” is now a tall teenager.

I didn’t realize how enjoyable life can be with an older child! Instead of throwing food on the floor and singing “The Wheels on the Bus,” we now have such good conversations together.  (AND… some boring ones… because my interest in Star Wars is about a level three, and he’s a solid ten.  But he’s not as interested in writing essays as I am, so we’re even). 

We’re learning to compromise (an essay on Star Wars!) and he’s great at unloading the dishwasher, so he can talk all he wants about SW composer John Williams “He also did Jaws, Mom! Isn’t that cool?” and other things I never knew I needed to know. Thirteen is a lucky number!

Spending the Day With Mama

Charlotte Rose is the baby of our family.

Early this morning she crawled into bed with me and said, “Mama, I go to work with you.” And I looked over at my last baby with her chubby hands touching my face and I said the most logical thing:

“Of course.”

Charlotte Rose “I Like It Like This.”

Have you ever met a woman with a plan- and everyone else needs to get out of the way while she makes it happen? Meet Charlotte Rose.

Charlotte is the baby of our family. Although she’s small, the soul of a strong woman is wriggling away inside of her! Unlike her older brother, Bruce (the previous baby of the family and always agreeable to the day’s plans), Charlotte has clear expectations and assumes that life will align with her ideas.

Since she’s the baby, who can resist those giant blue eyes and bouncy, wriggly walk? Jack and Clara and Bruce and Daddy usually give the lady what she wants.

There’s only one Non-Conformist in Miss Charlotte’s perfect little life- the person with different plans.

Any guesses? It’s me.

You see, I am also a woman who also has specific outcomes in my mind, and I daily find myself in conflict with this much younger, smaller Version of Me.

However, the little me has more energy and, in God’s special way, He designed her with an extra scoop of legendary Stephens stubbornness to make things a little more exciting. (The Richardsons aren’t stubborn- we see resistance and quickly dart down a different trail before it makes eye contact). Not the Stephens family! They sink their boots into the dirt, cross their arms and calmly prepare to resist. While this is a truly lovely quality in matters of national security and theology, in matters of wardrobe- ehh, not so much.

Charlotte insists on dressing herself every day. Usually I let her, because she’s the fourth kid and life is short and I have no desire to waste it arguing with a toddler. I only intervene when she’s not dressed appropriately for the weather.

Fortunately for me, today’s outfit was pleasantly photogenic. A black t-shirt that used to be Clara’s, black leggings, and a trench coat that’s been handed down through every kid since firstborn Jack. Pus her favorite green boots.

She does this ONE THING, every time, to her leggings. She pulls them up to her knees! Without fail. Even if it’s 30° outside. I’ve asked her they itch, if they’re too tight; and she won’t reply other than, “I like it like this.”

So here’s Miss I-Like-It-Like-This, in her knee-length leggings, hanging out at work with her momma. Two women and we both have plans.

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The Weird Child (There's One in Every Family)

It was late in the evening on a Wednesday night. I had just finished cleaning up from dinner and the kids were playing quietly with Legos and reading books. Apparently, the self-destructive part of my psyche decided that this Peace Should Be Interrupted and I should drag one of the kids to the studio to test another lighting idea that had been running through my brain.

Bruce happened to be the cleanest (surprisingly) so I grabbed some fall hand-me-downs from big brother Jack and off we trotted to the studio.

Bruce wanted to know if he would get paid.

Once I agreed to his terms (payment as soon as we arrived back home), I set up against the olive wall to see how many different looks I could get with a five-minute attention span (normal for a five-year-old). You can see the progression of his interest in these image. Serious and ready to work for a few minutes- then his native weirdness takes over… then he’s done. The last smile was only because I said the word “poop.”

All poses are Bruce’s own. I told him the general vicinity in which to stand; he supplied the rest. Do you have a child that brings his own life to the party?

Classic Black and White (B&W) Portraits In Studio

Here’s Clara and Charlotte, my two little ladies, modeling patiently for mama while I do a lighting assessment in the studio. If I give them enough ice cream, they’re usually willing to help me out.

Side note: black is always a classic color to wear for portraits. It keeps the focus on the face and eyes and never looks dated.

No matter how “classic” their mama dresses them… they will always do this. 😬😛

This is Julie's Journal

I’m a portrait artist in small-town Neosho, MO. My main subjects are children and families, but my FAVORITE subjects are my own babies.

My husband and I have four children- Jack, Clara, Bruce Michael and Charlotte Rose. (The first two kids have middle names, too, but we hardly ever use them because they’re so well-behaved). 😛

In addition to being a children’s photographer at Calotype, I’m also a classical home educator. As a family, we pursue beauty, goodness and truth.

Pictured: Photographer Julie Stephens (that’s me) with Jack, Clara, Bruce Michael and Charlotte Rose. My husband, Jonathan, took this picture after I set it up and bribed the kids with promises of ice cream and Candy Crush on the laptop. Since Mommy is anti-screen time, this produced BIG SMILES and BRISK COOPERATION.

The truth about life is that is doesn’t stop.

One minute you’re sixteen and wondering who’ll you marry, the next minute you’re looking in the mirror, wondering why your mother is staring back at you.

There have been times, especially when my children were tiny babies, that time seemed to stop. The nights, specifically, dragged on endlessly. But we made it through, and looking back from the other side I can see how fast it went. After a particularly rough night with Clara, who wouldn’t sleep unless she was wedged between me and Jon with all four limbs touching some part of our bodies, I woke up to see her dreamily studying my face and patting my cheek. Mommy may not have been comfortable, but little Clara was highly satisfied with the Humans who ran her world. The long night faded away and I was ready to go again.

There is so much sweetness in childhood, but too much of it is forgotten. Professional photography is my way to document and preserve the time we’ll never get back. Every Portrait Session I do at the studio is a victory for preserving someone’s family history. I can’t make your nights any better, but I can create a piece of art that helps you constantly remember the purpose behind those sleepless nights.

Like any good thing, there’s resistance when it comes to booking a Session. Here are some recurring concerns I’ve heard:

• The kids need haircuts/kids’ pants are too short/nothing matches

• I don’t know what to wear

• What if I spend all this time planning it and the pictures don’t turn out?

• I don’t know what I like- shouldn’t I have some ideas?

• I’ve gained too much weight, I don’t want to be in pictures

I will address those questions for you in some of my posts. We started Calotype in 2005, but I began this journal fifteen years later in 2020 so our clients can look into the creative process and learn more about what’s involved in a Children or Family Portrait Session. It doesn’t have to be hard, it doesn’t have to be Pinterest perfect. My clients are ordinary people with extra-ordinary love for their children, and they know photography is one way to stop the crawl of time.

Follow this journal, and you’ll see how we resolve problems and turn them into happy memories. After most posts, my email is included so you can send me your comments or thoughts. Keep in mind, some of our Calotype clients are very private so we don’t share any of their images. But the people you see in this journal, on Instagram, YouTube (or our displays around town) have graciously allowed us to share the artwork we’ve created for them so you can learn from their experience. I hope to do this for you, someday!

Feel free to email me and let me know your thoughts!