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I am happy you found your way here. I am Felise, I live in St. Louis with my beautiful family which includes my sweet husband, and our three kids. We have been through a lot of highs and lows these last five years which has only ignited my passion and draw towards family photography. 

I am trying to spread the idea that family photo sessions are a privilege. Having the opportunity to take your family photos is so special and I take that very seriously. During our session I will prove my seriousness by encouraging the kids to check their parents for boogers and singing nonsense words :)

I’ve always been interested in photography, in fact I have a BFA in it! But to be honest, the creative spark wasn’t sparking when I graduated, and I moved on to my second passion of doing hair! I lived in Chicago at that time and I did hair for 10 years and loved every minute of it. While I was doing hair, one of my clients was talking about not being able to afford newborn photos, so I offered to take them for free, just for fun. 

Well, there was the SPARK. I never stopped!

FELISE WAXMAN

owner AND LEAD PHOTOGRAPHER

When we moved back home to St. Louis, I started telling friends and family that I was taking photos and doing hair. The photos took off! The hair did not :) So I followed life’s lead and I am so glad I did! 

Four years after I started Felise Photography, I was diagnosed with Lymphoma. I will never forget the moment when the doctor said “It is Lymphoma and you will need chemo and we will get you to remission.” That night, through the fear and the sadness, there was a clear image that I was going to get to the other side, and do big things on that other side. And here I am trying to do that today.

Soon after I beat cancer's ass, we decided to stop ignoring some things that were happening to our child. We have opened our eyes and our hearts to the fact that we have a transgender daughter.  I will fight for her rights and acceptance until I am blue in the face. Please feel free to ask me more about this in person or message me - I love to share how proud I am of her.

The combination of being a cancer survivor and a parent of a child who is unique has made me fully obsessed with capturing the beauty and preciousness of every day and every individual. I want your family to show up as the you-est you can be and let me see you for who you are. It is my purpose to capture these moments and I feel so lucky to do it. 

photo by: Celeste golden