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Thousands of dollars in materials lost in St. Louis photography studio fire on Thanksgiving

Aurora Photography and Design Studio in Benton Park has been open for four years, but Jennifer Butler started in photography 15 years ago.

ST. LOUIS — A St. Louis photographer rummaged through what was left of her design studio Saturday after a fire broke out on Thanksgiving Day.

Jennifer Butler had black soot on her hands as she lifted one of the wedding canvases she created for a client.

"This is not what we expected for our two-year-old's upcoming Christmas and Santa time, that's for sure," Butler said.

Aurora Photography and Design Studio in Benton Park has been open for four years, but Butler started taking photographs 15 years ago.

"Thanksgiving morning we got the call that our building has sustained a fire that started beneath my unit,” she said.

The two-alarm fire rose up through an old freight elevator and flames took hold of each room.

“We had about 150 different maternity gowns. We had a full client closet for general family sessions, newborn, boudoir," Butler described.

Butler also mentioned that her insurance company quoted the damage at more than $200,000. That included the property, tripods and other necessary materials for her work.


Jacquelyn Stupar, a friend, and longtime client of Butler, had family pictures from years that once hung on the damaged walls. She helped clean and encouraged Butler on Saturday.

“It’s rare to find someone with a passion like hers. You can rise from the ashes, and no matter how bad things get you can always rise as long as you have a foundation and she has an amazing foundation of friends and family,” Stupar said.

The longtime photographer considered ending her business and becoming a stay-at-home mom after the fire, but said she did not want to stop capturing memories and impacting lives.

“Finding those moments and seeing that expression when I walk in my clients’ homes too, you just can't change that. It's what you live for,” Butler said.

The cause of the fire is still unknown.

Family and friends have created a GoFundMe to encourage the community to help Butler. 

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