Christmas Day 2009

Another great Christmas has come and gone.  We are thankful for our wonderful children, our health, and all of the wonderful gifts God has given to us.   I ate SO much yesterday.  I am still full.  Mark made the most wonderful squash souffle and the best dressing EVER!  He missed his calling -should have been a chef!  Besides the kids, the dogs were waiting in anticipation for every gift that was opened.   I think they peeked and knew there were new beggin' strips to be had!

Hope you and yours have a Happy Holiday!

Christmas Shoot of Grace

What a cutie!  We had little time and I had a camera malfunction, but managed to get some great shots!  It wasn't planned but her Momma couldn't be around but Grace surprised me with some fun poses of her own!
She looks so grown up!  I couldn't pick a favorite!

Christmas Cards - Finally My kids!

I finally had time to get our kids pictures done for Christmas Cards.  Why couldn't I just go outside and shoot them right?  wrong.  Of course you understand if you have kids.  You might have an hour (total), but the kids are fighting or not presentable, (aka they haven't had a bath in two days!).
Even though I had problems with my camera I love love the pictures.   These are the best pictures I've gotten of both of them together.  Yeah!  What do you think?

This little girl loves her brother.



I love it best when they pick out what to wear.

I think this will be the Christmas card.

And this is one brother that loves his little sister.  We are so blessed.

29 Plus...December 2, 2009

It is that time again. How did it get here so quick? I'm not talking about Christmas, I'm referring to my Birthday.
Birthday's are always special at my house. We usually have the 12 days of Birthday. The 12 days of Mark, the 12 days of Sheila, etc. Not this year. Not enough time and it seems like everyone has had a cold or strep for a month! No biggie. I'm 29 Plus...again.
It all started 2 years ago when Rachel was 5. I don't remember where we were but someone asked me how old I was. Rachel replied very matter of fact "She is 29 Plus". Never have I been more proud. Of course she is a bright, articulate sweet bundle of joy. But in that one short sentence she stopped the question cold. I don't know that I'm that quick witted now, I know I wasn't at 5.

So we all went to dinner tonight and had a nice meal together. And toasted me, Mom, who is 29+ once again.

Thank Heaven for little Girls...

This SHOULD be a Bumper Sticker!

So living in Austin I see cars all the time with a bazillion (yeah I make up words) bumper stickers. The following SHOULD be a bumper sticker. I love all of my High School Seniors, but seriously !!!

Christmas Set Design - The King Session

I had a Christmas Card session last weekend and could not have asked for a more photographic family! They were too cute. Here are a few sneak peeks!


















Here is the Christmas Scene

Christmas Card Set Design

I've had several requests to take Christmas card photos. I LOVE Christmas cards, always have. I especially love family photo Christmas cards, who doesn't know what Santa looks like?
My day job has been crazy busy lately so with the extra hours I've been working I haven't had time to design cards. So for the photo sessions I thought I would design a Christmas card scene. This way if you would like to make bulk prints of the image and include in your traditional Christmas Cards it works, AND if you want to print it as a 5X7 postcard it works! It's raining outside now so I can't post a picture of the actual scene, but here are a few of the drawn sketchs. I chose "Rustic Christmas" for the set. Let me know what you think!


The Limited edition session fee is $35. To allow you more flexibility, for another $20 you get the 7 to 10 full resolution images on a CD (with copyright release). Now that is something to HO!HO!Ho! about. But you better hurry and book your session - only available dates are Sunday 11/22, Saturday 11/28, and Sunday 11/29. Have a great holiday ya'll!

Here are copies of the first drafts. "Christmas Glamour" and "Rustic Christmas" were my favorite.

"Rustic Christmas" it is. A lighted chandelier decorated with colored ornaments hangs from one of the live oaks. Your family will sit on a colorful fabric covered bench. A Christmas wreath adorns the tree to the left. Tree branches painted gold and bronze give the set texture. I can't wait!

Baby Aubrey

It is always fun when good friends come to visit. But when it is one of your best friends in the world and six years since you've seen each other the time you get to spend together is even more special. I've been friends with Jean for almost two dozen years. Not only did I get to spend time with her, she brought her beautiful daughter Erica, Erica's husband Brian (ARMY ROCKS), and their sweet sweet baby Aubrey.
What a pleasure it was to spend a few days with all of them. My family just cherished the time we had. Jean makes such a good Nanna. Erica has turned into a beautiful woman and great mom. She and her husband Brian are such devoted parents. It makes my spirit dance to be around such a beautiful family. And speaking of dancing, although at three months she is no where near walking - that little Aubrey can DANCE! Here are a few of my favorites!

We got a new Dog...about a year ago

Almost a year ago Mark informed me that we were getting a new dog. Actually he told me the night before he was to pick up this dog. I wasn't excited to say the least. Anyway, the next day I called Mark around 4:00 in the afternoon and mentioned that I hadn't had a good day. He said well let me tell you about my day...

He picked up the dog and brought it to our house. He put her in the garage and was getting her a bone when she decided to take off. She was at our house a total of THREE minutes. By the time Mark got to the back of our yard the dog was half way down the golf course. So the chase began. Mark jumped into his car, drove around the neighborhood calling for "Abby". He got our neighbor MaryAnn to help him out. So two cars were driving around our neighborhood looking for this dog. They met at the club, and got two more people to look with them. All four of them got on golf cars and tried to pin the dog in a corner. "Abby" wasn't having any of it. They chased that dog for 3 1/2 hours. All the while Mark was in his suit (on break from the office). What a break it was. So Mark announced I guess we don't have a dog.

That night we had a meeting at the Balcones Country Club to discuss the future of the club. I got a babysitter so we could both go. We went, and then drove around another 45 minutes looking for this dog to no avail. I told my husband it just wasn't meant to be. (oh darn...)

The next day I took the kids to school, came home and went for my morning walk. When I got back from my walk I noticed a dog standing in our back yard. No collar, no harness. She wouldn't come to me so I sat on the ground and opened both hands out. She walked over to me, shaking, and sniffed my hands. She then licked my hands. I then put my arms around her and put her in my lap. There she sat for a good 10 minutes just shaking. When she finally quit shaking I picked her up and took her into the garage. I then yelled at Mark to come to the garage I wanted to show him something.

Needless to say he couldn't believe that dog found it's way back to our house. She is four years old and grew up on a farm 90 minutes from here. But there she was, hungry , tired, but tail wagging. She never leaves my side. It took her two weeks before she would have anything to do with anyone but me. Now she lays in the floor or on the bed with the kids. She is a blue heeler mix. Oh, and her name isn't "Abby". I couldn't figure out why she never would come to me when I called her by her name. (Mark said it was Abby). Then I looked on her vaccine papers, her name was HEIDI, as in HIDE eeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here are a few shots of the dog that has became a big part of our family!

Elizabeth & Friends - Model Session

Elizabeth and some of her friends agreed to a model session for the 2010 High School Senior year. What a great group! We had it all - tall, taller, blonde, blonder, brunette, and well more brunette. Each was unique and a pleasure to work with. It didn't take them long to get into the moment and have some fun. They were all gorgeous, made my job super easy! Here is a sneak peak!

Elizabeth was quiet but had a smile that was infectious!

Alex had gorgeous eyes and flowing long hair.

Sarah is all spunk and then some...Look out World! Tall, thin, and very very long legs.

Aivia, beautiful name for a beautiful girl...

Phil & Val...

So I have been ultra busy. I had two photo shoots back to back (literally one Friday one Saturday). The one Friday was of the sweetest couple anyone would want to have as next door neighbors. Phil & Val have been living on the Balcones Golf Course for 30+ years. Whenever I meet someone new in this neighborhood and they ask me where I live, I just say next door to Phil & Val. They immediately know which house. They follow by saying "Aren't they great". And I always say - "YES, they are!". I kind of say it possessive, like they belong to me. You may know them, but I get to see them almost everyday.

I had been planning their shoot (in my head) for months and finally asked them if they would model for me. I had some shots in mind and really wanted to create a mood. You know that warm mood that reminds you life is worth living, how you feel when you see a small child hugging a puppy, or a couple that have been together a hundred years but still enjoy the journey together. Here are a few sneak peek shots, I really think one of these might be my best yet.

Phil is such a joker. He had Val going...

Too Sweet.

Presentation...Why it matters

I was about 12 years old that summer when my cousin Michelle came to spend a week with us. She had some spending money her dad gave her. But what did she buy...candy? a new baseball? a new hula hoop? NO. She bought makeup. I was simply bewildered until I saw the packaging. What beautiful colors, and textures, and bows. It smelled nice. It made me feel special just to pick up one of the boxes. I wasn't interested in the lipstick - what self respecting short-stop wore that? But I fell in love with the packaging, the smell, and the beautiful colors.

I have shared that story many times - in marketing classes, and MBA classes, and at sales seminars. If you have a product that someone wants to buy why not make them feel special at the same time? My goal with High School Senior Photography is to take amazing images that makes the client feel good about themselves and super anxious to show their friends. That's why it matters - feeling special feeds the soul.

Here are Alex & Glenda's goody bags for tonight's preview party of their portraits. If this doesn't feed their soul - at least it will feed their tummy's with very good chocolate!

Finished Editing Pictures from Photo Shoot!

I finished editing the pictures from the recent Photo shoot! I hope the models are just half as happy with them as I am. (Make that their parents too!) If they are then they might be oh I don't know...ecstatic! blown away! I really can't believe how little editing I ended up doing. I've spent all this time (and $$ on software) learning how to create perfect pictures. It wasn't necessary. It was also difficult to cull the final count down. I started with almost 500 shots, ended up with 102. I couldn't narrow it down from that. I have been taught that for most sessions you should end up with about 30 to 35 shots for the client to choose from, unless of course it is a wedding. Oh well. Blew that one.

Here are a few more...Simply stunning!

You girls ROCKED IT!

Photo Shoot - Alex & Glen

WOW! Talk about a dream photoshoot. I had the pleasure of working with Alex & Glenda on Saturday. Two sisters that are oppposites in alot of ways but what they had in common -photogenic and drop dead gorgeous - they had in spades. Our make-up artist for the day Shannon Yost was a-m-a-z-i-n-g. She has been a market rep for Mary Kay for years and really knows her stuff. I was really impressed with her knowledge not just about how to apply make-up for the best effect, but also about skincare. I learned a lot and plan to have Shannon give me a consultation SOON! Thanks Shannon it was great to meet you. Ladies if you need a new look here is her contact info: www.marykay.com/snyost

The lighting for the day was a challenge. Sunny one minute, cloudy the next. Our enthusiasm though didn't wane!..Here is a sneak peek.

Our Make-up pro working her magic...





















We had a wide selection of accessories...

The ultra Fab sisters, (see I told you not just gorgeous, drop dead gorgeous)...

And the sparkle of the day came from Juliana, the little Fashionista. Look out world - she will be breaking hearts...I'm afraid especially her Dad's. Thanks Libby for sharing your family with me, you guys were wonderful and truly made a fantastic shoot!

Photography

Whew! Can't tell you how busy the last few weeks have been. I have a Senior shoot coming up on Saturday and I am so STOKED! Both girls are simply gorgeous, sweet, fun, I know we are going to have a blast! I've been working on props. After studying photography for 5 years I've seen alot of props. I'm working really hard to make sure they don't look like...well props! Stay tuned...I hope to have some of the shoot posted next week. I feel like a 6 year old the night before Christmas. And I've been very good all year!! A post isn't complete without a picture. Here is my beautiful daughter and one of those props.

Keep the Picture..

High School Senior Blog

My Little Sister's Wedding

Ok, so I was excited when my little sister told me she finally met the man she wanted to marry and have kids with. They planned a simple wedding at the Chapel in the Pines on Lake Logan Martin in Pell City, Alabama. Yeah! that's right, Alabama baby- where the pine trees are tall and plentiful and the lakes...well unlike Texas they actually have water in them.
The weather was beautiful, and the bridesmaids were all 6 and 7 year old little girls. Little girly girls with bows in their hair wearing white sun dresses from Strasburg. My 7 year old girly girl fit right in!

It was such a sweet wedding. But I have to admit it made me sad. Not that the weather could have been any more perfect, nor that I hadn't lost those last ten pounds before the big day. I was sad that although my sister is grown, graduated college twice (we are so proud, nurses rule), but she doesn't seem so little anymore. I didn't want her to grow up. It took having my own kids to realize you can't keep them young, even little sisters. You have to let them grow up. And if that means driving 1,000 miles for two days in a car (with a 7 and 9 year old) across 4 states just so you can give them away - you do it. I hope you have your own girly girl one day and you'll know what I mean. At least for now, I still have my 7 year old girly girl at home.


Oh, and yeah I took my camera. Here are a few favs from the day.