CATEGORY family
The W family got together in Austin for the holidays with their mother for a quick visit and photo shoot we were able to quickly cram in the day after Christmas! They were so happy and smiling the entire shoot, easily giving genuine reactions and smiles.
This family chose the gorgeous location of their Westlake church on a drizzly dark December day instead outdoors as planned near their Bee Cave home. The indoor conditions were much like shooting a wedding, but the bright and white interior made it light up so well. Their kids were active and giggly, both a challenge and a blessing. Formal shots are easier with quiet subjects, but the personality that comes through when kids are silly is always fun!
I’ve always thought renting a house or a string of hotel rooms for a reunion would be so much fun, rather than keeping a huge house all year to host everyone every so often. Plus you get to choose gorgeous and serene locations, which is exactly what this family did over the Thanksgiving holiday in a villa in southwest Austin near Dripping Springs, TX. They laughed a lot and were great listeners and quick, so we got in a lot of sets with the the full and smaller groups and couples in spite of the quickly fading early winter sunset light.
Dripping Springs, TX has so many great rustic, historical, and natural photo back drops, and I love shooting there! This family recently bought the dream home there and loves the quaint atmosphere of the place too, especially this historic cabin near the famed “dripping springs” themselves. Their kids were so well behaved and fun, and the parents so relaxed (or so it seemed to me, not a harsh word to anyone). Sometimes shooting families is so challenging because the tension level can be so high, but the more relaxed, the better the photos! The kids were giggly and playful, and that combined with such beautiful people made the shoot so smooth.
Time flies by: when I showed up to this family shoot, the newborn that I photographed was already a 2-year-old toddler running around and beginning to talk! Their boys and those gorgeous eyes were full of fun and personality, and my skills to capture artistic and natural candid moments were put to the test as I got to just follow the little ones around as they played. I always appreciate easy-going and laid-back parents because it helps bring the emotion of the family through in the photos. Plus they chose great wardrobe colors and back drops near their house and nearby preserve areas in southwest Austin.
The E family drives past these cabins in the Spanish Oaks neighborhood in Bee Cave, Texas frequently and sees all their buddies with family photos in front of them, so this year is their turn. Getting ready for the holidays with the whole family smiling in one shot is the holy grail of family photography, and with young children is difficult that it’s incredibly rewarding. I love working with families, the interaction with the parents and playing with the kids, and children of these hobbyist photographers knew the drill and did a fantastic job.
The owner of Westlake’s Lone Star Stables had me out for a sunset family shoot this fall after my daughter attended camp there last summer. A gorgeous little ranch surprisingly tucked away in the heart of Westlake matched by a stunning family. Beautiful children with a fun, playful attitude surrounded by a place they love to be. With the kids getting frequent photos with their horses for shows, the mom decided it was high time she had something with her and her spirited horse too!
I have been with this precious family since maternity photos for her first child. These were taken at their home in Spicewood, Texas. Certainly I hope this won’t be the last session with this gorgeous group of people: even their dog smiles well. This is their fall holiday card, 6-month baby, 3-year toddler shoot: multi-tasking!
This gorgeous little family was in town visiting from Europe and had a photo shoot at the Spanish Oaks cabins in Bee Cave with their adorable daughter and another on the way. Mom used to work as a candy developer with a food science background, and raided Big Top Candy for fun and colorful edible photo props. I love using props, but especially when the families bring items that really convey a part of their family identity. Good luck on the upcoming addition, and hope you have fun finishing off all those props!
Dripping Springs has some fantastic central Texas landscapes for photos, and the Highpointe community has a beautiful pond, trail, and park path system with gorgeous photo ops. The only thing that could make it better is a gorgeous family to go in it! With two incredibly happy smiling boys, we spent a lot of time trying different sets and poses because they were so cooperative. Here are some of my favorites.
We’ve been following Baby McD and his family since his mommy’s maternity session, and he is now almost 3 years old (I can’t believe it, but I have a daughter the same age, so I guess I have to). He just welcomed a baby brother into the world! It’s uncanny how much they look alike, I felt like I stepped into a little time warp at first glance of this new little one. The mood of a first-time mom and a seasoned pro was very different this time around, as big brother kept us company playing and laughing most of the time. When his dad distracted him by inviting him to watch the drag race on TV, he bid us farewell saying, “I have to go watch the dragons racing!” This baby was also exceptionally calm, spending long periods of wakefulness just chilling out. I stayed after a bit to teach mommy how to use her various baby slings, and the duck in water saying comes to mind. What an adorable little fellow!
Barbie and Ben with their boy-girl twins are expecting a new little sister into the house very soon! We almost didn’t make this maternity photo shoot appointment because she spent the night before in the hospital. They have a gorgeous Volente home outside Austin with a jungle-themed great room, and it was so fun to get into character with the rain forest animals so the prints can be displayed around the space they hang out as a family. The body art was provided by Michelle Pulsifer of On the Spot Body Art. Congratulations on your upcoming arrival to your beautiful family!
Our friend is president of the software development firm Enthought headquartered here in Austin, and my husband does some occasional IT support at their downtown location. It only makes sense to have his photographer wife cover their annual holiday party, right? We did a simple family portrait with the Austin skyline behind us at the Zilker Clubhouse. Of course my family didn’t get a photo because mom was working the camera while dad messed with wires and other electrical things: he just can’t help himself!
Every year I vow I will hire another photographer to take amazing photos of my family, and every year I end up with a self-timer on a tripod. If you’re a photographer reading this and want to trade a family session, please email me! But I finally got around to holiday photos this fall, and even made it before December! Plus I’m really thrilled I finally got to shoot at this awesome old building on 290W on the way to Dripping Springs, and that all my kids got individual shots. Cobbler’s kids, shoes, check! Arms crossed pose, quadruple check.
A great looking family, a fall scene (and let me tell you, fall color is pretty difficult to find in central Texas!), and beautiful warm autumn colors with a warm sunset thrown in, and here’s what you get! All available light, I didn’t even have to break out my softboxes. Isn’t it great when mother nature and children cooperate? A 4 year old plus 1 year old twins, let’s just say cooperation was not a given, but a privilege they bestowed! Especially as they discovered little one had a fever after returning home. Happy Holidays!
We used some awesome vintage buildings in downtown Dripping Springs, Texas on Mercer Street for a family session tonight. Four young children always makes for a fun challenge in family photography, but as I am a family photographer I enjoy the challenge! Having five young rowdy kids myself, and my kids make these look tame, I can also fully appreciate the importance of putting in the time and effort of getting family photos done. I’ve been there: the stress of finding suitable clothing without stains, the aggravation of being in a hurry, the annoying dad who gets grumpier than the wee ones (I’m talking about my own man, er, not any other dad I’ve ever worked with!) So I definitely get the hassle, which makes each and every family session precious to me.
Despite all the hassle, it’s also my job to create FUN once the family arrives! Tickles, cuddles, playfulness not only makes for more fun at the session, but far better photos afterward! These kiddos did an outstanding job, holding still, following instructions, natural smiles almost on cue, and check out the outfits! Tell mom way to go!
Debra & Edmund had an intimate ceremony surrounded by their family in San Marcos, Texas. They were so obviously in love and relieved to be finally getting married that it was infectious. I smiled the entire time I was working with them, enjoying their unabashed affection and laughter, and had a silly grin on my face almost the entire time I edited their session. I was able to work with Nichole Wright as my second, and as I was getting into my car to leave my 12 1/2 year-old daughter popped in, all dressed for the wedding with such a hopeful look on her face that I gave her a camera and let her shadow. Being there with my daughter and the couple’s grown children made me so wistful that I did not attend my own father’s wedding last year. Sharing this moment with their family was so special to them that it made me feel a bit of vicarious joy for my family’s new adventure. We followed it up with an elegantly casual dinner at Myron’s Steak House and winery in New Braunfels, Texas. Congratulations on your marriage, and I know all the best will come to you!
Baby Gavin arrived a little bit early, so his mommy’s maternity session turned into a newborn session! That happens sometimes, and we’re just happy baby is healthy and had no NICU stay. I, however, arrived just on time as he had just fallen into a deep slumber, and allowed me to pose him like Gumby for some precious naked sleep baby poses. The white comforter did end up in the laundry, of course, as did most of our clothing. He made up for it by being very cooperative and happy the entire session by willingly rolling into a little ball most of the time. Congratulations to Jane and Gareth! Thank you for letting me get my baby fix for a few hours, he was a joy. And I am still waiting for my photographer of the year award for posing a newborn and a big puppy into one photo! A few massages should cover it.
My first shoot with this family was a maternity and baby’s first year package for their first, long awaited child. Now he is two years old and expecting a new sibling! I think we’ve had 8 or 9 sessions together in the past 2 years between baby portraits, family shoots, and holiday cards, and the personal friendship we’ve developed has been such a welcome blessing! I can’t wait to start all over this spring with your new addition. Happy birthday and congratulations!
Our friends added a last little baby to their family this week, a little sister for her three big brothers. A tiny but perfect little creature (a slightly early C-section tends to create those gems) she is dainty and delicate and girly, which cannot last growing up the smallest among all those brothers! Congratulations to Ruth and Shaun on their beautiful bundle of fluff.
This family reunion was on gorgeous Lone Man Creek in even more gorgeous Wimberley, Texas. Everyone had enough personality to fill up two photo shoots, playing and laughing together. And a gorgeous group of people they were, too, easy on the camera!
This beautiful little family grew a little larger today! Tracy and Kieran were wed at the outdoor Chapel Dulcinea in Driftwood, Texas in a quiet, lovely, intimate ceremony with their 2 daughters and infant son. The new stepsisters have known each other since birth and were adorably excited to help and snuggle new baby brother during the wedding. Coming from someone like me, who had only immediate family at our wedding and chose to homebirth to keep the experience small and intimate, being privileged to document their wedding with the officiant as the only other participant was an honor. Congratulations on your new lives together, and thank you so much for allowing me to play a small role. Your deep devotion to each other was evident, accented with a pop of spunky personality symbolized by that fabulous sunflower yellow gown, and I hope these photos do that justice!
The cobbler’s son has no shoes, and the photographers family never lives up to the client work. Part of the interference is of course directing the scene while running into it before the self timer fires. Perhaps it’s because there are just so many people to direct! But I fear the real issue is the sad truth that my own children are not nearly as anxious to please the nice lady as others’ children. Maybe it also has something to do with the fact that I’m only a nice lady with other people’s children.
I guess the main point here is that I’m sure you want to capture your own family having as much fun as we are! I saw some seed pods on some of the flowers tonight, so hurry before it looks more like a pea patch than wildflowers.
Austin bluebonnet season is in full swing. The flowers are bright and juicy, and not a single one has yet gone to seed. Another week of springtime before the pods take over and the Indian Blankets move in.
These gorgeous girls were so fun and easy to work with. They posed, they modeled, they listened, even the baby stayed put, and in between asking for mama created some beautiful smiles. Their dresses lend an almost vintage feel. And as an extra bonus, I found a huge bluebonnet patch just a few minutes from my house the morning of the shoot! Lovely subjects, great location, overcast skies with soft sunset light that needed no flash all added up to a wonderful photo shoot.
The Texas state flower has good reason to be so. Every spring they pop up all over the hill country, especially along the highways making even rush hour seem almost pleasant. With small kids we found an enormous yet out of the way patch just north of Marble Falls for this session in the flowers. Two families back to back with the sun fading by the minute, we moved fast: almost as fast as the toddlers!
I took Baby’s First Year maternity, newborn, 6 months, first birthday, and holiday family photos of the little redhead, and now he’s walking around talking to me! I also did the 6 month session for the toddler in the second family: they do grow up fast!