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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!

Having some fun with wacky hair color during summer vacation, these sisters wanted to capture it in all its glory before the sad fading set in. They had just redone the color for full vibrant effect! With their gorgeous eyes and lashes I couldn’t help thinking of Japanese Anime characters the entire shoot! We went to the Lakeway TX marina to shoot at the park and out over the water. The level was so low with the drought it was a challenge not to get the rocky shoreline into the frame. The girls had a fun playful time experimenting with different poses and scenes. I love when they really get into it like this!

This sweet 6-month-old is the cutest perfectly chubby little girl I’ve seen in awhile. She is the classic little beauty, very happy and fun to photograph. Her mom had some great outfits and accessories picked out to enhance what nature already gave her. Capturing this age can be difficult if they’re not sitting up yet, but she was strong and happy to lay on her chest and smile away at us.

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!

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.

Michelle Pulsifer of On the Spot Body Art in Austin recently scheduled a painting party to beef up her photo portfolio with a day-long marathon of face and body painting. Lots of kids and pizza and paint, along with two gorgeous pregnant women for maternity painted and henna belly art to literally round out the event!

We have new belly art and boudoir body art joint packages starting at $160 that include painting and a photo session with 8×10 either in the studio, at your home, or outdoors in a private venue, and I’m excited about our new offerings.

Happy Father’s Day to my sweet husband, and happy 4th birthday to the best little Father’s Day gift ever!

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.

Michelle Pulsifer of On the Spot Body Art needed some updated portfolio portraits for holiday faces, and our models were running to and fro like firecrackers, leprechauns, covered in masks and more!

If you are interested in posing as a model for face and body art, specifically full-body or maternity belly art, please contact Michelle.

You would never know from the huge smiles this child gave that she spent half the shoot crying! We shot indoors before the neighborhood Santa party, and instead of getting excited that Santa was on his way, she was completely distressed no matter he wasn’t even there! I had to tell her he called to say his reindeer were sick and he couldn’t make it. She did her best to give a few genunine smiles, and how that effort paid off! I might just eat her up, but then my daughter would lose her play buddy. You would think that living across the street for 2 years the girls would play all the time, but sadly, they’ve never even met. We’ll fix that very soon! She keeps asking me who the girl on my screen is, and I keep telling her it’s her friend up the street just because seeing her perplexed look is so fun.

I always love when a client is up for anything, and having a 9-month pregnant belly painted and displayed like fine art definitely ranks up there with anything! Beautiful mommy and gorgeous daughter are about to welcome a baby brother to the family (and handsome dad who does not make an appearance this session, we’ll try again). Thanks to Michelle Pulsifer with On the Spot Body Art for the paint and henna maternity artwork!

My friend Michelle Pulsifer is a face and body painter (www.onthespotbodyart.com), and it just goes to show that you never know the people you know! How could two art forms marry better than a face painter and a portrait photographer? Not only is she a joy as a friend, but wonderful to collaborate with. She does beautiful work, and has booked me with all sorts of event photo printing gigs as her camera-toting sidekick! Here are a few of her littler clients for her portfolio.

A beautiful 11-year on her birthday! At this age they look so grown up, and they look so young, like miniature adults. That pre-braces smile crosses the bridge between woman and girl better than anything else.

Megan had a last-minute grad session, due to an injury to her face that prevented an earlier shoot. Her announcement photo (the blue t-shirt one above: I love how it shows her shy yet quirky independent attitude) was taken and uploaded to the processor the same night for next-day delivery, and those cards went out the next day! Just in time for commencement. And the best part was how fun and easy she and her mom were to work with. Great attitudes, fun, patient, excited, and mom even held my reflector. Well, maybe not needed as my giant pregnant belly clad in a white shirt was as big as my reflector and may have been almost as good!

Often photographers report that capturing non-walkers is the most fun and easy stage because they stay put! But I just love walking after a newly land-legged toddler exploring her world from a completely different angle. This photo conveys that sense of curious discovery and motion, of life happening in front of the camera rather than for the camera. The biggest challenge is finding a location with enough beautiful backdrops to allow free wandering with no cars or strangers corrupting the shot!