CATEGORY portraits
This young couple married at the outdoor Chapel Dulcinea in Driftwood, Texas just outside Austin had a great level of energy and excitement to be together. Their colorful sense of style came through loud and clear with great slightly punk rock hair, eyes, and nails on the bride and a pop of bright color on the groom. A gorgeous pair who genuinely enjoyed the time and attention during their photo shoot to focus on each other. I always enjoy the sense of relief that follows a wedding ceremony, and this wedding in particular seemed to mirror that same feeling I had after my own wedding like we had just jumped off a cliff together and landed safely! Best wishes to Carlos and Iris on their new journey together.
Loretta Sommers is new to Austin and a long-time member of the entertainment industry. She has some great new opportunities in Central Texas, but needed new and updated head shots to convey her look, physique, and personality specifically for a host position for our local Liquidation Channel. She said, “I didn’t know I could look like that!’ but well, she’s gorgeous, and it IS what she looks like. Just a reminder that who we see in the mirror is never as wonderful as how other people see us. Good luck, Loretta!
Happy Father’s Day to my sweet husband, and happy 4th birthday to the best little Father’s Day gift ever!
This adorable trio we shot at Bee Cave Central Park just outside of Austin and Lakeway just may have been the best behaved, most cooperative little group I’ve worked with. When I complimented them on how well they were doing, mom whispered to me that she’d been prepping them for weeks! It certainly paid off with their great smiles, eye contact, and close poses. She wanted tight head shots in black and white canvas gallery wraps to update some she’d had done six years ago for a previous father’s day gift. It’s a surprise, so shhh! don’t tell!
Emily and Alan were married earlier in April at a ceremony in Taiwan with Emily’s extended family, but as true Texans and die-hard UT alums, an Austin reception was required. This is the most fun I’ve ever had at a reception! From a photographer working the event, that’s quite a statement. With great senses of humor from the couple and the guests, hot pink Converse and UT burnt orange bow tie (that I tied and staged a photo to make it look like he knew what he was doing), party games, crazy photo booth, guests “crashing” the portrait session, and an amazing location on Lake Travis just off Mansfield Dam in Lakeway, everyone seemed like they were having a good time. The Texas barbecue and red velvet cupcakes were just the butter cream frosting on top.
I personally also really enjoyed looking at the gorgeous art board wedding album their fantastic photographer in Taiwan put together. They said everyone does a 12-hour bridal session there and that perhaps I should consider adding a day-long wedding photo extravaganza called the “Asian Package!”
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.
One of the nice things about real estate photography (there are a lot of those) is meeting all the great agents around the Austin area. Jill Foye is a beautiful new Keller Williams Realtor® , though as an ASP certified stager certainly no newcomer to the industry. We networked while she was staging, and I had the chance to take her head shots today for her new business cards. KW isn’t as fun with their cards as they have premade designs to choose from and therefore less creativity on my part there, but I loved this design…I think because it looks like my web site header!
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!
Congratulations to Johnny & Natalie on their wedding! They were wed at St. Helen’s Catholic Church with a reception following at the Williamson County Courthouse in Georgetown, Texas.
What a spunky and funny couple, it was almost hard to take photos because we were all laughing so hard! I think it was the first reception I’ve attended where cowboy hats and Texas accents were mandatory (yes, we had the DJ call them all out for a group photo!) Yet especially later in the evening, once the happy couple was ignoring us and we went into stealth photo ninja mode, there was such a lovely tender affection and sense of relief that it set my own heart to melting. My own 13th anniversary was the day after the wedding, and I thank you for giving me the perfect reminder of how wonderful it’s been! And thanks to Tyler Schmitt who is such an experienced and expensive wedding photographer for agreeing to come be my second: you were amazingly easy and fun to work with! Betcha didn’t know he was hiding back there!
View their full galleries for the wedding and the reception
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Miss K is getting ready to party hard with these designer custom photo invitations from our session last week. Do you think I’ll get invited? 
I first met Mike as a kid when we were studying at the same karate studio. He used to tease my baby by bringing her to me after class saying things like, “Tell Mama the new words you learned,” at which she would reply, “Anthrax!” or “Machine gun!” Years went by without seeing each other, but thanks to the modern wonder of the world, Facebook, we meet again when he is as grown up as I am with a life and career all his own, not to mention enough personality to fill a room even with almost no talking. Drum sticks flying, and a third-degree black belt, I’m glad I was the one doing the shooting.
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.
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I love shooting at the outdoor Chapel Dulcinea in Driftwood, Texas because not only is it a beautiful location that is romantic and intimate, but it’s right down the street from my house. This north Austin couple was even more gorgeous than the location, and it’s too bad they didn’t go into modeling careers!
Five hours and Santa’s lap is worn out! It was a great party for Belterra homeowners at the Belterra Welcome Center, busy, busy, and my printer was humming away! No children or camera equipment were damaged for these shots, though my batteries are a different story.
Everyone who attended the party can waive the sitting fee with a free 8×10 on their first portrait session, over a $200 discount!
The Rise School of Austin is an early education center specializing in children with developmental disabilities or delays with an inclusive program with typically developing peers. The NISH non-profit organization is one of the major funders of the Rise program, and the board of directors met to participate in a fun art project with the children painting slipper shoes as gifts! No clothing was damaged by too much paint, though we really hope it’s water based!
The children were adorable, about the same age as my own. Crawling around on the floor with a camera trying to capture all of their abundant personalities was just like being at home! And to make it feel more like home, my neighbor was there as she’s the office manager: the NISH office in Washington DC hired me, but it’s a nice coincidence of working locally. I enjoyed meeting the administrators, the board and trustees, but mostly the kids!
From my family to yours this holiday season, wishing you much peace, happines, and true joy. This is what brings me joy: my beautiful, loving, wonderful family, and creating art for others and myself to enjoy. I am thankful to all of my family, friends, and clients for allowing me to be a part of your lives!
These 2 buddies had about the same photo shoot in Sunday best, tugging their collars and untucking their shirtst, the same, “Why is my mom making me do this?” attitude with the same gap-toothed smile (hence the closed lips), and both turned out looking like such handsome little men. Just goes to show that they don’t exactly have to cooperate to get great shots they’ll grow to appreciate in the years to come.
The R family, owners of Austin Signco, found my portfolio online through our local Dripping Springs homeschooling group, and this shoot was the first time we had met in person. Their twins are absolutely delightful! Adorable, well mannered, full of exuberant energy, and the parents were down to earth and incredibly friendly. I always try not to show just how much work a photo shoot is, managing everyone and capturing not only their emotional interactions while making them all look good, but a family like this makes it fun. Honestly, I can’t wait to get to know them better and let our daughters play.
Lesley Bowles of Texas Jumping Beans inflatable playground does in-house face painting and body art. Halloween is a great time for adults and children alike to get their faces on! Lesley does outstanding work, and the crowds gathering to watch as she created was fun for the guests and human canvases alike! The full devil face was the final piece of the day, and with head shaved to really carry it off, they had the largest crowd to ooh-and-ah over them. I provided an on-site printing event where the customers walked away with a lab-quality instant print as a keepsake of their costumes. On the last photo, you can see my blue beast printer cart working away in the background! Finally, some appreciation for all “his” hard work with some face time in my portfolio.
