CATEGORY toddler

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.

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.

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 photo 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.

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!

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!

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.

A year goes by so quickly, and it’s incredible to watch baby McD grow from a wriggling newborn to a laughing, running toddler! Babies grow so fast, it’s like watching mold in a petrie dish (except a lot cuter!) This family shoot was the culmination of a year’s portfolio from maternity, newborn, holiday card, 6 month, to 1 yr. Happy first birthday little man!

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!

All packages include
sitting fee
1 hour travel
all images individually edited
up to 5 images digitally enhanced by request
$25 a la carte credit
$10 per digital file
Each a la carte or pakage print comes with the digital file

1/2-hour Mini Session $75 suitable for individual head shots or 1 location and limited poses
2-hour Standard Session $200 suitable for individuals up to 3 clothing changes and 1 location, families up to 5 with group and individual shots, group shots only, or real estate
3-hour Extended Session $300 suitable for large families up to 10 with large group and individual shots, or groups/reunions with small group shots
Newborn Sessions Having a baby is such a unique experience every single time. I should know, I have had five of them! My experience with newborns personally and professionally puts you and your newborn in capable, calm, and patient hands. There are several packages to suit your individual family. After booking an approximate date, please call as soon as you are home from the hospital, when baby is about 3-days old, to finalize the session time. Newborn sessions are for babies 5-10 days old. Newborn and Family Small $300 We spend a lot of time during these sessions at your home changing, nursing, feeding, burping, rocking, screaming, soothing, so while they last 3 hours the actual photography time totals an hour. The package includes the 3-4 hour session with 5 favorite images as digital negatives. Newborn and Family Regular $500 The same loving atmosphere with as much time as it takes to capture the images we need as the small package, but all images individually edited as digital negatives on a commemorative DVD. Maternity + Newborn and Family $800 2 sessions for the price of 1 with all images individually edited as digital negatives on a commemorative DVD. A 1-hour maternity session designed to make you feel beautiful, as well as a newborn-only session after the birth. Maternity + Birth + Newborn $1000 This package includes the Maternity + Newborn as well as my being on hand during the birth at the hospital, center, or your home to capture the arrival, day or night! All images from all 3 sessions included, individually edited as digital negatives on a commemorative DVD.

A la Carte Services

Printed Invitations (available with my photos or another photographer’s with release)

all cards include custom-designed graphics, white envelopes, identical design for each batch of 50
call for bulk pricing over 50, or wedding invitation extras like foil envelopes, double envelopes, full-color front and back design, etc

25 4×6 flat $50, 50 $85
25 4×6 folded with interior design $75, 50 $140
25 5×7 flat $100, 50 $180
25 5×7 folded with interior design $125, 50 $225
colored envelopes, add $25 each 50
return address printed envelopes, $25 each 50
recipient address printed envelopes, $50 each 50

Prints & Enlargements

4×6 $10
up to 300 4×6 proofs from session, $75 (included free in wedding packages)
5×7 $15
8×10 $25
11×14 $35, artboard $50
16×20 $45, artboard $80, canvas wrap $150

Montages and Scrapbook Layouts

8×10 or 11×14 custom photo montage $100
12×12 or 8.5×11 scrapbook page $50

Albums and Frames (available for my photos or another photographer’s with release)

4×6 proof sleeve album $10
4×6 frame album $30
4×6 keepsake box with all proofs from session, $100

5×7 bound album $45
framing $35 up to 8×10, $40 up to 16×20, $50 20×24 with 16×20 mat
10×10 10-page (20 layouts) bound, hardcover album $200

DVD’s and Keepsakes (available for my photos or another photographer’s with release)

DVD photo-music slide show $150
all images 4×6-quality high resolution on DVD $250 w/ personal reprint rights
up to 100 images enlargement-quality high resolution on DVD $350 w/ personal reprint rights
100+ images enlargement-quality high resolution on DVD $500 w/ personal reprint rights
all images enlargement-quality high resolution on DVD $1000 w/ commercial reprint rights

Sitting fee due at time of session, remainder due at ordering consultation.

Print prices are honored 90 days from portrait session. Digital negatives are stored for 90 days from portrait session, and 2 years for negatives selected for prints.