by Shelly | Dec 26, 2012 | family, senior gals, senior portraits, women |
Ashley, a blonde-haired, blue-eyed, porcelain-skinned beauty, graduated last spring from Taylor High School. Her senior year was so incredibly full that the senior portrait session before graduation just didn’t happen. Next next thing we knew she was off to a summer studying in Paris — and NOW she’s living the dream as a Freshman at New York University. Just because we missed the traditional pre-graduation time frame, it ABSOLUTELY DID NOT mean that she and her family would have to go without some gorgeous portraits to commemorate this eventful year in her life.
Because of weather issues, we shot the entire session indoors at my studio. I tucked my own canine studio mascots, Addie and Lucy, safely into their kennels with pillows and chew sticks so that Bluebell, the adorable Shi Tzu, could feel right at home.
To top off our session, Ashley’s parents, Steve and Angela joined into the action for a few extra images.
Christmas cards? Check! Heirloom Wall Portrait? Check! Gifts for grandparents and a touch of home for the dorm? Check!
I had Sooooo much fun photographing Ashley and creating some gorgeous wall portraits and albums for her and for her family. Yeah… I really do love what I do!
by Shelly | Dec 12, 2012 | event |
Well, the delinquent blogger is going to try to get back on track! There’s lots of good stuff coming if I can just sit down long enough to make it happen. Anyone want to take bets?
Celebrations are always a TON of fun, and I was so excited to recently cover a special birthday party for my dear sweet friend, Janice Havins Hamric.
I’ve been out and about in Katy with Janice, a few times, and the truth is she knows EVERYBODY! Because of her involvement in KISD and her church, I don’t think this lady can walk into any place in town without running into several people who are always thrilled to see her.
I believe that if she had her choice, the party would have filled the entire Merrell Center, but instead, she settled for playing hostess to her family and a few close friends at one of her favorite hangouts, Hasta La Pasta.
Her dad, Bill, along with musician/humorist Doc Blakely entertained ROYALLY with down-home jovial music. I could have listened to them all day long.
Even Janice’s boss boldly braved the highly female throngs to come wish her a very happy next decade.
These are just a few of Janice’s life-long friends. I would have loved to be privilege to some of their youthful antics…
and while we were at it, I had to pop into a pic with a few of my own besties… just to prove that I was there.
Happy Happy Birthday Janice… Here’s to another SEVERAL fabulous decades. You are LOVED by many!
by Shelly | Aug 27, 2012 | senior gals, senior portraits |
Well… it’s the first day of school for most of the students in Texas, and we’re still playing a little bit of catch-up with seniors from the class of 2012. What’s a better way to celebrate Holly’s first day at Texas Tech than to share some of our favorite images from this session — not so long ago but still back when she was a Senior at Katy Taylor High School.
Rockin those red boots, Holly’s bound to be ready for anything that West Texas has to offer. 
Love these? Click on this link to see all of our proofs from this Holly’s Session in a music video: Holly Thompson – Class of 2012.
Best of luck in Lubbock, Holly. In the days ahead, may you learn new things, make new friends, and create memories to last a lifetime.
by Shelly | Aug 19, 2012 | family, SPCcreative, women |
Not too long ago I got to take part in a VERY clandestine top-secret operation. As my neighbor, Linda, approached a milestone birthday, her husband started planning the most amazing and elaborate surprise birthday party I have ever seen. He flew Linda’s two sisters and their husbands into Houston from across the country and planned an entire week of entertainment, dining out, shopping, baseball games, and BEST of ALL a photography session with me.
Now, I’ve known Linda for about 11 years, and we play Bunco together once a month. That made keeping the party a secret extra hard.
In fact, the secret-keeping became laughable. Since Linda’s husband is retired and spends a great deal of his time in her company, he could phone me, but I couldn’t call him back in case she saw my number or answered the phone. When he came over to drop off his retainer payment, he had to turn left off his own block first and then come back to my street because we’re in a cul-de-sac development and you can’t get out by turning right.
But . . . we were completely successful. Linda didn’t have a clue that anything was up until the car arrived with her two sisters and their husbands. The next morning the guys went golfing or shooting or something and sent the ladies out to shop for clothes that they thought would coordinate in their photographs. On the day of their appointment, the sisters all arrived accompanied by Linda’s soon-to-be new daughter in law whose job it was to keep the ladies from misbehaving. Yeah, Right!
This post may mean a little extra to some of my clients, because many of you (and I do mean many) have accidentally met Linda before. She lives one block west of me at the very same address, and our street names are similar.
Yeah… if you knocked on the wrong door when you were coming to meet with me, you’ll remember her. It’s a good thing she’s a VERY nice lady.
We made a party out of our session, using very simple studio settings. Some of our images were traditional, but we had more than our share of silliness too.
Sisters are a treasured gift, and so are husbands who go to the great lengths that Bruce did to craft a celebration that will not soon be forgotten.
For a fun music-video of the proofs from our session, just , click on this link: Sisters Celebration.
by Shelly | Aug 16, 2012 | senior gals, senior portraits |
Time to share another album that I designed for one of my Taylor High School seniors this spring.
This one is Alyssa’s. She graduated in June from Katy Taylor High School.
Have I told you how much I ADORE “MY” seniors
The first thing I always notice about Alyssa is her mischievous EAR TO EAR grin, which makes me wonder what she’s going to be up to next.
When we put this album together, the one quote that she really wanted to include was her Confirmation verse, Hebrews 13:5, a timelessly wise scripture for anyone stepping out into that big ol’ world of ours.
All of our albums are customized specifically for the individual client, and this one was no different. I guess that makes it DIFFERENT.
Alyssa has served as a trainer for the Taylor High School Athletic Department throughout her entire high school career.
As a sideline photographer for the booster club, I had several game-time images of her in action. When she asked if we could incorporate a few of those photographs into her album as well, I thought that was a BRILLIANT idea. These are my own images, so neither of us had to track down another photographer to secure copyright use licensing. That made it very easy for me to say YES to her request
— and isn’t YES the answer we all want to hear?
Alyssa is headed to Sam Houston State University this fall where she plans to major in education and become a math teacher for junior-high and high school students. 
Best of Luck to you, Alyssa. Keep on smiling sweet girl. You’re off to a great start, and you are destined to do great things and to touch countless lives. I just know it.
And here’s a video with all of Alyssa’s session proofs:
Alyssa — Class of 2012.
