A Love Story Legacy – Katy Houston Photographer

 It started out as a simple thought. Bruce and Linda had not had a portrait taken together in a long long time.

Chances are pretty good that most people who don’t have small kids at home, and many who do, haven’t taken the time to be photographed together either.

They were getting ready to celebrate their 45th anniversary, so Linda called to schedule a portrait session for the two of them.  The longer we talked we realized that a basic portrait just wouldn’t do.  We absolutely needed to capture the very essence of this relationship, and in doing so we needed to create a true heirloom legacy — something to one day be passed along to their grandchildren and to remind them of the joy and the active life and the romantic feelings that these two have for each other.

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If you knew this couple, one thing you would know for sure is that they are every bit as much in love  today as they were 45 years ago.  They’ve traveled quite a ways together down this road called life, and they still have a long long way to go.  We decided to spend the better part of a  day together so that we could document a relatively normal day in their life — from breakfast time to a dinner date with some fun stuff thrown into the middle of it all.

Our schedule was a little bit whack-a-d0odle  and out of order, but we were aiming for the essence of a day.  We came pretty close!

To keep things real, westarted out at breakfast time.   Toast and eggs.  T-shirts, newspaper,  and coffee.  It feels like home! That’s for sure. 2015-10-23_0022 2015-10-23_0021

 

The garden needed a little weeding and trim work, so after breakfast we headed out to the back yard for a little work session.

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And then we all  came in to exercise.

 … Ahhhhh!   So that’s how Linda keeps her girlish figure and how Bruce keeps up with her day in and day out.  Did I mention  how much I love love love their energy?

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 Most days find Bruce and Linda very-well connected to their tablets and computers where they check up on their grandchildren, their own parents and siblings, and of course their friends.

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Have you heard the old adage about the couple that hunts together?  That’ okay.  Neither have I. In fact, aside from my own grandparents, I can’t even think of any other couples I know that both people enjoy a frosty trip out to the lease, but every year they hunt together . . . deer, quail,  elk . . . whatever else it is that people hunt.

 Sooooooo — just for fun we decided to create a Texas Hunting Season parody version of the famous American Gothic painting by Grant Wood.   The house next door to them had a peaked gable that worked nicely for the background.

We laughed and laughed.

Fortunately none of the neighbors came out to find out why we were standing in the middle of the cul-de-sac with camoflauge, hunters’ orange safety gear,  a deer rifle, and antlers, but if they had we would have made up a crazy lie.

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I don’t believe that we could have gotten a more accurate facial expression  than Linda’s stern look if we had brought in a professional acting coach.   PRICELESS!  It was so very hard to keep a straight face.

On another note . . .  did you know that Bruce is actually ONE SUPER COOL GRAMPA?  Well, he IS!    His granddaughter is learning how to drive, and when he takes her out to practice, he lets her drive his “baby,” this classic Porsche convertible.   Granddaughter wasn’t with us when we were shooting, but we still made sure to save time for a drive to the park.   THIS, my friends,  is one sweet ride!

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It was a beautiful day to put the top down and enjoy the breezes, and also to take a walk through the park.

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As a highlight to our very active day,  we brought my makeup artist, Cintya Velderrain right to Linda’s own boudoir for a special hair and makeup session so that she could be her loveliest in time for their at-home date night.

2015-10-23_0028 For date night, Bruce and Linda prepared a delicate chicken piccatta  with broccoli and artisan bread.  Of course they  washed it down with some red wine.

Bruce is a fantastic chef, and he makes a mean chocolate martini too, but that’s a story for another time. 2015-10-23_0026   2015-10-23_0027

Dinner and dancing —  Forty-five years of marriage — and the romance between these two is still palpable.  There’s something very very special about the way the look into each others eyes.

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We took all these beautiful images and a few more and bound them together into a lovely album to showcase their unique relationship and the love that has carried them through the years.

Happy anniversary Bruce and Linda!  You are a most special couple.  I absolutely  love you to pieces!

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Teen Sons – Too Cool to do Cheesy – Katy Houston Family Photographer

This family!  Oh my  — THIS family is one of my favorite that I ever have photographed!

What do you do when you have two swoon-worthy college and high school aged sons and it’s been a while since you’ve had family portraits made?

YOU DO IT!

You get a date on the calendar and you make it happen.  NO EXCUSES!

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It’s no small feat when school and work activities and travel are chaotic. It takes an extra level of commitment to clear the schedule and get everyone into the room in good clothes all at one time, but it is Sooooooooooo worth it.

Kudos to the K family!  They DID IT!

Setting up family portraits with older boys takes a special skill  because showing a strong and fun relationship in an age-appropriate way can be tricky.  What works for toddlers or ten-year-olds tends to fall apart  and smell sorta cheesy once the kids are taller than their mother — and I LOVE that challenge.

We were facing some weather challenges and we couldn’t let that stop us either. So, rather than dodge thunderstorms, floods, and mosquitoes, we got a little bit creative and shot in the atrium of Mr. K’s office building.  It turned out to be absolutely perfect — and we had air conditioning!  That’s such a nice thing to have in this part of the world and it was a HUGE bonus for us!

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These boys are handsome.  They’re cool.  They get along beautifully, and they like to be a little bit silly and goofy too.

Thank goodness! Laugher can carry a family a long long way.

THAT is what I wanted to show.

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In a very short time, these boys will both be out of the house and living on their own, but the K family will always have some great artwork on their walls capturing these fleeting and very special days.

I’m so proud of them for making the effort to spend an evening in front a camera, and I am delighted that they spent that evening in front of MY camera because we had one heckuva good time together!

Does your family need portraits one last time before the kids scatter into their own grown up lives?  Call me today.  Let’s make it happen!

Happy BIRTH Day – Katy Houston Maternity Photographer

What’s on my  mind tonight?

It’s this super sweet family.  Tomorrow they will increase their family size by FIFTY PERCENT!  2014-10-14_0003

That’s right!  Fifty percent!  Sometime tomorrow Baby M and Baby H will join their two big brothers in one of the sweetest young families I’ve met in a very long time.

"OH Daddy, what have we gotten ourselves into?  I don't know, but it's going to be SWEET! "

“OH Daddy, what have we gotten ourselves into? I don’t know, but it’s going to be SWEET! “

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Tomorrow is going to be  a great day for being born!  Friends, please join me in praying for a safe and healthy delivery for two new little Aggie Girls!

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Family Portraits When the Kids Scatter – Houston Katy Photography

Meet The DunGums.   They’re a fascinating  family.  Cobbled Together, Empty Nested, and Widely Scattered. I adore them!

I can hear you now.   “What kind of name is DunGum, anyway?” you’re asking.

 Well  — it’s like this.  A few years back, Mr. Dunn, the father of three teen-aged sons met and married the gorgeous, sassy and over-achieving Ms. Mangum who came as a package deal with two sons of her own, and they all piled into one big testosterone-laden house.  Before long, the older kids started heading off to college, and soon even the younger ones followed.  Somewhere in those family formative years, in an attempt to make everyone feel equally a part of their combined family, they light-heartedly took on the name DunGum.

There, you have it.  Better than the Brady Bunch, huh?

Of course as time passed, some of the sons started adding special young women to the fold, and for several years we have tried to get everyone  together for that iconic family portrait. We came pretty dang close once, too. Pulled their living room sofa out into the front yard and piled it full of people, but still someone was missing and it never seemed right to produce the canvas.

With kids off at colleges all over the country, and holidays split with among other parents and new in-laws and out-laws, ski trips, and knee replacements, anyone else would have given up, but not Lynet. Kudos to her for being open to a new approach.

We realized  that we’d just have to  catch everyone when we could and  build from there.

Our portrait session spread out over several months, but eventually we captured each individual as well as the married and/or engaged couples. together. We shot with two backgrounds every time.  A simple black backdrop and a brick wall.  Just a little variety but enough consistency to tie everything together.

 Once all of our images were created, we  selected a wall sized image of each individual or couple as well as smaller  secondary prints of everyone. Lynet wanted a variety of shapes and sizes to hang together on one wall, and my print lab did a beautiful job of formatting the selections into thin-wraps — lightweight, ready-to-hang frameless  photographic prints with a mounting block centered on the back.

I’ll have to share a picture of the finished wall at a later date.  It’s very nice.  While it is  not  a single traditional family portrait on one canvas, the DunGum’s  portrait wall does capture the essence of the entire family at this one stage in their life.  Isn’t that what a family portrait is all about anyway?

Sisters of the Heart – Houston Katy Photographer for Women and Daughters

“How many slams in an old screen door? Depends how loud you shut it.

How many slices in a bread? Depends how thin you cut it.

How much good inside a day? Depends how good you live ’em.

How much love inside a friend? Depends how much you give ’em.”  — Shel Silverstein

Kathe and Shelly have been best friends just about forever.  And talk about coincidence, they grew up in my old hometown of Midland, Texas but I never knew either of them until Kathe moved to Houston.  We met in Bible Study and bonded over our Midland roots and Kathe’s wonderfully wise and witty take on life in general.

These two amazing ladies take the time to get together several times a year, despite the eight hours of Texas Highway stretching between their homes — AND they’ve created a tradition of celebrating their daughters’ tenth birthdays BIG TIME.  So, when Shelly’s youngest girls who happen to be twins were turning 10, Kathe decided that a spa day followed by a special portrait session would be a great way to cap off their week in Houston.

 

What a special time in life.  K &  K are definitely  not little girls anymore, but they’re not quite teens  yet either.  The lingering sweet innocence of childhood still fills their souls, but if you look deep into those eyes you’ll see the gentle unfolding of strong and wise young women.

We focused most of our session on the birthday girls, but would have been amiss if we didn’t capture this precious sweet relationship that weaves its way through two generations

—  mothers, daughters, sisters, friends.

Oh what a treasure!  I’m so glad that I got to be a part of their celebration.

 

 

 

 

Dynamite in a Small Package – Newborn Georgie – Katy West Houston Baby Photographer

All I can say about this little spitfire, is that kindergarten teachers in about the year 2018 had best look out!  Georgianna is HERE and she will make her presence known.

I believe Georgie is the tiniest healthy baby that I have ever photographed.  She was already 6-weeks old before she could come see me, and even then she only weighed about 6 1/2 pounds. Oh my goodness she’s just a tiny pixie of a thing.

Don’t let those sweet sleepy images fool you.  We had to work hard for those because she’s got a mind of her own and a strong spirit.   I think she’s definitely inherited some of the spirit that comes with her mama’s reddish hair.  Yep, it’s true what they say about us redheads! We WILL get our way — so you might as well just give in now.

She’s got her daddy wrapped around her little finger — as  she should.  

If you think Georgie looks like a little angel, you are right.  She definitely inherited THAT trait from her mama, Tambra.  I first met  Tambra  last fall through a program that teaches English as a Second Language. She gives tirelessly of herself, coordinating and managing a group of volunteer teachers while warmly welcoming and comforting  political refugees who arrive in Houston  frightened, exhausted, and with very few, if any English language skills.  She is INCREDIBLY humble about her work, but  I’ve seen firsthand the blessing she is to countless souls.    Yeah… she probably has wings hidden underneath her blouse. . . and I wouldn’t be surprised to see little Miss Georgie pick up her loving caring heart.

 Sleep tight and keep on growing just like a weed, Little Miss Georgie.  You’ve got some great times ahead!

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