Before starting this post, I am going to berate myself publicly for being such a LOUSY LOUSY blogger. I love my clients and my sessions and can hardly wait to share my images here, but when it comes time to sit down and make it happen, the phone rings or the dog needs to go chase a squirrel or — oh look . . . SHINY! If I promise here in front of God and everybody to try to catch up on some of my very favorite sessions and to stay on top of things, do you think it will make me become a better blogger in the long run? All the motivational people say that writing your goals and being held publicly accountable works, so I’m going to give it a try.
WET NOODLE LASHING is now officially OVER! Now, meet ALLIE!
The minute Allie walked into my studio this spring for her Senior Portrait Session, I knew we were going to be in for a genuine treat.
Not only is she drop-dead gorgeous, she is sweet, funny, confident, and humble. What a great mix! On top of that, she brought some really cute clothes.
One of my favorite parts of working with Allie and her mom was getting to also meet her grandmother. THERE is a character deluxe!
First impression, “What a sweet and adorable woman,” but within five minutes I wondered if I could keep up with her straight-talking wit and wisdom. I wouldn’t mind being like her someday.
Grandma along with Mom kept me laughing, and to top it off she provided the list of quotes that we used in this album.
I like to add carefully-selected wording to my albums, and believe that these coming from Grandma will make them even more special over the years ahead.
Dontcha just LOVE the boot with bling?
Those EYES! WOW!
Allie is heading very soon to Blinn College where I just KNOW good times and amazing experiences await.
Best of Luck. Study Hard, and when it’s time to play, PLAY! – Never mind, I think you already know that.
Want to see more? Click this link to enjoy a little video with all of Allie’s session proofs: Allie Bellow – Class of 2012.
Check out this awesome Senior Portrait Album that I designed not too long ago for Caitlyn, a 2012 graduate of Katy Seven Lakes High School.
You’re going to love her top-model moves and fashion sense every bit as much as I do.
Sometimes my camera just gets happy —
Check out those EYES and that crazy head of BIG TEXAS Hair. What’s for the lens NOT to love?
So here’s a story about the cool things I learn from my seniors. How about those Platform Wedge Shoes? I have to give Caitlyn total credit for convincing me that they were comfortable enough even for me to wear.
Thanks to her, I actually went out and bought myself a pair of orange and teal platforms — and I can REALLY wear them (for a while anyway) without hobbling.
EVERYONE is surprised — and they make me VERY tall.
Of course, I have fallen off them a few times, but I can fall off my flat flip flops without trying.I love my platform shoes so much that I named them afterCaitlyn. If you see me wearing my FUN shoes and say anything to me about them, I will be quick to tell you that they are my “Caitlyns.”
Caitlyn, along with her gorgeous smile and her zest for life, is headed north this fall where she will definitely brighten the campus of Oklahoma State.
Go ahead and say bad things about me if you want to. YES… I’m still behind the curve posting some of my favorite senior portraits for the class of 2012, but just like writing Thank -You Notes, late is WAAAAAAYYYYYYY better than not at all.
And when I think about Erin and her amazing family, I have TONS to say THANK YOU for. You see, when I was just thinking about getting serious about photography, Erin’s mother was the VERY FIRST person to show her faith in me by hiring me to take her older daughter’s senior portraits.
At that time, I was the ever-present mom with a Canon Rebel at every cross country meet that our high school participated in. Yes, I was there to photograph my son, but HECK, his team had about 70 great kids and I shot them ALL…. Over and over and over. Then I got a web-site and sold the action prints for pennies a piece. I think I GROSSED $29. 34 that year. It wasn’t going to replace the day-job. It wasn’t even going to pay for the web site, but it was a start and I was having the time of my life.
I offered to take senior portraits for all the kids graduating that year . . . but Erin and Hollie’s SWEET SWEET SWEET mother was the ONLY one who took me up on the offer.
And I felt GUILTY accepting her check.
We’ve come a very long way since those days. I’ve invested heavily in my love of photography, participating in classes and seminars every chance I get. and upgrading equipment and my studio sets one piece at a time.
To this day, I still learn something new every time I take on a new assignment, and I’m always thinking about what will make the next session better than the last. .
In fact, when I look at the photographs from my first paid session, I wish I could get a do-over — or at least wish I could offer big sister a do-over
— HEY! THinking while i blog is DANGEROUS, but I’m saying PUBLICLY that when Erin’s sister Hollie is in town and has a couple of hours to spare, (Yes she has already graduated from college and has a successful and EXCITING career) we are going to have to get together so we can absolutely ROCK the lens like never before.
But . . . go ahead and say MORE bad things about me. Really. I deserve it. This is NOT about my first shoot with Erin’s sister.
THIS is about ERIN. My BEAUTIFUL RED-HEADED senior/graduate, who will soon be a GORGEOUS Kansas Jay-Hawk.
Did you know I secretly (my heart almost expects them to show up for Christmas dinner) adopt EVERY red-haired girl who comes to my studio.
RED ROX! Don’t you think? — I SURE DO! Especially when they are as lovely as Erin.
Congratulations, Erin on your graduation from Taylor High School. Best of luck to you as you head north this fall. ROCK CHALK!
Well, here’s to an exciting first at SPCcreative Photography.
Hannah is my very first Senior Portrait client to also become one of “MY” brides, and I can hardly WAIT to watch the next chapters of her sweet life unfold.
I still remember her senior session. She brought her ultra-handsome and oh-so lovable new boyfriend, Jake, along for part of the shoot, and we included him in a few of our images. While I could tell they had something very special between them, logic tried hard to convince me that I was just being a sucker for young love.
Who would have thought that Jake really was going to be THE ONE? I guess they both knew a good thing from the get-go.
Hannah and Jake were married in the chapel at The Brookwood Community where, as it turns out, I worked as a development officer for the first three years that we lived in Houston. Brookwood is a beautiful campus with a fascinating mission. It’s located just outside of Brookshire, Texas.
RATZ my link didn’t seem to work, check out www.brookwoodcommunity.org for more info.
I love it when a bride has a special idea that she wants incorporate into her session, and Hannah wanted to create a special gift for her father. Ahhhh the sentiment!
You can’t tell here, but we all shared a few tears while she wrote this note on a slate.
Best wishes Hannah and Jake — for a LONG and HAPPY life together.
The blogging curve just flat got ahead of me this spring during the Senior Portrait rush — and now we’re well into the depths of summer.
It was just too hard to justify taking the time to BLOG when I knew I had people waiting on their orders — but enough is enough.
It’s time to crank up the AC and share some of my favorite 2012 Senior Sessions with you.
We’ll start today — here and now with MEREDITH!
We had so much fun during our photo session, and I absolutely could not get enough of those gorgeous sky-blue eyes!
Then, after our session we created a very special Senior Portrait Album with extra copies for her grandmother and aunts.
What a THOUGHTFUL twist — the graduate being the one to give the gifts to people who have loved and supported her .
Senior portraits are kind of a big deal around here.
After all, once the summer’s over, there’s going to be a big empty space in the hearts and homes of these kids’ parents.
As a rule, guys like Alex are pretty laid back and nonchalant about their photographs, but they’re still willing to spend a little time in front of the camera because it means so much to their family. I think that by the time we were done he decided that he might have actually had a little fun during our session too.
This is the point in my blog where I would love to gush and rave about his stunning piercing eyes (you see them too don’t you?) and what a handsome and nice young man he is . . . (oh dear . . . I sound like someone’s grandmother! UGH!) Instead I promised Alex a no-cheese easy-going kind of session, so we’ll just keep things short and sweet, simply wishing him all the best as he heads to college classes at LSU ithis fall.
This just might be my favorite season of the year. That’s right — Senior Portrait Season!
Seniors like Catherine, from Cinco Ranch High School in Katy make my job so much fun. I just love bopping around the studio grounds with young people who shine with hopes, plans and dreams the way she does.
She’s cute, smart, and oh so sweet — and headed to The University of Texas in Austin this fall. Good choice girl! Hook ’em Horns!
When my seniors show up for their portrait sessions with creative ideas of their own, I can’t help but get super excited. It’s just plain FUN to help build their ideas into a unique piece of art for their homes.
Turns out that Lela, who serves as editor for “The Mane Event,” her high school’s student newspaper, is also an avid photographer and a huge fan of the Snoopy Writer character from Peanuts.
She and her parents built a Snoopy Doghouse out of foam board, and brought it along for her portrait session.
We started out in-studio where we paired the doghouse with my grandmother’s antique (or should I say vintage?) typewriter Then in post-production, I designed a highly caffeinated composite image just for her.
Bringing Lela’s love of writing and photography to REAL life, we included her own laptop and camera for some fun and memorable images too.
And we were just getting warmed up! Is she not GORGEOUS?
Lela’s headed to West Texas in the fall, with plans to major in — what else? Journalism, of course! Watch for her by-line one day in your favorite magazine!
Here’s the video featuring all of her photo proofs too.
I’m getting this post up JUST in time to announce our Seniors LEAP into Spring Break Special. Call before 8:00 pm February 29 to schedule YOUR senior portraits to be shot between now and the end of Spring Break, and we’ll credit your studio session fee toward your final order. JUMP NOW! Get to Leaping! There’s no time to lose! We’ve only got a few openings left, and I plan to fill them all up in NO TIME!
Lauren looked amazing for her senior session which we shot completely on site at my studio. Here’s the album we built with some of her favorite images.
Cute kids, fun times . . . no wonder I love my job so much.
Ruby, Lauren’s apricot poodle made herself right at home. Something tells me she gets the star treatment on a regular basis.
And . . . Here’s the music video of Lauren’s entire session.
But, what’s the old adage about the shoemaker’s children going barefoot?
The plumber’s house having leaky pipes? The baker’s family eating day-old bread?
Well, it’s kind of true in real life too.
Some of you may recognize Michiko. At weddings and at some weekend sessions, she’s my amazing assistant, my right hand, my brain, my partner in crime. When my husband and I travel, she even steps in as my dog-sitter . . . and she’s become a very dear friend too. Unfortunately, her senior session got put to the back burner and never made it to my blog. SO, it’s about time we show these off, don’t you think?
I won’t say how long ago we created these images, but let’s just say that she is now enjoying and thriving in her second semester at The University of Houston.
Sometimes the “outtakes” are just too fun to delete. Adelaide absolute adores Michiko . . . and I think the love probably cuts both ways.
HONORING FAMILY AND TRADITION
For the “unique item” in her portrait wardrobe, Michi selected a Japanese silk blouse that belonged to her grandmother who passed away not too long ago. Their relationship was super close, and I think Grandmother would very very proud.
We accessorized with a paper parasol and an heirloom fan then headed toward the bamboo wall in my outdoor portrait park.
And as always we made a little video of her proofs. Catchy little tune if you ask me, and more great shots of Michi! Check it out.
