by Shelly | Jun 21, 2016 | senior guys, senior portraits |
I’m feeling a little bit verklempt as I post Miles’ senior portraits to share with you.
He is the third and final senior that I get to photograph for the Travis Family, and I”m going to miss them.
“sniff sniff”
I got to know their mom through the band at Taylor High school, and it all started when she trusted me to photograph her oldest son, Cole back in 2011.
We must’ve done something right because she came back again with sister, Shana in 2014.
Because I know that people have a choice when selecting a senior photographer, I never take a returning family for granted. In fact, I CELEBRATE them.
History aside, THIS is Miles’ year.
Three guesses where he’s heading to school this fall. Ain’t Texas.
by Shelly | Jun 17, 2016 | senior gals, senior portraits |
Oh, Allison! Your Senior portriats are ….. well . . . I have no words. Just enjoy them in all their gorgeousness!
Hair and makeup in studio by Cynthia Velderrain.
Sweet… Gorgeous … Smart … Shy . . . Lovely girl. What a great senior year this has been!
Allison is a 2016 graduate of Faith West Academy where she served as class president and head cheerleader.
Allison with her softly sophisticated style is heading to Texas A&M this fall where she has been accepted to the Business Honors Program.
We had a great time together in our studio. I’m so glad I got to work with her.
by Shelly | Jun 9, 2016 | senior gals, senior portraits |
This is Brie. She’s a fresh new graduate of Clements High School in Sugar Land.
She’s STUNNING!
And here are the Senior Portraits we created for her in our Katy/West Houston studio this spring. Hair and makeup by Rachael Elise Walker, Elise Artistry.
I first met this young lady when her mother occasionally brought her to the office or to Relay For Life events when we worked together at the American Cancer Society.
Mom and I kept very loosely in touch through social media over the years, but I don’t believe we had actually seen each other in person since the day I left that job in 2008. That’s when I took the leap to tackle my photography as a full tim venture. So, you can imagine how surprised and excited I was when she called to ask about creating these portraits.
Brie’s a voracious reader and adventurous traveler. She love to escape into a good book, and she loves even more to travel the world. She’s been to Europe, to China, and several times to work with families and children in a Romanian mission. As I learned about her varied interests, I started gathering items to create this composite storyboard with globes and books. I really do love how it all came together!
Brienne’s style? It’s very Bo-Ho Chic, so it’s perfect that she’s the first person ever photographed soaking up the sun in front of our flower fence.
Now that school is out for the summer, Brie’s looking forward to some more amazing summer traveling. When she gets back, she’ll begin her studies at Baylor University where she’ll study Political Science.
I look for her to become a powerful force in bringing good things to the far corners of this world we all live in.
by Shelly | Dec 10, 2015 | senior gals, senior portraits |
As soon as football and marching season ended, Elizabeth blazed her trail over here for her senior portrait session. She didn’t have any time to lose, because Color Guard never rests. Even before the playoffs end for some schools, Guard members are back at it, practicing throughout our chilliest months for their most intense specialized competition.
In addition to her super-busy Color Guard schedule, Elizabeth works part time as a cashier at her neighborhood Kroger. While she enjoys her job up front, she REALLY loves busy holidays when she gets pulled into the floral department. That’s a fabulous outlet for her artistic and crafty talents. She spends as much time as she can perusing Pinterest for party themes and craft projects, and that’s probably why she’s such a wiz at decorating for holidays like Christmas and at baking goodies for friends and families.
After graduation, Elizabeth plans to attend Stephen F. Austin University in Nacogdoches, where she will study to become a Family and Consumer Sciences teacher. I think I want to be a kid again and go to her classes. I think I’d learn bunches!
There’s a saying that goes something like, “she who leaves a trail of glitter will long be rememberered.” That’s so very true. I’m still finding shiny bits of blue, green, purple and silver, and it always makes me smile because I think about our fun time together.
by Shelly | Oct 26, 2015 | engagement, family, special project |
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.
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. 
The garden needed a little weeding and trim work, so after breakfast we headed out to the back yard for a little work session.
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?
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.
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.
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!
It was a beautiful day to put the top down and enjoy the breezes, and also to take a walk through the park.
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.
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. 
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.
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!
