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 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 | Jul 17, 2012 | senior gals, senior portraits |
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!
by Shelly | Jan 19, 2012 | baby |
There’s not much in this big ole’ world that can bring a smile to people’s faces the way a sweet little baby grin can.
I can’t even begin to resist the charms of an impish little guy like Benjamin. When he came to visit for his four-month photographs, he absolutely would not wouldn’t stop smiling until he suddenly conked out for the car ride home. When it came time for his mother’s viewing and ordering session, she faced a huge but wonderful dilemma . . .
How in the world do you choose between cute, adorable, and melt my ever lovin’ heart?
Click here to revisit our session and see why the decision was so hard to make. After all, these cutie pies don’t stay tiny for long at all. It took us a while to match schedules, so he had already grown quite a bit between his camera session and the date when we selected his artwork.
The answer? Just box em all up! Benjamin’s mommy chose a few of her “very most favoritest” images for gifts and to build a composite print, and then we custom designed a fine art box for her and filled it with 5×7 prints in a shiny metallic finish. The box included a disc with electronic files of each print along with personal-use reprinting privileges. Now this little cutie-pie’s parents can enjoy all of these images for years to come, and they’ll also be able to make extra copies for all the aunts and uncles, cousins and friends who just can’t narrow down their selection either.
Smile on little Benjamin. You’re already quite the charmer. I can’t wait to see what’s next in store for you.
