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 | Dec 7, 2015 | relationship, senior gals, senior portraits, special project, women |
Hair and Makeup by Rachael Elise Walker — Elise Artistry
Some people are simply so full of life and adventure that you never know what’s going to happen when they get creative, but you know that it’s going to be fun. Originally we had planned to only photograph Mary, the mom in this series. BUT — as we worked through our consultation, we realized that we would all be missing out if we didn’t bring her daughter into the session as well — and I am so glad we did.
This is something I believe EVERY mother and daughter should do tpgether. Not only did they get to spend an afternoon laughing and playing “dress-up” together, they both looked AMAZING when they left the studio for dinner..
I secretly wished I could have tagged along just to watch people’s reaction as they walked by. Stay with me, and you’ll see why!
AND _ to top it off, they’ll have fabulous heirloom images of each other to treasure for ever.
R is a gorgeous young teen. She is sweet, quiet and soft-spoken … UNTIL she unleashes her inner goth. It may seem like an oxymoron, but when she turns on her dark side, THAT is when she really lights up.
We started out our session with a nice casual feel, and with the help of our in-studio makeup artist and stylist, Rachael Walker, we worked our way up from there.
Mary took a more formal route . . .
Isn’t she lovely?
But she was a great sport about letting R play out her inner rock goddess complete with blue hair extensions and super-dramatic makeup.
Very moody, huh? 
Because Mike Chetty and I raised five sons, we have a collection of old band instruments in our closets.
Most are in better shape than this old French Horn that had been previously destined to the trash heap, but I love how well it played into our theme. We didn’t have to worry about damaging it, and I am super glad it found its way into my prop closet!
This was by FAR one of my favorite sessions in a long time. I can’t wait to do another concept escalation based on creativity and dreams. There’s one in the planning stages now, and I would love to create one for YOU as well.
by Shelly | Nov 3, 2015 | family, kids |
Here’s something a little different for my blog. I don’t photograph many kids. Mostly I concentrate on teens and adults, and I nearly always leave the whole chase-a-toddler-through-the-park scenario to my colleagues who are more well suited for those antics. But once the kids are school-aged, I have a hard time resisting them. Especially when they’re as fun to hang out with as the kids in the N Family.
I don’t know how I got so luck y to have Little Miss L and her mom knock on my door selling Girl Scout Cookies a couple of years ago. I’m a sucker for Caramel Delights and Peanut Butter Sandwiches. They had the goods. We stood on the porch talking for a LONG time and became friends immediately.
You might recognize some of these faces — or at least one because she has popped in and out of previous sessions with older siblings like she did HERE and HERE
These kids have amazing parents who are committed to capturing great images of them individually on their birthdays and around their half birthdays too. They come from a very large family, so it’s nice to focus attention on just two or three kids at one time. AND — I’m the lucky duck that gets to create those photographs for them. We print all the best images, mount them, and deliver them in a custom keepsake image box.
Are these guys not adorable — running through the tall grass together — in slow motion . . .
You never know who’s going to show up during N Family shoots. It’s Big Brother C and Bubba Kitty! 
PHOTOBOMB! YEAH! 
Our session took place on a steamy morning, so ending the session by cooling off in the pool was a great idea! At least, that’s what L thought.
I agree!
by Shelly | Oct 29, 2015 | senior gals, senior portraits |
THIS . . . THIS is the face of The Class of 2016.
This is S’vani, a Senior at Langham Creek High School in the Cy-Fair ISD.
HAIR AND MAKEUP IN STUDIO by Cintya Velderrain
I loved working with her because she is always smiling. Seriously. ALWAYS smiling. She smiles so much that we had to WORK HARD to capture a few serious images of her.
We liked the smiling photographs best through because they are so … HER.
If the rest of her classmates are anything like S’vani, their school must run a close second to Disney as the Happiest Place on Earth!
What is it that makes her smile?
For one thing, her participation and leadership in Color Guard runs through her very core. For those of you who are uninitiated, the Langham Creek Color Guard is absolutely legendary and has been for years.
You know what else is cool? S’vani’s MOTHER, Rachel, performed with the very same group when she was in high school.
They were great then too! Just ask her.
Maybe flag, rifle, and marching skills are hereditary. Just sayin’
Oh, and did you see that big red NHS on the sleeve of her letter jacket above? Being a part of the National Honor Society can only mean that S’vani is also ONE SMART COOKIE! NHS gathers the students with the highest grades and helps prepare them to be successful leaders as they provide much-needed services to people and other organizations within their community.
After graduation, S’vani plans become a psychologist, and she will study at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska where she has already been accepted.
As for her fashion-style, S’vani says she likes to mostly be comfortable, but she LOVES to dress up for special occasions — and sometimes just because.
In her down time, when she has any, she may be found enjoying bubble tea and all things associated with Asian culture along with her closest friends.
What nobody knows about her, though, is that she loves video games and she’s pretty darn good at League of Legends, Pokemon, Team Fortress 2, Assassin’s Creed, and Border Bands 2.
I thoroughly enjoyed working with you, S’vani. Your future is bright because you SHINE! Enjoy your senior year and always follow your heart.
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!
