I knew it would happen before TOO TERRIBLY LONG and Oh My Goodness was it fun. One of my first seniors grew up, became a mommy, and brought her sweet baby girl back to my studio for portraits.
Not only did Kayla become a parent. FIRST she became a US Marine, got married, moved all over the world and finally back to The States, but not anywhere near The State of Texas. So — we had to finagle some creative schedule arranging to accommodate her maternity-leave and trip back to visit her family and take baby on a grand tour to meet the relatives. I was so glad that Nana was able to make that all happen. You can tell she’s only just a tiny bit in love with her little princess.
Baby was about 6 weeks old when she came to visit. That’s a little bit older and bigger than most babies are when they come in for their newborn sessions. Older babies are more awake and alert, which allows us to see their gorgeous eyes, but they have also had time to develop their own preferences, so if baby is not interested in a snuggly, squishy, curled-up newborn pose, it just ain’t gonna happen.
We held our own, but she did too — so together we came up with some yummy sweet 6-week images.
And I couldn’t resist a little bit of a trip down memory lane to find mommy’s senior portraits from 2008. It seems like just yesterday and then at the same time it seems like a lifetime too.
Notice a little streak of independent spunk in mommy? Well…. I’m thinking that baby may have inherited her share of that too. She’s going to bring lots of joy and laughter to her family and I am so glad that I got to photograph her. She’s PERFECT! Absolutely PERFECT.
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.
The Senior year in high school is filled with traditions and fun. It’s also a time when friends who grew up together shriek with excitement when they open acceptance letters from colleges and universities across the country.
That means everyone is heading off in different directions VERY SOON.
How can we make the fun and games last forever? How can we keep the love and laughter flowing when we all go separate ways?
These Taylor High School Seniors found an answer when they all got together for the super crazy SPCcreative BFF Photo Session.
We laughed and laughed and laughed. What a Fun Afternoon
Yes, the ceiling still has a hot-pink paint stain. Yes, I do plan on doing it again. Who’s in?
And if we put some tunes to everything, it gets even better! Check out our video.
Days around our house have been busy and exciting lately. You see, we’re especially looking forward to a very important wedding in January. At this wedding, I will not be allowed to have a camera because the groom is my first-born son. (Don’t tell anyone, but I’m seriously looking for a pretty evening bag that will accommodate our Canon C-9 Point and Shoot, just in case I start going into photography withdrawal tremors)
I DID, however, get to spend a little very special time earlier this fall with Ian and his lovely fiance’, Lisa, to create some memorable engagement images and a Save the Date card. Here’s what we came up with!
This is the front of our 5x7 Save the Date Card
And this is the inside spread.
And this is the back of our little card.
So as you can tell, I’m getting a beautiful new Daughter-in Love — and of course Grand-dog Jäger adds laughter, tail wags and slobber to the scene.
In posting these photos, I’m a little gushy and proud today. I can’t help but share our music video as well as some of my favorite picks from our outing.
Naturally, I’m a bit biased, but I think you’ll agree that we’ve got one heck of an adorable and so-in-love couple.
Ian and Lisa . . . I love you both BUNCHES and thank you for allowing your dopey mom to follow you around one afternoon with her camera.
For more engagement fun, here’s a video I created with all of the proofs from our session. Pour yourself a cup of coffee, sit back, and enjoy young love and One Big Dog!
