Maybe somehow you missed the announcement, but my little side project .emme. boudoir is bringing back the mini session marathon in early September and this time, the theme is “Secret Garden.” We’ve gotten the greenhouse all set up and ready to go and I’m thrilled to be teaming up with Katie of Modern Muse Beauty once again to create these fantastical, romantic, etherial portraits to highlight your natural beauty. We are so excited about all of the possibilities this set lends us and I cannot wait to see how creative and artistic we can get as we paint with light and nature and fantasy. Don’t miss the special offer that is only being advertised on our .emme. Facebook page as well. You can also browse some images that represent the feel and atmosphere for the “Secret Garden.” Our last round of boudoir mini sessions was incredible and I can’t wait to do it all again in September! Please contact me for more details ASAP as our openings are very limited.

XOXO,

Michele

Oh, little one. Each time I’ve had the joy of getting to hang out with you, you have brought a smile to everyone’s faces. You have done your parents proud and you’re only 1/2 a year old. You are sunshine!

I first met Erica last year (?) when she attended one of my lifestyle photography workshops in Austin. She is a VERY talented photographer in the Washington, D.C. area and I was very honored when she said that to celebrate their one year wedding anniversary, she and her new husband were planning a big trip to Texas and she wanted to do some portraits…in her wedding dress…in a creek. Um. Yes, please.

While we were hoping for some golden Texas sunshine that afternoon, it ended up being rather overcast. I actually liked the moodiness it added to the images as we sort of ended up telling the story of a Sleeping Beauty resting in a quiet creek, rescued by her Prince Charming…

[Is this one my fav? Can’t decide…]

My boys used to go to preschool with these girls, so yes, we’ve known these guys for quite some while. After preschool ended, it became more and more difficult for us to get everyone together…sad how life and different schools and activities can pull you away from people you enjoy being around. None-the-less, we were able to get it together in downtown Austin for this very urban family photo session held in a building their daddy actually helped design and build. He’s pretty much an Austin architectural icon at this point ;-). And these girls have such PERSONALITY! What a blast we had that morning! (Loved this one of mom and dad alone for a couple of seconds, LOL).

Yes, the blog has been unusually quiet for a while and for good reason…I haven’t been around much to even blog, LOL! Last month kicked off the start of Pinkle Toes lifestyle photography workshops on the road and it has been a whirlwind since. Charlotte, North Carolina (hosted by my dear friend and past workshop attendee, Annette of Annette Goodman Photography), set the bar high. Very, very high, my friends! Could not have organized a more fantastic, talented, eager to learn, ready to share, down for anything group of women if we planned it so and I was actually very sad to say goodbye at the end of our short time together. There were only three snags to this workshop:

1. The heat. I’m from Texas…I can handle hot. But I crumbled under the weight of the crushing humidity in Charlotte on shoot day. Oh. My. Word. (Ashley 😉 I was weak, I tell ya.
2. Freak thunderstorms. Working under such a tight schedule leaves no room for sessions to get rained out, but fortunately our maternity model was a total trooper and made it happen for us.
3. The trip home. Um. Atlanta’s airport was kindofamess and I ended up not being able to get home to my bed and my family until much later than I had hoped.

But I can live with that. Especially considering we got to work with such a wonderful newborn family (above) and capture Annette’s family like this (below)…

…and share in the joyful anticipation of their daughter (below):

Oh, and let me introduce you to my Charlotte girls:

• Studio 9 Photography – www.studio9photographybycg.com – Sumter, SC
• Jody Mack Photography – www.jodymackphotography.com – Charleston, SC
• Photography by Melissa McMasters – www.melissamcmasters.com – Memphis, TN
• Stefanie Harrington Photography – www.stefanieharrington.com – Washington, DC
• Annette Goodman Photography – www.annettegoodman.com – Charlotte, NC
• Heather McGinnis Photography – www.heathermcginnisphotography.com – Greensboro, NC
• Katie Bork Photography – www.KatieBorkPhotographyBlog.com – Wilmington, NC
• Emily Lapish Photography – www.emilylapish.com – NC, SC, and TN
• Joyful Images Photography – www.joyfulimagesphotography.com– Columbia, SC
• www.bumpmeetbaby.com – Charleston, SC
• Umla Photo – www.umlaphoto.com – Toronto, ON, Canada

And us cutting up HERE. And loads of fun behind-the-scenes pics HERE and via #pinkletoesworkshopclt hashtag on Instagram. Thank you, girls, for an absolutely AMAZING workshop and for showing me the BEST of Charlotte! A great deal of learning took place and many happy memories were made!

Just got back from the St. Louis workshop (also amazing!), so I’ll be blogging about that as soon as I can.

Meanwhile, I DO have one opening for the August 16-17th workshop in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Please let me know if you are interested in snagging that spot. I will extend all of the discount deadlines to you as well.

And, I know many of you have e-mailed me about news regarding workshops in Northern and Southern California and guess what? It looks like that just may happen summer of 2014. So, if you’ve already sent a message, no need to send again. If you haven’t, please get on the list for the full details when those are released (soon!).

I cannot even begin to express how thrilled I was doing this photo session. Even though she is the daughter of a photog, she did not display any signs of PCS (Photographer Child Syndrome) and that blows me away! She and her mommy are pure sunshine and watching the two of them together or even just watching the way mommy adores and appreciates her baby girl, well, it’s quite a treat. And also lovin’ that happy mistake of the blurred umbrella image above. Glad I did not delete. Looks Monet-ish. You can see an un-blurry version of that image HERE.

It’s funny to me how when I phase into a new color obsession, my work starts to reflect that without me even realizing it. Lately, inspired by peacocks (?), I notice that I’m drawn to blues and greens and upon reviewing these proofs when they were finished, it hit me…blue and green. This family was so beautiful and connected and we had a really lovely time exploring a different (to me) part of Austin.

We had the most GLORIOUS sunrise session in downtown! I’m telling you, in the summer months, you just cannot beat beating the sunrise in Austin, Texas and I always encourage my clients to choose to brave getting up early, early, EARLY in the morning instead of waiting until the hottest part of the day (the evening) for an outdoor photo shoot. These little girlie Q’s were so much fun and I’m so glad we waited just a little bit longer for the fountains to start running so we could cool off properly when we were done. [And oh yes…still my fav from the session].

I’m sure you noticed the beautiful yoga form mommy + daughter struck up there. Lindsey is the owner of Yogapeutics and let me tell you, I was in for quite the treat when I visited her at her studio a few weeks ago…

Amazing, isn’t she???? And then there’s this one, too. Yes…I think I need to sign up for her class. Wow!