Archive for June, 2017
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You guys! Remember HIM??? Well, he’s almost ONE now and we marked this wonderful milestone early one morning under a glorious sunrise. He was so easy-going and full of smiles and cute expressions as he played around the Airstream (trying to get the tires, lol) and then when we plopped him down into the unruly, but photographically awesome garden. ‘Lil farmer ;0). Hope you have an awesome birthday, little man, and your parents have done a fantastic job during their first year of parenthood! Favity fav!
To be honest, I can’t believe we managed to pull this one off. We got together in the wee hours of the morning for our annual summer family photo session in an effort to catch the sunrise and beat this awful Texas heat. I knew I was in trouble when I got to my car in the dark and drove all the way out to their house (about an hour) and my windows *still* were foggy from the humidity. Yikes! I intentionally kept my camera in the way back of the van so as not to make my lenses too cold otherwise they would never defog when I needed them.
When I got there, we found the spot where we thought we would catch the best light (nailed it!), but I made the mistake of wearing flip-flops and was slipping all over the dew-covered grass. So, off went my shoes and I prayed I wouldn’t step on anything pokey (I’m NOT a barefoot person at all). Just as we got the twins settled on the that gorgeous red sofa (which can be quite challenging when you have two very active little girls!) and we were ready to bring in big sister, she managed to find a fire ant mound, bless her little heart. It’s times like this when I wonder why in the world I still live here in Texas.
BUUUUUT, you know what? It came together. Everyone rallied and we were able to get all the necessary birthday photos on that lovely red couch in spite of it all. I was WAY impressed with the patience of mom and dad (I know you have to be when you’ve got three busy kiddos) and their patience helped *me* to relax. We were even afforded the opportunity to switch gears to do some more casual photos at their favorite park. Of course, these are always the times I like best…when I get to kind of sit back and watch families play together and just enjoy being a family.
I truly was amazed watching them all in action. Twins ain’t easy, that’s for sure, and it never feels like you have enough arms. But these parents are doing an incredible job and it has been my extreme honor watching this family (and these beautiful girls) grow each year!
But these boys do ;-). I cannot say enough wonderful things about my time with this family. For starters, they are AUTHENTIC and FUN and the boys loved to smother their mommy with bear hugs and kisses. Add to that the fact that mom let them wear casual clothing for their family photo session that still reflected a little personality and perhaps a bit of team rivalry in their household. And dad just got right in and played with them, even when we stumbled upon an abandoned game of tug-o-war. And then there were the capes…oh the capes!!! It was like those boys completely transformed when they put them on and my heart melted. These are the photo sessions that memories are made from.
June 23-25 and June 30-July 2
More images can be seen HERE!
As a way to celebrate things that are iconically American AND help support the United Service Organization, I’m pleased to offer these kids-only, Americana mini sessions this weekend and next. A little vintage and a lot patriotic, the Americana minis will be held outside (weather permitting) at the Pinkle Toes studio/property and yes, we will have watermelon on hand ;-). We’ll be working close to sunrise (6:30- 8:30 a.m.) or sunset (7-8:30 p.m.), so keep that in mind when deciding which date will be best for your children. I will contact you after booking to help you select your date and time and provide wardrobe advice. You only need to book one session for your child(ren) and you will have the option to purchase additional files if you choose after you see the unedited proofs. Due to the nature of these mini sessions, fees are non-refundable and not transferrable to another session.
Our first attempt at capturing their adorable little baby bump was met with quite the challenge. I had been watching the weather *all* day and was starting to see the storm chances increase greatly right at the time we were supposed to start our photo shoot at Mueller Park in Austin. So I had the bright idea of moving the session up a few hours…to beat the storms. And instead, THIS happened. We waited, and waited, and waited…I mean, we were already there…everyone was already made up and looking gorgeous. Finally, it looked like the storm had cleared, so we ventured out. We hadn’t even taken 10 pictures before it started raining on us AGAIN :-(…just out of nowhere! Fortunately, we were able to kill some time in Lick Ice Cream, but we still had to wait and wait and wait some more. I have to say, the soon-to-be big sister held on as long as she could and was quite the trooper, but when the sun finally did come out that day, we had already lost our window and we had to call it. Even I was surprised to find we actually were able to get quite a few fun images on our first day, but I was glad everyone made it back AND there was no rain on the second day:
Favity fav is HERE. I’ll be seeing this beautiful family *very* soon when their new baby decides to make an appearance!
These two gorgeous and kind and intelligent young ladies are recent (well…one is soon-to-be recent) high school grads and while they live in two different states, they have actually been incredibly close friends since they were super little. In fact, I think their birthdays are just a few weeks apart? It was really something special to get to photograph them AND their mommies together (who have been best friends all this time as well) as we all explored downtown Austin and strolled along South Congress. One mother/daughter pair had flown in super late the night before and thanks to storms in the forecast, we had to do our session at sunrise the very next morning. Wow, they sure were troopers up for this adventure with only a few hours of sleep the night before! Way impressed!!! Favity fav HERE!
Her story is not mine to tell, but you can learn a number of things about Samantha in these images:
- She LOVES her son and he ADORES her.
- Her faith and strength have been tested in ways I could never fathom and yet she has come through with flying colors…almost as vivid as how she colors her world.
- She has a fantastic sense of humor.
- And sense of style.
- And sense of who she is and is not.
I don’t have adequate words to express how beautiful my time with her family was to me, but it I hope she and K know it was 100% my honor to get to see them in their element. One of my many favs HERE.
She took my breath away when I saw her again for the first time in a few years. She’s not a baby anymore. She’s a bright, spirited, energetic, sweet, giggly, adorable, caring, HEALTHY little girl! She has probably been through more since birth than many grown ups experience in a lifetime, but she has overcome every challenge thrown her way. And she has the beautiful scars to prove it. She is a sweet heart in more ways than I can count and it is a JOY to know her.
Did you hear the good news? We’re bringing the Heirloom Mini Sessions BACK this weekend for an encore! Follow that link for details and to book. I truly had an amazing time photographing kiddos last week in their classic best, plus, it’s always nice to have an excuse to bring out the famous purple couch ;-). Wanted to pop onto the blog to share two examples from last week to show what can be done sans wedding dress or tuxedo…
And then there’s this dapper gentleman who I have been photographing since he was 18 months old. I kept having to stop and dab the tears during the session because he played the role so well and looked SO grown up!
Again, you can review details and book your Heirloom Mini Session for your child(ren) this weekend HERE. You can request the date and approximate time and I’ll work you in.