[Austin baby photographer]

It was not very long ago at all when this little man up there was being represented by a small bunch of balloons secretly tucked away in a box. It wasn’t all that long ago when I was prepping mom and dad about the planned cake smash for baby girl’s first birthday and warning them that sometimes kids aren’t that into their cakes. It wasn’t all that long ago when we all got to be part of the surprise gender reveal for little man AND baby girl proved us very, very wrong regarding the cake smash (she takes the cake…quite literally, here). And just like the example his big sister set before him, he took to this whole cake smash thing like a PRO! This brother-sister team is good, don’t you think?

It blows me away to think I was privileged and trusted enough to be present to document three very significant milestones for this beautiful family and exactly as they were happening. We did big sister’s first birthday photo session on her actual birthday. We did the gender reveal that day as well. And we celebrated little brother’s first year of life on his birthday, too! But I think my favorite moments from this session were the very real and very loving interactions between little man and his grandfather. Those looks of joy cannot be put on…those two are connected in a genuine way. Both of these kiddos are incredibly blessed to have grandparents in their lives!

You can catch another one of my favorite images from the session HERE and stay tuned to the blog this week for a special (but not surprising) announcement.

Austin Lifestyle Family Photo Sessions Home: This family photo session once again reinforces why it is so awesome to have your pictures taken in your own home: because it’s so much easier on you!!! Especially when you have two very active twin boys and a precocious but very caring big sister! It was so great to just hang out and relax in their home, using their space, incorporating their things, taking breaks for the kiddos whenever needed. Snack time even turned into the perfect little photo vignette! Most importantly, a few years down the road when they’re out of the whirlwind of the busy, busy toddler stage and fun colorful toys are replaced with smaller, more expensive electronic devices, they are going to have photos like this that capture what their lives were like was when the kids were little…here’s where they played…here’s how they ate, etc. In fact, the images that I love most of my own family are ones that surprise me with unrealized gems when I least expect it: I’ll be flipping through some old files and one image will stop me in my tracks: oh, my word! I forgot how much my daughter used to LOVE this toy.

My favorite playtime image from this family session came right at the very beginning HERE.

Oh, and one more thing: check out how the brothers pulled off the SAME pose laying down on the bed totally on their own and not even in the same room together at the same time. Twin connection!

Austin lifestyle family photos

These littles have practically grown up on the Pinkle Toes blog and that makes my heart leap. Each year, we’ve done something a little different from the last (of course, the best was when I got to be there for baby #3’s grand entrance…barely) and this year was no exception. It was great weather to go exploring around this amazing little creek and of course, the kids’ favorite part was getting to splash me! Rumor has it that someone pictured here celebrated a birthday today (September is a great month in which to be born. I should know. So should the little guy 😉 so I hope she enjoys her little birthday surprise! One of my favorite images from this family session can be found HERE.

I’ve been an Austin family lifestyle photographer for how long now? Eight years? In all that time, with all of the photo sessions I’ve done, I have never had to bail in the MIDDLE of a session because of rain. Never. Let me tell you, we tried SO hard to push through the first morning I got together with this family. Kids were adorable, everyone was cheerful, we were excited to play (and for me, I was excited to explore a place in Austin I’ve never really been to before). We had all gotten up insanely early that morning to make this shoot happen and things were going SO perfectly until…

…we were a good distance from our cars (and umbrellas) when the skies just opened up on us. No lightning (thank goodness), but a rain shower just strong enough to drench clothing and to threaten my camera equipment. I raced back to my car to grab a supply of umbrellas and all-Macgyver-style, craft a shield for my camera/lens using a grocery bag and a headband. By the time I got back to this poor family, everyone was pretty much soaked. It was at that point, I knew we were not going to be able to recover to finish the session properly. Kids were starting to get tired and wouldn’t you know it, the clouds (in a rather untimely manner) completely cleared to leave us in a full, too bright, and much too hot Texas summer sun. So, we let the boys play in the water a bit and decided to cut our losses and try again another day.

And I’m so glad we did! I would not have traded the fun pictures we got on day one, but day two was even better! It was like we got to have two sessions in one, even throwing in some shots with the iconic “I love you so much” wall so synonymous with Austin now:

I want to thank these guys for being such troopers and hanging in there with me, even when Mother Nature turned against us. I know it takes so much effort to get yourself ready at the crack of dawn, let alone a family of five, and I know nobody wants to have to do it TWICE, but they did and they did not complain. And I got to have two very fun and very different little mini sessions with them in the span of just a few days.

See a collage of my favorite interaction between oldest and youngest HERE ;-). It was such a random moment, but it was REAL and sweet and 100% love.

THIS group…my oh my! I’m not sure I have ever laughed so much at a workshop. Some super witty ladies in this bunch and I’m quite impressed we still managed to accomplish all of our lifestyle workshop objectives in between our constant brainstorming and amusing conversations. I think that’s what so amazing about any workshop group, actually: when you get a group of women together with so much in common, there is a bond, no doubt, but we all understand we still have work to do and are incredibly eager to do it! Did you see I even earned my own Ryan Gosling “Hey Girl” meme? P.S. My underwater “assistant” would probably kill me for that last pic up there, but I couldn’t resist. I won’t out her here since you can’t tell who she is, but she knows. Oh…she knows.

Day one was spent talking all things related to the business of photography complete with headshots in the now infamous Wal-mart parking lot sunflower field:

The next day, we headed over to my sister’s house for our in-home newborn photo session demonstration. I was honestly a little afraid to use the twins as my subjects for this workshop because I knew it would be hard for me to keep my emotions in check. Sure enough, as with pretty much ANY photo session I do for my baby sis, I started out so choked up, I couldn’t speak, but we worked through it:
Aren’t my twin nieces  just so deliciously adorable? And have they not changed SOOOOO much??? Oh, and did you see they’re kinda locally famous now, lol?

That afternoon, we headed out to one of my favorite spots to cool down and photograph a dear friend of mine and her beautiful family in the creek:

And then we all got up before sunrise the next day to do a little practice maternity session at the greenhouse along with a bit of underwater photography:

It was a fabulous end to the summer Texas workshops! I haven’t looked at all of the posts yet, but I can’t wait to start going through the images in our blog circle from this group. Make sure you hop over and see Beth’s take on the Pinkle Toes Workshop:  The Queen B Photography – Houston Family Photographer!

Almost a year ago exactly, I met this mommy when she attended my lifestyle photography workshop in Toronto, Canada. She didn’t even live in Canada…she was from Minnesota. But just a short time after that workshop, she learned she would be moving to Seattle, WA. We decided to get together when I was there to do another workshop this summer. It was so surreal because as I was messaging her regarding our photo session location in Seattle, I noticed the last texts we had were from a year ago talking about our visit to Niagara Falls! I mean, how crazy is that???

What a JOY to experience this incredible beach in Seattle with their family! The views at Discovery Park are simply incredible and if the traffic/parking wasn’t such a beast, I would probably go there every night to watch the sunset behind the lighthouse. And these little doll babies! They have such a wonderful sense of adventure and explored every nook and cranny we could find at the beach that night. Don’t miss this image not pictured.

You might notice a pretty gnarly strawberry on baby girl up there. Man…she took quite the tumble and I was worried that was going to be the end of our session right then and there. But she sucked it up (for a little bit) and let us finish the night out working in some of the most romantic, perfect, lovely dresses EVER! And then, Jennifer happened to notice me looking longingly at the sunset, that dress, and my little girl and SO graciously told me I could borrow the dress for a couple of shots with Amry (here’s one with my iphone). It might seem like such a simple thing, but I think only a fellow photographer like her would truly understand that kind of longing and read my mind before I even knew to ask. Thank you for that, my friend. That will go down as one of my favorite memories from the trip.

And so now, back in Austin, I gotta say I quite enjoyed proofing this photo session because not only did I get to revisit this family, but I also got to relive one of the many awe-inspiring sunsets we experienced this summer on the west coast.

Austin kids photography

Okay, okay. Technically, I am “closed” (see last post about that), buuuuuuut, I feel very compelled to pop on here quickly to say THANK YOU to Lena, Annette, and ALL of New Jersey and north east coast attendees for an incredible workshop! In spite of our challenges–well, really, the only challenge and that was the RAIN (ugh)–everyone was patient and funny and eager to learn and gave 110% to their workshop experience. And our models were pretty phenomenal, too.

From one of the attendees:

DO IT!!!! Seriously. If you are considering any workshop — Pinkle Toes is not only extraordinarily informative, but it gave me a new found belief in my ability to run a strong photography business. You will have so much inspiration and instantly feel connected with a new group of amazing photographers!

Yup. She about summed it up regarding the group of amazing photographers. Wow! I cannot wait until I get a chance to collect all of their shots and show off their work in a real blog post soon. I promise, when I get some more time, there are many, many, many more images and thoughts on this workshop to come.

Meanwhile, I am putting the pedal back to the medal to get ready for the upcoming lifestyle photography workshops being held at my house in Austin, TX in early July. After that, we hit the road for southern California (Cardiff-by-the-sea), then northern California (Mendocino), and finally Washington State (Olympia). We have just a couple of spaces open for each of those workshops and after that, there are no more workshops for 2014. Very much looking forward to what these next few months hold in store and meeting all of these new photographers all over the country!

You know those kinds of parents who are able to just chill out and let their kids be kids? Well, I was never really that kind of parent, but these two are AMAZING! I LOVED walking through their home and seeing all of the great nooks set up for the boys to play and do their artwork. I also LOVED that they actually were willing to do the majority of their family photo session in and under the water! Their pool was beautiful, but how about those beach balls adding such incredible color? Can’t decide if THIS is still my fav or if THIS one took it’s place…

I left their photo session that morning feeling joyful and refreshed (in spite of having to get up at 5 a.m. to be there). I feel as though I met lifeline friends and I probably could have hung out with them all day at the hotel. They were bright and fun and funny and enthusiastic and loving and wonderful. I very much look forward to following these girls as they grow up in such an amazing family unit. (Still my FAV!)

Once again, AWESOME hair and makeup by my friend Katie with Modern Muse Beauty. I’m serious. Make your life so much easier and just hire her to get you ready for your family photo session. Even if I’m not your photographer ;-). It just takes SO much pressure off, especially when you have several other people to get ready for the session. Katie is dependable and does a fantastic job of making everyone look their best! And, she’s kinda awesome. Mama insisted that we took a pic that included Katie:

I mean seriously, look at all of that cuteness and personality! But of course, it’s not surprising since her big brother is just as charming! We could not have had more perfect weather for their family session in at my greenhouse at the studio. Actually, the spoiled me and fooled me into thinking the weather would still be as kind to me in June. Not so ;-).

Mom’s beautiful hair and makeup by my pal Katie with Modern Muse Beauty in good ol’ Austin, TX.

Super fun outfits styled by Shelley with Shell Styling!

Another session fav on the Pinkle Toes Facebook Page!