Actually, let me clarify: I’m pretty sure you are going to see his artwork and creations in movies someday. Meet one of the most creative, bright, engaging, talented little boys for his age. His enthusiasm for the things he loves is contagious and he is *very* serious about his work as a sculptor, creator, and animator. He also loves to explore and ride his scooter (you HAVE to see this) and I will admit to being ever-so-slightly physically tired when I got home after trying to keep up with him that day. But that was all worth it. He let me into his world and that is not a privilege I take lightly. Thank you, L. And never forget the words to this song, “That slug is banana, B-A-N-A-N-A slug!”

Bless her heart, Lauren and her fam made the trip to Austin (and back, no less) from way down in South Texas in just one day. It’s funny because I was just talking to some photography friends (we are getting ready for our 4th–really FOURTH?–Annual Pinkle Toes Photography Workshop Reunion in Charleston, SC in May) about how you can drive and drive all day and never actually make it out of Texas. But Texans are used to those kinds of road trips I guess. Anyway, I was quite impressed that she AND her hubby AND BOTH kiddos were in such amazing moods even after all of that driving. Really, her daughter just marched right up to me when I first got there and chatted like we’ve known each other all our lives. And I could not get over baby boy’s infectious, whole-body grin! The four of them are so laid back and had absolutely no troubles settling into playing together while I happily photographed them. Hmmmm…and if I had to pick a favorite, I think it would be THIS one. But I don’t know. I could change my mind in the next five minutes. Again.

[Side note: pssst…hey…did you see my last post about Denver?]

I’ve had the joy of working with this family several times over the years and every session has been magical to me. Our evening at McKinney Falls in Austin was no exception. I’m embarrassed to admit that I hadn’t been there before, so it was amazing exploring a new place in Austin. So many different types of landscapes…walk a few feet in either direction and you could be standing at a creek, in the woods, atop a waterfall, or on a rocky limestone expanse with neato reflecting pools hidden here and there.

While location is certainly key to helping set the mood and provide a fun, engaging, beautiful backdrop for a family photo session, is is definitely the subjects that give it passion and energy. Watching these four interact they way they do–full of love and joy in life–is inspiring. That’s what makes pictures emotional and beautiful, so thank you guys, for letting me hang out with you once again. [Session FAVORITE!]

In case you missed the announcement, I will be in Denver, Colorado for a couple of days in March and am accepting a very limited number of family photo sessions. If you would like more information (dates, etc.), let me know as soon as possible!

Recently, you may have seen a few Pinkle Toes photographs featured in the Austin American Statesman in an article about taking Austin-centric family photos (one and two). In doing that interview, I got to take a few minutes to really consider what makes Austin such a unique backdrop for Pinkle Toes photo sessions and here’s what I came up with: Austin has its very own personality and when you photograph a family in Austin, the personality of the city magnifies that of the subjects.

And so it is with this family: when working with fun people in a fun place, you can help but to get fun imagery! It took baby girl a little bit to warm up to me, but once she did, I totally fed off the energy and love among everyone. It may have been one of the speediest family photo sessions, too, as we were pretty much nailing every single shot in the first one or two takes and that allowed us enough time to explore several different parts of the city. I think my favorite image came about when a passerby handed baby girl a pretty flower and she sat down and did THIS ;-). And another rockin’ photo bomb HERE.

For the past couple of years, this family has graciously traveled to Austin for their family photo session, but this year, seeing as how they welcomed the “caboose” of their family, it was my turn to pay them a visit when I was in Houston last month. It was pretty cool to see that this very colorful mama has an equally colorful home, FILLED with happy pictures of her bubbly family! She is such an inspiration to any photographer who also happens to be a mom because oftentimes, we are so busy taking care of printing everyone else’s photos that we don’t take the time to print our own. I should have taken pictures of her displays because wow! She did an amazing job creating them.

Of course, the real star of the photo session was their brand new baby boy. He. Was. So. Good. I guess he is already pretty used to his brother and sisters bouncing around him and he wasn’t phased one bit by our little photo shoot. He fits in perfectly and it’s quite impressive that his older siblings have welcomed him with such love and affection. By the way, how anyone can look that good after just having had her FOURTH child is beyond me. Like I said, an inspiration!!

While I know this photo session was about baby boy, THIS might have been my favorite little moment.

she thinks I dread her family session every year, but honest truth, I do not. Sure, her kiddos have a lot of energy and sure I have to stay on my toes to come up with ways to keep their focus (for example, this year, I drew a mustache on my face with a marker; I did NOT however check to make sure it was washable before I did that, but turns out, I was safe), but I LOVE working with them. I especially loved that we came back to their home for this session. The place where everyone feels comfortable and relaxed and the kids are in a familiar environment already filled with things to entertain and contain ;-). I love the quirkiness of our sessions and the personality that comes bursting out of their children…they can’t hide it. They are 100% themselves, 100% of the time and that’s actually quite refreshing.

Most of all, I love the tender moments we are able to catch, supposedly in between shots…the way baby girl started stroking her mother’s cheek and snuggled up full force into her arms. The pure concentration when big brother was writing his name at his desk. The way they positioned themselves around the kitchen island for a mid-session snack. The look of pride when dad got the sweetest little kiss on the cheek from his daughter. This sweet face contemplating dance moves to Taylor Swift’s “Shake it And at the end, looking through all of their family albums from the sessions we’ve had together over the years and being completely enthralled with how little they once were.

And that’s what I love about working with the Parks family. And I hope they and ALL of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving, taking time to unplug for a bit and reflect on all the things (more importantly people) for which we have to be thankful.

xoxo,

Michele

{Once again, mama looked gorgeous, with only a little help from Modern Muse Beauty. Oh, if only I could pull off that awesome lipstick!}

It’s been years in the making and I’m so happy to see this family settled into their newly completed dream home! It was amazing to go back and explore their land…the land where they had been planning to move forever it seemed and for this photo session, that dream was a reality! Those girls need wide open spaces for sure and they have such bright and energetic little spirits that fill their new home with JOY! One of my favorite moments HERE.

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The first weekend of my 4th Annual Holiday Mini Sessions was absolutely amazing! {Did you catch this awesome behind-the-scenes pic???}. We will pick back up the weekend of December 5th. The good news is that this is the perfect way to get your family photos taken care of next year and still squeeze in a few Pinkle Toes pictures just in time for the holidays (and holiday cards). The bad news is that I have only 3 openings left for the next round, soo….

I mean seriously, could this little guy be any more adorable??? And when mom showed me his fox sweater with his matching fox lovey, I just fell over. I’ve been working with these guys since big sister up there was a newborn, who actually looked very much like this little guy at that age. It was very cool to see her embrace the role of big sister and dote on her little brother the way she did. And he was such a champ for his first official photo session! It kinda looks like maybe he was posing for us ;-). Inspired by one of my favorite newborn images from a while back, we did THIS, too. (Remember our maternity models from the Austin photography workshop this summer?)

Once again, a family photo session at home gets me all warm and fuzzy feeling…especially since it happened to be quite chilly the day of their session and we were all thankful to be able to spend most of our time in the comfort of the indoors! You may remember this beautiful family from their ultra colorful maternity portraits we did in downtown Austin earlier this year. It was so much fun for me to come back and finally meet their new baby girl this fall! Those big blue eyes and that gorgeous gummy grin totally did me in! Love this candid moment, too, during a little exercise to get everyone warmed up ;-).

I am NOT a morning person, not by any stretch of the imagination. I will do everything in my power to avoid having to get out of bed before the sun comes up and I dread those days when I have to do it. But, I have never once–not in my whole 8+ years of photographing families in Austin–ever left a sunrise session and said, “Man, I sure wish I didn’t get up early to work in that beautiful light.” Nope. For as early as it may be, for as cold as it sometimes is that time of day, taking photos at sunrise always yields amazing rewards.

I am super impressed that these guys took a chance and got up early with me to catch the sunrise by the 360 Bridge in Austin that morning! It was a tad chilly, no doubt about that, but the gorgeous light and having the opportunity to explore virtually alone out there more than made up for a few goosebumps. Loved playing with the silhouettes, too!