While it was stifling hot the evening we did their family lifestyle photo session in downtown Austin, we were sure treated to some incredible light and a BEAUTIFUL sunset. I loved that they brought their puppy dog with them to the session and even more so, that he could pull the skateboard! How cool is that? We did spend more time than I should probably admit stuck in the parking garage, trying to get everything to align for that perfect shot, but I’m fairly certain it was totally worth it. What I first considered to be an outtake, actually turned into one of my favorite images from their session and you can check that one out HERE.

[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!

Seriously, 9 months old is probably my favorite baby age. I love it because at this stage, babies are still, well, baby-like, but they are so incredibly aware and expressive. And then of course there’s that delicious baby chub that will sadly start to disappear as soon as she starts running around. I love how the mustard and turquoise and gold and Pinkle Toes pink and red came together to create this bright and bold and atypical fall palette. I would say it’s like a happy little rainbow of all of my most-loved colors sparkling up there. And don’t miss her perfect, charming smile in this pic HERE!

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!

Austin Kids Photographer

I just did a quick search for old posts about her and I had to stop looking through them lest I force myself into the rabbit hole of nostalgia and melancholy. She started Kindergarten this week. Her first year of school. This is not a new thing to many parents. It’s not even a new thing to me. I’ve been there, done that. But this time, it was different. This is my baby. My baby isn’t a baby. This is not something my heart is willing to accept. And as if to add insult to injury, she lost her very first tooth the day after we did this photo session. And to further rub salt in my wounds, she is happy. How dare she????? No tears. No, “Mommy…I miss you! Stay with me!” Nope. I’m old news. My poor little mommy heart was not made to handle all of this “growing up” business. I am not properly equipped. It has been admittedly difficult for me to accept this week. Don’t even get me started on when any one of my kids decides to leave the next in just a few short summers. But I’m still proud. I’m still joyful. I still feel blessed beyond words that I am one of the lucky few that actually gets to experience these bittersweet gems in life. So I’ll quit my whining. For now 😉

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…