I will admit I was a little nervous when her mom booked her senior portraits with me. It wasn’t all that long ago when I did her sister’s high school senior pictures and as these girls are very different from one another, I wanted to make certain we did a session that was very much aligned with her personality and her unique talents and abilities. I was elated leaving her session in downtown Austin that morning because I *knew* we did just that. She nailed it and she was so wonderful to bring her own vision to the session, helping me show her personality through her pictures. Couldn’t resist that last one…the minute she held her guitars up like this, her big sis started doing the little cartoon voices for the “angel” and “devil” guitars and we cracked up!!

These two were perfect together. And the best way to tell that the weather was quite brisk that day was to notice how frisky her horse was being that cool evening ;-). I can’t imagine a better way to celebrate the milestone of your senior year in high school than to document the things you love to do in a customized photo shoot like this. Everything we imagined we would do that night we were able to bring to fruition. Here’s another image that I just LOVED, too. Congrats, L, on your upcoming graduation!!!!!

I love, love, love working on SOCO (South Congress) in downtown Austin. I love, love, love when I get to do so with a VERY fun family that loves to laugh and explore and is up for pretty much anything. Makes me really appreciate the city in which I live and the awesome people that dwell here with me! (Another fav HERE).

[Disclaimer: so as not to spend the entire evening behind my big, black Nikon box, I only took pics w/ my iphone 😉 You can forgive me, right?]

A good friend of mine shared THIS video with me and it absolutely inspired me because let’s face it, after our family’s fair share of hurt this year, I definitely have a desire to be happier.  So, I decided to throw a party to thank some very special clients…people who have been with me since the very beginning, people I see year after year, people with whom I’ve shared laughter, tears, elation, and heartache. What better way to thank them than to give them a little shopping spree at one of my favorite stores, Kendra Scott Jewelry in good ol’ Austin, TX? And, even better, in the process, we were able to raise more than $1,100 to go toward the Melanoma Research Foundation. (Why?).

It could not have been a more perfect evening. I had SO much fun getting to visit with my clients dear friends while doing some girlie girl shopping with them. I got to hug each and every one of them and say, “Thank you,” in person. I even had a visit from my sissy and my hubby brought the kiddos by for a cupcake or two (PURE yumminess from Nothing Bundt Cakes in Westlake).  I was walking on air that night. So much so, it is pretty much a given that we must repeat this next year. Right, ladies? Those who were not able to make it…here is your hug, too ;-). Sorry we missed you and hopefully, we’ll catch you next time around 😉

I still pinch myself sometimes. I can’t believe how many families I’ve been able to watch grow and change over these last seven years. I was telling a client the other day it’s funny because this is the longest I’ve stayed in one job…by far. My second longest was 2 years ;-). I am very thankful to have found a career that doesn’t really feel like “work.” It fulfills me and keeps me going. I get hang out with the most interesting, humorous, brilliant, beautiful people from all over the world…from all walks of life. I am very thankful for all of the clients I’ve met and the miracles I’ve witnessed and celebrated. Very thankful.

XOXO and very humbly yours,

Me

My favorite kinds of people are those who are beautiful…inside and out, and don’t quite realize it. M – having met you, I know you have the confidence to follow your passions and I think it’s pretty cool that you’ve know what those are for a very long time. Congrats!!

I will always vividly remember this evening. It was super, duper warm and it also happened to be Food Trailer Tuesday in downtown at the park and so there were people *everywhere*. But that didn’t stop us. Not one bit. We laughed a lot, which is a wonderful thing because look at their smiles! These sisters are twins, yes, but their personalities are very, very distinct. And I loved that they got to share their senior portrait session experience together, but had plenty of one-on-one time as well. Beautiful girls with tons of much-deserved confidence and I hope their senior year is MAGIC!!! A neato little pic not pictured is shared HERE and another fav of them together HERE.

Not gonna lie. I do get a little bit excited when I get the opportunity to do some senior portraits. I mean, it is kinda nice to have a subject that will stay in one spot for more than 5 seconds, but even more so, I love it when we get to collaborate creatively together to come up with something new and fresh and personal and a brand new take on traditional high school senior photos. She was magnificent! I loved her willingness to try anything and my goodness, does she not have the perfect look and profile for one of those mod/hippy 60’s super models? You won’t want to miss my absolute favorite and most unusual senior picture HERE. I’m so very, very glad we got to work together. It was a fabulous afternoon!

If you are a graduating senior (class of 2014) in the Austin or surrounding areas (Westlake, Round Rock, Pflugerville, Lake Travis, Buda, Georgetown, etc.), NOW is the time to schedule your senior portraits! While I’m already booked up for the fall, we can absolutely create amazing senior pictures for you at a session in January or February of next year. Contact me ASAP to get full session details!

Finally on the blog!!! Yay!!!! This workshop was the perfect way to kick of 2013! On day one, we all got to finally meet and chit chat and had fun playing with sunflare and headshots. After a laaaaaaaate night 😉 it was early to rise for an amazing in-home lifestyle newborn session demonstration:

Later that afternoon, we headed into downtown Austin to experiment photographing a family in an urban setting:

It was so crazy…it was sunny, sunny, sunny all day long and then wooosh! All of a sudden, in true Austin fashion, the wind picked up and the sun disappeared and we were out in the elements like Nat Geo photogs ;-). By the by, you should know that I don’t believe I’ve ever worked with siblings who were as connected and fun-loving as those two cuties were. They made me look really good that day. A little too good 😉

I present to you the Pinkle Toes Graduating Class of January 2013! Sharp looking group, huh? When you get some time, I highly recommend you check these ladies out:

• Sabrina K Photography Pearland and Houston, TX: http://sabrinakphotography.com/blog
• Captured by Chrissy in McKinney, TX: http://capturedbychrissy.com/blog
• Beth Fenwick in San Francisco Bay Area, Redwood City, CA: http://bethfenwick.com
• Claire Hill Photography in  Houston and The Woodlands, TX:  http://www.clairehillphotography.com/blog
• Leslie Clawson Photography in Frisco TX: http://www.leslieclawsonphotography.com
• CK Design & Photography in MA http://ckdesignphoto.blog.com/
• Dear Ellison Photography in San Antonio, TX and surrounding areas: https://www.facebook.com/dearellisonphotography

Sadly, I don’t have any more workshops coming up in Austin (no room in my schedule ;-(). If we missed you, you can always chat with me about the Toronto, Canada workshop this August (very much looking forward to that one…my very first visit to Canada!) or if that’s too far for you, maybe we can talk about online mentoring.

See? Told ya. Here’s another one that made me say, “Awwww.” Our photo session had to be rescheduled and rescheduled and rescheduled (once because of a football injury resulting in the scar above his eye 😉 and as fate would have it, I’m SO glad we had to wait because otherwise, I would never have gotten the chance to photograph these two together. It wasn’t that long ago when I had the privilege of taking his sister’s senior pictures and now here we were, a few years later, back on South Congress to capture another monumental milestone for him (and his mom ;-). Senior portraits are always a little bittersweet to me: I LOVE working with subjects who actually stay where you tell them to stay (LOL) and it’s always a fun shoot, but I always picture myself in this very position in just a few years…watching my own children having their senior portraits taken and I can’t help but get a bit choked up at that thought. Thank you, Marianne, for (unknowingly) paving the way for me and for letting me see just how amazing parents can nurture and help develop AMAZING young adults.

Ah, yes! I forgot I wanted to show you these fun behind-the-scenes images his mom took during the session. You can check those out HERE. Did I mention that I LOVE pull backs?! Love it!

I was just a teensy bit nervous that #1 her mommy is an excellent photographer and #2 they flew in from Minnesota for this session. Uhhh…no pressure, Michele.

But, this is definitely going to go down as one of those sessions where everything just floated along perfectly and she could do no wrong. There was such a cool vibe with the session and so much joy and excitement shared between mother/daughter for this trip together to Austin, for this monumental milestone of her upcoming graduation, for the fact we were celebrating all of these things with a timeless photo shoot. They totally inspired me to do this for my own kiddos when they reach this point. I think it would be amazing to take a weekend trip one-on-one with each child and have pictures taken where they chose.

K…you are a remarkable, confident, beautiful, glowing young woman…incredibly self-assured and completely comfortable in your own skin. Never, ever lose that. It is going to serve you well when you venture off to college and beyond.