This had to have been one of the most natural, relaxed, easy-going families ever. And that always results in natural, relaxed, easy-going family portraits. I especially loved the last series with just the two of them. Their connection was tangible! And could those children be any more adorable?! I think we could have played all night in the creek! (Another fav HERE).

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, photo sessions with older newborns (4-6 weeks old) are quite fun! It’s really neat when you get to see some personality peeking through and all of those adorable looks babies give when they’re being so expressive. Such a lovely morning spent with this family, basking in the glow of parenthood. (My favorite image from this session is HERE.)

Side note for photographers: it came up in an online conversation recently how lucky I must be to work in all of these homes with tons of great light and beautiful decorations and I wanted to say that in spite of how things may look on my blog, that’s not always the case. This home did have several sources of beautiful light and there were some lovely decorations, but if worse came to worse, I could have potentially shot the entire newborn session in just one of these rooms. Additionally, while the room shown in the last two images was really pretty, but the light was actually not that great. I had to shoot at a pretty high ISO to get this look, but I’m a big fan of backlighting (duh!), so it worked in my favor for these shots. Truly, if you can find (or create) just one small area with beautiful, soft light, you can find a way to make it work for  you. In my upcoming 2013 workshops, I will be taking you INTO a client’s home for a newborn photo session demonstration and you can see for yourself just how to make it work for you. Hmmmm…maybe I should go ahead and challenge myself and say I’ll show you how to shoot a session in just one small spot? If we have to, we will! The discount deadlines for early payment for the workshop fees are quickly approaching, so don’t miss out.

Last month, when we went to Houston for a little family time + a few photo sessions, the days leading up to our departure were dry as a bone. And then all of a sudden, much to my dismay, the storm clouds started rolling in over the Houston area :-(. Amanda and I were in touch the night before, trying to decide what our plan of action would be. I mean, if worse came to worse, I could do a family photo shoot in the rain, but really, who wants to deal with that???? I think the thing that was making me nervous is that I was going to be driving (before sunrise) about an hour from our hotel to a place I’d never been before with unpredictable weather and I was going to have to pull off a photo shoot, site unseen. There…the truth is out. I actually like to plan my sessions well in advance and try to eliminate as many variables as possible. I like to control the things I have control over so that I can handle the things I can’t control (like fussy kiddos or bad weather).

But this post is called the “good luck” session for a reason: we had really, really good luck!!! Watching the radar, there was literally rain and storms all around us. Sure it was a little dark when we got started, but here and there, the sun actually peeked out! But here’s what made this session most enjoyable: Amanda’s children!!! Typically, children of photographers have what we like to refer to as “Photographer Child Syndrome.” If you haven’t heard of it before, basically children w/ PCS turn into little ornery buggers whenever a camera comes near them (I give you exhibits A and B). Amanda’s kiddos, on the other hand, were perfect angels. I don’t know what they’re doing, but they have raised some loving, polite, respectful and joyful children and they should be very, very proud.

My personal fav is HERE!

…”It’s a GIRL!” and everyone–and I mean everyone–in the room felt their joy! Major congrats to you guys…little girl, your mama is pretty amazing!

Normally after a photo session, I only have time to sneak peek just one image. But this session deserves its own blog post sneak peek because I have a lot of gratitude to express. First and foremost, I want to thank this beautiful couple for serving our country…willingly and proudly. I want to thank them for driving all the way into Austin for this very special day. I want to thank dad-to-be for spending his birthday doing something so sweet for his beautiful wife. I want to thank Dr. Seuss for being the inspiration for their nursery and this photo shoot. And I want to give a HUGE round of thanks and applause to the folks at Art on 5th for letting us come into their space and for being so incredibly warm, kind, and accommodating.

6-7 years ago when I was working for Texas CASA, I used to walk on my lunch break and explore downtown. One day, I stumbled upon Art on 5th and I was blown away by the Dr. Seuss gallery. When I first started communicating with this couple, she mentioned their love of Dr. Seuss and I immediately thought of this gallery. I am so thankful to Joe and the rest of the gang at Art on 5th for opening their doors to us yesterday.  I would highly, highly recommend a visit (or two, or three) to the gallery. Such a treat for the eyes!

(Part 2 HERE)

Let me preface this that while the title of this post is a “walk in the park,” with little miss in full speed, it was more like a dash in the park. We couldn’t have had more perfect weather on this day and it was really fun to watch this little one explore her surroundings with 100% curiosity, 100% confidence, and 50% balance, LOL. Um, I know why her mommy is so tiny 😉

So I looked up “cool” in the dictionary the other day and I happened to see THIS family ;-). Seriously, who else elects to have their family portraits taken inside the awesome office space of Google in Austin. These guys, that’s who. I could have stayed there all day and played with all of the fun stuff and the kids just LOVED being there. Lucky ducks. Oh, and did you see my absolute fav image I sneaked from this session? Oh, yes. Cool, indeed.

I met Jackie about a year ago at Barb’s amazing workshop and learned that Jackie lived just down the road from me (which is rare because I’m in the boonies!!!). Love Jackie’s work, too!! So glad she was willing to come out for some underwater play before her sweet baby girl was born! (One on dry land HERE and my personal underwater fav HERE.)

Speaking of workshops, did you see my announcement on Facebook? I’m considering starting professional photographer workshops back in 2013!! I’m incredibly excited about the potential plans (which may include me traveling for the first time–eeep!). To make sure you’re among the first to know the details, fill out the “let me know” link on THIS page!

I know it is said that “home is where the heart is” and that’s true…you can make almost any place into a home if you fill it with love and happy memories. But I also believe that some houses have a life and energy all their own. I understand the life-long connection some people will have with the places in which they grew up and so did she. And this is the main reason why I went to Houston last month…to capture their house…their home…the place where they brought home their first babies…and ALL of those memories tied so closely to those rooms before they move into their new house next year. I know she already appreciates the kind of value these kinds of photographs will have for her children, but I don’t think her kiddos will fully realize the significance of this particular session until they are off finding houses of their own years from now. I hope they do.

That last image has got to be one of my most fav mother/daughter moments ever. If it was of my daughter and I, it would totally be going up on my walls ;-). Two more session favs are HERE and HERE. And then one more fun thing below (it’s animated…might take a bit to load):

I think you all know by now I ADORE family photo sessions at home…especially when working with small children or larger groups of kiddos. It’s soooooo much easier for everyone. You tend to be more relaxed. You’re more comfortable. We can take more breaks if needed. Kiddos are in their own environment. But perhaps most importantly, you’ve captured where they lived and how they lived so that years from now, after they move away, they can always look back on these images and say, “Hey…I remember when I used to play with that toy.”

I met Brandi (a photographer!) last summer when she attended one of my professional photographer workshops. I knew I liked her right away and as I got to know her more, I realized she is quite the incredible mama! It was such an honor when she asked if I would photograph her family while I was in Houston this summer. Gosh, I was so impressed to see how they run their household first-hand (they are a GREAT team) and she just seems to bask in the glow of being a mommy, even when her youngest daughter decides to put on eyeliner just before the photo session. They have done a wonderful job cultivating these personalities and I can honestly say I loved every second of this session.

(Which ones are my favs from this session? Pretty much all of them, but to highlight, I love these ones HERE and HERE and HERE).