Is this thing on? Hmmmmm…think I’m going to try to dust off the old blog and come back to the joy and vibrance of life…especially demonstrated by this sweet family at their annual family photo session. I love that we got to revisit their home and play and have fun in their backyard again. It basically worked as a way to perfectly compare just how much the boys had changed since last year. Loving the farmer’s tan and the mischievous smiles flashed to me as they ran from place to place, so eager to show me their new tricks on the playscape and in the pool. These boys have an amazing life and amazing parents who love them with their whole hearts. Favity fav.

But these boys do ;-). I cannot say enough wonderful things about my time with this family. For starters, they are AUTHENTIC and FUN and the boys loved to smother their mommy with bear hugs and kisses. Add to that the fact that mom let them wear casual clothing for their family photo session that still reflected a little personality and perhaps a bit of team rivalry in their household. And dad just got right in and played with them, even when we stumbled upon an abandoned game of tug-o-war. And then there were the capes…oh the capes!!! It was like those boys completely transformed when they put them on and my heart melted. These are the photo sessions that memories are made from.

…I’m pretty sure I’m just going to go ahead and move in with their family ;-). I mean, come on! Look at all of that adorableness up there! Plus, I totally dig their decorating style!

And so much LOVE here!

But also plenty of giggles.

And energy!

And this sign…sigh.

But the icing on the cake for my case to move in with them is…

…jumping into the pool, fully clothed…mom and dad, included!

YASSSSSSSSSSSSS!

That was rad!

The full family game of chicken was also fairly spectacular.

As well as this moment above AND THIS one HERE.

I definitely think I would fit in perfectly with them. Hang on a sec…be right back…

(scroll down…)

OH, YES! I totally blend!!!!!!! What do you think, H fam? Will you have me? 😉 I can be there in 20 min.

I don’t know if you remember her newborn photo session at all, but oh my word, has this little one changed since then! I mean, I can still see her baby features, but she’s got so much personality and curiosity and wonder and she radiates joy and life! And make no mistake, she is very, very loved and the perfect addition to this family. It was such a pleasure to see her parents and her beautiful big sisters dote on her they way that they do.

As is always my favorite custom for summertime photo sessions in Texas, we ended with a dip in the pool! I love how the kids seem so surprised that we let them do this, but little do they know, it’s just as much of a treat for me as it is for them!

These faces! She totally doesn’t love the water at all ;-). Nope, not one bit!

While the underwater photos were full of exuberance, I quite loved the moodiness of this particular image HERE.

“That’s a wrap!”

I have known this family for.ev.er (since their eldest son was a wee babe) and I have loved every chance I’ve had to play with them. But I must say that this particular session has been my absolute favorite to date and here’s why:

1. It was at home (duh. You all already know how much I go giddy for lifestyle photo sessions at home).

2. The boys are so much fun! They really have come into their own and there is so much personality and spunk and vitality…they inspire me.

3. Those. Curls. My word!!!!!! I could have stared at them all day. LOVE.

4. Mom and dad = so chill. I love that they went with whatever direction the boys took us in during the shoot. And they loved and snuggled and played with the boys. And didn’t bat an eye when I asked them to get into the pool with the boys.

5. The underwater portion of our photo shoot. Oh man! This was a blast! SOOOOO many favs, including THIS one.

Yeah. It’s not hard to see why I loved this shoot so much!

You truly cannot go wrong when you #1 let your family photo session take place at your own home and #2 you let your boys just be themselves and do the things they like to do. It creates an opportunity to capture their childhood in such a real and authentic way…an invaluable gift to give your children that they may not fully appreciate until years and years down the road. These boys are beautiful, yes, but their smiles are genuine because they were genuinely having a wonderful time and the love is visible because their parents were so incredibly relaxed. And then you add the underwater photography and yup, perfection all around. Check out the black and white version of one of my favorite color images blogged HERE.

I’ve been working with this family for so many years, but when I arrived for this particular photo session, I was totally like one of those Aunties who just couldn’t stop saying things like, “Oh, my! You are so grown up!!” or “The last time I saw you, you were only this tall!” or “I just can’t believe how grown up you look!” and other completely annoying, but absolutely true things like that. I’m pretty sure I embarrassed the kids (kids? more like young adults) like crazy, but I can only hope that they will forgive me and one day, when they are my age and experience this for themselves, they will understand why my jaw fell to the floor when I saw them.

As always, Joy (the pupster), brought us all plenty of smiles and giggles and made me want a doggie just like her. When the time came for the paddle boards, I didn’t believe it when they told me Joy absolutely has to join them or she gets upset. Sure enough, she walked right out there onto the paddle boards and loved every second of it! I was completely amazed! Fav paddle board image HERE. I also got to get a glimpse into the talents of these two kids…er…young adults. I could have listened to them play music all afternoon long! And, the best surprise was when I got to meet their bird, Angel, who absolutely adores Dad. It was hilarious to see how protective she was over him.

I have to say, I’ve loved each time I’ve gotten to play with this family, but this was probably one of my most favorite sessions with them to date. It was just so relaxed and personal and I was beaming for the Mom, who has so much to be proud of (yes, I know it’s a dangling preposition, but I don’t want to sound pretentious ;-).

From Mom:

1) Tell us a little bit about your family… Two kids, 16 year old Michael and 13 year old Grace.My Mom, Jana, aka Mema. Super awesome kids except for the fact that Michael looks like he is in front of a firing squad when asked to put his arm around ANY family member for the photo shoot! And lets not forget sweet Joy, our favorite Westie and Angel(our not so favorite old fart bird who has an attitude)
2) What made you decide this was the time to do a photo session? Were you marking any special occasion, etc? Try to do it every two years. Moved into a new house!
3) Where was your session held and why? At our house. Thought it was appropriate as we had our last photo session at our old house.
4) What was your favorite part of your session? watching the kids on the paddle boards
5) Was there anything you were nervous or worried about before the session? Always worried about the clothes and if Michael will smile and not look like we are killing him!!
6) Any funny stories or interesting happenings during your session? Michael almost fell off the board trying to do a yoga pose on the paddle board.
7) Any advice to other families before their photo sessions? Drink a HUGE margarita!!!
8) What made you choose Pinkle Toes Photography? Love Michelle!! She does awesome work!!
9) What do you hope your kids/family will say years down the road when looking at these images? We had a lot of fun even though Mom made us do it!!

I was so. Overwhelmed. They brought me to one of their most favorite places in this world and the beauty of it and all of the picturesque possibilities had me going in 1000 different directions in my mind. SO many things to do! I was telling them it was like one of my recurring nightmares as a photographer…that a location was too inspiring and the sun would set and I wouldn’t have been able to take a single picture.

But of course, I *did* take plenty of pictures that night. And they made it so easy for me. They spend so much time together as a family on/in this river, they were completely at ease. Their kindness and thoughtfulness has led to a wonderful friendship and so they were also completely relaxed and very much themselves around me. Of all the sessions we’ve done together, this was by far the most meaningful and authentic because of those things.

Just now realizing her kids have the same exact eyes. But only P can roll his tongue ;-).

I really don’t know if I’ve ever seen her look more beautiful or content. She’s a wonderful wife and mommy! And Katie with Modern Muse Beauty ROCKED her natural beauty!!!

And then, I got in the water. And let me tell you, it was c-c-c-c-c-o-l-d! I wasn’t sure I could take pictures in focus because I was shivering so much. I really should invest in a wetsuit, huh?

K…your legs look Ah-Mazing!!! All that barre and running!!!!

The two of them paddling together = precious!

Look at the ducks!!!

Above is the color version of THIS. I love them both equally.

Another fav from this group HERE.

And then they paddled off into the sunset. And I was sad to see this session end :-(.

From mom:

Tell us a little bit about your family…

We are a family of four. Nathan and I will celebrate 10 years in a few months. Kennedy just turned 5 and Parker is 2 ½. They adore each other and are as thick as thieves.

What made you decide this was the time to do a photo session? Were you marking any special occasion, etc?

I feel like we are entering into a really fun stage in life with the kids. They are now old enough to get in the boat with us. They love playing in the river. They love going to races and cheering everyone on. They are fully on board with river life and I wanted to capture that.

Where was your session held and why?

The San Marcos River. 6 years ago Nathan started canoe racing. 2 years ago I got hooked. Not only have we fallen in love with racing but the rivers on which we race. The San Marcos river is gorgeous and is home to the Texas Water Safari, the race that got us hooked. We spend so much time in and along the San Marcos, it feels like our home away from home, and seemed like a no brainer for where to take pictures.

What did you like about your session location?

It was such an effortless backdrop that we got to just be ourselves and have fun.

What was your favorite part of your session?

All of it. We had so much fun and laughed the entire time. [I agree. I don’t think I could pick a favorite part either.]

Was there anything you were nervous or worried about before the session?

This was a location Michele had never been to and we had only been with the intent of paddling. I had never looked around thinking about how or where exactly we might take pictures. I felt like we were all going in blind. [Sometimes, the unknown spurs the greatest amount of creativity.]

Any funny stories or interesting happenings during your session?

Parker’s three loves are water, bears and trains. Right in the middle of the session a train went over the bridge above us. The kids loved it. It was such a random surprise but so fitting. And definitely less stressful than if we had run into a bear. [um, yeah.]

Any advice to other families before their photo sessions?

Tell Michele your vision and then just sit back and let her work.

What made you choose Pinkle Toes Photography?

It was sheer luck that I came across Pinkle Toes shortly after we got married. We never had any kind of engagement photos or photos of just the two of us and she was the first photographer I came across whose photos felt natural and real. Years later and Michele is still the only one I will call. I’m an architect and I can be really picky when it comes to design. I get an idea or image in my head and want to turn it into reality. Michele is able to do that. Our canoes have always been a part of our sessions since Kennedy’s newborn pictures and when I suggested this time we get in the water she didn’t hesitate. She gets me, our kids LOVE her, and the end result is magic.

What do you hope your kids/family will say years down the road when looking at these images?

I hope when they look at these pictures they will remember the feel of the water, the sound of laughter, and the love within this family. I hope they will see just how much they are loved and how much we love this place.

All along, we had been planning to take her high school senior portraits in downtown Austin. However, after getting a glimpse of their BEAUTIFUL home, we decided it might be a better idea to try photographing her there, instead. Throw in the underwater pictures that we took at the end and I think we created some gorgeous, very personalized, unique senior photos to capture her…in her element…to commemorate her senior year before “leaving the nest.”

Also loved THIS underwater photo. And of course, THIS one, too! And a Behind-the-Scenes pic, too (thanks again, Jackson).

In Lilly’s words:

Tell us a little bit about your family…

My family is awesome! It’s just me, my mom and dad, and my sister and we all get along really well. We are a little weird but that’s what makes us so close. My sister and I have always had a very close relationship and have always gotten along well. It is the same with my parents. I consider my sister my best friend and my parents my greatest role models and supporters. [Pretty lucky bunch! –M]

What made you decide this was the time to do a photo session? Were you marking any special occasion, etc?

I did this photo shoot for my senior pictures.

Where was your session held and why?

It was held at my house because I think there is something very personal about where someone lives and I thought it would be cool to capture me in my “natural habitat.”

What did you like about your session location? 

I didn’t realize how many cool places there were around my house to take pictures. I loved the thought of being in my own element and capturing kind of what my daily life looks like.

What was your favorite part of your session?

My favorite part of the session was probably the underwater pictures. I have never done anything like that before and it was really awesome to see how they ended up. It was also nice to cool off after a hot photo shoot!

Was there anything you were nervous or worried about before the session?

I have always been kind of an “awkward photo taker” so I guess I was nervous that I wouldn’t be able to pull off some of the things that may be asked of me. That fear went away quickly though because Michelle made me feel very comfortable.

Any funny stories or interesting happenings during your session?

The underwater photos were definitely an experiment! We weren’t sure how they were going to turn out but they came out beautiful and I am so happy for that. My dog also wanted to be in on all of the action. She followed us to every location and always wanted to be a part of the pictures. [True story!–M]

What made you choose Pinkle Toes Photography?

I have had friends that have used Pinkle Toes for their senior portraits and I loved them. I knew ink district after I saw my friend’s pictures that I wanted to use Pinkle Toes for my own portraits.

What do you hope your kids/family will say years down the road when looking at these images? 

I hope that they will just talk about how natural they look. I am big on being yourself and looking natural and so I hope that when we look at these photos down the road, it won’t necessarily look like I had a big photo shoot, but just that I was spending time in my house and decided to take some photos. [Love this, Lilly! I hope so, too! –M]

A mommy. A wife. A daughter. A role model. A friend. A volunteer. A community servant. A fighter. A light. An inspiration.

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.

–Ralph Waldo Emerson

These images were taken along the banks of the flood-ravaged Blanco River in Wimberley. This was the site of the very first time I photographed her family as well as the very last time I visited them before her diagnosis and the flood. She said she thought it would be fitting…her bald head with the bald trees. I found it to be incredibly breathtaking, in equally good and bad ways: the flood damage is shocking, but so is the fact that she can still be so beautiful with no hair, while fighting cancer.  She has an immeasurable amount of strength and an energetic soul that shines throughout and I have not a single doubt that she is going to heal and move forward. Her courage and bravery inspires more people than her humility allows her to see.