Every now and then, I get a chance to really flex my creative muscles and do something out-of-the-norm for me. I am so very grateful that I was able to do this VERY different photo session with a perfect little model. And you’ll be able to tell how much I loved doing this by the major over sharing that is about to follow ;-). But you’re just going to have to put up with it because you love me and because this sweetie pie fit into her role completely! Thank you so much to her mommy for coming up with the idea to begin with and for finding us the perfect retro swimming pool in which to stage our vintage swimsuit photo shoot AND for introducing me to an amazing set stylist with whom I hope to work again in the future!

I mean for real. She was slaying it! Loved THIS one, too!

Note: I was pretty excited when mom told me she had secured a swan float for our session…especially since I had *just* seen one via Taylor Swift’s Instagram. Turns out that mom was *really* lucky to snag one thanks to the float’s new-found popularity! It’s okay, Taylor. We forgive you because you’re awesome. 😉

Next, it was time for ice cream ;-).

AND a flamingo float, too?!?!?!

And after everything was finished on dry land, we both got in the water. This proved to be challenging for me because the pool was a bit deep and I was having a tough time trying to swim and hold my camera at the same time. Fortunately, baby girl is a very skilled swimmer so she had no problems.

This one above looks like a vision of a mermaid one might see mysteriously appear in the ocean.

Bokeh sparkles!!!

Told you I was going to overshare. Look how GRACEFUL she is under water! Wow, wow, wow! My fav of her jumping in HERE!

I so enjoy getting to work with families with older children, especially repeat families because I really get to see little glimpses into my future before while watching these kids grow up before my eyes. First of all, let me tell you that the weather for their family photo session in Zilker Park could not have been any more perfect for a summer’s day. There was just the right amount of cloud cover that let us play with the city of Austin as our backdrop for a good hour AFTER sunrise, which is pretty much unheard of. While I’ve been to Zilker many times before, this was the first time I had ever climbed the rocks and I quite enjoyed the new perspective it gave us. I also liked hearing the boys reminisce about their memories climbing the rocks at the park as we explored.

At our last session, we played some football, and it was so cool to revisit that moment this time. But I kinda dug this take on it! #boymom

Brothers. Love.

Then we got to move on to the rowing docks. This is a HUGE pastime for this family and nothing is better than getting to capture something meaningful and memorable at a family photo session. And I loved the beautiful, bright colors this location gifted to us!

These two…SO cute together!!

I’m not sure if these boys realize just how lucky they are to have a mom and dad as cool as theirs ;-).

Side note: it was surprisingly difficult to get all three boats together in the same frame…here’s an outtake, turned image from our efforts.

Yaaaaaaasssssss! And then they all literally jumped into the lake! Repeatedly. You would be surprised at how many takes it required to get just the perfect shots. Though I don’t think anyone minded the chance to cool off and refresh one bit ;-). Another jumping fav HERE!

I showed up to their beautiful home bright and early at 7 a.m. and I have to say, when you’re greeted with, “Miss Michelllllllle! I love you so much! We are besties!” well, you just can’t be grumpy about being up so early, lol. By the way, that was from Mr. Man and he rolled the ‘l’ in Michelllllllle every time he said it and I thought that was the cutest thing ever! Hard to believe I first started working with them when he was just a wee babe and now look at him! And now look at baby sister, too?! Yes, this family is indeed near and dear to my heart. So many wonderful memories at our photo sessions through the years. But probably most of all, this one lol ;-).

So, funny enough, just a few seconds after I started taking the pool pics, I stuck my arm in a wasp nest!!! Yeeeeeowtch!!! Occupational hazard. It’s crazy, too, because we had been working so much by it earlier in the session and nothing ever happened to the kiddos, thank goodness! I’m so glad it was me! Once I stopped crying (nah…I only cried on the inside), we got to play a little bit more and the kiddos were rewarded with popsicles. I’m glad we stuck it out because my favorite image was taken right here by the pool ;-0.

From Mom:

Tell us a little bit about your family…

Holden & Calla are growing up so fast and we like to capture as much of their lives as we can. We took our first family photos with Pinkletoes when Holden was 9 months old and have done sessions every 3 months for the past 2 years 🙂 We hang the canvases all over our home so that we can be surrounded by what we love the most – our family 🙂

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

We try to do them every three months to capture Holden & Calla – they change so very much at this age 🙂

Where was your session held and why?

Our home – we wanted to capture our family together where we love to be – at home with each other 🙂

What did you like about your session location?

The trees were in bloom and we were at home with each other.

What was your favorite part of your session?

Playing ring around the rosie 🙂

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

No.

Any funny stories or interesting happenings during your session?

Calla is funny in that she is always smiling, however, for some reason she gets stonefaced when we do actual photo sessions 🙂

Any advice to other families before their photo sessions?

Relax & have fun 🙂

What made you choose Pinkle Toes Photography?

When we moved to Austin 3 years ago, our photographer from Illinois said “you HAVE to get Pinkletoes to shoot you, I’ve been following her work and it’s beautiful.” So we booked our first session 3 years ago and we are always THRILLED with how they turn out – always better than expected (and we have high expectations). Also, we’ve come to love Michele, our kids get SO EXCITED to see her when we do a shoot.

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

Look how much fun we had together. Look how much we love each other.

When I asked if we could start their family photo session in a corn field and they willingly agreed, I knew it was going to be a dynamic and fun time! I really loved most that the boys got to be themselves (mom and dad let them play in the creek…in their outfits….and even brought wooden swords and soccer balls with which the boys could play). My personal favorite family pic is HERE.

 Oh….but I adore this one with the two of them peeking out of the corn stalks, too!

His faces. Sigh. Love.

 “Arghhhhhhhhh!” (He’s a pirate, in case you couldn’t tell.)

 Um. She’s stunning.

This look of fierce determination. He’s totally going to conquer this creek.

 They snuggled up like this all on their own!

They’re doing yoga here. Obvs.

From mom:

Tell us a little bit about your family…

Family of four – two high energy boys, ages 4&6. Relish our time outdoors & love to be together when school/work allows.

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

The boys are changing so quickly & I really wanted to capture them in their current stage when they’re not overly concerned with being silly & having fun around strangers & out and about in public.

Where was your session held and why?

At the park – I really wanted a natural environment where we could capture the boys in their element

What did you like about your session location?

All of the natural elements & being in an environment where the boys could just play

What was your favorite part of your session?

Watching the boys play in the creek.

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

The boys melting down. The evenings are usually our witching hour & they already had an eventful day. Also, anything too staged or unnatural.

Any funny stories or interesting happenings during your session?

Leaving the park after the session & my oldest tripping & scraping his knee. Not exactly funny, but slightly comical the timing of it & par for the course.

Any advice to other families before their photo sessions?

Treat it as any other family outing or, in our case, trip to the park. We brought a soccer ball, etc – things the boys would normally carry along with them. Try to take a back seat & let the kids do their thing, so the pictures will hopefully convey a more natural quality

What made you choose Pinkle Toes Photography?

The natural, in stages feel of Michele’s photos.

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

What awesome parents you are to have let us roll around in the creek fully dressed! Did you not consider bringing swimsuits?;-) {Oh, man! I think they were so excited when we let them get in the water in their clothes! That made it for them!–M}

I’ve been lucky enough to get to work with Jennifer and her family on several occasions now and when going through the process of trying to cull the images from our most recent photo session, I realized 1) I was having a hard time narrowing them down because 2) the images made ME smile and they’re not even my family!! I got to thinking why they looked so happy in their images and I realized it was because they WERE! So we had a MAJOR rainstorm just before our session and it turned our “sunny” morning into something that looked like Forks, WA? So it was was really, really humid out? So we had to walk through a LOT of silty mud to get to our various destinations along the creek bed? It just didn’t matter because here they were…together…in one of their most favorite places in Austin…hanging out as a family…exploring…and the icing on the cake, Jennifer and her hubby just let the girls BE THEMSELVES! That is what will make or break a photo session. If mom and dad are relaxed and just let it happen, the kids will be relaxed, too, and you can ALWAYS tell it in the images. So, Jennifer…thank you for letting the session happen so organically. You really did make this photo session beautiful and fun for not only your family, but for me, too!

 I couldn’t get over how GREEN everything looked after the rain!

 Oh, this whole series we did on top of the falls was so lovely and romantical! One of my FAVORITES is HERE.

And I think we need to take a minute to talk about Jennifer’s arms. I mean, goodness gracious, she is stunning and she is such a wonderful example of being fit and healthy and looking like a million bucks! I strive to have arms like her one day, but I think in order to do so, I’m going to have to face my CrossFit fear ;-).

 I’m not going to tell you or show you why they (we) were all giggling so hard here, but just know that it’s all fun and games when splashing in the creek until someone loses their balance ;-).

Sisters….sigh…

I have been working with the Z fam for AGES and every year, it’s always bold, beautiful, FUN, and colorful! But this year takes the cake, for sure! When mom first mentioned the idea of using the color powder like they use in the Color Run, I was a little skeered. But turns out, it was nothing my trusty waterproof camera bag couldn’t handle ;-). As much as I LOVED the color splash pics (THIS one is by far one of my most favorite family photos EVER), I also loved the bit of underwater photography we got to do before we broke open the powder packs. This is the *same* creek where we did maternity pictures years ago when she was expecting her little boy. Now that is COOL!

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I have the next couple of days blocked off so I can *finally* finish the set for the 4th annual Pinkle Toes Holiday Mini Sessions! If you’ve been following me on Instagram, you may have seen a few teasers ;-).The minis are coming in just a few weeks (eep!) and everyone who books a full session with me for 2015 can snag one of the spaces for the minis (while they last) which includes at least one FREE image for your holiday cards and gifts. These spaces fill up VERY fast and we are already about 1/2 full! If you’ve already booked a session with me this year, you should have gotten the sign up sheet (if not, let me know). To get on the list to receive details when the holiday mini sessions are officially announced, be sure to contact me ASAP.

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.

It’s going to take some getting used to, this thing called “back to school” and living on a schedule here in Austin. It’s going to take some getting used to blogging again as well. It was certainly the most magnificent, incredible, exhausting summer of my entire life and I think we are all still recovering from being on the road so long. I know I will be equally excited and saddened to start this process of blogging about everything we did and everywhere we went this summer. Going through our pictures will mean it’s truly over and I’m not ready to face that just yet.

For now, I’m going to blow the dust off the blog and work backwards for a little bit. I know I’ve missed blogging several families that I worked with this summer and I *will* get them up here eventually. But today, let’s start with my photographer friend Angela with PB Kisses Photography in sunny California. Angela was a past lifestyle photography workshop attendee not to long ago and I was so amazed we were actually able to work out a maternity session while I was in southern California this summer to document this pregnancy for her caboose joining the family soon ;-).

Things you should know about this session:

1. Big bro and big sis up there? They are going to be AMAZING to their new baby. No. Doubt.
2. Angela is funny. Like really funny. I like that. She’s also really talented. And I like that as well.
3. There were like a bazillion people on this beach and in the water and I don’t get that. Coming from the WARM waters of the Gulf Coast, the “warm” Pacific is not so warm along the California coast. Or maybe I’m just a wimp?
4. I did this session within just a few hours of first setting foot in the great state of California. Way to dive in head first, huh?

Angela, you can be sure I’m going to look you up if I’m ever in your neck of the woods again and I want to get to hang with you in a non-business environment. Well, maybe after I snuggle on that new little one first?

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…

Oh my word! I mean we barely squeezed this session in…between a flight cancellation and upcoming wedding and a huge thunderstorm…let’s just say these kiddos were CHAMPS and pulled off their photo session flawlessly in spite of nature working against us. It would not have been possible without their complete cooperation and willingness to dive in (literally and figuratively) that afternoon to make it happen. Don’t miss this FAV HERE!