As if the beautiful girl and her deer weren't enough, then they brought out the giant pinwheels, and the old tractor equipment, *and* horses, too????!!! The whole time I seriously thought I had died and gone to Pinkle Toes heaven. This session was just pure magic and I'm so thankful to have met this family! (Congrats to them on Pic of the Month, too!)

I'll be posting many, many more from her session soon.

Aaaaaaaand...

Just because...

[What does this mean?]

...I love this sweet little girl so much...

...I'm SO impressed with how much he wanted to paint. And he didn't even care that it was pink...

...my days and nights are filled with construction and we're getting *so* close to a finished product...

...I couldn't wait to do some new test shots against my purdy studio wall...

...this weekend we'll be working in secret to surprise a very special little boy by turning this mess into his very own bedroom...

...that very special little boy happens to be turning FIVE this weekend!!

Have a happy and safe Labor Day Weekend!!!

So far, she's been the only senior who chose to get up before sunrise to take her senior pictures. And let me tell you, I think we're both glad she did. Can you even believe this beautiful light and check out her wardrobe choices?! Well done!

She was the sweetest person in the world to work with and I had so much fun. Her beau even showed up to help out. Little did he know he'd be dragged into the photo session, too ;-) Here he his helping me take a test shot for my OCF:

In fact, those two were so darned cute together, I ended up practically doing a whole other mini session just for them. Those pics to come in part 2!

Well technically, it was an early birth. Very early. 12 weeks early. The first time I actually met his mama was while she was in the recovery room...about a 1/2 hr after he was born.

When I got the call that this would be "the day" I was so caught off guard. He wasn't supposed to arrive until the end of August. This was the middle of JUNE! But it was an emergency situation and he had to be born...immediately. Driving over to the hospital that day, I was so full of concern and emotion and I just kept wondering how in the world these parents (first-time parents) would be able to deal with what was about to happen? I mean, it's scary enough having your first child, but to get a surprise like this and not knowing how this new little life would manage outside of the womb...I can't even imagine.

I remember sitting in the waiting room...alone (nobody had time to get there), waiting for some sort of news when a man in glasses strode through the door leading to L&D. He was grinning from ear to ear and perhaps still a little white from the shock of it all. His son was here! He was tiny (2lbs 3oz), but he was healthy and it was an absolute a miracle!

I've had only a little bit of experience with preemies, but in that experience, I knew that this new family of three had a long road ahead of them. A road filled with machine beeping and tubes and tests and unknowns and ups and downs and infinite 3 minute hand-washings. While I was supposed to be there to capture the "birth day," I knew that all of those amazing first moments of this particular birth would be delayed over many, many days (67 days in all). And so I asked them if they wanted me to chronicle this very different birth journey. And so we did.

Beverly (who happens to be a very talented photographer) has allowed me to share the birth of Baby Miles with you all in the hopes that it will help other parents who are in or may someday be on a NICU journey and to generate support for the March of Dimes. After watching Miles' birth slideshow, if you are so inspired, perhaps you could donate or volunteer? In fact, to help celebrate Miles' homecoming, I pledge to contribute $1 per comment left on this post (one per person; up to $300) left between now and Sept. 1, 2010 to the March of Dimes.

So here you go. This is Miles' birth story...from the day he was born...to the day he got to come home. Truly something to celebrate:

This evening's session was all things sweet, light, tender, and girlie. Right up my alley. Sigh...

I don't often get to work with senior boys, but this was great! Pretty much everything he did was perfect and the light seemed to follow him around like a halo. Had a great session tonight, T, and I can't wait to show you the rest of the pics!

I admit that I wasn't quite prepared to get in the pool at our session today, but man, oh man, I didn't mind a bit (even the part about driving home in wet pants ;-).

It may not look like much now, but believe me, when I walk through here, I get tears in my eyes every time. Since the fall of 2007, we have been hoping, planning, and dreaming of an addition to our house...a place that Pinkle Toes Photography can call home. A studio that isn't your typical "studio."

And now finally, after years of failed plans and rejections and starting overs, that dream is *this* close to becoming real. I've been so hesitant to discuss it on here because it's been shut down so many times, but now I'm ready to say it: Pinkle Toes Photography is about to have a studio space! A place to relax, a place to create, a place where we can come up with images you might never have imagined otherwise (both indoors and outdoors), and dare I even say, a place for photography workshops.

Bless my husband, he's been working non-stop to get this monster completed and I'm so proud of his work. I can't wait to show you the finished product...there are so many possibilities here!

Get ready because we've got a whole crop of sweet little newborns coming up over the next few months. I met up in downtown Austin this morning with several beautifully expectant mommies for our Xpressions sessions. It's so important to capture this incredible time during pregnancy for them. (Loved mama's stunning blue dress above and wow, can she pull off that hat or what??!)


I'm so glad they decided to do these maternity portraits...definitely something you won't regret!

Then, after all these baby bellies, I really needed a baby fix. Of course this baby isn't a "baby" any more, but oh, it's been wonderful watching her grow up over this past year:


Our LAST round of Xpressions for 2010 is November 7th and we only have 2 openings left for that. This will also be the last time non-clients can take part in Xpressions. Next year, Xpressions will only be open to clients who've had a Premium session within 1 year from the Xpressions date.

A beautiful baby girl AND a baby deer? At sunrise? Are you kidding me??? And this was within the first 5 minutes of our session, people. I'm in trouble. Serious trouble.

This is what she said about her vision for her senior pictures:

"I don't know what regular senior portraits look like, but I want mine to be full of laughter and look like I'm having fun. Not sitting by a tree with my letter jacket on, like everyone else :P"

Now that made my day and I couldn't wait for her session. She did not disappoint. Love her hair (I so wish I could pull that off) and loved the sparkle of her eyes. Indeed, I think she looks like she's having fun. I know I was.