These guys are no strangers to the Pinkle Toes blog and every year, their session is full of vibrant color and personality! It was a hot, humid morning when I went to visit them near Houston for their photo shoot, but we all stuck it out and even got a surprise visit from a puppy dog that really helped to bring a smile to the face of the youngest little guy. My favorite image from this session can be found HERE.

Another family that is dear to my heart and I can honestly say, I don’t think they’ve ever looked more gorgeous or more happy. As usual, I loved the outfits mom put together and that teepee set up was so beautiful and colorful! Of course, it’s those beaming smiles from the girls that really made this session perfect. Vibrant, bright, funny, confident, spirited little girls and it’s a pleasure working with them! Favs HERE.

The photos should hopefully speak for themselves, but this is 100% for real what their Sundays look like and that was 100% mom’s intention behind this very special photo session. I’ve been working with these amazing people since before their eldest was born and we’ve done every kind of family photo session under the sun. I know mom has been dreaming of capturing this time when her sons are old enough to play ball in the back yard and young enough to still be tucked in. Oh, I teared up so many times that evening: inspired by how beautifully they work together as a family and wistful for the days when my kids were this little, before homework and after school activities replaced bedtime stories. MK…these moments have now been documented forever and I hope they bring up powerful and happy memories for you and all of your boys each time you see these pics and you never forget that this is what your Sundays look like.

(She’s already seen this one, but my personal fav image can be found HERE.)

We ventured out to Marble Falls (Horseshoe Bay, specifically) in the wee hours of the morning to catch the sunrise and to take advantage of the temps before it was too late. It was a lucky treat to witness the fog over the waters and the pink and blue watercolor reflections from the sky. As if right on cue, the sun peeked out to highlight golden curls and the free spirits of these sisters. They got to run across a golf course with total abandon (my FAV HERE) and then bask in the glow of a sparkling pond with their beautiful mommy. I have been lucky enough to photograph each of these beauties since they were born and I have loved getting to see their personalities develop through the years. Their bond as sisters is quite apparent, but individually, they each bring something precious and unique to their family.

At the end of our session, mama asked specifically if we could take some pictures by this stone entryway (the series just above). When we started shooting there, I noticed it was strangely familiar. And then it washed over me with a wave of wistfulness and pride and disbelief: this was the site of my very first professional photo session almost 10 years ago exactly. Now that is just beyond coincidence, my friends. As proof, here’s my all time fav image from that session all those years ago:

What a journey these 10 years have been!

This family is like family to me. I find myself saying that about the majority of the people that I work with, but only because it’s true. My career as a photographer has unwittingly allowed me to be privy to some of the most intimate bonds among parents and their children, I see people when they are equally joyful and vulnerable because of that joy. And you don’t spend every year since *before* these little ones were even born photographing those interactions without becoming part of the family. Occupational bonus. I can’t put into words how much of a privilege it has been to watch these girls grow up before my eyes and in the process, become such close friends to their amazing parents. I tear up thinking about the very first phone call I had from Zeke all those years ago and comparing that to the gigantic smiles and huge hugs all around when I saw everyone again in Denver just a few weeks back. And then to get to work with the gorgeous Flatirons outside of Boulder, Colorado as my backdrop??? Blessed? Fortunate? Sublimely grateful? #allthefeels and yeah, definitely going to have to make Denver a repeat destination for family photography every summer from now on ;-). Who’s in?

As per usual, I had a hard time picking a favorite from this family session, so for grins, I’ll just go with THIS one.

Things you should know about this photo session:
1. These may be the most down-to-earth and laid back people I’ve ever met in my life and it is SO good for me to work with people like that. Their calm draws me in and makes me lighten up and see things that I might not have seen otherwise. I’m not sure mama realizes it, but it’s true.

2. The same thing happens when I’m lucky enough to have her as my yoga instructor at Modo ;-). And that’s why I love that place so much!

3. The breakfast tacos were a bit of afterthought, but it was perfect! During session planning, I asked her what they liked to do as a family and she half-jokingly replied, “Eat breakfast tacos.” Well, the early start to catch the sunrise began to take its toll on little man, so we decided to just give in and head over to grab breakfast tacos. I had no idea how CUTE and photographically awesome that place was. WIN!

4. I LOVE big sis’s freckles.

5. I also LOVE this pic totally improvised between mom & dad ;-).

6. That adorable fence where the kiddos are holding hands up there is now gone!!! It was a reminder of how quickly beautiful things come and go and how fast Austin seems to change sometimes.

The post I’m about to show you is probably one of the most incredible homes/properties I’ve ever had the pleasure of working in in Austin. SO much history with this home and it thrills me to think that there is a modern day family with their two energetic and happy little girls living here and enjoying every little charm this place has to offer. My jaw hit the floor over and over again with each little nook we got to explore and I just kept saying over and over again how lucky these children are to get to grow up in such a magical place.

One of the things that really struck me was how kids are kids, no matter what their environment…zooming down this elegant hallway on a stuffed zebra ride-on. How fun is that??????

And then we went outside…jaw on floor again.

Don’t miss my fav pic by this antique cart HERE.

It’s as if that gorgeous light was there as solely to enhance the magic and beauty of these sweeties and the property.

Once again modern + childlike meets historic + natural.

Even the pupsters put on some fun faces for us!

But the ultimate was this majestic old oak tree. Wow. Just wow!

Love that we got to go fishing ;-).

And also love her cute little face up there 😉

As much as I shared their love for this amazing place, I think what I loved most about this session was how down-to-earth and laid back mom and dad were. They were completely engaged with their kids and were game for getting on the ground to play with them throughout my time there. Sure, these girls are going to have wonderful memories in this home, but those memories will be mostly due to the fact that their parents helped make those memories *with* them!

So, a few years ago, I happened to experience on of my most favorite photo shoots of all time with this beautiful young lady and a butterfly ;-). I could not get over the fates at work when, as I was planning a spur of the moment trip to Denver, her mommy contacted me to let me know they were in Colorado and could we work out a new photo session because they now had a baby boy! Turns out that she is just as sassa-frassy as she’s always been.

It also turns out that baby boy is just as adorable as his big sister!

I was very excited to get to work at this crazy colorful spot in downtown Denver…loved it’s modern look with jagged lines and cool shapes. But it wasn’t without it’s challenges. Quite literally after I had taken but a single image, it started to rain on us :-(. We ducked under the cover of various overhangs, hoping it would pass. Eventually, the rain did let up…for a while.

Fortunately, this family doesn’t take long at all to warm up to the camera, so we were able to work quickly and still get amazing interactions with everyone in a short time. So, I wasn’t terribly worried when we saw the clouds rolling in again.

My favorite part of the session comes in the following series of images. Little guy is just learning to walk and he actually took a few steps on his own while I was luckily snapping away!

The looks on their faces says it all! He was so proud of himself and his sister was just as happy for him! It was precious! And sure enough, just as we finished those last couple of images, the storm *really* hit…it was like a Texas storm! Crazy lightning and a torrential downpour that wouldn’t let up! I was so happy we were able to squeeze in some amazing images with them before the storm sent us scattering to our cars ;-).

I have been honored enough to follow your journey as a family through so many of the greatest joys and even the toughest times. It made my heart swell with happiness to get to see the fruition of your years of planning and saving and imagining to turn your home into the home of your dreams. You did an incredible job and you deserve ALL the time in the world to bask in the wonderful feel of it all. Enjoy these years as you continue to raise your kids there, relive the countless memories you made for them in this space when they one day move away, and–in the very distant future–create precious new memories while snuggling with your grandchildren on that couch. Welcome home. Again.

(Fav mother-son moment HERE).

A little while back, I had the pleasure of spending a few days (technically, it may have only been 24 hrs) with an amazing photographer, good friend, and past workshop attendee, Sabrina Gebhardt Photography in Fort Worth. As part of our adventures together, we photographed another amazing photographer, good friend, and past workshop attendee, Lauren in Dallas. As excited as I was to explore downtown Dallas, I’m not going to lie…the heat almost did me in completely! I live in Texas, but I just wasn’t prepared for the way the heat radiated up through the streets and sidewalks. We were super duper lucky to find a cool little building to duck into for a few minutes 😉 and believe me, we were ALL grateful for a little bit of ice cold AC. Lauren’s kiddos did amazingly well considering it was the end of the day and so hot outside and I loved being able to incorporate the city into their family pictures this time. THIS one made me laugh ;-).

I also really loved having Sabrina there with me. She and I were saying how invaluable a second shooter would be at family sessions. This is common practice in wedding photography, but I can definitely see a need for it here, too. It was so cool to see all of the different perspectives she was able to get, even though we were both photographing the same people in the same location. One HERE and one HERE for example.

Here’s Sabrina in action:

So fun to get to go back and relive that whirlwind mentoring time with Sabrina and Lauren’s photoshoot in downtown Dallas! We had a wonderful time and I truly loved talking shop with Sabrina and watching her grow her photography business!