I never know what to expect when I’m working with a newborn baby + a sibling, but I must say that BOTH of these girls far exceeded our expectations for them at the photo session! I know mommy thinks that her eldest was running around like a crazy person the whole time (and yeah, that may have been true for a few minutes), but honestly, she was a joy and I really loved watching her dote on her baby sister. They are very lucky to have one another.

See another version of this POV of big sis peeking up HERE. Also love this adorable behind-the-scenes shot by mom HERE.

It was pretty funny because as usual, the minute we tried to work with the baby by herself, big sis wanted to be part of the action. And we let her. And it was precious!

I really loved this moment. My daughter sucked her thumb, so I’ve got a bit of a soft spot for thumb-sucking. But I think it’s the contrast between her being the big sister and comforting her baby sister while comforting herself that really drew me to this image above.

Look at baby sister’s eye contact!!! Priceless!

From Mom:

1) Tell us a little bit about your family… We’re a family of four now (I can hardly believe that!) with two little girls and our two crazy rescue pups. We live a pretty simple life here in Austin and spend our days cleaning up messes, tripping over toys, laughing, and wishing for more sleep, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
2) What made you decide this was the time to do a photo session? The arrival of our second daughter, Emily!
3) Where was your session held and why? Our home, because that’s where we spend most of our time and it’s where we’re most comfortable.
4) What did you like about your session location? We didn’t have to load everyone up and go somewhere and we could just be ourselves.
5) What was your favorite part of your session? Watching our oldest daughter, Elisabeth, love on her sister and laugh at Michele talking in a crazy voice behind the camera.
6) Was there anything you were nervous or worried about before the session? I wondered what kind of mood our daughter would be in that day and what on earth I was going to wear, since I’d just given birth a week before.
7) Any funny stories or interesting happenings during your session? Our daughter was running around like a crazy person in the background for half the session.
8) Any advice to other families before their photo sessions? Don’t worry about a thing. Just let Michele take the reigns and work her magic!
9) What made you choose Pinkle Toes Photography? Michele is simply the best at what she does. She photographed the birth of our first daughter a few years earlier and those pictures absolutely mean the world to us.
10) What do you hope your kids/family will say years down the road when looking at these images? I hope they will be grateful that we had the pictures taken and I hope they will see how much our girls mean to us.

I can’t quite put into words how I feel when I’m working with certain families. It’s just that sometimes (or luckily in my case, many times) you meet people and while you’re “working” you feel like family. You share in their joys and celebrate when wonderful things happen. And that’s just how it has been watching this family grow and I couldn’t be happier to meet their new beautiful baby girl!

Two things I want to mention about this lifestyle newborn photo shoot:

1. Yes, any time you are dealing with a young older sibling, you never know what’s going to happen. We must be very patient and very willing to go with the flow and by we, I mean myself + the parents. I really want to give credit to mom and dad on this one for being SO incredibly laid back and allowing their eldest daughter to just be herself, even down to the band-aid she insisted on wearing the entire time. I asked mom if she wanted me to take it out or leave it in when I was editing and I grinned ear-to-ear when she said to leave it in. YASSSSSS! She gets it! How wonderful to acknowledge this phase in her daughter’s life and having the foresight to commemorate it forever in photos. Excellent decision!

2. Along those lines, notice the gloves in the series of the sisters together? Well, we decided to give big sis a little break and focused on baby sis for a little while. I was concentrating so hard on photographing the baby that I freaked out a little bit when all of a sudden, these gloved hands appeared in my frame:

But once again, we decided to roll with it. If big sis wanted to be in the photos with her baby sister, I wasn’t going to stop her and nor were we going to try to take away the gloves ;-). Turns out, I believe she was merely copying me because I often wear gloves when working with newborns so my touch won’t startle them. I started laughing so hard when I got to these images in my camera roll during editing! I’m so glad we have them!

And now, from mom (by the way, my fav image from the session happens to be with her and her new baby girl, shot through the prisms of her chandelier which she worked so hard to put together for their new house):

1) Tell us a little bit about your family… We are a family of 5 counting our dog Lola. My lucky husband is surrounded by 4 girls; Myself, Lauren: 2.5 yrs, Marilyn: 5 weeks old and Lola: 6 yrs. We are a very active, loving, fun, silly, caring, kind and Christian family. We love to be outdoors and going all the time. We rarely stay home and we love spending time with our extended families.
2) What made you decide this was the time to do a photo session? Were you marking any special occasion, etc? Newborn photo session! Introducing Marilyn Rose Kalb, born March 13th.
3) Where was your session held and why? Our house; for convenience. 😉
4) What did you like about your session location? Convenient and comfortable
5) What was your favorite part of your session? Pictures of Marilyn Rose and Lauren
6) Was there anything you were nervous or worried about before the session? My 2.5 year olds compliance and getting her to focus. 🙂
7) Any funny stories or interesting happenings during your session? My daughter totally ruined her dress from the photo session right afterwards. Like hugged a pole with black tar on it and ruined the entire $75 dress. Stinks!
8) Any advice to other families before their photo sessions? Relax and enjoy cause you’re not in control of your kids’ photogenic outcome.
9) What made you choose Pinkle Toes Photography? Michele’s amazing work
10) What do you hope your kids/family will say years down the road when looking at these images? Sweet, silly and loving family.

I was lucky enough to get to visit another friend when we were in Charleston, SC: Jody! I first met Jody years ago in North Carolina for one of my workshops and we’ve been able to get together a couple of times since, including the Pinkle Toes Workshop reunion in Charleston last year. Anyway, Jody really wanted to have a lifestyle family photo session in their home as a way to preserve this time their lives as a family. As a photographer herself, she totally gets the need and desire to have images like this of her own family, but it’s definitely not something you can do by yourself with a tripod. She said over and over to me that their home wasn’t perfect (whose is???), but it was full of life and love and that’s what she wanted to make sure they documented. Perfect. Love it.

Well, a few days before I was supposed to head out to the coast, Jody said they had come down with the flu, and I mean, a knock you on your bum for days at a time flu. We pretty much gave up on making this shoot happen and we were both incredibly disappointed. However, by some miracle, they rallied! Quite literally the day before I was supposed to leave, everyone managed to put on a few smiles for a couple of hours so mama could have her lifestyle photo session in the home she loves with the people she loves. Every single person in this family deserves a huge gold star for their efforts to do this session…every one! I cannot believe they did it and even looked healthy and adorable in the process. I’m not one for pushing a family through a photo session after being so sick, but in this case, I think it worked out okay ;-).

The first image above is from the “getting ready” process (Jody talks more about that below) and I’m really quite glad to have been there for those moments. I also rather enjoyed playing auntie to Jody’s eldest daughter and fixing her gorgeous, gorgeous long hair for the shoot.

Now onto the baby girl of the family, who is like a little doll baby and obviously quite adored:

Okay, this is their middle daughter in the heels up there. And she has such incredible personality! And she spent pretty much the entire session wearing her mom’s heels and it could not have been more perfect.

Ohhhh…I believe I spy some gorgeous Danielle originals up there!! ;0) Danielle happens to be a friend of ours also (as well as a sorority sister of mine ;-)…small world!

Speaking of small world…in chatting with Jody’s hubby, I learned that he lived in the same small Texas town as my husband AND his sister and I went to the same college at the same time. What???? By the way, this poor man was sick as a dog here as well, but man, he put on a good show. He was just amazing to do this for Jody and his girls!

The three moments above = swoon.

Ooops…swoon again over the couch snuggles.

Are they not a perfect and beautiful and loving and fun-loving couple????

Okay, I’m pretty sure we can all agree that Play-doh is the bane of any mother’s existence. But Jody is not just any mother and she actually lets her girls play with Play-doh AND joins in. Wow! I think I just lost first place in the Mom of the Year contest. Who am I kidding? I was never in first place 😉

I LOVE that Jody has filled her walls with pics, by the way. The beautiful images on the stairwell are by Alice Keeney.

We ended the session like THIS and by far, it was one of the most memorable session story times I’ve ever photographed. So Jody started reading Someday and I was happily snapping away, minding my own business, enjoying life and all the things that come along with it, when out of the blue, that sweet little children’s book just grabbed me by the heart and squeezed the breath out of me so hard, tears started streaming down my face and I could not control it. Jody gave me no warning that this book was going to send me into this emotional tailspin and I’m not sure if I can forgive her for that (okay, maybe I can). Oh. My. Word. If you are a mommy and you haven’t gotten Someday for your child(ren), you need to do so stat. Just make sure you have some tissues nearby. (I may or may not have bought several copies before I even left the driveway after her session).

And now, Jody’s take on the photo session:

1) Tell us a little bit about your family… We are a family of 5. Mom, Dad and three (yes.. THREE) girls, ages 8, 6 and 2. Lots of estrogen!
2) What made you decide this was the time to do a photo session? Were you marking any special occasion, etc? I’ve been a Pinkle Toes blogstalker for a while and attended Michele’s workshop in Charlotte in 2013 (which, FYI, was a game-changer for me and my business)! As soon as I heard that Michele was visiting Charleston, I knew I wanted to have our family captured by her.
3) Where was your session held and why? At home. We moved in to our house 3 days before our youngest was born and have existed in a constant state of blissful chaos ever since. I have never had an in-home lifestyle session and wanted to document this time in our family history (with my most favorite lifestyle photographer), when our girls are still little and there is just a tiny bit of baby left in each of them.
4) What did you like about your session location? Home is where we spend most of our time together, so I love the authenticity of having us photographed in our own space.
5) What was your favorite part of your session? It is hard to pick, but probably getting to play with Playdoh, or reading a book or snuggling with my girls!
6) Was there anything you were nervous or worried about before the session? If the kids would behave (the PCS is strong in this family)! [PCS = Photographer Child Syndrome and it is a very real thing.]
7) Any funny stories or interesting happenings during your session? A memorable morning indeed! Michele asked me to photograph her on the beach at sunrise in honor of the lifestyle and fitness changes she has made over the past year [I’m excited about this project!] . Since she was on such a tight travel schedule, and since I live near the beach, we decided the best time for the family session would be that same morning. So, Michele offered to help entertain the kids while I got ready and even helped style their hair. She is so sweet and generous with her time! I can’t thank her enough for the entire experience!
8) Any advice to other families before their photo sessions? Relax and have fun with it! Michele is MAGIC with her camera.
9) What made you choose Pinkle Toes Photography? Where do I begin? There is something about the way Michele is able to make beauty out of the most ordinary things and the way she is able to capture the connections between people that I find amazing.
10) What do you hope your kids/family will say years down the road when looking at these images?

“Mom and Dad really do love us/me”
“I remember that house”
“I remember that book”
“Look how little we were”
“Look how young Mom & Dad are”
“I look so much like Dad/Mom”
“This is your great-great grandmother when she was little” – [There go my tears again! Thanks a lot, Jody 😉 This is so beyond perfect and the whole reason we do what we do, my friend.]

As I’m gearing up for the FINAL Pinkle Toes Photography Workshop of 2016 [by the way, there is ONE opening left and the workshop is THIS weekend], I wanted to take some time to reflect on how much we accomplished during the February workshop. Day one was spent getting to know one another, talking all things pricing and marketing and branding and then playing around taking headshots in a lovely winter sunset. We tried to go to bed early because day two is always super busy, starting with hanging out with this adorable little guy and his amazing parents for the in-home newborn lifestyle photo session demonstration:

He was such a sweetie and gave us plenty of chances for all of the attendees to step in and take their own versions of the shots we set up during the session:

And I loved that his family wanted to take a group photo with all of us at the end of our fabulous morning. Sigh…

After re-fueling on some food and re-grouping, we went out that evening for an urban-ish, outdoor lifestyle family photo shoot. I’ve known this mama for several years so it was a wonderful experience to get to see her with her family. What a dynamic group full of personality and love! We hunkered down inside the parking garage for a little bit and then braved the wind to get more images closer to sunset. It provided us with perfect opportunities to practice in all kinds of lighting situations.

How to use shadows and light to your benefit. And then, below, embracing full sun and making it work for you.

I’m pretty sure I teared up when this image came across the screen as we culled them following the session.

That sunflare…YESSSSS! And they were just so cute together!

Finally, on the last day, we were up much, much too early to catch an incredible (albeit, chilly) sunrise for our maternity model photo session. So fantastic walking around and observing the attendees who were able to take chances and discover new skills, practicing with different lenses and techniques. I was very impressed with the images they created for our models!

Here they are…the Pinkle Toes Workshop Class of Feb 2016:

Good looking group, no? And great personalities and energy to match. They made it a fantastic weekend for us all!

And now, please if you will, go on over to Missy Mayo – Dallas Family Portraits and check out her take on the workshop (that’s Missy up on the left, by the way 😉 Loved what she told me the other day about the Pinkle Toes Workshop:

I was warned that this workshop would ruin me for all other future workshops. It is true. Every aspect of being a photographer is covered – even the parts you don’t consider. I came home with a revived passion for my art and business and pages of ideas to try.

I am beyond thrilled that we were able to work out this maternity photo session for her because LOOK at how gorgeous everything turned out to be! Seriously, her wardrobe choices were on point (Boho chic, defined!) and I’m pretty certain that little baby is going to be here any day now so thankfully, we were able to check this box in time ;-). I cannot wait to see who this new little person is! Love the color version of THIS image, too, BTW.

I had this post drafted and ready to go before this weekend and I was so wrapped up in our recent lifestyle photography workshop here in Austin (by the way, we only have two openings left for our last workshop!), I had to delay finishing the post until today :-(. You see, a few weeks ago, I got to spend the most beautiful morning with the most beautiful family celebrating a beautiful set of twin newborns! These babies were perfect angels throughout their entire session, causing fits of giggles over their expressions and perhaps a few tears when they would do something so precious. The interactions among all of the members of this family were priceless. There was an abundance of love visible throughout this photo session and I thought it was fitting to commemorate that with this little image HERE.

From the beautiful new mommy:

1) Tell us a little bit about your family… We are the Wallings- Keri, Greg, Graham and Whitney. Greg is an Austin native, we’re both loyal Longhorn fans (and proud UT alumni), and we’re so grateful for our bundles of joy, Graham and Whitney. G+W were born December 29, and have been making us smile ever since. Our first “baby” is Birdie, our cocker spaniel rescue.
2) What made you decide this was the time to do a photo session? Were you marking any special occasion, etc? This was our newborn session to capture our precious premies at this special stage. Our session was a gift from fellow Pinkletoes client Maya Pomroy and her family. Maya and Keri have been best friends for 10+ years, sharing many of life’s milestones together.
3) Where was your session held and why? In the comfort of our home, inside our newly-designed nursery.
4) What did you like about your session location? Being that we were at home, our session was casual, cozy and authentic. Loved it.
5) What was your favorite part of your session? Michele is awesome with babies. She makes even the tiniest people feel comfy in front of the camera. I choked back tears a few different times when I stepped back and watched the beauty of my twins interact. Michele caught all this precious moments on camera. Priceless.
6) Was there anything you were nervous or worried about before the session? Yes! With 4-week old babies, I was prepared for an all-out meltdown or spit-up!!! Ha! Everything unfolded beautifully. Michele was prepared and asked us to keep a pacifier handy, along with a blow drier (the magic bullet for white noise PLUS comfortable heat that makes the babies drowsy).
7) Any funny stories or interesting happenings during your session? full disclosure: as a new mom, I can’t remember for the life of me! Which is why I’m so excited to see these photos. They will help me jog my memory.
8) Any advice to other families before their photo sessions? Talk with Michele. She’s the pro. Trust her advice. She knows all the tips and tricks. Include your spouse. Greg had to work that day, but I asked him to join us that first hour, just for a few shots. I’m so glad he did. We got some beautiful family photos, and I cried watching him alone with the babies.
9) What made you choose Pinkle Toes Photography? As I mentioned before, we received the generous gift of our newborn photos from my best friend. Pinkle Toes has been doing her family photos for years.
10) What do you hope your kids/family will say years down the road when looking at these images? Oh, it’ll be so special, especially as twins. We’ll be able to look back and see that these little people loved each other and were each other’s best friends–even as infants.

…we braved the cold and explored South Congress. I love that we got to see so many new places that I hadn’t really photographed before. It’s pretty amazing that for as long as I’ve been taking pictures in Austin, we can still find something new…a different perspective…something unique to the area and to the subject. Her smile is absolutely gorgeous and she just naturally lovely and radiant and graceful. What a pleasure to get to commemorate her senior year with this photo session! One of my favs HERE.

He enjoys spending time with is loving parents and hanging out with his furry older brother. He’s good a hockey and making adorable faces for the camera. He hopes one day to parlay that into a modeling career for little league hockey (okay, that’s probably not a thing) or baby diapers.

Seriously, is this little boy handsome or what? And he was totally charming throughout his entire session, giving us the perfect mix of adorable, snuggly, sleepy pics and then some incredible eye contact with the camera, polished off with a great series of funny and adorable expressions.

I have many favorites from this session, so it was hard to choose. I decided to highlight my favorite moment instead…there was a time when I was watching mom and dad work so well together as a team changing him on the floor of his nursery. He was quite patient through the whole process and I remembered the early days after having my first baby and how incredibly nervous and slow and clumsy I was changing my son. It’s such a unique little window you get into this world, watching parents figure out how to be parents. I do not take that for granted.

Sometimes, Austin falls into this gloomy little weather pattern and it seems like every day is met with overcast skies and drizzle. We’ve had her senior portraits planned forever, but sure enough, the morning of our shoot was chilly, overcast, and there was the ever-present drizzle (I wonder if this is what it’s like to live in Seattle?). But Ally’s fun personality and roll-with-it attitude brightened our entire session. She brought such a positive energy and I had no choice but to giggle with her (and her parents who were goofing off in the background to keep her laughing). As funny as she is, she’s also incredibly graceful and it was quite the treat to have her en pointe in the middle of Congress Ave! I posted this image already, but this one is probably my fav ;-). Best of luck to you, Ally, as you finish up your senior year in high school! Your personality is going to serve you well as you pursue your dreams, my dear, I have no doubts!

I’ve been working with this family since big sister was first born (I find myself saying that a lot when blogging, but it’s true!) and each session has been wonderful. But this time, walking up to the house took my breath away because it was the first time I had ever seen it decked out for Christmas! Everything looked so magical and absolutely beautiful! It was a perfect opportunity to capture the children’s wonderment in addition to the love and incredible bond they share as a family. My favorite little holiday moment is HERE.

After I was treated to the sweetest little piano recital and after we finished ooohing and ahhhhing over all of the lovely lights, we braved the slightly chilly temps to check out the children’s awesome new playscape. How blessed they are to have these two loving parents willing and excited to play with them outside and spin them on the tire swing and cheer them on as they fly down the slide! I know these memories will stay with them all of their lives.

To close the session, the kiddos wanted to flip through each of their First Year photo albums and I just couldn’t help but to get emotional. I remember each of those sessions very, very well, but still looking through those images, more memories came flooding back. I still see so much of their baby features but I also see those baby features melting away year after year (especially with big sister’s first tooth lost). It made my heart burst with joy to see the children enjoying the photos of their babyhood so much! It was the perfect way to end our annual photo session!

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One quick note about holiday photos, by the way. I just finished the first weekend of the 5th annual Pinkle Toes Kids-Only Holiday Minis and it was a blast! We have just a few openings left for the final weekend (Dec 4-6), so if you’d like info on how to snag your FREE mini for the kiddos, please drop us a line. If you missed it, you’ll want to check out some of the images from this weekend HERE ;-).