This little dude and I have been hanging out for a few years now, but this session was probably one of my favs. Basically, we just let him explore and do the things he wanted to do and we followed along. He loves his parents. He loves is little go car. And he loves apples! {Still my FAV from this session}

Oh man…just realized I never shared the images from his session at the Pinkle Toes photography workshop earlier this year! Silly me!

And some super fun behind-the-scenes pics from that day:

[images by myself, Claire, and Michelle]

What fun it was to look back at these images! Fantastic group of ladies and so much talent, it was unreal! Oh, and it rained like you wouldn’t believe. So much so, this happened. Miss you girls. Miss your humor, too 😉. In case you wanted to visit it, here are pics from our newborn session from this workshop. Oh, by the by: one of these ladies from this workshop is actually hosting the Charlotte, NC workshop!!! Awesome!!!!

While we’re on the subject of workshops, just wanted to remind you (or let you know if you didn’t already know) that today, November 1st, is the last day to qualify for the $100 discount for reserving your spot in a 2013 Pinkle Toes (only) workshop. If you need the full details (dates, pricing, etc.) fill out the contact form on this page.

To me, this image completely sums up their family: full of energy, life, and utter joy! It’s always been a blast getting together with them and this fall was no exception. I can’t help but to smile when I look a the pics from any of their sessions. See what I mean?

And my personal fav HERE.

Just like her namesake: Audrey. I love that name. If we ever had another baby, that would be the name I would choose. I told her mommy that I hope whenever wisteria blooms, she’ll think of her sweet baby girl. My personal fav from this session is HERE.

Last month, when we went to Houston for a little family time + a few photo sessions, the days leading up to our departure were dry as a bone. And then all of a sudden, much to my dismay, the storm clouds started rolling in over the Houston area :-(. Amanda and I were in touch the night before, trying to decide what our plan of action would be. I mean, if worse came to worse, I could do a family photo shoot in the rain, but really, who wants to deal with that???? I think the thing that was making me nervous is that I was going to be driving (before sunrise) about an hour from our hotel to a place I’d never been before with unpredictable weather and I was going to have to pull off a photo shoot, site unseen. There…the truth is out. I actually like to plan my sessions well in advance and try to eliminate as many variables as possible. I like to control the things I have control over so that I can handle the things I can’t control (like fussy kiddos or bad weather).

But this post is called the “good luck” session for a reason: we had really, really good luck!!! Watching the radar, there was literally rain and storms all around us. Sure it was a little dark when we got started, but here and there, the sun actually peeked out! But here’s what made this session most enjoyable: Amanda’s children!!! Typically, children of photographers have what we like to refer to as “Photographer Child Syndrome.” If you haven’t heard of it before, basically children w/ PCS turn into little ornery buggers whenever a camera comes near them (I give you exhibits A and B). Amanda’s kiddos, on the other hand, were perfect angels. I don’t know what they’re doing, but they have raised some loving, polite, respectful and joyful children and they should be very, very proud.

My personal fav is HERE!

I know it is said that “home is where the heart is” and that’s true…you can make almost any place into a home if you fill it with love and happy memories. But I also believe that some houses have a life and energy all their own. I understand the life-long connection some people will have with the places in which they grew up and so did she. And this is the main reason why I went to Houston last month…to capture their house…their home…the place where they brought home their first babies…and ALL of those memories tied so closely to those rooms before they move into their new house next year. I know she already appreciates the kind of value these kinds of photographs will have for her children, but I don’t think her kiddos will fully realize the significance of this particular session until they are off finding houses of their own years from now. I hope they do.

That last image has got to be one of my most fav mother/daughter moments ever. If it was of my daughter and I, it would totally be going up on my walls ;-). Two more session favs are HERE and HERE. And then one more fun thing below (it’s animated…might take a bit to load):

I think you all know by now I ADORE family photo sessions at home…especially when working with small children or larger groups of kiddos. It’s soooooo much easier for everyone. You tend to be more relaxed. You’re more comfortable. We can take more breaks if needed. Kiddos are in their own environment. But perhaps most importantly, you’ve captured where they lived and how they lived so that years from now, after they move away, they can always look back on these images and say, “Hey…I remember when I used to play with that toy.”

I met Brandi (a photographer!) last summer when she attended one of my professional photographer workshops. I knew I liked her right away and as I got to know her more, I realized she is quite the incredible mama! It was such an honor when she asked if I would photograph her family while I was in Houston this summer. Gosh, I was so impressed to see how they run their household first-hand (they are a GREAT team) and she just seems to bask in the glow of being a mommy, even when her youngest daughter decides to put on eyeliner just before the photo session. They have done a wonderful job cultivating these personalities and I can honestly say I loved every second of this session.

(Which ones are my favs from this session? Pretty much all of them, but to highlight, I love these ones HERE and HERE and HERE).

As I promised yesterday, here is the silver lining to all of those “clouds.” See, I told you she turned it around ;-). I just adore her mom’s sense of style. Always have.

So when his mommy told me that he was on the move and full of energy, I thought, “That’s cool. I can handle that.” But see that little sweaty-boy-head? Trust me, Nina and I probably had it 10x worse trying to keep up with him, LOL! I like a challenge, though, and I like having to think on my feet and move quickly to capture what I’m seeing and anticipate what I’m about to see, so thanks, little man, for making sure we were on our toes!

This was session #2 of my one-on-one photography coaching session w/ Nina from Singapore. So funny how Austin was in this long, horrible dry spell until all of a sudden, I need to be shooting outdoors and then it decides to POUR! Lucky us, we had a small break in the storms this evening. Lucky us, the rain cooled things off a bit and provided a bit of a reward for us all at the end of our session.

Behind-the-scenes:

And one more here.

After our busy day of shooting and talking and all things photography, Nina and I treated ourselves to a fab dinner at Chuy’s (she had never had Tex-Mex before!). As we were pulling into the restaurant, the sun came out and we had the most wonderful light. Couldn’t resist:

Isn’t she purdy?

Well this one will definitely go down in Pinkle Toes session history as the coolest spot EVER. I will admit when I first heard the idea, I was a bit skeptical. I just couldn’t envision two small kiddos in a giant stadium. But then I thought, “Two small kiddos in a giant stadium? That’s AWESOME!” When we first got there, we had to kill a bit of time to wait for the players to finish up with their practice. We had a nice time hanging out on the grounds, but the kids–wait, who am I kidding?–we ALL were dying to get out on the field. It was everything we could have possibly imagined and then some. Wow! What an experience for these little ones! (Did you see my personal fav?) And before anyone asks if we can do their session here, let’s just say we had some special hook ups 😉 for this one, okie dokie?

Unbeknownst to me, their auntie was doing a little behind-the-scenes work while I was rolling around on the field:

 Oh, yes. BEHIND the scenes, indeed ;-).

The way the water was sparkling in the creek that day was incredible and while it was a wee bit humid that day, we were lucky enough to get a little breeze. This mommy said she used to do yoga classes at sunrise out here by this creek. Wow…what a great place to do yoga. If I lived closer to it, this would become one of my favorite hangouts for my own children. About the ducky…we had given it to little man to play with while we were taking pictures, but just like any normal toddler, the second he got hold of it, he chucked it right into the creek! Fortunately, a family friend was with us and spotted in the creek…this pic was her idea. Glad we got it! And oh yes…my personal fav from this session can be found HERE.

Note: Just 4 more openings left for the Back-t0-School mini sessions (Friday Aug 17th in the p.m. at my studio)!