Baby Loves Disco - November Gallery Available

Wow! My poor blog has been neglected, hasn't it?!? Sorry about that! The holiday portrait rush has not allowed me to get over here and do updates as often as I would like, but things are beginning to settle down, so I'll be back to my regular updates soon.

In the meantime, I did want to post that the gallery for the November Baby Loves Disco party is online. The November event was a pajama party, so you'll see lots of little ones in their adorable PJs. Check out the gallery here, and use "bld4" as the access code.

Alex's First Haircut!

Well, I indulged in a little break from editing sessions to take a look at the pictures I shot today at Alex's first haircut. Bryan & I were both hesitant to cut her hair, because we love it long. But, the ends were so fine, it really needed a trim. We weren't sure how Alex would take to the whole idea, but she actually did wonderfully. She sat very still on Daddy's lap and was very cooperative!

The before...

The first snip...

She doesn't look so happy here, does she? The poor little guy in the chair next to her was screaming & crying - so I think she figured he must know something she didn't!
But the outing ended with a lollipop and a ride on the giant shoe. What more could a girl ask for? (In case you're wondering how the giant shoe fits in, the hair salon is actually in the back of the Stride Rite store! Odd, I know, but they were wonderful with the kiddos.) And speaking of shoes, notice the shiny red shoes on Alex. For the past three days, these are the only shoes she will let us put on her feet!
Hope you all enjoyed Alex's first haircut - now back to editing!

Handsome Twins

I just adore these little guys! I've been photographing them since they were 2, and I always have such a blast with them. Never fails...they always get to cracking up like this...makes me wonder what their dad is doing behind my head?????


Brandon's little personality is so much fun!

And Brady has the sweetest eyes!


I also got to try out my red wall during their session! In the office portion of my studio, one wall is painted red and it's right next to some windows that let in great light. So, I squeezed all my furnishings into one half of the office so I could leave the space near the light open for shooting. I really love how it turned out - especially fun for the holidays, but I think I'll enjoy it year-round.
Well boys, thanks again for another very entertaining session - I definitely got my dose of laughs!

Down By The Lake

We live close to the lake (White Rock Lake) - technically walking distance, but that would be a long walk! Every time I drive by it, I'm reminded of how pretty it is and I wish we would take more advantage of having it so close! So I finally took the time to scout out some spots around the lake and found this little area - I think it turned out to be a great spot!

Max is just a couple of weeks older than my Alex, and I've had a ball photographing him over the last couple of years. This year, I was so excited to add his new baby brother, Sam, to the mix!
Max, being the boy that he is, was very drawn to the lake. So, naturally, we took a little time out to "fish!"Notice the ever-present stick! We had a laugh when we remembered that Max was wielding a stick in the majority of his portraits last year, too! Boys will be boys, right?!?Maybe next year, Sam will be big enough to wield a stick, too!

On another note, I just re-read this and realized I ended nearly every sentence with an exclamation point. Sorry - we just had so much fun! (Had to get one more in.)

A Beautiful Baptism

I recently had the pleasure of photographing a Baptism for one of my clients. There was family coming in from all over for this little guy's big day, so the mom wanted to remember the day with images from the ceremony, as well as capturing lots of the family groups that were there.

The ceremony was beautiful. It was held at a very unique church in Richardson, with lots of interesting architectural details, and gorgeous lighting!



Because of the unique lighting (this was all natural light streaming in onto the alter in the background), I worked to just use the available light whenever possible, as flash really does not show off the beauty of this church. That meant bumping the ISO waaaaay up, so I was very thankful for the D3. For those of you interested in the techie details, the shot below was taken at ISO 4000 - something that would have been pretty much impossible with previous cameras!

Enough of the techie stuff, and back to the sweet baby! This ceremony was complete with a full immersion - something I have only seen one or two other times. Little Ryan was such a good sport, too, not letting out so much as a whimper when his bottom hit that water! That's proud Mom & Dad looking on in the background!

And after the ceremony, all dry and cozy again with Mom & Dad, the Godparents, and the Christian Witnesses.

After the ceremony, we headed back to the family's home. I had a great time photographing their friends and family. And captured Big Sis taking a much deserved juice box break!Thanks again to this sweet family for including me in their special day. It was an honor to be a part of it!

A Princess In My Studio!

How many people can say they have photographed a princess??? Okay, I guess that number may go up each year around Halloween, but still, I felt honored! We had a fun session with Princess Katie & her adorable baby brother. Mom brought along their Halloween costumes, and they were so sweet and cooperative for their portraits that we decided to do some fun ones at the end of their session all dressed up! What cracked me up the most was that the princess kept checking out her bling!


And Baby Dean was such a handsome little devil...right down to his little curled toes!

We're in the middle of a big debate right now as to what Alex will be this year. Weeks ago, she proclaimed she was going to be an owl (in honor of the Wiggles tune, Do The Owl, I'm pretty sure!) With no cute owl costumes to be found, Mimi met with her seamstress to design one. Shortly after the fabric was purchased....you guessed it...Alex changed her mind and decided she wanted to be a witch. But, trying on witch costumes a few days ago resulted in a fit, during which she proclaimed, once again, she was going to be an owl! I have a feeling the decision will go down to the wire. So stay tuned...

Sweet Samaya

Meet sweet little Samaya. Like so many baby girls I photograph, she was quite the daddy's girl. It didn't take much on daddy's part to get great big, adorable grins like this one...


And in return for those great big smiles, it looks like daddy is already wrapped around his little girl's finger!

After play time with daddy, Samaya was treated to sweet snuggles from her beautiful mommy...

Have you ever seen a sweeter little smile?
This was such a delightful family to work with. I'm looking forward to watching Samaya grow through her first year!

Baby Loves Disco - September Photos Available!

The last weekend in September brought us the third installment of Baby Loves Disco - and it was a blast as usual. The party was a big hit - the largest crowd they have had to date. All the little partiers had a ball. There was a bit of drama in the beginning when it looked like a critical piece of the bubble machine was missing, but the organizers got it up and running just in time. And as you can see, the kids were thrilled...


In fact, little miss Taylor got a sky-high view of the bubble fun thanks to her daddy!
The dancers were out in full force, including the handsome little guys...

And adorable little girls....
To view more of the fun festivities, or to order photos of you little one, check out the gallery. Once you have logged in, type "bld3" as the access code.

Your dancing shoes can have a rest, as Baby Loves Disco will be taking a break in October, but be sure to join the fun in November!

Future Longhorn Quarterback?!?

Meet Austin, Longhorn quarterback for the class of...2026! (How's my math on that???)


This little guy was such a cutie. He had the sweetest smile, and the most gorgeous big blue eyes. He was very attached to his football, and I just loved this shot we caught with the ball in motion, and the little look of determination and focus on his face. I think he is destined for great things!

The only thing that would make this shot better is if he were in maroon & white! (Sorry, Blake, but you knew I would have to get a little Aggie humor in there for you!)

A Little Redhead and Her Handsome Brother

These two were so cute together! Big brother was not totally convinced that this was how he wanted to spend his time, but he was still a real sweetheart. And oh my goodness little Ellis would light up when her big brother would walk over!


I promise, her eyes are really this blue! Aren't they beautiful?!?

Mom & Dad actually realized when they walked into the studio that they had been there before...4 years ago, Hudson had his 9 month portrait session there with another photographer. They have a picture of him from that session looking out this window, so we thought it would be special to update that image...

Those blue eyes run in the family!

And then it was time for Ellis to have a turn at the window! What a darling - I love how her little toes peek out from the bottom of her jeans!

I'll be back soon with a few more sneak peeks, so check back often!

Welcome To The World Little Maddy!

Miss Maddy was my latest little subject for newborn portraits. At 10 days old, she was a perfect angel! She slept nearly the entire time and just let us move her around and position her however we wanted.

She even gave us a little smile - she melted all our hearts with this one...

And let out the sweetest little yawn!
So a big thank you to my new little friend for being so sweet and cooperative! I hope her mom & dad will enjoy the portraits as much as I enjoyed creating them!

Announcing Holiday Collections!

This time of year, portrait selections are usually a little different than in the spring and summer. Of course, my clients are usually ordering their holiday cards from their fall portrait sessions, but I also find most of my clients needing many more small prints togive as gifts during the holidays. So this year, I decided to put together a couple of special collections to make your holiday shopping go a little more smoothly. These special holiday collections are aptly named "Give" and "Give & Get!"

“Give”
This collection is designed to help you with your holiday shopping, with plenty of traditional prints 8x10 and smaller – perfect for spreading holiday cheer!

5x7s/4x6s – 15
8x10s – 3
Wallets – 16

The “Give” Collection is available for $335 ($565 value)

“Give & Get!”
During the holidays, it may be better to give than to receive, but why not do both? This collection provides ample small gift prints for family and friends, while providing you with the wall portraits you can display and treasure. This collection also comes with a CD of Web-sized* images, which are great for use in digital frames, ipods, cell phones, etc.

5x7s/4x6s – 30
8x10s – 4
11x14 Wall Portraits – 2
16x20 Wall Portrait – 1
Collection of Web-sized digital images

The “Give & Get!” Collection is available for $925 ($1585 value)

Bonus: Purchase the “Give & Get!” collection before October 15th, and receive 50 complimentary press-printed 5x7 holiday cards.

My New Friends, Emme & Niko

Don't they look sweet. They teased and tortured each other like any good brother & sister do, but you could tell how close they really are!


They both had the same beautiful, sparkling eyes!
As handsome as his mom & I thought he was, this was apparently not Niko's first choice in a hairstyle! So we made a deal that at the end of the session, he could mess his hair and we'd get some fun shots with that look, too.

The results.....

Either way, I'd say Mom has a heart-breaker on her hands!

And speaking of their mom, she is a very talented yoga instructor! In fact, Alex & I just enjoyed our first "Tots Yoga" class this morning. For more information on Deana's classes, visit Just Breathe Yoga.

Another Sneak Peek

I had the pleasure of photographing this trio for the first time last summer. This year, the youngest had just made his first communion, so we did a few shots in honor of that special occasion.

Doesn't he look sweet and angelic in this one? Which I love because in the shot that came right after this one, his grin was slightly devilish - in an adorable way, of course!

Next up was big brother - who must have grown a foot since I had seen him last! I thought he was looking very GQ here!

And sweet sister, looking pretty as a princess...

After marking the special occasion in their suits and dress, we let the kids get comfy and did some more shots just for fun. What a great group of kiddos!

So Expressive!

I love my job! I get to meet and interact with so many sweet families - not to mention all the adorable kiddos I get to play with. Like this little cutie. She had the most beautiful big eyes, and a ton of wonderful expressions. And Mom & Dad were so sweet, too. You can tell she's already got Daddy wrapped around her little finger. But then again, how could she not with these eyes???


And that grin???

And she's already perfected the pout!

Miss Lily was truly a pleasure. I hope her family will enjoy the portraits as much as I enjoyed my time with her!