It’s been a LONG time since I entered an I Heart Faces challenge, and since I’m on bed rest I figure I don’t have much of an excuse to pass up this one!    Especially when I have the perfect image of my own little cutie to use for this week’s theme.  “From a distance” is about all she gave me on this night, but I LOVE how this image turned out.

To see more great entries, head on over to I Heart Faces!

I know this post is very belated, but what can I say, there’s been a lot going on!  Bluebonnet season was completely crazy for me this year, but I did manage to sneak in a few pics of my girl.   My mom brought her up to the fields before one of my sessions – thank goodness for her help!  I’ll give you a quick update on my Texas gal.  She oozes personality.  She is so passionate – it seems like everything she feels, from joy and happiness to anger and frustration, she feels to the absolute fullest.  It certainly keeps us on our toes!  She is starting to “talk” more and more … sometimes we understand and sometimes we don’t.  Her favorite two things to do are running and swinging.  She says “WEEEEEEEE” whenever we see or come near a swing … that kid could swing for hours.  She gives hugs and kisses {some days}, and she loves to dance {see below}.  She just fills our lives with so much joy, and we thank God every day for entrusting her to us!

I was so excited when one of my past senior clients Jenna contacted me about doing a session in the bluebonnets with her sister.  First, I love working with past clients!  Secondly, I am very blessed to have three sisters myself who are my best friends, so I thought it would be really fun.  Apart from the VERY windy and kind of chilly conditions, it was fun!  We made it just in time too – it started raining on me about two minutes after I left.  These two are absolutely gorgeous!  I just can not get over their stunning blue eyes.  They were so sweet, and I’m sure there are going to be some sad moments ahead as Jenna goes off to college in the fall.  That’s the beauty of sisterhood though, it only gets better as time passes.  Thanks for braving the wind you two, and enjoy your sneak peek! 

Ummm, hello, model pose! 

“We’re up for anything.”  Ahhh, that is music to a photographer’s ears!  As soon as Mom told me that, I knew this would be a fun session.  It definitely did not disappoint!  After a reschedule from earlier in April, we were able to get some bluebonnet shots at just the right time, and then we went over to a nearby nature area.  I was so excited to use my new prop (well, new to photography – I actually had this couch in my room when I was in high school), and it photographed even better than I thought!  We really did have so much fun – as you can see, we tried out a few new ideas, had some running and jumping competitions, and definitely had some good laughs.  A.J. and Dani were so great with each other – it was really sweet and made for some great shots that would melt any parent’s heart.  Mom and Dad were a little nervous as they hadn’t had family portraits taken in a really long time, but just as I assured them they would, they totally rocked it!    Thanks for being “up for anything,” and I hope you guys had as much fun as I did!

Yep, Dani had already sneaked a peek at what was going on back there, and this was what she thought about it.  Priceless!

Off to the races!

If being an NFL quarterback doesn’t work out for A.J., I think he could safely have a career in modeling. 

I finally broke through the “cheese” grin to get the good stuff from Dani – so worth it!

This was planned all on their own – now those are two siblings who are on the same page!  I love that they nailed it!

Since I have been asked this many times over the last several weeks, I think I should clarify.  No, I don’t have some super-awesome secret editing technique to make all of these senior girls look absolutely gorgeous, they just are!    Kim was certainly no exception.  She has the most infectious smile and laugh, I felt like the three of us (Mom came along too) giggled our way through the whole session.  We had to reschedule her bluebonnet session from earlier in the month, and I was so glad the bluebonnets still looked awesome.  We went from there over to a nearby nature area which had so many great spots.  We actually lucked out that it was kind of overcast as it gave us lots of flexibility!  She brought a great wardrobe to choose from too, and of course, the red chair made an appearance as well!  I had such a fabulous time with you Kim (and Mom) – enjoy your sneak peek!

Last Saturday evening I had the pleasure of shooting my bluebonnet mini sessions with 6 fabulous sets of clients!  After a little anxiety over the late-blooming bluebonnets, Saturday rolled around and they looked great!  Definitely not as good as last year, but that was an exceptional crop (thanks a lot stupid March snow).  Other than being a little on the windy side, the weather was perfect.  And, of course, my clients were perfect too!  I was a little nervous as to how things would play out logistically, but thanks to everyone being a little early, we actually wrapped everything up with time to spare.  Y’all are the best!  Now it’s time to meet the bunch …

Emily & Cason {Cousins}

These two were absolutely adorable!  Emily was one of my first bluebonnet subjects ever last year.   She was not interested in sitting in the bluebonnets at first, so the red chair came to the rescue!  Mom and Dad said she had been practicing her smile, and she nailed it!    Cason was not a big fan of the wind, so he wanted to keep his head down the whole time despite our best efforts.  I knew he would pop up for a few though, and we even managed to crack a smile out of him at the very end.  And oh my, that smile is precious! 

Lily & Wyatt {Cousins}

Next up was another sweet set of cousins.  Lily did great (especially for a two-year old) staying put long enough for me to get a few shots of just her.  She has such a great big smile, and a great sense of humor – whenever I asked her to look up (at me) she would look straight up into the sky and giggle.  Gotta love that toddler humor!    She was also very sweet with her little cousin Wyatt (as you can see below).  Wyatt was missing his nap during this time, but he was a trooper!  I don’t think he knew quite what to think of all of those flowers at first, but all it took was a little sweetness from his cousin (and the collective efforts of 5 adults off camera) and he really loosened up.    You didn’t need to worry, they both did great!

The Bryan Family

This family is totally awesome!  They were so laid-back and absolutely hilarious, I’m pretty sure we were laughing the entire time.  Well, maybe except for Mom and Dad when they ended up on the bottom of the pile.    I certainly giggled my way through editing their pictures!  You may recognize big brother Jonathan from his senior portraits last month.  His other two siblings were just as goofy!   You five were an absolute joy to photograph – that last shot pretty much sums it up!

The Becker Family

I was so excited to get Miss Evelyn in front of my camera again – she was the subject in one of my first newborn sessions (and the winner of my 2009 Photo of the Year Contest)!  Oh, how the time flies.  Even though she had not been feeling well the night before, she still had some smiles for us.  I’m also grateful to Mom and Dad for being up for trying out a few things … that last shot took a few tries to get the positioning right, but I just adore how it came out.  What a beautiful family! 

Maci, Tucker, & Kennedy

How lucky am I - Kennedy is another returning newborn client!  It’s so fun to photograph these kiddos at different ages.  As you can see, she is growing into the spitting image of her big sis, adorable red hair and all!  These three were so well-behaved, and Mom did give up her secret – the ultimate bribery of pizza and ice cream.   It worked!  Well, except for Kennedy.  As she’s not yet consuming pizza and ice cream, she was a little more reserved with her smiles.  I’ve named this last shot (one of the last of the session) “We’re calling in our bribe!”  You three were just wonderful! 

Emily {Senior}

While you will be seeing much more of this gorgeous senior soon from her full session last week, she wanted to get some bluebonnet shots too.  I’m glad she did – her eyes looked just stunning against the bluebonnet backdrop and she definitely got to reap the benefits of the late time slot and beautiful golden light.  She has such a great smile, and I really can’t wait to share more from her soon!  I knew after this session that her full session would be a blast, and it definitely was!   

Phew!  If you made it through this epic post, you deserve a round of applause!  I need to give a big thank you to my mom who came out as my assistant for the evening, and to my husband who gave me an excellent back rub when I got home – my back was killing me!!!    I should have a few more bluebonnet sessions to share in the next week or two, so stay tuned!

UPDATE:  This year’s mini sessions are all booked!  I look forward to making this an annual tradition, so put it on the calendar for next year!

Yes, I’m already announcing these highly anticipated Bluebonnet Mini Sessions!  Bluebonnet season is just around the corner, and this special is too good to pass up. 

I’m only scheduling a limited number of theses sessions on this one evening, so contact me soon if you are interested!  You will need to pay your deposit to reserve your time slot.  These may be the only promotional mini sessions I have all year, so don’t miss out on this great opportunity!  Let me know if you have any questions.