I had so much fun photographing the {P} family last week!  We had to reschedule twice due to rain, but we ended up with beautiful weather the day of our shoot.  As one of four girls growing up and having a daughter myself, it’s always a treat to work with boys (especially these three cuties) and get a glimpse of the “other side.”    I’m blessed to attend church with this sweet family, and I really enjoyed the opportunity to chat during our shoot and get to know them a little better.  The boys did really great – they posed for some more formal shots, and were more than willing to goof around for some candid shots too.  Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to photograph your precious family, and enjoy your sneak peek! 

This week’s great Wardrobe Wednesday post is brought to us by Jennifer of Minor Impressions Photography.  She’s right, it is still pretty stinkin’ hot down here, but it won’t be forever!    I love the colors she uses for this family ensemble – they would go perfectly with the beautiful fall color palette.  Enjoy! 

“Here in Texas, it’s still HOT and the thought of putting together an outfit for the fall just seemed downright dreadful! If you’re anything like me, you like to procrastinate a little bit, and you can’t help but laugh (or cry) at the thought of planning anything for the holidays already. But, here it is September, and most photographers are beginning to schedule those family sessions right now. So, don’t wait too long and miss out on your chance to have the holiday card everyone is talking about!!
Alright, now that you’ve scheduled your family session, what to wear?? You would think that it would be easier to just have everyone wear the same color shirt and be done with it, right?! Not so fast – it is almost always inevitable that someone purchases a cream shirt instead of a white one, or maybe their black shirt is a little more faded than yours, or your idea of red is a little bit closer to maroon than cherry red. It’s usually MUCH harder to match all of the same colors instead of coordinating around one outfit. In the wardrobe below, I’ve picked out a dress for the girl that has multiple colors. Everyone else has a shirt or sweater that blends in with at least one of the colors of the dress. Add a few accessories and voila, you have a matching ensemble without trying to “match” 4 shirts of the same color.”

 
Shopping List:
 
Girl’s Outfit
Sweater Dress – JCPenney – $19.99
Boots – Kohls – $39.99
Headband – LovMely Accessories – $15.00
 
Boy’s Outfit
Polo – JCPenney – $7.99
Jeans – Kohls – $17.99
Shoes – Kohls – $34.99
 
Mom’s Outfit
Sweater – Old Navy – $34.50
Jeans – Old Navy – $25.00
Boots – Kohls – $28.99
Bracelet – JCPenney – $10.99
Earrings – JCPenney – $8.99
 
Dad’s Outfit
Shirt – Kohls – $27.99
Jeans – Kohls – $36.99
Shoes – Kohls – $39.99

I met up with this very brave family last weekend on what turned out to be the hottest day of the year here in Dallas.  Yes, when I pulled up, my car thermometer said 107.  No, that is not a typo.  Luckily, you would have never known it by the way they acted.  We had so much fun – what an awesome carefree bunch!  I’m horrified of the teenage years, so it’s always so refreshing to see families with teenage (and a little older) kids who are so sweet and good-natured.  These two were certainly no exception.  They even brought along their family dog who posed for a few shots and then {happily} waited out the rest of the session in the AC.    I loved working with you guys, and in all honesty, you turned what could have been a miserable night into a memorable one.  Bravo!  Enjoy your sneak peek!

I had the pleasure of photographing these two cuties last weekend on a very toasty morning.  Madilyn and Kenna are cousins (and only a couple of weeks apart age-wise), and the focus was definitlely all on them!    The proud parents hopped in for a few shots, but they spent most of their time singing and dancing in the background to help get some of these adorable smiles (thanks guys!).  It was a little bit harder to coax a smile out of Kenna (my Emory is the same way), but we managed to get some good ones.  Thanks for trekking all the way over here on your Saturday morning, I really had a blast!  Enjoy your sneak peek! 

“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!

After a reschedule, we managed to squeeze in a very speedy family/senior session for this group.  They even included their sweet older family dog.  She was not a fan of the long walk down into the park, but we still managed to get some shots with her too.  Those of us who are dog-owners know that they are as much as part of the family as anyone.    After family pictures we managed to snag a few of Connor before he and his brother Cameron jetted off to support their school soccer team in playoffs.  As a former soccer player myself, I didn’t mind cutting it short.   And of course, once the kids hit the road I had to get some of this fun couple.  I had a great time, enjoy your sneak peek!

This was my last session of the year, and it sure was a spec ial one!  One of my very best friends from high school, Stephanie, and her beautiful family were in town all the way from California and asked me to take their family portraits.  I could not have been more thrilled!  Between the two of us we have three more kids than since the last time we saw each other, so we had lots of fun goofing off and catching up.  It was a little colder than we would have liked (especially right by the lake, brrrr!), so it was a little harder to keep everyone happy and smiling, but we still managed to get some really great shots.  I’ve also been experimenting some more with textures and decided to show some here.  Let me know what you think!   Thanks for being so patient Steph and Matt, and I hope you enjoy your sneak peek!  I so enjoyed spending time with you guys in person, and I hope we can make it out to CA soon!

More from this session coming soon!

Yes, this was a family session, but as you can see, it was definitely all about little Ellie!    I got to photograph 3 generations of this awesome family in what turned out to be a very interesting session.  When our outdoor shoot plans went south along with the plunging temperatures, we decided to try shooting indoors at Northpark Mall.  Since natural light is my thing, this was a fun challenge!  Luckily, Northpark also has a beautiful courtyard and my subjects were willing to brave the cold for a few minutes for some outdoor shots as well.  While we managed to get some good natural light inside, I think I will have to get over my horrible distaste for all things flash-related and get a good flash for backup situations like these.  Thanks for being so flexible!  Enjoy your sneak peek! 

Just before the Thanksgiving holiday, I met this lovely family out at the train depot for some special “senior” pictures.  Wade is a senior in high school, and Brooks is a senior in college!  While I’m not sure that this is what they had hoped to do on their day off of school, they were troopers and stuck it out for a good hour and a half at a very busy location.  I almost had a heart attack when I arrived because what had only been a few Christmas decorations just a few days earlier had exploded into “Christmas Land.”  Gulp.  Luckily, they left most of the best spots in the back untouched, so we were all right.  Boy, did it give me a scare though!    Mom and Dad jumped in for a few shots to wrap up the session as well.  Thanks for spending your holiday with me, and I hope you enjoy your photos!