Blue eyes in bluebonnets

"The traditional bluebonnet photo is irredeemable cheesy," the editors of Texas Monthly dared to promulgate in the April 2012 issue.

 

Say it to my face, this beautiful child retorted. Seeing as how we Kellerpeople are moving to Little Rock in about a week, it was gosh darn necessary for me to get some quintessential bluebonnet pictures of my little baby while she's still a Texan!  

 

My friend Brandi was game to join me with her kids on a little bluebonnet hunt this afternoon, and thanks to a tip on twitter we found a little patch away from any possible traffic.  The tricky (spooky) part was that it lay smack dab in the middle of an old cemetery.

I mean, I knew we were headed to "the Buffalo Gap Cemetery" but I assumed it was an open place with a couple rolling hills... Wrong!  This was a straight-up fenced-in acre of decrepit tombstones.  I believe Wyatt decided to rest his weary bones on top of a small stone perch called Unknown, while Jackie, full of ideas for poses, said, "You know what would be pretty? If I stood next to that sign!"  That sign was a 4-foot headstone.

Here's a pic where you can tell we're in a cemetery.  I think I forgot to mention to my husband that we ended up there.  Good thing it would never cross his mind to read my blog. 

Now it's time to ask the obvious question: where are the bluebonnets?  They're all over the place in the above pictures, but because the only time we could go was smack dab in the middle of direct sun, I had trouble getting shadow-free faces and getting the background, so the best pictures turned out to be the ones where the kids are in the shade of a tree while the background is in full sun.  I try encourage my clients to do sessions within a couple hours of sunrise or sundown but that's not often feasible.  My favorite, favorite lighting is an overcast sky.  It's not as versatile as a rising or setting sun in a partly-cloudy sky, but it definitely makes for a more fuss-free photo session.

By the way, the bright, blown out background and pastel features is quickly becoming my favorite style of portraiture, evidence of which can be found in my last four sessions. Does anyone have any feedback for me?  Should I make it my signature look as I grow my business?

Anyway, regardless of the whole interment setting, the kids had a lot of fun and so did Brandi and I!  Kate was pretty mellow most of the time but the fresh air was so good for her.  I'm a bad mom and sometimes the only fresh air we get is a 10-15 minute evening walk, so this was just what we needed.

And hopefully Kate will make it back to Texas each spring for more pictures just like these.

Say "cheese!" And say it to their faces, baby girl.