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.

{Engagements} Bethany & Josh

This was a really fun shoot. Bethany had a lot of great ideas and Josh was game. (As "game" as a guy can be getting his picture taken for two and a half hours straight!) Our friend Lane also came along to provide the entertainment. Thanks for letting me take these, Future Berrys! ...Berries?

 

 

Update: These two are getting married in Little Rock in August, so I'm excited to see them again after we move there!

{Seniors} Morgan, Rachel & Hadley

Let's start with Morgan, shall we?  She's a senior at Cooper High School who very smartly offered to swap babysitting services for a few senior pics in her cheer uniform.  I attempted an in-home "studio" for the first time and got only a couple usable shots out of it, but it was fun trying.  Then we headed outside where Morgan had to work for her pictures!

  

 

 

I asked Morgan to bring a friend since it would be more fun and get more relaxed and natural photos as a result.  Plus, I can make them hold my stuff. :)  So Morgan brought Rachel, and within a week I had another senior client!  We took all these within one block in downtown Abilene and finished off with Rachel holding her letter of acceptance from Texas A&M.  Congratulations!

 

 

Then comes Hadley, who served as my assistant extraordinaire for Rachel's shoot.  Turns out she goes to my church and we had about 20 Facebook friends in common.  She looked so cute I had to take some pictures of her, too!

 

Geez, of the 100+ pics to choose from I decided to post these...apparently I'm a fan of framing to the left!

{Engagements} Session Re-dos

I figured out some new Photoshop tricks so I decided to go back through and re-process some of the pictures I've taken...like this one!

No business like snow business!

BCH Sports - They're on it!

For some reason I offered to take photos at Shotwell Stadium (a high school football field) in the middle of July because I thought the sports team needed some fresh promotional photos before the season started and because I wanted an excuse to rent a wide-angle lens.  It was more than 100 degrees outside, so we did this all in about 10 minutes.  I'm mostly pleased with how they turned out, but I would have spent a lot more time barking orders about who should stand where if it had been, oh, only 90 degrees.

I can't believe I forgot to use the flash to fill those facial shadows.  I hate flash photos with the exception of outdoors on bright days.  But what was I supposed to do, ask them to come back? :)

That be one fun day!

After months and months of talking about taking these pictures, we finally did it!  My friend, whose husband is a B-1 pilot, first suggested it some time last year.  But the winter was too cold, the spring went by too fast, the dress took a while to order, I became a mom... and if we hadn't done it today it never would have happened because these two are moving to a land far, far away in a matter of days!

We weren't able to get on to the flight line to take pics with the B-1s that are actually in service, but this bad boy worked out just fine.

If you notice, the sidewalk is wet in some of the photos.  We had a little issue with sprinklers, which threatened to derail the entire shoot. :)

So, there they are!  I'm so happy to have been asked to take these and we'll see if any other wives are interested in doing it.  I hear there might be a black and white polka dot dress listed on eBay soon...

Rules of Engagement

1.  Create a memory worth remembering
2.  Trick your girlfriend into getting dressed up
3.  Bring along a hidden camera (or seven)

Our friend Tyler gets an A+ for his proposal last night!  Check our other blog for a video of the big moment, and enjoy a couple of the pics I was able to snap.  (I'll only dwell on the positive here, ignoring the fact that most of my shots feature the backs of people's heads.)

Here's how it went down: Tyler was live on the air at Taste of Abilene last night -- which really didn't make any sense, since he's a sports reporter.  In the middle of his live shot, a dude with a microphone walked up behind him and started singing "All My Loving."  A flash mob started to form, and Tyler eventually joined in, making his way over to his unsuspecting girlfriend at a nearby table.

She said yes.

Baby Kirk... the Sequel

What a difference five months makes.  My little Viking Babe buddy, Kirk, isn't so little any more! 

We headed to downtown Abilene in March for his six-month photos. Mom Amalyssa dressed him in a ridiculous adorable bunny outfit and we took some fun Easter pics.

The unsung hero of this photo shoot was our friend Carolyn, who made a fool of herself for nearly an hour to keep Kirk smiling.  I want to bring her along to every baby shoot!  But soon she'll be in front of the camera as I snap some super fun pics of her in front of the B-1 that her husband flies!  Stay tuned for that – I'm stoked!

A rookie on the sidelines

Abilene High School and Cooper High School completed their 2010 football seasons on Saturday with games at Cowboys Stadium. Neither advanced any further in the playoffs, but we are super proud of both for making it that far. Here are a few moments from both games.

P.S. I had no idea what I was doing down there on the sidelines. I was much more comfortable up in the press box drinking the complimentary Pepsi.
Morgan and Tatiana are two of my students from last year. Now they're juniors. *Tear!
One of these days I'll get a good picture of a good play. For now, we settle for one or the other.

Those were Cooper. These are Abilene High. I found the double header exhausting! Maybe in a smaller stadium...

Mr. Play-by-Play, David Bacon. Abilene is lucky to have him!