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.

{Families} 19 People and Counting

 

Some childhood friends of mine asked me to come over to their parents' house the day before Christmas Eve and capture their growing family... and it worked out! 

I was so excited to see Maria and Olga and the rest of the gang.  It had been about seven or eight years since we'd been together, and the family has basically doubled in size since then.  And, in addition to us doing something meaningful with the money from the session fee, they also paid me in homemade tamales.  Who can beat that?!

 

 

On the surface, I can see about 100 woulda-shoulda-couldas in these photos, but if you just look past them all you'll see is a lot of love in a family which is also loved by me!

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!

Four Generations

My brother and I headed down to Austin on Saturday for the baptism of our cousin's new baby.  I took a bunch of pictures, and this is my favorite! 

It was great to spend time with a big chunk of our family and to meet Baby Girl for the first time!

Remember last year when...

The house was squeaky, scrubbed, glammed and glowing?

And we laughed and sang carols with our family and friends?

When we tried 'em out in other linguas?

And the shutter caught the poppin' top?

When the sons threw in the white towel and it paid off?

Remember when we fell in love all over again?

When Chris gave me the evil eye?

And the newlyweds got mushy?

When Shellie and Izzy put on a fashion show?

The boys were back in town?

And Brayden got a new helicopter?

Remember when I had less than two hours to giggle with my gals?

And we got news that was so exciting AK actually agreed to set up the tripod and capture the moment?

Sam, Alex and gang rode into Dallas?

And the Trouble Twins jumped for joy when they saw me?

When mom and her sisters got sent to time out?

And Sam stood still long enough for this beauty?

Remember when Maria smiled so pretty?

And Franny showed off her new beautiful smile?

We took a trip to outer space?

And Alex crowned himself King of Sorry?

Remember when Gabe rang in the new year with his massive muscles?

What an amazing end to 2010!

A Christmas story

Curious Jacob here hung out with me on Saturday at the Gaylord Texan, where his parents asked me to snap a couple photos for a Christmas card. Jacob was being a stinker of the cutest kind, and I actually got a lot of great shots of him having fun. Pictures of all four of the Smiths smiling at the same time, however, proved a little trickier.

Nevertheless, we had fun walking around among the Christmas crowd.

Here's baby Noah, my godson!
I had read a lot online before we got there that the Gaylord Texan frowns upon photo sessions, but I couldn't find a lot about unassuming family portraits. There was NO problem. Everyone and their grandma had SLR cameras and babies wearing Christmas dresses. There was actually a sleigh set up for the sole purpose of posing for pictures. I didn't post that one here cuz I gotta feelin (woo hoo!) the Smiths are going to use that one for their Christmas card, and who am I to be a spoiler? The only problem with taking pictures was the fact that it was a Saturday morning and it was PACKED. No bueno.
The following picture cracks me up. It's so random. But the Gaylord was really crowded and we were trying to get creative. It looks like a photo from one of those university alumni magazines.

"Smith recognizes the importance of blending his interior landscaping and NFL marketing career with his role as husband and father of two."Over the past 10 or so years Carol and I have gone from friends to roommates to bridesmaids, and she's now a mother of two sweet boys! I love these pictures of her.
Merry Christmas, Smiths!