My Buddies

Shep and Will have been my buddies since they were babies, and that makes getting to do their photos that much sweeter. These two are ALL boy in all the best senses. Photo session day meant putting on my explorer hat and letting the boys take the lead. Their parents and I refereed a bit as well, as it was a lively session. Being the best of friends doesn't mean there aren't moments when these two need a little help remembering to be gentle...That said, Will has looked out for his little brother since day one, and as they've grown up that's earned him his brother's absolute adoration and loyalty. They ran and played and laughed and did their thing, and I got to capture it all. I love this collection, and I love these little boys. They're such vibrant firecrackers, and I'm glad I get to be a part of their story.

On Family and Mini-Sessions

Once kids are beyond the phase where they seem to be changing- and wildly- every few days and then weeks and eventually months, some families find that booking an annual full session is more than they need. I love when families continue to prioritize family photos by booking a mini-session for the years when a full session is not required or budget constraints make a shorter session sensible. These thirty minute sessions go by quickly, but they flow well, particularly with families who are are exiting the baby/toddler phase. They're also great for solo photos to update a toddler's growth for particularly busy little ones. This beautiful crew met me in November for a mini-session in Highland Park, and I love that their session showcases just how much variety is possible in thirty minutes. The girls were so fun and sweet to each other, and everyone brought their very best selves to the session. I am so thankful I'm getting to watch these girls grow up through my lens. They're perfect mini-session clients.

I'm currently booking a limited number of anytime mini-sessions (I used to only offer them semi-annually), and if this type of session would be a fit for your family, please do not hesitate to contact me!

Sunny Sunday Morning

It rained on Jenny and Joey's wedding day... and engagement session before that and Ellie's newborn session after that. We were all excited, therefore, when we looked at the forecast for their photos this fall and finally saw sunshine on the horizon. I loved seeing how Ellie has grown and meeting baby Rhett. Getting to watch a couple whose wedding I photographed transition to parenthood and raising a family was so incredible for me. This was a low-key session, with the pace largely set by the little ones, and I'm glad we were able to capture such sweet moments. Having two tinies makes life a little hectic at times, but the morning of our session was calm. I love Rhett's crazy hair and Ellie's coy smile. It was one of those mornings I would have been happy to stay out in the sun with my friends and their babies, because the day was just full of sweetness.

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All the Things I Love...

From the moment these boys answered the door when I arrived at their photo shoot, I experienced fullness of life paired with contentment from being together. We took these photos in November, and looking back over them tonight made me recall the boys excitedly chirping while Mom and Dad filled me in on details of the life and times of their favorite two little guys. It's the only session where I've had a kid recite the periodic table of elements without batting an eye. We read books. We see-sawed. Jokes were told. Secrets were exchanged. All of the things I love about photographing a family were represented at this session. We had real moments and genuine connection. I witnessed laughter and love and busy boys and attentive parents. I caught a glimpse of the magic that is uniquely the Baker family's, and in taking their photos I got to bottle some of that magic up in the form of photographs. I hope they provoke memories of any given Sunday during this fleeting season of childhood as these boys grow up. I hope they show them to their children and tell the stories of their boyhoods. Reviewing the gallery to make selections for the blog made me want to say thank you to this family for letting me witness the good stuff of their life. It truly is a privilege. It makes me excited for the stories to be told in 2015.

The Page They Were On

I'm never opposed to an afternoon at the lake, and neither were these guys. While I've photographed the littles before, it was the first time we've done family photos. It was a tag team parenting approach to keep up with two busy toddlers, and we stayed busy for the whole session. A certain young man was inclined to run, run, run, while his baby sister was newer in her walking skills. We mostly just let the kids set the pace, and the end results were a selection of photographs that illustrate what's beautiful about each individual as well as the whole family. It's fun to look at these now, a couple of months later, knowing that in the time that has passed since these session, each of these kiddos has continued to come into their own. It makes me excited for next time as well as thankful that we got to document the page they were on in the fall. They change so fast...

Shy No More

When I met Sophia, she was just a baby, and our annual photo dates have been marked by coaxing a quiet, shy little miss out of her shell. This year, I loved that Sophia's shyness has fallen to the wayside. As she's grown up, she's come into her own confidence and sense of self. It's a privilege to watch a child change like that. It's not that she wasn't a lovely little girl in previous years; she was. It's just that this year I got to see a clearer picture of who she is. She is enthusiastic, silly and friendly. Because she's gotten older and we've built some rapport, this particular session was particularly fun for me to shoot. You can see the love and life in these photos, and I am happy to get to share them.

Sweetest Sisters

The best way to get happy, laughing little girls at a photo shoot is to have happy, fun-loving little girls as your subject. These three, each with her own personality and take being the subject of photographs, simply delighted me. I have three sisters, and two of them are close in age to me, so whenever I have a trio or foursome of sisters, I find myself remembering fond childhood memories. We too shared secrets and hugged tight and were (mostly) buddies. Life is that much more beautiful and fun and exciting with a sister, and I hope that these photos give these girls sweet memories of growing up together. I hope they know they've been given a gift in each other. I see that gift in these photos.

A Hand to Hold

I started conversing with this family about photos last spring, but we never got our schedules to match up. I was excited to finally meet Miss Claire this fall, and she ran and giggled her way through this session, provided she had a hand to hold. I love the way littles draw confidence and comfort from contact with their parents. Claire may not have been too sure about the whole photography gig, but she was just so cute in her unsureness. It's was so fun to send out this gallery, because we got so many wonderful expressions from a hesitant (and at times determinedly so) little girl. Seeing her personality emerge as the session went is one of the things that I love about this work. I really want to see who a child and her family is, not just what they look like, and as she became more comfortable I was able to capture just that. I cannot wait to see how she grows and changes in the coming year.

Dumpster Diving

It's a privilege when friends and neighbors choose me to do their photos, so I loved meeting these guys at White Rock Lake this fall. Aedan is the kind of kid who takes a few minutes to warm up; he's observant and quiet and takes everything in before giving his all (not unlike me, so I appreciate that). Who'd have thought that finding an empty dumpster left open by a construction crew would be the ticket to chatter and smiles from this little guy? We got kicked out of said dumpster, but it broke the ice. It was a really fun session. This was the windiest morning, and no one complained. There was joking and laughter and easy interactions. That trio is my favorite for capturing a family, and I'm so happy to be sharing a sampling of this year's photos of my friends. Revisiting them made me smile.

Paint the (Cow)town

Because Dallas is where I live, my clients tend to be on the Dallas side of the DFW area. The Redding crew hails from Fort Worth, so their annual session typically takes me west. This year we opted to use the newly updated Sundance Square, exploring in and around downtown as we went. I loved the change of pace. We had plenty of friendly banter illustrative of love and fondness and kids-who-are-mostly-friends whose parents still flirt with each other. I love this collection. We worried that we'd get rained out that day, and I'm so glad we weren't, because this session makes me smile. I'm grateful that I've gotten to know this family through the years, because they are engaging and warm. It's always a blast to work with them.

Just So Them

When families show up the day after Halloween with wide-eyed wonder still left in the eyes of the elder child, I know we're going to have fun. Jack chirped away about trick-or-treating while he chomped on the endless supply of treats that he'd collected the night before. We explored the outdoor space we'd selected while watching him show off then calm and play with his sister. Claire, meanwhile, grinned and babbled and let me see her teeth peeking through (a favorite to see... why are baby teeth so cute?). I got to witness love and laughter and a few "Jack!! Stop! No!" moments when a precocious Jack took off in one direction or another. I love when sessions go this way. It's not that everything is perfect and posed and planned. It's that it's bright and beautiful and real. The photographs that resulted from this session are my favorite of this family, and we've been working together since Jack was born. Other sessions have produced some lovely images, but these photographs, I think, show love and tenderness and are just so them. I don't have the right words for that, but I know when I've seen it through my camera lens. I'm excited to blog these and look forward to seeing these littles as they continue to grow down the road.

Little Guy, Big Enthusiasm

Two can be a challenging age, so I try to approach sessions involving a two-year-old with humor and patience and lots of ideas for what to do. This little guy required no such planning. From the moment I arrived at the house he was ready to show me around and eager to make friends with Miss Erin. Don't you love his curls? And that little hand in his pocket? It kills me. I love meeting a family and seeing how their dynamic works, and these guys love well and allowed me to catch the best of them: parents loving their darling boy and said darling boy made us all smile. I can't wait til next time!

Cousins!

When Carrie reached out to me about an extended family session for her husband's family, trying to schedule two busy young ladies proved to be quite a challenge. The weekend of our session presented a rainy day and illness. Rather than rescheduling we opted to do a session with those who were well the next day. The end result were these photographs. I love seeing the way the boys obviously adore their cousins, and each individual family looked so alive and happy. It was the kind of morning that was fun, fast-paced and sweet, with lots of laughs and warm smiles. It is beautiful to get to see. As I worked my way through the session, I found myself looking forward to the extended family session we will do in the spring, because if this partial group so obviously fits, then I cannot wait to see what happens when we have everyone all together. I would love to have photos with my sisters like the photos of these lovely girls, and if I ever have sons, I would love to have photos like these of the boys as well. So. Much. Love.

Little Girlies and Joy

This was our first meeting, and new families mean I get to hear and see their unique expression of what love looks like. These bright-eyed, beautiful little girls both gave me lots of smiles and laughs, and I got to watch their parents do that tag team thing that happens when a couple has a pair of busy girls. They did so with affection and ease, and while I'm sure there are days that aren't so quiet and simple, what stands out to me about this session is how peaceful it was. I am continually humbled by the goodness that occurs when I get to show up for a photo session and bear witness to a family who decides to fully show up for a session, bringing their best. That's what happened here, and while I love how wardrobe choices and warm light played into how these photographs look and feel, what stands out is the interactions illustrative of how a family goes together just so. So much joy to behold here...

Three, at Three

This beautiful family and I met up for the third time this fall, and the triplets are now three, talkative and full of ideas. I let the kids take the lead, and the end result was a collection of photographs that are pure joy. Any time I work with a sibling group, I want to capture both their relationships and the individual personalities of each child, and I think this session allowed me to do just that. Family photos that are illustrative of real life preserve the story of children growing up that I like to think they will one day show their children and grandchildren. When I get to photograph families who relax and enjoy the process, what is beautiful about that family naturally emerges. These guys shine, and the way they love looks good on them. I can't wait to see how they grow and change when they turn four.

Super G is 4!

Not sure how it happened that my little friend Super G turned 4. When I was growing my business, Grant was my nanny charge during his first year. One incredible part about being a photographer is that a lot of the littles I nannied through the years have an annual appointment for photos, so even if I don't see a whole lot of them in-between, we minimally cross paths then. These guys are so low-key and fun, so shooting around Denton was a great fit. I loved hearing an update of the past year and hearing Grant's stories from the State Fair (he'd been there the day before). This little man is learning to live big. I think everyone's favorite part of the session was hitting up Hypnotic Donuts, where Grant managed to put away his doughnut in about thirty seconds flat. I love how Grant's parents are committed to each other and to loving Grant well, and I think it shows in these photos. They're an amazing family.

One Family: Mom, Dad, Two Boys, a Girl and a Horse Named Al Capony

This session makes me smile for several reasons. First of all, I see personalities shining through on each child's face. Secondly, it was our second meeting, and it's remarkable how much the kids have changed in that year. Meaghan was more poised, more confident and easily conversed with me throughout the session. Max's communication and awareness grew in leaps and bounds in the last twelve months. And little Monty? He remains busy and a bit of a firecracker, but this year he had more to say and more to do. The third thing I enjoyed about this session was meeting Meaghan's horse Al Capony. His name wins, for one thing, but getting to observe a family supporting a child's passion and watching how that plays out meant I learned that love in this context looks showing up at the barn and watching her do her thing. It looks Dad going in one direction so that Mom can go in the other. I don't doubt that the increase in Meaghan's poise and confidence over the past year is directly correlated to her parents' involvement and interest in her life. And that's one way love expresses itself in this particular family.

After School Shenanigans

It only took a few minutes in their backyard to see that unique mix of love and being determined to out-pester one another that close-in-age siblings seem to share. These two made each other laugh and came up with ideas for photographs. I got to see a quiet boy and easy-going girl do their brother-sister bond perfectly. Seeing how they looked at each other and their expressiveness in their individual photos made this session one I'd looked forward to editing from the moment I uploaded the cards. Excited to share a few selections today.

Afternoon Park Playdate

I see these beautiful kiddos every year, and Lauren and Cole were about their little sister's age when we started our adventures in photo shooting. This year, we met for an afternoon playdate at the park in their neighborhood, and the older two greeted me happily and then proceeded to look out for little Charlotte for the duration of the session. To say these three adore each other is an understatement (though I'm sure they have their moments). We played and laughed and interacted, and the end result was a bright collection of photographs illustrative of their bond. It's a joy to witness.

Reasons Why

One of the privileges of meeting a new family is getting to hear pieces of their story and then getting to see the page that story is on as we engage during their session. This session took a couple of years of correspondence to actually get on the books, as my travels to Massachusetts are limited, and their two-kid, two-job routine keeps life moving. When our schedules aligned, I got to watch conversation and jokes followed by giggles. I saw big gestures, small smirks and easy conversation. It's the stuff of daily life that I imagine parents reflect on when days feel too busy or the kids can't quite seem to keep their acts together. I love taking family portraits because it creates a visual reminder of the good and the beautiful that looks unique on any given family. I think it matters. In this particular set, I love that you can see one little boy's vibrance, his eagerness to befriend me and his joy. I love that you can see his sister's calm, her steadiness and her warmth. Here are siblings making each other laugh. Here are two parents surrounding their children with love. Here is a family being themselves. It never gets old, getting to see the reasons why a family works and getting to create photographs with them so that they can see the way they fit just so.