Long Awaited Portrait....

Nicole, the oldest daughter of the family (who lives in California), wanted to give her mom a special birthday present, so she called and scheduled a family portrait.... We had photographed her sister's (Jackie) senior portraits a couple of years ago, so coming to us was from a satisfied experience. She told us that they haven't had a family portrait taken since she was little and since everyone was in town, a portrait was planned... I don't know when mom found out, but she knew when they drove up... The sun was in and out, it had been cloudy all day, then right when they show up, the sun continuously peeked through the clouds.... Mom was a little apprehensive about taking a portrait, because she thinks she doesn't photograph well.... one look at her children and you know where they get their good looks from (hint, hint)... We started out in the fields (frontlit, backlit, etc..), then we started to have some fun.... the youngest son felt it necessary to show the family how to move (dance) together as I instructed (the video is hilarious), in the mean time, the other son, stepped on Jackie's foot and her shoe came off... the entire family was laughing histerically (by the way, it was all caught on camera)... M had an idea to use the car, and that turned out to be one of my favorite images... I think they had a fun time, and the images turned out fantabulous... Hope they like 'em... Enjoy.....

Two Times the Fun.....

Back in January I attended one of my HS friend's surprise B-Day party... His mom wanted to get the entire family together for portrait.... Well, many months later, a few email exchanges, and a phone call, and it all happened... John is one of my close friends from HS. He and his wife Lisa have two children.... His sister Jill, and her husband Matt, have three girls... Man, I'm getting old, I remember when Jill was in elementary school and as cute as a button... now her girls are cute as buttons.... Anyway, they all came out for a family session... We captured each of the kids, then a couple of family shots, then some fun interaction images, and wrapped it up with an entire family portrait... We interviewed each person at the end, and it was funny listening to all of the responses... the images turned out great and we all had a good time... Hope they like 'em.... Enjoy...

A Hill Country Excursion....

Earlier this week we had the privilege of photographing M's best Friend's family. Tam and Phil live near Canyon Lake... They just moved there earlier this year... I had never been there before, so I could only imagine what it was like from descriptions made by others.... We arrived and met the fam down the hill from where they live... they wanted a pic with the huge sign down by the entrance... we then drove up a steep hill and arrived at their property... talk about breath-taking views, WOW.... Phil showed us to one of the locations they wanted their portraits taken... After the set up, we started taking images... I absolutely loved the way the light was hitting the area, backlit (my favorite type of lighting)... family, just kids, kids with parent, etc.... we got one or two images of them standing on their back porch, the views are incredible.... we then finished up slightly down the hill (the sun had set a while ago but the image turned out nice - thanks to the new technology in cameras these days)... we wrapped up the session, and then I got a tour of their home.... the image below is one of my favorites.... hope they like 'em... Enjoy....

Vintage Family Image....

What a wonderful Thanksgiving day… Food, family, rest…. We have so much to be thankful for…. Most importantly, we know Whom to be thankful to…. God is good…. Even though I’ve had the week off from teaching, we’ve already photographed 4 families, and still two to go… I’ll be writing more on them soon… but for now, I want to focus on our family…. M wanted to take a family portrait, she wanted it to be different… so she came up with this vintage 1940s look with our ’49 Chevy… Monday we all piled into the van and went to Thrift Town… a fabulous way to shop (and very Green too)… she got me a coat, the boys a coat and vest, all for under $25…. We then found two hats… so the grand total for the entire photo session wardrobe was $50… Anyway, the day was overcast, which I like, and the wind wasn’t an issue… after corralling the boys, getting them dressed, and waiting for M to pretty up, we finally got it in… the image below is our choice for the Christmas card… Man, does time fly by or what? Our boys have gotten so big….. M always says, “I wish they would stay little forever”…. Of course only when they are behaving….. Tell us what you think? Enjoy…..

Young Entrepreneur's bright future.....

This school year has flown by... I can't believe it's already November... Anyway, one day during the first few weeks of school a student comes into my class and asks about business tips... He's 16 and very driven to start a business.... He asked me so many questions I didn't know where to begin... Anyway, I directed him to several other teachers that might be able to answer his questions... Ever since he stops by my room weekly and asks more questions, updates me on his progress, and just shares life... His name is Armen and he's a very talented & driven, future business man. I see success in his future... To make a long story short, he found out that I have a photography business, so he asked me to photograph his line of pens he currently makes and sells... To be really honest, I was blown away when he showed them to me the first time... And wanting to advertise and have everything perfect, why not ask a professional to photograph them for you? Here's a couple of images from his collection... The images show the top quality and fine craftsmanship he puts into every single custom made pen he sells.... Imagine, this 16 year old, makes these pens all by himself... still intrigues me how he does it... Anyway, check out his web site (I'm tellin' ya, his future is bright), you'll probably be seeing more of our images up soon on his site...