When you meet a family as fun and wacky as Kayla’s, you know their portrait session is going to be awesome! Kayla confessed that they hadn’t had family pictures “in forever”. Considering her family is large, unconventional and awesome, she preferred a location as unique as them. We were hoping the blue trees would still be around, but sadly they had faded, so we went to plan B. And plan B was awesome: graffiti walls!
The Walls
We started off at the Houston wall because the light was hitting it perfectly. Plus, it’s iconic, ok? I love the sets when they are walking towards me, looking iconic. Then we went across the street to the zipper wall. We all loved the wall because of its vibrant colors. Right beside that wall were two other walls with vibrant red and purple shades, so obviously we had to do pictures there too!!
I think my favorite moment is when they all tried to jump in the air at the same time. It reminded me of one of my favorite scenes in The Office when the group trips to nail the jump. It is perfectly imperfect, and makes me laugh every time!!
When looking all this fun family photography, which moment is your favorite? Is it the group shots of them walking towards the camera, the jumping photo, or did something else jump out at you?
In late 2018 I decided to invest in clothing for family portraits. I knew that clothing was probably one of the biggest stressors going into a session for the entire family, but especially the mom. The goal is to make family portraits a totally different experience for the families that invest with me.
To start building this wardrobe, I hired Ashley Kahn Wardrobe Stylist to get the perfect pieces. She understood my vision and helped me get the most beautiful things!
What’s in the Wardrobe
I invested in clothing for toddlers to teenagers, for all genders. Sizing for adults range from small to plus size {up to size 24}. It was important that the looks that coordinate between siblings and parents and I might have found a few important pieces for moms to makes them feel special. Because, let’s be honest, it’s the mothers who put the most work into these sessions. So I bought a few pieces from BHLDN!
For colors, the goal is to have the outfits work in my studio or in a park. Both places are where most sessions happen. The clothing has to go with the greens and browns of the park, and also have some pizzaz for the studio. Cream, soft pinks and blues, tulle skirts and suspenders. They look amazing in both spaces!
The only items I don’t carry are pants for the men, but I do send you a list of pants that will match perfectly.
There is truly not much I love more than a baby cake smash! When the mom contacted me she warned me: “he’s never had cake or icing in his life, will this still work?”. I asked her if he disliked getting messy or sticky, because that’s truly the indicator of whether a cake smash will be a success. If the baby isn’t into getting messy, the shoot will be a challenge. But, if they are cool with it, all they need is that one taste and then it turns into cake smash magic!
The Session
This session was simple but perfect. Because it was super hot outside, we decided to do it in my studio. The mom brought a white iced cake, dressed her son in rad Jimi Hendrix top. Being freshly one, he wasn’t so into his shoes, so those came off early! He also wasn’t 100% sure about the cake, but once he knew what was happening, he got in there! My favorite images of him are when he isn’t sure about what’s happening. That baby side-eye is everything!!
Who is excited for more Christmas mini portraits? This is part two, and has some super cute kiddos, a lot of silly moments and jumping on couches! Part two has some pictures of my favorite families and I am excited to share!
The Colemans
I feel like at this point everyone who follows my blog and work should be as good of friends with this family as I am! I say this every time I write about them in my blog: I photographed their wedding a few moons ago and ever since we have been in each other’s lives! Emily has been on a path lately of getting into the best shape of her life! She has been amazing to watch transform, her grit is inspiring. I love her family–her husband is goofy but kind. Her daughter is so full of energy and such a free spirit. And their newest family member? He’s so cute!!! So dig in and enjoy their cuteness!
I have been slowly coming into my own as a boudoir photographer. You have to do it in a specific way so as to celebrate the woman and not descend into oversharing. Every woman I know is nervous about capturing these photos, but if done right, it’s so much more than being sexy. It’s about the small details that make a woman feel empowered. And this session exemplified all of this.
Velvet & Pearls
Nicole wanted to give her soon-to-be husband something special on their wedding day. We christened my new studio with this session, and had a ton of fun! I specifically liked that we focused on her engagement ring, some dainty pearls and the velvet undergarments she brought.
Nicole had a specific vision for this session–she wanted to do a good angel/bad angel shoot. We started off by photographing sweetly sexy looks with her wearing pinks and whites. Then we transitioned to dark green and black looks. We even might have included cat ears, and paid homage to Mean Girls, because duh! As a boudoir photographer, I found Nicole’s session refreshing and fun.(more…)
Last fall, I held some amazing fall mini sessions both on Galveston Beach and at Rice University. It was an amazing time capturing these growing families, some of who I have been capturing for a few years. One family was there when I first started, and have continued to be so fun to capture through the years. These fall mini sessions are some of my favorites, and I think going forward Rice University will be the home of these sessions, as it gives us so many different locations for gorgeous pictures. Plus that architecture! So buckle in gentle readers, as I show off these beautiful families!
The Maass Family
I have known Jennifer for years now–since I basically moved to Houston. We were store managers together! We have been talking for forever about me capturing her family, and we finally did it! Her girls are growing up so quickly, turning into young women. There is so much love and frivolity in this family, I feel like you can feel it in every image!
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