Yesterday morning I met with this *lovely family.*  We had fun exploring and picnicking…there were croissants, melon, juice, a vintage quilt, and perfect light…I was one happy photographer!     When I spoke with mom pre-session, she really wanted to capture the brothers together AND the recent gap where her older son’s two front teeth used to be.  The perfectly imperfect mouth of a growing six year old…I love that.      As a mom AND photographer, sometimes moments/milestones go by in our home that aren’t documented and this session just made me want to capture more with my kids.  Those glances, sibling giggles, a little sparring…all moments to capture.  I always want to remember the little things.  Thank you, S Family, for choosing me to document your family milestones and love — I am truly honored.    ~mm

I had the pleasure of photographing an extended family of thirteen, YES…THIRTEEN this past weekend. Because I typically photograph families of five and smaller, this was definitely the type of session that took a lot more planning and organization. Almost all of the members live in town, but everyone was all together this weekend and their parents wanted to capture that. As a photographer, I completely understand and appreciate families that want to capture their whole group. MY mom loves to get us all behind the camera when my fam is together, and I have to admit, it IS awesome to look back at all those family photos and remember that time and place. The little ones change SO quickly, so it truly is important to capture your family when you can!

What a variety!

After photographing the large group, and some smaller groupings, I took each family for a little mini session to stay true to my more “candid” style of photography. It was a quick and fun way to capture those personalities that you just don’t see in a larger group shot.

SO so many more…
A big thank you to the V family for trusting me to photograph your extended family — and what well-behaved, fun kiddos.
Have a lovely day!
~mm

I met up with this little beauty…

…and her super sweet family yesterday morning.  We had fun walking, talking, swinging from mommy and daddy’s arms…

and, of course, reading from a favorite book, Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney and Anita Jeram.   It was adorable watching their family interact and little O anticipated each part of the story where the characters would stretch their arms reaaaaaally wide.  She did, too — so cute!

Thank you, K family, for allowing me to photograph your lovely family!  Hope you have a wonderful rest of your weekend.    ~mm

I KNEW they’d be on the lookout for potential locations, but when this fun couple surprised me with a *junkyard session* yesterday I was thrilled.  Like it was hard to breathe thrilled!!!  Most of you know I have this THING for junkyards.  I love the texture, variety, colors, but mostly the ability to be creative in such an inspiring place — it’s impossible not to be.  When you pair a junkyard with a gorgeous couple who are excited AND in love, you seriously can’t go wrong.  I found myself editing sneak peeks until the weeeeee hours of the morning (and 2am is EARLY for me — yup, it was later that that!).  What fun we had (amidst the Texas heat)!

Seriously, are they stunning or what???

I was SO thrilled when I was asked by my hair stylist, Savanah, [check out the Scott LeMaster Salon and Spa if you need an AMAZING, sweet and ultra-fun stylist]  if I would photograph her and her hubby.  Ummm…Of COURSE!  I just knew the session would be amazing!  Savanah and her hubby are creatives — when you have that many artists in one place, magic definitely starts to happen.   They both make jewelry [check out Savanah's Design -- her blog of stunning custom creations] and her husband is a wakeboarder/wakeskater (plus photographer) who is diving in to videography.  You can check out some of his sweeeet videos [here].

And just because I can’t stop…here are a couple more…

So so so many more to edit, too! Thanks, you two, for being SO awesome! I loved hearing your love story and can’t WAIT until next time…

Have one lovely day! ~mm

ANnnnnd…if you are a family waiting for your gallery….great news! You’ll have your links by Friday — I know I said two to three weeks, but it’s going to be earlier — yay! Working on the H and M family slideshows right now…

Thanks for stopping by — I’m off to get ready for a bridal shoot.

I think I probably tasted some dirt for this shot. WELL worth it.

Every shoot I have, I like to stretch my limits, my comfort zone. I definitely shoot an image or two (or ten quick ones!) to experiment with, whether it be a pose, a new prop, a location, or an angle. For me, it’s incredibly important to stay creative, for myself and my clients. For this image, dad really wanted a picture by this cabin. After we tried a fun family portrait to the side of this fun structure, I decided to try a silhouette shot. The framing kept calling my name. And as my mom would say…the diagonal lines, going every which way, from the structure, shadows and bodies, really appealed to my eye.  My mom LOVES diagonal lines. 

So, there you have it. An experimental shot, for me, turned into a fun portrait.   It’s amazing how much you can learn about a family when they stand before you as a silhouette.   When faces are stripped away, you are left to focus on body language, who is touching who and how.  I notice the broad shoulders of the oldest brother about to go into first grade, how littlest one is leaning towards his big sis and giving his mom’s hand a big tug, and how the only daughter stands tall and comfy right next to her daddy.  Above everything, I love how they’re all connected.

Hope you have one terrific day!

~mm

Not much to say about this image except that it makes me smile and TOTALLY takes me back to the moment of fun — giggling, smiling, some woo-hoo-ing.

I just {heart} photographing families.

Have a lovely weekend. More happy people to showcase on this blog pretty soon here — exciting!!!
~mm

My little guy.  I just love his curiosity, love for Buzz Lightyear, low little voice, love for his sister, and how he can make me smile every second of every day. 

Have a loverly day!

~mm

This cutie definitely holds the record for the most hair I’ve ever photographed on a little one. He was such a sweet, sweet little guy and it was such a pleasure photographing his calm disposition and the love his family has for him. Before our session, mom and I communicated quite a bit about what to wear and when she sent me a picture of her cutie 3 month old (and all that HAIR!) I couldn’t help but smile for days!

Is that a little dimple I see?

N and J — your gallery is alllllmost ready — I can’t wait for you to see our captures! Thank you for trusting me to document your lives and love! I’ll be in touch soon.

Have a wonderful day!
~mm

I met up with this *awesome* family Sunday morning. We had a swell time exploring our surroundings and checking out the many trains at our location. The little guy LOVES trains right now, so of course we decided to check out some “choo-choos” in Grapevine. It was so much fun to document his excitement.

*I just love how mom is looking at dad in this pic, while cutie R is smiling away! Adorable.*

Right after this portrait was taken, Little R discovered that he loved to scare me! It was such a cute little game…he would run back and forth yelling “boo” and when I would scream, he would laugh hysterically. There’s nothing like the laughter of a child!

Aren’t they SO gorgeous?

The session was going to be just mom and R, but when dad heard about the session being more “candid” (than posed) and about the trains we’d be checking out, he hopped on board. I am SO glad he did!

Almost finished with the gallery…yipppeeee! Thank you, M Family for such an enjoyable morning.

Have one terrific day!
~m

I’ve been meaning to post these for a while. I LOVE creating custom goodies for clients and spend a great deal of time researching quality, appealing, stylin’ products for clients. I definitely wouldn’t sell or create anything I wouldn’t want in my home.

So what do we have here, you ask???

3×3 Brag Album (or otherwise known as a Purse Album for the ladies!)

This little stunner is 3×3 and has 10 openings for your favorite portraits. The album folds out accordion-style (with images on the front and back) and when you’re finished, it folds right up and the magnetic front and back close together immediately. There are various ways to personalize your album with colors, styles and personal quotes that suit you! One more perk is that THREE albums come in an order. They make great gifts for friends and family and display quite nicely.

LOVE this!!!

Next is the 4×6 Proof Book
I LOVE this little number. If you want to remember your entire session and not have to lift a finger, grab up one of these cuties. The front and back of the book are custom-created and durable! The front and back covers are mounted on a hard surface, while the interior of the spiral-bound book contains bordered portraits printed on photographic paper.

And just in case you’re wondering, vertical and horizontal images look equally fabulous in this book! I have a *snow book* for my family and we change the page daily. It’s always fun for us in the morning to view the next image. Oh, and my logo is not displayed on each page — that was strictly for blogging purposes.

Hope these two products give you an idea of the product possibilities! I’m always looking for the latest and greatest, so please let me know if you’d like something that I don’t carry…I probably do or am on a waiting list waiting for it!

Have a lovely day!
~mm