Meeting Jen Fox in 2007 ranks up there with one of my lucky life experiences.  We met at a photography workshop (actually in the line to the restroom!  ha!) and we’ve pretty much been inseparable communicators since. Email, text, phone – it’s been SO awesome and fun. We chat about all things business-related, as well as the ups and downs of our crazy life experiences.  Babies, kiddos, friends, family, pets — you name it.  She’s my voice of reason and my memory in most cases. 

Last year, when Jen said that she would be honored to photograph my sister’s wedding, I was blown away. She is fabulous and has an incredible eye. Her attention to detail and artistic edge really set her apart. I’ve loved seeing her wedding images for quite some time and I just knew that she’d be an awesome fit for my sister and her new husband (some of those images coming soon…).

A couple days before the big wedding, Jen, her family, and I met at the Santa Monica Pier so that I could once again capture her family. The little guy sure has grown from their trip to Dallas {here}.  We played in the sand, on the boardwalk, in the waves, AND took an exhilarating ferris wheel ride (I got to ride with Jen’s awesome sis).    Definitely my kind of session!

Anyway, here’s a peek at Jen and her gorgeous family having an amazing time in the golden California sunlight. I am so fortunate to know such an amazing woman and be a part of watching and documenting this fun family.

AND as a side note, this week her hubby deployed to the Middle East. I really felt like I needed to capture their love as-is so that T could enjoy these images while he’s away and Jen and their little guy could enjoy them as well.   These portraits ooze happiness and love and I hope that they serve as a little light during hard times.   Thank you J and T, and little W, for being SO darn fun and stunning AND easy-peasy. Your love just floats and dances and cartwheels all over the place.

(((Stay safe and come home quickly T)))

Have a lovely day…
~m

{2nd day of school for Peach, 1st day for Fella}

Even though I haven’t blogged in a while (SORRY!!!), I’ve been plenty busy adjusting to so many things…

What have we been up to, you ask?

• Well, school started and although I’ve been loving the schedule, the kiddos are having a hard time adjusting to the early rising.   Much, much earlier bedtimes (for them, obviously not me, since I’m typing this at 2am) around here.    We had a last minute preschool switch-a-roo for my son (and for those that know me, know that I research and research and visit and research schools for the right fit, so changing something like that with zero time to do so just about put me over the edge.  It all ended up for the better — my little guy actually screams “yaaaaaay” when it’s time for school this year.  Something we’re not used to.  It makes my heart happy.

{Peachers — Day 1}

• And along with school starting comes….SOCCER starting!

• I’ve been getting lovelies ready for my sister’s wedding : printing/sorting through images, designing the program, coordinating outfits for the adorable flower girl and handsome ring bearer, getting some fun things for bachelorette party, AND so much more…   It’s gonna be one INCREDI-party/smoochfest.

• I’ve been assembling holiday cards and assigning locations and times to all of the LOVELY clients I will photograph this holiday season.  If you’d like to book a holiday session for Dallas, there are some spots still available….email me at maggiejmcd (@ ) msn.com for the deets.  If you are a Phoenix client or inquiring about holiday sessions there (October), mini sessions are now full.  I am HAPPY to put your name on a wait list just in case though!

Here’s an example of a fun card offered this season:

{front}  (obviously my enormo lollipop logo won’t be on the front!)

{back}

What a fun, stunning family! 

• Kiddos and I have been on the hunt for some crazy supa-COOL photo locations.  We obviously found some…swooooon!   All that driving is totally worth it!!!

Well, I need some sleep.  Another very full day tomorrow!

The next week is going to be full of wedding prep, hanging with family AND a couple incredible California sessions.  I…CAN’T…WAIT!   Hopefully I’ll be able to pop in and give you a little teaser.

Have a lovely day!

~mm

Great news…..at long last, dates and collections are here for the 2010 Holiday Mini Sessions!

So, here are the details…

Included with each session are the items clients *love the most* for the holidays:

• Gift Prints (your choice of an 8×10, 5×7, 4×6 portrait or 8 wallets)

• Three web-sized, watermarked files for sharing online (*new from last year*)

AND

• A holiday card option (custom holiday cards created FOR and with you including envelopes, 4×6 prints to include in your own cards, OR a high-resolution digital file for those that would like to create a card on their own.

I know it seems early, but the end of September will be here in a flash, then we’ll all be busy with trick-or-treating…Thanksgiving…and then Christmas!  You’ll be SO glad you got this done ahead of time. 

And…2010 holiday card choices have been designed/purchased and are being finalized with images from sessions throughout the year — they will be displayed on the blog in the next two weeks.   I always LOVE to give clients variety and can’t wait for you to see this year’s cards!  Gorgeous.

If you’ve decided you’d like to reserve a mini session, please email me at maggiejmcd@msn.com and I’ll send you a link to the holiday session booking form. Payment is due at the time of booking (I’ll send a PayPal invoice) to hold your spot.

There are a limited number of spots available, so book now before it’s too late — last year there was a wait list!

Hope you have a lovely day — I’m excited about the prospect of working with so many gorgeous couples, kiddos and families again this year and sure hope you (and yours) are on the list.     ~mm

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

If you had to guess how old these two sisters are…what would you say?

I was shocked to find out these two beauties are 12 and 14! They are SO super sweet, polite (everything was “yes m’am”) and stunning. It was an absolute pleasure to photograph them! Last week, I was asked by a lovely friend to photograph her extended family to capture all the cousins together with their Big Pops in town. It was speedy and fun — you see, when extended family sessions happen (I really don’t do many of them), we blast through like nobody’s business! Since that type of posing isn’t what fuels me, I typically quickly go through all the requested posed shots and then relish in the candids afterwards. Ahhhh…photographing candids of sweet extended family love and portraits of beautiful people is SO much F-U-N.

{Is this precious or what? I wish wish wish I had a pics of my kiddos like this with their grandparents and am making it a GOAL to do so…}

After finishing off our big family session, we had about 6 minutes to photograph the sisters. We got a TON — I just love teens and tweens!

Hope you have one WONDERFUL day.
~mm

Just a couple more fun portraits from this lovely family session.  I just LOVE making storyboards, a collection of images that tell a story of our time together.  They’re typically mounted on styrene, a 2mm thick solid board that makes it easy to display on an easel or frame!  Clients go ga-ga for these and I don’t blame them (my house is peppered with these, too)!  Plus, it’s a great way to get several of your favorite portraits in one spot!

I chose to do the first storyboard in black and white because I think this little lady just has this look that is so dramatic and perfect with this type of conversion.   Every single black and white of her is just stunning — I can’t get enough!  The next storyboard has a vintage edit (usually my fav!) — a little brighter and more yellow than my typical color pop.  LOVE!

Okay, off to bed. Have an AWESOME shoot tomorrow AND on Sunday. Busy, busy! And In the next week or two, I will be releasing some holiday session dates to current clients! Stay tuned or send me a quick email if you’d like to be on the first-to-know list.

Have a great one! ~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

Hubs away ALLLLLL weekend = Me being ultra-entertaining
(hard work, I tell ya!!!)

The kiddos usually do a pretty good job of keeping themselves busy, but they’re used to daddy-o being around and doing cool stuff with them on the weekend. So, we tried. We even braved the EXTREME Texas heat/humidity and hit up a park yesterday. Apparently, we were the only brave souls because we were the only peeps there! Kinda made it nice for picture taking purposes, I must admit.

I decided to bring my camera because I don’t do a great job recording my kids when I’m busy (and I’m BUSY!), so it was time. They had a blast and I had SO much fun playing with them in between snaps. They tried poles, rings, swings, tightropes, played castle, pet store, and a bajillion other fun things.

:::Here are a couple more (the Grandparents will THANK me big time!!!):::

Annnnnnnd….one of me. I know, it’s huge. Peach took this pic — yay!

I guess it’s only fair that I make an appearance once in a while.

I hope you have a lovely week. I’ll be popping in with sneak peeks, in between sessions and client ordering appointments, so be on the lookout! I have some AMAZING sessions planned this week — a couple, a bridal session AND a fun family. So fun. ~mm

I had the pleasure of photographing this fun-loving family yesterday.  They made me laugh — the kiddos were silly and smiley and I just love that!   When mom submitted their session booking form, I saw the words “soccer, soccer and more soccer” all over what she was writing about them.  I just KNEW that we had to fuse our session with their love — the good ol’ game of soccer.

Mom used to play…dad currently plays and coaches…and both kids play.  It was awesome to watch them in their element –  challenging each other, recognizing and celebrating good moves, teaching new tricks.

{so FUN!}

We did get a couple semi-serious portraits, too!  You just have to show off gorgeous kiddos… 

Thanks so much for having me, guys!

Have one super day. ~mm

Looks like this little guy is almost asleep up on dad’s shoulders! He was only foolin’ — a couple seconds later he was a busy, busy three-year-old discovering bugs, leaves, grasses, and nearby trains with his parents.

I LOVE his little face in the picture. Love how the family unit has just come together in this perfect little lovey-dovey package. When I was downloading my card from the session and came across this image, I melted.

I have SO many images from past sessions I’d love to share…be on the lookout.

Hope you’re having a good day!  ~mm

Oh…and if a photography session with Maggie McDonald Photography is in your future (it WOULD be super fun!), let’s get you/your children/your family on the schedule…time’s running out for 2010 (I can’t BELIEVE it!)…

:::SESSION UPDATE:::

June is booked.

Limited number of July sessions available.

August is booked.

Currently reserving September and October sessions (think HOLIDAY!!!).

Limited November sessions available.

[A holiday session trip to AZ is in the planning stages for mid-October.  Can't wait!]

Give me a jingle/email if you’re interested!

817-455-6756  or  maggiejmcd {at} msn {dot} com