Posts Tagged ‘Cypress Family Photographer’

After finding out that all my wildflowers were dead and gone, I had to come up with a last minute spot to meet a few other mom’s for some Spring sessions. It turned out being a great location, one I have frequented, but I couldn’t have asked for better lighting on this specific evening. I was in love! Plus I got to play around with this little cutie! We even looked for whales in the small pond that we walked around. Who knew something so big could fit into something so small. It apparently was something that she truly enjoyed because she had to share the news to her dad. Luckily she didn’t spill the beans about meeting to take pictures since these are a birthday surprise for him.

Take a peek!

girl blowing dandelions

sunflare on girl sitting on rock

mom and girl hugging

…and you don’t throw a fit! :) I had plans to meet this family outside of Tomball at the great little gem where I took pictures of the family in the wild flowers last week. Just-Last-Week. As in 10 days ago. I show up today, and there are no flowers. None. Luckily for me, they showed up in a relaxed mindset and were as easy going as could be about it. Not only were they easy going, they came with love and happiness just pouring out. It makes my heart jump every time I go back to my computer and see pictures like these.

Just… beautiful! You have a great looking family! Take a peek!

mother and daughter

little girl in the sun

baby boy

So, this last one was fun. We were at the edge of a busy road and I wanted Mom and Dad to get a picture of just the two of them without stressing out about the kids going in the road. So I kept Little Miss at my side, put Little Man in one arm and one-handed snapped some shots of the love birds. So cute! Definitely worth the work. :)

mom and dad

Another bittersweet session for me. I made the drive over to this sweet little girl’s house knowing it wold be the end of our every-3-month gatherings. Baby girl is 1 year old this week. It was time to embrace it, and she embraced it… the cake that is. Miss {V} is the first baby to actually pick up her entire cake (cakeboard and all) and bring it to her face. Lol!!! So cute!

Happy birthday baby girl!!! Here’s a look at her over the past year.

Babys first year

Now onto her 12 month session. ;) It took a lot of distracting to get her to let go of this duck. Every time I would try to grab it, she would squeeze him as tight as she could. So cute! I had to stick one in there, Mom. You will forget the little things like this.

baby girl holding duck

baby girl in tutu

smash the cake baby girl

baby girl smashing her cake

cake smash

 

We originally had plans to meet up somewhere out 290 to do an urban session ending in the Bluebonnets. Well, an hour before the session I got a call saying that it would be better to change locations, so we found something very last minute and I couldn’t be happier that we did! We didn’t come across any Bluebonnets at our new location, but found plenty of wild flowers to play in.

I sneaked a sneak on Facebook earlier today. Love that kid! He is such a mess. Plenty of running around, jumping around and insisting on throwing some baseballs to me at the end of the session. I missed way more than he did. :)

I had such a hard time picking pictures to show on the blog, but think I have narrowed it down enough. Lol!

Enjoy the peak!

Mom and son walking in the wild flowers

dad and son in the wild flowers

a mom and her boys

3 year old boy

dad giving son a piggy back ride

boy kissing his mom

boy hitting a baseball

Have you spotted any yet? How many of you have pictures done of your kids in the Bluebonnets every year? It probably makes us Texans look like a bunch of nuts, hopping fences, randomly stopping off on the shoulder of the freeway. All for some pictures in the Bluebonnets. Lol!

boy climbing fence in bluebonnets

I don’t see a lot of profile pictures changed, yet, so they must not be in full force yet. Two of the things I look forward to the most during Bluebonnet season is 1.) Spring clothes and 2.) the Bluebonnet Festival in Chappell Hill. Love it!!!

As we are getting further and further into Spring and rounding our way into summer, I thought I would take the time to talk wardrobe. When preparing for a great photography session, whether it be a child session, family session, or engagement session, one of the most important things to get into place is your wardrobe. Sure, the location is a nice one, too, but honestly, a really good photographer can make even the craziest of locations work.

Let’s start with a Bluebonnet session. What comes to your mind right away when you think of your kids sitting in the sea of blue flowers? Let me guess, white dresses for the girls and something white coordinating for the boys. No. Yes, I said it, no. When wearing white, the eye will naturally be drawn to the bright white instead of the faces. Let me challenge you to get a little more creative with your wardrobe this spring.

Think coordinating, not matching. It doesn’t all have to be the same colors/shades, as long as the colors blend and flow. The purpose of having your portrait session is to focus on the subjects, not the clothes. Make sure at the very least that the children are comfortable in what they wear. For Mom and Dad (especially Mom) wear something a little more dressy than you normally wear. A dress or skirt paired with sandals/heels. How often does Mom get to be in the picture when doing family candid shots at home. Mostly never. Take advantage of the session and take time to pamper yourself. Paint your toenails, wear jewelry. Spend time on yourself.

I have put together a few outfit choices. This is a small example of how you can coordinate the family. You can search for more ideas on Google, there are plenty of resources out there.

We’ll start with the Fab 5.

wardrobe idea for photography session

Then, with Mother’s Day coming up, here’s a sweet Mother/Daughter example.

mother daughter wardrobe ideaHere’s another with, yes, you guessed it, 3 boy outfits. How could I refuse?!

wardrobe idea for 3 boys

Also, with summer around the corner and beach sessions among us… here is a shot of my boys last summer. Rolled jeans, barefoot and neutral coordinating polos. Ace’s shirt isĀ  an off-white. Had it been any whiter, it would have been too bright. This is a good example where I feel the eye is naturally drawn to the white. Shame on me. ;)

beach photography session

So get shopping!!! A few stores that I absolutely love if you are willing to splurge a little is J.Crew, Anthropologie, Boden and Vineyard Vines.

Want to book a session? Weekend sessions through April are getting scarce. Go to my Calendar to select a date and email me at info@stephanieshirley.com so we can get you on the schedule.

This post is very bittersweet for me. :) I have been photographing {T}Man since he was still in his mom’s belly. How quickly they grow! It is so neat to get together with a client every few months and see each of the babe’s milestones.

From being so young, snuggly, sleepy and vulnerable:

sleeping newborn boy in a wash tub

To being aware of their surroundings, recognizing faces, and really speaking to you with their eyes:

2 month old baby boy

To sitting up and understanding they are able to do things on their own:

6 month old baby boy

To, crawling, standing and being way more mobile than sometimes their parents can handle:

9 month old baby boy standing

Then out of nowhere, in one short year, you have a baby near toddler-hood who is walking/running, climbing, feeding themselves, and so on.

I am so blessed to have witnessed you grow this past year. You are full of energy and so much fun to be around.

Happy Birthday {T} Man! Hope you enjoyed your cake!

Take a peek at him now, the cake smasher that he is!

baby boy smashing cake

1 year old boy smashing cake

baby boy eating cake

mom and baby boy

family portrait

family feet

baby boy in wash bin

I know, I know. I am not supposed to be doing sessions until March, BUT I do have clients that are on a Baby Plan, so I couldn’t resist the chance to go out and see Little Miss {V} since she is now 9 months. I know I probably say this about every age, but 9 months is one of my absolute favorite months to photograph! This is the time that they are not only interactive with you, but they have become mobile. Every baby is different in their own way. Well, this little one has finally started crawling in what we call “the normal way” because before that she would scoot on her little tush all over the place. I love it! She did it during our session and it is one of the cutest things I have ever seen.

I sadly await our next session when we do her Smash the Cake session. It will be messy and blissful, but also bittersweet since it will end our every-3-month gatherings.

Take a peek!

Already committed to her studies. :)

Wow! What a busy holiday season it turned out to be! I am so pleased to have such a great clients (repeat and new). I loved getting to meet all of the new babies (and spend a few hours with them).

Here is last month in a glimpse!

First up! Here is a beautiful little boy. Mom and Dad are first time parents and I was so amazed with how natural they were and at ease, even with little {K} being their first. Congrats, Mom and Dad!

newborn baby boy

sleeping baby boy

newborn aviator

Dad and newborn son

Now on to {T}. You have definitely seen this cutie before. Here he is at 9 months, and again, WOW on his eyes! I did not do any special editing to this kids eyes.

Yes, no hands! What’s up?!

Rarrrrrr!

Then I witnessed a birth! You will see this doll-face’s newborn pics later in this post. Welcome Baby {A} and congrats Mom and Dad!

Next up was a family I had already met before. Actually I hadn’t met Dad yet. I was so pleased to take things outdoors. Older brother is so energetic and it was the perfect atmosphere for his little personality to shine though. What a fun family. Plus I have a special place in my heart for Mom as I know exactly what she is going through. Her boys are just as close in age as my older two. :)

Cheese sandwich anyone? Lol!

My next session is of a growing family. Well, I should say the kids are growing. :) Not sure there will be any new additions. Lol! I was lucky to be invited over to the {G} house to take pictures of her kids and grandkids.

Love the shocked look!

My next family session as actually of a good friend of mine. She has joined the crew of being a boy mom and I love her to pieces! Here is her family, Mom and her sister’s family. This first one is one of my favorites! Look how happy Grandma is!

The next day I headed into to town to meet Mom and Dad to take pictures of {I}. He is turning 1, so we decided to bring along a cake and do a Smash the Cake Session. One of my favorite things when doing these sessions is how the babe is going to react to the cake. They either dig right in or want nothing to do with it. He wanted nothing to do with it. Actually, the only reason he got as messy as he did was because he kept trying to get away from the cake and would stick his foot/leg in it in the process. So cute!

Life of a 1 year old is so rough!

Maybe?

Negative!

So, fast forward a week or so. I ended up doing a couple family session right before and right after Christmas since they had family in town. You have seen one of the kids from this group many times before. She has become quite tubby and I just adore her!

I love the chaos in this picture! Reminds me of my life at home with my boys. Hahaha!

Now onto the influx of more babies! These two yummy girls were actually born 2 months early, and it took a while before getting settled in before I could head over there. My first set of newborn twins.

Love, love, love tiny toes!

I promised Dad that I would capture the only way you could tell the girls apart. The nurses pointed this out to them AFTER the girls were already names. Crazy! Meet Baby {A}. Check out the shape of her ear (kind of forms and A).

Now meet Baby {S} and check out her ear!

Okay, the next day I tackled two sessions. Whew! First I got my hands on yet another newborn. He looks like such an old man!

Let me just start out by saying that before I came, older brother was still a little tripped out by having a baby around and was really reluctant to go near him once he came home. Very typical at his age. So, we started out by playing around and by the end of the session he was very goo around him. One thing he was absolutely unsure about was Baby {G}’s umbilical cord. So, here he is showing his button off.

I started playing “This Little Piggy” with Big Bro and wouldn’t you know… he starting doing it to his Baby Brother.

A brotherly poke in the butt!

Yet more tiny toes!

From that session I rushed back over to Cypress to meet up with this fab family!

Then, to put an end to a really great year in 2010… another yummy newborn. I promised I would show you her pics!

Now a glimpse of this poor mom’s chaotic life. Has to be one of my favorite’s from 2010. Dad is sneaking glimpses at the football game on the tv and Little {K} is not really wanting to be in the picture, broken arm and all.

Thank you again for an awesome year! I cannot wait to see what this year brings!

I cannot believe that I have managed to neglect this blog! I am horrible about updating my family blog, but never this one. I didn’t realize how much of a whirlwind December would turn out to be and now, it is just about over. At one point I had a session every single day for 8 days. Then I got a week to catch up and upload all of my client galleries and now I am pushing through to update the last 5 I pulled out a few days ago. Where is the wipes forehead smiley when you need one? :)

In the past month I have been blessed to have 4 different newborn sessions (one of which were twin girls). PLUS, I was able to do a labor a delivery session. I am most excited about doing those!

I have so many exciting things to be offering in the 2011 year, I just cannot stand it. One of the main things that I will be offering are wall gallery consultations with every session booked. What is that? Well, way too often I hear from my clients that they still have not put up their prints that they ordered from a previous session ((gasp)). I started to realize that most of my clients love their prints, but have no idea how or where to display them. So, starting in 2011, if you book a session with me, when your gallery is finished, I will arrange a time to meet with you in your home. We will view all of your pictures from our session and I will be there to help you decide what you want to do with them. I will come with many different framing options and samples, or if you want to do your own frames, then I will help you design your wall gallery. I will still offer the options to view your galleries online in a password protected gallery on my website.

I am also really excited about the frames I have to offer. So many different styles, colors, etc. They are to die for. If you need help with framing or wall gallery ideas, please don’t hesitate to call me or email me. I can still come out and help you figure out what to do with those naked walls even if you have not had a session with me. :)

I will not start updating my calendar for the new year until sometime in February. Available session dates will begin sometime in March. I am taking it slow and easy for the next couple of months to focus on the family and all 5 of our birthdays (whew). I will still be keeping up with my clients who are in the middle of their Baby’s First Year Packages as well as any maternity newborn pictures that just can’t wait. :) If you need to book a session and just cannot wait until March, please email me and I will see what I can do to fit you in.

Thank you to all of my wonderful clients. 2010 proved to be a Bang! I hope to see you all in front of my camera in 2011!

So, I am kind of addicted to labor and delivery. I was one of those that was ready to do it all over again the minute that my boys were born. It is an amazing experience to think that you carried this beautiful child for 9+ months and then all of a sudden you get to meet them. Hearing your child cry for the first time is a feeling that I cannot describe.

I was so lucky to be able to capture labor and delivery of a family that is very close to mine. Not everyone is comfortable with this, so I was very pleased to find out that “Dad” was going to give in and let me be there.

Not only did I get to help welcome this sweet little girl into the world, but I was also able to journal all of the little things that went on during the delivery, both on paper and through photography. As parents you quickly get caught up in the excitement and the poking a prodding that it is nice to know you have someone there to capture everything to help you remember.

I put together a slideshow of Sweet Baby Addisyn’s arrival! Welcome to the world and congrats to Mom and Dad and her two older sisters.

Presenting Addisyn Jo from Stephanie Shirley on Vimeo.