Love, Me Blog

I loved this session from before we headed to Colorado!  Harper was BRAND new, at only 6 days old I believe when these were taken.  She slept and curled like a little champ.

*As a side note, if you are wanting to book a newborn session, please call me while you are pregnant to book! We’ll pencil in your due date work around your new little ones arrival. The sooner you get in to see me the better because they grow so fast and stay awake much longer as each day goes by …

OK, anyway, I really loved this family!  Such great people who are so in love with their first child.  Isn’t she just gorgeous?!  I loved the few things mom brought along for her first session … isn’t that headband and tiny bracelet so cute?!

the first family photo! some parents opt to be in the newborn shoot, others dont … its really totally up to you! I love both!!

There is nothing quite like the feeling of being a new mom!

If you’ve followed my blog for any amount of time, you’re aware of my loooove for baby yawns. Seriously, is there anything cuter?

Well, maybe baby smiles …

One of favorite newborn shots of all time.  Love this.

Jill and Shaun, thank you SO much for choosing me to photograph such a special time in your lives! You were both a complete joy to work with and I am eager to watch little Harper grow into the amazing little girl I know she will be.

And, to share what mom and dad chose for their art piece from the session.  A 30×30 Gallery Wrapped Canvas Collage.  These are completely custom designed to match your images!  Here were the final two. Mom chose the last one and these mock ups do the final product NO justice!!!  I cannot decide which to print for the studio!! That’s how in love with these I am!!  What do you think?

And, as a little sells pitch to prospective clients   This is just a taste of what separates a custom portrait studio from all the choices out there!  We realize what an investment custom photography is and that is why we take the ordering process seriously!  We want to love what you go home with more than you do   My philosophy is to spend your budget on something unique and invest in artwork of your family to decorate your home!  Of all the money I have personally spent over the years, the images of my family and especially my little girl (yes, I have HIRED and PAID a professional!) that are hanging on my wall have grown in value over time for me! All the 5x7s and 8x10s I’ve printed and spent money on are sadly stuffed away in drawers, etc.

Plus, seriously … what would be cuter in your newborns nursery than a huge canvas like this one on their wall??

While I always am 100% involved with the final outcome of what clients take home, I often don’t get to see the final product on the wall (and it KILLS me)!  For a limited time, I will be offering a $75 portrait credit to any past client who can send me some images of my work on their walls!  I want to see YOUR life as Art on YOUR wall … and of course, I want to share a few!

Click here to listen to the single: Everything’s Bigger

I’ve been dying to share this with all of you!  First of all, I am so sorry I have been so MIA. I just realized I can actually blog and postpone when the post will pop up meaning I can spend time blogging all sorts of cool things one day and schedule them to pop up the next week, or whenever. GREAT news for me (and for you too if you actually like to see what I’ve been up to).

Anyway, the reason for this blog post and the change in music is this new single coming out by Zack King!  I had the awesome pleasure of meeting and shooting Zack several weeks ago and recently was shown what his new single cover looks like.  I must say, handing over images not knowing what the end result will look like made me a little anxious, but when this popped up in my mailbox I was beyond excited  …. and really proud. It also helps that Zack is a stand up guy with so freaking much talent. He writes all his own lyrics and music and is such a talented musician and singer.  I am more than honored to have been a part of this project and collaborate with such talented folks.  The design team rocked this cover, don’t ya think?

If you like what you hear, you gotta head on over to Zack’s WEBSITE and check out where he’ll be playing in the upcoming weeks. As a special treat you can also download his new single “Everything’s Bigger” for FREE for a short time only. It will be available for purchase through itunes in the next few weeks.

For all you native Texans out there, you are surely to “get” this song … and even those who’ve only visited … well, I’m sure you’ve already gotten a large dose of that major Texas pride! Maybe this will help explain our fierce loyalty, or just make you laugh a little.

I get this question daily and thus I begin to bombard clients with words such as “layering” and “textures“. I always talk about how mom should be the first to be dressed and how the rest of the family should pull from the colors in her ensemble OR how mom should choose clothing for the entire family as if its all going to go on one person. We talk about color palette and accessories and then … I hang up. I hang up knowing I just confused poor mom who has the enormous task of dressing the entire family, sometimes twice, for a photo session in which we will collaborate to create artwork that will adorn her walls for years to come … and then, hopefully her childrens walls, and their childrens walls.  You get my point.  WOW!

Often I just feel like I am better at explaining what NOT to wear.  Like, don’t dress the whole family the exact same (unless of course this is how you typically go out). DON’T put dad in slacks or sister in a skirt if they’ve never worn those except to a wedding or funeral.  DON’T wear too much white, or have brother in shorts and flip flops and mom in a sweater and jeans, or have baby girl in her Easter dress and big brother in his ‘future rock star’ t-shirt and vans.  (side note: MANY of these choices are wonderful standing alone, just not paired together.  For example, brothers ‘future rock star’ t-shirt and vans would look great next to baby girl in her new courtneycourtney dress with leggings and converse )

SO, instead of me confusing you all with crazy meaningless words … Now you can SEE what I am talking about!

PLEASE note the color palette suggestions and just use this as a guide, inserting your own personal taste and uniqueness. That’s what its all about anyway!

I admit it.  I did this on a whim and most photographers think I have completely lost my mind … (even I sort of think so )

I am giving everyone the chance to steal ALL my time, talent, travel, blood, swears sweat, and LOVE (and some tears too) by scheduling a COMPLIMENTARY session with me.  If you book your session by JULY 1st, you will get just that … a complimentary session just like the ones I typically charge $150-$250 for.  Every penny of your investment in custom photography will go toward artwork for your walls or your images in fine art coffee table books to tell your story.  So, hurry and call before I regain my sanity! And if you were planning to grab the highly coveted fall family or senior session, or you are pregnant and wanted some newborn images, you better call me before the deadline as well!  Sessions need only be booked by July 1st and can take place anytime in 2009 and a 350 retainer is required to book your session.  AGAIN, every penny goes toward your images!

If I am called crazy … that’s okay! It has been fun to book sessions with people I may not have otherwise had the opportunity to photograph and know that every penny they spend will go directly to artwork of their loved ones. With that said, I highly doubt this will happen again You may now return to your normal programming!

And because I know my BFF, Rachel, will kill me (told you I’m crazy) and because all blog posts are boring without a photo, here is a sneak peek of my HOT best friend who will soon grace the cover of a Missions Fitness Workout DVD “Home-Based Bootcamp” set to release NEXT Friday!  I will post a picture of the actual DVD cover and more information on how you can purchase your own copy as soon as I get it!  Not only would I pay LOTS of money to have a body like Rachel’s, as an added bonus 100% of all the proceeds go to provide food, clothing and other necessities to the kids at the Wellington Orphanage.

I told you Mia Grace wears these clothes every day.  Here is Courtney’s new style with the flutter sleeves. SO cute!  There are more to come that are so much fun. If only the weather would get better so I could take some more.  Can you tell she isn’t really enjoying the photo shoots too much anymore??  lol.  I keep telling her she’s going to get fired as Courntney’s model   Check out her spring line HERE!

Can you say … NOT INTERESTED!  My pouty girl.

Isn’t this screen print so adorable!

Her little fingers here just make me giddy

Oh, and I promise Courtney’s clothes come out of the dryer wrinkle-free.  Um … this little dress, however, was left wadded up in the hamper for a few days … maybe I’m the one that’s going to get fired!!!

I always say I have the BEST clients and I honestly mean it!  Because of that, I am always seeking to find every way possible to show my appreciation.  Whether its hunting down great locations, meticulously hand detailing all my images, etc.  I really want Love, Me to be set apart from other businesses, because quite frankly, I think my clients are “set apart”.  I am always on top of the newest trends and hottest products in the photography world.  It doesn’t mean I will always offer the trendiest stuff out there because I really desire to maintain my style and artistic vision, but more importantly want to create timeless images and keepsakes.  My primary focus is always on the images … capturing the innocence, the love, the connections, and hopefully those extrodinary moments, all with the desire to tell a story … YOUR story.  I dont want the keepsakes I create for you to be like your 1980s prom dress that your daughter pulls out of closest, not to reminisce with you about your glory days, but to bring to her middle school sleepover as a punishment for whoever loses “truth or dare”.  Anyway, Love, Me has some incredible new products we are introducing very soon, and one of them are the new image videos everyone will view at your ordering session.  Until now, we have been doing slideshows, but these new DVDs are similar to a movie trailor, telling the story of your session in a cutting edge production.  Anyway, I think they are pretty sweet and I hope you do too! You can also check it out on facebook, where its posted directly on my wall!

Enjoy!

Before we head out for date night, I had to share a few images I took of my baby girl before school a few days ago. Is she not the cutest?  I know I am biased, but she is just so much fun to photograph even if she makes me work REALLY hard for anything work keeping.  Again, this cute top is from the VERY talented Courtney Chu of CourtneyCourtney.  I know lots of you have asked lately where I shop for Mia Grace.  Courtney is our favorite and Mia Grace is basically a walking advertisement on a daily basis. Her clothes are fun, funky, and unique which fits my baby girl’s spunk. Oh, and they are super comfortable and wash up really really well!  Can’t beat that.  Make sure to tell her who sent you!  You can also follow Courtney’s BLOG to stay up to date with all her new styles.

She insisted that she wear “Mommy’s necklace” … from Africa of course.  Hey, at least it matched!

I’m all about the up close and personal shots with my new lens.  ::swoon::  I’ve been dying to get those eyelashes on camera for a while.

A new favorite.

This one is SO her.  This face cracks me up.  And NO, I didn’t catch her blinking. She’s closing her eyes on purpose.  My little drama queen.

Today I drove up to the house while the Fed Ex truck was blocking my driveway! I was so excited I nearly tackled the poor guy. For those that don’t think I understand what its like to wait on your pictures, oh how wrong you are Rachel takes care of orders and packaging, so my “Christmas” days are few and far between. Here’s why I am so giddy today! Please excuse these snapshots.  The lighting in my home is just terrible.  That is my number one priority *if* we ever move … I need some natural light!!

I LOVE CANVAS. Everyone should buy canvas. Here is a 30×30 of the circle collage I did of Mia Grace’s 2nd birthday pictures.

and just so you can see the enormity of it, here is an 11×17 I ordered too.

The coolest part about the canvas is the word wrap I did!  Around the edges are all of Mia Grace’s nicknames wrapped perfectly.  It turned out cuter than I could have imagined

Here are my nicknames for her.

and Daddy’s

and a combo of other ones we’ve given her together …

Maybe I’ll share some pictures of her new big girl room when we finally finish it!  Complete with 30×30 canvas on the wall!!

Oh, and ask us about Canvas at your ordering session and even word wraps so you can get your very own

Some of you may remember my crazy daughter post HERE and her super cute birthday outfit!  I know you remember, because many of you asked me where you could shop for something similar.  I must admit, the selfish side of me didn’t want to share … BUT that side lost bigtime because these clothes are just TOO awesome to not share!  There is nothing better than finding other entrepeneur moms out there who love what they do as much as I do.  We just couldn’t get enough of Courtney’s designs, so we teamed up!  I think Mia Grace likes this partnership because she actually likes photoshoots in Courtney’s designs.  Courtney Chu is the artist behind CourtneyCourtney , one of kind wearable outfits for kids.  They are funky, bright, fun, unique and SO comfortable AND they do up so well after washing.  If you are like me and have a hard time finding wearable clothes that fit your child’s personality, you really need to head on over to courtneycourtney’s website like, NOW.  They are affordable too, which is the best part.

I really can’t say enough about her designs … and her customer service rocks too.  She is already making a name for herself with the title “Cool Mom’s Pick of the YEAR”.

Below, Mia Grace is modeling her recycled t-shirt tunic, (in two unique one-of-a-kind desigsn) which looks super cute with jeans or even stockings and boots.  The crazy daughter post, she was wearing a the t-shirt “twirl” style.  Stay tuned for more styles from CourtneyCourtney. And when you go get your own, make sure to tell her who sent you!

Meet Wani, David, Kendall, Masen, and Hayden.  These girls are as cute as their names!  I had such a great time during their session yesterday.  It was so laid back and just easy.  I was warned beforehand that little Hayden had a mind of her own, but would you believe she was absolutely perfect!  Now, why can’t I have that same effect on my own daughter.  David is seriously one lucky guy.  His girls are just gorgeous and have the sweetest spirits.  This is the kind of family I could hang out with and photograph ALL DAY … but luckily for you David, you already had plans.  Oh, and don’t you all think he scored major brownie points by agreeing to shoot during the Super Bowl!

Here are my favorites from their shoot.  I MADE myself cut back on the sharing … otherwise there will be no surprises.  I could have shared about 10 more easily from their session.

Oh, and dont ask me how I get the most beautiful families ever!!! It’s a secret.  Just kidding … I’m just blessed that way.

HaydenMasen : the coolest name EVER.  I love it!  We are planning to name our next one if its a boy (Mason) and this is the first time I’ve heard it used for a girl and I am really in love.  I may have to ask Miss Masen for permission to use her name if we have another girl … I will be thinking of really great bribery gifts!

Kendall : Hello Anthropologie model??!!  and would you believe she is a freshman … at my alma mater nontheless!

and my favorite … aren’t they beautiful …

at the end I snapped a few of Hayden and her “lovie”.  Apparently, the last time they had family photos, “blue” made it in all the pics   She just lit up when she snuggled him.  It was the cutest thing.

Thank you Wani for rockin outfits!  I LOVE color and I love how you all went together without matching!!  Perfect.  It was a pleasure meeting you and I hope you enjoy your teasers …