Love, Me Blog

I am SO excited to show you this all new style by cournteycourtney.  If you read my blog you know how much I adore her girl’s clothing.  They are hip, fun, funky, and oh so comfy!  Mia Grace loves her courtney dresses and I was beside myself when I slipped this new style on her last Friday.  Its a sleeveless dress with a hood and is perfect for layering!  When it get colder, we’ll add some fun leggings too.  The fit is just perfect for those in between sizes and I suggest you head over to Courntey’s store right now and grab up what she has left! Make sure to stay tuned as she’s adding new styles and one of a kind creations daily.

PS. If you have a session coming up with me I HIGHLY recommend grabbing a courtney for the shoot. They photograph so well and she even has special birthday dresses you have to check out.

Here’s my little turkey sporting her new courtney hooded dress. Of course, I’m partial, but isn’t she the cutest! I am so blessed to call her mine

These are SO her!

love this series.

AND, the one that will make me happy for a long time

I can’t believe its been FIVE years! It really doesn’t feel like that many years ago that Mike and I were married in Southlake on Lake Grapevine with all of our family and friends there to witness our union.  I can still remember all the details from the entire weekend, down to the moments just before I made the 2 minute walk down the aisle arm and arm with my dad. It really was the perfect weekend … the perfect day.  Of course I am biased, but I loved my wedding. I loved every single thing about it and if I could live that day over again, I would in a heart beat.  While it surely doesn’t seem like I am five years older than I was in this picture, so much life has happened since it was taken.  Looking back on the proudest and most memorable moments, I realize that during this short time I graduated from college, we bought our first home, I found what I was meant to do and started Love, Me, I’ve been to Africa, I got my first publication on the cover of a book, just signed for my first studio and most importantly we have had our precious daughter, Mia Grace for nearly three of those precious years.  More than the milestones, though, the very best memories are the ones that make up the tiny details from day to day that have made our everyday life together, extraordinary! (in the words of my dear friend, Lauren)  I really can’t imagine spending my life with anyone else in this entire world besides Mike D and I can honestly say that I love him more today than I did as the 22 year old girl who is ridiculously in love in this image.

I always tease Mike about the fact that I knew I would marry him long before he did and I have proof.  It’s all written in journals that are packed away from my days as a Wilderness Ranch guide in Colorado. Mike and I met there while we both guided backpacking trips through Young Life.  While most of the gory details are WAY too personal to share here, I was feeling nostalgic and thought I’d pull one out.  Mr. Mike D himself hasn’t even ever seen these babies.

On July 9, 2003 I wrote about him for the first time saying …

” I must reveal what is on my heart.  I cannot deny my feelings and how it consumes my thoughts. Mike is constantly on my mind. I absoluely love his heart and everything about him.”  This was followed by more revealing, which led to me begging God to take my feelings away.  It wasn’t on my life agenda to come to Wilderness Ranch and meet my husband and get married so young.  So, then I got tired of asking God to take feelings away that just kept getting stronger, so then I got really brave and just asked for Him to make it happen. I figured, what the heck, God is a “Big boy”, if He can part the Red Sea and knit me together in my mother’s womb, well then surely He can put me on Mike’s radar    The drama in my heart and mind continued when I got my heart broken for a full three days when Mike left unexpectedly without even saying goodbye, finally followed by his brief return again in which it all began   Three months later he quit his job in Colorado and moved to Texas, and well, as they say, the rest is history … 6 years of history to be exact! AND, as Mike likes to say, the best six years of my life (but please don’t tell him I admitted this was true!)

But, before you go thinking I was a psycho or something, here is a little excerpt from a letter Mike wrote to me that I found in my inbox before I left for vacation. (he is SO going to kill me. Not even sure he knows I still have this, lol). AND, please keep in mind that we were just “friends” … really. I promise.  No, I swear. We still to this day have arguments over this because it was like he was totally baffled that I was head over heels in love with him and had been for nearly three months.  Hello?  When you write friendly letters like this to a girl, what the heck do you expect????

“Crystal, I wanted to write you and let you know that I think you are beautiful. I heard you say the other night that you wanted your future bfriend to say that to you a lot and I want to make sure that I treat you in a way that says you are beautiful.  It is a longing that I have for you to feel like the beautiful woman of God that you are, but also for you to have confidence in who you are and how you should be treated bc of how I am with you.  I also just wanted to express to you my desire to get to know you. I really haven’t gotten the opportunities I’ve wanted to hear about your life, but I have enjoyed spending time with you an getting to see your heart here.  Thanks for being fun and who you are.  It’s the perfect balance between girly and ungirly. I’ll miss you for a couple of weeks, but have a great time. Know that I will be thinking of you and praying for you a ton. You’re a great friend (I added the smiley face)

SEE! Just reading that makes me smile so big on the inside.   Though, looking back, most of it just makes me laugh now, I still cling to this quote from a book, which I can’t remember, but I was reading at the time.  It’s what still gives me the courage to dream BIG, but more importantly, the courage to boldly ask the big man upstairs how to make those dreams a reality.  The 22 year old girl in this picture’s biggest dream at this time was to marry her best friend and start a family … what she didn’t know is that God always has a bigger dream for us than we have for ourselves.

“I do not believe God allows surrendered hearts to continue to long for things He will not eventually grant in one way or another.”  He is so faithful every single time. This picture is proof

Thanks to the awesome Scott Livermore for this image of us on our wedding day! (back in the days of film )

Here’s another ridiculously large share!  After this, sneak “peeks” will resume to the normal 5-7 image shares.  I have been battling this terrible sinus infection That coupled with another awesome birth I had the privelidge to be apart of and some major kinks in our attempt to move into our studio has equalled an exceptionally long wait time for this awesome family!  It’s quite possible that guilt is playing a role in this over – sharing business.

I am always honored when any family chooses me as the photographer to document their love for one another, but I am REALLY honored when another photographer chooses me.  There is something about being recognized by the industry and by my peers that makes me blush a whole lot and also, I must admit, makes me proud.  So you can imagine that I was flattered when this awesome photographer, Kelly Wills, hired me to photograph her family!  Kelly found me last year when I was taking Mia Grace’s crazy 2 year old pictures (you know, the crazy hair, psychedelic dress, lollipop, pouty face shots ).  Let’s just say, I wasn’t really myself in that moment. I think I recall wearing a huge over sized sweatshirt and no makeup, not to mention I was stressed out to the max because MG wasn’t cooperating with my plans and we had somewhere to be and I needed to shower!  You know when you go out looking like a shlumpadink and you think “oh, well, I wont see these strangers again” … well, I am living proof that that isn’t necessarily true.  Kelly emailed me a few months back and I couldn’t believe she would want to work with me after what she witnessed between photographer mother and daughter with PCS (Photographer’s child syndrome).  Side note: no photographer should ever be judged by the way they photograph their own kids   But, she did … and I am very thankful … and flattered ::blushing::.

This is how I love to photograph families … Can you not tell this little one is LOVED?

Addyson was such a cutie pie! She hammed it up bigtime for my camera (much to her mommy’s dismay I am sure! I know the feeling!)

Quite possibly one of my favorite images of all time and the cutest monkey face I have EVER seen!

That second image below… something about it that I keep going back to. The way she is looking at him and the way he is looking at his little girl and the way Addyson has this grin on her face that says “I know you are looking at me “  but more importantly, I know that I am loved and I am the center of both of your universe even though you stuck me over here away from you … i just love it … such connection even with some distance.

Now its time for snuggles.

the back lighting here was magnificent and she is just beaming! Don’t you want to eat her up?

a sleepy little one at the end, but she gave me that one last shot I had been dying for. thank you sweet pea!

Kelly, so sorry to make you wait!  Trent it was so great meeting you and thank you for a wonderful session. I’m sure Kelly has told you that its the “dad’s” that make or break a family session! I’d say you earned some serious brownie points!!

So, I’ve been swamped these last few weeks, which means no time for sharing all the fun things happening with Love, Me.  Stay tuned in the next weeks for LOTS of fun fun updates!!

I’ve been dying to share with you all about my first trip to NYC.  It was NOTHING like I expected (in a good way) and I can’t wait to get back there with Mike to have some fun. This trip was for “business” although it was  a total blast and I am so so glad Jenny forced me to come and see her for a few days!

So, here’s the story. I got a facebook message from Jenny “coach” Helms nearly a year ago maybe?  Jenny was the JV coach when I was on the varsity basketball team in HS. It was her first job out of college, so we are actually really close in age I hadn’t really seen or spoken to her since I graduated over 9 years ago! She commented on my work and we chatted a bit and she threw out this crazy idea that I come to NY (where she now lives) to mentor her. She was planning on taking a photo class in the summer but said she would rather pay for me to come up and teach her. WHAT?  That was my reaction followed by a giggle.  Was she nuts?  I can’t teach her what a whole summer length class could, not to mention, sometimes I wonder how this all evolved anyway. So, I successfully dodged her idea giving her lots of lame excuses followed by more extremely lame advice on what camera to purchase, etc. (on a side note: so many people ask me about what camera they should purchase and for the record, I know VERY little about equipment! It may seem nuts to people but my parents bought my first camera (thanks mom and dad!). I then splurged on a $99 “pro” lens, read my manual, read some stuff online about exposure, and viola … it just sort of came to me.  Don’t hate me.  I truly believe that its just that I was fortunate to find what I wholeheartedly believe I was created to do.  Anyway, I built my business with that camera and lens only.  I have since (as in I’ve had it 8 months) purchased a Canon 5d USED off ebay. I know … the SHAME! It’s NOT the camera people!) So anyway, I successfully convinced Jenny to get my dream camera and lens, LOL! Hey, she said, budget wasn’t an issue, so I successfully lived vicariously through her

To not make this long story even longer, basically I got a wild hair one day and said, what the heck? OK, I’ll do it.  This is after I could see Jenny virtually on her knees begging. The truth is, I just didn’t feel adequate to teach someone. I actually LOVE teaching … I’ve always had a teacher’s heart, but I wasn’t confident in teaching the only thing that has ever come so naturally to me. I could teach so many other things because I had to teach myself,  but how to use a camera?  yikes!  So, Jenny booked me on an EARLY AM flight and I was off to NYC for three days.

There really are no words to describe the trip. After the initial awkwardness of me wanting to call her coach Helms and she nearly slipping in a “Maddog” here and there (yes, that was my bball nickname, may it RIP) It truly was amazing.  I was so nervous that I would go and have nothing to teach her and she would put me on a flight back to Dallas thinking she had wasted her money and her time.  While, I can’t speak for her, I feel so great about the trip.  I found myself falling in love with photography all over again. I can’t tell you how freeing it was to not talk “shop” or anything business related. This trip was about two people’s love for capturing life through a camera lens and nothing more. I actually learned a lot about myself as an artist and feel more confident calling myself that. One thing that really resonated with me is that I realized for the first time that I truly envision what I want to capture before I ever click the shutter. I can’t really express how that knowledge will translate with Love, Me, but I know I am excited about it.

Pretty much, the entire three days was spent walking around the city talking about light, location, and life. In between we ate the best food on the planet including a few first timers for me … sushi (yes, i’ve never had it. when you are married to a carnivore, sushi isn’t really a word that get’s discussed often), the magnolia bakery ( I heart cupcakes is all i really need to say about that!), half and half (ice tea and lemonade that is), slushi’s (kind of like ice cream/ snow cone), and ZaZa’s ( a delicious free candy given out by the photographer’s heaven of a store B&H Photo).  All I can say is Jenny was by far the BEST hostess I’ve ever had!  Some of you may remember my tweet about receiving the best and most thoughtful package EVER. Well, that was from Jenny! She sent me a Crumpler 8 million dollar home (photo geek alert if you know what that is! For those non photo geeks, its a Huge and awesome camera bag) … inside was filled with a magnolia I heart cupcake t-shirt which I am sporting today in fact, a NYC drinking glass for some half and half, a pile of zaza’s which apparently she went back and hoarded for me, complete with an awesome image that she took of the little guy below holding a sign that said “Thank you, Crystal”!  Seriously, does it get any better than that?!!

While we were there, of course I had Jenny coordinate a little shoot for us.  She enlisted her best friend’s extremely cute baby boy, Jack and his equally as cute cousin, CJ.  I’ve been dying to show you this session, as its one of my favorites! Thanks again to their mommy’s for allowing their boys to model for me so I could show Jenny what I do.  It proved to be a great teaching shoot all around!

Here’s the entire session pretty much!

First up, little Jack. Isn’t he the CUTEST?

and friends

And then, his cute cousin, CJ … a little shy at first …

Thanks to strangers for trusting me when I want to take your kids clothes off

By this time, little man was eating out of my hands   Seriously, he even apologized to me completely on his own saying, “I’m sorry I cried earlier” … What three year old does that???  He had had a little melt down because he wanted some munchkins (aka donut holes) It was my fault because, unlike normal sessions I forgot to inform Jenny that sessions are super relaxed and that there is no need for moms to worry about discipline at all!  Just let me spend time with your kids alone, well give them plenty of snacks, and we will just play.  I absolutely adored photographing this little boy … just check out these images … ::swoon::!

and yes! he even wears glasses … ::triple swoon::

Off to the front yard to play!

What would a NY session be without some Mets jerseys?

Thanks again for an awesome trip, Jenny!  I hope to come back and visit soon!!

I am so excited to share with you my second experience photographing a miracle.  I am SO thankful Jenny emailed me to document little Jake’s grand entrance into the world.  It’s quite astonishing for strangers to trust me with such a precious moment and I am more than honored.  I still really can’t find the words to truly express what it means to me personally to be a part of the whole miraculous experience. To witness a birth is truly something spectacular!  Jenny and Scott and their “fan club” (seriously there was quite a following on facebook AND in person in the waiting room!) were such a pleasure to work with. How I end up meeting and collaborating with amazing people is beyond me, but it is such a huge reason why I am in love with what I get to do.  It truly is humbling to me and I dont take an ounce of it for granted.

Thank you, Scott and especially Jenny for giving me permission to share your incredibly private and miraculous experience with the world. My prayer is that people will truly be blessed by it and that the love you guys have for each other and little Jake will reveal the much deeper love at work in the midst of it all …

Ah … it’s senior season again! I can hardly believe it. I’ve been dying to share a few images from my first 2010 senior, Meredith.  I just loved her session! She was up for anything and she and her mom made the drive to one of my favorites places to shoot.  She brought the coolest clothes (and props  … more images from that portion later ).  That along with her gorgeous red hair, porcelain skin, and LONG legs made for a creative high for me!  Meredith has the sweetest spirit and was such a delight to be around.  I sure hope these images reflect who she is inside and out.  Girl, I know you’ve been DYING!  Thanks for being patient with all my traveling these last two weeks. Here are several to hold you over until I see you this week!

Hello, model?  I love these first three.  She’s beautiful AND she’s athletic! I just had to leave her scar from knee surgery in that third one. People who know me well know that I LOVE scars. Maybe its because I love a good story … and there is ALWAYS a story behind every good scar.

Tell me she doesn’t just ooze sweetness …

Toward the end of the shoot we were really trying to beat the light! Just a warning for anyone considering me for senior portraits … if you bring this many cute outfits … we WILL use them all   Luckily we made it to our final destination for some gorgeous sunset images (the ones I’ll share later )

Thanks, Meredith (and mom and dad ) for a great great shoot!  My apologies again for the little mishap on private property … whoops!  Your family was truly a delight.