The intention was to have this post up and running the first week of January… but alas… crazy life got in the way and now January is almost over. Nevertheless I said I was going to do a “Best of 2014” blog post so here it is… and the old words ring true… better late than never! It is always a challenge and a joy to choose my favorite photos from a year of my work. I put my heart into every photo so there is a little something of me in every one… These 125 photos were chosen from a pared down pool of about 20,000 photos. I can’t always explain why I love a photo… suffice it to say that sometimes it’s simply aesthetics, sometimes meaning, and sometimes it is something personal… no matter the why I hope you enjoy these photos as much as I do.
THE PATRICK FAMILY
This is the season for wonderful family portraiture… and I am more than thrilled to share my session with the Patrick Family. I went to high school with Rob, and we reconnected as so many friends do, through Facebook. I have wanted to photograph his family ever since I saw photos of his romantic marriage proposal to Alisha in a hot air balloon. The way he speaks of her on Facebook and in person is so lovely… and one of the things I most admire in a man is his ability to love a woman well. Alisha and Rob and I had a long conversation over coffee about life and family before our session and I can assure you they are as beautiful on the outside as they are on the inside. Rob is also an excellent father to his son Carson, which is very evident in these photos… their father and son camaraderie is a really wonderful thing to watch. Rob, Alisha and Carson are a joy to spend time with and I think it shows in these images. I think family photos are so precious and so important for creating our legacy for those we love.
Speaking of love… these two are pretty romantic together… and you all know how I love photos of love.
Is there anything more heartwarming than a father and son who have that special bond and who just love being together?
This family has so much fun together… and their spirit of fun was contagious!
Rob, Alisha and Carson you three were a joy to work with! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!
OUR ANNUAL PHOTOS… HIGH HEELS, BOOTS AND A LOT OF CONFETTI
Every year for the last 17 years my two daughters and I have had an annual Christmas photo session. We started this when we moved to Dallas from Athens, a small town in East Texas, and it has become one of our most important traditions. In many ways these photos tell the story of our lives through the years here in Dallas and mark and celebrate our connection to one another. Though I am am photographer, and so now is my oldest daughter Celeste… obviously we cannot take the photos ourselves… so that’s where our dear friend Linda Stringer comes in. She takes the photos and control freak that I am… I edit them. She is such a trooper and she has the patience of Job… as I can faithfully attest. She has put up with the three of us, two of whom were very little girls when we started this journey of photography… and let me tell you there have been some pouting sessions and stony glares from those very same sweet girls who weren’t so fond of the idea at times. Some things never change… but merely evolve… and let’s be real… we were all a little irritable yesterday trying to pull it together for this session. You must know something about women trying to pick out the right outfits… get the hair and makeup right. It’s a process… that is all I can say. But in the end, we love each other like crazy… and we are so glad we have these photos… these markers in time… to celebrate one another.
Of course one of the key steps in this process is deciding what we want to wear… no matching… we have done this in years past of course, but now we aim for stylish coordination in the same color family. We wait until the day of or the day before at the earliest and then we either pull everything out of our closets or cave and go and buy something… either way it is frustrating but at the same time fun… and the day of the session our home and car look like a cyclone of clothing struck. To add to our color scheme, I thought to myself, “What could be better than confetti?!” Well nothing of course.
We were so lucky this past weekend that the weather was nice… and cloudy days really make colors pop which I love… I’m not sure if folks wondered why were throwing confetti by the side of the road… but we had a great time. When I look at these photos I really can’t believe how tall that Celeste is… my first born who was once so tiny… or that Medora, who cut half of her hair off in the front when she was four, has such gorgeous locks… see sweetie everything works out in the end. I am so proud of both of my girls… their inner and outer beauty… the way they love and the way we are each other’s fiercest defenders and allies. We may get annoyed with one another at times, but if anyone else says a bad word about one of us or hurts one of us… the other two rise up and hell hath no fury… etc. etc. Suffice it to say that these two are my best friends and I wouldn’t choose to be anyone or anything over being their mom.
We were running out of light and had to do a quick change in the Jeep… which is no cakewalk for three girls… but I wanted a certain photo in a certain spot where I have taken clients many times… and I had it visualized in my head… so it had to happen come hell or high water. I’m a boots and jeans outdoor girl at heart even though fashion is still one of my loves so I wanted to incorporate both. I’m pretty pleased with the results.
The thing I most want to say to all you friends, clients and future clients is to have photos taken of you and your loved ones… I am pretty sure you will never regret it and it will become part of your legacy. I promise. Just do it. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you from Tamytha Cameron Photography and from Celeste, Medora and me! xoxo
THE GORGEOUS GOODMAN FAMILY
Recently I had the privilege of photographing Christy and Michael Goodman and their lovely little girls Mira and Anna in their home. Photographing clients in their homes is something I’ve recently started doing and I’m really loving it. It is so much fun and such an honor to meet clients where they live every day, as you really get a sense of who they are and their unique personality is revealed in their surroundings. The things we love and display and the places we share with the people we love are sacred… and it is in these places that we are the most ourselves. The Goodmans have a beautiful home, and they are such a loving connected family. I had so much fun with them and I think it translated into their images. Not only are they gorgeous and photogenic, they are pretty accomplished as well… Christy is a Star Director with Stella and Dot, one of the fastest growing companies in the US right now, and Michael is an attorney. They are a very busy couple with two energetic growing girls and a dog… and I’m just glad they were able to make time to take some family Christmas photos because I am pretty crazy about these images.
The morning started when I met Michael in front of the courthouse for a photo intended for his professional website. In addition to being an attorney, he is a restorer of classic cars and a real enthusiast, which I think is great… I think we should all have things in life we really love… it’s these things that make life richer. He thought it would be cool to do a photo with one of his favorite cars, which once belonged to his grandmother… how cool is that? It is very cool, and midnight blue.
We made our way from the courthouse to their home where I got to see another car that Michael is working on… a very cool black one with a very loud engine… a man and his cars… so classically American. So I couldn’t resist snapping a few photos in the garage before we started with the family.
We transitioned seamlessly from classic cars to scooters… and I got some great shots of Mira and Anna on theirs. It brought back so many memories of my girls and their scooters. These little girls are full of personality and so adorable…
Who doesn’t remember that feeling of being a kid and wanting to show company your room? Well I certainly do. Mira and Anna were more than keen to share theirs and who could blame them? What bright, colorful, cheerful spaces! Mira chose aqua for her room… and she is partial to mermaids… and Anna chose sunny yellow. Perfect for these two! I have to admit I suggested the jumping on Mira’s bed… but their mom Christy supervised…
I have to confess that I just love these family photos… these people are so connected… and so lovely together. They are happy and it shows. As usual I asked Christy and Michael how they met… and they met when Michael was gigging with a band. That is a great story… both were out of college and starting their lives. I am guessing there was instant chemistry between them because quite obviously something between them was and is very right…. and now this couple is a family of four. You will notice a beautiful musical instrument in the background in some of these family photos… which I thought was a cello but is actually a bass guitar. When I asked about it I was told that Michael has many guitars… so in addition to being an attorney and car enthusiast, he is also a musician. The beautiful piece of art over the fireplace, that I noticed right away, was created by a friend of Christy’s. In the shot with the table, the wonderful light fixture was chosen by their decorator because Christy had been inspired by something she had previously seen, and the figures on top of the hutch were chosen by Michael from their travels… it’s these details that make these rooms uniquely a Goodman family rooms.
I have traditionally been an outdoor photo girl… and as much as I love these images of the Goodmans in their home, I have to say that these images we took behind their home in the great outdoors are my favorite. Oh my but they are so beautiful… if I do say so myself…