Happy New Year friends! I just realized as I was going over all my photos from the past year to choose these very special 150 that this is my 6th year to do this! That makes me so happy! I do want to say that this is a totally subjective grouping in that these are my favorites… and have not been chosen by voting, or an impartial panel or anything even remotely like that. Some of the photos were taken by my daughter Celeste, which I must note because darn it I didn’t get to go to New Zealand where a couple of these were taken. I love every one of my clients and every wedding, event and portrait session is so important to me. But there is something about certain photos that just jump out at you, either aesthetically, or emotionally, or compositionally… and sometimes because of what they represent or say. And every year I do this it gets harder… I mean to tell you it’s difficult to choose just 150 out of over 100,000 photos. This is just something I do to reflect over my past year of work and to celebrate my clients and to celebrate creativity! A lot of lot of love went into each and every one of these photos and it was such a joy and honor to work with each of you and to be a part of your lives in this way. Here’s to more photo adventures in 2018!
THE VERY BEST PHOTOS OF 2016
It’s that time of year again, time to look back over tens of thousands of images to choose the ones that for one reason or another had the greatest impact on me. So yes, the criteria is very subjective… and not even something I can quantify. Sometimes it is color and light, sometimes it is the emotions captured, but sometimes it is something completely indescribable that just speaks to me. Obviously when narrowing down possibly 100,000 photos to 150 I can’t include every client, and I strive to make every client’s images the best because I truly love what I do and count it an honor every time someone steps in front of my camera. Some of these images were taken by my talented daughter Celeste who works with me, and we want to send out special love to our wedding couples who put so much faith in us… and the families we work with year after year… we are so happy to have been able to become a part of your history. We hope you enjoy looking back over 2016 and we look forward to many more photographic adventures together in 2017! xoxo
MEGAN AND BRENDAN SO IN LOVE…
I first met Megan when I took her pictures when she was graduating from college. I was struck then by her calm easy demeanor and of course how beautiful she is, and as I usually do, I talk with my clients about their lives when we are shooting and ask lots of questions. Her eyes lit up when she talked about her guy, and how well he treated her. Then when we met again after she became engaged and we were talking about the photography for their upcoming wedding, she told me about the elaborate scavenger hunt he planned for her to pop the question. This young man certainly knows a thing or two about women! When I met him for the first time during this engagement shoot I saw instantly what a gentleman Brendan is, and how in love these two are. Brendan posted one of these images of the two of them throwing leaves on Facebook with the caption “This is what it is like marrying your best friend.” There isn’t really much I can say to top that! I can’t wait for their November wedding, it is going to be as gorgeous as they are together!
TALIA AND JOSH ARE ADORABLE, AND GETTING MARRIED!
Talia and Josh are such an adorable couple! The first time I met them at Starbucks along with Talia’s mom to talk wedding photography I was immediately drawn in by their warm personalities. Talia has one of those smiles that lights up the room, and Josh so obviously loves her that it’s impossible not to smile when you are with them. Laughter spilled over during our engagement session and the connection and chemistry between these two is so evident. They are having a beautiful May wedding at Cross Creek Ranch in Parker and the day is drawing near… everything is coming together for their big day… and I am excited to share these images of these two lovebirds. Josh is a baseball player, having played throughout his college career, so they thought some baseball themed photos should be a part of their session… and even though they now root for different teams, its all in good fun… and the results are totally charming!
THE BEST OF 2014
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.
ELIZABETH & RAY AND LACEY AND SETH… STYLISH COUPLES SHOOT
Recently I had such a fun day with two wonderful couples… they are friends and needed some photos taken, so we made an afternoon of it down in the beautiful Turtle Creek area… and they both brought along important family members of the canine species… so much fun! You will absolutely love these images as these four look like they stepped out of a J Crew catalogue add. But even better than that, they radiate love for their spouses and they laugh readily, they are such genuine people. Elizabeth and Lacey have been friends for years having gone to school together. And I think it is such a fun idea to do this kind of combined couples shoot. I brought an inspiration board and we brainstormed together on each shot and they were so encouraging to one another. We had a ball! Elizabeth is the dark haired beauty and Lacey is the lovely blonde… and I think Ray and Seth are pretty lucky guys… don’t you?
One of the best things about this shoot was the great time we had with the inspiration board and the experience of good friends having fun together… I think these images, besides being stylish and full of fall gorgeousness, are also full of laughter, fun and good humored silliness…
The next series of images are some of my favorites… I just love the ones laying on the blankets as these four are such beautiful people… I think they are romantic and I’m pretty crazy about them.
I just loved working with these couples and I think their images make the perfect Christmas Eve post!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to Elizabeth and Ray and Lacey and Seth and to all of you! xoxo
CRYSTAL AND DREW: SO HAPPY TOGETHER
Crystal and Drew McDonald are such a beautiful couple… and the way they are together is just so lovely… kind, sweet and romantic. I tend to ask clients a lot of questions… mainly because I love hearing their stories… and I feel like it helps us connect and helps me do a better job capturing their particular essence… their own light. Drew and Crystal have a very distinct light about them… as you can plainly see in these images. They met in Lubbock, where he spied her working in a bank… and made sure the next time he saw her he struck up a conversation. I mean really, who could blame him? He is undoubtedly a smart man. This assumption on my part was confirmed when I admired Crystal’s Kate Spade watch and she told me that Drew had looked at her Pinterest Board and found that she had pinned it and knew it would make the perfect gift… what did I tell you? Smart, smart man… I had also been admiring Crystal’s beautiful ring, which Drew also picked out.There’s nothing like a man with great taste who treats the woman in his life well. They have been married almost three years and this is their first photo session since their wedding. The way the camera loves these two… they are going to have to make this happen more than once every three years!
I just love this shot… these two are just striking together… a beautiful woman and a handsome guy… and a killer red nail color doesn’t hurt.
Drew was more than willing to get into the spirit of the shoot… also a very endearing quality… and the way they looked at each other just made these shots!
I have been wanting to so a shot like this for a while… but haven’t gotten around to it… and in a way I am glad because it’s just perfect for these two.
Crystal and Drew wanted to use one of these images for Christmas cards and I was inspired to tap into my non-existent crafty side and make them a MERRY CHRISTMAS banner for their shoot… and let me tell you folks, this may not happen again!
We were blessed for this shoot with a lovely cloudy day which tends to make colors pop… I’m pretty crazy about all this vibrant green. It is the perfect backdrop for these two.
I have a thing for green things… the outdoors… meandering pathways…and bridges. Obviously these two have a thing for each other.
I know it can be seen as somewhat cliche’… but I don’t care… I love trees. They are beautiful and solid and their roots run deep, and that is a perfect metaphor for Crystal and Drew who are so obviously happy together. I have only known these two for a short time, but I can tell that we are going to be friends. They are entrepreneurial as well as fun and work with a wonderful company called Carpet Tech. If you need cleaning or repair to any of your home’s carpet’s they are the ones to call. It is always wonderful to work with local businesses and with good people that come with the recommendation of a friend! They are the best kind of people… real.
I just loved getting to know you two! I had so much fun on this session and I hope you love these images as much as I do! I’m going to close this post wishing everyone a beautiful upcoming Christmas season… especially you two Drew and Crystal! xo