Jaelyn: Houston event Photographer

one-shoe predicament

This is the first one-year-old Birthday party that I've ever attended (to my recollection), and I had a blast!  The child of honor was Jaelyn- an angelic little girl who had a Princess and the Frog themed party.

Lots of people were there to celebrate -family, friends, co-workers (of Mom, not Jaelyn).  You could really sense how loved this little girl is!  Jaelyn was happy to be in anyone's arms... especially if you had a phone.  She is obviously starting her infatuation with them young, but what kid doesn't like a telephone?  Mom will have a hard time finding a place for all those new gifts, but it looks like she doesn't have to worry too much about Christmas presents this year!

I adore Jesika's proud-Mama face!

Family Love.

Monique and Adrian: Dallas Engagement Photographer

Monique and Adrian are a couple that photographers dream of!  Monique says she did some modeling "back in her pageant days," and Adrian says he's not done anything professional, but man... these two knew how to work the camera!

We met in Dallas (the biggest city between Oklahoma City and Houston) and walked around downtown to get some amazing shots!  Although Mo and Adrian didn't get into town until after 5am (they stayed at a hotel over "night"), both of them were ready and looking clean!  Again, I love that they chose to coordinate and not match.

Mo was beyond prepared and brought with a look-book of images she wanted to duplicate (helpful to me, so I knew exactly what she was going for).  I hope you enjoy these images as much as I enjoyed taking and editing them!

We had some fun in their OU gear

You can only get images like this when you improv!

Natalie and Ryan: NW Houston Engagement Photographer

Natalie is a girl whom I actually grew up dancing with.  She is a phenomenal, competitive swimmer and has met her match: Ryan... a tall basketball player with the brightest blue eyes I've ever seen.  The two of them will be getting married on a cruise ship sometime next year, and they wanted engagement shots done super-early so they could "send out invites with enough time for people to save for the trip."

The three of us met downtown at around 9am to shoot at Hermann Park.  (which I love, by the way- there is such a variety of texture!)  We took a small hike on the hidden trails, gallivanted around the Japanese gardens, climbed in and out of sculptures, and only disturbed one homeless person.  (It was an accident!  We thought the little Japanese hut was nice too.)

Natalie incorporated subtle peacock colors to match their wedding theme!

I love how these colors are so bold!

I know you felt gay, but thanks for humoring me on this one, Ryan.  :)

This one was their idea!

80's themed shoot

A few days ago, I had my first real attempt at fashion-forward photography.  I organized two models and a make up artist for the shoot, and I'm just in love with the results! 

All the girls were fantastic to work with, and I appreciate how everyone pulled their strengths (and wardrobes) together to create something really spectacular.

I definitely plan on participating in more of these shoots in the future.  One thing I love, is that this shoot allotted so much creative freedom with the post-processing!  I was able to play around with some techniques that might be too "out there" for the typical family portrait.

Brittany and Hannah: West Chicago Photographer

This holiday weekend, I photographed my lovely cousin, Brittany.  She just bought herself a new coat, and we had to get it photographed properly!

Her younger sis, Hannah, even joined in for a few photos. 

We found this great field right around the corner from my grandmother's house and had at it.  It was a bit breezy (go figure in Chicago, right?) and our noses were running while our hands were getting chilled, but what a great locale!  It felt like it was in the middle of nowhere, but it was "just down the road a piece!"  I love when that happens.

Check out those eyes!

Funny girls.