I think these two cousins just might grow up to be good friends. That's Patrick on the left and Colton on the right, grandboys of two of my favorite people.


When we shot these a few weeks ago, Patrick was just about to turn 1, and Colton was 2 months.

Colton brought his mommy and daddy for the session, and Patrick brought his mommy (his daddy couldn't be there that day).

They persuaded their Papa and Dida to get in front of the camera for a few precious shots ...

... and then their Granddad and Gran joined the fun as well. Aren't they cute?

Right now the boys have very different interests and abilities. Seven months make a huge difference when you're this young! But just look how much personality each one shows in his own way. I loved watching Patrick's toes and fingers wiggle when he got excited, and Colton managed to speak volumes with his eyes and eyebrows.

It won't be long until they're able to run and play together, wrestling to see which one is the strongest and racing to be first up the tree. You grownup folks had better prepare yourselves for that!

Grow big and strong, Colton and Patrick! And invite me over to play again someday, okay?

A sweet friendship refreshes the soul.

Proverbs 27:9 MESSAGE

You've already seen a few of Mark's senior portraits, but I'll bet you didn't know that there were two little girls scampering around in the background during his session.


Mark's nieces Kylie and Brooklyn joined us for a combination senior/family session. They managed to find all sorts of ways to entertain themselves during Mark's solo shots.

And they brought a circus-like quality to their group shots. Well, mostly Brooklyn. She was far less interested in posing for pictures than exploring the rest of her surroundings, which is exactly how every two-year-old responds to portrait sessions. Fortunately Dad was on hand to serve as kid wrangler when needed.

The perfect shot! Hooray!!

These little girls absolutely adore their Uncle Mark, and the feeling is clearly mutual. The only thing better than your very own big brother is sharing an uncle who treats you even more sweetly than a big brother would.

What a threesome you are, Brooklyn, Kylie and Mark! May you have many many more years of fun together in your little family circus!

I'm a friend and companion of all who fear You,

of those committed to living by your rules.

Your love, God, fills the earth!

Train me to live by Your counsel.

Psalm 119:63-64 MESSAGE

I'm sure you remember my friends Leah and Isaac, along with their mom and dad. Well, now you get to meet their grandparents who traveled all the way from Delaware for a visit!


There's already a lot of love brewing between these four.

We decided to turn our portrait session into a playdate at the park, which Leah greatly appreciated. Isaac not so much. Next time around he'll be ready to enjoy it a bit more.

I just love this little family.

And this little scamp.

I'm glad we were able to squeeze this session into your brief time all together! Thanks for always being so relaxed in front of my camera, never aiming for perfect portraits but delighting in the quirkiness that makes life together so perfectly wonderful.

If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers --

most of which are never even seen --

don't you think He'll attend to you, take pride in you, do His best for you?

What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax,

to not be so preoccupied with getting,

so you can respond to God's giving.

People who don't know both God and the way He works fuss over these things,

but you know both God and how He works.

Steep your lives in God-reality,

God-initiative,

God-provisions.

Don't worry about missing out.

You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.

Matthew 6:28-33 MESSAGE

OK, so this family session started off normally enough. We got several really nice shots including all three generations, such as this one ...


... and this one ...

... this one ...

... and this one. Isn't Zia a cutie?

But then everyone started to get comfortable with the whole picture-taking process, and one by one they began to let their hair down.

Once the snuggling and smooching got underway, I very nearly lost control. Of myself. As it turns out, it's pretty challenging to hold a camera steady while laughing.

I love it when people reveal their true selves during a photo shoot. The results are so much more fun that way!

As I was sorting through all of the images from this next series to choose the best ones, I honestly laughed until I cried. My directions were for Lew and Pam to be mushy, and for their kids to react in whatever way they wanted. I love the progression:

- Robbi looking down first

- Le noticing that Robbi is shocked

- Le and Robbi being fully grossed out while Adde glances down and involuntarily goes "eewww"

- Adde, Le and Robbi having a good laugh over their Oscar-worthy performances

- Sterling maintaining the exact same expression in every shot

Still makes me smile. :-)

I think Zia and Zoe were given just the right family to be a part of, and I'll bet that Robbi and Sterling's baby will fit right in as well.

Thanks so much for throwing yourselves into the experience, everyone. You are a bunch of true originals, and I hope these portraits remind you of our playful morning together for years to come!

But what happens when we live God's way?

He brings gifts into our lives,

much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard --

things like affection for others,

exuberance about life,

serenity.

Galatians 5:22 MESSAGE

What a fun threesome!


This is big sister Maryn.

And these are her favorite playmates, twins Brodie and Bella. The twins have very different personalities but they do share one common trait: a preference for keeping one foot off the ground for balance.

Bella was happy to sit for the camera as long as she had something, anything to chew on. Brodie did not like to touch anything scratchy or wet or tickly, which was just about everything. Can't you just imagine how much Maryn's life has changed over the past year?

Maryn is a very loving, hands-on big sister. She's going to have fun being the ringleader of this particular circus.

But even the ringleader needs a break to do her own thing every now and then, and little monkeys are quite happy to find their own things to get into.

I'm so glad we were able to get out and enjoy a lovely spring morning together, Maryn, Brodie and Bella. Now on with the show!

The Lord watches over you.

The Lord is like a shade tree at your right hand.

The Lord will keep you from every kind of harm.

He will watch over your life.

The Lord will watch over your life no matter where you go,

both now and forever.

Psalm 121:5, 7-8

Many many weeks ago (seven to be exact), Margaret and Jeff got married. Margaret's dad asked me to come and take some relaxed family portraits before the wedding rehearsal, and Margaret requested that I stay and take some candid shots as well. Here are just a few of my favorites, including a series of the ring bearer and flower girl.

As you can see, big brother did a very good job of coaching little sister in her duties. As you can also see, little sister took those duties extremely seriously! The ceremony rehearsal was well underway when she decided to run back and pick up all of her paper "flowers" so they would be ready to scatter again.

What a sweet beginning for a ceremony of commitment. May your lives together be richly blessed, Jeff and Margaret!

Love never gives up.

Love cares more for others than for self.

1 Corinthians 13:4 MESSAGE

Well, it took us awhile, but we have finally made it to the end of my Class of 2010 sessions! I was blessed this year to get to work with 46 terrific seniors, and all but 9 of those were photographed after Christmas. Next year's senior season will begin even earlier -- July! -- so that I can serve even more grads without (hopefully) losing my mind. To encourage the Class of 2011 to begin booking this summer, I am offering....

a $50 print credit for all sessions completed before the first day of school!

Ready to get started? Contact me for details!


I'll bet you're ready for me to get started with today's photos now. Who am I to make you wait one minute longer? Let's begin with the lovely Taylor, who helped me charm our way into the fire station for a few shots as we wandered the streets of downtown Angleton on a quiet late afternoon.

Then she suited up and turned into SuperPitcher. I love these next two shots, especially because I hadn't been out onto a softball field since barely making it through two fourth grade softball games before giving up the dream. Maybe if I'd hung in there I could have developed into a superstar like Taylor. Don't worry. I'm not even fooling myself. She's pretty awesome.

This is Taylor's dad's favorite shot, and I really like it too.

Next up is Jacob, who is so cool that signs can't help but point at him.

See what I mean? Only a seriously cool guy could pull off this pose, and this was just one in a series of equally cool and impressive poses.

Jacob is interested in a career in criminal justice, and I do believe he'll have both the personal integrity and imposing stature to make a name for himself.

The car won't hurt either.

Mallory makes her mark by using a completely different approach: sassiness. Fabulous, confident sassiness.

In fact, I believe Tyra Banks could learn a thing or two from this young lady. One minute she's flouncing down a dirt road as if it's a high fashion runway ...

... and the next minute she's soft and serene in the late afternoon sunlight.

No matter what she's doing, Mallory is simply being Mallory, and that's a beautiful thing to behold!

Finally the day of my last senior session arrived, and I was so glad to get to wrap up the season with Ryan! I remember meeting him on the first day of first grade, and what a lively bunch of kids that class turned out to be. I volunteered to be Room Mom, so there were lots of opportunities to get to know all of the characters in that classroom. Ryan was one of the more, shall we say, cooperative students, and his bright, quiet smile was always a pleasure to see. It still is!

Here he is, smiling cooperatively while teetering dangerously near death on the slanted edge of a bridge with no escape should a train have suddenly come roaring around the bend.

And now he's standing in nearly waist-high grass as chiggers almost certainly scoot up his pants legs, yet he remains patient and calm.

Pretend to chew on a weed? Certainly, Mrs. Heath. You are insane, but I'm happy to humor you.

This last shot took some extra wheedling. Ryan keeps his enormous truck in pristine shape, and he would never climb up and relax on it. I'm glad he cooperated one more time though because it gave me the perfect ending for my last senior season blog post!

I love family sessions. I adore taking pictures of babies and brides and engaged couples and octogenarians and preschoolers and butterflies and pregnant tummies. But my absolute favorite subjects are seniors. Looking into their eyes and drawing out their unique mix of personality traits gives me great joy and satisfaction. I can't wait to get started on the next crop! (Well, I can wait for a few weeks while I recover, but you know what I mean.) Thanks to Taylor, Jacob, Mallory and Ryan for helping me wrap up this year on a high note, and may you never lose sight of just how perfectly YOU you were created to be.

We will not compare ourselves with each other

as if one of us were better and another worse.

We have far more interesting things to do with our lives.

Each of us is an original.

Galatians 5:26 MESSAGE