{Bluebonnet Mini Madness! Pt. 2} Central Texas Natural Light Photographer

Day ONE
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Minis started Saturday afternoon--- and the madness began! I packed my car, filled up gas, grabbed a Monster and headed out a little early to get everything set up!

 As you can see I am quite awake and looking very excited. I also look decent, and wearing my signature scarf & ray bans...you just wait.

We brought an insane amount of props, water bottles, fruit snacks, and lollipop bribes treats for the kiddos.

Since we were early, we decided we should play some. Bright sunlight like in the above pictures can be a little scary for us photographers. We are used to shooting at what they call "the golden hour." When you have 10 mini sessions booked, you can't stay to just the golden hour or you could get about 5 minutes per family! NO WAY!

Quick side note: Meet Emily (see below). She was our incredible, amazing, awesome assistant for the weekend. Not only did she greet families, but she carried props, held memory cards, told us when 20 minutes was up, helped the kids smile, and was even our guinea pig for lighting setups a few times! Thanks so much Em, we couldn't have done it without you!

Isn't she pretty? She's such a good model. This is what Lindsey gets when I go in front of the camera...it doesn't end well ;)

Before we knew it clients started arriving! We quickly got into photographer mode! Here are some behind the scenes shots.

 This is me in all my craziness. So, if you haven't booked a session with me yet, be prepared. I will probably be running at you like this to get your children to smile. And yes, I'll do it couples too. But you laugh, and it's natural. I lost my pride months ago and I'm proud of that. :) Thanks Linds for getting this!

 After 10 mini sessions on day one I was looking rough and ready for a glass of wine and my bed!

 We survived day one!

A few things I learned on the first day of minis this year:

1. Do not schedule back to back minis from 3:40 to 7:20 in a large field with no bathroom near you. One, you don't have time to drive to the bathroom. Two, there is no bathroom.

2.  DRINK WATER. Holy goodness am I thankful for the water bottles we brought!

3.  I would never attempt mini sessions without an assistant. I could not have survived the day without Emily, even if I could just look over at her and know she was there to support me!

4. I am SNAP HAPPY.

5. One can of Monster only lasts for the first hour.


Day TWO
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 Whew, okay, that was day one. Day two... here I am....7am! {Excuse the shaky iphone pictures} Looking quite crazy sexy, if I do say so myself. Only a few sessions in the morning and boy did we have some awesome clients! It was pretty cloudy and even started sprinkling a little- but that didn't deter us!

After spending the morning worrying about having to cancel afternoon session- we decided to risk it and are SO glad! It ended up being a BEAUTIFUL evening!

Here's a few more behind the scenes shots of us from day 2:

 Emily's husband even met her out at the field so she could take a break from assisting & they could do a mini session! :)


I had a few more on Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday, but the weekend is when the craziness took place! A note to all my clients: thank you SO much for coming out! I had so much fun and am so thankful that you chose me to capture your bluebonnet memories! Thank you for being patient with me as I edited- I took tons of photos and always try to work hard to bring you the best images I can!

Lessons learned on Day 2:

1. Don't trust what iPhone weather says.
2. Wear jeans & closed toe shoes when shooting in an unknown field. Even with socks, shoes & jeans, I still had ant bites.
3. Fire ant bites hurt.

[Me with my sweet model Lily (you'll see her in lots of my portfolio work!)]

Stay tuned for Part 3: Bluebonnets- Best of!

{Bluebonnet Mini Madness! Pt. 1} Central Texas Natural Light Photographer

Thought ya'll might enjoy a more "behind the scenes" post :)

Well, since this is my first year having my business in Texas during April, I decided it would be an awesome idea to do Bluebonnet Minis! Wow, what an experience! It was both fun & stressful, but I am so thankful for some amazing photographer friends (Lindsey & Katie) who did it with me! 

Back in March, we decided to look for the perfect field! Something I've learned about Texas Bluebonnets---it's like finding GOLD in this area, for photographers at least! If you find a nice, solid, full field that isn't on the side of the road, that isn't trampled, you have hit a gold mine. And you have to search.We waited patiently anxiously for the bluebonnets to pop up from the ground. Literally looked for hours weeks days for the perfect field! We drove down thru Copperas Cove and up through Temple, when finally by accident, we came across the perfect field and were so excited to get the word out to our clients!

This picture does not even begin to do it justice. I also had the privilege of going out before the minis to practice with Lindsey's sweet family of 6. And with our amazing Texas weather, of course we picked the one day of the week where it was FREEZING outside. But nothing will stop two photographers with a mission. So Lindsey dressed her kiddos & husband up and we headed out to the field! Here are some of her images:

Like I said, it was COLD. And you would never know it...! Wanted to show a behind the scenes of an "on break" picture. Huddled together wrapped in a blanket! The kiddos were such troopers!

 We let the kids warm up, so I did a few of Lindsey and her husband. Are these not the sweetest pictures you've ever seen?

 We finished up with this one- I love the Texas flare!

After our session, needless to say, we were PRAYING for better weather that Saturday and Sunday for our mini sessions! (See pt. 2) :)

{Punk Rock ShamROCK Styled Shoot} The H Family| Central Texas Natural Light Photographer

I have the most incredibly creative friend, Jayme. You can see her son's first birthday here. Anyways, her husband just came home from a very long deployment, and I was so excited when she asked me to shoot a special session for her family. St. Patrick's Day is her favorite holiday- and so she wanted to do a fun edgy Punk Rock Shamrock themed shoot. If you ever need a party planner, Jayme is your girl. She thinks of every detail. Check out their fun images below!

{The B Family: An Early Morning Homecoming} Central Texas Homecoming Photographer

I am just absolutely overjoyed about all the homecomings that I've shot recently! It makes me happy that so many people are coming home!

As you've read on my blog, some homecomings happen at night in a field, some happen in the morning in a hangar, some are a sweet surprise, and well...some happen in the morning.

Early.


Very Early. Like 5am early.

Few things get this photographer awake before 8am. You have a soldier coming home? You bet I'll be there.

I had the pleasure of shooting a homecoming where the baby got to meet her daddy for the first time! In fact, she got to wake up to go meet her daddy at 4:30am one morning last week! Unlike the other homecomings, this one was quite a bit smaller, but similar to the others, friends and family trudged into a gym on a chilly morning waiting anxiously to greet their loved one.

 Then there is the waiting. For what seems like forever, everyone is on edge waiting for news of whether or not the soldiers have landed. At least there was coffee...& donuts! Sweet big brother was so patient and helpful with entertaining his baby sister!

 Sweet kisses & joyful hugs are shared as it is announced that the plane is on the ground! While this is very exciting, this only means more moments of waiting. These last moments...the anticipation, the waiting, seem to drag on. Nine months have passed without seeing this family seeing their daddy and yet the clock continues to drag so slowly!

Every eye is focused on the back door. This is THE door. The door where their loved one will pass through- finally. The door that keeps opening and shutting WITHOUT your soldier. Families watch it with anticipation- waiting for sounds of buses pulling up to the back of the gym.

 Finally, the door opens, and the soldiers march in to the cheers of the crowd. The early morning is forgotten. The soldiers stand in formation in front of their families. Because the group coming home was a bit smaller, Aeriel was able to spot her husband right away.

This is the last part of deployment, almost the worst. You've spotted your loved one- you haven't seen in nine months- and you have to WAIT. They are thanked, prayed over, and a small speech is said. Families are painfully aware of the seconds ticking by. And finally-- they are dismissed to run to their soldiers.

 If you want to see the most pure & most incredible form of raw human joy, go see a homecoming where families who have not seen each other for MONTHS are reunited. Children have the most incredible smiles, are touching their soldier like they can't believe they are real. Tears of joy are flowing and there are hugs & kisses everywhere.

After taking a few treasured moments with his little buddy, daddy get to see his little girl for the first time. He hugs both children so, so close. His family is finally together again.

 I am so incredibly happy for this sweet family! Welcome home! <3