The "B" Family | Family Portrait

I had the pleasure of photographing this gorgeous family in downtown Austin. The weather was perfect for walking around, clear blue skies with temperatures in the 70s. It was a 2 PM shoot, and other than having to use some creative measures to battle the intensity of the sun (OCF and secret shaded areas are wonderful!), it went smoothly. But the technical aspects of photography are nothing without great clients like this family: clients who are willing to walk whole blocks to reach multiple destinations, or to sit on the not-so-pristine, chilly ground to get *the* shot. They did it all with smile on their faces. Honestly, though, that probably had so much more to do with the fact that they were able to be together for Christmas this year, or that, for at least a little while, they are a whole family, able to hold one another and laugh together. What a blessing.

The "L" Family | Military Homecoming

Evening reunions in December are imperfect in many ways for a photographer. The lighting is bad, the cold saps the energy from batteries (even spares), and flash units devour their batteries with the voracity of a competitive eating champion. For a mother with two young children, I imagined it would be a long, arduous wait. My client (and her sweet little ones) proved me wrong.

Whereas I had a wide awake runner at my husband's reunion, her children were primed for sleep, and they did, despite the pounding of music from the DJ booth. So the wait was a calm one, punctuated by the occasional announcement and stirring of the eldest. When the buses pulled up, they were wide awake and smiling. Despite the dark and the cold. Their dad was home just in time for Christmas. No wonder there were such smiles.

Wall Art and Candy Shops | Senior Portraits

Believe it or not, in the going-on-17 years that I have lived in Texas, I have never seen downtown Austin in the daylight. 6th Street is a completely different animal at night, and South Congress wasn't even a blip on my radar. So when I began my search for a location for my younger sister's vintage candy shop shoot, I had no idea that a place like Big Top Candy Shop even existed. Well, thanks to Google, I found it, and I decided to take my sister as well as her boyfriend downtown for their senior photo sessions. Man, oh man, had I been missing out.

There is something eye-catching and picture perfect every few feet on South Congress. I passed antique stores, costume and apparel shops, even restaurants that served as eye candy for this doe-eyed photographer. I was in hog heaven, snapping everything from posters to storefronts to streetlights, stopping my clients every twenty feet or so to pose them this way or that. Luckily, they were just as excited about the shoot as I was, despite the constant drizzle of rain, so it wasn't difficult to get them to oblige me.

{K+M} | Couple Portrait

You may remember this couple from my first homecoming session back in November. At the time, I only got to see a small sample of them as a couple. Today, I got the whole enchilada: the affection, the consideration, the silliness and reminiscing.

At one point, we were making our way across a grassy patch to reach a location. Instead of letting his wife tread on the ground in her high heels, he gave her a piggy back ride across the still-dewy ground. It was an adorable and telling gesture, and I'm sure there will be several similarly touching moments in the years to come. That is one of the many wonderful rewards you reap when you marry your best friend.

I Got You, Babe | Event Photography

The title to this blog was inspired, of course, by the oh-so-famous Sonny and Cher song that just so happened to be playing as I was walking back to my car after this amazing homecoming shoot.

There were some not-so-amazing parts, of course. Homecomings are always a waiting game, and gloomy clouds mixed with scattered showers do not a gleeful (or dry) photographer make. As soon as my clients arrived, however, all of that changed. Of course, there was still rain, but suddenly there was a reason for me to embrace it, to run in it, to relish it. And when the soldiers arrived and the rain cleared, all the mud and wet and cold in the world couldn't keep them from smiling.

The {S} Family Homecoming | Event Photography

My love for event photography know no bounds. The emotions and details that tie in with them feed my creative giant. They fulfill me as an artist, but also as a human being. It is difficult not to get wrapped up in the excitement of a day like this cool, overcast day in December. The sun peeked through the clouds occasionally. It was not enough to persuade the loved ones waiting that there would be no rain, but it didn't matter. They clamored for seats close to the action, beneath the pounding music from the speakers, and waited. Sometimes patiently, sometimes walking around and conversing with the other spouses, hoping that the time would pass. As the minutes, then hours, ticked on, we would hear a blurb or two from the DJ, announcements that roused the crowd just enough to keep their spirits alight. Tiny flags were clutched in the fists of the waiting, ready to fly at the first sign of those beautiful white buses. When they finally arrived, there was an explosion of activity. Loved ones clamored for front row seats, crowding the front of the bleachers and cheering. And yet, amidst the energy, my client remained calm, unruffled. She stood at her seat, holding her flag at shoulder level, smiling serenely across the field at her husband. She was cool and collected right up until the men were officially released to their families. Then she was off like a shot, making a beeline toward her husband and leaping into his arms. It was a glorious moment, a private moment of joy that I was thrilled to be able to capture for them.