Welcome Home, Soldiers! | Fort Bliss, El Paso Event Photographer

What's better than shooting a military homecoming for one amazing couple?  Shooting a double homecoming for two friends and their spouses!  What better way is there to spend the seemingly endless time waiting for your soldier than to be hanging out with one of your best friends?  You might recognize one couple from their R&R session in February.  It was definitely a challenge, but the results are well worth it!  Congratulations {F} & {M} families; the long wait is finally over!

Miss {S} | Senior Portrait Photography | Salado, TX

It is amazing how quickly the years fly by.  I first met Miss {S} as well as several other friends of my husband's family 8 years ago, when I started dating my husband.  Back then, she was cute, spunky, assertive, and was definitely one of a kind.  To be honest, not much has changed.  She is a beautiful young woman who is not afraid to assert herself.  She laughs at the goofy antics of her friends and loves spending time with her family, even if they drive her crazy, but there is something decidedly grown-up about her now.  I will admit to getting a little misty reviewing the photos from her session.  The years go by so fast, and I am just happy that I was able to freeze this small window of time for her family before we head to El Paso for the foreseeable future.

Miss {R} | Senior Portrait Photgraphy | Killeen, TX

Technically, although this is a senior-styled session, this beautiful young lady had actually graduated two days prior to our early morning shoot on Ellison campus.  Since the school year had ended on the Thursday before, there wasn't as much life in the school as there usually is on a Monday morning.  The parking lot was peppered with a perhaps a dozen cars of faculty members and students belatedly receiving their diplomas.  It was quiet, not too hot, and perfect for a photo session.

I can only imagine how it feels to walk on the grounds of the school that, only days before, was such a big part of one's life.  This chapter has closed for Miss {R}; she will soon start another as a freshman at Texas State.  There is always a kind of melancholy that comes with such transitions, but if Miss {R} was feeling it, she gave no indication.  She was smiling her lovely smile and laughing along with my assistant/sister/her friend and fellow c/o 2012 graduate as we breezed through the session, simply enjoying the morning.  Congratulations, Miss {R}!

Reuniting The Forever Newlyweds | Military Homecoming | Fort Hood, TX

I first photographed this adorable couple back in February for an R&R session.  They were sweet, affectionate, and energetic, soaking up every moment in each others' presence for the short window of time that they had together.  On the day of homecoming, all of those emotions of tenderness and excitement were still there, but it was vastly different.  Despite the heat and last-minute relocation and the long wait, there was a certain electricity in the air.  It is easy to get swept up in the anticipation of all the loved ones gathered to welcome their soldiers; it is even easier when you know just how much your subjects adore each other.  I will admit, I was  emotionally attached to making the homecoming photos as amazing as I possible could for this beautiful pair!  When it came down to it, after the soldiers were released to their families, my job was easy.  It is impossible to photograph them without capturing the amazing love they have for each other.  

 

The {G} Family | Family Portrait Photography

Nothing makes my job easier than wonderful clients.  I can't think of a single client of mine who has been less than 100% enthusiastic and compliant on a shoot, and this family was no exception.  Even better than their great attitudes and ridiculously cute, cooperative children was the feeling of being one of the family, even from a completely subjective standpoint as a photographer.  They were simply a fantastic, low-key-yet-high-energy bunch that I was pleased to be able to capture memories for before their upcoming deployment.  All the best for the year ahead, {G} Family!  You'll be taking family photos again before you know it.   

 

The {M} Family | Family Portrait Photography

Even before I met the {M} family on a beautiful Spring morning at Pace Park in Salado, I was determined to get the perfect family portrait.  That one fantastic shot with everyone looking at the camera, perfectly poised and smiling, that they would blow up and place over their couch.  I strive for that perfection.  But, the funny thing about the outcome of this shoot was that, the more time I spent with them, my perception of the perfect family portrait changed.  I started seeing perfection in their daughter's glee over the simple possession of keys and a stick, in a windblown portrait, even in their sweet, independent-minded little girl's determination to stand apart from the crowd.  I captured laughter, genuine smiles, and genuine tenderness even during moments of near-meltdown.  For this beautiful family, I couldn't imagine a more real and lasting kind of perfect.

Bluebonnets Pt. 2! | Family Portrait Photography

I have had the great pleasure of photographing the members of this family not one, not two, but five times prior to this session.  They have been wonderfully supportive of me as I have grown as a photographer, and I was thrilled to be able to capture a bluebonnet session of all of them together (last year Dad was deployed).  But what made me even more thrilled was being able to take part in helping them make the big announcement that (Drumroll please.....)......






.......They are expecting a baby boy!  I couldn't be more happy for them.  And doesn't she have the most adorable baby bump?