Fall Mini-Sessions: The M Family

What a sweet family the M family was!  I enjoyed doing baby Will's newborn shoot and family portraits back in June (click here), and it was fun working with them again this fall!

Their mama had this family styled to perfection, which was just too cute.  The boys' outfits were identical - just 6 years of an age / size gap.  So sweet!

Check out this mama's book, called, "The Christian Mama's Guide to Having a Baby." 
and her blog: http://www.christianmamasguide.com

Fall Mini-Sessions: The B Family

I met this family at the 2010 "A Wonderful Life" event at my church, so it was really fun getting to work with them again for a fall mini-session!

This mama wasn't sure how the shoot would go, as it was their first real portrait session since the boys were born.  I promised her it would go well, as I have a good amount of "smiles tricks" up my sleeve as a photographer.

I was out on a little exercise walk with Miles in the stroller about two hours before the mini-sessions that afternoon, and saw a beautiful tree with gorgeous leaves.  Growing up in the midwest, that isn't an uncommon thing at all, but here in Texas, we don't get a whole lot of leaf-changing trees that turn bright red and orange.  So I came back to that spot after our walk with a huge garbage bag and scooped a bunch of the leaves up... thinking that the kids in the upcoming mini-sessions would love them.  And love them they did!

The boys did great!  What handsome little guys they are, and what a sweet family of 4 the B's are.  Happy New Year to you, B Family!

Merry Christmas, Ya'll!!

Here is a little Christmas cuteness for you to start your day...

Fall Mini Sessions: The R Family

I am about two months behind in blogging the sweet families and children that I have had the pleasure of working with this fall!  Whoa... between our first birthday giveaway, the 25% off sale on boutique frames from The Organic Bloom (coming again next summer!), and doing and processing 35 sessions and three big events since then, blogging has taken a back seat.

But we're back!  :)

Here are a few sweet peaks from the R Family.  It was so much fun working with them again this fall.  Hard to believe that just last year at this time, we were doing a maternity shoot with the mama of these two, and then in February - doing newborn pics of Miss A (click here).

One of my Favorites {Austin Family Photographer}

This is another one of my favorite images for 2011.  I've been plugging away on a few promotional pieces and have so enjoyed reviewing and revisiting some of my favorite images from 2011.  There are a lot of favorites!  Stay tuned for more.

It has been such a treat working with sweet Gia twice this fall!  I look forward to doing her one-year portraits in early Spring before my own baby girl belly bump gets too big.

Isn't she precious?!

Cute... {Austin Family Photographer}

How cute is this little guy?!  This is one of my favorite images of 2011.

This little guy's name is Oliver, and I just love how he looks like such a little man in this photo.  Every time my 2-year old son sees little Oliver in my Miles of Smiles Photography video (click here), he goes, "All Over!" (He thinks "All Over" is "Oliver."  Precious...)

SPECIAL DEAL: $50 off a Complete Package for January!

Special deal just for my followers!

I have 2 spots left in January for full portrait sessions.  Book by December 23rd and receive $50 off The Complete Package option!  It includes a 1-2 hour photography session plus 30-40 high-resolution digital images on CD. 

Visit www.milesofsmilesphotography.com and click on "Investment" page for details.  

And don't forget - if you're thinking of booking a spring or summer session, it's never too early to get it on the calendar.  Especially because I will be out on maternity leave for part of the spring.  

Happy Holidays!

Sweet Love...

These two planned such a beautiful day to celebrate their love, family, friends, and nature.  I was so fortunate to have been able to photograph their special day this year.  I can't wait to do more weddings - now booking for Fall 2012!  www.milesofsmilesphotography.com

Our Beautiful ATX

Love this city...

The Definition of Cuteness {Austin Children's Photographer}

I swear... I am having SO much fun this holiday season doing all of these photo shoots for families!  The weekend before we traveled for Thanksgiving, I had 5 shoots in 26 hours, so needless to say I have literally hit the ground running since we returned on Monday evening.

I am so often reminded of exactly why I started my photography business, and have to say it is the most fulfilling job I have ever had.  But BOY oh boy am I working my little booty off this time of year!  Although it's fun, I do look forward to not working until 11:30pm every night and maybe even having a Saturday off in 2012.  :)  I have a feeling my pregnant body will require it at some point.  But I am SO incredibly thankful for all of the amazing clients I've had the fortune of working with this fall, and look forward to 2012.


(P.S. - If you're thinking of booking a session for Jan/Feb, let's get it on the books, because I will be scaling back a bit in Spring 2012 before my baby girl arrives in March.)

Here is a sneak peek from yesterday's mini-session with Mr. Holden.  Is he not the cutest thing you've ever seen?  And those EYES!  I am loving my Organic Bloom frames (get them here) and the chalkboard insert I made for it.  Fully customizable for any shoot we do, which is fun.

Here's to a great remainder of 2011!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

Tis the season for processing lots of orders, prints, and holiday cards.  For shooting and editing many sweet family sessions... For listening to Christmas music... For holiday joy.  And lots of hot chocolate with marshmallows!

A few fun events coming up: 

• I'll be doing free portraits with Santa from 10-11:30am on Saturday, Dec. 3rd at the Circle C HOA Party.  I'm excited to see what Miles thinks of Santa.  He doesn't seem to be intimidated so far, and is very set on asking Santa for a slide and swing set.
• I'm shooting a little girl's 5th birthday party at a kid's hair boutique on Saturday night.  Should be so much fun to see all the little girls enjoying dress up, their hair being done, and makeup.  It will give me a good look of what I'm in for in 5 sweet years with baby girl on the way.
• I'll be doing free family portraits again this year at the "It's a Wonderful Life" event on Dec. 10th at First Evangelical Free Church.  It's a FREE event, open to anyone, and is going to be awesome for the kiddos!  Check out all the live music, food vendors, and activities here.  http://fefc.org/#/events-registrations/a-wonderful-life

And sometime in the next week or so, I've got to get our Christmas tree up!  I decorated the rest of the house a few weeks ago because I knew it was my last free weekend until Christmas.  :)  If only there were 30 hours in a day... 

Hope you are all looking forward to a beautiful holiday season ahead filled with lots of love and laughter.

Family Portraits {Austin Family Photographer}

I was excited to do a newborn shoot in combination with family portraits last week at my clients' home.  These two older siblings were such big helpers to me!  Their baby brother is lucky to have them, as they love him so much.

Here are some family shots from our time together.  Click here for baby P's newborn shots.

Welcome to the World, Baby P! {Austin Newborn Photographer}

What a sweet baby "P" was.  So easy to work with!  I actually love that he was awake for a lot of our time together, as it allowed me to capture his beautiful blue eyes, and his interactions with his siblings and parents.  Enjoy!

By the end of the shoot, P was a tired little thing!

Fun Day at the Park {Austin Family Photographer}

I had such a fun time working with the M family.  I have know these kids' mama for as long as I've lived in Austin, as she is my doctor.  So it was fun meeting the rest of her family too!

Every time I visit this park, it gets more beautiful.  Enjoy sneak peeks from our session together!

Love Little Toesies... {Austin Newborn Photographer}

I don't know what it is about a newborn's little feet and perfect little toes... but they get me every time.

Before & Afters: What Keeps Photographers So Busy

If you ever wonder why a photographer stays SO busy, here is a good example.  The shoot itself is the easy part.  The hours of artistic and detailed editing to make sure each image is perfect?  Not so easy, not so quick, but definitely very rewarding!  One image can take a photographer anywhere from 1 minute to 30 minutes depending on the level of editing necessary.

Click on images to enlarge.  Notice difference in skin tone on face, arms, and legs.

Straight out of the camera (SOOC)

After editing

Working with Miss Gia Again {Austin Family and Child Photographer}

I had a fun morning working with Miss Gia and her family again last weekend!  (Click here for a cute video from our first meeting.)

Talk about a family that makes my job easy... These guys are so much fun to work with!  And Miss G didn't make one fuss.  I think she loves smiling for my camera and watching her mom and dad dance behind me for those smiles.  :)

Enjoy!

The H Family {Austin Family Photographer}

It was so great working with the H family again this fall!  I first worked with Stephanie for a fitness shoot (click here), and then followed that up several months later with a maternity shoot (click here and here).  So it was fun to meet her baby boy and do a family shoot this time around!

Enjoy a few sneak peeks... (Can you believe it was only about 40 degrees when we shot these?!)