A Mama's Love {Austin Baby Photographer}

I am quite sure there is nothing sweeter than a mama's love for her baby. Wouldn't you agree?

I just started editing photos from sweet pea "C's" session last weekend, and they just make my heart melt. Here is one of my favorites so far...

More to come soon!

The 3 "S" Families {Austin Family Photographer}

Friday afternoon, I enjoyed doing a photo shoot for 3 families.

I first met the "S" family last summer. One of my close friends works with A and thought that we might get along well since our kids are about the same age and we live a few blocks from each other. An introduction and a few play dates later, she was right, and little Miles has a crush on Miss "E." :)

2 of the 3 families were in town from the northeast for Miss "E's" second birthday. It was a pleasure working with all of them!

Here are a few shots from our session. More to come soon over at my "Miles of Smiles Photography by Sarah" facebook page!

Miss "E" had quite the party today! There was a petting zoo, pony rides, great food, and much more. Photos to come soon.

Cool

A few weeks ago, I did a photo shoot with Jessica and Brian. (Click here.)

Jessica is Miles' daycare provider extraordinaire, and Brian helps out by making the kids laugh and playing them (amazing!!) music on his guitar when he is there. Some music he even writes himself!

(Ah... I remember the days when I had time to sit outside in the sunshine and write songs and play guitar. Now I'm limited to playing/singing "Itsy Bitsy" (spider) and "EIEIO" as Miles requests / calls them. But it's precious nonetheless, and when he cheers and says "YAY Mommy!", it absolutely melts my heart.)

It was so fitting that I captured some great pics of him playing guitar at our shoot. How cool is Brian (or "Bah" as Miles calls him)?!

Headshots & Fitness Faves

A few months ago, I enjoyed doing a fitness photo shoot with Stephanie. She is a very talented fitness professional and soon-to-be mommy! Check out my previous blog post from 12/11/10 for more pics from our session at http://www.milesofsmilesphotography.com/ (click on BLOG).


Here are some of the headshots and other faves that I edited with my new software.

T is for Tiny {Austin Newborn Photographer}

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of doing "Miss A's" first photo shoot. I shot her family's Christmas photos back in November, and then her mommy's maternity shoot in December.

Naturally, I was very excited to meet the little baby bump that I had just photographed a few weeks earlier!

Here are a few of the shots we got that day. What a beautiful little girl she is, and a sweet family of four they are!

Half of mommy and half of daddy...

Experience at the Mall

Several people have asked me what the "poor experience I had at the mall" was (click here). So I thought it might be worthy of a blog post, as it really explains how Miles of Smiles Photography began. Please know I am not trying to talk negatively about anyone... I am simply telling the story of my experience and what really jump started this area of my life that I am so grateful to be living.

Having a baby is filled with so many emotions. Incredible waves of happiness, some of fear and uncertainty, and others so full of love that words could never properly express. And of course, expenses rise quickly the second that baby is born (and even long before that day).

I wanted great photographs taken of Miles when he was tiny. Of him in my hands... of his tiny little feet sitting in my hands... of his little body all curled up and sleeping... of our family together. (Click here... like these that I took of sweet baby "A.") But we just couldn't afford to splurge and spend hundreds of dollars on them.

So what did I do? While on maternity leave, I set up many informal "photo shoots" on our couch and tiny little Miles was a trooper. And about four months after he was born, I had my dear friend Laura come over and snap some photos of our family together. I researched the shots that I really wanted, and she was able to get us some great shots. Nothing professional, as I just had a plain little camera, but certainly sweet and beautiful photographs that we were hoping for.

Finally, when Miles was about 9 months old, I decided it was time for us to splurge and get some official family photos taken. So we headed to the mall. (I realize that was not the most professional photography option around, as there are many photographers in Austin that do amazing work, but that was all we could afford.)

And we walked into an experience that I honestly hope that no one else ever experiences when they have long-awaited photos taken of their baby. The woman doing our photos had no idea how to position us or take the photos before Miles moved. (I had to take care of those things myself.) We would all be looking and smiling, and she would just hold the camera and wait.

And she had to stop half way through for a smoke break. (?!?!) When she came back, she took another 5-10 shots (some okay, some blinking, etc.) and said, "Okay, we're done... I've taken your 30 shots."

First of all, I had no idea we were being limited to 30 shots, as that was never mentioned. Secondly, half of the 30 shots she took involved one of us blinking, Miles being blurry because he was moving, or someone not even looking at the camera.

To say I was frustrated was an understatement. And then, I had to go and edit/crop the photos myself on the computer in the store. To put it plainly, I would have had better luck asking a friend to come to my house and take photos of our family. So we walked out, feeling very defeated, and having just spent nearly $200 on the sitting fees and the CD of images. (I wanted to have the CD / ownership of images so that I could edit them myself and develop them from there vs. ordering them through that store.) Of the 30 shots that were taken, only 5-10 of them were "keepers" at all. (I didn't know that until after we made the purchase.)

After sitting on my frustration for a few days, I realized that this situation was worthy of a note to the company. So I wrote a very friendly note (really, it was very friendly) and just mentioned my disappointment with the money we spent and the products we received.

They were sweet and had us come back and do a photo shoot with the store's manager. She did a great job with us, and the photos turned out okay. But they were just that... okay. And I once again had to edit them at the store's computer myself and then got the CD of images.

When I walked out that day, my dream and vision for Miles of Smiles Photography became very real to me. And ever since that day, I have worked very hard to create something that provides convenience, timeless photographs, high quality products, and exceptional customer service from start to finish for my clients. I promised myself that no one would leave my photo shoot feeling the way I did that day.

And after countless hours putting together and implementing a business plan, creating my own web site, investing in a great camera and lenses, educating myself on about a thousand things, and about a hundred other things that come along with starting a business, here we are. And I could not be more excited.

It is funny how God uses random situations to build beautiful things. And for that, I am incredibly grateful. The journey has been a lot of work, but every minute has been worth it, as I truly love capturing special moments and seeing and hearing my clients' reactions when they see exactly what we captured. I look forward to seeing where this road leads.

The K Family - Part III {Austin Family Photographer}

Such a sweet family. I have had the pleasure of getting to know them well the last 15 months, as Miles goes to daycare with cute little "J."

The K Family - Part II {Austin Children's Photographer}

As a photographer, there are those shots that pop up on our screen when it is time to edit that just take our breath away. This was one for me. I just couldn't wait to show his mama!

Are those eyes amazing or what?! No photoshop'ping on the eyes... I promise!

The K Family - Part I {Austin Family Photographer}

I had a wonderful time doing the K family's photos last weekend. "G" wasn't so excited at first, but I tell you what... being a mama myself has sure enhanced my ability to find ways to get smiles and make things fun!

The little pieces of candy I had in my pocket certainly helped get a few of these sweet smiles! And once the smiles started from "G" they didn't stop. HE was actually asking me to keep taking pictures of him! And what a great job he did.

Here are a few photos of Mr. "G." More sneak peeks from this family's session are over on my "Miles of Smiles Photography by Sarah" facebook page. Enjoy!

Baby Love... Part II {Austin Maternity Photographer}

I love photography for so many reasons.

It is such an incredible means to capturing those special moments in life that make hearts flutter. And I am so excited to be able to freeze those moments in time for my clients to enjoy for years to come.
Sunday's maternity shoot was a great reminder of what love should look like between a couple, especially one that is about to welcome a baby any day.

As the baby was kicking his mama during the shoot, it reminded me that just 18 months ago, I, too had a baby boy in my belly and was anxiously awaiting his arrival. Talk about a love like no other... I am excited for what they are about to experience.

Here are more photos from our shoot. For additional images, visit my "Miles of Smiles Photography by Sarah" facebook page. Enjoy!

Baby Love {Austin Maternity Photographer}

We all have those people in our lives that we are happy to call dear friends. Lindsay is one of those people in my life. We met when she auditioned to join my staff of fitness instructors, and struck an immediate friendship.

Over the years, we have enjoyed lunch dates where we just sit and catch up on life. It has been so fun sharing our pregnancy stories and experiences, and I am excited for her to have a baby boy in just a few weeks. I can only imagine what our lunch date talks will consist of!

I was so looking forward to doing Lindsay and Kyle's maternity session today. And I have to say, Texas weather was cooperating nicely! Hard to believe we had a snow day just two days ago, and today was sunny and 70 degrees.

Here are just a few photos. I have more editing to do and will post more, as they are precious and reflect just how in love this couple really is. Their little boy is going to be one lucky little man.

SNOW Day in Austin!

I'm glad it will be almost 60 degrees again tomorrow.

Sweet Giveaway Winners: The "S" Family {Austin Family Photographer}

I did a special giveaway of a mini-session for Valentine's Day, and it could not have gone to a nicer family.

In the pre-session paperwork, I always ask my clients what feel they are going for in their photos. This family mentioned the words "joyful, energetic, timeless." I also ask what the one thing my clients love most about their family. They mentioned "very close, loving." I could not agree more with the words they chose to describe their sweet family, and I think those things shine through in their photos.

The "S" family was so loving and sweet to each other, and it just made my heart happy to do their family photos. She said when she learned that she won the giveaway, she did a happy dance in her kitchen. It was the first time they had done family photos since "B" was just one year old!

He goes down in the books as one of the nicest and most easy-to-photograph kids I have worked with. What a doll! Hard to believe my little boy will be this in just five years.

More photos from this shoot are on my "Miles of Smiles Photography by Sarah" facebook page.

New Blog Location is Here

I am moving my blog from my web site (www.milesofsmilesphotography.com) over to this location on Blogger. For previous blog posts, please visit my web site and click on "BLOG." Enjoy!

The Watkins = Picture of Love {Austin Couple's Photographer}

If ever there was a couple that was the perfect "picture" of what love should look like, it is these two. What a fun, sweet, and loving couple they are!

I count it one of my biggest blessings in life to have met and to know them, as Jessica cares for my son while I am working and has just given him so much love, quality teaching, and encouragement in his little life. So has Brian, or "Bah!" as Miles likes to call him.

I had such a great time with these two during the shoot, and Brian could not believe how fun it actually turned out to be. (I hear he is normally not a huge fan of photo shoots.)

And a bonus was that I even got serenaded by Brian while he played the guitar in some of the shots! Too cool.

More shots from this session are on my "Miles of Smiles Photography by Sarah" Facebook page.

So Tiny

The best gifts so often come in tiny packages...

Valentine's Day - Best Gifts?

Valentine's Day is coming up, and I have a question for you.

What is the best or most creative Valentine's Day present you have given (or been given)? I would love it if you left a comment on my "Miles of Smiles Photography by Sarah" Facebook page (under the Valentine's post), as I might "borrow" an idea for a gift for my own sweetie. Thanks!

I love this shot. I had it planned in my head, and it turned out even cuter through my lens and on my camera. And if you knew just how precious this couple was, your heart would smile.

Have a sweet Valentine's Day!