April 28, 2014

Gorgeous Mama-to-Be {Austin Maternity Photographer}

There is something so special about maternity portraits.

Maybe because it is the end of a journey (pregnancy) that in all actuality is just beginning with the birth and life of a baby.  Maybe it is because a year from now at her baby's first birthday, she will look at that and not believe that her sweet baby was that beautiful baby bump.  Bodies are amazing in what they can do, and I just love celebrating that beauty through maternity portraits.

I loved J's mini-session from start to finish.  And adding Ranger (her pup) to the mini-session made it even sweeter!  Her husband purchased a gift certificate for this session for their wedding anniversary several months ago.  What a sweet and thoughtful idea!  Enjoy a sneak peek into our evening together.








Bluebonnet Mini-Session: The H Trio

Oh, how I have loved getting to know and work with the H Family since our first meeting for M's maternity session last summer!  And then adorable D's newborn session.  (Click here for all that cuteness!)  Wait until you see how much little D has grown the last few months since the images below were taken.  I love those cheeks!


And now for a beautiful bluebonnet session with a mama and her two loving boys.    The bluebonnets were beautiful, the laughs were many, and they continue to be such a wonderful family to capture on camera.  One thing is true about little E... when I get to work with him, I laugh as much as he does!  The boy is just pure joy.

Enjoy a sneak peek into our spring session.








April 25, 2014

Happy Easter! {Austin Family Photographer}

I grew up in a town of 1,200 in the Midwest where everyone knew everyone.  Although I adore this wonderful city,  living in a big city makes me miss that a lot sometimes, which is one of the many reasons I am grateful for my little community here in Austin.  It is pretty big, but not so big that I don't see someone I know or have met at some point when I'm out and about.  I love that.

And I love getting to volunteer and do photography at some of the amazing events that our Home Owner's Association puts on.  It is always so much fun working with all the kiddos and families!  Here are some sweet shots we got of kids with the Easter Bunny at the Easter Egg Hunt event recently.

CC Families: You may find your images here for free downloads through May 31st.  Enjoy!




April 23, 2014

Love Letters: The F Family

I received the sweetest email from the F Family in my inbox last night.  (See info. below image.)  Talk about making a photographer smile!


From the F Family:


"We first heard about Miles of Smiles Photography from the advertisement in our neighborhood newsletter.  We decided to contact Sarah for our newborn photo session because of her emphasis in newborn photography.  Sarah was very pleasant to work with, from the very first phone call discussing the session through the delivery of our photos. 
Initially, we were only going to do the newborn session, but as we were looking at her website in greater detail in preparation for the session we decided we had to have Sarah capture moments throughout our daughter's first year through her Baby's First Year Plan.  

Her photography is stunning!  We had such a great experience during our session.  We were amazed at Sarah's talent and patience!  She is very detail oriented, which made our pictures that much more special. We were very pleased with how the pictures turned out and with the products we purchased.  We can't wait for our next photo session!"  ~ The F Family


I loved our newborn session with the F family and tiny little Aubree, and can't wait to photograph her twice more this year.  She is one of my Baby's First Year Plan members.  It is so fun to get to capture such sweet times during a baby's first year as she grows!


Click here for the blog post about her newborn session.  



April 20, 2014

Aubree ~ 8 Days New {Austin Newborn Photographer}

This session is really one of those "Small World" stories.  Little Aubree's mom contacted me in her last trimester to set up a Baby's First Year Plan.  (That includes a newborn session, 6-8 month session, and a one-year session, to capture baby's growth the entire first year.  It also includes a free 16x16 or 16x20 wall collage and gift of 50 boutique birth announcements.)  I noticed on their check that it had an Iowa Hawkeye on it.  So in an email I joked with them, because I went to Iowa State University.  (Those two universities are state rivals.)

Then we found out that not only did we both grow up in Iowa, but we grew up within 20 minutes of each other, and my aunt's family lives in that same town.  Small world!

At the session, sweet Aubree was an absolute angel.  She was so tiny (about 6.5 pounds) and rocked it.   And she officially wins the award for THE most amazing newborn skin!  And both of her grandmas (both from Iowa) were able to participate in and watch part of the session, which was really fun as well!  So my Texas house was filled with Iowans.  I loved that.

F Family: Congratulations on your perfect little addition.  I love the beautiful canvases and boutique frame we designed for your home and hope all of the images bring many smiles to you over the years as you watch Aubree grow.  I can't wait to photograph her twice more this year and have you as my Baby's First Year Plan members.

Here is a glimpse into our morning together...





Both Grandmas were in town visiting from Iowa.  So fun that we got to include them in Aubree's newborn session!



I almost wanted to keep these for my office display!  So pretty.  I love getting to design such colorful and meaningful artwork for my clients' homes!






Isabella ~ 2 Weeks New {Austin Newborn Photographer}

I tell you what, this spring has been filled with cuddles from the sweetest little newborns!  I love my job for so many reasons, but cuddles with tiny, fresh, curly little newborns is definitely one of the things I love the most about Miles of Smiles Photography.

Newborns stay tiny for a matter of DAYS, and it is so wonderful photographing those sweet moments for the families that I get to serve.  (And the baby cuddles are icing on the cake!)

I remember sitting in my office at UT with this sweet babe's mom a few years ago (where I worked full time coordinating the fitness program) with tears in my eyes because I just wasn't seeing my baby boy enough and I knew I had to make a change eventually.  (That was right about the time that Miles of Smiles Photography was born.)  She was there, just listening, encouraging, and supporting me.  She gave me so many gifts of her time, friendship, and encouragement during my 8 years there, and I'll forever be grateful to her.

And I just love watching her become a mama herself.  Life is good.

Enjoy a sneak peek into little Isabella's session.  {E: Congratulations on your beautiful baby girl and your new role as "Mom."  May it bring you countless blessings and smiles.  xoxo}








April 17, 2014

I'm Back!

Wow... has it ever been a busy spring!  Since getting back from our Iowa trip less than a month ago, I've had lots of newborn sessions, family sessions, wildflower mini-sessions, my baby girl's 2nd birthday and party, a week long stomach bug, and lots of other fun stuff happening with the kiddos, my upcoming photography studio, and trying to balance it all so that I can get all of my work done and still squeeze in a few snuggles on the couch with my handsome hubby.

The kids and I enjoyed 7 days in Iowa visiting my family and we had so much fun on the farm!  I tell you what... I always loved that place, but watching the joy in my own children when they are there enjoying it really makes my love for it triple.

And I must admit, it is so nice for me to get out of the city, away from traffic and huge to do lists, and just "be" my old self every now and then.  But it's also nice to come back to our sweet little life here in Austin.  There are more houses (3,000) in my community than there are people (1,200) in my hometown!  It is the one place on Earth that I can say I actually feel young there.  So many wonderful childhood memories of raising pigs, horses, rabbits, sheep, cats, you name it... we raised it.

Here are some snapshots I took while we were there.













Sweet Griffin {14 Days New}

This baby.

This tiny, adorable, full head-of-hair baby.

He gets the official award for "best baby behavior" during any of my sessions.  Little Griffin was just perfection.  He was putty in my hands, even at two weeks of age.  One of my favorite newborn sessions to date.  And I loved that I had to brush his hair several times during the session... he has perfect hair and reminded me so much of my little baby boy almost five years ago.  (Just wish I would have gotten adorable newborn portraits of him then.  My one regret in life.  But nonetheless, I am thankful that it (not having NB pics of my baby boy) catapulted my dream into a reality business of Miles of Smiles Photography 3.5 years ago!)

B Family: Congratulations on your beautiful family and precious baby boy!  Thanks for allowing me into your home to capture such sweet memories of the three of you.

Here is a sneak peek into our session: