Mama-To-Be Vanja {Austin Maternity Photographer}

I had such a fun afternoon with Miss Vanja doing her maternity portraits!  It was my first session back after 5 weeks of maternity leave, and I was happy to (officially) be behind the camera lens again. 
(My camera has been quite busy the last 5 weeks with baby girl's arrival!)

May must be "maternity month," as I have three maternity sessions this month!  I love it... baby bumps and babies everywhere.  I had never met Vanja before, but by the time she left, I felt like I had known her for awhile.  Much longer than just an hour!  :)

She is a tennis star and loves the Longhorns, so of course we had to incorporate some "Longhorn love" and burnt orange into this shoot.  I love the way they turned out! 

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).

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!

Terry & Kelly: Fitting in Fitness {Austin Fitness Photographer}

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of doing Kelly's fitness shoot.  She is a very fit mama of 2 little ones.  And then about a week later, I enjoyed doing her own mom's fitness shoot.  These women work very hard to "fit in fitness" into their busy lives, which is inspiring to us all.

Check out their side-by-sides! It's hard to believe they are mother/daughter - and not sisters!

Here are some of my favorites from Terry's shoot.  Click here to see Kelly's images.

Kelly's Fitness Shoot

I had a great time last week working with Kelly, a very fit mama of 2 - at one of my very favorite places in this beautiful city!  Needless to say, with the 70 some days of triple digit weather we've been having this summer, we got started pretty early.

Check out her web site at www.racewithadvocare.com.

Looking forward to working with her fit mom next week too!

Cuteness x 4 {Austin Children's Photographer}

Growing up in a household with two older brothers and always wanting a sister...

To living in a house with 4 boys (2 of them are pets)... (they are adorable boys though... let me tell you!)

Maybe that is what makes this picture so darn cute to me.  It is girly... x 4!

30 Years Later...

I am a total fan of nostalgia.

When a client came to me and asked if I could recreate photos from 30 years ago of her and her father when she was about 2 years old, I said "ABSOLUTELY!"  This time, it would be her father and her daughter, who is almost 2. 

She wanted to give a photo session to her dad as a gift, and I couldn't wait to revisit the past, but also capture the very sweet present times as well.  What an incredible gift idea, and boy did he ever love the pictures!

Miss "E" and her "Pa" have a very special relationship, as I'm sure he had with his own daughter when she was 2.  They love to explore and just hang out, and they go to breakfast and get pancakes and grits every Tuesday morning.  It was very apparent from watching them (and Ma) interact that they share a very special love.

Here are a few shots from our day, as well as some of the original shots from 30 years ago.

Another Visit with Miss E {Austin Children's Photographer}

I had so much fun doing another photo shoot with this sweet little gal. 

Miss E is so much fun... just the right amount of sass paired with all the cuteness of beint a little girl.  Click here for our previous session last year.  She is great... she always lets me try out my latest vintage hat as a prop, and boy does she look cute in them!

Here are a few fun shots from our time together.  I can't believe she's almost 2! 

Mr. O Turns Two {Austin Children's Photographer}

When I first met O's mama in a fitness class I taught weekly at Pure Austin downtown, I think I knew we would be friends.  And when she quietly came up to me before class one day and told me she was pregnant, I was so excited for her! 

Pretty soon, she and I both had pretty round bellies and then we both had baby boys! 

Mr. O is so darn cute.  I'm not sure what is cuter... his big blue eyes, beautiful blonde curls, or the stylish way his mama dresses him.  It was so fun doing their photo shoot in a  place where they (and Miles and I) spend so much time exercising and adoring our beautiful city! 

Here are more shots from our day.  Many more over at the "Miles of Smiles Photography by Sarah" facebook page.

Having one of those days...

I am having one of those days where I am almost overflowing with giddiness and gratitude for the creativity that God has given my brain.  And for the opportunity to be on this journey of photography and to get to experience all of the joy that comes along with it. 

SO much more to talk about from the sweet session we had this morning, but here is a sneak peek.  More coming soon.  And lots of sneak peeks over at the "Miles of Smiles Photography by Sarah" facebook page!

Miles of Smiles Photography World

There are so many fun things happening around the Miles of Smiles Photography world!  Things are busy, busy, busy, and I could not be any more grateful to my amazing clients than I am right now.  I feel so blessed to get to love what I do and to be able to share it with others.  And their support and feedback is so amazing and truly drives me. 

Last week, my blogging work was all "girl," (click here) and since then I have worked with two families that each had two boys! 

Saturday morning, I enjoyed doing a shoot for the P family at a beautiful home right on the shores of Lake Austin.  Here are a few shots to enjoy.  More over at the "Miles of Smiles Photography by Sarah" facebook page!

Baby G = Gorgeous {Austin Newborn Photographer}

I cannot even tell you how much I enjoyed Baby G's photo shoot last month.  She was the perfect baby... sleepy, and not objecting to the hats and tutus that I brought along.

She is such a perfect reminder of how perfect God's plan is.

Get ready for some absolute sweetness.  I think these pictures gave me a little bit of "baby fever."

More pics over at "Miles of Smiles Photography by Sarah" facebook page.  

Camera Critters

People often ask me how I get children to smile.  They swear up and down that they try and try to get good pics at home... but their kids don't smile for them like they do when I come around to photograph a session.  But that is why you hire a photographer, right?  The work is done for you, and if you're like me - you like to get in the frame once in awhile to get great photos of you with your child(ren)... instead of always being behind the camera.

Here are a few of my "secrets."
1) I am new to them.  Trust me... I don't get my own (very active almost 2-year old) to sit still and smile all that often myself.  But when new people are around, he is more likely to hold a pose just long enough for his mama to click her shutter button and get a great shot.

2) I have a "Camera Critter" on my lens that looks like a very popular red character on TV.  I cannot tell you HOW great this is... not only do the kids recognize him, but they LOOK at him while I photograph them.  It's funny... in every shoot with children, I get several shots of the kid(s) pointing at the camera, because I always ask them, "Where is Elmo?" and they laugh and point and say "THERE HE IS!"  Too cute.  I love my job...

  3) My last secret is that I have a tiny sweet candy treat in my camera bag that I reward the children with (pending their parents' approval, of course) for smiles. (And I usually sing some funny songs, dance some funny dances, etc.  Smiles are worth the work!)

Head Shot Mini-Sessions - May 11th!

We all know how hard it is to find the time and energy to keep a good head shot of ourselves on file these days.  But it is so important that we do - so that we don't find ourselves using a photo that "isn't so recent." 

Are you needing a fresh head shot to keep in your back pocket, use for your website, facebook profile, or portfolio?  

I am doing a mini-session day on May 11th from 4-5pm in a beautiful park in South Austin.  (Otherwise, I also have the "15/2" package option for $40 to use another time.)

For just $40, get a 15-minute sitting plus 2 beautifully edited images along with a printing release.  (This means that you may print, share, and use them any way you wish.)  Images will be emailed right to you within one week of your session!

• Wednesday, May 11th 4-5pm at a beautiful park in South Austin (Mopac/Slaughter)

Contact Sarah at milesofsmilesphotography@yahoo.com to schedule your session and click here for more info.   Visit gallery of head shots at www.milesofsmilesphotography.com and click on "Gallery 2."

BBQ4JD Event & Bevo

I was so happy to volunteer my photography services last Friday at an event called BBQ4JD.  JD Hartman and his family are incredible, and have faced many challenges since JD had a near drowning accident 2.5 years ago.  (Click here for previous post and photo session with the Hartman family.)

To kick off my time there, I was lucky enough to get to photograph families and children along with Mr. Bevo (the Univ. of Texas Longhorn mascot!) himself!  How cool is that?!  He is quite the animal... so big, so beautiful, and so calm. 

Here are a few peeks of the shots with Bevo.  Visit my "Miles of Smiles Photography by Sarah" facebook page for more shots!

Tha Hartman Family

Cute lil' Longhorn fans!