Winner!

I'm so sorry, I know I said I would post the winning picture last night, but it wouldn't let me!!!!

Okay, so go to my site, the picture is posted! (the first one)

She looks adorable!

Thanks for helping me make up my mind. I enjoyed having your input!
(Might put this poll thingy to use more often!)


Here's a little Halloween "tweet":



(Only one that I could find for Charlie Brown (Halloween classic!) - well, and one that wasn't dubbed over with something offensive...)
:)

Plans for Nov. 10th?

Cross Timbers Community Church is hosting a holiday gift market to help you finalize your Christmas shopping! There are going to be 60 crafty, creative vendors there, (including a familiar photographer that you just might know...).

The church is located on... well heck, here's a map I copied & pasted from their website, a bit easier than trying to decipher my directions:

Here is a link to the Holidaze site.

Come by and say hi to me! This is my first year to have a booth there, but I imagine it as a miniature Canton - cute 'n crafty galore!

50/50 Vision

Right now the poll is dead-on 50/50!

See, it is a tough decision!

I'm going to post the winning picture tomorrow night and put her up on my website! So if you have managed to pick a favorite, vote as many times as you like to help make my mind up. I still sit and stare and fall in love with one picture, then scroll to the other and change my mind!

Here's a couple more from these cuties:

Anatomy of Sibling Affection

Sweet little sister & big brotherly love...



Hey A, give your big bro a kiss!



Whoa, she really got him!



Sister A: SUCCESS!!! - Brother A: YUCK!!!



*Don't forget to vote below for this little sweetie!*

Viewer Supported

Okay, so I had an ADORABLE family session yesterday and this little cutie below has posed a problem for me. I can't choose between the two pictures!!!
I'd like to use one of them for the new opening picture on my website, but I cannot CHOOSE!
Well....solution: I've uploaded a poll counter, (how fun is that?!) so you all can vote and help me decide!!!

The contestants are:

Picture A


and

Picture B

I love how sweet her little hands are in Picture A, but then I love how sweet her little face is in Picture B....aaagghh!

Go forth & help me decide!!! (please)
:)

Christmas deadlines

Hey friends!

It's time to post Christmas deadline info.!

I've been getting questions, "how soon do we need to book to get Christmas cards on time?"

Well, that just depends on when you like to mail your cards. To give you a little time line that you have to work with, it takes about 3 weeks from the time I photograph you to the time you have your cards/pictures in your hands.
So if you like to mail your cards out say the first week of December, you would need to book your session around the middle of November. Which is good since that is where I am currently booked until! All of the early birds are finishing up, time for round 2. (Which I KNOW is where I'm going to fit in when I have a family), the oh yeah, November means Christmas gift shopping time is NOW!
Of course the same goes for just pictures. If you are only buying Christmas portraits and no cards through Birdseye Photography, it is the same time line, about 3 weeks from shoot to prints. So if you just want to have your prints in time to give as Christmas gifts (and you will be around the Metroplex the week before Christmas to pick them up - not going out of town), *THE* latest date for a Christmas session is **DECEMBER 8th.** And looking at my books, that leaves 11 spots available for 2007 portraits.

Wowzers, can you believe it's almost 2008???

Okay, I know I'm wordy...sorry, hope you caught all the details!


And here are some pics. because I know I do post sometimes without pictures, but I don't like to!

2 + 1 = a new family

Little D's mommy is getting married in December! (I think it's so sweet they included her in their engagement session!) They make such a cute, little family. New-Daddy-to-be is always cracking jokes and making D's mommy smile. This couple has been dating for 4...(or is it 5?) years. The Mrs. was quite ready for a ring!

And look at the gorgeous ring she received! (He picked it out himself!)

I'm looking forward to their big day as well. They called upon me to be their wedding photographer! I haven't included that info. on my website, about wedding photography, since that is not the main focus in my business, but it is definitely an aspect of photography I enjoy.

I loved how the berries behind them match perfectly!
(Laughter caught! A word of advice when photographing your kiddos/whomever, that seems so simple, yet I really have to pay attention to accomplish... If you are trying to capture a good smile/laugh in your shot, when something is funny, don't put your camera down and laugh with them, pull it up and get to work shooting away! I know, so trivial, but it's so natural to laugh right along with people, it takes work to resist that urge!)

:)


Congratulations you two....I mean three!

Morphism - did I just make that word up?

At home editing,
Comfiest pajama pants,
Thank you Lord, fall's here.

(A friend and myself have a haiku game. Well, she is a friend of my mother-in-law's, and through her, we met. We don't correspond often with each other, but when we do, it's only through haiku. (I know, sounds odd - I think it started because she and my MIL made up the "haiku game" - so much fun at birthday parties!) Makes for an interesting form of communication. The things you didn't know you could piece together to complete your thoughts!)

A favorite, new image - mostly for the symbolism, (& the cutie in the image & the whimsical coloring - okay, I like several things). Of course you may have to know this little girl to fully understand, but for the nearly three years when I've "spoken" with her on occasion, she's only given me one-word answers, & I can honestly say I didn't really know what her voice sounded like - very shy & reserved. Well, on the way to & from the session on Saturday, she & I had several conversations about school, Halloween, baby dolls, etc. Her mother made the point that this year, she has really "come out of her shell" - morphed into a butterfly, if you will.
And might I say, what a sweet little voice she has!

:)

*more images to come - I enjoyed editing this image and had to post it now!*

Card Pricing

I received a comment asking how much my cards are....yes, thank you, good question...been meaning to post that!

This applies to both my Christmas cards, and my birth announcement cards.

Well, they are all 5x7 inch, flat cards, with images on one side, (leaving the back either: a.} blank for you to hand-write your personal message, or b.} I can type a message on the back for you.) They are only ordered in sets of 25 and come with your choice of either white or parchment paper envelopes. There are 6 different paper options for the cards. I have paper samples of all 6 for you to hold and feel the difference in person to ease your decision process.

Paper choices/prices per set of 25 cards:

Standard Semi-Gloss
$62.50 ($2.50 per card)

Art Linen
$68.75 ($2.75 per card)

Art Watercolor
$68.75 ($2.75 per card)

Semi-Gloss with UV Coating
$75.00 ($3.00 per card)

Pearl
$75.00 ($3.00 per card)

Pearl with UV Coating
$81.25 ($3.25 per card)


And to leave you all in the Holiday Spirit, here are some more samples of my holiday card selection. (The small letters on the cards are a way of ordering them; differing them from each other. Of course they will not be printed on your order!) Also, these are just samples - all wording can be changed as well as each color on the card! Personalization is how I like to do it!
:)

*There are 18 holiday card choices in all, but I have to leave some surprise for your viewing session!

Dear Neighbors....

I'm sorry if you were awoken this morning, around 9 am, by an annoying car horn on your street. You see, my husband and I pulled in the driveway in his car holding our fresh brews of Starbucks. We open the doors to get out and the car alarm starts going off. Very shocked, we panic, my husband presses every button on his keychain "clicker" while I'm yelling, "PRESS THE BUTTONS!" Waves of embarrassment run over us as we CAN NOT get the car to stop going off! I get the idea that maybe it just needs to be turned on and then it will finally be satisfied with our frustration peaking. He tosses me the keys, I, (careful not to spill my venti/non-fat/white mocha/no whip latte - wouldn't that have just ruined everything!?!?!?), plunge into this noisy beast and turn the motor on..... no dice, alarm still sounding.
So this has probably been at least a minute gone by now, (of course feeling more like 10 minutes), with this relentless, commanding alarm! Even though the sound didn't cease when I started the car, the only other thing I could think of was "you have to drive away!" So I just had visions of my husband driving down the street, not only waking up our immediate neighbors on either side, but parading the noise down the whole area, welcoming everyone to this beautiful fall, weekend morning! (What could be more ideal?) - but we couldn't think of another alternative, we were a little stressed! Maybe it would stop after remembering it's a car meant to be driven, not an alarm clock!
So I grab my things to go into the house to hide out while sending my dear husband out into the wild world of taming the horn, (don't ya know I'm sweet like that, it was his car, so he would have to figure out the solution - I gave him a good idea though - DRIVE!)
As I'm walking past him on the drive way, I pass my car, notice its lights flashing....that's odd, why would my car respond to Stuart's car alarm by flashing its lights? Is it as annoyed as we are to his alarm sounding???

Um, *NO*, it was MY car that had the incessant alarm!!!!!

Evidently as I was getting out of Stuart's car, something in my purse pressed on the alarm button on my keychain "clicker." I just died laughing...after all that time cursing his car...(again, sorry neighbors, I'm sure you didn't think it was that funny...)

You've Got Mail

I wanted to share some cute cards I just got in!

The mom of these boys couldn't choose between these two pictures, so I had the perfect card for her that let her use a vertical and a horizontal picture!

I'm so happy with how it turned out! (And not to mention, go her for getting her Christmas cards done now so she doesn't have to stress about that the rest of the season!)

Adorable birth announcement! All of the colors on this announcement are changeable! The original blue on this one was a little more of a grayish tone, but this little guy's mom thought that blended in too much with the black/white picture. So we just turned it up a bit and made it more of a turquoise, and that really made a great difference! She had a good idea to mention that!

I love being able to offer cards. It's so fun to play with them on the computer and change out the pictures and the colors and really make them your own!

Holler Back Y'all

Mother/daughter Christmas portraits! I love their dresses; how they match, but not identical. These gorgeous women and I had fun running around the square last night shooting away, though unable to avoid passers-by. Yes, there was a whistle here or there, (certainly not in my direction!) but this momma bear hollered back like the good, protective mother she is.

:)

*(love the sun setting in the reflection!)*

Lil' Pumpkin

I played with D and his folks yesterday at the pumpkin patch! That was such a great idea from D's mommy to have his 9 mo. Chickadee Planner session there!
D had to warm up to the idea of smiling since we scheduled this right in the middle of his morning nap! (Though those smiles didn't wait too long to come out!)

You may recognize this cutie from his 6 month session...


(Such a cute, fun little family!!!)

These guys have a new place in my heart from when we had D's first session 3 mos. ago. His mommy found me through my ad in the Denton Connection, we chit-chatted during the session, I found out D's daddy is the worship leader @ their church, and at the time, my husband and I were looking for a new home church. We visited, loved it, and now we have grown into great friends! It's a wonderful blessing with my job that relationships can develop into friendships with my clients.

:)

So his session was just like we were hanging out while I brought my camera along!

Thought this was so cute, fitting along with his daddy's work...
:)

Yep, you guessed it...you'll be seeing this bright, blue-eyed guy again in another 3 mos. when he turns the big 0-1!!!

Birth Announcements Have Arrived!

The post below brings me to a new, exciting announcement: I now officially have an adorable collection of birth announcements for all of your little ones to show off to your friends and family!

I'll post more birth announcement examples soon, but I had to share this one, as of course, this little guy is fresh on my mind!

:)

Christmas Came Early

Another one of my maternity Chickadee Planners has graduated to Mommy & Daddyhood. Yea, bring on the babies!!!



This little man couldn't wait to meet Mom & Dad because he decided to arrive early! He is my littlest newborn yet at less than 6 lbs.

His mommy was definitely initiated during our photo shoot. I like to have naked babies when I photograph, but of course you do run a risk there, but I've never actually had the dreaded outcome before....until yesterday. This sweet mommy is sitting here in this very picture, very, very, WET!!! As soon as we got him snuggled in her arms, you just see this stream running down...what a good momma.

:)

No, I don't like to torture the sweet babes I photograph, but his daddy had this great idea with their dish. So we tried, and it turned out pretty unique, though little A was not too thrilled about the whole, non-Mommy holding me thing...

I say it every time, but it's so true, I love the pleasure of getting to watch these little ones grow.

New Town, New Life

This sweet couple just moved their family here from California when J was 7 months pregnant. What a strong momma!

A little fun bloggy behind the scenes tidbit: this shot was taken on their front porch. Again, what a strong momma! She is up for anything! Not everyone would listen to some crazy idea from their photographer and stand outside wrapped in some exposing fabric.
(But wasn't it worth it!?)
:)


Doesn't S look like he'll be the fun, but protective older brother? The little guy in his momma's tummy has a best friend waiting to meet him.

(You can't see it, but he's wearing his Cowboy's Romo jersey - S, not his unborn brother...(that made it sound like I was talking about the baby! haha)
I loved how S has already taken to cheering on his new hometown team!)

Baby Debut

Since I shared a complete session with you all in Sept., I figured I should do it again this month!


This handsome guy's momma agreed that his adorable session should be on display!

Simply go to my website, then click on Online Proofing, then Baby H.


I'll be back tomorrow with a maternity session to share!
I love mommies who allow me in to their little baby making world. So sweet to capture the before & after.

Jazz it Up

I made my camera strap a happy strap!

You know, when you don't have a cubicle to decorate, you get your kicks where you can! I've seen straps online before that you can buy (overpriced) that come with a cute ribbon on them. Well how hard is it to go out and buy a piece of ribbon and take it in to get sewn on yourself? And while I was at it, I had to personalize it too. I just love getting stuff embroidered, jazzing it up a bit more than necessary...

Being that my camera is someone (it's a co-worker in my eyes) I spend a lot of time with, she deserves to be spoiled every now and then too.
(I love how it turned out!)
:)

No Girls Allowed

These sweet boys just made my night last night. They have a kids wonderland in their backyard! After horsing around for a while, they rested in the tree house they helped their daddy build. We also played in their hammock, on their swing set, with their soccer balls, and the most fun - the new TIRE SWING!

Thanks to their fun, little boyish playtime, I get to have such a happy, new blog header!
:)

I had a fun time hanging out with you guys! Thanks for letting me into your little play heaven!