It’s that time of year again … which means it’s time to send out Christmas cards. We’ve been taking self-Christmas portraits to send out to our friends and family for the past three years. We’re definitely getting better at it … but it’s still surprisingly difficult. Here’s a few of my favorites from what we captured a couple of weeks ago for this year’s card:
I had the opportunity to be part of Wendy & Mark’s small and intimate wedding this past weekend at their home near the Firewheel Golf Course in Garland. It was such a pleasure to work with these guys … everyone was very welcoming and seemed very comfortable in front of the camera. Although this was their wedding … I was asked to focus more on portraits of family members, rather than the ceremony itself. We had a very small window of time to capture everything … so Jennifer made sure to keep me on my toes. This was my second week in a row to perform a shoot at a private home. It’s always a pleasant surprise to see what spots become interesting when you’re presented a limited environment. There were lot’s of neat spots in and around their home … but due to the cloudy skies … we had to stick to what we could find quickly outside. We squeezed in as many portraits as possible before the ceremony and captured the remaining few afterwards. There wasn’t much time for capturing details before everyone had to leave for the celebration dinner … but I did manage to nab a few ring shots in and around their kitchen. Thanks again to Wendy & Mark for asking me to document their day … we had a blast!
Nikki (mom), Matt (dad) and Jennifer (my wife) have all been friends since college at Louisiana Tech in Ruston. We typically try to visit each other once a year … but this year we got to see them twice! When we visited them in Copperas Cove earlier this year I remember seeing a few cool spots downtown that would make good photo locations … and wished I could use them. Needless to say, I was excited when over a month ago Nikki told Jennifer she wanted me to come down and do portraits of Evie and a few family portraits for Christmas cards. Due to crazy schedules … the only date available was this past Sunday. Little did we know … the weather was not going to cooperate at all. After driving three hours through endless cold, wet weather … I realized I wasn’t going to be able to use the locations I had in mind. Thank God for speed-lights, Pocket Wizards and for forcing me out of my comfort-zone … oh and furniture with character! I ended up turning their master bedroom into a mock studio and captured some unique images I’d of never captured had the weather been perfect. I think Evie had a better time playing in the dresser drawer than she would have had somewhere in downtown Copperas Cove anyways. There’s a ton of them … but here are my favorites.
One of these days I hope to have an actual work related post. But I’ll be the first to admit that photo sessions have been on the dry side the last couple of months … but light rain is in the forecast next month. So until then … I’ll keep posting whatever cool stuff I come across.
Jennifer’s grandmother suffered a few strokes recently … the second one left her totally blind. So it’s crucial for someone to be around most of the time to help out. We’ve been spending almost every Sunday about 40 miles south of Dallas in Ennis at her grandparents farm. It’s been nice to get away from the city for an entire day every week … and definitely away from the computer screen. Of course I usually have the camera on hand just in case I get bored or inspired. You’d think I’d run out things to photograph … but on 40 acres … there’s always something going on. Especially the cows … some of them act like they know they’re in front of the camera!
Here are a few shots from last Sunday:
My two-year old nephew Jakob was a tad spoiled by Nana and Pappie this Christmas! I begged my entire childhood for a Power Wheels … I remember drooling over them everytime we went to Toys ‘R’ Us. Yeah … I never got one. I’m not jealous … I swear! ; )
