Sometimes photographing large family groups can be, well, not so fun.  It can be a little stiff, a tad stuffy, and can reek of over-the-top-traditionalism (yes, that was my big word for the day.  Go me!).  But, when the *b* family contacted me about a family session, they seemed different.  Not different in a bad way — in a good and potentially really fun way.  In fact, when they emailed me, they even included images of them being really candid (i.e. that’s code for acting silly).  Once I saw that, I was pretty much in 

So, fast forward to our session, which we decided to shoot at an awesome vineyard and winery in Athens, Texas.  It was crazy windy, but in spite of that, we had a great time shooting.  We had so many great shooting options at the vineyard and towards the end, we ended up with some absolutely gorgeous light.  Don’t believe me?  See for yourself!

And finally, a “candid” shot:

Thanks *b* family, it was fun!

Until next time,

Tammy

East Texas Family Photographer

This is one of my favorite sessions of the year, even though it didn’t involve children (my focus and passion to photograph!).  But, I did love the other small subjects that happened to be involved — four legs and all    I also loved the divine light, the couples emotion (they are sweet newlyweds) and the challenge of working with three canines in a field full of smells, sights, and sounds!

Let’s get on to the adorable subjects (all 5 of them!):

I wish I could blog every recent session, but I am editing, ordering holiday cards, and getting galleries up as fast as my little fingers will let me.  Hopefully, as things slow down I can go back and blog some of the wonderful sessions I have had recently.  I am sharing more sneak peeks on facebook though (it’s a little faster!) so be sure to check me out there.

Until next time,

Tammy

A few days ago, we arrived home from a whirlwind trip to NW Arkansas.  I must have been crazy to leave in the midst of my busiest time of year, but there were so many fun and amazing perks to the trip, I just couldn’t say no.  And thank goodness I didn’t!  Quite honestly, I ended up having an amazing time, in a beautiful location, visiting with old (young!) friends, shooting, and spending time (away from computers and cell phones) with my husband, two boys and one of our dogs at beautiful Devil’s Den.

The trip started out as a visit/trade out shoot with a friend from college, who I reconnected with via social networking sites a couple of years ago.  Funny thing, we both ended up being photographers and over the last year, it’s been so fun getting to know each other again and talk about our businesses.  I also ended up being able to coordinate a session with a friend from Kansas, of her two beautiful daughters, but that’s another blog post to come!

So, on to the good stuff.  I have to show off the images I shot of my beautiful friend (inside and out!),  Bobbie Yocum of Yocum Photography.  If you are looking for a fabulous Fayetteville, Sprindale, or NW Arkansas Photographer, she is your girl!  I had such a great time shooting her family session, at a to-die-for location that I happened to discover on my way back to Devil’s Den one morning.  The foliage was amazing there, plus there were several abandoned little buildings on site, gorgeous green grass and what I didn’t know when I first saw the location, a mega light trap.  What is a light trap, you ask?  A ‘light trap’ is a small pocket found in extremely rare places on earth that traps totally glorious, radiant, fall-on-your-knees-and-cry-of-happiness, amazing light.  Okay, I totally made that definition up, but I do hope it hammers my point home.    Have a look at what we ended up with:

Bobbie, her sweet husband Kevin, and their gorgeous daughter, *B*…

Some images shot in the above mentioned “light trap”, I love these of Bobbie and her baby girl:

Some of Bobbie and Kevin… I *heart* these…

All together again:

And finally, as we were running out of light, a little use of off camera flash (I love the background!!!):

Many thanks to Bobbie for shooting my own family photos as well.  What I have seen so far, I just adore!  I will try to share some of them here soon    Lots of other blogging to come — I have so many good shares coming up, just need to get my feet back underneath me, whew!

Until next time,

Tammy

Over the last year or so, I have been incredibly lucky to become good friends with several of my photography peers in the area.  I love having a group of friends who know exactly what I mean when I utter any of the following words/phrases:  f1.2, iso, tilt shift, back lit, alien bee.  Or having a friend who can help me find “the sweet light” in any given room or situation, in under .02 seconds.

One of these awesome peeps, is wedding photographer, Alex M .  Not only is Alex an amazing wedding photographer, he’s also a super nice guy *and* a great husband and Dad to 4 really cute little people.  So, you can imagine I was pretty nervous stoked when Alex asked me to photograph his family.  I mean, photographing another photographer is a little different.  They totally know what you are or are *not* doing right    Plus, everyone has their own distinct sense of photography style that they like (or else they wouldn’t shoot that way!).  My style is soft and warm and fuzzy compared to Alex’s more modern, rock-star, humorous style.  All that said, we had a great time and even though we had some major things to overcome (locked gates, crazy cows, FULL sun (a photographer’s worst friend!), a grumpy old lady, ants, a few tears) we ended up with some awesome imagery.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed shooting it.  Gear up friends, this is a long one:

Okay, quick story on the first image… the truck (that I LOVE)  in the image is one that was a little difficult to get to.  The people that owned the property, that assured me they would be there on the shoot day, weren’t there.  So, what other choice did we have, but to trespass climb a fence?  So, imagine all seven of us, plus my gear, plus a ladder, making it over barbed wire fence.  Thank goodness there was this really HUGE guy, with big muscles there to help all of us make it over    The climb was worth it, don’t you think? ::

A little family fun in the sea of yellow that surrounded us:

And I really like the simplicity of this one, a family together:

As we were shooting in the field, a little herd of cows began to make their way towards us… normally, this would not be a big deal.  But, these cows were “different”.  They were aggressive and mean.  Totally out to get us!  Well, not really, but the kids seemed to think so    So this last image, came after both Alex and I had jumped through lots of hoops to keep the cows at a somewhat “safe” distance and the kids were a little emotional at the entire experience.  But, I love this image of Alex and his wife, Danielle, with their brood.  You can see the humor on their faces about the situation and the little “pile” of children on top of them wearing completely different expressions…

Next up, a few shots of just Alex and Danielle (which every married couple need!).  You have to know going in Alex is a pretty funny guy and Danielle is super sweet and a little quiet.  I think she spends a lot of her day (in between taking care of four children) laughing at Alex.  See exhibit “A” :

But, I did capture a sweeter side of them too:

And this next series, I love, love, love!  I so *heart* how their expressions reflect each others.  And isn’t Danielle seriously cute?!?

Next, another family shot.  This image is one that Alex had in mind of he and Danielle with the kids and I do love it.  Their youngest, Eli, crying is really what made the shot for me – a true snapshot of a day in the life with kiddos…Finally, we made our way to another field and let the “M” family just be.  While they were just “be-ing”, I captured this one of Alex and Jo, catching some major air and I have to say, it’s fab-u-lous right down to the flying flip-flops and Alex’s priceless expression:

Thanks “M” family for letting me capture you being “you”, I loved every minute of it!

Until next time,

Tammy