I had so much fun doing it last year, I decided to go for it again!  That’s right, it’s the now “annual”, Favorite Portrait Contest!  I had an unbelievable 2011, full of so many great families, babies, kiddos, and seniors – it was nearly impossible to narrow it down to my top 30 favorites.  Last year it was the top 25, but I just couldn’t narrow it down past thirty.  I did force my husband to help me get to 30, because honestly, I get way too emotionally attached    As with last year, some are favorites because of technical aspects that appeal to me (for example: lighting or color), others I love for the emotion that was captured, and a few, just on the cute factor alone.

So, now that I’ve tortured myself over it, I’m turning it over to you, my clients, friends, and random strangers who like to look at pretty pictures, to decide on your Favorite Portrait of 2011.   Are you ready?!?

Here’s how it will work:

1.  Each person may vote for one image, one time.  Please, please follow this rule in the sake of fairness to everyone who had an image chosen.  Pretty please with sugar on top?

2.  To cast your vote, leave a comment in the comment section below.  Make sure you are commenting under this particular blog post (contest time), and use the identifying image number located above each image.

3.  As “extra credit”, facebook fans will be given ONE extra vote.  So, if you aren’t already a facebook fan, hop over and click “like”, then come back here and let me know about it by leaving a comment.  If you are already a facebook fan, let me know that as well so you can be given your additional vote.

4.  Feel free to share the contest with friends and family.  A little self promotion of your image is totally fine (as long as they follow the rules!).

Here are the prizes:

First Place:  (1) beautiful 16×20 gallery wrapped canvas of the winning image (valued at $475)

Second Place:  (1) beautiful, mounted 11×14 print of the second place image (valued at $100)

Third Place:  a handy-dandy $50 print credit to be used at a future session

Voting will end on Friday, January 20th @ 5 p.m. (cst)

Here are the selected images, have fun voting!

1.  silhouette

2.  brown eyes

3.  pretty with pearls

4.  together

5.  lemons

6.  field of dreams

7.  vintage high chair

8.  little boy blue

9.  baby in a bucket

10.  silver uggs

11.  giggle boxes

12.  peek-a-boo

13.  new love

14.  waiting

15.  windswept

16.  blue blanket

17.  see you next fall

18.  yummy

19.  special friends

20.  batman

21.  pretty girls

22.  cuteness in a box

23.  pretty senior

24.  sunshine and laughter

25.  tummy time

26.  in love

27.  simplicity

28.  little miss vogue

29.  blue eyes

30.  the future mrs. bieber

That’s it!  Have fun voting and be sure to check the studio facebook page , that’s where I’ll post the winners!

Until next time!

Tammy

Tyler Texas Baby Child and Family Photography

Meet beautiful baby girl *a*, you may remember her adorable parents from this maternity session…

Well, baby *a* finally made her arrival and she was such a good girl during our session.  Once she was asleep, she was out and I was able to move her around with total ease…

Look at all of her beautiful dark hair (this enviously coming from the mother of a child who was bald until he was almost two!)

a few precious details…

such a pretty girl…

and this one, a favorite from the day…

Thanks to Mom *e* who braved the session, even though I know she was adjusting to life with a newborn (newborn + lots of visitors = no sleep).  And a special thanks to e’s own Mom who spent the majority of the session locked out of the studio unable to reach us inside.

Until next time,

Tammy

Nacogdoches Newborn Photography

I’m still oodles behind on blogging, but I did want to share a recent newborn session from the studio.  The *a* family are repeat clients and I was thrilled to meet their newest addition.  Baby *g* was such a good boy, he slept almost the entire time, waking only once for a quick snack.  He was a snuggler too, I just loved holding him between setups, a definite job perk! 

We started the session off with a quick shot of baby *g* with big sister *o* and big brother *e*.  A cute little trio if I do say so myself:

Next some of baby *g* by himself:

I love his little pouty mouth in this one:

And this one… sigh…quite possibly my favorite from the day:

And last but not least, a basket full ‘o baby 

Thanks, *a* family — I loved meeting your sweet baby.  I look forward to watching him grow up!

Until next time,

Tammy

East Texas Newborn Photographer

I am really behind on blogging, but I just had to share some images from a recent newborn session.  Baby *p* was such a beautiful baby girl, and so sweet, I had to show her off with her own blog post:

More blog shares to come in a few days!

Until next time,

Tammy

I love what I do for many reasons, but I especially love what I do when I get a chance to work with such sweet people, like the *h* family.  The *h* family came to me via a referral, and I was so happy to have a chance to photograph their precious newborn baby boy.

Of course, all babies are special, but baby *b* is extra special.  His mom and dad waited so long for him and I have to say, I think it was well worth the wait.  Baby *b* is just perfect and was such a delight to photograph, never fussed and stayed asleep for most of the session (even though he was past that “two week old” window).

See, what I mean?  He is just perfect:

This one I love, love, love:

Sweet baby:

And baby makes three:

Congratulations *h* family!

Until next time,

Tammy

Meet sweet baby girl *k* — she and her Mommy made the drive down from Arlington for me to photograph her and I was so happy they did.  It took a bit for us to get *k* in a deep sleep (about an hour and a half), but once she was out, we were able to really have some fun with posing.  I had a hard time picking favorites (I think I say that a lot with newborn sessions!), but hey, can you blame me? 

So perfect… when you see them like this, you realize what an incredible gift they are:

I love this one (Mom brought the hat, major score!):

And this one, I love being able to see all of the features in detail (like her little button nose!)

Thanks Mom *K* and baby girl *k* for making the trip down to see me.  She is just beautiful and I’m so happy to have captured these first few days for you.  Gallery coming in a few days!

Until next time,

Tammy

Oh, little baby boy *G* was so very, very good — once he drifted off, he was like putty!  I was able to move him around – on his tummy, on his side, on his back… and he would barely even stir.  Here are some of my favorites:

A few sweet details:

Big sister was so sweet, with eyes that just sparkled:

Congrats *W* family on your precious new arrival!  And thank you for choosing me to photograph your beautiful children, I had a great time getting to know them 

Until next time,

Tammy

A quick share, I just love how they turned out…

Until next time,

Tammy

I photographed this sweet family a couple of years ago at their home, when they were a “party of three”.  In fact, several of the images from that session are still favorites of mine (and you can find some of them on the main site).  So, imagine how happy I was to see their family grow and this time, visit me at the studio.

We started out with a few shots on my white sofa (I adore my little sofa!).  There is something so special about capturing a family together in those first few days… it’s all so fresh, with this new little person who seems like a stranger in some ways, yet seems to “fit just right” in so many other ways…

Next, a shot of Mom with her newest boy… and by the way, how lucky am I to have such pretty clients?  They make my job so easy:

Can’t forget the proud Dad…

And of course, I have to include one of big brother.  I snuck this shot as he was having fun making snow angels on my white shag rug 

Now, a few shots of baby *B* by himself.  He is a beautiful baby boy, with the prettiest dark skin:

And the next one, when I took it, I almost (seriously) screamed with joy.  I so *heart* everything about it…

Thanks *W* family for coming back to see me, I just love your little family!

Until next time,

Tammy

So, as promised in my last blog post, I have more newborn eye candy to share.  I’m happy to introduce baby girl *h*, who has the most beautiful peachy skin, pretty dark hair and a Mom and Grandmother that I have so much fun with during our sessions!

Baby *h* was wide awake when we first started our session, so I had Mom just snuggle her while I clicked away :

After a little bit of work, she finally drifted off:

More sleeping (it didn’t last long!) – but isn’t she just lovely?  I think her mouth looks like a perfect little bow:

Thanks to Mom *B* and Grandmother *T* for bringing your sweet baby to me to photograph.  I enjoyed every minute of it!

I’m off to work on several galleries that need to go up, so if you’re waiting on one, hang tight!  I’ve had some computer issues (ick) this week that have slowed me down.

Until next time,

Tammy