Capture life: Shelby Lane Photography

Updates

Hi everyone!

Just wanted to let you all know that the studio will be closed next Thursday, Friday and Saturday because I will be out of town teaching a class.  We'll reopen the following Tuesday.  As always, we are closed on Sunday and Monday. 

We will NOT be doing Bluebonnet sessions this year because, well, there are just not enough bluebonnets.  I don't want to have to trespass to be able to do your family portraits (now only is it not right, but how embarrassing would it be to get a ticket and get kicked off of someone's land during a session!) and our normal "safer" locations just did not have a crop this year.  We ARE still offering the beach sessions and I do have a couple of spots left.  Please call or email me if you're interested in having family portraits created on the beach this year.  It's always such a fun event for our families and these images will be treasured family heirlooms for generations.

And lastly, I am sad to say that our retail partner in Austin, babystyle, is closing it's Barton Creek store.  So if any of you want some good deals on some adorable baby clothes, now is the time to check them out.  I have loved doing business with the babystyle family for the past few years and am sad to see them go!

I hope you all have a wonderful week and I look forward to seeing you and your kids soon!

Kaleigh

Miss Kaleigh is one of our newborns.  A big "congratulations" to her parents!  She was so good at her session -- so relaxed and so interested in what was going on in the studio.  Thanks for coming in, sweetie pie!

Julia is Back!

Many of you will remember Julia from around Christmas.  Her sister is a Little Blessings graduate and I am so honored to be able to photograph Miss Julia as well.  She is adorable!  Miss Smiley and Happy.  :)  I love the little bathing suit her mom brought in... we tried to make it look as much like she was relaxing in the water as possible.  She is a lot like her big sister Olivia but definitely has her own personality.  It is going to be fun to watch her grow up!  Here are some of my favorites from her session...

   

Girl's Day!

Okay, so yes, I have a backlog of sessions to blog, I know.  But we have been working so hard to get orders out (and in) and albums designed and sessions processed and I hate to blog when I know that there is "real" work to do.  That said, last weekend when my eyes started to cross from staring at the computer screen for too long, I decided that it was just time for a day off.  I called Laura and, for once, we both had a free afternoon so we went out for some girl time on the town. 

We went out and ate good (but bad for you) food and then got pedicures at NB Nails.  They do such a great job and the atmosphere in there is so relaxing.  After weeks of non-stop busy-ness, it was so good to just sit (not on the computer) and let someone paint our toenails.  I love the way they name the colors: she chose "Often Imitated, Never Duplicated" copper with extra sparkles (because a girl can't have too many sparkles) and I chose my favorite, "I'm Not Really a Waitress" red.

Once our toes were dry we stopped at Freddy's for some frozen custard (try the chocolate with oreos, it's fantastic) and then drove around town looking for new portrait locations.  Even on our days off, we never stop working, LOL.  I think this white picket fence with the bricks, which is not too far away from the studio, would be a great location for a little girl in a pretty dress, don't you?  It sure did show off our new pedicures nicely.  ;)

Then it was back home to enjoy the rest of our Sunday. 

I promise to try and blog some sessions later this weekend!  If you have free time on Sunday and are looking for a great family outing, I'll be working at the Sts Peter and Paul School's Spring Festival.  It's from 12-6 at the Sts Peter and Paul Catholic Church (in downtown NB, near the studio) and they'll have carnival rides, a cake walk, bouncy castles, games, a great raffle, and a silent auction (where you, too, could bid on and win a session and a 16x20 from yours truly).  It's a great event and the proceeds go to a fantastic school! Come by and say hello!

Aiden

Okay, this is the last one for today.  Can you tell that I am trying to get caught up on blogging?  Things have been so busy at the studio this spring and so some of these are recent sessions and some are OLD.  I am trying to do a mix so I don't get further behind and so some of you who are coming in again soon can see your kid on the blog before their next appointment.  ;)

This is handsome Aiden.  He is such a sweetie!  We did some traditional "baby in white" shots and then some more casual "baby in a diaper" ones, and I can't decide which I love the best.  He's just cute in everything.

His mom and I both love this super-sad face.  He is at that sweet age where he doesn't want mom to be too far away from him at any time, so I think that this is a great image of what he's like at this age.  He's a happy little boy but I love how sweet and innocent he is in this shot.  Is it bad that some of my favorite images of all time are of teary-eyed kids?

And here he is just a few minutes later, when he had gotten used to the idea of sitting on that floor in his diaper.  ;)

   

Preston

Here is Preston, another of our Little Blessings Collection members.  He is sitting up now and he's such a little man!  He has such great expressions... I love the sweet gummy smiles and the little smirks and the wide eyed looks of wonder.  He's just full of personality and I love it when he visits the studio.

Look at this precious smile! 

I don't do much hand-tinting anymore but I couldn't resist with this one.  He looks so sweet and innocent that it just screamed for some vintage color.  I looooooove how serious he looks with those blocks.  I think he's considering how elaborate his block building will be... this kid is so smart.  [And as an aside to my own personal copycat ;) you have to be careful to choose the right image and to do this with a light hand, or else it will not look right.  Just fyi.]

This expression was just too good to resist.  Doesn't he look like he knows something we don't?  I love it... he just looks so proud of himself.

   

{Kaia} again

Y'all have seen Kaia before, but back when she was just a sweet baby.  Now she is pushing up and blowing bubbles, and she has a smile that lights up the room.  I love her skin tones -- she looks so good in the pink tulle!

This was one of those "end of the session" shots that we did not plan or set up for but that I couldn't resist photographing.  One of the things I love about babies this age is the way they'll play peek-a-boo, and Kaia has these gorgeous eyes that just draw you in. 

I love this bubble face!  Thanks for coming in Kaia!  One of the things I love about our Little Blessings collection is the privilege of watching these babies grow up.  It is so amazing to me to see how much they change in such a short time.

Sophie and Wally

It has been awhile since I have blogged and poor Sophie has been waiting to see herself online since Valentine's day.  I went to her house to photograph her with her friend Wally, and we had a really great time.  I love Sophie's old-fashioned-baby look!  [For my photographer blog stalkers, these were shot with the window light in her dining room.] 

Studio News and a Sneak Peak for Taylor

For those of you who follow the blog and have been emailing me about "POST SOMETHING" here I am!  We have been so busy over the past month... and then Spring Break hit, so Abbey went on vacation and then Good Friday and Easter came and went.  So it has been a crazy couple of weeks with a weird schedule.  I want to make sure everyone knows that the studio will be closed till next Tuesday afternoon because I will be on the road. 

I have unofficially announced the beach session dates.  And this is where we'll see who REALLY reads the blog.  Mark your calendars for June 20-22 on Mustang Island.  I can only take a max of SIX sessions and we already have one booked.  I will make a "real" blog post about it next week but if you are super serious about wanting beach sessions, shoot me an email and I will get back to you when I get back into the office. 

And now the best reason for tonight's post.  I got to photograph a really wonderful high school senior girl and I know she and her mom are dying for some sneak peeks.  So here you go, Taylor and Mary.  Taylor, it was great working with you!  I can't wait for you to see the rest of these.  Thank you!

 

I'm back! {and Easter session info}

I am finally back and (almost) caught up after my trip to Idaho.  I got to meet some really amazing photographers and got to photograph some really cute kids.  It was a wonderful trip but I was so busy that I feel like I need a vacation now.  ;)  I think I am caught up on email so if you have not heard from me and are expecting to, please let me know.

In other news... yes, to answer all the questions I've gotten in the past few days, we ARE going to do an Easter special this year.  Like last year, it will be a special set, more like the way we structure our Winter White sessions.  Our theme will be "The Secret Garden" and spaces will be VERY limited.  Look for details early next week when my brain has had time to rest a little.

And lastly, I am working with a fantastic retail partner on another spring promotion.  I can't give specifics until we have finished ironing them out but I hope to have info on that for you all within a few days as well.

PS -- I realize I am behind (again) on blogging sessions.  As soon as I get the sessions proofed from Idaho I will put up some new sweet Texas kids for you all.