Capture life: Shelby Lane Photography

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...

   

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.] 

Tasha and Bella: Project Pink

My new friend, the lovely and talented Miss Tasha, and her sweet and adorable baby Bella came in for a portrait session during our White Sale and we had a great time getting to know one another.  Bella was SO well-behaved for a puppy!  And Tasha and I hit it off immediately.  I love it when you meet someone and instantly know that you will be friends.  She is a strong and confident and beautiful woman and I am so thankful that we got to meet and chat.  We WILL manage to get together for coffee someday, Tasha.

This session ties in with our Project Pink mission for 2008.  I would love to see more women have their portraits made.  We have so few professional images of ourselves that are really about US -- not about the wedding gown, or the new life we're carrying, or about our place in our family, even though those are important as well.  But there was a time when women had portraits made ALONE.  ;)  And those were the heirlooms they passed on to their grandchildren.  How many of you have portraits of your grandmothers or great grandmothers that you cherish?  If you're like me, you'll look around and realize that the photographic record of YOU consists of snapshots that maybe don't show you at your best.  Our goal with Project Pink is to capture the true spirit of the women who come to our studio.  Their strength.  Their independence.  Their kind and gentle nature.  We want to create images that make you look and feel your absolute best while still looking like YOU. 

I know that we all want to lose those extra 20 pounds or want to let our hair grow or whatever.  But we can work with wardrobe and lighting to make you look your best.  And I know that the idea of being in front of a camera is not always comfortable.  But I promise, you will get here and have a lot of fun.  Get two or three or four friends together and make it a party -- for Project Pink sessions, the more people you bring, the lower your personal session fees are.  But I really feel that beautiful portraits of YOU are a great gift, not just for your loved ones (now and in the future) but also for yourselves.

Meet Miss Micaela: Urban Style

This is Mica.  She came in for a session with her family, and then we made it into a session about her.  :)  She is so cute and has such a great sense of style.  We had a blast running around downtown to find neat locations to go with her fantastic outfits.  I want to know if they make this coat in my size, because it is SO perfect.  She is herself an award winning photographer and I hope that after this session, she's thinking about doing some more with "the photography thing."  Mica, you and your family are welcome in my studio ANY time.  I had so much fun with you!

(Oh, and for my fellow photographers, since I know I will get emails: these are all window light or "natural" light with a boost from a reflector or fill flash outdoors, except for the last one, which was lit with a studio strobe.)

Another Ballerina

Here is Madeline, who some will recognize from the new opening slideshow on the website.  We had such a fun session!  She was in an Austin production of The Nutcracker around Christmastime and she has really been working on the classical posing.  I think she did a great job!  Thanks for coming in, Madeline!

The Swoyer Family

Our Winter White sessions have been so much fun this year!  It's been great to see some "Little Blessings" graduates that I hadn't seen in awhile.  Michael is one of those kids.  We had so much fun with his family's session, and it was so cool to see not only how he and his big sister have grown and changed, but also how they've stayed the same.  Thanks for letting me help you capture this moment in time!