Okay, so I don’t typically evoke this type of negative emotion from children. (Usually quite the opposite.) This expression from my little Aja is known as “Grump Face” and I feel she is fortunate to obtain this facial ugliness as it has been passed on by my generations. (Isn’t that what being a mother is about- being proud of the little things?)

My little Aja has been busting out this face since she was weeks old and sad really that I am totally humored when she achieves full force grumpiness. I don’t quite recall what Aja was so opposed to at this moment, and quite honestly it probably didn’t take much (I may have run out of her favorite freeze dried apples)- but I am *thrilled* that I was able to catch this moment with my point and shoot.

Her grumpiness makes me smile.

-is that so wrong?

a little familiar…

but during this fun session- Keri and Brandon are MARRIED!!

and soooo relaxed!

keri knew exactly what I was doing at this very moment.

and there are those famous dimples!

the most beautiful thing about this photo is that I don’t think Keri even realizes how GORGEOUS she really is.

(YOU ARE DROP DEAD GORGEOUS!)

my most favorite!

we tried to do “serious” - but Keri and Brandon are too dang cute to be able to pull off serious.

houston, texas - day after session

Okay, okay- “Day” after session– I couldn’t resist. Keri and Brandon’s last name is Day. I’ve been honored to shoot these two for their engagement session, their wedding day, and now their “day after” session. Which really was more like “a few weeks” after session, but who’s counting? Thankfully, though hot, this session wasn’t quite as heated as their wedding day. We hopped around to various spots and had SO much fun that it really just felt like hanging out with some good friends. With the wedding jitters all over this session was sooooo relaxed as were the newlyweds. I think the images speak for themselves how IN LOVE these two are.

I dare say that this so far takes first place in my favorite of sessions as well as post processing. I feel so incredibly lucky to have gotten to know a couple from beginning to end and feel honored that Keri and Brandon trusted me to document such an important time in their lives. Keri and Brandon- THANK YOU. You two are amazing and I have enjoyed getting to know you!

xo, r-lr

My new studio manager Janica cruised with me for the first time and here are a few from her viewfinder.

I LOVE this shot. This is me because I am 5′2″ on a good day.

Every time I see this it makes me want to sing that Skee Lo song- “I wish I was a little but taller…”

Brandon is such a trooper- though we all at one point were covered in burs (stickers ) they stuck to Brandon like static.

meet nicholas.

and little brother holden.

slide by kissing.

BIG BROWN x 2

Reminds me of The Little Engine That Could. (I think I can… I think I can… I DID!)

MY FAAAAAVORITE FROM THIS SESSION!

Tracey hoped and prayed that little guy would still have some baby rolls by the time we had our shoot. Yep, still there and Oh-So- Adorable!

Speaking of adorable!

Houston, Texas - Family Session

Tracey – Marshall – Nicholas – Holden

Adorable little boys these two were! Tracey has got her hands full with the three handsome men in her life. Tracey and Tess (whose family has also been in front of my camera) met during law school. No wonder she and Tess are friends- same interest, two little boys, around the same age… as friends go, it really couldn’t get any better right?

The crew and I headed to a park around the corner from their house and yes, let me whine just a little—IT WAS HOT, humid, and stiiiiicky! But the heat didn’t affect the boys and they fully enjoyed playtime. We had fun cruising the parks slides and swings- and looking for bugs. Hmmm. Fun and bugs don’t belong in the same sentence!

Do you know what a Ant Lion is? I didn’t either. Let’s just say my transition from California to Texas has made me realize there is ton of bugs I had no idea existed. There were all these divots in the sand and Marshal informed me at the bottom of the funnel shape lived an Ant Lion. “What?!?!” Thank God I wasn’t wearing flip-flops! Apparently they throw sand up at ants to trap them—then eat them. Eww.
Then Marshall felt like it was his prime mission to introduce me to this bug. My bug-phobic self prayed he wouldn’t find one…
Finally- after a few (or more then few ) attempts one was captured. And no joke- it was the size of a grain of sand.
It was LOVELY meeting you guys. Maybe next time we’ll do a winter shoot so you guys can be cuddle and warm with each other… instead of desperately trying not to break a sweat. Thanks for hanging in there—hope there was a Popsicle waiting for you when you got home!

Daddy and the Ant Lions .

See it?

Marshall- you *so* know that this was going to happen right?? Funny thing- thought they were sand lions… then googled it and found they really are Antlions.

A little ecology anybody?? You never know what you can learn on a photographers blog!

a little teaser…

Keri scored. Brandon has been buying her roses ever since their 1 month anniversary!

Months turned into years, so it is only appropriate that it was the only flower used for their wedding day.

Keri- is simply stunning.

And this is soon-to-be-husband Brandon.

Glowing and gorgeous- you would never guess that it was literally a bazillion degrees when we took this.

This was Keri’s only request:

Quite possibly, the cutest (and most cuddly) flower girl on the planet.

(I’ve got to hand it to her… she even managed to even arrange her own ride down the aisle )

It was HOT. I made the guys suffer a bit and took a million photos with their wool jackets on before this one.

GORGEOUS ladies. 3 out of 6 are newlyweds and they were all in each other’s weddings. Keri is officially a wedding guru.

1.2.3eeeeeeeeee!

I can only imagine what it felt like to go from humidity to cool a/c at this moment!

Boys will be boys as they venture off to a side room. (otherwise known as the bar.)

The last dance of the night.

Spring, Texas

Keri and Brandon are married! It was a hot and humid day in Spring, Texas — but since the forecast all week had predicted rain, hot and humid was fine and dandy! Sure enough, not one drop on Keri and Brandon’s wedding day!

Keri can just add this experience to her ever-expanding wedding portfolio. Not only was she busy planning the details of her own wedding- she was also a part of several of her girlfriends’ weddings just in the past two months alone…a whirlwind of bridal showers, cakes, and “I do”s! I can only imagine her closet filled with bridesmaid dresses stacked behind her wedding dress.(Sounds like a movie to me!) But how cool is that? She’s officially a pro.

Stay tuned for their slideshow… oh, and perfectly named “Day” after session!

A special thank you for Denise from Giselle Photography for assisting me in Keri and Brandon’s Wedding.

And this little guy is the cutest and most handsomest (I know, not a word) little ring bearer. Little Parker apparently looks a LOT like his Uncle Brandon did when he was a little boy. So much that Brandon’s older sister will occasionally slip and call Parker by his Uncle’s name. Cutey Patootey isn’t he?

Coolest. Grooms Cake. Ever…

Brandon is an avid disc golfer, so what else would his cake be? Unbelievably believable. Oh, and his cousin made it! She also made the adorable bride and groom cookies for the rehearsal dinner. (Those may appear later )

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts… big things coming. I had NO idea how much work it involved to relaunch the site and blog. NO IDEA.

But it is all starting to come together and I anticipate sometime this month.

So for now, CLICK HERE for a little teaser.

It’s been almost a year since I started up my business here in Houston and I’ve been on the quest for a designer who I could confidently depend on helping create my overall branding. Scouring logo designers sites I just wasn’t confident that our styles meshed. What a relief when I came across Designs by Taz! I was sold the minute I browsed her blog. I requested to Taz –PLEASE no hearts, no butterflies, — nothing fluffy PLEEEASE.  And this is what she created for me. PERFECT. More than perfect. And oh, there is so much more to come!!

I {heart} it.

Thank you Taz- you are a gem!

PS. Not photos this time. Just be sure to click those links.