Meet Shelby.
Shelby is a fitness trainer and health professional and just an all-around really awesome person.
She contacted me about taking some head shots that should could use to promote Shelby and all of her various ventures (owns a fitness studio, runs a boot camp, editor of a health magazine — you know, the usual) and I jumped at the opportunity to work with her again.
(“again” is referencing the summers and weekends that I babysat for her and Louis’ two kids and LOVED it)
Shelby wanted the pictures to be “her” so we could think of no better place for the session than in and around her family’s beautiful home.
Shelby, you breathe beautiful.
 
And now for the extra-fun part — Shelby donned a pair of angel’s wings for some photos to promote her new business venture “My Diet Angel.” The idea of this program that Shelby created is that a fitness instructor acts as the “angel on your shoulder,” helping to encourage you to make good, healthy choices in your life — hence the angel wings in the next few photos. It’s a really cool program, so if you’re interested in learning more, click here to learn more about it!
One of the things I love about Shelby is that she’s never quick to take herself too terribly seriously. We ended the shoot with a carrot “cigar” and lots of laughs.
Shelby, I always have, and always will, love working with you — whether that be babysitting (tell your kids to stop getting older!!) or photographing. You’re just an all-around joy.
AND the best thing about the end of this post is that it’s not the last you’ll be seeing of Shelby! The next post I’ll be working on is a session I did of her entire family!
Too many exclamation marks!!!
Meet Brenna and Josef.
I will give one of my blog readers 10 points and four gold stars worth of blog-stalker-awesomeness if anyone (who doesn’t already know Brenna or Josef) can name under what circumstances Brenna has previously been on the blog (in three separate posts, I do believe).
We started the engagement shoot at Recycled.
Why?
Because Brenna and Josef’s favorite thing to do together is read. Specifically Josef. Specifically aloud. Specifically to Brenna.
When they’re driving, when they’re cooking, when they’ve got nothing else going on — Josef reads aloud to Brenna. Now tell me that isn’t the most precious thing you’ve ever heard?
They’ve been together since high school. Sure, there was time apart here and there in the span of years from then until now. But they always came back to each other.
And now, with a wedding planned for next September, they’re back together to stay.
Next Brenna and Josef wanted some pictures with the courthouse to speak to their born-and-raised Dentonite heritage.
I love this. I just really do.
Next we spent a bit of time on some railroad tracks.
Why? Because Brenna and Josef do a lot of traveling. Specifically to each other. Specifically because Josef lives and works in Utah and Brenna in Texas.
And this, ladies and gentlemen, was where the magic first began.
I just love these above two images. Love.
I like that we end this post where this relationship started.
That’s nice. Really nice.
Meet Jolene and Jim.
This was a particularly special shoot because Jolene was close childhood friends with my mom and uncle growing up. I had never met Jolene before she inquired about pictures, but I had heard stories!
I couldn’t have been more pleased with how Jim and Jolene interacted together — Jim was so, soooo tender to Jolene and Jolene was so obviously happy to be around Jim. It made my heart glad to see my mother’s childhood friend so genuinely blissfully engaged.
Jolene told me we definitely needed to get a shot of Jim kissing her hand, because that’s his signature thing. I just thought that was the. most. presh-uhhhhhhhhs. thing.
We finished up at the fountains with this lovely light.
Then it was off to downtown McKinney and after a quick outfit change (wink, wink, Jolene) we continued with the last bit of the session.
Jolene told me she had stayed up until the wee hours of the morning before the shoot making this posterboard. Can anyone name the movie quote?
It’s Jolene’s favorite quote from her favorite romantic comedy: “To me you are perfect and my wasted heart will love you until you look like this . . . (mummy pictured)”
The building Jim and Jolene are standing in front of is their favorite pub in downtown McKinney. We stopped inside for a few atmospheric pub shots to end the shoot.
I’m terribly disappointed I wasn’t available to shoot your September wedding, Jolene and Jim. But I consider it an honor to be able to document this portion of the engagement leading up to it. I wish you two the very best and all happiness!
Meet Christina and Jeff.
I got an e-mail from Christina in mid-June asking about my availability for her wedding at the beginning of August.
Surely she means August of next year? I thought to myself as I responded with my pricing information.
Nope, she responded. She really meant she’d like to book me for her wedding in two months.
It was a Sunday wedding, so I was available and gladly marked Christina and Jeff down in my calendar. So it’s been a bit of an expedited process with this couple, but I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it! Here’s a peek at some of the products from our engagement session a couple of  weeks ago.
Christina is a visual arts major at the University of North Texas and wanted to integrate her love of art into the shoot by bringing along a couple of easels, a canvas and some charcoal. I was thrilled! I love personalized shoots, and I had never done one like this before!
Christina, you are beautiful.
Throughout the process of the shoot I loved getting to hear the story of Christina and Jeff’s relationship — it’s always one of my favorite parts of engagement sessions!
They met on the  beach one day in California.
Well, that’s what they tell people.
I had to do some digging to find out  they actually met in the parking lot of an Italian restaurant en route to the beach.
Christina was 18 and Jeff was older and, at the time, a Marine.
Needless to say, Christina’s dad, also military, had lots of questions for this boy who wanted to date his daughter.
Her dad also made some calls to Jeff’s employers to make sure this guy was alright.
Turns out Jeff passed the initial dad-test, and three years later it would seem that he passed the Christina-test because they’re engaged to be married.
After a quick outfit change, we put up the easel, grabbed Christina’s sketch pad, and went for a walk a bit further into the forest.
I just want to throw out there that Christina and Jeff are some of the friendliest, most pleasant people I’ve had the pleasure of working with and this above picture reminds me of that.
Sweet, sweet, sweet.
Get it, you two. Working it next to a fallen tree.
Christina and Jeff are both pick-up soccer players and play in a team league together, so we ended the session kicking around a soccer ball.
Christina and Jeff, I’ll be seeing y’all soon — 17 days to be exact! And I cannot wait.
Leave A Comment