Can you believe that we're already a quarter through 2021?

Between attending the Professional Photographers of America's annual convention, Imaging USA, virtually in January, enduring one of the hardest freezes on record in late February, and meeting some prospective business collaborators over spring break on a very crowded Galveston island, I believe that 2021 is going to turn out to be an interesting year.

Spring is probably my favorite season to photograph because of the cool mornings and usually low humidity.  Of course, in Texas, the bluebonnets are usually blooming in late March or early April.  (If you go out to do those, please be careful where you step or sit because it's also prime season for snakes.)  Of course, this spring, the big news is the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine.  Know that social distancing and other precautions are being taken at sessions to keep any possibilities of spreading at a minimum.

Kelli and Grant needed updated branding portraits for their new website, social media, and advertising.  Both of them have been in real estate for twenty years each and knew the importance of having an engaging visual presence.  They were referred to me by their videographer, with whom I'm in a networking group.  Using a model home in a new subdivision in Manvel, we did several areas around the house as well as popping up a background for traditional headshots.  You can see some more samples of their session below.

Applications for the Being Chosen project are still being accepted.  Any family whose children were adopted, whether as an infant or a young adult, will be considered.  Accepted families will be interviewed, gifted a photo session, and invited to a gallery showing in the near future.

If you know of an eligible person or were adopted yourself, I'd love to talk and discuss your story.

Those are my parents, Hal and Dianne, along with my three children, my wife, and me.  They are why I'm doing this project.  Just two weeks old, they brought me home from DePelchin Children's Center.  Five and a half years later, they adopted my sister, also through DePelchin's.

Whether you adopted or were adopted, whether recently or many decades ago, those are stories that I want to share.  Each story will include a photo session as well as a Q&A interview and older photos to tell the story for a blog post.  A reception will be planned to view the selected portraits and hopefully meet a few families in attendance.

If you are interested or know a family that might want to share their story, click below to go to the application form.

There are so many options when it comes to where to do your photography session around Houston.  A majority of my clients prefer location work, which may be outdoors or at their home or office.  Being that we start with designing the display of their artwork, the style and feel of the portrait are determined early on.  

The couple above wanted a very modern, clean aesthetic for their first family portrait.  We used a local studio that has some wonderful available light along with the white walls and concrete floor to create several images for them, but this was the show stopper for them.

It's amazing how many times that water is somewhere in my work.  While Galveston doesn't have white sand beaches like South Padre or Destin, there are some great areas for portraits.  Either for engagement, family, maternity, branding, or senior photo sessions, there's something that can work for everybody.

There is usually a more casual feel to portraits around bodies of water.  Catching the light at the right time requires some planning ahead of time.  Photography is all about light and, if you have poor light, you end up with poor results.  So when planning an outdoor session, keeping in mind where the sun will be and what options you have to work with that light is critical.

2021 seniors, April is the last month to book your session.  Booking now still gives plenty of time to design a session specifically for you and your family has the bonus of a complimentary family session, done on a separate date by August 1st.

For some inspiration of what we can do, view a small sample of Sky's session in the studio and downtown below.