Zucarelli Lifestyle Shoot

Meet Addy Rose. A precious baby girl as sweet as her name. Her mama (and my beautiful friend) Ashley wins the award for creating the cutest nursery wall motif ever. I'm obsessed with the modern geometric print behind the crib and seriously couldn't get enough of it during our shoot. Our super talented friend Hilary (owner at Baby by Design...the most fabulous contemporary baby boutique in the metroplex) is responsible for many of the adorable furniture pieces in this hip little baby's space. Congrats Zucarelli family, you guys did so good!!

Welcome Baby Isla

My beautiful cousin Kristen and I went through our first pregnancies together. We literally had our babies Olive & Rhett within two days of each other! I've always looked up to Kristen growing up and it was such a blast having her as my "pregnancy oracle". Our first two years of motherhood have been much the same as I follow along her path of what's trending in toddler land. She's a fantastic researcher and has fabulous taste so I always trust her opinion!! The Buchanan's welcomed their newest bundle of joy Isla (I know, Olive and Isla, doesn't get any cuter right?!) just last month. I was so honored that she asked me to photograph her precious growing family. Love you guys so much!!

Brittany + Greg, Lifestyle Shoot

Meet my sweet friend Brittany and her husband Greg!! Brittany and I have been friends forever and now share our love of photography with one another!! She has been my fabulous second shooter for many weddings and even accompanied me all the way to Hawaii recently!! Our next journey is a wedding in Memphis next week!! I cannot WAIT and am so thankful to have such a reliable and wonderful friend/colleague. Brit and Greg are having their first baby this year and I'm so happy that we were able to document their gorgeous new home before they discovered they were expecting!! Such a special time and I couldn't be happier for them!! Love you guys-

Robinett Twins

I adore this beautiful family so much. Traci and Clay have been some of my sweetest friends and clients since the early days of my business in 2010.  I'm so thankful for their support and beyond excited for their adoooooorable family. Traci, you were the most elegant pregnant mama and your precious babies are the stuff dreams are made of. You guys are twice blessed!! Meet baby H & G.

Mehall Family

This precious family is as sweet as they come. I love getting to work with new clients and discovering our little life connections. Melissa and I have so much in common from sharing the same college to the same sorority. We have mutual friends and now a friendship of our own. I'm thankful we've crossed paths and cannot wait to photograph her sweet new baby in the coming weeks. Her kids are extremely cooperative and a perfect picture of what polite should be. I thoroughly enjoyed our time together.

Madeley & her many hats

Things have been so busy on the work front lately that I've noticed I haven't been sharing my favorite things on the blog as much- my fabulous FAMILY!! My favorite new member, Madeley, is my precious niece. My sister Ginger & her husband Brett really hit the jackpot with this kid. You may think I'm lying or being a partial aunt, but she is as close to perfect as any baby could be. She RARELY cries, is always smiling, and has never met a stranger. This past weekend she had the entire section of every restaurant we ate at wrapped around her finger. She's a doll and I'm SO glad I can call her my niece!! You may remember her big debut into the world back in May. If not, you should check out this blog post and be sure and watch the video if you have a minute.... maybe it's because I'm pregnant and it's my family, but it still makes me cry every time!!! I love this kid and I'm already feeling sentimental seeing how much she has changed in the past 9 months. My mom has gone into full grandmother mode and picked up knitting. Between my mom and her friends, Madeley has a hat for every occasion!! Here is a brief recap of the divine miss Madeley Marie McDowell.

 

Sweet Davis at Six Months

One of the obvious perks of my job is meeting awesome people and getting to work with them on a reoccurring basis. Elisabeth Burrows is an entrepreneur/creative guru herself and I have loved every minute I've spent with her. She is one of those inspiring people that really makes you wonder how she does it all. Her sweet little man, Davis is rapidly growing before our eyes, and I'm so flattered that she has chosen me to document all the precious stages he's gone through so far. You may remember them from their ADORABLE newborn shoot. Elisabeth is the one who designed the INCREDIBLE jungle-themed nursery that I still believe needs to be published in a design magazine!! This Christmas-inspired session is from back in December when Davis was 6 months- I'm sure he has already changed since, but for now, enjoy this sweet little man and his fabulous parents. Life's a flash, capture accordingly.

Hasse Family

I met my friend Shanda this past fall when I photographed her daughter Adele's magnificent birthday party. It's still one of my favorite events to this day, as it showcased Shanda's amazing knack for party planning and all things graphic design. This girl has amazing things up her sleeve and a heck of a future as one of Lubbock's finest entrepreneurs. Her business White Sparrow Design has great things in store. These images are from their family session before Christmas (does this surprise you?! Yes I'm backed up on blogging in a major way, but have about 30 wonderful posts coming soon). I hope you enjoy this precious family as much as I do!! life's a flash, capture accordingly.

Davis Newborn

Hands down this is one of my favorite newborn sessions yet. I'm embarrassed to say, these images are from back in July...but that's just a little hint on how behind I am on the blog front. Elisabeth Burrows is one of my new designer crushes. She used to own the cutest retail store in Lubbock a few years back and has the most incredible taste. I showed up at her house to take her sweet baby's newborn pictures and instantly could see her love for interior design. Her nursery could (and should) be published. She's got a great knack for details and I couldn't keep my lens off all the adorable pieces that make her jungle-style nursery a "whole" lotta-fun. Her baby Davis was such a good newborn and was patient with my photographer a.d.d. for the day. A big thanks to College Flowers for the beautiful floral arrangements for our shoot. Meet the Burrows: Life's a flash, capture accordingly.

Miss Maddie

Just a quick post to share this precious face on this beautiful Labor Day. Miss Maddie is truly as happy and she looks. Full of baby talk and giggles, this blue-eyed darling is one sweet treat! Enjoy.

Life's a flash, capture accordingly.

Sage & Duke

My brother Sage turned 29 this past May and asked me to take pictures of him with his favorite dog, Duke. It was a strange request, but I'm assuming he took my offer of a free photo session in lieu of a Rosa's gift card (which certainly would have  been the alternative!). In order to appreciate this post, you really need to know the backstory of good 'ole Duke. Sage bought Duke about 9 years ago when he moved back to Texas Tech and instantly fell in love with the adrenaline seeking canine. Duke lived in Sage's modest backyard but made a bad habit of constantly jumping the fence and running away. Therefore, Sage took this as an opportunity to send Duke off to "boarding school" at my parents' 60 acre pecan orchard, which has no fence. After running more than 10 miles away from home, on multiple occasions, Duke quickly lost his "free roaming" privileges and was sentenced to a large dog kennel (akin to a jail cell with plush bedding). He was treated like a king and got to run twice a day, every day. Sage took him on hunting trips, and even sent him to a prestigious dog training school. He came home and we were all full of hope that he had left his childish ways behind him.

Later on, as a "teenager" Duke found himself on probation and still living in his kennel. My mom went to let him out one day only to find him missing. Stunned at how this crazy Houdini could possible escape the Thames rendition of a much friendlier Alcatraz, my mom rigged a spy cam to catch the canine in his mischievous act. Sure enough, the amateur surveillance tape revealed Duke jumping onto the top of his dog house, shimmying up the chain linked fence, squeezing his way through the wired roof, and catapulting himself onto the canopy of surrounding trees for a smooth landing. After sealing off Duke's man-cave, my mom felt certain he was going no where. Now smarter, she bought a neon orange locator collar with a remote control, so that when he was out, and did run off we could beep him back home. Nevertheless, Duke ran off two more times: Once in the poring rain at 2:00 AM only to be found by one of Sage's friends from high school; the other at the Tipton Pet Hotel, where he adopted the name "Bob" and an immaculate indoor suite (literally with cable TV for his viewing pleasure).

The stories go on.... including one rattle snake bite and two encounters with very pissed off porcupines (all three of which happened on Sundays when our vet was closed). Needless to say, the dog is a more entertaining version of "Marley", and he has won the hearts of all of us who have tried to keep him alive over these past 9 years. Now he's older (and I wish I could say wiser), yet he is still into his same old tricks.

This was just two weeks ago- his most recent disaster... don't worry, we got him squared away with pain medicine and antibiotics!

Enjoy these images of Duke- we may eventually turn his story into the next best seller!!

life's a flash, capture accordingly.

The Nelson Family

Sarah, Jake, & baby Jakson are simply precious. They are truly a great family that I hope I can keep in touch with for years to come. They were so sweet and put up with me after having a pretty intense root canal the day of our shoot. I was wacky on pain meds and found myself building a tent out of old bamboo sticks & twine in the backyard. Luckily Sarah had a vintage quilt made by her grandmother to pull the whole idea together! The tent fell twice, but other than that it worked out wonderfully. Loopy or not, our session ended up being just as great as I had hoped!! Sarah is cousins to Mary-Kathryn Strong who you may remember from her baby's newborn session a while back! I love new friends and word of mouth, it makes my job so complete!! Hope you enjoy this beautiful family, I sure did! Meet the Nelsons...

life's a flash, capture accordingly.

The Walker Family

I love love love this family! They were some of my very first customers almost a YEAR ago, can you believe it's already been a year since Heather Ann Design & Photography has been in business?! Crazy how time flies when your having fun! I'm so excited to fill you guys in on all the fun stuff I've been up to lately, but it's 2:00am and I'm in a keep it "short and sweet" kind of mood, so I'll keep this brief.

The Walkers are your sweet, cute, & classic family. They have the two most adorable kids and I love that they are becoming HAD&P regulars :) When Rosanne set up this session, she mentioned she wanted some shots taken in her wedding dress because her daughter is now old enough to fit in the flower girl dress from her wedding years ago!! How cute is that? It was really fun playing dress up with Kamryn, she was so content running around in her big poofy princess dress- ahhh to be a kid again! I can't wait until my new niece is at the age of fairytales and dress up, I'm totally going to play the part! Enjoy the Walker's & have a great weekend!!

life's a flash, capture accordingly.

Russ & London

I'm always thrilled to meet new people, and Russ & his adorable little girl, London, were no exception!  First of all, how cute is the name London?! I just love it! It fits her sweet face & personality so well. Russ is dating one of my good friends Emily and it was her suggestion that I take their father/daughter photos. We had a great session full of fun, thanks to little Miss London. Emily surprised Russ with some awesome prints & canvases for Father's Day; such a great idea! I'm so glad I got to meet new friends, hang out with old ones, and photograph such an adorable family!! Meet London & Russ:

Life's a flash, capture accordingly.

Fewin Family

So it's no secret I'm behind on blogging, but only because I've been spending my time getting to know people like the Fewin family. I've been on cloud nine lately with the amount of work I've received and am so thankful to each and every person who values my work and efforts. Sherry Fewin contacted me a while back to take pictures of her Ahhh-DORABLE grandchildren. While on the phone she filled me in on her history with my siblings, as she taught both Ginger & Sage at All Saints Episcopal many years back. Sherry is one of those teachers that you pray your children will be so lucky from which to learn. She is patient, nurturing, and above anything else, extremely loving. My mom filled me in on what a fabulous role-model and teacher she was all those years back at All Saints and how much of an impact she made on her students.  I was thrilled to get the pleasure to finally know this wonderful lady myself, and an impact she made! We met for our session and have crossed paths a few times since. It is no wonder her grandchildren are as precious as they seem with a grandmother like Sherry. She truly is a phenomenal person and I'm flattered to say my new friend. Meet the Fewin grandkids:

Life's a flash, capture accordingly.

Jack Newborn

I really mean it when I say that the baby bug must be in the water! It has been a season full of newborns all around. Between friends, clients, & family (yes I'll be an aunt in 3 days!) babies have been all the buzz this season. There is nothing more quintessential to spring than the thought of new life, and boy has this spring been full of it! I've loved every newborn session I've had the privilege of doing, especially baby Jack's! Mary Kathryn Strong and I have gotten to know each other through the "Lubbock loop" and she is one of my new favorite people. It really started when we hit up the same Zumba class at Studio 57, but has since moved from ethnic dancing to backyard beer dates!!

The Strong kids are both adorable, and even though Jack is the new baby, his big sister Evelyn continues to steal the show. She is the MOST precious thing ever. The first time I met her she was full of all sorts of inquisitive questions. She covered everything from "my pretty wedding ring & who bought it for me" to "where my house sits".  She totally won me over and she is very socially wise beyond her years. We're buddies now.

Meet the Strong Family:

life's a flash, capture accordingly.

The Rogers

David & Jenni Rogers called me a while back to help them with their new home. I consider myself more of a draftsman, working mainly on line drawings for remodels & new construction; however, David & Jenni's decorating job was too great to pass up! Jenni & I have very similar taste, with the main difference being I'm beige and predicatable and that girl loves her some color!  She has actually rubbed off on me somewhat and now has me thinking about adding a splash of color to my own house! Ryan of course has vetoed that based on practicality purposes.... My design projects are so much fun, however, as all interior designers know, it can be like watching molasses dry. No matter how prepared you are, things will come up, items will be backordered, and the thing you love most may simply be out of budget.... I think one reason I love photography so much is that it is instantly gratifying and very fast paced.  It's a great balance with my design work, as it keeps my impulsive side sane. David & Jenni's house is still in progress & turning out just how I had hoped! I'll show you the full home as soon as everything is complete, as I've mentioned before I rarely show design projects before they are finished. However, I have one part of the house that is too great to wait, the new baby's nursery! David & Jenni have been expecting their new baby for as long as I've been working with them. They wanted the baby to be a surprise, but they wanted the nursery to be super cute. I was thrilled beyond belief when they hired me to take on the job of the surprise nursery. This would mean I would be the only person besides the doctor who would know the sex of the baby! I worked up two schemes for the nursery based on Jenni's favorite bedding options, one for a boy & one for a girl:

We met to discuss the pros & cons for each, and the next week Jenni gave me a sealed envelope containing the sex of the baby! You have NO idea how pumped I was for this project (especially since my sister is having a surprise baby in a month and wouldn't let me do this for her)! I felt like I was on HGTV's, "While You Were Out". I had literally three weeks to order all the bedding & accessories...thank goodness it was all in stock!! I got the call that they had gone to the hospital on Tuesday, and by Thursday afternoon the walls were painted, bedding installed, & all accessories were placed. It was one of the most exciting projects I've worked on yet! I made the owls to go over the crib on CAD (my architectural drafting program) and had them cut out of a laser cutter. I painted them to match the bedding & hung the baby's name below! It was a very budget cognizant way to go about wall art!

James David Rogers III, aka Tripp's nursery before

I was able to re-paint these fun frames from Etsy to coordinate with the colors of the pictures I had taken the week before

custom line drawings of owls to match bedding for behind crib

Custom owls designed & painted special for Tripp

Framed fabric behind the rocker is an affordable way to introduce geometric patterns for wall art! Oh and my amazing mom made that custom owl pillow on the rocker.

This is a sneak peek of what's to come for the Rogers' fabulous entry!!

We had left over wallpaper and put it to good use in the hallway off of the dining room
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We took their family pictures before baby Tripp was born but after I knew what "he" was to be! It was the hardest thing to not drop any clues! Luckily I was able to pick the locations based on the colors we were to use in the nursery...bright bright bright (which both schemes were to be full of color, so I felt safe choosing fun walls downtown)! However, Jenni just happened to show up in bright orange & green, she must have had that mother's intuition that it was going to be a boy! Here are the images we got of Peyton's 2 year pictures, Jenni's maternity, & the whole Rogers' family! I've truly loved working with them and feel blessed I've gotten to capture these milestones in their life!

life's a flash, capture accordingly.

Tribute to T Lazy T Ranch

Our family ranch caught on fire in post last night, and to my dad's disbelief the cattle, houses, & his beloved excavator were left untorched, eeer untouched. My dad made a brief cameo appearance on FOX KJTV34 this evening describing what happened. He attributed the cease of the fire to the amazing men who were called to fight it in the middle of the night. Luckily no one was hurt, and my dad got rid of some extra (and very unruly) mesquite :) My dad is basically MacGyver & John Wayne built into one. When he isn't saving lives at his day job as a surgeon, he is home on the range putting out wild fires & raising cattle. If you don't know my family, especially my dad, you may be wondering why this is blog worthy....however... The T Lazy T ranch is like a big brother. Born before me in 1984 it has been home to some of our favorite Thames memories, many of which have occurred during our annual round ups. Round Up 2011 took place last month and all of our family was a part of it! Literally my sister's in-laws & my in-laws included! Both my sister & I got seriously lucky in the in-law department and had a blast sharing our family memories with relatives old & new. I took a few snap shots & video clips to share. Keep in mind, I'm still in the experimental phase with my camera's video, but I'm having a lot of fun making these little montages!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbPdaqB9h-s

Click Link to Watch Round Up Recap

The pictures posted are just quick snapshots of all our family!! Another fun weekend at the T Lazy T.

Doescher Family

So before I post about this precious family I just have to say that I shot my first wedding this past Saturday and daaaaang, I seriously cannot wait to share it. It was everything I hoped my initial wedding experience would be. The couple was beautiful, the venue was charming, and my second shooter, Amy-Rose King, well let's face it- was a BAD-A. The stars aligned and it was the best weekend ever. Oh, and it was my birthday, so that added some fun to the mix as well! I'll be working on the sneak peek this week, so stay tuned for my wedding debut!!

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Onto the Doeschers, I love this cute family. Tanya is a new friend that came to me wanting pictures of her sweet baby girl Theia and I was happy to accommodate! Tanya and I got to meet for coffee prior to the shoot and she shared an interest in photography herself. I just love all these connections! She and her husband Charlie are a great couple and I had a fun getting to be a part of their "family" for a day. Meet the Doescher Family & enjoy.

Life's a flash, capture accordingly.