Family Pet Photography

I love taking family portraits.  No two families are ever the same, and that certainly keeps my job interesting!  And perhaps because my own little furry babies are such an integral part of my family, I am always excited when a client wants to include his or her pets as part of a family session.  

I recently met Ms. A, who was fostering three sweet puppies for POODLE RESCUE HOUSTON until they were old enough to be adopted.  She asked me to do a photo session for her so she would have pictures of her foster pups as well as her own dogs; and I was more than happy to oblige!  So, I traveled to her home where I took both posed and candid photos.  These are a few of my favorites:

First, we have the "family portrait" where I managed to get everyone to look at me at the same time - no small feat!

Here are a couple of photos of the adorable foster pups, who have since been adopted and are now living in their forever homes:

This is little Monique, who is clearly the independent one of the trio!

And here are roly-poly Christopher and sweet Chanelle.  Aren't they adorable?!

Next up are a couple of photos of Ms. A and her "grown-up" babies:

We wanted to include casual, every day photos.  So Ms. A. sat down and played with her four-legged family members while I took pictures.  I love the results!

Look at the love and devotion on this girl's face for her human mama!

Remember, a family doesn't have to be human.  Families are not just made up of people related to you by blood or marriage.  Families are comprised of those you love, who love you back.  To me, that includes pets and lifelong friends.  When is the last time you had family pictures made?

Back to School - Rheagan and Reese

My dear friend, Heather, recently asked if I would be interested in doing a back-to-school shoot with her two daughters.  Those of you who know Heather - know that she is immensely talented and creative.  I am in complete awe of her skill with all things scrapbook and paper related.  (If you don't know Heather, trust me, you have to check out her BLOG.  Seriously, do it!)  So, of course, I jumped at the chance.  I knew that a photo shoot with any member of her family was sure to be fun.  And I was not disappointed!  Heather's girls showed up with bright colorful outfits, lots of sweet smiles, and a little bit of sass!  

We started by setting a scene with a school desk piled high with the girls' favorite books...

...and included a few fun props like bright pink glasses.  Little Reese looks both smart AND stylish!  

Big sister Rheagan is a girl after my own heart...

Why, you ask?  Well, not only did she have a super cool book selection, but check out her feet.  That's right, her shoes are OFF!  She was determined to enjoy the freedom of summer and no shoes until the very last second!  I can definitely identify with that!  

She also scored an "A+" using the pink glasses as a fashion accessory.

We made sure we took photos of the girls together.  (Don't you adore their coordinating outfits?!)

And, of course, we took lots of individual photos, too...

Heather wanted an extended photo session with the girls, so we did an outfit change and then it was off to the park...but that is a story for another day...

Don't worry!  I will be back soon with Part 2.

To be continued...

(I am now booking Fall and Christmas sessions, and I am still doing Senior sessions.  For more info, please feel free to check out my website - www.kcmckeephotography.com.  Or you can contact me directly by email at kristinclarkmckee@gmail.com.)

One of a Kind - Back to School Session

My daughter is her very own unique person, there is no doubt, with her own sense of style and her own ideas.  And, at age 14, she is a little bit pouty and a little bit stubborn (on her good days) - LOL!  So, the day before school, we had a conversation that went something like this:

Me:  School starts tomorrow.  Let's get some photos of you today while the light is still good so we won't have to worry about it in the morning.

Daughter: *rolls her eyes*

Me:  C'mon.  I'm serious.  You are starting high school.  I want to get some pictures of you.

Daughter: *letting out a long suffering sigh*

Me:  Seriously, let's go.

Daughter:  Okay, but can I just wear the clothes I already have on?

Me:  Yes, if you promise to smile in at least a couple of the pictures.

Daughter: *another eye roll* Okay...

(This is why photographers will often pay other photographers to take pictures of their own children.)

So, we went and took photos in a location close by; and I even got a couple of genuine smiles (along with a genuine pout or two).  But I love them!  They represent my teen girl in her sometimes moody, sometimes angsty, sometimes goofy, sometimes happy glory - and isn't that the point of a photo session?

Have you had your child's photographs taken recently?  Not posed portraits, but everyday lifestyle portraits that really allows his or her personality to shine through?  If you live in the Houston or San Antonio area, I would love to create those portraits for you!  For more information, please check out my website: http://kcmckeephotography.com/

Rachel and Steffan Engagement Shoot

This is a story as old as time.  Even so, it never gets boring.  It is never the same.  This is a story about a boy...

...who met a girl....

They became the very best of friends...

...and fell in love.

Rachel and Steffan wanted a simple engagement shoot in a relaxed outdoor setting.  And, truthfully, that was all they needed.  Their love for each other clearly took center stage!  Don't you agree?

Here's to Rachel and Steffan - and their soon-to-be happily ever after!

If you are in Houston or surrounding areas, I would love to help you create lasting photographic memories that you can share with family and friends.  Feel free to email me at kristinclarkmckee@gmail.com, or you can send me a private message via my Facebook business page found HERE, or you can simply leave a comment on this blog with your contact information.

Have a great weekend, and stay tuned for some upcoming pics from an adorable back-to-school session!

May Scrap Our Stash Blog Hop

Happy Friday - I am so glad you are hopping along with us to get the weekend kick-started!  You should have arrived here from CHERYL'S BLOG.  If you are just stopping by and want to start at the beginning of the hop, head over to PRACTICAL SCRAPPERS.

I have two confessions to make to you while you are here.  The first is, today is my birthday!  And I think that being involved in a blog hop with my good friends is the perfect start to the beginning of my *cough mumble mumble cough* year.  LOL!

My second confession involves my layout, which is really, really (really) bright; however, after several days of heavy downpours and dark gray skies, I needed some bright sun, even if it only came from my paper stash:

You may be saying, "Krissy, this is a new(ish) summer collection by AMERICAN CRAFTS.  How could you possibly consider this to be scrapping your stash, which is kind of the point of the whole blog hop?"  Okay...time for confession two.  You see, through a stroke of sheer luck, I managed to score these papers way back during CHA in January.  Then, well, life happened (in ways that I would have preferred it not to have done) any my scrapbooking goodies got shoved in a bag under a table, where they sat alone and neglected.  Do I have older stash?  Oh, yes.  But I am positive I don't have anything brighter and more sunshiny than these papers!

To get started, I used this sketch by CREATIVE SCRAPPERS:

As you can see, I stayed pretty true to the sketch.  Here are a few close-ups (go ahead, put on your sunglasses if you need to):

As you can see, I was one layering crazy woman!  But what can I say?  I wanted to use all my bright pretty papers.  And then I found some cool transparancies that I HAD to use; and the same with the cute stickers; and, gosh, how could I NOT use the adorable wood veneer shapes?  

And, of course, I had to include a little flair.  And include tiny type stickers to add a little visual interest to my title.  And sew.  And fussy cut.  And cut fringes...

But - my stash is just a little more scrapped now, and my work here is done.  Or at least my layout is done...you know what I mean...

Next up on the blog hop is WENDI.  I am sure you are going to love her project!  

Have a great weekend and happy hopping!

Be You

The Huntress - she's got her own style.  It's quirky, it is definitely anime-inspired, (these days it is often a little pouty-faced), and it's all her own.  Some days she is a rock star, and other days she is the ultimate teenage drama queen.  There may be a lot she still has to figure out in life, but she knows who she is, and that is a huuuggge start!  

I took her out to do a fun little photo shoot recently, and I got a memory card full of photos that capture her in all her pouty rocker/anime glory perfectly.  I knew I needed papers that captured the love, optimism, and hope I have for her - so I went digging through my stash for my HEIDI SWAPP stuff, which turned out to fit the bill perfectly.  I primarily used the Mixed Company line, which had the clean, simple graphics I wanted.  

To help me get my mojo kick-started, I also used the SKETCHABILITIES SKETCH #115.  I know a lot of ladies on the Sketchablities design team take a more vintage, mixed media approach to the sketches.  However, I think they work well for any style!

I love the way my layout turned out!  I was a little worried, since I haven't scrapbooked in so long, that I had forgotten how to glue together two pieces of paper, much less create a complete layout.  But, I guess it is just like that old saying about riding a bicycle...(thank goodness).

Here are a couple of close-ups:

A lot of layering and some symbolism, too...

My girl is a superstar to me, so of course I had to include a star and then, for good measure, layer it with another star.  I guess that makes her a super superstar...

Here are a few other photos from our little shoot that I imagine I will be creating layouts around in the near future:

A Few Favorites

Still playing catch-up and wanted to quickly share these layouts - all made with MY SCRAPS AND MORE SKETCHES.  Tammi makes some sketches that, apparently, really work well with my way of scrapping because each layout came together effortlessly and quickly, and I love the results!  I used CRATE PAPER'S STYLEBOARD COLLECTION to create this first layout, which features a photo of the Huntress who is just full of all kinds of attitude but still just as sweet as she can be.

My next layout:

I used an oldy but goody FANCY PANTS collection - Trendsetter - which coordinated perfectly with this photo of Little Lula who, at age 4, is already a little trendsetter with her own style and buckets of personality!

Finally, another of Lula and one of her Lala Loopsy dolls going beddy-bye:

I used my February PAPER BAKERY KIT and some random bits and pieces sitting out on my work table to create this fun layout.

That's it for me today.  Hope your Saturday is full of happiness and spent doing the things you enjoy doing most!  Until next time...

Today Was Golden - My Scraps and More Sketches

Today we are playing along with a new sketch over at MY SCRAPS AND MORE SKETCHES.  Head over to blog to see what other design team members have done with Sketch #76, then play along and link up your take on it!

This is what Sketch 76 looks like:

And here are a couple of close-ups of my layout:

This was an Instagram picture that I took of the Golden Gate Bridge during a recent trip with the Hubster to San Francisco.  We were walking along trails around the Presidio and there were several spots, such as this one, that provided the perfect vantage point to take pictures of the iconic bridge.  I loved the way it turned out and knew I wanted to use it in a layout.  I used a mixture of BELLA BLVD papers from the Snapshots and Freestyle Sophisticates Collections.  I always love it when different collections "play nice" with each other!  I haven't used Bella Blvd in quite a while, but these papers seemed to work perfectly for my layout.

I had a LOT of fun creating the title for this layout.  Often, my title is an afterthought for me, but not this time!

That's it for me today.  Be sure to stop by tomorrow as I continue my catch-up and post a few more layouts that I think you are really going to like.  I know I do! (snicker-snort)