Christa **Maternity**

I enjoyed getting to know Christa and Joseph (Jose) this past Saturday. This photo shoot was suppose to take place over Spring Break but a certain someone (me) got a little stomach bug and had to reschedule on them. Luckily it all worked out in the end!

After getting kicked out of our first location (oops) we headed downtown and I got some really great shots. I can't wait to show Christa and Jose ALL of them! I edited a few of my first favorites to share with everyone here on the blog.

p.s. I found out that they (especially Jose) have roots in Tennessee! It's always exciting to me when someone knows where good ole Clinton, TN is! That's where my mom is from and I still have a lot of family there. I spent many summers there when I was growing up!

Rizzy Rugh

I'd like to introduce everyone (a little late) to my sweet, sweet niece: Miss Rachel Elizabeth Rugh. We call her Rizzy. She melts my heart!

The morning she was born Jonathan and I jumped in the car and drove to Austin. The 5.5 hours seemed SO long when we found out she was in this world waiting to be meet her aunt and uncle :). I got a few shots of her on those first 2 days of her life. A week later I came back to Austin for a good week and got many more precious pictures.

Another thing I treasure about these pictures is seeing how sweetly John and Laura love on their little girl. It was a treat watching how naturally they have fallen into being parents. It's wonderful seeing this whole new side of my brother. I wish I were also a videographer so I could have captured him talking to Rizzy and reading her stories.

Also, do you notice a new "theme" running through all of these pictures? I finally finished my logo! What do you think? Soon (as in a few days hopefully) it will also be on my NEW website. This has all been slow in coming so I'm very excited to finally be using my new logo and updating my website.

**Sneak Peek: Laura's Maternity Portraits**

There's a new baby coming into my life VERY soon! I already know that I'm just going to be smitten with her. I went to Austin a couple weeks ago to help throw my sister-in-law, Laura, a baby shower. We also fit in a maternity photo shoot. We went to the capitol which is also where we went to take John and Laura's engagement pictures AND some of Laura's bridal portraits. Maybe we'll do baby pictures there too?? Ha! I wish I could bring this location back to Midland with me. There are just so many options and the light was PERFECT.

I also tested out a new lens during this photo shoot. I rented it to see if I wanted to commit to buy it. I'm thinking that, yes, I'm ready to take the plunge! I loved the quality of the images and the new options it gave me.

Enjoy!





My brother is playing with ninjas on her belly. There was a whole fighting scene that I photographed. Gotta love him!

**Rachel and Brett** Engagement Session Sneak Peek

I am absolutely so excited to share these pictures with you. Mostly because Rachel is so anxious to see them but also to show all of my readers and fans. Rachel and Brett are also loved by many so I'm excited to show all their friends and family as well.

Allow me to introduce you to my precious cousin and friend, Rachel and her new fiance, Brett. I had the wonderful, lucky opportunity to take their engagement pictures. Why lucky? They live in Tennessee. I live in Texas. There's a pesky state called "Arkansas" between us. They got engaged just a few days before I was already planning to come into town for our other cousin's wedding. The timing was perfect!
Rachel is very special to me...and now Brett too. It was really important to me to take memorable pictures of them. Maybe I'm partial because the subject is my own family but I'm really loving these pictures! I hope you do too. Leave some comment love and let me know which ones you love!

Become a fan of Lauren Michelle Photography on facebook to see the slide show (with all the pictures) that I will be posting soon!

p.s. side note...I've been slightly anxious that somehow I would lose all these pictures between Tennessee and home...they are now safely stored (and backed up) on my computer. :)

Click on the picture to see it larger.

***Sneak Peek*** Baby Aaron 1-Year Pictures

On Monday I met up with Brenda and Aaron to take their sweet, brown-eyed baby Aaron's 1-year pictures. I had so much fun! Does it get any better than interacting with a baby and capturing all of his sweet faces?

While we were taking pictures of baby Aaron making a mess with his cupcake Brenda said:
"Doesn't this make all your hard work worth it?".
My response was "YES! Yes, it definitely does!"
Photographing baby Aaron with that cupcake was definitely the highlight of the photo shoot. He was a hoot! We plopped him down in the middle of the busy playground with a blanket and a cupcake. He was the star of the park! At one point I turned around and we had an audience of kids! One little boy helped us get some smiles out of baby Aaron. It was that kid's lucky day- Brenda gave him her extra cupcake (after asking his mom of course)! The cupcake was a great idea. I'm so glad Brenda and Aaron decided to do it...and made it happen! I can't wait to have the entire shoot edited and online! Enjoy these sneak peeks in the meantime...





Notice the drool?


Which group of shots are you looking forward to seeing more of? Leave a comment to let me know.

The Many Faces of Miss Abigail

My sweet niece, Abigail, just had her 4th birthday. I did my best to capture the birthday party on “film” while still enjoying the party. I might be partial but I think this kid is pretty awesome! But really…I wish I had a recording of her exclamations and excitement over each and every present she received. She’s my favorite person to give a gift to because she makes SURE you know she just thinks it’s amazing!

I noticed in editing these pictures that Abigail has so many facial expressions. I thought I would share my favorites from her birthday celebration.









Here are some shots of the pinata craziness!

Let's tell a story...

Storyboards. I love them. But they took over my life last week. Now that I'm on the other side of the learning curve things are going a lot smoother. I'm having fun with them!
Sometimes pictures are more effective when they're together. They tell the viewer a story they would not otherwise see. Other times it's just plain fun to see them grouped together!

I took pictures of sisters Libby Kate and Ali about a month ago. These girls were fun...I love their smiles. I always enjoy taking pictures of sisters. It's fun to see their differences and the way they interact. Sometimes there's a little bit of sibling angst but I can always see the underlying sweet love and friendship between them. It comes out in their smiles and giggles--even when they're trying to hide it!

I created a handful of storyboards for these girls...some of the pictures have silly faces, some are full out grins and others are sweet smiles. All together you can see how happy and fun they are!

I know my favorite, which one is yours?