**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?

Jonathan Fox **Newborns**

I am PARTICULARLY excited to share with you these new photographs. Why, you ask? For those who do not know me this is my brand new nephew, Jonathan Fox. (Not so brand new anymore...he's grown so much since this shoot!).

Not only is he family...he also shares my husband's name. I'll probably be calling him "Fox" to avoid confusion. We were all speechless when his name was revealed (in the hospital-yes, we waited 9 months for a name!).

I love being an aunt to this little guy...and I've loved staring at him even more while editing these photographs.

He is literally brand new in this first photograph.



And a little bit "older"...(11 days maybe?)




The best time to take them is within the first 10 or 14 days of life. It's sad but exciting to see him grow! He doesn't look like this anymore. He's already changing so much. These first pictures are so priceless to have so we won't forget these first days of life.


Notice the "storyboard" (aka "collage")?? More on that later...and more storyboards too!

**Sneak Peek** Shawn's Maternity Pictures

I'm in love with this precious family. I'm in love with these pictures. The colors, the faces, the light. It was an inspiring afternoon!

We had a last minute change of location and decided to just do all of the pictures at their house. I'm so glad we did! It made for a relaxed, personal photo shoot. Shawn looked gorgeous!

Curious George

Jenni and I had a "mini-session" this morning to get some ideas and play around a bit. The real shoot is this weekend. I was a little worried baby brother would come before then and we wouldn't have any maternity pictures!! That would have been a disgrace since I'm her sister-in-law! So I went over there this morning just in case :)
We had a short amount of time and I spent half of it getting the light right...but I got a few great shots. I thought I would share this one picture that I just fell in love with. I love the sweetness of mom and daughter. The anticipation of change. I even love how grainy the photograph is!
I can just imagine Abigail or "Curious George" looking at it years down the road...

**Sneak Peek** Jason's Senior Portraits

I want to thank Jason for being a wonderful sport for this photo shoot. I took a LOT of pictures. Sometimes I just get carried away...but it can be so much fun!

It was obvious, pretty fast, that Jason is a great guy. He has a good attitude about life and doesn't waste time complaining. I wish the best for him as he graduates and figures out what he's passionate about!







I can't decide if I like this one in color or black and white? Leave me a comment and tell me which one you like better...and why!

**Sneak Peek** Ambri's Baby Portraits {Odessa, Texas} {baby portraits}

I found myself "talking" to this sweet baby girl even while editing the pictures. I love how thoughtful she looked in some of these. I've decided I really like taking baby portraits.

Baby fever you say? I don't know what you're talking about...

Meet sweet little Ambri:

a Grandma's love

My Grandma died at the beginning of December. It still seems like she's at her little house in east Tennessee gardening, cooking and sewing. But she's not, she's in a better place-an eternally joyful place. My mom sent me this picture last week. She wrote a card with it that said:

"I love the way your Grandma is holding on to you in this picture. You can see she is proud of you, adores you, enjoys you. My mom was not a 'poser'-she was totally natural."

Five years ago this picture wouldn't have meant that much to me. I would have criticized the gray day and barren trees. I would have scoffed at my double chin and the fact that I look like my brother. But now, it stirs up so many emotions. It's a photograph that captures precious memories of my Grandma's love for me. It reminds me of the way she stood-her arms, her hands. I can almost hear her voice through the picture. I love that her sweet house is in the background.

I wonder what the day was like? I wonder what we talked about? I wonder if I ate one of her biscuits that cloudy day?

My favorite time of the year!

Maybe I'm jumping ahead here but I'm ready to declare that Spring has arrived. I know, I know, I'm probably going to get snapped back to reality when it freezes again (because I'm sure it will). But I'm loving this comfortable weather...and I'm even seeing some green sprouting up. Actually, our yard is covered in green weeds that are growing by the minute. My husband is about to mow our yard for the very first time (we just moved in).
In my opinion, Spring is the best time to take pictures. The air is cool, the scenery brightens up and people tend to just be in a great mood when the days are beautiful!

Can you believe that Easter is less than a month away? It's April 4th this year...for those of you who don't know. I love taking Easter and Senior portraits this time of the year. The colors are just beautiful...

Here are a few happy, "spring", shots for your viewing pleasure: