What a lovely high school senior session this was…  Gorgeous gal, totally sweet personality, and her wonderfully awesome family and friends were in tow too!  She’s Auburn bound and happily displayed some future school spirit during our time together and it couldn’t have turned out cuter!

See?  Totally adorable!

Oh, and I loooove these… This hat was so adorable on and off!

And, one more to grow on!

xox, reata

I just can’t help myself…  No matter how hard I try, I can’t resist the urge to post more from this absolutely stunning and wonderful senior session!

Not only is this girl totally sweet and genuine, but she’s also loads of fun and really talented!  This girl is definitely going places, so watch out world!

Love these two!  Not sure which is my favorite:

She was quite a sport too…  She did whatever was necessary for the shot!  :)

Can you guess one of the many things she’s talented in?

Yup.  You guessed it.  Tae Kwon Do.

And, one last photo that I just had to get before she and I called it quits…..  The Tiger!!  Grrr!  :)

xox, reata

Whew!  This Sunday started out as a total wash… Literally!  The rain came from down from the heavens like there would be no end… But then, the happy little sun poked it’s head through the clouds and dried the ground just enough for me to continue with my day full of mini sessions!  Yay for the sun!

This session was mainly focused on getting headshots for her upcoming Dance Contest…  Isn’t she gorgeous?!  And, she’s only 13!

We had fun doing some “non-headshot” stuff too…

Sunday also consisted of some Party For Layla mini sessions….  What GREAT fun we had!  Thanks to all that came out!!  AND, I must mention that I am adding ANOTHER date to the Party For Layla Mini Sessions!!  THIS Sunday, April 25th!!  Click HERE to get more info and schedule an appointment with me or one of the other participating Houston area photographers!

These little cuties did not like sitting in the grass…. too itchy, I guess. I love this shot anyhow… Such adorable little unhappy faces, don’t you think?!  But, don’t worry… we only made them site there for about 3 or 4 shots before we swooped them up outta the grass and put them out of the misery!  ;)

A tad bit happier here…  OFF the grass!

I love this shot of Little Miss and her momma… So sweet!

This little angel was so happy and sweet!

And, she started walking during her session!  She took more steps than ever before as my camera snapped away!  She was sooo proud!

One last black and white before I go…  

xox, reata

Oh my word… I can NOT wait to post the rest of this incredible session from last night!  We had amazing light and so much fun galavanting around town together!  

This week (and especially this weekend) has been incredibly and ridiculously busy…  as in, I’ve seriously hardly been home.  Like, at all.   After tomorrow, I’m going to do some major catching up and I’ll finally be able to show you guys what I’ve been working on!  Got some really fun yummy images to share…  Until then, Happy Saturday!  :)

xox, reata

I’m not really sure where to begin with this story…  I guess I should start with how I first heard of Layla Grace, who she is, and why I’m posting about her.

It was a few weeks ago when my good friend randomly asked me if I’d ever heard of Layla Grace and I simply replied unknowingly, No… What’s that?  Errr, I mean, who’s that?  I had no idea how heartbreaking the next bit of info would be.

My friend told me about a sweet, beautiful little girl who was in the last stages of Neuroblastoma Cancer….  A bright-eyed, high-spirited little girl whose loving parents had started a blog to keep their friends and family updated on her progress as she went through horribly tough, tough times fighting her terrible desease.  Although the initial intentions of this blog were not to gain recognition, this blog eventually started being following by thousands (literally) of prayerful well-wishers… all praying for peace and comfort for this one lovely family.

My friend told me I should check out their blog if I wanted… but she knew for certain, I would cry while reading it.  Of course, later that evening as I read along, I cried and cried. And cried.

After reading Layla’s story and seeing the gorgeous photos that Cypress based photographer Christie Lacy had done for them, my heart was so incredibly heavy with grief, hope, love, and pain for Layla’s entire family…  I could not, for the life of me, get them out of my head.  Their family is similar in make-up to mine:  three young girls, about the same ages as mine.  I couldn’t image how Layla’s parents were making it through each day – obviously, they are very faithful servants to the Lord.  I prayed and prayed for them – and I still do.

Four days after first hearing about Layla,  I received a phone call completely out of the blue from Christie Lacy (the photographer who did their family photos)… She did not know me and I did not know her.  As she explained who she was and told me the exact same story I had just read online four days earlier, I realized God was setting the stage for something He knew I couldn’t refuse and I was in awe.  Christie explained to me that this special little girl and her family had touched her heart…  My heart pounded. I was shaking.  And,  I was completely astounded…  Why in the world am I receiving this call??  How did she even get my number?!  

Christie asked if I’d join forces with her in a charity event benefiting the family of Layla Grace… After working with the Marsh Family, she was so touched that she wanted to do something more for them – A Charity Mini Session Event, Party For Layla.  And, because of the overwhelming response she was getting from so many wonderful, prayerful families who wanted to book a mini session, she realized she would need help from other photographers.  This is why she called me.  I was in 100%.

I am beyond honored and feel truly blessed that God led her to call my phone number – after all, there are tons of photographers in the Houston area… why me?!  I am estatic that, in addition to the prayers I have been offering up to God for the Marsh family, that I have been asked to help a little bit more….   I am hopeful that we will have an amazing turn-out for this event!

If you are interested in helping the family of Layla Grace, please check out our Party For Layla Website and consider booking an appointment for a mini session with me (or one of the many other awesome participating photographers)!  The entire session fee is being donated to the family and each 20 minute mini-session will receive one 8×10 fine art print!  

Read the details HERE.

xox, Reata

Can I get any luckier?  I mean, honestly, I feel like I have THE best job in the entire world…  I get to explore parts of the city I never knew existed looking for cool locations, work with fabulously awesome families, and create fun, heartwarming images that will be cherished for a lifetime!  And, to top it off, everynow and then, I get to share my passion with some of my friends….  And, that makes me VERY happy!  

The session in this blog post today features my good friends (and now clients!)…  The G Family!  Our family met them a little less than a year ago, but I tell you… It honestly seems like we’ve known them forever!  The are that kind of family.  You know, the family that other families are drawn to…  Honest, fun-loving, hard-working, kind, and loyal.  I was delighted when Momma J asked me to be their photographer…   I hope I captured at least half of their families’ spirit with my camera!  

There are so many that I am completely smitten with, but this little thang called Thanksgiving is calling and I can’t share them all yet!  So for now, here goes some of my instant faves!

This is a look only sweet little sisters are allowed to give their brothers…

…only to turn back around to give me this look:

And lastly…

Much more to come… Can’t wait to show you guys, G Family!!

xox, reata

is why I love Austin, Texas so much.

Phenom weather.  Characteristically advanced housing and buildings.  And fun, wonderful people.

These are from the first session I did in Austin this past weekend…  Me and M have similar taste in just about everything it appears and so once we got started chatting/emailing back and forth about our ideas for her anytime session, we could hardly contain the excitement!  We were like two middle school girls rambling 100 mph about the hot substitute teacher in Algebra class…  Only, there wasn’t any hot sub.  And, we weren’t doing Algebra.  We were planning her anytime session….  and we chalked it full of personality and sass.

Now, keep in mind…  It was hard to narrow it down for this post… I wanted to post all of them.  Literally.  I like them that much.  But, I’m not gonna share them aaaaall right now (gotta make M wait for something in her gallery!), so here are the lucky ones that made it through to the blog:

At this point in the session, I was thinking to myself, Is it even possible for her to be ANY cuter?  And, how in the world are we gonna top this rockin red dress and amazing blue Schwinn??  Is it even possible???

Well, it was.

Meet Henry:

These last two were literally some of the last shots I took of the beautiful M before the setting sun forced us to call it quits…  I’m sure glad we didn’t didn’t stop before we got these!  Love them!

xox, reata

I just can’t help myself…. I’ve fallen in love with my newly purchased treasures!

The richness of their color….  the textures…. the worn edges of the binding…  and the incredible scent of their pages.  

I am over the moon with these little guys!!

I am so happy and proud to add them to my library and to use them as the decor in my home…  they range in age from 1923 to 1976 and each one has their own unique story.  And most of them have their original owners names scribed into the front page – complete with address and all!  

The one in the middle up there, entitled American History for Colleges, was actually my husband’s grandmas!  Obviously, I didn’t just purchase that one…  That one was given to my husband a little over a year ago but I decided to include it in this picture because it’s one of my favorites because of the significance and meaning to my husband.  You see, my husband teaches History… And this was his grandma’s college history book.  It has HER handwritten notes and schedule all over the place on it’s pages.  It’s quite a special little book.  And besides being special, it just looks cool.

I adore the fascinating colors on Ginny Gordon and the Missing Heirloom….  Looks so pretty.  Now I just need to read it!  I’m sure it’s awesome…  It just oozes awesomeness.

Anyhow, this was pretty much a random, pointless post…  But, I enjoyed it nevertheless! 

A little bit of planning goes along way.  So true…  even in the art of dressing your family for your photo session!  If you want to have a look that says ‘put together’ then you are going to have to plan a little bit.  Trust me…  I know it sounds scary.  But honestly, it shouldn’t be!  It should be fun!!  The age old look of everyone wearing matching shirts, jeans, and santa hats is totally out…  and good gosh, it’s about time!  No one dresses like that in real life (do they?!?).  You’re photos should say more about you than “I can buy 5 identical red turtle necks” for my family!  Start looking around in magazines (or even on commercials/online ads) for good color combos, pick something you like, and start seaching for pieces for you and your loved ones that will coordinate, yet still lend a touch of who you are! 

Here are a few easy examples I threw together just from searching on the internet at some pretty common stores….  And, for the record, I’m not saying you should go buy these exact outfits.  I’m giving you these examples to use as references as to how you can find things at everyday stores for the whole family that compliment each other!  

Good luck shopping!  And, as always, keep in touch with me during your shopping experience!  I love it when clients send me their oufit choices beforehand, so I can get a visual and lend suggestions when asked.

Now for the examples:

xox, reata

Confession:  I’ve got a bad habit.  By nature, I am a perpetual night owl… defying my body’s natural sleep needs and burning the mid-night oil till all hours of the night without the aid of coffee.  I’m not sure if I’ll ever change, but I sure would like to!  Every now and then, when I actually get a normal amount of rest, I feel so amazing!  My brain becomes 10x sharper and I feel so energized that I could clean and play all day long and not have a single complaint.

Typically after the kids are sound asleep, if I’m not working on my business then I’m cleaning the house or trying to snag a few minutes in front of the TV with my husband.  However, lately, I’ve been spending my nights chit-chatting with my hubbie as I work away on my computer…  It’s been a busy world over here at Sugar Shots – And although, I love it (like seriously, looooove it!), this workload keeps giving me even more excuses to stay plugged into photoshop editing away until my eyeballs start feeling like they are gonna fall out.  I think this bad habit of mine (ours) is just that – a bad habit.  It can be broken…  just like any old habit can be.  But, I think one of the reasons it’s been so easy for me to stick with my bad habit is because my sweet, little husband stays up with me while I work so we can “hang out”….  He lays on the floor with the laptop and we jam out to tunes while I work.  Sounds like good quality time together, huh?!  Yeah right!  But, hey, at least he’s in there with me!

Anyhow, tonight, I’m going to put a stop to my long run of late nighters… I’m going to tell my husband my ever famous line: Tonight we are going to sleep early!!  No late night editing, internet surfing, or youtube video jamming….  No Toddlers and Tiaras.  No King of the Crown.  And absolutely no Slim In 6 or PX90 workout infomercials!!  Let’s just talk, snuggle and fall into a deep, restful slumber!

We’ll see what happens…. I’m pretty sure tonight is the night that habits will be broken!!  Yay!

And, because I don’t want to leave this post bare…  Here are some more of my faves from this senior session. 

And, one of the last (and best!) shots of the evening:

xox, reata