LaRae Russell Photography

When your family is having portraits takin you always want to wear coordinating outfits.

Try to pick  outfits in the same color family (light blue and dark blue, etc.) or in two colors (girls in pink shirts, boys in brown).

Bold colors are fine as are earth tones.  Try to stick to solids or simple patterns. Don’t be afraid of color!

Cowboy hats and boots are great!

For more tips go to http://www.laraerussellblog.com/what-to-wear/.

Just like in any job sometimes you have a really good day.  Everything works, things fall into place and things just work out.  It didn’t seem like it was going to be one of those days because the wind was blowing really hard.  We almost rescheduled the shoot. 

At the last minute we decided to do it and “all the stars aligned.”  Okay so there weren’t really any stars but you know what I mean.

BEAUTIFUL family.

GREAT CLOTHING choice.

Perfect, wonderful, awesomeness!  This shoot made me sooooooo happy!

Dallas is a Senior at Central HS.

He plays baseball, loves TEXAS TECH

and wants to be an accountant.

He is super cute, funny and extremely polite. I loved his girlfriend too. She was so helpful when I was hobbling around with my broken toe while taking his pictures. Such a fun Shoot!

Had a blast at this mother and daughter session. These girls were so sweet.

Look at those EYES,

and those sweet toes!

This family is from Colorado,  but Dad is originally from the Christoval area.  They traveled back to visit family after celebrating their 15^th Wedding Anniversary.  The Husband and Wife wanted to have family portraits done on family land under the tree were they got married. What more fitting?  I loved the idea of bringing their children back to “The Wedding Tree” to have portraits done. Locations with meaning to my clients can make the session that much more sentimental.  This tree was AMAZING!! It was the biggest tree I had ever seen!  At one point during the session it started to rain and we all stood under this enormous tree, where we were completely sheltered from the rain.

I loved everything about this session.

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  This was a fun family session.

This baby was FULL of energy.  She never stopped moving and putting things in her mouth!  I took her pictures last February and was amazed at how much she had changed.  She was not only walking but RUNNING all over the place.  She definitely gave me a workout!

Beautiful ending to the day!

I love photographing these kids/family! They have such colorful style as well as personalities. You can never go wrong with color and accessories. Can’t wait for our next session!

When you are planning your newborn photo shoot some of the best things to keep in mind are that your baby is brand new and tiny, less is more.

For baby girls your should consider bringing hair accessories (bows, flowers, headbands, or clips). A soft tutu or pettiskirt can be a lot of fun and add lots of color to the portraits.

Baby boys may seem a bit harder but you can find extremely cute hats, bow ties and neck ties that will add a lot of funk and flavor to some of his very first portraits. A great place to find such accessories is www.etsy.com

While you are searching for the right accessories or outfit, keep in mind that we can include your favorite blanket, sports memorabilia or even a family heirloom to add the perfect touch to a portrait. Remember to bring a bottle or two so you are able to feed throughout the session. Some of the best portraits taken are those while the baby is asleep. Keeping a full tummy can help keep a baby happy the whole time we are shooting.

Yesterday we had a photoshoot with models in downtown Dallas.  Today we will submit them for critique (yikes).  Here are a few of my favorites from the session. Our gorgeous model got lots of honks and shouts and one guy came walking up and asked for her digits.  She did awesome considering all of that, a short dress made of feathers, and uncomfortable shoes…..all in Dallas heat and humidity.  I learned so much that my head is still spinning.

Last night we had a meet and greet at the Victory Tavern.  The cupcakes were FABULOUS!  I met photographers from Midland and San Antonio, Mississippi, Maryland and SWEDEN!  OMG.  It is amazing to me that someone would come that far for a workshop.  I met a couple of people that were here for the second year in a row so I am very encouraged by that!  It must be awesome if someone feels they got enough out of it to come back a second time.

I got back to my room to find a goody bag full of all kinds of photography treats and so I am having fun sorting through that.   We are at the W Victory Hotel in Dallas.  It has a modern kind of funky disco feel to it.  It is dark!  You kind of feel like you are in a club.  The most INTERESTING thing is the arrangement of the bathrooms.  You walk in the door of your room and you are looking right at the shower.  The shower has no door and is made of glass.  SO, I am kind of glad that I am not sharing a room.  Could be awkward.  The shower head is like a waterfall dumping gallons of water on your head.  It is amazing!  The only problem with it is that I have crazy hair that tends to get “eighties rock star” and takes literally HOURS to dry.  There is no way to take a shower without completely starting over with the hair so I will be getting up extra early.

There is a fabulous pool on the roof here and a nice gym.  Because I am missing bootcamp I will be hitting the gym.  My favorite part?  The BLISS spa!  Its, well, BLISS!  I got a pedicure there today, now I have fabulous teal toes.

I am SO excited for today.  Our instructors are Kelley Moore, Lauren Clark, Millie Holloman, and Davina Fear.  They are amazingly talented women and I am ready to soak up the knowledge!