Every so often clients come to me with a very clear vision of the style they want for their session. I absolutely love these people. If I am to be honest however, they also keep me up at night. I love them for the challenge they present of creating a particular aesthetic, but I also worry because as we head into the session knowing exactly what we need from the clothes, the accessories, the props, the location, the lighting, the weather…sometimes things just fall short of our expectations. And yet, when the universe is working with you and all these variables align, you can capture something extraordinary.

Isabel came to me with pictures from a blog she found. The images were gorgeous. A sun-soaked field with a family playing and laughing in the fleeting light. It was country and classy and just plain delicious. The mom was the picture of femininity and her boys, both big and little, were snakes and snails and puppy dog tails. Isabel explained how she wanted to create a memory like that with her boys. She too is the lone lady amongst the men in their family. Even the dog is a boy. Isabel finds so much joy in her boys though. She seems to appreciate everything that comes in that male package and is such a nuturing mom and wife. 

All of this in mind, we set about preparing a session in a wild, woodsy place where they could all run and play and just let the boys be boys. Isabel was able to find the perfect delicate dress and styled her hair in a soft wave to the side. Abi and the boys wore jeans and tailored shirts with stylin’ shoes. For my part, I prayed for beautiful light, packed bubbles and made a fun little patchwork kite for the boys to play with. 

What resulted for them was purely wonderful. We had a rare November Sunday here in Texas with temps in the low 70s and that “Oh my!” kind of afternoon light.  They took full advantage of it all and made a really great family memory. The pictures make me smile. I can hear their laughter when I look at them. I hope the little ones remember that fall day and how much their parents loved on them and just let them be their perfect boyish selves.  

       And since Toby is a big part of the family, we had to have a picture with him back         home.