As We Live.Love.Laugh.

The McDonalds - 2011 Holiday Mini-Sessions

The McDonalds!!!! One of the first Holiday Mini-Sessions we shot. This couple were the first bride and groom to take a gamble on me and allow me to make theirs' the first wedding I ever photographed! It was 07-07-07! Now, they are growing their gorgeous family with little firecracker Allison and baby on the way!! I CANNOT wait to photograph Alli again. She is so sweet and wins the award for the BEST expressions ever!!!

Holiday Mini-Sessions Are Here! Only $70!

Email me for more information!!!  Much love always - Jill

Koke Family Portraits

I find my blog posts always saying the same things .... either it's, "...these are super dear friends of mine..." or "... they have become such close friends of ours...".

Ok - so either I LOVE people and have the GREATEST CLIENTS in all of DFW or I LOVE my friends and they are absolutely FABULOUS to support my business and my art??  I think BOTH - How lucky am I?!?!?!

We've been friends with this family for years and I was thrilled to finally get to photograph them.  They are such a great looking family dude!  The girls just look at the camera and BAM! magic!  No need to coax them or tickle them - they are just that good!  I fell in love with every photograph and had the hardest time narrowing it down.  In the end, I am so happy with the result and so are they and in all seriousness - this is one of the greatest friend's I've made since moving to Texas.  Mushy Smushy Ambyr! XoXoXO

This one below was Daddy's idea.  Loved it and after a little fight with mom (I won!), we ended up with portrait magic!  Holla!

The End...... 

 

 

Rena's Maternity Portrait Session

I posted the live birth of Rena's son, Trey and never posted her gorgeous maternity portraits taken in my studio in McKinney.  Rena is an absolutely stunning woman, and I know for a fact that she had no idea how well she'd photograph.  But, from seeing some of her Facebook photos, I knew there was a model in her somewhere and was determined to bring it out!  Worked!  Then, she says, "Let's do something crazy?"  I am thinking, "We can't go too crazy because you are prego!"  Turns out she meant crazy with the portraits!  Where was my head (staring at a bottle of wine!) 

Having 3 littles of my own, I busted out the tempura paint and brushes and we went to town!  The result was better than I could have imagined.  I can only post one photo because the others are too revealing.  But, we definitely got an artistic, spur of the moment photographic memory that will last a lifetime!

 

McNicoll Family - August 2011

The McNicoll Family is one of our Watch Me Grow Families.  I was super excited when Kari told me that for the next shoot, which landed on their anniversary, they wanted a few portraits of mom and dad - no kids!  Yay!  We need to take time to do that every once in a while!  I think it was a fabulous idea.  We laughed so hard and it was a great way to kick off their anniversary day.  Of course, we also got amazing portraits of their handsome little guys!!!

 

 
  

Audrey and Grant - World's Cutest Twins!

Greatest Baby Shower gift EVER - a gift certificate for newborn portraits!  These little ones have a very sweet family friend who purchased a Live.Love.Laugh. Photography Gift Certificate for their mommy's baby shower!  So, once the twins arrived, mommy didn't have to stress finding a photographer to go to their home and take their newborn portraits.  Twins are a handful, for sure... but mom and dad were so sweet and calm.  The babies behaved awesome and even gave us the 'must have' potty-on-the-backdrop laugh!

 
 
  

 

 
 

Kapoor Family

There is no sweeter sound to me upon arriving at a session than the kid's I am about to photograph screaming, "Ms. Jill!!"  I love that!  Anika and Rishik are two of my best littel buddies.  Anika tells me about school and about her day and Rishik now, isn't the shy newborn he was when I began photographing their family.  He gives me just the looks and smiles I need, and continues running and playing.  I am truly grateful to have these wonderful people as clients - well - after all this time, as family!

 

 
 

 

 

Barlow Family in the Blue Bonnets

I absolutely adore this family.  They gave me a chance when I very first started my business and have stuck with me since.  Even through delayed editing - they've always been supportive!  We shot these back in May right when the Texas Blue Bonnets were fading away until next year.  And, there is a new addition to the Barlow clan....  Big Brother Ryan now has a Little Man to watch after - Evan!

 

 

 

Holy First Communion Portraits - Our Daughter and Dear Friends

When we baptized our first born and only daughter (we two younger sons), I couldn't see far enough ahead to envision the day she'd receive her First Holy Communion.  That day has come and gone, and yet I am still in shock at how quickly time passes.  It's true what they say, the older you get, the faster the years seem to pass.

Since moving to Texas, we were incredibly fortunate to make some wonderful friends.  We met the same year we got to Texas, in 2006, and have been close ever since.  Our daughters have been taking Religious Education (CCD) together since they were in Kindergarten and here we are, celebrating their First Holy Communion at St, Jude in Allen.  I was honored to photograph my friend's little girls but found it more difficult to photograph my own.  I kept crying and wiping the camera.

I realize now, that I really enjoy commemorating this right of passage as young kids receive this sacrament.  So, if you or someone you know is receiving their First Holy Communion, please give them my information. 

Holy Communion Photos are taken in my home studio.  They take approximately 30-40 minutes and include use of the white kneeler, use of a prop bible and rosary (unless you have your own you'd like to use) and a CD with 20 edited images for you to share and print as you wish.  Cost for Holy Communion Portraits is only $125 for all of the above.

Here is my little girl ... not so little anymore....  but I will always call her that!  These are Dallas Laber's Holy Communion Portraits.

 

 

Here is our family friend Nyomi Nee's Portraits!

 

Here is our family friend, also Nyomi's cousin, Parker Qualls' Portraits.

 

Live Birth Photography - C-Section Birth of Baby Trey

I have had the honor of photographing 3 live births.  Wow!  There really aren't many other adjectives that can sum up the experience of watching life enter this world.  As you all know, I also do volunteer work for Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep www.nilmdts.org - This is an amazing organzation that provides free infant bereavment photography when a young soul is lost in utero or at birth.

So, for me, it is so important to also photography the miracle of birth,  and the miracle of life.

In this case, mom was in labor for hours and hours... poor thing.  She ended up having to have a c-section and through nice begging, I had the honor of photographing the c-section.

Here is Baby Trey!!!  Magical, miraculous and wonderful!  Another human is brought into the world!

 

There's a photo of me all scrubbed up for the OR - but I rather not share that crazy pic!