My First Senior Model Shoot-CHELSEA

So, I have recruited a few high school 2011 Seniors to be models for Brandi Nellis Photography but I would like a few more. If you know any really cute AND outgoing senior guys or girls please send them my way. Chelsea knew she wanted a "country" shoot so she found Old Settlers Park up in Round Rock and it was just a fabulous location to do her shoot. We worked our way around the old red barn, tractors and little cabins dodging wasps the entire way. Yikes. She was an awesome model and we had a great time during her shoot. Check out some of my favs of her and how about those eyes...

The Nutritionist

I photographed Dawn a few weeks ago. She is a local nutritionist who hired me to photograph her and some of her closest friends (Fruit and Veggie) for her website she's working on. We had a great time at Boggy Creek Farms even though there wasn't much to choose from we managed to put together a beautiful basket for her shoot. The only reason why there wasn't much is b/c of the time of the year. The poor plants are all withered from the blistering TX sun. They've got more crops blooming soon with the cooler weather. So, if anyone out there (like me) needs a nutritionist let me know and I'll pass Dawn's information along to you. She has a wonderful spirit about her and is a true kid at heart. :)

Riley's 13th Birthday Party

Every once in awhile I get to do a shoot that's completely different and out of my normal family and kids realm. My client's daughter turned 13 and she rented a "Rockin' Ride" which is a karaoke bus. The bus tools all over the city while you and your friends get to karaoke in the retro looking bus. The bus sort of looks like Austin Powers to me so all the crazy colors made it super groovy to photograph in. It was sort of a cowgirl themed party b/c the birthday girl loves country music so we met up at one of Austin's cute, rustic bars and I photographed a bunch of 13 year old girls outside of it! It was too cute. I shot most of the pics around the bar and then we had to do a few with and in the bus.

Headin' To The Beach!!!

Hey all, just a last minute thought that I had...my family is heading down to Port Aransas/North Padre Beach this weekend so if anyone is down there and would like family photos let me know. I'll have my camera gear with me! We've decided to do it "old school" and camp out (ohhhhh boy!). When LeRoy and I first met and we we're dirt poor we'd go down to the beach and camp out or just sleep in his parent's OLD van and it was hysterically fun. Since, our little family is needing some good laughs we decided to go "old school" again. This is either going to go really, really well or really, really bad...stay tuned! :)

Lots O' Love

I met the "B" family last week down at Zilker Park and we just had a great time wandering around Zilker and taking all sorts of great photos. Their little girl is friend's with my niece and I just love their little personalities at this age. They're so excited to be in the photos...well, their daughter was excited to be in the photos. My niece is never excited when I whip my camera out to start shooting. :) Little "Baby I" did so good in the heat and weathering his first shoot at 5 months. I couldn't be prouder of the shots that we got. Check them out!

A Day At The Duck Pond

I went out last week in this blazing hot heat and photographed my best friend's children. I have to say I AM a saint for doing this...no really, my BFF Jana is the saint for trying to wrangle her children into being photographed together! I thought she might put a bullet in her head by the time we were finished but she didn't. Yeah! My BFF is still alive and kickin'. We attempted to take some photos right in their front yard trying to keep the shoot close to home and convenient. After about 10 minutes of Lexi running to the garage to sit and play with her flashcards and Jakers running away from me I suggested that we go do something fun that they like to do. With resistance, Jana finally dug out some old tortillas and we were off to the duck pond. They were really enjoying themselves feeding the ducks and I thought ok this is going good until...Lexi (our little runner) ran off down the way and ended up wading into the duck pond and getting mud all over her legs and feet. Thank goodness, we didn't have that gun nearby that I mentioned earlier b/c Jana was about to lose it. :) Mama got her cleaned up and in the end we managed to get some cute shots of the kids and I'm thankful Jana is still alive so we'll get to endure another photo shoot in 6 more months. Ha!

Surprises Are The Ultimate Surprise!

Have you ever had a really good surprise pulled on you? Or pulled off a really good surprise? My life has been filled with lots and lots of surprises this year and some have been really good (like my 40th surprise party that my husband threw me) and some haven't been so good (like my grandmother passing unexpectedly). Up until this year, I really haven't had all that many surprises in my life. I had never had a surprise party in my 40 years and frankly can only think of a handful that I've been to. I have to say though that good surprises make life really, really sweet. LeRoy and I didn't find out the sex of our baby until he was born. I was shocked! My mother's instinct told me that I was definitely having a girl. Ha! That got blown right out of the water at birth but my baby boy was the best surprise of my life.
All of this is leading up to my recent weekend away to Atlanta. My best friend, Kelly who just turned 40 thought she was going to Atlanta to visit her sister for a nice "sisters" weekend to celebrate her birthday. However, her sister Holly and I and another friend Tammy from Missouri have been in cahoots planning the ultimate surprise for Kelly's birthday. I flew in first and was picked up at the airport by Holly's hubby who is a US marshall. We had to kill some time before meeting them for lunch so he gave me a complete tour of the US Marshall building...it was quite interesting especially since there was a huge bust the night before so all the marshalls were a buzz in the office. Anyway, back to the goods. We arrived at the restaurant first (Flip Burgers...super yummy if you're ever in Atlanta...go there) and I spoke to the hostess and told her that we had a big surprise going down right there in their little restaurant. I went to the back and hid by the bathrooms. Holly and Kelly arrived and got seated at the booth and the hostess came back to tell me where they were seated. I approached the table and Kelly was looking down at her menu so I decided to act like the waitress and I said, "Hi, can I get you something to drink?" This is where it gets good b/c Kelly looks right up at me and says, "No" and then proceeds to look back down at her menu. What the ?*&! just happened? I look at Holly and Erik like what now? Holly says, "Kelllllllly, are you sure you don't want something to drink?" Kelly looks back up at me and she's staring and staring and then BAM! It finally registered! She screamed bloody murder and jumped up and hugged me and was crying. We're jumping around the restaurant like a couple of idiots. The entire restaurant STOPPED and I even think one old gal choked on her burger. It was by far the best stunt I've ever pulled off. Soooo, if you haven't had a good surprise lately...then it's time to plan one. Life is so much more glorious with them!