PARTY TIME!

Two of my Saturdays in September were spent at baby birthday parties documenting the event for the families. I can't tell you how much this has warmed my heart to be around these tiny tots again. Being that my boy is 14 and all his friends are mainly in middle school, I don't have much time around little ones that much. I have laughed so hard at these parties watching the babies interact and doing their baby things that they do. It takes me right back to when my son was a baby and I have walked down memory lane quite a bit this past month. This party was a combined party for the brother "E" who just turned 4 years old and his baby sister "F" who just turned 1 and everything was just perfect from the decorations, to the food, to the waterslide to the smash cake. I got some really fun shots of both of them and I have to go ahead and comment on the dog that was there. I don't remember her name but she was a bit jealous that the kids were getting more attention than she was so she did everything in her power to be seen. She photo bombed "F" in the grass and then made her way over to the waterslide to participate there as well with "E". All I can say is...this dog's hysterical! Here's the awesome little photos for "PARTY TIME!"

September's Senior Shoot!

My first shoot with Mary got rained out which is very uncommon here in Austin, Texas but we really needed the rain so in that sense it was good. We reworked our schedules and met up this past week to get her senior shoot knocked out. Mary told me she liked the city and bold colors but wanted to work some water into her shoot as well. So, I went off on one of my scouting trips around Austin to see what new and exciting spots I could find that I hadn't ever used before and what I thought would fit what Mary wanted. We started at a cool coffee cafe in South Austin that has the most awesome color blocks on the front of the building. Once there and as we looked closer we realized they are aluminum cans that have been flattened, painted and collaged...it made such a cool background to work with! Mary's green eyes and green shirt popped beautifully off of the colorful blocked wall. She brought along her cute poodle named Lily who the best little model I've ever had. Then, we hopped across the street to Sweet Mama's Bakery for some shots with a touch of Austin or as the window says "Keep Austin Sweet" which was perfect for Mary. Then we finished with the water shots which were a bit more elegant and natural. I really love how everything came together...take a little look and check out some great shots of our senior shoot with MMMMMAAAARRRRYYYY!!!

Baby "C"!

It's only appropriate that my next post on here be the baby that was born from my last blog post! Oh my goodness, what a little cutie pie! He is absolutely adorable and we got some really cute shots of him as well as the family. This family is one of my absolute favs because they just roll with the punches. I have not gotten to photograph any one week old newborns before. I have photographed many a baby but it seems the baby is usually around 2 months old before I get to photograph them so needless to say I was a bit nervous about handling a newborn so I discussed this with the family. They were good with helping mold the baby and handling him for me. In preparation, I went to Pinterest for inspiration with newborn photography and I found some really amazing photo ideas. One of the ideas, was mom laying on the bed and the baby curled up next to her and their faces were almost cheek to cheek...very beautiful. Our version was a bit different. The baby wasn't swaddled so his arms and hands kind of went into a position as if you were going to act like a hopping bunny and then we got to laughing so hard because we busted out into, "What does the fox say? Dink, dink, dink da dink to dink!" So, Rachael went ahead and did her hands into a "bunny hop" position as well and I was nearly crying from laughing so hard. Our beautiful mother/son PInterest inspired shot turned into our very own original "baby/animal photography by Brandi Nellis". And, that is why I love this family! They rolled with it and just let what happens happen! The other super fun shot that I have to comment on is dad watching football with his son. This was Chris' idea and I love the originality and realness of this shot. The photos of dad cradling the baby in black and white are beautiful but this is Chris...funny, football lovin', sports watchin' dad. Hereeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee's BAby C!

Another Growing Family

I am so happy for the Sandahls that their family is growing by one! I've been photographing this couple before they ever had children so it's always so fun to see how families grow and change (especially when it's for the good!). In this case, very much so. This family has such a fun, joyful spirit that seeing their family grow will be such a pleasure. Congratulations, Sandahls on your new addition!

Heeeeee's Back!

Hey ladies, Corey is back! We did another photo shoot with a more urban look for his updated portfolio. Stay tuned because we may see him on the big screen one day!

Lizzy Senior 2014

I had another great senior shoot a few weeks back and I'm highlighting Lizzy. She was so fun and cute and we got some really cool shots at this industrial place downtown. We don't even know what this place is but leave it up to me to find these off the beaten path locations. She loved the grunge look of it and thought it was cool so we just walked the property and found all sorts of cool spots. Without further adoo...here's Lizzy!

Moira's Midwestern Model Senior 2014 Video!