Snow Day! (for real this time)

I love the snow and it hasn’t snowed this much in North Louisiana since I lived here as a kid so I am super excited. Plus I never got my kids out in our artifical snow set up in December so I was pumped to take them out in it today!

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Crystal’s Snow Photography Tips!

  • Dress your kids in colorful clothes so they stand out in all the pretty white!
  • Make sure you have a fully charged battery (and a spare if possible) because they go dead faster in the cold.
  • Exposure your picture for the skin of the child instead of the bright snow, otherwise your child will be too dark.
  • For pictures showing the snow falling around your child try using a more closed aperture like 2.8 or 3.5 and keep your shutter speed at 200 or higher to catch the moving snow flakes falling.
  • I wear a big jacket with big inside pockets to keep my camera dry in between shots, a towel to wipe flakes off the camera body may be good as well.
  • And to shoot leaves or branches close up with tiny flakes, use a macro lens to get those crisp up close shots!

Aubrey 3 Months

First of all I want to say thank you for all your messages and emails concerning out big transition! To answer some of your questions, as of this moment do not have an official move date, and yes I will be taking bookings both in the Dallas area and in Ruston the the days I am here shooting.  As of this moment we are not currently taking any birth photography bookings in Louisiana, but we are working on resolving that issue so no worries if that is on your mind. And if you guys have any other questions feel free to email me!

Now onto Aubrey! Aubrey and I first met for her newborn session a few months ago and I was so pleased to see how she has grown already.Just look at that gorgeous smile!

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Oh and Amy, if you are reading this…. yes this is the rug you let me barrow… it makes an awesome backdrop when I clip it to my stand. 🙂 Yay for Beehive pink!

BIG NEWS!

I am really excited (and really sad) to tell you all that Brian has been offered a job in Dallas and has accepted it! It is a great opportunity to work on the video production team at Fellowship Church in Grapevine! This job has been a long time coming and the decision was made through lots of talk, prayer, fasting and visits to the church.  As I shared earlier Brian’s video production business was no longer able to be our primary source of income since last fall when the economy really took a nose dive. That coupled with Brian’s desire to do more with his passion led to this opportunity at Fellowship Church. And it could not have come at a better time. As you guys know I got pretty run down over the holidays with the amount of hours I was shooting, editing and communicating with people with my photography business ,and when my sister died during that time it became hard to keep going. I shared that I had really been missing my kids and that Brian, though the best dad ever, did not intend on being the “stay at home mom” while I was working 60 hour weeks. With this job he will get to go back to working and doing what he is passionate about which is telling stories through video and I will get to cut back my work load and spend more doing the most important thing in my life: raising my kids!

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Now what you are all wondering about… Yes! I will still be shooting in Ruston! I have babies in my First Year Plan that will still get all their sessions! I will be working with you guys to plan weekends or even weekdays that I will be in town (because the grandparents of our kids are both here and anxious about seeing Josiah and Autumn) each month. During those times I will also take regular sessions, but they will be booked a month out of course. If you already have a date on the calender, consider it still fine unless I contact you to reschedule.

The other great news is that the few of you that have come here for pictures from the Dallas area will no longer have to travel! And anytime any of you plan to be in the area I would love for you to do sessions there as well!

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This is a screen capture of our Texas visitors to my site over thee last month! I am excited to be working closer to you all!

Ruston has been so great for my business and I will never forget, nor will I ever be able to thank you all so much for how much you have all supported me as I have gone from a girl with a camera to photographing anything I could get my hands on, to developing a passion for motherhood and young families and how they grow! Though you all I have found my calling and fallen in love with my job and all of you! I am truly so grateful!

And of course anytime it does not work out for us to work together I am also blessed to have some of the best friends in the world who are spectacular photographers that I would love nothing more than to refer you to.

This is a bittersweet season and I want to thank you guys for growing with me and my family!

Love,

Crystal

PS. I will still be keeping my blog and Feb is packed with shoots to show you, so keep checking back and let me know of you know of any good places to rent in the grapevine area!

Pierce 4 Months: Alexandria Baby

Pierce has changed so much since I photographed him as a newborn! Here is a look back at his newborn session a few months ago. I was delighted to see him again and to see what a big boy he has gotten to be! Thanks for driving up here to see me again for pictures Hayley! You have such a sweet little family!

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We got to do some sweet Mommy and Daddy-n-Me shots too 🙂

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Miss Emma

Today Emma and her family drove all the way from Monterey, Lousiana (a three hour drive!) to come have her newborn pictures taken! She came in and instantly loved our newly replaced heater and soft blankets! She is such a doll and SO expressive! I hope you enjoy her sweetness as much as I did today! I can’t wait to photograph the rest of your first year sweet girl!

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This dainty little headband is a new purchase of mine and Emma wore it perfectly! Are you feeling the Valentine’s Day love here?

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Rachel has decided to make more of these great hammocks to sell and brought this new purple one over to be photographed today during Emma’s shoot! If you are interested in one of these great hammocks or other handmade items by Rachel contact me for her info!

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This was just one of Emma’s many expression that she shared today. I love it!

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Thanks for stopping by and checking out my work! And be sure to fill out the contact form for info on sessions for pregnancy, birth, newborns, our First Year program, or your child or family! Spring is coming soon and we are booking up already!