Freshly Pic'd | Missy Saunders Photography and Design Blog

Update your Subscriptions

2010-11-17T11:44:00.000-08:00

Hi guys! As many of you know I have a new blog! Please update your RSS subscription feeds so you can have all of the latest sessions and information! I am also doing a giveaway for one super cute family on my new blog. I'm still working on transferring the feeds from this blog to my new blog so remember to update your reader! Thanks!!

My new blog!

2010-10-21T10:09:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone!

It's been a little quiet around here, I know. But that's because I've been working on my NEW BLOG! I'm officially switching to wordpress and will no longer be posting at this url. Please update your bookmarks and come over and check out my new space! There are lots of new posts and I'll have some new products and updates to my 2011 pricing included in the next few weeks!

I'll post a reminder here in a few weeks so you can move your readers over to my new url which is http://www.missysaunders.com/blog. Super easy to remember!

See you on the flip side!

Happy Baby, Happy Light | Arlington Family Photographer

2010-09-20T06:54:00.000-07:00

Just one quick one from Saturday evening's session with a couple of really cut girls! I love light like this, especially the happy glow from a late summer sun. Because frankly, it's still crazy hot here in Texas, but as the sun sets earlier and earlier I know fall will arrive eventually. :) More to come from this session!

Kamille + Evan | Fort Worth Wedding Photographer

2010-09-14T21:52:00.000-07:00

Kamille and Evan met at BYU. She was waiting for a missionary, he was waiting for the girl he would spend eternity with. After meeting and getting to know Kamille, Evan knew there was no other girl in the world like her. And he was right. Kamille is elegant and beautiful, dedicated and smart, honest and faithful. Evan just happened to be her perfect match. Strong and confident, outgoing and charming, diligent and trusting. They are just amazing. Thank you, Kamille and Evan, for letting us be a part of your wedding. And for giving us a glimpse of what a beautiful life you will have together!

Kamille and Evan were married in the Dallas Texas Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Their reception followed that evening at The City Club in Fort Worth.

Julia + Erich | Dallas-Austin Wedding Photographer

2010-09-10T07:09:00.000-07:00

I first met Julia last year at the midnight screening of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. We'd talked back and forth via email about us shooting her wedding and decided to get together with a common friend of ours to see Harry Potter. We had so much fun! We've been big fans of Julia ever since. She's smart, adorable, quick to laugh and easy to be friends with.

When we shot their engagement session last year and met Erich for the first time there was no denying how much he loves her and how perfect they are. He makes her laugh, she makes him blush. They're just awesome!

Thank you guys for letting us be a part of your wedding. It was long, hot day for all of us, but it was completely awesome! Their wedding location was the beautiful Winfield Inn in Kyle, Texas.

Friday Photo Challenge Week 2: Shadow

2010-08-27T13:52:00.000-07:00

I'm totally phoning it in with this one. I shot this last week right before a wedding we were shooting and never had chance to reshoot it! I did take some 4-year pics of Ben today, but he was not exactly thrilled with taking pictures of his shadow again. Not to mention it was 1pm and the shadow casts are so short that time of day, anyway! So I give you my shadow pic! One thing I do love to do to shadow pics is flip them. Much like John's awesome shadow pic from this shoot, I flipped it to give it a little more interest. It always makes me a little dizzy looking at them upside down, but I still think it's kind of cool!

What I really wanted to do was get a pic of Ben jumping so it was just his shadow and then flipping it, but I might do that again sometime to see if I can actually successfully do it. But if I were to shoot this particular image again, I'd either shoot wide open to give the shadow more depth or I'd shoot at a really high f-stop to get it completely in focus. I'll have to play with that another time. :)

f/3.2
1/1000 sec
ISO 200

The W Family | Arlington Family Photographer

2010-08-26T21:01:00.000-07:00

I think most people would agree that taking pictures of 2-year-olds is hard. It's even hard for parents to get good pictures of little ones that won't sit still or are more interested in what's going on around them than staring at a camera. So when some friends of mine called to see if I could take their family pictures before baby #2 comes and to also get some 2-year pics of their son I was excited! And scared. Two year olds are hard! I think I cried when we came home from our own family photo shoot when Ben was 2. He just did not cooperate! So I always come extra prepared for sessions with toddlers. This session was no exception!

So we started the standard family picture so he wouldn't have to sit still long. He did really good!

Then dad had to pick him up since there was so much to explore at the park we were at. And he still did great!

After that I started to get a little creative because, well, he's two. But he was not a fan of my big bucket.

And the lollipop I brought broke the minute he bit down on it.

Now after this I was chasing him around and totally broke the strap on my flip flop. My favorite brown and silver flip flop. Awesome, right? Luckily the mom (owner of this great etsy site) had brought an extra pair of shoes since she was over 20 weeks prego and let me borrow her shoes. Thank you, Amber!!

So we were back on track. He loved running on the bridge and being held over the edge by his dad.

And lying down on the bridge was one of his favorite things. And included two of my favorite images of their session.

But the clencher was when his dad pulled out the bottle water and soaked the little guy! This kid LOVES water. It was the perfect way to end their session!

All in all shooting toddlers is a tough job, but I honestly have the most fun doing it! I can't wait to take pictures of his new baby brother in a few short months!

Baby Liam | Dallas Newborn Photographer

2010-08-26T19:47:00.000-07:00

Since my company name does include design, I'm always excited to get to design things here and there for clients. I never use pre-designed templates and always work from scratch to create one of a kind things (like this really cool birthday party invite). So this is the baby announcement I created from the images I took of my sis-in-law's new baby Liam. After a shaky start Liam fell right into the perfect newborn sleepiness that every photographer hopes for in a newborn session and he was just amazing! I have to thank my friend Julie of Coco 1981 for letting me borrow her awesome chair! It really made this session for me!

Kamille | Bridal | Arlington Wedding Photographer

2010-08-26T19:31:00.000-07:00

I really only want to share one image from Kamille's bridal session. She's an amazingly beautiful girl and was picture perfect in her entire session. The girl does not take a bad picture! I was so thrilled she gave me a little creative license with these. I've wanted to shoot at this pecan orchard down the street from my mom's house that's owned by old family friends, owners of Hickory Stick Bar B Q (seriously, go there!) Then when her mom suggested bringing the antique couch that belonged to her grandmother I was so excited!

This may very well be the most perfect bridal portrait I've ever taken. It's just so her. And I love everything about it.

The K Family | Arlington Family Photographer

2010-08-26T19:15:00.000-07:00

I really feel that being a portrait photographer helps families tell stories about themselves in pictures that you can't do in words. It's a rare opportunity for most people to get to meet a family and see how much they care and love each other, and I get to do it a few times every month. I love this about being a photographer more than anything.

I get a lump in my throat every time I scroll through this family's images. Partly because of the circumstances surrounding this session and the tremendous honor I felt in being asked to take these pictures. And also because it hit so close to home for me having lost my dad over 10 years ago. I will only share one image from this session out of deep respect for this family. But I would be remiss if I didn't share with you the portrait of a family so supportive of their wife and mother, who are now devoting themselves to the memory of her bravery.

See, Sue fought a long battle with lung cancer, something that as a non-smoker came entirely out of nowhere for her and her family. After a few schedule changes to accommodate her treatments we were finally able to take this family portrait the night before we left town to shoot a wedding. A week and a half later Sue lost her battle to cancer. I was honored to take their pictures, honored to have met Sue, and honored to have given a family a gift that is priceless.

Krystal + Randy | Dallas Wedding Photographer

2010-08-26T19:00:00.000-07:00

We met Krystal and Randy last May when we shot their engagement session and they have been some of our favorite people ever since. Krystal is beautiful and poised but loves to have a great time. Randy is laid back and cool. They LOVE their Longhorn football! They are perfectly in love and we were so excited to be a part of their wedding day.

Their wedding was held at the beautiful 1899 Farmhouse. The wedding was coordinated by Stephanie Kuykendall of One Event Design and the amazing cake was created by Opulent Cakes.

Friday Photo Challenge Week 1: In the Grass

2010-08-13T11:15:00.000-07:00

I came up with an idea the other day after reading another photographer's blog. I wanted to do a weekly photo challenge for myself and anyone else who wanted to join me. My sister Mandie is also a photographer and I ran the idea across her because she comes up with all these harebrained ideas too. Luckily she actually liked this one and now we have our first Photo Challenge week! Any other photographers who read this, we would love for you to join our challenge. Just leave a comment and I'll send you the details!

So after making a HUGE list of challenge ideas we decided our first week would be In the Grass. Because it's scorchingly hot here in Texas and the grass will only be green for so much longer! My image today is not the most fantastic image ever, but it's an idea I had for the opening spread of a wedding album I'm designing for one of our May brides. I felt like the grass and their wedding invitation really sets the tone for their wedding experience. Beautiful sunflowers and green accents ran throughout their whole day and it was just gorgeous. This is an image I shot this morning (I love when brides send us wedding invitations!) and I may look for a patch of grass that hasn't been mowed to match their free-spirited style a little better. If I do I'll update this post with the new image. But for now, here's my contribution to this week's photo challenge!

Loved | Arlington Family Photographer

2010-08-11T20:23:00.000-07:00

I know it's been a really long time since I've posted! Life has been so busy! I'm hoping to get some time to be able to blog the many many sessions I've been working on. I have some really amazing things to show you guys! Thanks for sticking with me!

I absolutely LOVE this family. And the best thing about them is how much they love each other! They were fresh off the plane from Hawaii where they had the best time together, and you can really tell! Such a talented and just fab family. :)

I ♥ Faces – Play

2010-06-07T08:43:00.000-07:00

I realize I posted this picture a couple of weeks ago, but I thought it went perfectly with this week's I ♥ Faces challenge, Play! Ben loves going to grandma's house!

Check out the rest of the entries here!

A Little Bling

2010-05-17T19:08:00.000-07:00

Just a quick sneak from Krystal + Randy's wedding on Saturday! It was a blast and they were the most beautiful couple! I know this is a complete tease, but I just loved the bling!

Being a Kid

2010-05-14T20:31:00.001-07:00

I've been clearing out all my CF cards for a wedding we're shooting tomorrow (which we're so excited about!) I came across this picture of Ben that I took at my mom a couple of months ago...before I had Shelby and before we cut his hair! Man, I miss that hair. But I love this picture. :)

Keep an eye out for a preview of the wedding!

Shelby Nicole Saunders

2010-05-03T17:59:00.000-07:00

Welcome the newest addition of our family! Born April 16, 2010. 7lbs 6oz, 19.5 inches! Here's one picture from her official newborn shoot I did today. She's the youngest newborn I have ever shot and it was hard work but so worth it!

Eek!

2010-04-29T15:45:00.001-07:00

I would LOVE to win this!

Check out the LOVE AFFAIR BLOG and enter to win a Kelly Moore Bag & a seat to their upcoming workshop in Dallas!! www.loveaffairworkshop.com

The R Family

2010-03-24T07:40:00.000-07:00

I've photographed this family before and was excited to shoot them again because their kids are so cute! We battled mud and really patchy afternoon light and my 3-year-old who I had to bring along. He's good buds with these kids, which made for more distraction than anything! But it all worked out! Thankfully mom and dad are tall so they helped block the patchy sun for the kid pictures. I'm so glad they did because the portraits are my absolute favorite parts of this session! We love you guys!

I ♥ Faces – Angles

2010-03-22T13:53:00.000-07:00

I chose this photo for this week's I ♥ Faces entry because I love the angle, the clarity, the colors and the look on her face! Plus the fact that she's completely adorable!

Check out the rest of the entries!

Julia + Erich = Engaged!

2010-03-22T07:02:00.000-07:00

We shot this engagement session last November. We're shooting their wedding in late May of this year. I couldn't be even more excited, and one of my best friends is a bridesmaid which is going to make our roadtrip to Austin for the wedding just that much more fun!

If there's anything I can say about these two is that they are AWESOME. Julia laughs all the time and Erich just loves her! We can't wait till the wedding because we know it's going to be an amazing good time!

The M Family

2010-03-18T16:43:00.000-07:00

This family are great family friends of ours and for many reasons I was so honored they asked me to take their family portraits. We shot at the Botanic Gardens again (same location as the previous session) and had a lot of fun. Here are just a few!

By the way, if you're reading this in your RSS feed, please click over to my actual blog for a fresh new look!

The S Family

2010-03-18T16:07:00.000-07:00

Oh how I LOVED this session! The light was just beautiful, the family was just beautiful and the weather was perfect. I can honestly say they are the nicest people I have ever met and I really love how all of their pictures came out! I could post so many more from this session, but I'll just post these! I'm hoping to blog a few more sessions in the next couple of days. I'll also post information on my schedule and maternity leave! I'm getting so excited!

Adorable

2010-02-27T18:43:00.000-08:00

You may remember miss Baby Kate from this session. This is her now at 10 months. Could she be any cuter? I squeezed in a session with her great family today while John stayed home continuing the drama of a demo job in our guest bath! It's gonna be a late night fixing things up, but I wanted to post just this one from today. :) I promise to have some highlights from some of our recent sessions soon!

I ♥ Faces – Kisses

2010-02-08T06:56:00.000-08:00

These guys are some of our favorite clients. They're young and fun and so adorable! So sad to see them move away, but I'm so glad we got to do one last shoot before they left!

I ♥ Faces – Texture

2010-01-26T14:49:00.000-08:00

I chose this photo of a mother/daughter combo I shot while doing their family portraits in December. Can you tell who's the mom and who's the daughter? They're some of my fav people and my son's favorite people, too. Anyway, I LOVED how the trees created a really cool vortex of beautiful bokeh texture surrounding them!

The { J } Family

2010-01-13T19:36:00.001-08:00

You'll recognize one of the families here from another shoot. The mom coordinated with me on sessions for her family as well as for her in-law's side of the family. This day was for her family. When I got up the morning of our shoot and it was cold and rainy I chuckled a little, then when we all arrived at the location, she joked that she was really great at picking days for photo shoots. The same cold drizzly weather both days! But I've know this side of the family since I was a baby and I was more than happy to brave the weather with them! Plus it was my first chance to meet the beautiful daughter of this awesome couple!

We kept the shoot as short as possible with all the babies involved and made it work! Thanks, guys for being such troopers!

I ♥ Faces – Best Face Photo

2010-01-12T14:21:00.000-08:00

I had a tough time with this week's contest! But because of the amount of judges and how awesome they are I knew I had to enter no matter what! Rules said to post a picture you took in December or January, which made it hard since most of the sessions I did were families and not a lot of faces! So I decided to stick with one of my 3-year-old, Ben. It's obvious he was excited there was snow in Texas for Christmas!

The { H } Family

2009-12-31T17:46:00.000-08:00

A little bit of drizzly, cold rain didn't stop us from taking pictures of this family! And these cousins were so cute and full of life, they made the weather so much more tolerable! I will have pictures from another side of this same family soon. I've known them my whole life!

Three of a Kind

2009-12-31T16:15:00.000-08:00

I'm so sad that these guys have just made a huge move to the west coast! We've photographed them too many time so to count! They are adorable and fun and I wish them the best on their new adventure in Washington!

The { A } Family

2009-12-31T14:11:00.000-08:00

My nephew and his cute family had me take their family pictures while they were in town over Thanksgiving. I love all of my family, especially my nieces and nephews. We all grew up together, are fairly close in age, and all have super cute kids! Thank you guys for letting me take your family pictures!

The { B } Family

2009-12-30T17:06:00.001-08:00

This session almost didn't happen due to all of the rain we've been having! Thankfully Mom trusted us enough and we went for it, overcast and soggy and all! We love big families, especially when they're as cute as this one. Three adorable girls and a little guy too! Here are a few of our favs!

A Happy Accident

2009-12-29T17:12:00.000-08:00

So a few days ago I was going to post some pictures I took of my son, Ben, on the blog I have for all of my family stuff. I also wanted to update the look of it since I wasn't thrilled with the layout I had. Unfortunately for my 6-months-pregnant-brain I changed the template on this photo blog instead! So I bowed my head in disgrace and stepped away for a few days.

I decided to hit it running today and get it back to a state of normalcy! And fortunately I was also able to do a tutorial that helped me create my very own Flash animated header (I have previously been using animated gif files which aren't as crisp). You can find the tutorial here. I'm excited because I love the look, and even better, I can offer custom Flash headers to blog design clients!

I'm hoping to add design clients this spring as we transition from a one-kid to a two-kid family!

In the meantime, enjoy some highlights from recent shoots in some upcoming posts. It's been a busy season! We love our clients! And here's some of Ben in the snow, which pretty much prompted this whole blog redesign!

The { G } Family

2009-12-03T06:56:00.000-08:00

Here are my favs from this beautiful family's session! We finished just before the rain started, the overcast skies made for some really great light!

Mini Session – The { F } Family

2009-12-02T07:34:00.000-08:00

My sister has known this family for so long and I was excited when they wanted to do a Mini Session! We haven't shot at the Canals in so long it was fun to go back. It was a popular day there and, as it can sometimes be, super windy!! Luckily their little guy did awesome, and he obviously could not be any cuter. His smile kills me! Here is a quick peek!

I ♥ Faces – Tooshies

2009-11-30T13:52:00.000-08:00

I actually don't have many tooshie shots! I remembered this one from earlier this year and wanted to give it a shot! What's better than a tutu tooshie? :) Here's my entry for I ♥ Faces!

Check it out!

2009-11-28T19:51:00.000-08:00

Placed Top 5 in this week's I Heart Faces! WOW. Be sure to check out all of the winners, they are all amazing! Thanks to I ♥ Faces and to the awesome [becker]!

I ♥ Faces – Sun Flare

2009-11-23T07:57:00.000-08:00

When I saw this week's contest was sun flare I was so excited, especially since Becker is the judge this week! One thing I love doing is blow out shots with subtle flare behind my clients. This gorgeous couple has been my fav engagement session so far. You'd never know we were standing in the middle of a parking lot in a busy entertainment district of downtown Dallas for this shot. Here's my entry for I ♥ Faces!

"Sun Flare"

Gorgeous Girls

2009-11-20T06:43:00.000-08:00

We love this family and have shot them many many times! While going through their images this morning I had to post one of the girls. Coming from a family of 5 sisters I LOVE getting sisters together for a shoot! We love you guys!

And speaking of adorable...

2009-11-18T18:47:00.000-08:00

...how cute is Mr. Z? I'm editing his family session now. I couldn't resist his smile!

Completely Adorable!

2009-11-18T14:01:00.000-08:00

This picture makes me LOVE babies and LOVE fall!

Chan – Senior 2010

2009-11-18T13:07:00.000-08:00

This senior happens to be the big brother of this little guy! We improvised during this shoot because of a ton of construction going on at the site we were shooting, but had a good time! Here are a few of my favs!

If you're interested in booking a session for your senior feel free to contact me through my website!

One-month old baby { C }

2009-11-13T16:26:00.001-08:00

This little guy is the nephew of one of my best friends. And he is just so sweet! This little guy did not want to leave his momma. Can you blame him? I'd take a warm hug over a chilly drizzly photo shoot! He was such a trooper! Here are a few of my favs from our session!

Little Miss { A } Full Post!

2009-10-29T12:27:00.000-07:00

Here are a few of our favorites from this fun session! I haven't been a great blogger lately and wanted to make sure you guys get to see all of our most recent work! Look for more sessions up soon!

Doesn't she have the most gorgeous blue eyes?

Little Miss { A } Sneak Peek

2009-10-19T16:12:00.000-07:00

This soon-to-be-3-year-old was so very cute! Full of spunk and sass and loves to sing! We braved the mosquitoes, but were so excited to be in the sunshine again after so many days of rain! Here's just one for now. More to come soon!

I ♥ Faces – Excited!

2009-10-13T07:45:00.000-07:00

I haven't entered in a while, but remembered this picture I took a couple of months ago. I loved this little guy! A totally excited 3 year old, and so very cute! Lightning was striking in the distance while we took their pictures, luckily we made it safe to our cars before the storm hit us! Here is my entry for I ♥ Faces.

"Excited!"

Beautiful

2009-10-02T16:58:00.000-07:00

My beautiful sister-in-law got married this past weekend at the Wildwood Inn in Denton. It was an intimately perfect ceremony and we were honored to be a part of it! Full post to come next week!

The { G } Family

2009-09-28T19:45:00.000-07:00

Not much more I can say about these guys but that we love them! And they took some awesome pics this weekend. We went to the Dallas Arboretum and braved the heat and beating sunshine and massive amounts of people. Thanks, guys, for a really fun time! I hope you love these as much as we do!

This one is my absolute fav!

Merry Minis!

2009-09-16T19:49:00.000-07:00

Cards will be printed on gorgeous pearlescent cardstock and are 5x7 folded in size. You have 6 designs to choose from and your card will be custom tailored to your family!

If you are unable to attend one of our designated Mini Session dates, please feel free to email me with dates you have available and we will work you into our shooting schedule and honor the mini session pricing.

Mansfield times: 5pm – 7pm (4 sessions available)
Fort Worth times: 4pm – 6pm (4 sessions available)

We are also interested in shooting a McKinney session in early November. If you or anyone you know might be interested, please have them call or email me!

New Look!

2009-09-15T20:07:00.001-07:00

This has been a really long time in coming, but I knew it was time to give a fresh face to Missy Saunders Photography & Design! It's fun, it's colorful and I love it!

I also named my blog Freshly Pic'd. I've been behind on blogging all of our recent sessions and needed a kick start to keep it up and running. I'm going to do my best to post all of our latest work here as often as I can! Please check back and subscribe to our blog updates.

Coming tomorrow will be information on our Merry Minis. I'm excited that we'll be doing two Saturdays and two locations, with the possibility of a 3rd. And each Mini Session family will get 25 custom designed Christmas cards from a company I know and love (details to come tomorrow!) So check back soon and email me to book!

Let me know what you think of the new look of Missy Saunders Photography & Design. We love all of our clients and can't wait to get the Fall season going!

And last but not least, here's a preview of two month old Baby L. Doesn't he have the most gorgeous eyes?

The E Family

2009-09-15T18:16:00.001-07:00

This fam has been in our LDS ward for nearly a year. It took that long for us to get together and we've been having a lot of fun ever since. It all started with they asked if we would take their family pictures and we were more than honored! My Ben and their little B are great friends and she's just too adorable! We're excited to meet their little guy in October!

Lacey + Isaac 8.1.09

2009-09-15T14:39:00.000-07:00

John and I were fortunate to get to photograph at the temple for the wedding of a really cool couple! Lacey and Isaac are young and spunky and totally in love. They were awesome, especially considering it was over 100 degrees outside! Thanks, guys, for letting us be a part of your wedding day!

UT Arlington Career Ambassadors

2009-09-11T06:53:00.000-07:00

In keeping with the design part of my business I thought I'd share with you a recent logo I have done. A couple of months ago I was contacted by some friends at UTA Career Services who wanted me to design a logo for their Career Ambassador team. I was really excited since I created the UTA Career Services logo a few years ago! This is the final design they approved, as well as tshirts they had printed. It has been a huge hit and I couldn't be happier!

Killing me with the cuteness!

2009-08-22T18:09:00.001-07:00

Close to the end of our session this morning I exclaimed that Jackson here was killing me! His mom looked at me a little anxiously and asked if he wasn't doing very well getting his picture taken. But it was quite the contrary, he was totally killing me with the cuteness! He's a complete doll, and I can't want to finish up processing this session. :)

The Rudd Family

2009-08-12T12:22:00.001-07:00

I seem to know a lot of families with a lot of boys and I love it! This family's three boys were just way too cute for their own good! We had perfectly overcast weather for this session before a huge storm rolled in (I'm sensing a trend here!) Lightning was flashing in the distance and the clouds were awesome. But this family was even more awesome! Loved the colors, loved the differences in their hair colors and loved their boys!

Cousins!

2009-08-11T14:00:00.000-07:00

We LOVE big families and were excited when Amy asked if we could photograph the 13 cousins in her family. Their family is huge, like mine, and after about 20 minutes a huge storm started to roll in so we worked as quick as we could before the downpour hit. It was a close call, but we had fun!

Blake Turns 2!

2009-08-11T13:11:00.000-07:00

John and I have been shooting a lot of parties together lately, and they are always fun! Kids parties are always a blast, lots of little ones running around, seeing them starting cute little friendships. It's awesome! Blake's birthday party was no exception! She has tons of friends and family that love her! Happy Birthday, Blake!

Taylor Turns 13!

2009-08-11T12:44:00.000-07:00

It's one of those rare afternoons where my son is napping. I decided I'd take the time to update my blog (since it has been FOREVER!) with some sessions from the past couple of weeks! Enjoy! I hope to get a few up before he wakes up.

If there's anyone that likes to get their picture taken, it's a cute 13-year-old, especially when it's her birthday! And what better way to celebrate your birthday than the pool and a huge inflatable water slide you can throw yourself off of like crazy? It was total awesomeness. ;)

I ♥ Faces – Silly Faces

2009-08-11T06:21:00.000-07:00

I couldn't decide which silly face picture to use! So I went with this one cause I love her little face!. Miss B is showing off her pink gum. She loves her pink gum! Here's my entry for the silly faces category for I ♥ Faces.

"Silly Faces"

Preston Turns 1!

2009-07-23T19:04:00.000-07:00

I had a lot of fun catching up with an old friend while taking pictures of her super cute 1-year-old! He reminded me so much of Ben because he is such a big guy! He's too adorable!

Chrystal + Jonathan 7.11.09

2009-07-20T10:40:00.000-07:00

Remember my super cool niece and her fiance? They just got home from their honeymoon last night so I thought what better way to welcome them back to the real world than to put up the full post of their wedding?

When Chrystal and Jonathan were deciding on what day to get married, it became obvious that July 11th HAD to be the date. It fit into Chrystal's requirement that it be easy for Jonathan to remember (7-11) and if anyone knows Chrystal, they know she is obsessed with Slurpees. She loves them. LOVES THEM. So 7-11-09 it was! And it was totally awesome. From her peacock inspired colors, to the sparkly pink Chucks she wore at the reception, it couldn't have been more fitting for the two of them! Congrats you guys, we love you!

Since it has been SO HOT, Chrystal smartly scheduled their sealing at the Dallas Temple for 9am. It didn't get too hot!

Before the reception started John and I took them out for more pictures, to keep them from the stress of the last minute prep AND we had to get slurpees! Slurpees then to the barn, one of our favorite spots to shoot that's less than 10 minutes from the reception site.

John took these two. The one on the right happens to be one of my favs from the whole day!

The reception was at Chrystal's parents' house. It was 101 degrees that day and we were thrilled when a nice breeze blew through for most of the night. It was still very hot, but we all survived!

Cuteness

2009-07-18T15:08:00.000-07:00

From a recent 1-year session!

The Tatsak Family

2009-07-06T17:41:00.000-07:00

We love this family! And we can't get enough of them. They're a great-looking family and we've been really honored to document their summer in so many ways! We did their official family pictures a couple of weeks ago and braved the heat! Aren't they just the coolest?

John captured these images:

Happy 4th of July!

2009-07-03T22:21:00.000-07:00

I ♥ Faces – Wedding Bells

2009-06-29T07:48:00.000-07:00

With only two weddings in my portfolio, I was leery of posting this week, but I thought what the heck?? I have to enter a contest that Jasmine Star is judging... she's one of my favorite photographers! So here is my Wedding Bells entry for I ♥ Faces. I've always loved this picture anyway. :) Wish me luck!

"Wedding Bells"

I ♥ Faces – 5th Place!

2009-06-27T18:02:00.000-07:00

I was so super excited to find out that I came in 5th place in my first ever I ♥ Faces contest! Thanks to Angie & Amy for creating such a cool blog and for the guest judge Lori Nordstrom for picking me as one of the Top 10 photos! You can see my entry here and the winner and Top 10 here!

Colin's Awesome Birthday Invitations

2009-06-23T18:50:00.000-07:00

UPS dropped off these super cool invitations today and I think they came out so great! Here's the invite I created plus some of my other favorites from his photo shoot! The invitation is a 5x7 panel card printed front and back. He's having a Transformers party and he was so excited to get to show off his best super hero poses!

If you are interested in marking a birthday milestone with portraits of your child and custom birthday invitations packages start at $135.
Email me at missysaunders [at] gmail [dot] com for more information!

I ♥ Faces – Kids

2009-06-22T12:53:00.000-07:00

I've never entered a contest at I ♥ Faces, but my sister Mandie has. I thought it was worth a shot! Especially since I think this picture is very much all about being a boy!

"Let's hear it for the boys!"

Jalei @ 30 Weeks

2009-06-21T18:12:00.000-07:00

John and I headed out a few days ago to do our very first maternity session. I have been wanting to do a maternity session for a long time and was really excited when an old family friend of mine called. I have know this girl nearly my entire life and she has to be one of the most beautiful pregnant women ever!

John captured these beauties:

I can't wait to see her gorgeous baby girl in a few months. Thanks, Jalei for being our first maternity session and for rocking it!

Colin Turns 5!

2009-06-18T20:02:00.001-07:00

I had the pleasure of taking this guy's pictures last year. I was so excited to together again this year to do a photo shoot for his birthday party invitations. Totally awesome super hero style. I will put up a full post of pics plus his actual invitations when they arrive next week! It's going to be totally awesome. :)

Baby Kate v2

2009-06-17T13:37:00.001-07:00

Remember this cutie pie? I thought I'd share a few more of her. She is too adorable!

Cru Turns 1!

2009-06-05T08:04:00.000-07:00

A childhood friend of mine asked me to photograph her son's 1st birthday party. We didn't hesitate to say yes and we had a blast. It was fun to catch up with old friends we haven't seen in soooo long! Amy did an amazing job on Cru's party and the details were perfect! This is a mixture of images from me and John, we're getting to be a really great team and we have so much fun getting to shoot together!

If you are interested in pictures like this for an event or birthday party, please email me at missysaunders [at] gmail [dot] com for availability and pricing!

Krystal + Randy = Engaged!

2009-06-02T12:54:00.000-07:00

I love love love doing engagement sessions and this couple was no exception! They are young and fun and make a gorgeous couple. I know you will all agree. We can't wait to shoot their wedding next May!

These guys seriously knew how to work a camera! John captured these cool images below.

Baby Kate

2009-05-29T16:25:00.000-07:00

I got to shoot this super cute little two-month-old today. I will be honest that I am not so good with newborns! I need much more practice. Having a baby soon? Hit me up!

Chrystal + Jonathan = Engaged!

2009-05-03T19:49:00.000-07:00

One of my coolest nieces is getting married this July. She's young, super cute and snagged a great guy. Her wedding is going to be totally unique and we're so excited to be a part of it! They let us drag them all over Fort Worth and we had fun! And we even walked in on a homeless guy taking shelter in the cool building we shot in. He was nice enough to "let" us shoot there for a while. ;) I wish I had time to post more!

Alison + John = Engaged!

2009-04-18T20:41:00.000-07:00

Our family will see 3 weddings this year. I'm thrilled to be able to shoot all of them! Including my sister-in-law, Alison. She's gonna make a totally cool bride!

Super Siblings

2009-04-10T12:48:00.000-07:00

I haven't been doing this very long to experience a lot of return clients. This family, however, was one of the first ones to ever book me for a session. This time we're marking 3rd and 5th birthdays and they could not have been ANY CUTER.

Cousins

2009-04-03T15:04:00.000-07:00

We got to photograph this cute set of cousins last week. It was freakishly cold to start then the sun came out and we ended with really beautiful weather!

Big Sister

2009-04-03T13:14:00.000-07:00

Here's the big sister of this little one. We went out again to get some even better pics of Big Sis and boy am I glad we did! A few friends got together for a playdate on this shoot so her best friend could come and it was smiles all around. Ever have a hard time getting your kids to smile in pictures? Bring a friend along!

Spring Special

2009-03-25T20:26:00.000-07:00

For a limited time I am offering 20% off session and print pricing!

Book any session between March 30th and April 10th to get the discount! This is a great opportunity to get Easter pictures taken, spring family pictures, last-minute Senior portraits and even Engagement or Bridals. Session pricing information can be found here.

Send me an email at missysaunders@gmail.com if you are interested in booking a session!

Adorable

2009-03-21T12:57:00.000-07:00

John and I headed to the Dallas Arboretum this morning to photograph a cute set of sisters. I had to post a few of the youngest, because, well, she's adorable! More to come!

Blue Sky

2009-03-17T18:14:00.000-07:00

I love the blue skies we had today, but I am a bit sad that the our chilly Texas days are over. I am looking forward to the blossoms and green trees. These are the spring buds on a huge tree at my nephew's house, which I took pictures of today since they're putting it on the market. Such a beautiful spring day!

Ambyr Porter Photography

2009-03-04T19:30:00.000-08:00

Ambyr is a good friend of mine and has taught me so much about photography. I was thrilled when she asked me to help her with some rebranding in preparation for the launch of her new blog! After a few variations deciding on the perfect colors, I'm super happy with how her new logo came out!

Here are a few detail shots from a wedding reception I second shot with Ambyr late last month. The circumstances were tough, but we had fun!

The Winner!

2009-02-20T07:37:00.000-08:00

Thanks to all of you for entering my contest! Many of you I don't know and many of you I do! Oh, but let's just get to the point, shall we?

The winner is commenter #32, Jenny!

Thanks, Jenny! I'm excited to meet you and your family. You have 48 hours to respond so please send me an email as soon as you can!

A New Blog, A New Giveaway!

2009-02-15T19:56:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! It's been quiet over here on my photo blog for the past month. I've been working really hard to get my new look up and running and I have to say I'm quite pleased with how it turned out! I'm incorporating my photography and design as one entity and changing the name to streamline things a bit. So now we have Missy Saunders Photography & Design. The majority of my work will be photography since it's the most time consuming but I am still going to allow a couple of design projects here and there which I will also feature on this blog! I'm excited for this year and for a lot of the things I have planned. I hope you will all join me!

To inaugurate this redesign I'm doing a giveaway! Comments will be open until Thursday at 9:00pm CST. Winner will be announced Friday morning! If I can get 20 comments I'll give away one free photo session with 10 free digital negatives. If we can get up to 50 comments I will add another free session to that! Feel free to pass this along to your friends and family! *You must live in the DFW area (or willing to travel) to be eligible to win.

Please make an important note that the URL of my this blog has changed. I'm working on the back end to incorporate it with my website, but in the meantime it's now http://missysaunders.blogspot.com. Update your bookmarks and your readers, please!

A + J = Engaged

2009-01-10T20:50:00.000-08:00

Miss Amy here was technically my very first photo shoot! Nearly a year ago we purchased a camera at work for me to use for various duties and since I wanted to try it out, I borrowed Amy during our lunch hour to take pictures for her 21st birthday! A few months later I got my own camera and have been having a blast ever since. Now Amy's growing up and getting married. So happy for her! Here are some from our really fun shoot on Friday!

Design Client Information

2009-01-05T18:26:00.000-08:00

I have had many requests in the past couple of weeks for blog redesigns and unfortunately my schedule is such that I cannot take on any new clients at this time. I will be opening up my schedule later in the spring and will be adding a few blog designs then! If you are interested in being put on that list please send me an email!

One of our favorite families.

2008-12-31T21:21:00.000-08:00

By far one of our favorite families and probably one of the ones I take pictures of the most! We did an official session today and even though it was a bit colder than we expected, I think it turned out fantastic!

Have a wonderful new year everyone!

Another Windy Session!

2008-12-31T21:09:00.000-08:00

One thing I love about taking pictures, is when people come back and have me take their family pictures again, or include other family members! I shot this cute little family a while back and they came back for me to shoot her side of the family as well. Might be taking a break from the Canals, it was so windy again! Here are some of my favorites!

By the way, check out my website!

2008-12-15T14:15:00.000-08:00

Some of you may have noticed the link on my sidebar with my website listed. I decided to use a really fantastic company, BluDomain, when they had a sale on websites and hosting a few months ago! Take a little tour of my galleries and I'll be updating them as often as I have time. Some clients will use this for proofing and it's a great tool! I'll soon be adding the ability to buy prints through my website so stay tuned for that!

Thanks, as always, to those of you who read and follow my blog. You're a small but totally loyal crew and I can't thank you enough for all of your support! I'm looking forward to really great things happening in 2009, so check back after Christmas for lots of fun stuff (and also a giveaway or two!)

Visit my new website here!

WIND!

2008-12-13T20:22:00.000-08:00

Anyone who lives in our area knows it was windy today. When Ashley emailed and said she was concerned about the wind I was all "Pssh! We'll be fine!" The we walk over the bridge and nearly get blown into the canal. It was so windy! Luckily we had a few long stretches of no gusts! Thanks for being such troopers guys, I'm glad we stuck it out! Due to the lateness of the hour there's just 3 for tonight, but there are many more good ones. Enjoy!

My newphew is engaged

2008-12-08T19:06:00.000-08:00

The more times I say a niece or nephew of mine is getting married, the older I feel! I have too many great nieces and nephews for only being 28! :) I love all my nieces and nephews though, and these two are no exception. We're excited to have Damaris in the family!

More Sneak Peeks...

2008-11-29T16:40:00.001-08:00

While John is setting up our Christmas Tree I decided to post just a few pics from the past few sessions for those of you who are waiting to see them! I will post more as soon as I can!

Another Day, Another Session

2008-11-26T13:55:00.001-08:00

We spent the morning in Las Colinas again today with the family of a lady I work with. We love this family! Their grandson and Ben are becoming great friends. I couldn't let the rest of the day go by without giving them a sneak. You'll have to wait for the rest!

One-Month-Old

2008-11-26T12:54:00.000-08:00

You may remember this baby from when we got to see him in the hospital. Now he's a month old and already smiling! I think I love him. :)

I couldn't resist.

2008-11-24T23:04:00.000-08:00

While going through pics tonight I came across this one and had to post it. These kids were so cute!! I know their mom wants to see more and they will be up in my gallery by tomorrow!

McKinney Mini Session

2008-11-23T06:43:00.000-08:00

It's been a really crazy week and I know everyone from the McKinney sessions are anxiously awaiting their sneak peeks! I'll be posting them in this order: Janette, Gabby, Lori, Melinda, all early this next week! But I would be remiss if I didn't give Melinda a sneak at her kids since it was because of her we even did the day's session! Everyone braved the cold and we had a lot of fun even though my fingers felt like they were going to freeze off! :) Thanks for your patience, guys, you'll have your sneak's soon!

Mini Session #4

2008-11-11T18:36:00.001-08:00

This was my first senior session! So much fun. I love seeing teens do really cool things and her mom was so proud. She and her little bro have a great relationship, I'm sure they'll be seeing good things from him too!

Mini Session #3

2008-11-10T10:36:00.000-08:00

This was our 3rd group of the day and I really had to be careful and not OVERpost. You'll see what I mean. This 14-year-old girl is drop dead gorgeous! And a super cute brother to boot. We could have taken pictures of her all day long. Thanks for such a GREAT session guys!

Good Friends

2008-11-10T08:11:00.000-08:00

Our good friends fought the crowds with us yesterday to get their family pics taken. I think it was sooo worth it! We love you guys! Thanks for letting me take pictures of your CUTE family!