I moved his crib so we could use the wall for a little shoot. One of River’s nursery features used the line “A River in a Forest”, I loved it and that was my theme for his 7 month shoot. Although…more like a River Owl in a Forest. Dan has started calling him River Bird or referencing him as such. For example, “there goes River Bird again” or “I hear the River Bird”. River has taken to squealing and making bird like sounds, especially in the morning. We like waking up to the sounds of little River Bird.

Life has been flying by. I’ve been snapping away but have had little time to edit my own pictures. I just sat down this evening in hopes to get a few done. These are a few of my favorites.

There are two things that calm River down if he starts to get fussy (which, he rarely does): Music & Going Outside. He prefers live music, but the iPod is acceptable as long as there is also dancing.

Bath time is another favorite past time. In fact, I should probably say that there are actually three things that calm him down. Bath time can fix all problems.

He loves his Daddy.

I think this is quite possibly my most favorite picture of all times. I will be printing a copy for my desk.

A few quick housekeeping things… There has been a little confusion about the new family session donation policies and I am going to tweak it a bit. I knew there would be some kinks to work out… I’m going to raise the donation amount for the session but the session will now include the digital files. However, I will only be taking a few donation family sessions per month so it will be first come first serve. I’ll be updating the details soon. My heart really is to give back, but I have also learned time and time again that my time is valuable-esspecially now that I have a little one. Thank you for understanding!

A great side shot from Tiffani.

I loved the Groom’s cake.

So fun.

This is the life.

Fave.

You know those days that you just want to dance on a horse trailer with the love of your life? Yeah, it was one of those kind of days.

Hillary and Rustin words cannot express how much I LOVED this session and loved getting to know the two of you. I am elated to see you again soon and cannot wait to photograph your wedding in Dallas this summer!

At this point in my wedding photography career, I have seen quite a few wedding venues and The Milestone is currently ranking very high on my list. I know there are many photographers that are more experienced and seasoned in the wedding industry than I, so that prior statement was not meant to one-up anyone or sound very high and mighty. I just wanted to say that The Milestone truly is a spectacular wedding venue. The bridal suite is to die for. There is even a dress hanging area in the corner withe perfect lighting coming in from the giant windows. They must have consulted a photographer…

There is option for either an indoor or outdoor ceremony and the option for indoor ceremony is just as lovely (in my humble opinion) as the outdoor which is a rarity. I loved the deep wood floors of the chapel.

Enough about the venue. On to the lovely bride.

Lovely shot above from my second shooter Shadee of Joyful Portraits.

I first met Katherine and Rob as a couple in Dallas for their engagement session when I was mega pregnant. It seems like just yesterday, but really it was almost a year ago. Over the past year, I am happy to say, that I’ve developed a friendship with Katherine (which is one of the perks of my job-making new friends) but it wasn’t until I witnessed these next few moments that I really truly met Katherine and Rob as a couple. This first sight was so touching and one of the most memorable.

Another great shot from Shadee. I love the close up.

Katherine and Robbie ended up with so many great shots of just the two of them and the entire wedding party because they allotted two of the most valuable things on a wedding day for photography 1) Time and 2) Sunlight. It takes both things to take amazing images on your wedding day. I try to emphasize this to all of my brides but I am truly blessed (and so are they) when my advise is taken to heart. They will now have stellar images to treasure for a lifetime. Just something to consider for those of you still on the fence about first sight.

Before the ceremony Katherine gave her mother a letter. As a mom now, I am transitioning from understanding what Katherine was feeling at the moment, to understanding what her mom was feeling at the same time. It was such a sweet moment.

Katherine’s dad waited until right before the ceremony to see her. He didn’t even look at her bridal pictures. This also melted my heart. Father/Daughter first sight.

The song that played for Katherine and Rob’s first dance was “I hope you don’t mind” but it wasn’t sung by Elton John. It was recorded by Robbie and given to Katherine as a gift on their three month anniversary when they were in high school. Sigh.

I’m getting pretty good at guessing which couples will be cake smashers and I really thought Katherine and Rob were going to be cake smashers. ….but they with-held.

Our sweet spot out of the wind. I love sparklers but they can be very sparky on windy days!

Congratulations Katherine and Robbie! I am so excited for you and so thankful to have been a part of your beautiful engagement and wedding.

The bluest sky is always opposite of the sun. Your subject will be in full light, so it’s difficult to take images of people with a bright blue sky in the background unless you have them looking at each other. Obviously the barn doesn’t have eyes, so it didn’t have to squint for this picture.

Yetta does have eyes, but didn’t seem to mind being in full sun.

You can also have your subject split the sun, so half of their face is lit kind of like Sweetie above. You’ll still get a blue sky and they’ll most likely be able to look at the camera without tearing up. The only thing is the shadow in the face.

Same time of day. The shot above is with the sun behind me and the barn fully lit by the sun. The shot below is the sun in front of me, so my subject (the barn) is backlit. You’ll notice you can’t see the details of the barn as well. If I wanted the barn to be exposed correctly I would have had to overexpose the sky. A lot of my images are backlit and the sky is blown out because my subjects can then look away from the sun (no squinting) and I can avoid shadows on their face. I love full sun pictures because of the bright vibrant colors, but I love backlit pictures too. Try taking a picture of the same thing from several angles with the sun on either side of you. Play around with the exposure and see which one you like the best.

This little calf was just a few days old. So sweet.

And this little boy was just a few months old! So sweet and cuddly. River and I were standing near a big door which opened up to the outside. We were being lit by full sun outside but not in the sun which is why we can easily look at the camera without squinting. When photographing indoors, move your subject close to a window or door so they are lit naturally by the light coming from the sun.

This is another example of using outside light in an indoor setting. River is laying on the floor inside but he is right next to a window. If you find that there is too much sun coming in from the window or if it’s not the angle you were wanting, you can back light the photo like we talked about before. The shot below (River & Dan) is backlit. My light source is the window behind them. As you can see the windows and everything outside is over-exposed and blown out, but they are not. I would also like to point out the exposure is a bit of an opinion thing. I tend to almost over-expose my subjects because I like bright vibrant pictures. Some people like darker, richer tones in skin. It’s up to you, you’re the artist if you are taking the picture.

A special thanks to Totally Rad Actions for “Mystery Bus Lite” which is the only retouch I did on the very last photo. I also used a few of their other presets on the previous images. My favorites for this set were “Electric Skies” and “Landscape”. I do think Lightroom and I are going to get along, I just need to give it a little more time…

Peace and have a beautiful week everyone!

Here are the details/steps:

Step 1 Pick a Charity from the list below.

Step 2 Make a tax deductible donation to the charity of your choosing. A minimum $125 dollar donation is required to book a family portrait session with me.

Step 3 Email me { contact@kateleverenz.com } a copy of your donation receipt and with a few details about your family (size, number of kiddos, pets etc…).

Step 4 I’ll email you back with available dates and we will schedule your session!

Step 5 After your session you will receive an online gallery of approximately 30 edited images. Your gallery will be available online for two weeks. You place your print and product order and 25% of your pre-tax total will be donated to your charity of choice ON TOP of the amount you donated for your session fee.

Step 6 Tell other people about your awesome family portrait session and encourage them to give a little and get a little.

Charity List

Catholic Charities Diocese of Fort Worth

Gulf Coast Humane Society

Humane Society of North Texas

Hope Farm

Kenya Kids Can

A few faqs that I feel coming….

-Does this count for DFW and CC sessions?

Yeppers. My DFW dates are becoming more sparse as I am booking more weddings in Corpus and less in Dallas/Fort Worth but I am still in DFW frequently. If you are nervous about scheduling, shoot me an email before you donate and we can hammer out a date for your session.

-Is there a maximum number of family members I can bring to the session?

Use your heart when you are donating. If you are booking a session with your 7 kids, all of your siblings and their children plus grandma & grandpa you are going to end up with something more like 60 edited images in your gallery instead of 30 images. I would suggest making a donation closer to $250 if you are bringing your ENTIRE family. Just remember that I am donating my time for the session and editing of the images. I have a life, a husband, a sweet little boy and two dogs that I like to play with so please be mindful of my time when choosing your donation amount.

-How long is the session?

1 hour max and can include multiple locations or wardrobe changes within that hour. If you have younger children in your family we will most likely stay under the one hour mark as the little ones get restless after about 30 minutes.

-The charity I want to give to isn’t on your list, can you add it?

I would be happy to consider adding your charity of choice. Please email me with a description of the charity, why it means something to you as well as a link to their website and contact info of the person in charge of public relations.

I had an awesome time photographing Sarah’s senior portraits during my last trip back to Fort Worth. I normally shoot sessions late in the evening when the light is soft and easy to work with, but due to my packed schedule we shot these in the morning. I was so happy at how bright and vibrant they came out. I might start shooting in full sun more often!

I met Katherine at The Milestone  in Denton for her bridal portraits. I quickly fell in love with this venue and could not wait for her wedding.

Oh, Texas sunsets.

Katherine, you were so brave and trusting to allow me to take these next few. I so appreciate your willingness to allow me to be creative. No dresses were harmed in the making of these photos.

 Katherine & Robbie had a beautiful wedding this past weekend. I can’t wait to share it with you!

I loved this hat. Adorbs. Please don’t hate me for saying adorbs. …I take it back. Adorable.

What a cute family!

Love this hat. So adorable.