Family portraits are such an important reminder of a wedding day but unfortunately, they can be one of the more stressful portions of the day. The last thing I want is for you to get the energy zapped out of you by family pictures (especially if bride and groom portraits are afterwards!). Here is my best advice for making sure family pictures go smoothly.
Read MoreI have taken engagement, family, senior, and wedding photos in Palo Duro Canyon literally dozens and dozens of times. It never gets old for me! Each time I’m driving on the flat plains and then suddenly the world opens up into the canyon, I am amazed. It is absolutely my favorite place to take pictures around Amarillo, Texas. It is beautiful and versatile. And because of that versatility, I thought it was necessary to create this blog to show some of my favorite spots within the canyon to take photos. These little sub-locations within the canyon are completely different from one another and it’s hard to choose a favorite among them. They all look great any time of year but some can look drastically different from one season to another and on those, I’ve noted which season the picture was taken in.
Read MoreI’ve said it a thousand times, please bring your dogs to your photo sessions!
Especially when they are twin, white labradoodles. Austin and Dallas were a couple of spirited pups and I think they stole the show during Esther and Lucas’s engagement session in Palo Duro Canyon. I’m just kidding…but they were pretty fun!
These two are about to get married this year (in Arkansas in a glass chapel!). I’m so jealous of their wedding photographer. We got the best day imaginable for their engagement photos and that’s why I love living in Amarillo, Texas. Because even in the middle of January, we have the most beautiful, mild days.
Read MoreI’m so happy it’s engagement season because engagement photos are my absolute favorite type of session to shoot! I get to warm up with my clients and get to know them a little bit better before their wedding. Jayla and Seth are a couple that I am so excited about this year! When I first met them during our initial consultation I just knew that they were my type of client. They care about having good photographs of their wedding but they put their trust in my hands to provide that for them - as a photographer, there’s nothing better than that and it makes my job so worthwhile. Their engagement session in downtown Amarillo was full of laughter and silliness, a little romance, and some awesome rooftop views.
Read MoreMan. This wedding.
This wedding gives me a lot of feelings, to say the least. I love how Leah put her wedding dress on in the living room of her childhood home. After which she pinned her dad’s boutonniere on and spent precious moments with her mom - those last few moments of her being their little girl, before they would give her away to Tristan. And after Tristan got ready he penned a letter to Leah, right before seeing her walk down the aisle.
Read MoreI have been wanting to shoot a wedding at The Venue in Amarillo since it opened last year and I finally had my opportunity with Amber and Stetson’s wedding this fall! This wedding was chock full of greenery, orchids, crisps whites, a dinosaur (see photos below), and happy tears - seriously, there were bets going to see how many times Amber would cry happily. I think it ended up somewhere around 21 times.
Read MoreMicah and Keeston are definitely the type of clients that I could be friends with <3 They are relatively new to Amarillo, Texas but they have made it their home along with their two pups, who they brought along to the canyon. I LOVE it when people bring their dogs to photo sessions, by the way, because it relieves camera jitters and adds some freshness! Dogs do what they want to do and they often make their owners laugh which = photography gold.
Read MoreTy and Hannah’s wedding was one for the books.
It was totally, 100%, completely different from any other wedding that I have photographed and that is a beautiful thing! It was refreshing, real, and so much fun.
Hannah and Ty came from Houston to get married in Palo Duro Canyon simply because they love it. They had tons of bridesmaids and groomsmen and family members come up to support them because they are very clearly loved and cherished by many. And I can see why. Both Hannah and Ty have something about themselves that attracts people to them like a magnet. They light up the room when they walk in and I noticed that right from the start.
Read MoreThe whole time I was shooting this sweet family session I had to keep telling myself, “Kayla, you literally just had a baby. You can’t have baby fever!”
But really, it did remind me of the few short months ago when Neve was only 2 months old and she could fall asleep anywhere (not the case anymore). Baby Samuel fell asleep during their family photos when his dad was holding him and it was the sweetest thing ever. Also, I’m dying over his adorable little chunky sweater.
*Currently reminding myself that I can’t have another baby!* Not yet anyway…
Read MoreAnytime a client tells me that they are a photographer too, I get instantly nervous. It makes me nervous because if I were getting my pictures taken, I would be SO picky. I pity the photographer who has to take my photos. But Kendra put me at ease and her boys were such a breeze to photograph. And I just can’t get enough of the fall colors. Take note people - if you want fall colors in Amarillo, the second half of October and the first part of November is the time to take pictures!
Read MoreThis wedding. Wow.
That’s all.
Just kidding.
I started my friendship/client relationship with Laura and Carlos one year ago when I took their engagement pictures in Washington, D.C. where they lived at the time. Laura knew about me because my husband Mason and her were high school friends. The first thing I noticed about Laura and Carlos was that they are so polite to each other - and that’s rare. They treat each other with the courteousness that most of us do strangers but not people we are really close to. I think their kindness to each other is so awesome.
Read MoreThis was my second time taking pictures of the Wing’s (the first time was 3 years ago I think!). Their kids are practically all grown up now…just kidding…but this time around did feel much easier than the first time because I didn’t have to say anyone’s name to get them to look at the camera. My favorite picture from the entire session happened when I needed the kids to loosen up and laugh a little. Their dad Dustin was standing behind me so I told him to do something funny and lo and behold - he did the floss dance for about a millisecond. It was enough for the kids to explode in laughter - I’ll see if you can guess which photo that was.
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