stephanie & co.

My husband is one of the most loyal men you will ever meet. Ever. So it makes sense that his closest circle of friends have been with him since childhood. Some dating all the way back to pre-school! One of his BFF's (if I may use the word when describing the most metro of men) is Todd. A favorite of mine, and a friend of the hubs since the 7th grade. The 7th grade. Seeing as how the rowdy class of Bel Aire High, 1990, are celebrating their 20th High School Reunion this evening: 7th grade + 20 year reunion = an insane amount of ridiculous teenage stories I'll be sure to hear tonight. But this morning, I didn't hang with Todd the high schooler. I got to hang with Todd the Dad. And Todd the Husband. Married to his own high school sweetheart for the past 10 years, when these two aren't power lawyering it up in the finest of H-town courtrooms, they're parenting two of the cutest little kiddos around. When I first saw Ava Rose's picture, 5 years ago (and on what would become the first of many of Steph's insanely adorable holiday cards), literally my first thought was, "I want to photograph that blue eyed baby." Flash forward three years later: on the day Houston welcomed Hurricane Ike, Todd, Steph and Ava welcomed baby Sam. With killer blues like his older sister, and eyelashes that Lancome ads are made for, Sam is delicious. As is the whole family. I first met Todd 14 years ago. In the Gingerman in Dallas. He and a few of the hubs' entourage were in from Houston. I introduced Todd to the beauty of a Woodchuck Apple Cider, and he all but convinced me he should have his own radio show. Or tv show. Or at least write one. He's crazy funny, folks. In addition to holding down successful legal careers: he has produced, directed, written, etc., etc., a phenomenal documentary about harmonicas and the folks who play them. And Steph manages to inspire me with her unbelievable creativity (seriously, she is Houston's Martha Stewart), while reading those legal briefs. Guys, it was so much fun today. Thanks for sharing your babies with me. Looking forward to tonight, and enjoy your sneaky to the peeky!

jenny & co.

Two Junes ago, when I literally was in business for a month, Jenny contacted me for pics. She wanted to surprise her husband with pictures of her and their daughter for Father's Day. So one afternoon I met her and Camille in Highland Park for the first of what would become many sessions over the last two years. The pictures were a hit with the hubs, and since then, I've come to know Jenny and her family very well. I even had the honor of photographing her sister and her fiance a year or so ago. Since that first session two Junes ago, Jenny and Patrick have added little Ford to the mix. I tell you all this, dear reader, because working with them at this point, is like working with family. Which was so very handy when we arrived to our original location for pictures yesterday morning, only to find the darn place was locked up ...and would not be open for another two hours! Never mind that Jenny and Patrick had driven in from Fort Worth for these pictures. And that she had requested a place semi-half way ... I was so very glad that this would not be my first impression on the family, for it surely would have been my last. Instead, we scrambled over to Highland Park, yet again, for what would become my favorite session with the lovely family. To date. Camille, the 5 year old going on 27, first asked, "What will I get to help Mrs. Zindler with this time, Mommy?" when she got out of the car. She then proceeded to ask for a dozen black and white shots of her and Ford (yes, she actually said black and white shots), and she offered many suggestions on how to pose the family. If the next time you call haute shot photography and are greeted with a husky, childish voice on the other end, don't hang up. I've probably just hired C as my assistant. Little Ford was All Boy yesterday. Climbing the stone steps with Daddy, throwing leaves into the creek with Mommy, delightfully building and destroying block towers like a champ, and every once in awhile posing with sister. Throughout the session, Patrick and Jenny kept reminding Camille to keep her knee covered. I noticed a bright band-aid decorating said knee, so I did some investigating. Turns out, Miss Camille had fallen down and scraped her knee the night before. While wearing a white sundress. And rain boots. In June. On one of the driest days of the year. So clearly haute shot's youngest assistant is now haute shot's fashion consultant. Guys, thanks so much for putting up with the drama that began our session! Enjoy your sneak!

leslie & co.

Double birthday wishes are in store for brothers Christopher and Colin! They stopped by this past weekend for their one year session. They brought with them Mama Leslie and Leslie's mother-in-law, Grandmother. Grandmother will be taking care of them this week while Leslie is at a conference. After working with the boys for an hour, I'm seriously considering going over to be Grandmother's second set of hands. While Colin was busy attempting to rewire my lighting equipment, Christopher was trying to scale the chairs in the studio. They were non-stop everything ... and so darn cute! Not to mention sweet. They posed like little gentlemen with Grandmother, and they hammed it up when it came time for their individual shots. The highlight of the session for me, however, was when they shared a smash cake. At one point, Colin reached over to grab the bulk of Christopher's. Christopher, the more laid back of the two, slowly turned to look at his brother .... who clearly had his own cupcake to eat. They both just kind of stared at each other, waiting to see who would do what. After a few seconds, Christopher just smiled and then shared his treat with Colin. The brothers could not be sweeter, could not be cuter, and I wish them a year full of fun and new discoveries! Thanks for coming out Leslie, and enjoy your sneaky!

nicole & co.

Sweet Baby Brayden was back to see me. Although, I guess at one year, he's no longer a baby. But he will most definitely always be sweet. This was my third time to work with the brown eyed boy, and since his mom and dad work for Frito Lay, I thought it'd be fun to do a Cheetos Segment (in addition to the traditional smash cake shots). Between the cheese and the frosting, I don't think Brayden knew what hit him. But I'm proud to say in a little under ten minutes, the growing boy polished off 1/2 the bag of Cheetos and almost the entire cupcake! I've said it before, and I'll say it again, one year sessions are always so darn bittersweet for me. Especially when the one year old came to see me as a newbie. I still remember how perfectly Brayden was during his newborn session. And he's only become even more so since then. Of course, the Cheeto doesn't fall far from the factory, and in Stuart and Nicole could not be any sweeter. Guys, it's been an honor working with you for a year. Congrats on raising such a fine young man, and enjoy your sneak!

sandi & co.

Sandi and her family were literally one of my very first sessions when I first started out. We shot the whole clan in her parents' backyard two Father's Days ago. Back then, they were a family of 9. With baby Grant rounding out the mix today, there are now 10 of them. Sandi and her family of four actually live in New York. But when she makes it down to Texas to visit her parents and brother's family, she makes it a point to also visit haute shot. Which is a huge honor. Shanie, Sandi's gorgeous sis-in-law, is actually the one who originally found me. And Shanie's husband used one of the pictures from our first session as an ad on Tom Thumb shopping carts all over North Dallas. In short, they have always been so very fond of me, and I'm just as equally fond of them. This past weekend we braved the heat and met at Celestial Park in Addison. The girls, as always, were adorable and sweet ... all thing sugar and spice. As the Always Ready to Pose Sydney picked me dandelions and acorns for me, Caroline requested the Itsy Bitsy Spider. Baby Shea, who (I'm sad to report) is no longer a baby, was on her best behavior, in the hopes of earning one of Aunt Sandi's lollipops. And baby Grant. With his dark hair and piercing blue eyes, two words come to mind: Lady. Killah. Gigi and Pop-pop are the proud patriarch and matriarch of the entire clan. It was pretty incredible to see how much this beautiful family has changed in the course of two years, and I look forward to the next time I get to work with them. Sandi, thanks for organizing the session, and enjoy your sneak!

missy & co.

Our Missy is now a Mrs. Married to a top notch guy, through and through. They wed over Memorial Day Weekend, in front of friends, family and a Saber Arch. I love my sister. I love the man she married. And I loved all of his many friends and family who traveled all they way to a little West Texas town to see it happen. The happy couple have been honeymooning in the Canary Islands the last two weeks. Next week they will leave behind the great state of Texas and head East. Before they do, here's a little glimpse of the Day they had been waiting for for so very long. Congrats, Major and Mrs. Hawn.

lauren & co.

This session was booked back in November. Was rained out a few times. Was once cancelled due to a fever. And I really never thought we'd make it work. But we did. And it was worth the wait. Erica and Isabel, almost 3 and 1 respectively, were so delicious in their matching dresses and bows. I first worked with Lauren and Andrew almost two years ago, when Erica was posing for her one year portraits. Now about to turn three, she has the most insane hygienic habits. Ever. While she was happy to pose for me whenever I asked, she first had to make sure that there was not a speck of dirt or a drop of water within a 1 mile radius of our spot. And she was equally concerned about baby sister, telling her at one point, "You'll get hurt. And wet," when baby I crawled too close to the pond. And Isabel was Miss Poser when it came time for her solo shots. I've never seen anything like it, really. She just smiled and laughed and would not stop looking at the camera. Both girls are such beauties, and it's easy to see where that comes from. Lauren, thanks for sticking it out and making sure this happened! Special thanks to Andrew for assisting with the reflector. Enjoy your sneak, guys, and have a great summer!