Life in Motion Photography by Lyndsay Stradtner, Austin Texas Child Photographer

glowing

That's the first word that comes to mind when I think about today's session with Shannon.  Isn't she gorgeous?!

She has the most perfect little round belly too...

And the coolest nursery awaiting her little one...I'm so excited about the newborn session in just a few weeks...I have big plans for her little guy!  Photos of him in his nursery are a photographer's dream!

This session was a part of my mentoring program with MC.   I use the word "program" totally out of context here, it basically means me and MC hanging out with our cameras since I'm the worlds absolute  worst teacher ever!  MC won't admit it but it's totally true.

Oh, and thanks for all your opinions so far on the whole blog dilemma!  Please keep those votes coming - it is so interesting to hear what you think!

bump

I had the pleasure of photographing a beautiful little bump last weekend, these two, er, uhm, three, were just adorable!  I can't wait to meet their new little bundle in a few weeks....

there is something about this one that I just love

 

Claudia & Jason have chosen that the gender of their baby be a surprise...they asked me to guess and I went with a boy...not sure why, just got a boy vibe.  Can't wait to see what they have!

 

coffee table books

One of the things I love about being a custom portrait photographer is that I get to help my clients figure out fun and creative ways to use and share their photos.  I offer everything from helping them design photo walls for their home, to albums, gallery wrapped canvas, storyboards and custom designed coffee table books.

I decided it was time to freshen up some of my samples and thought I'd share a few quick snapshots of one of my coffee table books.  This is very simple in design, the session was a mini session.  There is so much you can do, even with a mini!! 

I have several other books on the way.  I want one for every type of session, maternity, newborns, toddlers, teens and family.  I can promise that these photos totally don't do it justice, its gorgeous in person!  The best part is that they are totally customized to each client....every little aspect, from images to design, elaborate or simple, full images or collages, text, background color or texture, every little thing!

Images are printed directly on to the book and spine - no bulky or loose dust cover!  This one shows just one image on the front, but you could do one on the back or even a collage that wraps around.

Each book comes with a cover page.  For newborns, this is a great spot to add in the birthday, birth stats, etc.

My favorite part!!  When you turn the pages, the lay flat...

sample pages...love how the image on the left goes all the way to the edge

my favorite pages...vroom vroom

The last page can be specially designed with text or an image, your choice.

I have many other more detailed designs to showcase just about any type of session...I'll be sure to share more images of other samples soon!  To my clients with sessions coming up, I always bring samples with me, I think its good to see first hand what you are ordering ahead of time!  And you just can't appreciate how gorgeous these truly are until you have one in your hand.  These also make great gifts!  My mom can attest to that - she practically jumps up and down every time we have a book printed for her with images of the kids =)

must....chew....on....hands

I got to spend the morning with what has to be one of the cutest little families in Austin.  Little John Michael was just a dream.  3 month olds and just as cute as can be...

love his little heartwarming smile

and for fun...I can't tell you how hard I giggled sitting at my desk when this one popped up on my screen, silly, funny boy!

must....chew....on....hands!

John Michael and family, I hope you enjoy your sneak peek!  It was wonderful to meet you guys, thanks for the fun!

bless you

ahh



ahhhhhhh



CHOO!

TEE-HEE!

As you can tell, it doesn't take much to amuse me these days.  His face in the first shot cracks me up.  Oh sweet baby, how I love you.

If you are curious about why my baby is wearing a Christmas hat, in Texas, in the dead of summer, check out the post below!  The mini sessions are going fast - book today!

ANNOUNCEMENT: AUSTIN HOLIDAY MINI SESSIONS

((click image above to enlarge))

It may seem early, but my schedule is filling up quick.  I decided to do a few holiday mini sessions this year at a drastically reduced price!  Be the envy of all your friends with the cutest Christmas photos around and don't forget photos make great gifts for grandparents!  For only $250 (the normal price for just the sitting fee) you'll get a complete mini plus all kinds of goodies, including holiday cards!  Book early, they are sure to go quick!!

Oh, and yes I realize it's slightly ridiculous to have this poor baby in a santa hat when it's 103 degrees outside in August...but he doesn't care, little dude is just happy to be here.  So there :P  Check back tomorrow for a few outtakes of him in his santa hat, it won't disappoint, I promise!

Trash the Dress, Austin Style

Finally getting a few spare moments to catch up and share a little.  I thought I'd post the link to the slideshow for the Trash the Dress session I did.  I can't tell y'all how much fun it was!!  There were a total of 5 models and 3 assistants.  A big, huge, thank you to everyone who participated.

Oh, and while we had permission to be on site, the fountain wasn't specified, so we did that last, just in case we got booted out.  The security guard came and stood next to me while I worked when the girls jumped in and I told MC that 1) she should take a photo of me if I got hauled off in the security buggy and 2) she better come bail me out :P  ha!

In case you can't tell, Amie had a BLAST, love it!

Click here to view trash the dress, Austin style!

If you are in the Austin area and are interested in trashing your dress, drop me a note cause I'd love to do this again!

sigh...isn't he dreamy

Last of the Louisiana mini-sessions.  This shot, I just keep coming back to....he's so dreamy...

I can't believe how much Aiden has grown since our last session.  He's gone from baby to little boy.

and I have to add this one....looooved dad's shirt ;)  I'm secretly hoping they will move to Austin...they would love it here!

Thanks for meeting up with me guys, it was great to catch up and hang out!

the girl with it all

She's beautiful...

she has a loving husband...

she's got one of the cutest little boys around...

Not to mention that she's beyond talented, check out her work at Paper & Ink Studio.  She did my new custom thank you notes for the new business and they are GOR-GEOUS!  And I have no shame, I totally invited myself over to their house the next time we are in town!  Thanks for a wonderful time you guys and it was so great to finally meet you in person!

the triplets

The last time I saw them before we moved to Texas, they were just tiny little peanuts.  I was psyched when their mom booked one of the Slidell mini sessions.  And I have to tell you how impressed I was with how cool, calm and collected everyone was!  And get this, they all sleep through the night, yes, I asked and I'm totally impressed!

I'll start with this one just cause it cracks me up! 

 

Am I horrible that I love this one?  Poor baby...she was not into her birthday hat at all!  Check out that tear...

Without the hat she was a happy little thing though.

Thanks for all the fun guys and happy birthday!!!!!

SPECIAL!!

dennis the menace

I just had to come back and share a few more of cute little Bradley.  The whole time I was proofing I couldn't shake the feeling of familiarity.  At first I thought it was because this little guy reminds me of Ty when he was 2....which desperately made me wish I could go back in time with my camera.  But when I was chatting with his mom about the photos, she mentioned the little look of mischief in his eyes in this shot and said "he is such a little dennis the menace!"  HA!  lightbulb moment - that's who he reminds me of!!

a little more traditional than my usual work, but I still love it...

I love that even though he's all dressed up, his rough and tumble boy side peeks through with his cute scabby little knees...

look at this sweet face...I bet he never gets in to trouble {wink wink}

Thanks for the great time you guys, it was fun!!

trash the dress, stephanie fisher style

I love, love, love working with other photographers.  Nine times out of ten, they are totally up for anything and everything.  I was so psyched that our first thing to do once arriving at the beach was to meet my longtime online buddy Stephanie.  We started this whole photography journey around the same time and it was so fun to finally meet her and her gorgeous little girl in person.  So after a quick dinner, we hit the beach for a quick trash the dress session.  It was Teagan's first time at the beach and he was so chill about it....

A couple of confessions....first, I love it that my husband is always willing to wear Teagan, even when I only pack the girlie print sling.  By kiddo #3, he's pretty chill too, and such a trooper.  Second, I was pretty nervous about my camera and the sand.  So much so, that I took an absurd number of photos without even looking through the viewfinder trying to protect it from the sand and breaking surf when in the water.  Third, looking at these I'm dying to do a destination wedding. 

On our way down...

love the bucket for a touch of whimsy - haha!

For what it's worth, she totally dove in to the surf.  We had a blast!!

33 sounds pretty good to me

I had an awesome birthday, thank you for all the well wishes.  First, my wonderful little dude gave me the best birthday gift ever, he slept through the night for the first time!  From 8:30 pm until 5:45 am.....way to go buddy!!  Then I had several mini-sessions and a big family birthday party after that.  My husband even took over camera duty for awhile at the party, how cool is that....I love finding photos on my camera.  A great day!

I promised sneak peeks before I head to the beach for a few days of relaxation.  The Slidell mini-sessions were a huge success, we managed to dodge the rain and it was fun to hang out with some old friends....thank you to everyone who booked one!

First up, little Bradley.  Remember him at 3 months (and here)?  And 6 months (and here)?  I can't believe how much he's grown...could he be any cuter?!?

Next up, the triplets.  The last time I saw them, they were itty bitty little peanuts.  I can't believe they're a year old already!  I got a bunch of shots of them, but I have to share this one, it cracks me up!  Their mom is brave and decided to let them dive into cupcakes at the end of the session.  They loved em!

and big sister Hannah with MacKenzie

Next up, Fletcher.  He's the adorable little boy of Mary with Paper & Ink Studio.  I was so psyched when Mary booked one of the mini-sessions, I finally got to meet her.  I hired her to do some custom work for me awhile back and I'm consistently amazed with her talent.  Is Fletcher seriously cute or what?!

His parents are pretty cute too!

last but not least, my little buddy Aiden (click here and here).  I've been photographing him since he was just a tiny little thing too, it was fun to see how much he's grown since we moved and catch up with his parents...

love the lashes

Many more of everyone to come...but now I'm off to the beach!!!!

Even more.

Sweet baby Calla, a few more from her recent session...

I know I must sound like a broken record, but I just can't help it.

I adore her.  From the time she was in her mommy's tummy, to her birth, her 2 month shots and now, already 6 months old, sweet baby Calla.  She steals my heart every time....

She stole Taryn's heart tonight too.  She talked more about Calla on the way home than she did the hot dogs we all had for dinner, she's smitten, for sure.  Thanks Tuckers for inviting our clan (sans Ty) over for dinner, it was great to visit with you guys!

Trash The Dress

I cannot even tell y'all how much fun this was.  It took a lot of planning and before I share a few faves, I have to thank MC, Amanda and Anne-Marie for assisting with everything from shooting, to carrying stuff, to hauling wet dresses and even keeping one eye on security (you'll see why later).  Thanks girls....you guys rock!!

I've only started thumbing through them...

A cracks me up - she showed up driving in her dress, hair in pigtails and sportin some shades.   Love it!!!

And while we had permission to be on site, I got a little nervous we were going to get kicked out when the girls jumped into the fountain.   

Many, many more to come!  Thanks for an awesome morning yesterday girls - it was a BLAST!!!

 

crazy. busy.

This week has been.  Haven't picked up my camera much at all.  This weekend though, it'll get a workout.  Trash the dress.  I don't do weddings.  Ok, so I could totally be talked into doing a destination wedding.  But trash the dress sounded like fun to me!!  5 models, 3 assistants and lots of fun, I can't wait!!!  I'm about to load up the kids and head out the door to scout a location I got permission to use.  Really excited about the location, it's different for me.

Ty heads out tomorrow to visit my Mom.  Excited but this momma is a little sad.  I won't see him for 2 weeks :(  He'll be flying on his own for the first time.  Pretty nervous about that.  Him and me both.

Announcing Louisiana Sessions!!

A few things you need to know if you're gonna live in Texas.

Queso is considered a food group.

"Howdy" means "Hi, how are ya?" and usually includes a nod of the head.  Go ahead, try it out, bet you can't do it without the nod.

And cowboy hats....well....they're big here.  But, its windy....so you best hold on to hat....

A few other favorites...

when you are 18 months old, smelling pretty flowers includes puckering =)

And since I haven't shared an entire session in quite a while, and because I love them all, CLICK HERE.  Lily is one amazing little girl, I just adore her and we are so lucky to have such wonderful friends in her parents!

ps - I'll be posting about Ty's birthday tomorrow, then I'll sit down and answer all the questions from "Ask me anything" on Sunday!  Even my momma's crazy question!!

10 on Tuesday

and it's actually Tuesday, how about that?!

1.  Our lives feel like total chaos right now.  Maybe it's the fact that summer is here and that means more time outside, more go, go, go.  Maybe its the fact that our business just opened up this week, officially, and  its been a lot of work getting things ready to go.  Ty's birthday party coming up, Jase is busy with work, Taryn's taken a liking to using her outside voice 24/7, which Teagan is not liking.  And Teagan is teetering on that 4 month growth spurt, it's coming, and the thought of it makes me tired.  He'll want to nurse non-stop.  He's been really fussy the last few days, thankfully, I ordered a new sling last night so I can wear him more comfortably.  Thanks Nancy for the recommendation!  I love the way she wears her daughter so that she can see out, Teagan is going to dig that.

2. This is their thing.  Never let's Mommy do it, just Daddy.  I secretly love that though.  Makes me go awwwwwww....

3.  We hit the pool this morning with some friends.  Our neighborhood pool is awesome, it slopes down so the little ones can play safely, has a lot of sprinklers and buckets of water that splashes down from a big pole, pretty cool.  Well, at the end of the slope are a couple of stairs that lead to the deep end.  Taryn never goes out that far.  Today I was at the edge of the pool with Teagan and Taryn stepped right off the stairs and down into the water.  I jumped towards her and started to grab her and yelled out to Alli who was close to her as well.  She grabbed her and I pulled her up by the arms.  Scary.  We now have a new rule not to go past the blue line that marks the start of the stairs.  It wasn't that deep, less than 3 feet with the other step right there, but enough for her to loose her bearings and go under.  She did not like the water up her nose and the look of fear in her eyes as she went under sticks in my mind....ugh.  Thankfully we were both right there to grab her, and that Ms. Alli is good at being quick on her toes, Lily was a swimming fish with no fear this morning!

4.  We decided at the last minute this week to participate in a silent auction through Jason's work to benefit the ASPCA.  We will be donating a session and I had to pull some display materials together really quick last night.  In addition to some large prints, a canvas, an album, business cards and some other frilly stuff, I printed this as a mounted 20x20 for the display table.  Me likey....

5.   Only two more days of school left.  Ty can't wait.  I have mixed emotions about it, probably like every other mom out there right?  I can't wait to have him home and spend more time with him, watch him have a fun summer being a kid.  He's earned that, the right to play in our neighborhood, be safe and just be a kid, ride his bike, go to the pool, get dirty and just be a boy.  We had a hard time letting him do those things in our old neighborhood with all the rebuilding, so this is a whole new thing for him.  On the other hand, he and Taryn have been in a bickering rut lately, and I'm not sure I'm ready for full, all day banter and rough housing back and forth.  Oh, and I'm not ready for the grocery bill.  Yikes can that kid eat!! 

6.  I know I promised pics of Teagan's Blurb book, sorry, I took them and just haven't had a chance to proof them yet.  I will, soon, promise!

7.  I'm considering a new blog.  For a bunch of reasons.  Some business reasons, some personal reasons.  Just can't decide.  I want to upgrade, but I'm having a hard time deciding whether to separate the business from the personal.  Part of me feels that all my work is intertwined with who I am and what I do, and then the other part of me thinks it would be better having two distinct blogs, one for each.  Hmmmm, decisions, decisions.  What do you guys think?

8.  This makes me go awwwwwww too.  Meredith and her Mommy.

9.  Must get working on Father's Day pics.  Soon, maybe one night this week.  Can't wait to work out the ideas in my head. 

10.  Ok, it's the end of 10 on Tuesday and I'm at my wits end with Taryn's 24/7 outside voice.  We've tried everything, the quiet game, jumping over the threshold of our house going from inside to outside voice (yeah, my neighbors think I'm nuts), spending quiet time in her room, reminders, nothing is working.  The loud, screeching, constant yelling at toddler volume, is making me nuts.  Help?  Advice?  Anyone?  Anyone??

one more...

I could post every single shot from this session...I love them all...

Lily

Back in the saddle again.  I had the pleasure of photographing Lily this morning to celebrate her 18 months.

I think she looks so much like her Mommy here.

I absolutely love her little dirty feet.  So her.  Girlie and tough, all rolled into one!

And my absolute favorite of the day, I wonna blow this up and hang it in my house and she's not even mine!

Thanks for a fun time today, sweet, silly, Lily!

10 on Tuesday, er, uhm, Wednesday

I was gonna do this yesterday but got a little distracted by a little thing like winning a trip to Jamaica!!  Yeah baby!  Thank you all for your comments, yesterday was a complete blast!!

1.  Ty now 100% truly and honestly believes he is famous.  But, he was not happy I taped him on the sly and bargained for use of it here on the blog.  He could have asked for much more on his side of the bargain, I got what I wanted pretty easy.  I think his reaction was priceless.  Too bad the clip cut off before he picked up his backpack, tossed it into the air and then stopped cold and said "WAIT, ARE YOU FILMING ME!?"  hahahaha!

2.  You know who is fabulous?  Teagan.  He is the king of eye contact.  He loves the camera.  He and I were M.F.E.O. (Made For Each Other)  Here's proof:

3.  Sometimes I wonder if this blog is a true representation of our lives.  You know, the good, the bad and the ugly.  I post lots of good, a little funny, every now and then a bad, but where is the ugly?  Well, my normally wonderful dear husband decided to say something ugly the other morning before I'd even gotten out of bed.  Not the nicest way to wake up.  My first response was to glare at him in the back of his big, bald head.  My second and last response was to tell him "I like pretty flowers".  Being a pretty smart guy, he didn't come home empty handed.  All I know is that the next time "ugly" appears in our house, my reply will be "I like big, bright, shiny diamonds".

4.  I'm dying to show you guys our new and improved back porch.  It got all pretty over Mother's Day weekend.  I'm just waiting on the arrival of our new bird feeder.  My buddy Mary clued us in on these and they are awesome.  I'm stalking my mail!!

5.  We are planning a trip back to Louisiana and I'm sooooo excited about it.  Our first one since moving to Austin.  There will be lots of time visiting family, celebrating birthdays and even a beach trip.  Can't wait!

6.   I'm struggling with nap time at our house.  Well, just having 3 kids going in 3 opposite directions is tough.  Taryn and Teagan are both good nappers, which I'm thankful for, because Ty wasn't.  He never slept and gave up naps for good, much to my despair, at the age of 2.  Yeah, not fun.  Anyway, it's always worked out great that Taryn takes a nice long nap in the afternoons since I have to be home to get Ty off the bus anyway.  It works for us.  I could run errands and be out of the house in the mornings.  Mr. Teagan has decided he only likes long naps in the mornings.  So, what's a mom to do?  Fight it!  But he could care less what works for me.  Hmmm, looks like gas prices won't be the only thing keeping us close to home this summer.

7.  Ty has a HUGE surprise coming his way for his birthday.  Not just BIG, its HUGE.  Can't tell just yet.....bwahaha.....I love secrets!

8.  I've got some really fun photography stuff coming up!  First, I get to photograph Ms. Lily who is celebrating being 18 months old later this week.  Then this weekend I get to photograph Ms. Meredith's 2nd birthday party.  Then I agreed to do some commercial work for a clothing line, I can't wait to get started in the next few weeks, super cute stuff!  Also in the works is a fun group trash the dress project with some local friends and group of photographers, I can't wait for this.  Totally out of my comfort zone but it's gonna be really cool!  Add to that the mentoring I just started doing and the sessions I've booked for the next few months, a few maternity, a few babies and a few families, and the old 5D is about to get a good workout!

9.  I have all these great Father's Day shots in my head I want to capture with Jase and the kids.  Would someone please ask my husband to cooperate, cause I'm not sure he's gonna be up for what I have in mind?  Do y'all watch Friends?  You know the one where Monica and Chandler go to have their engagement photos taken and Chandler makes the scary face for the camera?  That's Jase.  He tries, but bless his heart, he's a Chandler.

10.  Taryn now speaks more Spanish than I can understand.  When she does, I don't know what the heck she's talking about.  It's crazy.  I'm going to have to start studying in order to understand my kid!

Whew....made it through!  Thanks for stopping in =)

Attention Locals: Another Special!

This one is for all the mommas to be out there! 

For a limited time only, if you book a newborn session between now and June 1st you will receive a FREE mini-maternity session!!  This means no maternity sitting fee, no purchasing images, the maternity session is FREE!  What do you get?  10-15 high resolution, processed images on disk in both black and white and color.  That's a value of over $850!  You choose the location.  Whether it’s at home, a local park, the urban streets of Austin or your favorite hangout, be ready to relax and have a good time showing off that beautiful baby bump! 

The rules?  Maternity sessions are best scheduled between 32 and 36 weeks pregnant.  Newborn sitting fee to be paid at the time of booking the maternity session.  Newborn session must occur within 2 weeks of babies birth, I'll pencil in your due date and then when your baby is born, just give me a call and we'll pin down a time. 

This is a limited time offer, expires at midnight on June 1st, the day I open for business!

If you'd like to take advantage of this special offer, or if you have any questions, just drop me an email at lstradtner@mac.com.

 

Hey Locals - Special Offer

Have you guys ever heard of picture parties?  Basically, its this:  A group of friends, neighbors, relatives, co-workers (you get the idea) hire a photographer to do a session and share it.  The benefit is that you all get photographs of your children, but at a reduced rate, and everyone has a good time.  Generally, the hostess doesn't pay.  I really want to try one and am looking for a hostess with 4-5 friends willing to participate.  I'm willing to offer a seriously reduced rate in return for being my test run to see if this is something I might want to add in to my business structure.  If you are local and think this is something you might be interested in, drop me an email at lstradtner@mac.com and we can chat!

holding on

Working on proofing Beth's session tonight and thought I'd post one...

Yeah, they were just too darn cute.  I'm going way over that 10-15 image "mini" session I promised!

just a quick one

Just a quick post this morning.  We are   d   r   a   g   g   i   n   g   this morning after a very long, but fun trip to SeaWorld in San Antonio yesterday.  It was 11 pm before we got home and we are so tired today!  The kids had a blast and the best part is we bought season passes so we'll be going back all summer long!  I took a ton of pics too but they are all still sitting on the card, in the camera.

Here are a few more from my shoot on Saturday with Beth and her husband....I'm still sorting through them but have so many favorites already....I love that even though you can't see their faces, you can still see they are smiling and their affection for one another.

And speaking of blog contest winners, T is standing behind me with a bowl saying "I want to pick another winner"  LOL!  Guess she's ready for another contest?!  I've created a monster!

oh so young and in love

Just got home after photographing our contest winner, Beth C.  She and her husband were so much fun!  I had to pull a few while downloading....and my first thought when I saw this was "oh so young and in love".

Thanks for a great time guys, more to come!  I'll go way over the promised 10-15 images!

dddddddddddddddddddd

That was a drum roll ;)

Over 80 entries into my very first blog contest!!  Wahoo!

 

Taryn was excited to pick the winner...

Big congrats to the winner - BETH C!!  I can't wait to photograph you and your husband, I'll be in touch with you soon to work out all the details! 

Thank you again to everyone who entered.  Please check back as I will have at least one, maybe two more contests before the new business opens on June 1st.  Aren't giveaways fun?!?!