H Family Session 2019

Hey Hey! Today’s blog is another photography blog, this time featuring a fall family mini photography session at a beautiful nature preserve in Cupertino California! These people are so close to my heart, they have their natural posing down, and the golden light that these hills offered was amazing. We started our session around an hour before sunset, and even though there were tiny flies landing on us throughout the session, everyone powered through and the photos are some of my favorites to date! I have photographed this family for years now, taking my first shots of these kids on my first camera a rebel! I have come a long way, and I am so lucky that they have stood by my side this entire photography journey.

These three kids aren’t lacking in personality, and I love watching them play and bond and come to life on camera. The goal of a Christmas card session is to always get those family portraits of everyone smiling, but those in between candids of the kids are always what light me up!!

Hope you enjoy seeing these photos as much as I enjoyed taking them!

xx,

Julia

Williams Family Session

Ok so as promised, I am going to start blogging my sessions! yesssssss. I’m so excited for this for a few reasons. The main reason being that I love love this job so dang much that I get literally giddy before, during, and after a sessions. I can’t help myself! My favorite part is immediately throwing the photos onto my computer (because seriously, like a little kid on Christmas morning I can’t help jumping in right away) and then seeing all of the love, joy, and warmth in the sessions and editing a couple and sending my client a sneak peak. There’s nothing better!

What makes my sessions even more fun, is when I get to take photos for friends, and even better when I get to capture the same family year after year and catch up and see them grow and change! Thats what this session is for me. Friends, that are also clients, that I have photographed so many times over the years. It makes my heart so happy to blog them because I get to take another look at these images!

This is the first year that I haven’t lived down the street from a lot of my clients. Butttt lucky me, I got the opportunity to fly my whole family out to California in early October and do mini sessions while there! IT WAS GREAT. I actually rented a canon 5d Mark IV when I went to California, and fell in love, and bought it, and now this is the camera I use for all of my sessions.

They wanted to choose a location that was different from their previous location styles. They chose this gorgeous hilltop with views of the city, views of water, and tons of high grass (my personal favorite). What made their session so fun was that they really know how to just let go in front of the camera. They enjoy each other, play and explore, and treat our session like an adventure versus a photo shoot. This allows everyone to have a great time, and I’m able to get so many genuine smiles from the kids without too many directions. My favorite part of this session is when the sun had set and we were heading back to the cars, the three kids went and ran to a gravel hill to play with the rocks. It was the perfect sunset, the perfect silhouette of the three kids bonding during sundown. It might be one of my favorite shots from their session, but really how could I choose?!

Ok, that’s enough chatting already Julia, photos photos photos.

xx,

Julia

Toddler Gift Guide 2019

Hey guys, welcome back to my blog! This is your Toddler Christmas Gift Guide for 2019. Ok, so if you don’t know, I did a thing and started a blog last week. I’m excited about it as I have always loved to read and write, and share details about my life so you get a glimpse of the real me (the girl behind the camera lens). I have dreams for this blog baby of mine. Part of that dream is all things photography, and my sessions, but the other part is mom-life. Which happens to be a big part of my life! I have two little boys, a 15 month old and an almost 3 year old (how does that happen?!), that I stay home with. I have been doing research for a while now on what they are getting for Christmas this year and I’m happy to say I am almost completely finished with my shopping! So, I figured I would share my list with everyone in case you can benefit from it as well! Christmas can be stressful with everything there is to-do so hopefully this helps some people take a load off. I mean who doesn’t love online shopping and Amazon & Target?!!My oldest is actually pretty excited about Christmas this year, which is going to make it extra fun! Ok so here it is people! Happy shopping!

1. Battat take apart crane (toy drill truck)

2. Candy Land (this is going to be the first board game for our oldest!)

3. Lego City Plane (my kids are obsessed with airplanes and this will be one of their first lego sets!)

4. Top Bright wooden shape sorter (cement mixer truck)

5. Learning Resources pretend & play cash register (my kids love the open and close button on this thing!)

6. Playskool Sit & Spin Classic Spinning Activity toy (the kids actually sit on this and use a wheel to spin themselves! Think Disneyland teacups how fun. I plan on getting one for each kid)

7. Kinetic Sand (my kids are obsessed with this stuff. It entertains them for a long period of time, and they play by themselves! win win)

8. Step 2 Dino Dig Sand & Water Table (I’m actually getting this for them to play with their kinetic sand in! Cups and dinosaurs and digging what could be more fun)

9. Mibro-Really Rad Robot (our friends have one of these and my oldest is obsessed with it and my youngest loves chasing it around)

10. Green toys Seaplane (like I mentioned my kids are big into airplanes. I love toys that promote use of their imaginations like these green toys! I also am purchasing the green toys helicopter as well)

11. Durable Kids Doctor Kit with electronic stethoscope (my kids love playing doctor so this will be perfect for them this year!)

12. Lonecone Rain Boots (this is more of a “need” gift, but why not use it for Christmas! These have the most awesome prints for the kids, so each of my boys will get their own special print to open Christmas morning)

13. Vtech Sit-to-stand Ultimate Alphabet Train (if you have a young toddler, and you don’t have this toy…. get it! It’s awesome, every kid I know loves it, and it has alphabets so mom win for promoting learning)

14. Lewo Magnetic Fishing Game (my kids love these magnetic fishing games, and this one has two poles so my kids can play at the same time, thus reducing arguments Christmas day over toys!)

15. T-Ball set (I’m excited about this one! I think my oldest is finally at the age to enjoy and learn this, and I can’t wait to sign him up for real t-ball!)

16. CAT Construction 15 inch Dump Truck (I ordered 2 of these, one for each of my boys. I love how big they are! I can’t wait to see them push them around the house, play with them in our backyard, and bring them to the parks in our area!)

17. Hape Scoot and Ride on Wood Bike (this is for my little guy, he loves to push things around and is walking pretty well and we felt it was time to get him a little bike! He doesn’t seem quite ready for our favorite balance bike the strider yet, so this will be our in between.)

18. Buffalo Plaid Pajamas Set (these are seriously adorable! We have a tradition of opening one gift on Christmas eve and it’s always a little treat and a new pair of Christmas pajamas to wear to bed that night. These will be ours this year!)

19. KidCraft Fire Station (like I mentioned I love toys that encourage imaginary play! This is awesome for my kids, and they will love that it has a helicopter as well. I love that it works for both my kids ages)

20. Ice Cream Cart (My kids both love our toy kitchen and this will be a great addition to it! My kids also love ice cream, my husband says that they get this from me, so they will be excited about this one!)

I am so excited about Christmas, and can’t wait to celebrate with my family! It’s our first holiday season in Texas, and everything’s bigger in Texas right? So looking forward to seeing everything our new home state has to offer! Hope this guide brings some excitement to your holiday!

xx,

Julia

Starting A Blog....

Hey y’all! I’m doing a thing…. yes I am starting a blog!! I want to share all of my Dallas Fort Worth Photography with you. Plus, likely some mom things in between. I have considered starting a blog for a while now, but, let’s be honest time just really escapes me! Between being a mom, our big move from California to Texas, and life in between, I’ve been busy. BUT. I am done with the excuses, and have been working on investing in myself, my company, my brand, and part of that is sharing who I am with all of you! Really, my photography business wouldn’t be anything without the people who love, support, and follow me. So I want to take you all with me on this journey of being a mom and also a photographer!

Ok so first things first who am I? 3 months ago I would have answered this question as “I’m Julia, I am a stay at home mom of two sweet boys.” Now, I would answer that question, “Hey! I’m Julia, I am a photographer, momma of two, and wife and I try to kick toosh at all 3.” I have always longed to find my passion, my drive, a business that I love but that I could balance while also being a mom, and I have found it. My missing piece, the creative driven part of me, who was destined to be a family photographer.

I don’t want to be a robot behind a lens. I want you all to get to know me, the real me, and I want to create memories with you. I want my sessions to be fun, talkative, playful, energetic… I want you to forget the camera is there! So, to start off some things about me, the girl behind this camera. I am 28 years old, have the most amazing supportive husband (Nick Nigro) and I have two amazing boys. My oldest is going to be 3 in January, and he’s smart, driven, stubborn, a bit shy, super goofy and has the absolute kindest heart. My youngest turned one in September and he’s my wild, care-free, affectionate, injury prone boy. I love them both and spend most of my days making snack after snack, playing airplanes of some kind, and exploring everything we can in the Dallas Forth Worth area. We are new here! We just moved here at the end of July and have been loving every minute. We may have lived in California our whole lives, but I feel that we have Texas hearts.

I got my bachelors degree in 2013, got engaged in 2014, married in 2015, had babies in 2017 and 2018, moved in 2019…. I have been busy! In between all of that, I had the privilege of watching two of the most amazing little girls, and that’s how my love of photography bloomed. I wanted to be able to capture their bond, their laughter, their smiles, and the memories that happened throughout the days for their parents who both worked. I bought my first camera in 2016 and the rest is history, I’ve been capturing families, children and newborns since and I adore it.

10 random facts about me:

1. My favorite animal is a hippo

2. I am a huge fan of the cheese board

3. I have a strong sweet tooth

4. I adore kids and babies and I am doula trained

5. I love to golf

6. I have 5 siblings and I am the oldest

7. I prefer handwritten lists over technology

8. I love cooking, not so much baking

9. I’m obsessed with reading

10. I am sure I drink way too much coffee

Ok, so there’s me. And the idea behind this blog is for you to get to know me and follow along with my photography journey! Thank you so much for reading….

xx

Julia