One of the commonly asked questioned I get is “what kind of paper do you print on?” and “what is a fine art linen print? It’s hard to describe something in words that you can only truly experience first hand, but I’ll do my best and I’ve printed some samples and photographed them to show the comparison. Most home and office monitors are not color calibrated for accuracy, tones & contrast, but I’m hoping you’ll be able to see the difference.

The following images are obviously the same pose, but the print on top is my fine art Linen (lustre) print and the one beneath is a Lustre print. The difference is in the texture.

With the strong lighting I’ve used to capture the variations, there is a canvas-like appearance given to the image on top.  Nowadays you can enter any Hobby Lobby, Michaels or even a Target store and find large canvas prints to give you an idea of the medium. I’m a big fan of canvas as I feel it gives portrait a more artistic finish so I have chosen to deliver these types of prints to my clients for all print sizes.

Here’s another closeup shot of the texture. You may be asking ” can you see those lines on the print that much where they may take away from the photo?” Honestly, no. When you display an image in a frame it’s highly unlikely you’re going to be holding it up to your nose. You’ll be admiring it from a normal viewing distance on your desk, a mantle or the wall and the linen finish gives the print a more polished look.

I do, however, want all my clients to be happy. In the event that the linen finish just “isn’t your thing”, let me know before I process your print order and I’ll be omit the texture.   The print on the bottom is what my lustre prints look like. A nice clean crisp image that highlights every aspect of your portrait. You’ll be satisfied either way.

And that’s the end of my short Linen Lustre Print vs Lustre Print 101 class. Hope that helps when deciding what you’ll be displaying!

PS. All proofs are automatically printed on Lustre Paper only.

Mommy glow : the show of emotional elation displayed by an expectant mother also known as mommy blush.

Rosa was glowing and why shouldn’t she be? She married the man of her dreams and they’re expecting their first baby, a girl, next month. When we spoke on the phone regarding her session Rosa expressed the same thoughts every pregnant mom has : “I feel too big.” I assured her she probably “felt” big  but LOOKED great and when we met for their session I realized I was right and then some. How GORGEOUS IS THIS WOMAN?!!! Way to go Elio..you picked some great woman genes to pass on to your daughter Rosa was GLOWING from head to toe and she reminded me of my own pregnancy – giddy with anticipation of a newborn baby to love.  I LOVED being pregnant and basked in the miracle of pregnancy the entire way. I’m pretty sure that their daughter is going to be a picture perfect baby too because her bump sure is adorable. Natives of Houston, they’re now living in San Antonio and we ventured downtown for a colorful maternity session. I look forward to getting the text that she’s in labor because that means newborn pics shortly after!

Congrats Rosa & Elio – you’re princess is almost here!!!

my absolute favorite shot from the session <3

I often get asked what my hobbies are , if any, when I’m not photographing. Truth be told, I’m a DIY girl at heart. Even as a kid when I was presented with a choice of buying something or making it myself, I preferred to make it. Maybe its because I grew up watching my mom sew my dainty dresses and fun play outfits (and some not so fashionable pieces like turquoise polyester pants). Somehow I managed to forgive her for those. When I discovered the adrenaline rush of hitting up thrift stores , auction houses and such I was able to discover a whole new world out there. I learned beautiful pieces of furniture I’d seen on tv belonging to ” Lifestyles of Rich and Famous” (great, now I’m giving away my age here) just MIGHT be something I could own myself – at the fraction of the cost. Yes, I have a bit of champagne taste on a beer budget with a texas twist (limes please).

Not long ago one of my favorite things to do on a Saturday morning was rise early and meet a good friend of mine to go on such hunts. Whether it was the usual neighborhood garage sales or waiting for another Austin City Wide Garage Sale, I knew there were bargains to be had. Happiness was finding an old table, chairs, dresser, lamps then bringing them home, dusting them off, sanding , priming, painting and carrying them back into the house good as new and sometimes even better. My friend joked I should start a side business doing it. Honestly, if I owned a truck I might have pursued it.

When I moved I was forced to sell off furniture from the ‘extra rooms” or pay crazy storage fees in a bigger garage. My style changes every year or so and the prospect that ‘someday’  I can shop for new pieces made it easy for me to part ways. Slowly, I’ve been selling items that were some of my first house purchases. They’ve felt the effects of gentle use for years and then suddenly, thump thump thump. The pounding of forks on the table top by a toddler. Ouch. The crashing of an accessory into my bakers rack. Ugh. The real life furniture adventures one has with a rambunctious toddler at home After much consideration of  sanding/refinishing these pieces, I decided to post them on Craigslist. Honestly, I need change. New memories, new things. Out with the old…

The last few weeks I’ve been blog stalking my favorite thrifty hunter gals who transform old furniture into better-than-new pieces. I’ve been wanting to go thrifting for my own treasures, but a relentless cold/flu/ear infection has held me captive and pretty lifeless for what seems like forever. I finally ventured out not really expecting to find a gem anywhere, but more so to just get a breathe of much needed fresh air and test my luck.

Forgive me for the grainy cell phone pic; I don’t ever take my good cameras for such hunts.

Let me tell you what this ISN”T :

it isn’t MDF or particle board or laminate

it isn’t painted

it isn’t falling apart or broken

IT IS:

solid wood

consisting of all its original hardwood & parts

accompanied by a beautiful mirror (sitting behind it here)

and it became mine for the stealthy low price of $50. Yes, as in the equivalent of one good steak dinner at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, 5 large pizzas from Pizza Hut or a mani/pedi.  SCORE! The DIY girls would be so proud of me This beauty just needs some TLC from me! I haven’t decided if I’m going to stain it or paint it or even keep it. All I know is that it was too nice and perfectly priced to leave it behind and I’m excited to work on a new-to-me piece of furniture once again.I just hope that whatever products I use for it don’t fumigate the neighbors living above my garage right out of their apartments. If I owned a truck, I’d even be tempted to haul this beauty out in a field for a styled engagement session. Ah, daydreaming is fun.

Meanwhile, here are some inspiration photos for what it might become. I’ll be sure to share the final reveal once its complete.

perhaps something really bold like this…

I’m not sure which direction I’ll go with it, but I know I can’t wait to get started on it this week.

On a photography related note, here are some other items I’ve DIY’d myself recently and will be using for my newborn sessions. I’ve seen tons of sellers on ETSY offer these and other photographers were scooping them up by the minute so I opted to make my own and save 80% off the retail price they offered per headband. Score again

That’s it for now!  Time to rest up and gain more strength for my upcoming sessions this week.