The Smile House - Photography by Laura Kay Wootan

Fancy New Blog

2009-03-10T21:34:00.001-07:00

We have a fancy new website and blog!!

Please follow this link and update your bookmarks! Those that subscribe it should convert over to the new blog! Please check out our new website too!

www.TheSmileHouse.com

www.TheSmileHouseBlog.com

Thanks! - Laura

Gianina & Chris Bailey

2009-02-18T14:46:00.000-08:00

I was photographing Gianina's sister Kara's wedding when I first met her. Instanly, I knew I liked her. Gianina was a super fun bridesmaid that let me take photos of her with strawberries in her teeth among some other funny things. She wasn't shy around the camera! It's always a joy to photograph someone that doesn't mind their portraits taken! I was so honored when she asked me to photograph her wedding! When I photographed Chris and Gianina's engagement session I had a chance to spend some time with Chris. He was the perfect groom. Did all the silly things I asked them to do. He didn't complain and he even smiled. Actually he smiled a lot and I knew by the way that Chris watched his bride that he was a man that was completely in love. Chris and Gianina share the kind of love you can see. It's the way they hold each other, the way they smile at each other, the way they look at each other. It's all so endearing.

Gianina and Chris choose the Marquardt Ranch in Boerne to exchange their vows. It was the first time I photographed a wedding there but let me just say I loved this venue. When you have a venue this beautiful it makes a photographers job easy! There were great places to photograph everywhere. Gianina loved the bell towers! I was a little timid I'll admit to get up there but once I was there I was stoked! It couldn't have been more perfect! The other thing I loved about the venue was how beautiful it looked in the fall/winter. Some outdoor venues look best in Spring but at The Marquardt Ranch any time of the year makes for beautiful portraits. I love the richness of the ceremony images!

The way awesome Shelby Lane joined me to photograph this wedding! And to all my photographer blog stalkers that know both of us....let me just say that no she is not planning on coming out of wedding photographer retirement! However, I am working on her because she's so talented and lots of fun to shoot with! Course it was easy to convince her with a totally awesome beautiful couple and an amazing venue! She had a great time hanging out with the boys!

I had the hardest time picking out which images to put on the blog. There were so many that I loved! So of course to get the FULL WEDDING experience CLICK HERE!
If you're bandwidth challenged I've put a vimeo link at the end as well!

All the beautiful details!

Bridesmaid's make for great entertainment! Watch the video!!

Poor Mr. Bailey broke his ankle. I can't remember the whole story but it had something to do with Chris's bachelor party in New Orleans, and something about ninjas and spies. ;)

My classic silhouette shot that I love to take

I LOVE Chris's expression when he finally see's his bride!

Check out this amazing background! How awesome is this??

The kiss!

You HAVE to love families who will make faces at the Camera!

It wouldn't be a wedding if I didn't make people jump!

It was a packed wedding! They're very much loved!

I love this portrait of Chris's parents dancing. You can see their love too!

The send off!

Gianina & Chris Bailey from Laura Wootan on Vimeo.

A sneak peek for Gianina & Chris

2009-02-13T15:03:00.000-08:00

I can't wait to blog this wedding! I'm almost done with it! It was SO beautiful!! :) Just wanted to share this quick one because I LOVE it! Full showcase to come!!

New Blogs Coming

2009-02-13T14:58:00.000-08:00

I know I've been a BAD blogger. I have lots of session to blog and I will get to them soon! I had a hard drive die. It sucked. I had everything backed up so I didn't loose files but I did loose work that I had already done that wasn't backed up yet! About 15 hours worth of work. Yep. Did I mention it really sucked?? Sooo Just when I was finally catching up on orders etc this set me back. *sigh*

Tis okay... it's always faster the second time right??

So stay tuned more blogs to come soon!

A Teaser for Kyle

2009-02-13T14:55:00.000-08:00

Just a quick teaser for Kyle! I had a great time shooting his session! As you can tell we did some Motocross photos! It was a BLAST shooting these!

More to come!

Max our Puppy

2009-01-26T09:21:00.000-08:00

If you read my blog you know a few months ago we lost our dog Lulu. Guy had been asking for a new puppy. He even asked Santa for a new dog. So we decided it was a good time because our other dogs are in pretty good health and having remembered what puppies were like we knew we waited it would be harder on them. OMG puppies have SO much energy!

So one afternoon I started googling and found a breeder name Little's Kennels right here in San Marcos. We were instantly in love. And yes... having a new puppy really is like having a newborn except that we can leave him in his crate during the day and no one will call the police on us! Well that and newborns don't have crazy sharp shark teeth like a certain little puppy we love! (thank goodness for nursing mom's everywhere!)

So I'm in love with this little dog. I can't help it. :) Even though it's suppose to be Guy's dog. I'm pretty attached. I decided that I would photograph Max in all the poses that I normally shoot newborns in! Haha! Yeah my husband thought I was a wee bit of a dork but I didn't care so I needed to find some manly arms so I called a client/friend who has the beefcake thing going on and asked him to model! Daniel was a great sport! So here is Max's newborn session. Enjoy!

Realtor - Barrie Breed

2009-01-26T09:09:00.000-08:00

Meet beautiful Barrie Breed. She's a Realtor with Hart Properties here in San Marcos. She wanted a new head shot for her business cards. She really wanted a portrait that showed more of her personality! She was up for trying all kinds of things which I love when people are open to trying new looks! If you haven't had a new head shot in a while it's a perfect time to update your portrait!

More Of Addie Grace

2009-01-26T09:00:00.000-08:00

A few more of sweet baby Addie Grace. Isn't she adorable! New babies are so pretty with their soft skin and their little fingers and toes. We had a great session with lots of funny moments! At least Mom and Dad still have their sense of humor! Newborn's sessions often involve a wee bit of surprise pee and/or poop! Dad was a trooper. It's all about getting the perfect portrait! :) LOL Miss Grace even lost her umbilical cord while she was here! Congratulations Susan and David! I can't wait to photograph her next session. It's such an honor for me to get to document a babies first year!

Braxsten is TWO

2009-01-26T08:41:00.000-08:00

I have no idea when this happened! The time really does go SO fast. Click here to see his blog from last year! Braxsten was SO good at our session. He was lots of fun and my goodness he talks and sounds so cute! Braxsten loves Thomas The Train and he played with his trains for me and we photographed him in our natural light area too... but the portrait of him in his UPS outfit are my FAVORITE!! Course his Daddy had been my UPS driver for four years! So those photos are just so stinking cute!! Thanks for coming in guys!

Troy & Sarah Beautiful Grapevine Wedding

2009-01-22T14:05:00.000-08:00

It was a beautiful day for a wedding! Troy and Sarah tied the knot on Oct. 24th in Grapevine Texas at Paradise Cove. The venue was so pretty and overlooked a lake! Oh how I love being in the Dallas area. I so miss living up there! Anthony joined me as my second shooter at this wedding and did a great job! Neither he or I had ever "truly" experienced an Aggie wedding! Let me just say these families are some hard core Aggie fans! I've never seen so many Aggie rings! I love family traditions and these two families were definitely dedicated fans.... even down to the maroon bridesmaid dresses and the grooms ring shaped cake! Sarah and Troy were surround by friends and family and you could they're loved very much by the people in their lives. Congratulations guys! I'm so happy for you!

Of course he's the link to the nice BIG slide show. Or at the end of the blog is the smaller Vimeo version!

Love that Sarah wore her boots to the reception!

These were her borrowed pearl bracelet and earrings. They were lovely!

Love this shot of the boys jumping!

Portrait of the beautiful bride! I love the light in this one!

The handsome groom!

I love the ring bearer too! He totally stole the show as most kids do at weddings!

Sarah looks so excited!

See what I mean! He was talking to his Mommy the matron of honor!

We had the BEST sunset! I love these portraits!

The grooms cake was just like an Aggie Ring! Believe it or not there were MORE Aggie rings there that we couldn't fit in this shot!

Sarah & Troy Vidrine from Laura Wootan on Vimeo.

Valentine "Love You" Sessions!

2009-01-13T21:28:00.001-08:00

This Valentines give your man a gift he’ll treasure forever. We are proud to once again offer our “Love You” sessions. These are beautiful custom portraits of you taken in your home, our studio, or in a private location with a touch of sensuality added! How sensual is up to you!

Remember that retouching is ALWAYS included in our pricing. As a woman photographer don’t worry I absolutely “get it” I will always photograph you to look your best using beautiful light and poses that work best for your body! As an added bonus Hair & Makeup is included in these sessions by the fabulous Shawn Matesic of Cuttin’ Up Salon.

Need some encouragement? Get a group of your BFF’s together and we’ll have a portrait party! I will rent a fabulous hotel suite in either San Antonio or Austin (your choice). We’ll need at least three friends to participate but no more than six. Portrait fees are due in advance. Session must be booked by Jan. 31^st for a Valentine’s delivery. Call The Studio TODAY for more information. Sessions are very limited! 512-396-2001

The individual Love You session includes:
Hair & Make up
1-2 hour session
4 (5x7)s
Beautiful 12 image leather album (4x5)
Expert Retouching
$750

The BFF on location deluxe Love You sessions include:
Hair & Make up for each friend
4-6 hours of shooting time at swanky hotel
6 (5x7)s for each friend
An 8x10 group portrait for each friend
Beautiful 12 image leather album (5x7) For each friend
Expert Retouching
Champagne and refreshments
Viewing Party at studio
$850 each friend

Sneak Peek For Susan & David

2009-01-08T11:40:00.001-08:00

Here's a quick peek of new baby Addie Grace! She is SO pretty! Oh how I love new babies! I think she looks like Daddy! More of this sweet baby to come!

The beautiful April

2009-01-07T10:41:00.000-08:00

Another sneak peek! This one is for the beautiful April! I had such a fun time on this session! She's absolutely stunning! More to come!

Sneak Peek for The Williams

2009-01-07T10:38:00.000-08:00

I can NOT believe that Braxsten is TWO! Here's a quick sneak peek from our super fun session! He did SO good! More to come!

Happy New Year!!

2009-01-04T23:26:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! We are back from our trip and I'm getting back to work. It's been almost nice to be away from the computer!! Nice but also frustrating because to tell the truth - I am an internet addict. I went a whole FIVE DAYS without internet. Okay so I SORTA had cell phone internet but not really. We were in the boonies - There were no Verizon wireless network people hanging out by our cabin. Raccoons? Yes, they were there! Verizon not so much.

We had decided to go to Broken Bow Oklahoma for Christmas. Why there? Well all the cabins we googled in Colorado where already booked so we looked for somewhere close and they had photos of cabins with snow on them and that sold us. We really hoped we'd get a white Christmas. LOLOL Normally I would say that I hate snow and cold and I do but to give my son a white Christmas I was totally all for it! He's never seen snow.

Well, we had NO snow. Not a flake which was disappointing. The cabin was very quaint. I loved it. Except for the wasps. I don't know why but my God!! There were SO MANY WASPS. It was terrifying. Bryan thinks it's because they must have not screened the air vents or something but yeah um NOT cool. Then there was also a mouse which yeah also NOT cool. Turns out our cabin had been empty for a few months which apparently when there aren't people staying there animals and bugs move it. Um whatever. We were not happy. This place wasn't cheap and I don't expect bugs and rodents for what we were paying.

Then the other problem... LOL we didn't realize is that there was NOTHING to do in Broken Bow when it's off season. Much of the town was closed. There were very few gift shops. The worst part was we had NO internet and Cable with NO movie channels but... SANTA saved us. Santa (who came a day early because we were so miserable) brought Guy a Wii. Let me just say the Wii is pretty awesome! We have had so much fun playing with it!! The Wii really made things better!

So my desperately needed vacation didn't turnout exactly as I had hoped. We actually left a day early because we just couldn't deal with the wasps anymore. I also didn't do all the things I normally do on Christmas and I didn't realize how much I would miss the traditions. I LOVE to bake cookies. I didn't bake ANY. I love to decorate but didn't do that either. My family didn't get together because my Dad is still recovering (and doing GREAT!) so it was best not to see him... because aside from Oklahoma kinda sucking... we were all also SICK!! He didn't need to be around sick people so yeah that was just the cherry on the big ol' pie of crap. LOL

I'm actually not that upset about it anymore. I didn't have a horrible time. It just wasn't what we hoped it would be. I did very much enjoyed doing nothing and just hanging out with my boys. I read a lot. I finished all four Twilight books! So it wasn't a total bust but now I know that I would rather spend Christmas with family and stay home. I don't think we'll go away again during the holidays. I thought that by getting away it would help alleviate all the stress but yeah no it didn't. It was just a stressful end of year! I'm glad 2008 is done and I'm looking forward to a new year of possibilities!

So here are some photos from the trip and some more family news!

The beautiful cabin with the wasps and the rodents! Haha! They have GOT to do something about those wasps. It really was terrifying

I made Guy PROMISE that he'd call for us before coming down stairs because I always want to document the whole Christmas experience! He was so good and called at 7:30am!

Guy looking at the Wii controller. Santa had set it all up so we could start playing instantly!

This is Guy doing is "Hulk Smash" impression! LOL

Guy playing in the leaves (no coat, no snow.)

This one makes me laugh! I love my boys!

This shot was for Melissa! She has a thing for flannel! ;)

They had a national park that we drove through. The gift shop was closed. *sigh*

Now On To OTHER big news!!

So my BFF Shelby and I decided to take our kids to see BOLT in 3D. It was awesome and I loved it... and it made me REALLY want another puppy. Why? because I'm pretty much insane I think. Actually, I remembered how much of a pain puppies could be but because our other dogs are old now but still in good health so I thought it was a good time. Guy really wanted a dog that would be "his dog" too. Our other dogs remember him from the toddler years and so yeah they hate him and run when they see him coming.

So I started googling and I found a breeder Littles Kennels here in San Marcos. They had some super cute dachshund puppies (which are what our other two dogs are). We drove out to their home and instantly I was in love! So was Guy!

So now we have a new family member and his name is Max. Max is so much fun and we think he's smart too! Our other dogs are pretty much pissed at us because well... this puppy is part piranha. He's got sharp little puppy teeth! He's almost eight weeks old and he is super full of energy and then the crashes and burns. He sleeps good long stretches though so that's good! It's very much like having a newborn!! I'm pretty sleepy and so is Bryan! He keeps us up at night... did I mention he's really stinking cute though?? More photos of him to come!

So I hope everyone had a wonderful blessed holiday and that you too are looking forward to the new year! More blogs to come!

The Weisberg Family

2008-12-19T12:05:00.000-08:00

I'm so happy to finally share my family session in Florida for the Weisberg Family! This year they have a new addition to the family! A stunning new baby girl! I'm totally in love with her too!! She's has amazing eyes and the cute little curls. She's yummy and has the sweetest temperment. She's very laid back. She put my baby fever in FULL overdrive. All the Weisberg children are simply gorgeous and well behaved. It would make anyone want to have babies! I had a wonderful time with the family. I did some lifestyle photography which means I hang out with them and photograph them in their own environment. It was neat to see some of the homeschooling things they do too. They had a exotic pet show come to their home and we saw all kinds of neat animals. Here are just a few of my favorites! I'm including the link to the BIG slide show and I'll include a small on at the end too for those of you on slow internet! :)

There are really so many fun images!! I'm going to lead with one of my favorite new images.... which is "pumpkin with her BFF"

Click Here for THE NICE BIG SLIDE SHOW

The Weisberg Family from Laura Wootan on Vimeo.

The Robinson & Garner Family

2008-12-19T11:48:00.000-08:00

Meet the beautiful Robinson & Garner family! They did an awesome job on their outfits I love the colors they choose! I love when people know how to mix up colors but have them all still compliment each other! :D It's not easy to do! I had a wonderful time with this family. They were a lot of fun and up for anything! I think the "kissing cousins" portrait is my favorite from the session! I have to say I was working on this session while at the Hospital waiting for my Dad to get out of surgery and It made me happy for them that they all have a family portrait together and also made me realize that I don't have this of my own family. The SHAME! I have no excuse. It's not like I dont know enough photographers to make it happen! I think though sometimes life gets too busy and getting everyone together sometimes isn't easy but it's SO worth it. I've decided that I'm going to arrange to have a family portrait done of my siblings and parents too! Family History is so important! You never know what could happen so there is no time better than the present. Thanks again for coming in guys! Have a very Merry Christmas!

The Vazquez Family

2008-12-19T11:39:00.000-08:00

It's baby Angelina's FIRST Christmas! How exciting! I have baby fever bigtime! I've been photographing big sister Catarina for a few years now. She's so pretty and such a little lady. I love the one of them together!! It's so neat to see how simular their smiles are... They look a lot a like. :) We had a really fun session! I'm glad we did a family portrait too. I think it's great to do one every year!! We started inside the studio and then headed outside! We were lucky to have some beautiful golden afternoon light that day! :D Merry Christmas guys!! Thanks for coming in!!

Updates and Studio News

2008-12-18T13:20:00.000-08:00

I'm so happy to report my Dad is doing great! He's out of ICU walking, talking and in good spirits. They are suppose to let him go home today!! Thanks again for all the emails and prayers!

Of course as luck would have it now I'm sick. I think I picked up something from the hospital! Yesterday I had a 103.4 fever! I still came to work though!! Because I still have holiday orders I'm trying to get out! I hope you guys love me. ;) LOL Course now Husband and son also have it and we're suppose to go on vacation so yeah... never a dull moment here!

Just wanted to let everyone know that the studio is CLOSED DEC 20th - JAN 3rd. We're going to Broken Bow Oklahoma! We've rented a cabin in the woods and we're leaving Santa a note!

I hope everyone has a very Merry Chrsitmas and a Happy New Year!

I've got a few more blogs I need to blog and I will do those very soon!

Handsome Baby Zaiden

2008-12-18T11:06:00.000-08:00

Wow! Zaiden is growing up SO fast! I remember the first time I photographed baby Zaiden! He still has all his amazing hair! Each time we photograph him his Mom brings in his Lion so we can document his chance in comparison to the lion! It's so cool to see the difference! He's so cute! I loved his little halloween costume too! I bet he'll be walking by the time we do his 12 month session! They don't stay little long! Thanks for coming in Guys!

Zaiden New Born
Zaiden 4 months

Zaiden 8 months

Sweet Baby Adelaida

2008-12-18T10:56:00.000-08:00

Meet the newest member of our Baby Club! Sweet Adelaida! She has such cute expressions! Adelaida came in for her four month portraits and we photographed her in her very special baptismal gown. Of course we did some naked baby too! I love the one of her on her belly! She was not amused! I'm looking forward to documenting her changes! See you guys in a few months!

I'm home and another update

2008-12-15T07:09:00.000-08:00

My dad is awake and doing well! They took the breathing tube out yesterday. Boy it was a weird day yesterday. My dad had what they call ICU psychosis. Which is TOTALLY BIZARRE! He was very paranoid and aggitated. Everytime we'd speak he'd tell us... you all ready said that (when we hadn't) As the day went on it got better though. My mom said by the end of the night he was much better and more like himself. My sister stayed with my Mom so she's not alone and my brother and I left late yesterday. I'm so relieved that the worst part is over and he's sitting up. I know recovery can be a long road but at least he's on the path now. I hope he'll start to feel much better over the next few months. He had always been so tired and now I think we know why! So thanks again for all the prayers! We really appreciate it!

I have a few clients that haven't picked up their orders yet... Bryan (my husband) was here while I was gone (he works out of my office but not for me haha) He was available for people to pick their orders up! I'm sorry that I didn't make that clear because only a few people showed and I'm just getting through my 11 voicemails!

A quick update though:

Michelle, Angela, Susan, Julie, Annette, Michelle M, Kathy, Teresa (your orders are ready)

Stacy, Melissa and Beatrice (still waiting for a shipping notice)

Thanks again everyone! I truly appreciate it!
Laura

Another update

2008-12-13T21:28:00.000-08:00

Just another update on my father. He has still not woken up. He's still on the ventilator as well. When they try to bring him out he is combative and starts breathing too fast and hyperventilating. They've told us that everyone wakes up when they're ready. I hope they let my mom be in there the next time they try. I do believe that she will be able to help calm down. The thing most concerning to me is that they said there is some fluid in his lungs. They've given him a diuretic to help. They've also said this happens too. I think we will all just feel better when he is awake. He is moving around quite a bit which is also a good sign. Thank you for the prayers and emails. We truly appreciate them.

Laura

Thank you for the prayers and an update on my Father!

2008-12-12T22:56:00.001-08:00

Thanks so much for the prayers and well wishes! We really appreciate it. It's been a very long day. It started at 4:00am. We made it to the hospital at 5:00am and finally to his room by 5:15. Dad was in good spirits and he was glad that we were all there. They took him into surgery at 6:30am. Then the waiting began. Waiting is hard, very hard. About 12:00ish we finally heard that he was out of surgery and had done well. He was in recovery. Eventually the surgeon came out and told us that he did a triple bypass. (initially we thought it was just going to be a single but the artery "branches" were also blocked). We eventually got to see him in the ICU and honestly it was terrifying to see him all hooked up to the machines. He didn't look like himself at all. The machine was breathing for him. He had a central line and wires and drains everywhere. They tried a few times to wake him up but he wasn't ready they said because he was trying to pull his ventilator tubes out. We did get to see him open eyes and he seemed to be in terrible pain. It was an awful thing to see. We spent most of the day at the hospital and then they kicked us out of the ICU telling us they may try tonight to take out the vent...but when I called a few minutes ago they said that he did wake up on his own and was less out of it...but failed one of the test. They said he's stable and doing well just not ready yet to have the tube out. The good news is they said he responded and understood what they were saying she said they put him back to sleep...so for now he's resting.

I am finding it hard to sleep even though I'm exhausted.... I managed to get some more blogging done. Course I have several more to go but I did make some progress.

I just wanted to thank everyone again for the prayers... please keep praying. He's going to have a long recovery and I think tomorrow will be a pretty rough day... We're so lucky that they caught this blockage when they did. It was 90% blocked and a heart attack waiting to happen.

Much Thanks,
Laura

Charity Sessions For Roxanne's House

2008-12-12T20:43:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to share some of our holiday sessions! I LOVED this set so much. I really wish I had had a chance to promote it better because it was SO cute. Nonetheless though we did have several clients help us support Roxanne's House! Thanks so much for helping this worthy organization! I love these first images that we took at twilight! I love how the different times of day totally can change the feel of the portrait. Thanks again for your participation! The gift cards will helps many children to have a great Christmas!

Michelle & Daniel

2008-12-12T19:27:00.000-08:00

Meet Michelle and Daniel. You might recognize beautiful Michelle from a super fun session we did with her and her boy last January. Daniel is a professional body builder! He is also a manager over at World's Gym in San Marcos. If you're like me i.e. "a little too much junk in the trunk" you might consider joining me in my new years resolution! Haha! Daniel was kind enough to give me a tour of the gym and it's really very nice! It's not nearly as intimidating as I imagined it would be. I am going to join in January and make an attempt to finally loose some of the baby weight. (don't remind me that my baby is now six years old.) So if this is the year that you finally want to get in shape JOIN ME!! Tell Daniel I sent you!!

So anyway this Smokin Hawt couple wanted some couple portraits done. We had a great session and created some really beautiful intimate portraits! Here are just a few of my favorites!

The Urrutia Family

2008-12-12T19:17:00.000-08:00

Meet the Urrutia Family. It's been a few years since I had seen the boys and WOW Josh is as tall as his mom Julie now! It's always so amazing to me how quickly kids grow! It's definitely been the year for BLUE! seems we've had lots of families come in blue this year! It works for me! I love blue. We did some super cute cards again I am not sharing anyone's card designs because I hate to ruin the surprise of people getting it in the mail! Thanks so much for coming in guys! It was great to see you all again!

2008-12-12T18:49:00.000-08:00

Meet the beautiful Laue family. I've photographed this beautiful many times now! The boys are getting so big! We had a fun session and did some studio and outdoor portraits. Grandma also joined us for the session this year! I'm also excited that Dr. Laue's practice San Marcos Family Medicine is moving across the street from the studio! They have a beautiful new building we've watched being built. It's going to be wonderful! Thank you guys! :D

Prayers For My Father

2008-12-11T22:41:00.000-08:00

I am at my parents house tonight. Last night my Mom called to say that my Dad had not been feeling well and he failed his stress test. They did a catherization and found a serious blockage (90%) and admitted him to the hospital. They're doing a bypass tomorrow of his LAD artery. So I wanted to be here. My sister and brother have come down too. My parents live in the Valley so it's a few hours drive. I got to see Dad this afternoon for a while. He seems in good spirits. So to keep myself occupied and to stay busy I'm blogging. I'm still working on orders and have a ton of blogs to do... so here is the first round. If the hospital has wireless internet I'll try to get a few more up. I should be returning on Sunday. I'm hoping he has a smooth surgery with no complications.

My father's name is Joseph if you have any prayers to spare my family would certainly appreciate them. We'll be there at 5:00 am tomorrow. His surgery is at 6:30am.

Thank you,
Laura

Christmas Angels

2008-12-11T22:23:00.000-08:00

I can't believe how much Cecilia and Gabriella have grown! I also can't believe how quickly time has passed this year. Elaine called and asked what I thought of shooting the girls as Christmas Angels and I LOVED the idea. The girls did SO good! We had such a great session. Thanks so much for coming in guys! I hope you'll enjoy these portraits as much as I enjoyed making them! :)

Another teaser for Lauren

2008-12-11T22:15:00.000-08:00

Just another quick one for New Braunfels senior Lauren of her and her doggie! Much more of this beauty to come.

And Baby Makes Three

2008-12-11T21:53:00.000-08:00

Meet Susan and Dave. They're expecting their first baby girl in just a few weeks! It's such a special time for new parents! Susan was absoultely beautiful and definately glowing! I'm so excited for them! It makes me have baby fever! Susan has one of the most beautiful round bellies too! I can't wait to meet their new little one! Thanks guys for coming in!

The Zipp Family

2008-12-11T21:23:00.000-08:00

Oh how I love to do family on location sessions. This session is was taken at the Zipp family ranch out in New Braunfels! It was a beautiful with an old rustic barn that was built in the 1800s. We had some beautiful light and some way cool COWS! I'm on my lap top but I will come back and post the photos of the cow checking out my camera bag! They were very curious as to what we were doing. The twins didn't think the twins the cows were as cool as I did! We also made a super cute Longhorned theme card! More of the twins to come! Aren't they a beautiful family!

The Rackley Family

2008-12-11T21:14:00.001-08:00

Meet the beautiful Rackley Family! This lovely family came for a family portrait we made some beautiful portraits! It had been a while since I had seen baby Aiden! He's such a BIG BOY! He's so cute and I love when he says Mom-MA! Check out his amazing eyelashes! He's going to make a great big brother!! Soon there will be one more addition to the Rackley clan! Thanks so much for coming in guys! I had a wondeful time with you guys!

Our Holiday Charity Set

2008-12-03T13:56:00.000-08:00

I've had a few emails from clients wanting to know what our Charity Holiday set looks like! My BFF Shelby brought by her little girl so I could grab a quick shot! I LOVE this set it's so pretty! There is nothing like home for the holidays!! :D So pretty much any festive outfits work!

We do still have a FEW sessions open! If you'd like to join us please call the studio or email ASAP!

We have been VERY busy this season and I know I have people waiting for blogs! I promise to blog soon! I just must finish print orders before I can blog! Thank you for your patience!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-30T17:47:00.000-08:00

I'm delayed in blogging this! Just wanted to say Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I took a few days off and stayed off the computer! So I will be returning emails and phone calls on Monday. I have lots of blogs coming too!

I hope everyone had a very happy holiday. I am so blessed in many ways. I am reminded of the things that are REALLY important in life. I am so thankful for my family and close friends. Especially my wonderful husband and my amazing son. They are my everything.

We still have a few spots available for our Holiday Charity Session! It's not too late and we're guaranteeing a Christmas delivery! Collections begin at $75 which is an AWESOME deal! Help us support Roxanne's House and get some beautiful portraits of your little ones!

Zach, Erin & Megan

2008-11-19T07:30:00.000-08:00

I've photographed these cousin's for a few years now! They're SO grown up now!! It's amazing how quickly time flies! Zach is now graduating high school!! When did that happen? The girls are as beautiful as ever. Again, this was one of those sessions that was so fun! We have some really beautiful portraits. I'm looking forward to photographing Zach senior portraits too! This family is always so wonderful to work with!! :)

Sneak Peek for Erica

2008-11-19T07:15:00.000-08:00

Just a quick one of Erica! Erica is a senior at San Marcos High! We had a great session with some really fun portraits! I love her style! Her shoes totally make this shot!! :D More to come!!

Gianina & Chris - Engagement Session

2008-11-18T20:27:00.000-08:00

Meet beautiful Gianina and Chris. I'm so excited to be shooting their wedding in December! We had a great engagement session in Dallas. Oh how I love to photograph there. We had a wonderful day. Gianina and Chris have such great chemistry together! I loved they way they looked at each other! They're truly a beautiful couple and I can't wait for the wedding!! I'm a little sad that we didn't get to do her bridal portraits before the wedding. Some dress drama has made us run short on time. I do hope we'll do them afterwards. At least this way I won't be as tortured! There is nothing worse than shooting beautiful bridals then having to hold on to them and not share them for months!! I generally don't blog them until after the wedding just incase a groom happens to follow my blog! Wouldn't want to ruin the surprise!! I know that Gianina will be absolutely stunning!!

Course to really appreciate the session watch the slideshow!! Click HERE for the NICE BIG SLIDESHOW! For those of you on Mac's and those that are Bandwidth challenged I'll include the small show at the end!

Gianina & Chris from Laura Wootan on Vimeo.

Sneak Peek for Elaine & Jorge

2008-11-17T19:24:00.000-08:00

Just a quick peek at your Christmas angels! They did so good! We have a lot of cute images from our session! See you guys soon! :D

More of Dono

2008-11-17T19:19:00.000-08:00

I just had to blog of few more of Donovan! He's so yummy! He's really very very funny too. I love how he never says the goofy things I ask him to say and he always replies with something even funnier! He keeps me on my toes!! He's so independant too! He loves to do things for himself!! He's going to make a great big brother!!

The Robertson Family

2008-11-17T18:46:00.000-08:00

Meet the beautiful Robertson family. I 've had the pleasure of photographing this family many times. I cannot believe how BIG baby Reid is. He's almost not a baby!! He's grown up fast! He LOVED my airplane! He's all boy!! He was SO excited and he played and even made airplane sounds! It was so cute!! Aren't they a beautiful family?? I always have a great time with them!! Thanks so much guys for coming in!

The Errett Family

2008-11-17T17:31:00.000-08:00

Meet the beautiful Errett Family. I photographed them countless times now and I always enjoy making their holiday cards because they love the outtakes! LOL The funnier the better! I was tempted to post them here but I don't want to steal any of the fun of their family and friends who get them! LOL This time we did an on location session with their new puppy PD who is as cute as can be. You might recognize Katie... she's my little cover girl winner from from the Professional Photographers of America contest! See you guys soon!

Sneak Peek for Susan & David

2008-11-17T17:20:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to share this quick sneak peek from Susan & David's maternity session! I had a great afternoon with these parents to be! I always love maternity sessions because there is always so much excitement. Pregnant women really do glow! Isn't she beautiful! :) See you guys soon!

The Pawelek Family

2008-11-17T16:38:00.000-08:00

I think this image just might be my new favorite family portrait! Is it bad that I LOVE the crying ones?? Sometimes a photo really does say a 1000 words!! The boys had had enough!! LOL I've photographed Daven and Daniel many times now! Each year we always make some adorable memorable photos! :) This year was no exception! I love the outdoor portraits of the boys too... nothing like some pretty fall sun! Thanks for coming in guys!! :D

Smokin Hawt Teaser

2008-11-17T16:09:00.000-08:00

Just two quick ones of Michelle and Daniel! Aww young love! We had a super fun session. Here are a few quick teasers! More to come of these smokin hawt two!!

The Scottish Cowboy

2008-11-17T15:48:00.000-08:00

Meet Rod and his mother Martha. They took a trip last year to Scottland and wanted some portraits taken in their beautiful kilts and tartans. Of course Rod had to put a bit of a Texas spin on his outfit! They sure did look regal in their garb! I had a lovely afternoon with them and I'm looking forward to seeing their vacation photos! I am so jealous! I would love to visit the highlands! I've always loved Celtic art and music too!

Back From Florida

2008-11-14T12:37:00.000-08:00

I'm back! Florida was beautiful! Had a great time photographing this family! Okay so I'm totally cheating and posting this teaser because I can't resist. Isn't she delicious?? She's got the most incredible eyelashes I've ever seen!

I'm behind on blogs again! I know I know! I'm sorry! I figure orders on time were more important! I'll get those blogs up soon!

We have a few appointments still open for the holiday charity set! Please call the studio to book! 512-396-2001. I'll send out a newsletter soon!

Out of town

2008-11-08T17:54:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to let everyone know I'm out of town for a few days! I'm in Florida working and will be returning on Tuesday. My internet is sketchy here so I may not be able to reply to emails but I will when I return! I have a few that I haven't responded to yet! I promise I will soon! Hope everyone has a blessed weekend!

Holiday Charity Sessions To Benefit Roxanne's House

2008-11-06T06:04:00.000-08:00

I've got several emails asking me about this years Holiday Charity Event! Yes! We're doing it again... I have just been so busy I haven't had a chance to promote it! So I moved our date's back a little to make sure everyone has a chance to plan for it! Please mark your calenders for Dec. 4th-6th. (We will have your orders back before Christmas!) Call today to reserve your session! 512-396-2001

How it works - Call me to reserve your session! Then bring a gift card of $25 or more from HEB, Target, or Walmart as your session fee! For being so generous you get special collection pricing for the event! Collections begin at $75! The gift cards will be given to Roxanne's House.

This year's theme is "A Christmas Carol" I love Christmas songs and I have always loved homes with decorated front doors! That is my inspiration for this year's set! Imagine your little ones in their hats and mittens knocking on a beautiful door to carol! I'll be decorating the front door of our new studio with all kinds of beautiful Christmas decor. I'm SO excited about this year's theme! It's going to be awesome!

This set is designed for children sitting up to 12 years of age. For more than two children in the portrait please bring a second gift card. Please call to book your session today! Space is limited!

Sam & Jody's Beautiful Fall Wedding

2008-11-03T19:35:00.000-08:00

I had the pleasure of photography Jody & Sam's wedding at the amazing Red Corral Ranch in Wimberley. It's such a BEAUTIFUL venue. It's one of my new favorites. I had a wonderful time at this wedding. Jody and Sam are so loved by their friends and family. There was so much laughter! This wedding also had EIGHT flower girls! YES EIGHT! I totally got my fill of all things girly! They were so cute and did so good! They had their own little spa day too!

Jody and Sam are so good together too. One of the first things I noticed when I was riding in his truck to one of the cabins was that he had his music CD's on the roof of his car and right next to them he saved a paper cutout butterfly that Katie (Jody's daughter) colored for him. That was so endearing! Jody and Sam agreed to see each other before the ceremony too which always makes for an amazing opportunity to capture emotions. They were SO excited to see each other! I loved the way he looked at her!! (Watch the slide show!!) There are moments when I'm photographing a wedding that I get emotional! This was one of them because you could see how much they loved each other!! Thank goodness for auto focus!!

Let me also say that Jody's mom Lydia should absolutely without a doubt be a wedding planner! She has an amazing eye for details... and is one of those people that have a "vision" and just naturally creativity! Katie Hood & Kari Shelton did an amazing job executing the event and putting it all together! The flowers were also amazing!! Jody and Sam were forbidden to enter the barn before hand so they had no idea what to expect. It was simply beautiful!

So of course to "really" experience the wedding watch the BIG SLIDE SHOW! Or if you're on a Mac or bandwidth challenged I'm including a small one too! Congratulations Guys! I'm so happy for you!

Jody's Dress was beautiful!

Jody & her BFF Kelly

All brides should be lucky enough to have a fancy wedding hat like this! It was made by Jody's mom Lydia for another friends wedding! They keep passing it around!

I heard more than once that day, "The higher the Hair the Closer to God!" LOL

I loved Jody's make up! I wish I remembered her Artist name!! He came in from Corpus!

Jody's bouquet was just beautiful!

Some of the flower girls! Their hair was done by Shawn the stylist we work with! I need a girl! They're all too cute!

The first look! Jody looked beautiful!

I love this shot! Sam was so excited!

The little ladies!

I love this portrait of Sam and Katie. It was towards the end of the night and the little girls and all danced their hearts out. I bet they all slept in the next day!

Jody & Sam Celum from Laura Wootan on Vimeo.

The Cain Family

2008-11-03T19:10:00.000-08:00

Meet the beautiful Cain family! They came in for a very special session that included their dogs. Pets are such an important part of our lives. Both of their dogs are up there in age and so it was extra important to include them... I'm so glad we were able to! I love the light on our outdoor portraits! We just happened to have some beautiful sun that day! Valerie got her hair done by our awesome stylist and make up artist Shawn! It all came together for some beautiful portraits!

Isn't this HYSTERICAL. I laught every time I look at this photo!

River City Dance Theatre Ballerinas

2008-11-03T18:42:00.000-08:00

I LOVE dance... dancing shows like Dancing With The Star's (Susan Lucci needs to go home BTW), and So You Think You Can Dance make me happy! So when Catherine from The Pointe Studio in San Marcos called and asked if I'd be interested in photographing the dance company I jumped at the chance! I've been to many many of the dance recital's to photograph friends & clients children!

The River City Dance Theatre is a division of the company and they always do a holiday performance. I've seen it twice now and it's always wonderful!

These little ballerina's truly amaze me! So much talent!

We had a lot of fun during our session. I wanted to showcase everyone so I decided to make a little slideshow! Here's the link to THE NICE BIG SHOW! Or of course you can see the smaller one below!

I'm looking forward to this years show!

River City Dance Theatre from Laura Wootan on Vimeo.

Sweet Baby Molly

2008-11-03T18:31:00.000-08:00

Meet adorable Molly! Let me just say I thought about her in her Texas Tech onsie while UT was getting their butt's kicked! LOL I'm sure Molly's Daddy was pretty excited on Saturday night! That's one thing about Texas... We love our college football no matter which team you're cheering for!! We have some serious fans!

Molly had one of those amazing toothless baby smiles. She was such an easy going baby! I wanted to keep her! LOL Of course if I can put a baby in a tutu I'm totally going to do it! Love the zebra chair ones too! We also photographed her in her baptismal outfit was was made out of her mother's wedding dress! I LOVE that idea!

Sneak Peek of Donovan!

2008-11-01T10:10:00.000-07:00

Dono is SOOOO stinking cute! Here are two quick teasers! Thanks for coming in I had so much fun! Much more of this cutie to come!

Rackley Family Teaser

2008-11-01T08:55:00.000-07:00

One more quick teaser!! The Rackley family came in on Friday! We had a great time. Little Aiden is SO cute!! See you guys soon! :D

Troy & Sarah Teaser

2008-11-01T08:51:00.000-07:00

I was in Dallas on the 24th shooting the wedding of Troy and Sarah! It was a beautiful affair! Just wanted to share this WAY cool shot! I'm still processing the wedding but had to share this one!

My Shameless Brag - I'm a finalist!

2008-10-31T12:39:00.000-07:00

I'm a member Professional Photographers of America. PPA is one of the biggest professional orgaizations for photographers. They recently had a contest for the cover of their monthly magazine. I entered a photo that I call "Coffee with Katie." Turns out they had 50,000 entries!! I came in 5th place! Sooo I just wanted to share my exciting news! I'm stoked! I can't wait to get the magazine in my hands!

CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE

A sneek peek for Allyson

2008-10-31T11:55:00.000-07:00

Okay...so I have like 10 blogs I need to blog! I know I know you guys are waiting! I'm sorry!! I've been SO busy I'm behind but I will catch up and blog a whole bunch over the weekend!

I went out to the Zipp family ranch in New Braunfels yesterday and had a great time with this family. I was downloading my cards from the session and I HAD to take a quick moment to blog this teaser! Soooo in good Longhorn spirit here's a peek at the Zipp cuties! Hook 'em!

Another Very Special Session

2008-10-22T14:34:00.000-07:00

Once again I had the privilege of photographing another family to be part of the CTMC Hospice gallery. This was a very special session. It's not every day you get to photograph a new baby with his great grandfather!

Mr. Oliver Bertram is 93 years old. He has worked in the pharmaceutical industry all of his life. He was a researcher in the Beaumont area. I had the honor of photographing him with family one beautiful September afternoon here in San Marcos.

When I arrived the family was all together. They just had eaten lunch and the house smelled yummy like freshly baked cornbread. Mr. & Mrs. Bertram have been married for 69 years! They have one daughter Donna Murphree. Donna has two children Sarah and Ryan. Sarah's son Gage Oliver is named after his great grandfather. He was super cute and just two months old.

I looked around the beautiful home and found the kitchen had some really prettty window light and knew that would be a great place to photograph them. Thanks to Ryan who helped me move furniture! He also held my reflector for me!!

We did some family portraits of everyone all together and then we photographed Mr. Bertram with baby Gage Oliver. We wrapped the baby in a beautiful blue afghan that someone makes CTMC Hospice to give to their patients. I LOVE the portrait of them together in black and white. Baby Gage Oliver was so sweet! He smiled in his sleep all the time. It was adorable.

I had a wonderful afternoon with this family! I hope they'll enjoy these portraits as much as I enjoyed making these memories for them!

I didn't have the chance to put up a "big" slideshow because It's been crazy with holiday work and weddings at the moment but I did want to put up the youtube version at least!

These portraits will be part of the CTMC Hospice Gallery that will travel around the community to raise awareness of what Hospice care is an how it can benefit your family.

Oliver and Zelma Bertram

I still can't believe they've been married for 69 years!
There is proof that Love can last a lifetime!

A portrait of Mr. Bertram

A sweet moment between daughter and father.

Little Gage Oliver really wanted to nap! Poor baby we kept waking him up!

This is my FAVORITE portrait from the session! It's just SO sweet!

I love the juxtaposition of the little feet and the hands

Gage Oliver SMILED like crazy in his sleep! Too Cute!

Generation portraits!

My Bride is Prettier than Yours!

2008-10-20T14:32:00.000-07:00

I drove to Dallas yesterday to photograph Gianina and Chris's engagement session! Oh how I love Dallas! Everytime I'm there I want to move back! So apparently Sunday is the day that all photographers venture out to photograph in the Dallas area! Photographers were everywhere!! I'm going to post a shameless brag though... I do have to say that my bride was prettiest!

Here is just a quick sneak peek from our session!! Aren't they adorable? I had such a fun afternoon!! Thanks guys!! We have a lot of beautiful images! Much more to come! Just wanted to share this quick peek!

Also special thanks to my good friend and rockin cool photographer Melissa Miller who was kind enough to come an assist at my session! XOXOX love you!

My Handsome Little Man

2008-10-20T14:08:00.000-07:00

Better late than never! I've been so busy I'm behind on blogging! I'm trying to catch up! I've got more coming very soon!

I couldn't not post photos of my most favorite boy! Guy turned 6th last month! He still gave me way more "stink face" photos than smiles of course LOL! But I did manage to get some smiles. He's so handsome! Even if I say so myself!

Sweet Baby Lexi

2008-10-20T13:39:00.000-07:00

You know... you can never have too many photos of babies in tutu's! LOL Meet sweet Lexi! She is the neice of Shawn! Shawn is the amazing stylist and makeup artist we've been working with! Baby Lexi popped in for a few quick portraits! Isn't she adorable! I SO need a girl!!

Sneak Peek For The Erretts

2008-10-20T12:32:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to share a sneak peek of the Errett family! They're always a blast to photograph! I can't believe how big Katie and Will are now! When did our babies grow up!! Much more to come! You guys are going to love the silly ones!!

Thank You Everyone!

2008-10-10T21:00:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to thank everyone from coming today to our open house! It was a great success and so good to see everyone! We had such an amazing turn out! Thank you guys SO much! :D Thanks to Jaime too of Blue Goat Gourmet for all the amazing food!!

Of course I'm sure you're all anxious to see who the winner was of our door prize!! LOL Shelby said you were all very nice to her since she was doing the drawing!! ;) So we mixed all the entries up and Shelby closed her eyes and picked. She drew TWO pieces of paper that were stuck together!! So we thought ok maybe we should mix them up again but then I decided...you know... Because I love my clients and who knows maybe it's because I was still feeling good from the wine! ;) LOL I decided to give BOTH people gift certificates for $500!!

The Winners are:
Jessica Meischen and Karen Craxton!!

Thanks again everyone for coming!! Congratulations winners! I will mail your certificates to you! Or email me if you'd like to come pick them up!

OH! And I know with all the people there I am pretty sure I missed handing out some of our reward cards for those of you that brought friends! It's good for a complimentary 8x10 for you and your guest from your next full session!! So if you didn't get one please let me know and we'll get those to you!

You're Invited To Our Open House!

2008-10-08T21:44:00.000-07:00

If you're one of my Blog Stalkers you probably know by now the studio has moved! :D I'm loving my new place! So I'm inviting everyone to our Open House on Friday Oct. 10th. from 4:00pm until 8:00pm. I'm giving away a gift certificate for $500!! Which if that's not reason enough to come there will ALSO be wine, drinks, and awesome yummy desserts to eat! Jaime from Blue Goat Gourmet is catering our event! (Blue Goat is my favorite cafe in town!)

Bring a friend who's never been to us and you'll both get a referral bonus! So grab a friend, stop by Friday and come check our our new place! We'd love to see you!

We're Now Located at:

2401 Hunter Road
San Marcos, Tx.

Blog Tag

2008-10-08T19:08:00.000-07:00

So I got tagged. Thank you, author Sean Rackley, for the tag. Now it's my turn to share the fun.

Okay, these are the rules;
1. Link to the person who tagged you Sean Rackley
2. Post the rules on your blog
3. Write six random thoughts about yourself
4. Tag six or so people at the end of your post
5. Let each person know he or she has been tagged
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is posted

Random Thoughts About Me:

1. I love to bake cookies
2. I'm neurotic about pretty much everything
3. I believe in happy endings
4. I think a baby smile and chuckle is like Crack!
5. I sing all the time. (and I don't care that I pretty much suck)
6. I know how blessed my life is

Now, for those I'm tagging; be careful out there because YOU'RE IT!!

The Shelby Lane (friend and fellow photographer)
Melissa Miller (friend and fellow photographer)
Teri Mason (friend and fellow photographer)
Shannon Errett (friend and ASP/PHP goddess)
Karen Craxton (friend and new mommy to be)
Karin Taylor (friend and homeschooling mommy of 4)

Enjoy the tag game and let's share the fun!

Beautiful Katherine

2008-10-07T13:16:00.000-07:00

Meet the amazing beautiful Katherine. She's a 2008 senior from New Braunfels! She's now a college girl!! I'm working on her Senior album and I realized I hadn't shared ANY images from this amazing session! I have SO many favorites!! So I thought I'd blog a few real quick! I'll also share her album when I'm done! It's looking SO cool!

Teaser for Jody and Sam

2008-10-03T17:00:00.000-07:00

I had the honor of photographing Jody and Sam's beautiful wedding the end of September. I am working on developing the images and I just had to stop and share this quick one! I love all the rich colors! I can't wait to share the rest from when you first saw each other!! So much love!! :D Much much more to come!!

A Sneak Peek for Lauren

2008-10-03T16:15:00.000-07:00

Meet beautiful Lauren! I just wanted to share this quick sneak peek! Lauren is a Senior from New Braunfels! I can't wait to do her outdoor session! :D Lauren had one of the most beautiful prom dresses I've ever seen! I'm so happy they did hair and makeup with our MakeUp Artist and Stylist Shawn! She looked STUNNING! I also love the one of her with her little sister. Addison is in Kindergarden and her big sister is Graduating!! I thought that was so sweet! Much more of this beauty to come!!

Beautiful Alana - Happy Birthday!

2008-10-03T15:54:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it! Alana is turning 10! Once again I'm amazed at how quickly time has flown!! I have photographed Alana countless times now. I've enjoyed documenting all her changes and my goodness!! Where did my little girl go? (Okay so she's not really mine but I'm going to say that because I don't have a girl so I satisfy my girl fixes with the daughters of all my friends and clients. ;))

The first time I photographed Alana was with her sister and cousins for their dance recital. I remember the background was green and they had some yellow chicken feathers or maybe they were ducks. I'm not sure. She was about five years old. They were all SO cute. Now she's all grown up and a young lady! She's still beautiful of course and she's still very funny. I've always loved to photograph her because she LOVES to pose for the camera. Here are a few from our latest session. Isn't she beautiful! Happy Birthday Alana!

This is a pull back! Mom and Layla where having too much fun on the porch! LOL

Holiday Deadlines & Awesome Holiday Cards!

2008-10-02T13:16:00.000-07:00

Wow! When did October get here?? We are filling up SO quickly right now for fall. I have no weekend appointment open right now for October! Ekk! I wish there were more Saturdays but those are my prime sessions and they just go quickly! I do have a few week day appointments still open towards the end of the month.

I just want to remind everyone of our holiday deadlines. For a guaranteed Christmas Delivery Sessions must be completed by Nov. 11th. Christmas Card orders need to be in by Nov. 15th. We of course still shoot sessions well into November. The delivery time is just not guaranteed!

October is also Family portrait Special month! Get $25 OFF your session fee by mentioning this BLOG when you call! I also wanted to share this year's Christmas card designs! I LOVE them! We have samples at the studio for anyone who'd like to see them in person! To book your holiday sessions call the studio at 512-396-2001!

Brandon Is TWO

2008-10-02T12:59:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it! Brandon is now two!! I remember him so well as a new born. He always had a cute little smirk about his smile. I've had the pleasure of photographing him and his family several times. He saves the biggest smiles for his Daddio!! I love the collage we did of the many faces of Brandon! He went through all of those expressions in about 5 minutes! He's so animated!! LOL I'm also including a flash back to some baby baby portraits of Brandon that I happen to come across while looking for something else! He's SO big now!! *sniff sniff* You blink and the next think you know the baby is gone and he's all boy!

Thanks for coming in guys! I know it was a drive! Happy Birthday Brandon!

The Putegnat Family

2008-10-02T12:10:00.000-07:00

Meet the awesome Putegnat family! Danny, Suzanne, Daniel, Melvin & Stella! Let me just say I LOVE this family portrait with the dogs in it. BUT before any of you get all excited about dogs in your family portraits let me just say that these are magical stunt dogs! Haha No not really but they could be. People often want to include pets in their family portraits. Which I love animals and I defiantly think they're part of our family! However sometimes... for instance when you combine a baby and two dogs the session has the potential to not go so well! Then we end up doing some photoshop magic to bring it all together. :) (Photoshop rocks!!)

This portrait however had NONE of that!! What you can't tell is Danny had a death grip on Melvin!! Melvin didn't like my wood floor. LOL ;) But seriously it was just perfect!! So I'm extra thrilled with this portrait! Baby Daniel is super cute too. He's so yummy I just want to eat him. I love his little bald head and he has that sweet baby smell. I also love the baby and the tattoo shots. That's such a cool contrast. Especially the one where Daniel grabs his daddy's beard. That's SO cute!

Thanks so much for coming in! I see you guys everyday now!! I used this family portrait in my new studio for my Sample Wall!! Everyone should join us for our open house and come check out how cool it looks!!

The Davis Family

2008-10-02T11:39:00.000-07:00

Meet the lovely Davis family. They're a wonderful bunch of people. Last year I had the honor of photographing daughter Heather's wedding. I'm so happy everyone got together for a family portrait!! Grandson's Patrick and Jack of course stole the show as all kiddos do! I LOVE the portrait of Jack with his blanket! We had a fun afternoon! I also LOVE silly family portraits!! Notice Dad is the only one not making a face! Haha!!

Melanie & Les - East Texas Wedding

2008-09-16T21:01:00.000-07:00

When I first photographed Melanie and Les's engagement sessions I knew they truly loved each other. There was definitely a special connection between them. It was easy to capture those emotions because if you spend any time around them you can tell they're genuinely meant for each other. After having spent their special day with them I also have an appreciate for how much their families love them too. I'm always jealous of people who have large families. My family is so very small. These two families were gracious, kind and so much fun! We had a great time at this wedding.

I HATE to be late. So because this wedding was out of town I drove to Eagle Lake the night before the wedding. I'm always worried about directions. Those of you that know me know that I'm terrible at directions. I even have a Tom Tom navigator! That thing seems to be wrong more than it's right. I was excited to go to the dress rehearsal and see the church. Melanie said that the Parish of the Nativity Catholic Church was small and it was a little bit small but it was also very beautiful. The iPhone picture she sent me didn't do it justice! I loved all the stain glass windows and the warm colors of the church. As I watched the practice and did some test shots I knew the church would be perfect.

My second photographer Anthony drove in from Houston. We met that night and went over our game plan. When I shoot a wedding I always like to know what to expect. I'm just a planner!! It's the things you can't plan for though that make for the best portraits. It's those moments when people have forgotten that I'm there that I love the best. It's the laughing between sisters. The tears of a Mom who can't look at her baby without happy tears. It's those moments like those in weddings that I love.

I'm posting some of my favorites. There are a bunch because I truly couldn't narrow down.

Of course to truly appreciate this wedding you MUST watch the slideshow!! Click here to see the pretty NICE BIG VERSION. (Download the plug in if you don't have it. It won't hurt your computer I promise!) I'll also post the low rez not nearly as awesome small version below.

Congratulations Melanie and Les! I'm so happy for you guys! Thanks choosing us to photograph your special day!

The beautiful rings! The flowers were so beautiful!

A funny moment at the salon!

Handsome Les getting ready!

His beautiful bride putting on makeup!

I love this shot in the mirror.

Melanie getting ready to put her gorgeous dress on.

The ladies

I love this shot of her Dad giving her a hug before we head out the door to the chapel.

The Dudes!

The beautiful church. It really was standing room only.

I loved this image of her Dad watching her. The next day I mentioned to Mike that I saw him watching her and he said he was having his own personal slideshow of her life going on in his head. I thought that was so sweet.

Kids always steal the shows at weddings. This is the sweet little ring bearer.

Tears and smiles as they exchanged vows.

The kiss!

This church had some really beautiful windows.

I love this shot too!

We stole them away from the reception just in time to catch the sunset.

I LOVE this sun flare!! These are hard to capture and to do it well! Anthony shot this one!

The wedding reception had an outdoor theme complete with antlers and pine cones!

This was Melanie's grandfather's watch. It was her something old and she carried it in the pocket of her dress.
I love the Wedding March!

LOL Melanie making sure that Les didn't plan on doing the smash cake thing!

Husband and wife during the first dance. It was so sweet.

Dancing with her Dad. I loved the light on this image.

Les dancing with his Mom

The send off!

Melanie & Les from Laura Wootan on Vimeo.

A sneak peek for Andrea

2008-09-12T16:10:00.000-07:00

My baby fever is back! Here's one quick one from today for Andrea! Sweet baby Angelina! I love her little smile. Just wanted to share this quick one - more to come!

Beautiful Melanie's Bridals

2008-09-11T21:22:00.000-07:00

Saturday I had the pleasure of photographing Melanie and Les's wedding. It was a beautiful day and I have lots of great images coming soon. In the mean time I wanted to share Melanie's bridals. I've been dying to post them! I usually wait until after the wedding to share bridals!

Melanie's mom, mother-in-law and friend came to help that day. We had a great time making these portraits. Melanie's mom Leah is like superwoman strong!! She held my scrim for me and as you can see in the photo the wind was bending it in HALF that's some serious wind!! She held strong though! Normally it sets sail and I have to go chase it down!! Thanks ladies for helping!! Here are a few of my favorites from our session!

September 11th

2008-09-11T06:13:00.000-07:00

Today is one of those days that changed our history forever. I wanted to remember those that lost their lives that day. I also wanted to honor and thank the brave men and women that serve our country so that we may live free. Most importantly though I hope that people never forget what happened.

Do you remember where you were on 9/11? I was at home. My Dad was visiting and we heard the newscast. We watched the whole thing unfold on TV. We sat there in shock.

Our Sad News

2008-09-10T19:03:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow we're going to put our dog LuLu down. Actually her name is Stinkerdoodle. Guy couldn't say Stinkerdoodle so as a baby he called her Lulu and it stuck. It's a much better name for her. She's a wirehaired mini-dachshund. She's the smartest of our three dogs. She loves raw hide chews and has the softest ears. Lulu has been plagued with back pain for the last year or so. It's so bad now she pretty much cries in pain anytime she tries to walk. She also has a level four heart murmur whatever that means. So it's time.

Lulu was the third dog to join our family. She's almost 10 years old. I picked her up on my way home from Dallas. She was an impulse buy. I had been visiting a friend and she was reading the want ads and there was an ad that said "wirehaired dachshunds." I called the lady and asked how much they were. They were $300. Which was WAY more than I had intended to spend.... So I called Bryan and told him I was thinking about getting another dog. I don't think he really believed me because he was a wee bit shocked when I walked in the door with her. Course he asked me how much she was and I immediately said $150. Yep, I lied. I used cash for half so he wouldn't know how much I spent. We were newly married and like all good wives I had learned how to shop! (It was years later when I confessed during a game of Truth or Dare! I was required him to tell the truth about something I lied about). Anyway, Lulu was about 6 months old when we got her. She wasn't very socialized so she didn't really like us. Our other dogs she was fine around but she'd run away from us initially. That was until she figured out we had awesome people food and if you look cute we'll share. ;) Lulu next discovered she liked to be inside and that she loved the bed. She has always been her own dog though. She has no problems being outside by herself. Our other dogs don't like to go outside without each other.

Lulu had this funny thing she'd do with our other dogs. All three would get a rawhide chew. She'd eat hers almost immediately. The other two dogs would chew leisurely. Course they all would growl at each other if the other got too close. Lulu use to bark to go outside. She'd dance around and act like there was something good out there to chase like squirrels. The other dogs would of course leave their rawhide and they'd all go outside. The other two would go out into the grass... Lulu would never leave the deck. She'd stand at the door to be the first one in. As soon as we'd open the door she'd run and grab the other dogs chew treats. LOL She'd do it ALL the time and Ginger and Jerry never figured out that was her trick.

So our family will miss her very much. We do love our pets. They are definitely part of our family. But I know that this really is best. She's been in pain for long enough so we're making the right choice. I just wish it wasn't so hard! Pets should live longer lives. It just doesn't seem fair.

** Lulu is gone now **
Bryan and I went home about 11:00 am. We hung out with Lulu feed her chicken, cheese and cookies some of her favorites. We talked to her and petted her. We headed to my in-laws at 12:30 and sat outside their front yard and waited for the Vet. It was shady under the pecan trees and there was a gentle wind. The grass danced around her as she sat and ate rotten pecans - another favorite. We saw a squirrel on the ground and it ran up the tree and watched us. Lulu hardly noticed. In her time she would have been barking and chasing that squirrel. Rotten pecans were far more interesting. Mark showed up at 1:00 and administered the shot. It was so quick. She just stopped breathing. Her eyes glazed over. She went peacefully and Bryan and I sat there and cried. I kept hearing Bryan talking to her and in my head I was telling her she was a good girl. I don't think I could actually get the words out though. Mark listened to her heart and told us she was gone. We sat there just looking at her. It was so fast. We wrapped her one of Bryan's favorite tshirts. He picked this green one that was soft. He said that he picked it because it was soft like her ears. She really did have velvet soft ears. We then wrapped her in a yellow towel and carried her to our family pet cemetery. We buried her next to "Tootie" another one of our beloved dogs. I picked some sun flowers from the fence line and we laid them on her grave. Rest in peace my sweet baby. You will be missed.

More of Donovan

2008-09-10T15:04:00.000-07:00

One of the things I love most about my new studio is that it's an old historic house. In particular it's special to my family because it's my husbands great grandmother's old house. When we were painting and moving in my mother in law talked about where the rooms use to be and where they lived in this house. It made me think about old homes and how many lifetimes they have locked inside. I kept imagining my husband and his brother playing outside in their overalls and his grandparents sitting on the porch. So I got to thinking I really wanted to create some "old timey" type of portraits of kids playing on this great porch and in the yard. So this concept is a work in process but here are some super cute photos of Donovan in my special aged processing. Also just some other fun ones of him. I love Dono he is hysterical. I always ask kids to say silly things when I'm taking portraits and no matter what word I'd ask him to say he's reply with some completely different word! I'd say, "Say hot dogs!" and he'd reply, "Airplane." I think Donovan is an old soul he says things and knows thing way beyond his age! He's a perfect model for my "summer on the porch" portraits. I also love the one of him on the floor! LOL Too funny!

Sneak Peek for Popcorn

2008-09-04T00:56:00.000-07:00

LOL okay her REAL name is Ashley... but we call her "Popcorn" because she totally burnt popcorn in my microwave. Not just a little burnt. Like SMOLDERING almost set the place on fire burnt! All good nicknames are earned ;) LOL Ashley was kind enough to come help me pack for the studio move this summer. I don't let her make popcorn anymore!

Ashley is also one of my Senior Models for San Marcos! So if you know her ask her for a referral card! With that card and the purchase of a collection you get 50 way cool widescreen wallets for FREE! For more details call the studio!! 512-396-2001

Here is a sneak peek from our session today! I'm in love with that pink dress and those shoes! Much more to come! I can't wait to do our outdoor session. Rain Rain stay away!! ( well at least until our session is done)

A very special session

2008-08-31T18:40:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share this very special session. Thanks for reading! Please click on the images for the large version of the portraits.

Please watch the slideshow to really enjoy the portraits and experience the session. I'll attach a youtube at the end for those on Macintosh computers.

A few weeks ago I received an email from a woman named Alicia Taylor. She asked about donating my time to the CTMC Hospice program. They were looking for a few photographers to work on creating a gallery of portraits that will go on tour to help raise awareness about what Hospice is and the services that it provides. I thought this would be a great community service project for me to support, so I contacted Ms. Taylor. Shortly there after she asked if I would be available to photograph a gentleman by the name of Mr. Preston Connally and I agreed.

It was a warm summer day and I was happy…no rain and the sun was shining as I made my way to Merrill Gardens on the day of the photo shoot. As I arrived I was met outside by CTMC Hospice case worker Alicia Taylor who led me into the building through a beautiful foyer. The foyer was a warm yellow and the light in the room was beautiful. We checked in at the front counter and a woman took us to the Alzheimer's ward. She typed in a code and we entered the doors. It was a pretty area and there were several people sitting around and talking. I heard a woman call, "B19". They were playing bingo. Alicia took me to Mr. Connally's room. He had a perfectly made bed with a maroon bedspread. He had a frame on the wall with old portraits of people in his family including a wedding photo of him and Mrs. Connally. It was a beautiful portrait. I was instantly drawn to the character his leather chair exuded. I knew that would be a great place to photograph him. So I opened the shades on the window and moved his chair a bit to be in the beautiful window light. I got my gear out and was setting my equipment up as Mrs. Connally arrived.

We made our introductions and one of the nurses went to get Mr. Connally. He had just won at bingo! When he entered the room his face lit up when he saw his wife Doris. He hugged her and held her hand. He said hello to me and told me that, 'She was his girl." I said hello and he asked me my name. We talked for a bit and I asked him if I could take his portraits. Alicia asked him if he'd play his Chromatic harmonica for us. He sat down in his leather chair and his wife handed him his harp and he began to play. I was amazed at how beautifully he played. He played several songs for us and I snapped away. I asked Mrs. Connally to join in for some photos. He was so happy to have her sit with him. You could tell how much he loved her. They held hands as she sat on the edge of his chair. They looked at each other and he asked, "Can I kiss her!" Absolutely!! He again told me how much he loved her. They have been married for 63 years.

We decided to take a stroll and go outside for a few images. We went to the courtyard and sat on the patio. Mr. Connally again played his harmonica for us. He told me that he had been playing since he was six years old. He and Mrs. Connally sat together as I imagined how they must have sat together on a porch, while he played and she listened, countless times over the years. I felt honored that I was there with them today. I smiled when he hugged her and pulled her tight.

The last location where I wanted to photograph was in the foyer. So we headed out to the front lobby. There were several other residents sitting there. Mr. Connally played "When the Saints Come Marching In" and they all joined in and sang along. Mrs. Connally looked so beautiful in the gentle afternoon sun. I love the portrait of her watching him play. Mr. Connally couldn't remember my name, but boy he sure remembered those songs. Everyone enjoyed him playing as they sat and rocked. We finished up the session and walked them back to his room. I packed up my gear and as I was walking out I was so thankful that I could celebrate Mr. Connally's life with portraits.

I believe full heartedly in helping volunteer organizations and their efforts to give back to the community. People are often times not aware of the many different ways they can contribute to the many outstanding charitable organizations. I support various charities throughout the year, using my photography to create memories for families, and this work leaves me with a deep sense of satisfaction. Especially because I know how appreciated my art is to most. Being able to celebrate someone’s life is an honor. The CTMC Hospice program is a nonprofit organization that provides all kinds of care and comfort to families and patients. I am looking forward to being able to give this gift to other families and to support this charity. For more information about CTMC Hospice Care please visit their website.

Sneak Peek for Jenn

2008-08-31T00:04:00.000-07:00

Here's a quick sneak peek for beautiful Jenn. She's a high school senior from College Station. We had a great session. We shot in my new studio and on location! Much more of this beauty to come! Thanks for making that drive guys!

Studio News & Sneak peek for Sharryl

2008-08-30T23:00:00.000-07:00

School's started and football season is here and although the tree's don't really turn colors here the light actually does change. I always love this time of year when the days start getting shorter. I think it seems even more golden in the fall. I could tell today during my on location session that the light was in a different place in the sky than it had been a few weeks earlier. I'm *so* waiting for that first crisp cool day. I love sweaters. Common fall! I'm waiting!! :)

I'm now totally moved into the new studio and I've started shooting again! So far I'm loving the new place!! :D Here's a few quick shots of Donovan! He was my model baby the other day. Course he's not really a baby anymore he's SO big and sweet! Donovan likes to pick flowers for his Mommy. :D I really wanted to capture kind of a "last days of summer" feel with our session... so we put him in overalls and gave the boy some watermelon! He did great! I have many more to blog! I will finish processing them soon! I actually have a lot of blogs coming! I'm sorry for the delay! I will post soon!

Hill Country Wedding - Arzie & Lupe

2008-08-28T00:41:00.000-07:00

I had the pleasure of photographing a wedding on Sunday with the fabulous Donna Quarles! She's based out of Lufkin. She called and asked if I'd be her second shooter for this wedding and I jumped at the chance! I've been a fan of her work for some time now. She is very talented! That and it's always fun to shoot with a great photographer!

The wedding was held at Chapel Dulcinea it's a BEAUTIFUL location and get this... IT'S FREE. No joke check out the website. It's a perfect location for anyone having a small wedding. The reception hall is also very pretty. (that is not free) It's really a cool venue. I enjoyed shooting there. I hope to photograph there again!

Meet handsome Arzie and his beautiful bride Lupe. Arzie and his family are all from London. Let me just say an english accent is *so* sexy. LOL The day started off rainy and oh so humid. A quick afternoon shower made sure everyone was extra hot... but it was totally worth the rain to get the amazing sunset!! We were blessed with an amazing sky! Here are a few of my favorites from the wedding!

The beautiful cake topper. The cake yummy!

The groomsmen striking a pose.

Oh how I love flower girls!

I love this shot of the bride walking with her brother.

Look at Arzie! I love the expression on his face. That's a big smile for his bride :D

After you get married at the chapel you can open the doors and ring the bell. It was hard to do. Donna and I tried to test it! Before they got there!

See what I mean!! BEAUTIFUL sunet!

A flower detail

Smoochies!

Course I had to do at least one silhouette.

More detail Shots

So the venue had all kinds of neat whaterfalls and places to shoot. I love the ambient glow from the fire that was in the foutain.

Throw in a groom and you've got a super cute shot!

And Donna herself!!

Studio Update - Fall Pumpkin Portrait Date's Announced!

2008-08-25T20:06:00.001-07:00

We're moved in!! A few hiccups with the new floors but finally... we've moved!! I'm so excited! We're still not fully functioning but I will be by Thursday! I'm determined!! I do apologize for my delayed response returning phone calls. It's truly been hectic. Much worse than I anticipated. But there is light at the end of the tunnel finally.

I have a few more blogs that I haven't posted yet but I will get those up soon too! I've started taking appointments for the holidays too! Just wanted to give you guys a sneak peek at October's promotion! I will have a newsletter going out soon but to those blog stalkers who want to get the best time slots here's the early announcement! :D We're starting to book sessions for our Back to School ABC book promotion as well! (see blog below!)

Fall Pumpkin Portraits - Oct 16th, 17th and 18th

I *LOVE* Halloween! I always have! Any holiday you celebrate with candy is a good holiday in my book! I LOVE little kids in costumes too! So I'm happy to announce that once again we'll be offering our Fall Pumpkin Portraits promotion! This year I am *so* excited to be offering them OUTSIDE of our beautiful new studio!! Yep! and we're going have a super cute set with real pumpkins! :D So mark your calenders! For Oct. 16th, 17th and 18th! We're taking appointments now and have a limited amount available. These sessions always sell out so don't wait! This mini session has a session fee of $50. So start shopping for those cute fall outfits and getting your kiddo's costumes together! This set is built for little ones and works best for kids that are sitting up to 10 years old.

Back To School Special!

2008-08-25T19:58:00.001-07:00

It's that time again! Back to School!! I'm again offering our very special Custom Designed ABC books! These make such wonderful keepsakes! Imagine your child as a grown up reading these beautiful books to their own children!! These sessions are VERY limited. Each book is custom designed and is real hard back book! We have some beautiful new covers to choose from too!

This limited edition promotion is available for $400 (Plus the sitting fee and tax.) The best part is duplicate books are only $200!

Call the studio today to set up your portrait design consultation! We have props for all the letters but I also love it when you've got your own ideas! For instance I think it's great when Mommy will jump in the photo for "M" or Daddy for "D". Siblings are welcome to create the book together as well!

Here's a sample of the book I made for my boy! My poor baby does have jacked up hair! But I love that this book really does capture the real him. :) He's so cute even if I say so myself :) It's hard to believe this was him last year! He's gotten so big!

The First Day of School

2008-08-25T19:38:00.000-07:00

My baby had his first day of school today! Well I guess he's not "really" a baby. Oh how quickly the time has flown. Guy is now going to Bowie Elementary. It's a beautiful school. It's nice and new and very state of the art! Even though Guy attended Kindergarten at Wonderland we decided that he should do kindergarten again. He missed the public school cut off by three weeks last year and really we think it's best that he does kinder again. He very carefully picked out what to wear his first day. Without a doubt it had to be "Mario." Guy has become quite the Mario fan. He loves to play Mario 64 on his DS. He's really good at it too! It's amazing his eye and hand coordination. He's way better than I am at playing video games! I couldn't wait for him to get home to tell me how his day went! So far so good! He said he had a good day!! I think I might have been more excited than he was. LOL

Amy & Parker Neal - Lakeway Wedding

2008-08-18T20:15:00.000-07:00

It was suppose to be a rainy Saturday but really it only sprinkled! Which was good news for Parker and Amy's beautiful Lakeway wedding. The wedding was held at the Lakeway Church and the reception followed at the Lakeway Resort and Spa. Amy and Parker were surrounded by so many of their family and friends. It was a full house!! I followed Amy and had great time her and her ladies! They're all so pretty! I also love to hear stories of how people know each other. Some of her bridesmaids were childhood friends some were college friends! I think it's awesome when your closest friends can be there to celebrate with you. It turned out to be a lovely day and a great evening!

Amy and Parker had beautiful invitations. That bracelet was her something old it as her great grandmothers!

Amy's shoes. I love this shot! They were way cool!

It is hard work being a bridesmaid!!

Don't they look cute in their matching robes! Amy had them monogrammed too!

I love flower girls!

Amy and one of her bridesmaid's were practicing dancing in the ballroom before it was set up.

Peeking out the ballroom at the pool! We could see Parker down below!

Parker made an awesome choice for Amy's ring. It was beautiful!

Amy getting her makeup done by the Lakeway Spa staff. They always do a such a nice job!

I love this shot too! Check out all this make up!

Of course I had to do my silhouettes. I love to do portrait like this! It's my "thing."

Amy in her dress!

LOL Groom's men!! It wouldn't be a wedding without them! Check out his socks!!

Amy with some of her bridesmaid's they were "Frogs" Something to do with TCU I think!

Handsome Parker smiles as he see's his bride!

Exchanging rings. Lakeway Church is beautiful!

The kiss!!

A quick portrait and with some photoshop magic you can't tell that those were super dark ready to rain clouds!! ;)

Some fun at the reception!

Of course the yummy cake!

The sparkler send off! Congratulations Amy and Parker!!