this past week i was lucky enough to photograph a beautiful girl who is going to be a senior this year. she is fun, bubbly, smart and friends with everyone she meets. i was on a trip to dallas, texas, and we had a great time shooting around downtown garland.

she is a go-getter, and she was elected student body president for her school. that’s right, i had the opportunity to photograph madam president. it was quite the honor.

so as you can see, i had an easy time making this girl look good.

and did i mention she’s my sister? we are a lucky family to have her.

i’m so behind on blogging, forgive me! i’m attempting to get caught up on some past sessions, so here we go!

several weekends ago i was able to have really fun session with this great family! we enjoyed the downtown atmosphere, got caught up on all things justin beiber, and even broke out the guitars! these girls were so much fun to photograph and let me tell you — we had some little future antm contestants in the works! and the littlest one certainly kept me on my toes. luckily i have silly kiddos of my own so i know how it goes.

::wink::

thanks again for a great time, L family!

this mother/daughter team that i got to photograph last weekend was a lot of fun. and while we literally only had about 20 minutes of light that night, we made it work! (and yes, that is a tim gunn reference, because i love tim gunn.)

enjoy the rest of the sneak peek, donna!

i loved getting to spend some time with you both and i loved the looks we got. thanks for the fun!

i got to do a mini session yesterday for a sweet sweet mom and daughter.

how cute is she!

there are some days that living in california has its perks. the downsides of being far from my family, missing the fall weather and changing of seasons, and having to pay exorbitant amounts of money for a house are somewhat diminished when you have moments like these.

(taken from my car in the side-view mirror on my birthday)

this was our view at the park today:

with a nice, soft breeze, sunlight and shade. heavenly.

and i’m sure it makes janae happy too!

i had such a fun time on this shoot with her. i was able to give the kids away to grandma, and just focus on doing some fun photography. i have to admit, it’s been a while since i could do that! i swear, whoever decided to try and do a photography business with 2 kids? oh yeah, that was me. well, i am crazy for doing it, but i love it so much that i just can’t stop!

ps: this is my favorite shot of the day. isn’t she just gorgeous?!

yesterday the boys and i headed outside to enjoy the amazing weather! well, it was a little chilly for us californians (in the 50′s) but we loved being outside nonetheless.

this is my favorite shot from yesterday — big brother was busy pointing out an airplane while little brother was laughing and imitating me crouched down on the pavement. i must have looked pretty silly to him or something!

i love his expression of pure joy — he’s not worried about his double chin or wondering if this pose is going to make him look dumb. he’s just enjoying the moment. i think we can all take a page out of his book and work on being more open and honest when we’re in front of the lens. i know i need a reminder to do that every so often. because that is what leads to capturing the reality of your life instead of the ‘posed’ look. personally, i think those are the shots that stand out the most.

hence my favorite shot of the day.

copyright 2010 laurel lakey

some days i dream of having a little girl. in a house full of men, i am always outnumbered. i don’t get to revel in sequins and sparkles, but rather am surrounded by tugboats and trucks.

so sometimes, i take that moment to just dream. dream of the day when i may get to have make-believe tea parties and dress up like a princess with my little girl. dream of the time when i can sew frilly, lacy things and actually use the color pink in a digital scrapbooking layout.

and while i wait and dream, i’ll continue to soak up the fun that my boys bring to my life. because i know this won’t last forever.

{ps: this is not an announcement of any kind, so don’t read too far into it. }