Breathtaking's Last Birth

I'm so sad to write this post. Yes, it's true. Breathtaking won't be offering birth photography in the 2011 year. If you're here looking for someone to photograph your birth in the Dallas metroplex I have several wonderful colleagues that I recommend so drop me a line and I'll hook you up.

As far as last births go, this one with my friend Kristin was the way to do it. Her last birth was one of the first I photographed as a portfolio builder and the first one where I really felt all of my skills come together at once and I got what I'd long been striving to get out of my camera. This time around things were so eerily familiar! Different house but same exact chain of events culminating in a fast, wonderful water birth of a sweet baby boy.





That's the amniotic sac she's slipping over his head there-he was born in it which is said to be good luck. :)















Home birth.... the joy of snuggling into your own bed after you've done the hardest work of your life.



Thank you to all my past clients. It's been an HONOR to serve as the witness to so many wonderful babies coming into the world. This is not good-bye but merely "see you in while". Birth is in my blood and I'll be coming back to it eventually. :)

NICU Wonder Baby| Dallas Newborn Photographer

You can find the images from Tyler's birth here. His birth was a little rougher than most and he wound up in the NICU on oxygen for a few days. He was discharged to his mother's regular room on Thanksgiving of all days! What a thing to be thankful for, huh? Despite his rough beginning, he has had no long term effects and is home making life interesting for his parents who are now the proud owners of four boys ages five and under! I can relate to that type of crazy....

Here he is straight from my lens into your heart:

A Shift in Plans

I'm a little behind on blogging (again-what was it I said about procrastination....) so I'll be playing catch up again this week.

I was so excited to be hired for Jonna's birth back in the spring. She became a dear friend after we shared our twin pregnancies a couple years ago. Her boys are just a few weeks older than my dynamic duo. Her life often mirrors mine (I'm forever "liking" her Facebook status updates and laughing because similar things are going on here). So when she wanted me to come to her last birth, another beautiful boy to round out her family of four little boys, I was thrilled. Baby Tyler had different plans on how his birth should go from what Mama had in mind. I was in awe of how Jonna just rolled with it as we went from planned VBAC at 9cm to c-section with barely a moment to register what happened.Tyler spent his first few days in NICU getting better but he's home now and has no long lasting effects from a rougher-than-normal start. Here it is, in beautiful detail. :)



















And the link to the slide show (turn up your speakers for the full effect!):

The Birth of Tyler

Last Minute Minis! | Dallas Texas Family Holiday Photographer

Are you a procrastinator? Oh come on, admit it. You're in good company-I'm one of the worst. I keep that tendency under control when it comes to my business but you should see the walls in my house. Yeah, I might be MEANING to get those big wall prints hung....

So I happily announce Last Minute Minis For Procrastinators. All those mini-session announcements you've seen and MEANT to book a spot for came and went, huh? Still need a fabulous family photo for holiday cards? Been meaning to get some beautiful images of your children for your in-laws Christmas gift? Fear not! I'm offering 20 minute high power sessions at the STUNNING Gaylord Texan holiday display (which *BONUS* is indoors) on Sunday November 28th. 5-7 digital images of my choice will be mailed to you on disk in ONE WEEK. Yes, I'll be burning the midnight oil. I don't mind doing such things for my fellow last minute clients. You'll still have time to print and mail cards and gifts! You come ready to shoot (kids in their clothes, hair done, makeup ON ladies) and you'll be VERY happy with the results. The cost is only $95 and payment is due at TIME OF BOOKING via Paypal to hold your spot. If for some reason you just really need to pay me another way contact me and we'll try to work something out.

This is it folks! If you're going to get them done in time for the holidays, don't wait!

An Afternoon of Cute Kids | Carrollton, Farmer's Branch, Coppell, Dallas Children's Photographer

I recently met up with two ladies who I've "known" online for several years but had never met in person. They wanted me to capture their beautiful families and I was happy to oblige. We met at the Carrollton Homestead Museum which is a fantastic backdrop for family portraits (and has the bonus of being a very short distance from my house ;)) and I could NOT be happier with the images!

First up was Mary and her stunning collection of boys. Seriously, the eyes on that middle child.....







She loved this one as much as I did. Far from the "perfect" family image (lol) but it really does capture who they are right now. Which is boisterous and full of life!



And then was another fun, darling family. These two kids were such HAMS!





Model worthy, I'd say:





And the whole gang together!



Another wonderful Sunday afternoon spent doing what I love. Lucky girl I am.

Love,
Chantel

A Girl After My Own Heart | Carrolton, Dallas, Farmers Branch, Coppell Photographer

As soon as I met Amy, I fell in love with her. She hired me for one on one tutoring (email me for details!) and within about 10 seconds I knew we were going to be fast friends. She has a wicked sense of humor and she totally "gets" mine. She's one of those people I can literally say anything to and never worry the reaction will be judgmental. Come to think of it, one of the best parts about this job of mine is that my clients often end up as friends!

Recently she and I hooked up so I could bring her family to life in print. And what a gorgeous bunch of kids they have (her husband isn't hard to lay eyes on, either!) The sweetest of the bunch is little Piggy Pig who brought her Mama a lot of grief on her way into the world but has been such a blessing of joy since that moment. I LOVED this session and the images that came out of it.

Check out these boys! There's a couple who might make FINE husbands for my daughters later on down the road...





Hi, I'm a boy. I climb on everything.



And another one:



The sweetest baby girl ever made....



And my BEAUTIFUL friend (nope, did nothing to her face in photoshop thankyouverymuch) who's had a hard ride the past year. Love you friend.



Love,
Chantel

And Then She Shoots A Favorite Friend... | Carrollton Family Photographer

This is D and her lovely family. D was my doula. If you don't know what that means I'll just break it down to say that she stood by me during a very difficult labor. With twins. At home. Yeah, that means without drugs, folks. And D was there for every moment and held me up both literally and figuratively. I was delighted to capture her family on camera because I love them so very much. Her oldest daughter Ness was also at that birth and did a rockin job of her own keeping my oldest son busy while I worked my butt off to give birth to two babies. She's grown up a ton since that day two and a half years ago and my god is she beautiful! This family required a few more sneaks than normal....Enjoy...

In Which She Captures Another Photographer... | Carrollton/Dallas Family Photographer

Long time no blogging! BAD! So I'm back and I have a ton to catch up on. Keep an eye here as sessions will be pouring onto the page from my computer....

This was the first time I've ever shot another photog (not counting my best friend Elizabeth who doesn't count because....well, she's my best friend) and to say I was a little nervous would be a bit of an understatement. We planned to meet at the Addison Fountains in downtown Addison but of course it was a very cool 60 degrees-odd for an October morning in Dallas! Instead, we used the surrounding downtown landscape as our backdrop and I don't know who was more excited/pleased-me or Em! What fun we had discovering new places to shoot together. And what's better than collaborating with your client who also happens to have "the eye"??? Check these cuties out: