My last blog post was a birthday tribute, and this one is too!! (Almost a month later .. September was not a great month for blogging. What can I say, I was swamped with other projects and tasks!)

This photoshoot was fun for so many reasons. First of all, this beautiful person you’re looking at is my younger sister. I know, it’s crazy right. We look nothing alike. I know this can happen with biological siblings too, but in our case we don’t actually share biological parents so we have an excuse! My sister and I are actually both adopted, from different parents, in different states, in different years (we get those kinds of questions a lot; you’d be surprised how many people ask if we were adopted from the same family. At least it always surprises me!).

So lucky to be this person’s sister.

This is the second time we’ve done a photoshoot together; the first was last year when I had barely gotten started as a photographer. She was one of the sweet friends who let me practice on her! We met at White Rock Lake, she brought her dog, and I attempted to get them both in focus at least 40% of the time. (Dog photography can be tricky, at least in my experience!)

That brings me to the second reason this shoot was so fun: our location. Amanda works downtown in the Arts District at a museum. (Coolest job ever, I know. Best part is, it actually corresponds to her slightly obscure college major of Asian Studies. She’s one of the lucky ones!) So we chose this neighborhood as the location of our shoot when we started planning a few months ago. We used the Dallas Museum of Art as a backdrop. Next was a stroll down to Klyde Warren park – one of my favourite places in Dallas for the way it combines the beauty of nature with the majesty of architecture.

It was amazing getting to style a shoot like this to the extent I did – third reason I can’t get over this session. Amanda let me pick her outfits, down to her jewelry and little details. I advised her that chunkier jewelry, while it might not be her style, would photograph better. I also have to say that I love an adult person who’s willing to wear an over the top ballet tutu in public for the sake of a photoshoot! Which Amanda was totally game for.

I would like to point out that I purchased that tutu at a consignment for CHILDREN’S CLOTHES. (Divine Consign, the absolute best. Check it out!) I shop for my boys, but also for the studio. I found the tutu in the costume section that appears at the fall sale every year and it was labeled as “12”. Well, I don’t have girls and I don’t know what age child wears a size 12, but I do know my tiny sister fit into it – and that we had to safety pin the waist for it to fit her!! So basically, it is available for adults to wear as well.

Also, action shots are just so fun. For example, the photos below. Amanda felt silly following my instructions when I asked her to jump, but was thrilled when she looked at the pictures. “I’m a fairy!”

Amanda, I hope you have a fabulous birthday (and I know you will, because you’re on vacation with your bestie Nicole this weekend, and what could be more fun?). I hope you had as much fun at your portrait session as I did. The friends and family who help me as I grow as an artist always feel like they’re getting more out of the deal than I am, but it’s never true. For your help in my journey I am forever grateful, and so lucky also to be your big sister.

I love you! Now let’s plan another fantastic session!