Johnson photo session - WWII veteran, special project

I was so excited to finally get to do this session. I drove to San Antonio for the weekend with my friend Susan to photograph her dad who was a pilot in World War II. He has some amazing stories! I had the chance to walk around their home and find some photographs to use in the session. Mr. Johnson has a beautiful drawing of a B-17, just like the ones he flew during the war. I also found a charming photograph of him when he was very young and he has the best smile in the moment the shot was captured. And as a bonus, I also had the opportunity to see their wedding album! It was an amazing sight to behold and of course, I was very interested in seeing it.

I'm strongly considering taking on a project of photographing World War II vets because of the respect I have for their service to our country and the piece of history that they carry. If you know anyone that might be interested, please email me so that I can consider doing a session as part of this project. Ask me about more details! dianna@karellephotography.com

To see the rest of the images, go to my website http://www.karellephotography.com/ and click on 'Portraits,' then 'Digital Studio', and find "Johnson photo session." You'll see the images from the blog as well as the rest of the images from the session.

The haircut

You may or may not know that I've been working towards the goal of donating my hair to Locks of Love for four years now. I finally did it last week! It was longer than I would ever want to keep it so it feels so much better to get rid of it all. But I also didn't know what to expect afterwards. Many of you have asked for pictures and here they are.
1. I'm lame and I don't know how to upload pictures from my phone.
2. I'm still lame and I don't have a small camera so it's very difficult to take pictures one-handed with my lovely heavy camera. And I can't even imagine adding a flash to it.
3. My stylist always straightens my hair and it always looks straight and sleek the first day out of the salon. These shots were taken that night. So in all truth, it probably doesn't ever look this chic in day to day life. I don't know how she does it. But you get the idea.

Rappold family session

I met up with the Rappold family at a park and enjoyed my time with them and their two little girls. They are so darling! In my experience, I've come to realize that you really can't expect to control a 2 year old during a photo session so it's sometimes best to just let them be themselves and just enjoy watching them have fun. Enjoy the slideshow!


To see the rest of the images, go to my website http://www.karellephotography.com/ and click on 'Portraits,' then 'Digital Studio', and find "Rappold Family Session." You'll see the images from the slideshow as well as the rest of the images from the session.

The Helms - Slideshow

Helm portrait session

"Hi, we're the Helms. We like to have our picture taken."

It's a joke. Well, actually, maybe not. We'd been trying to coordinate this session for months and we FINALLy made it work! I knew Stevie in college and I met Jenny along the way when they started dating, but I hadn't seen them in a few years. I think I'd forgotten how goofy, um, I mean, "cool" Stevie is. Watching him be himself and watching Jenny just watch him had me laughing the whole time. And it helped that Jenny's sister is pretty funny, too, so it made for a very fun session.

Thanks so much for getting me to Austin to finally do this session. I loved it!



To see the rest of the images, go to my website http://www.karellephotography.com/ and click on 'Portraits,' then 'Digital Studio', and find "Helm Portrait Session." You'll see the images that are on my blog and as well as the rest of the images. Also, check out the slideshow that's posted!!!

Helm portrait session - PREVIEW!

Jenny has been asking for a preview because she's dying to see the pictures, but I'm not sure if this is what she was looking for........

Jenny's very cool husband, Stevie

Baby Rushing's 1 year birthday

Yea, she's such a big girl now! This sweet little girl had a birthday party for her friends and family and they enjoyed playing outside and eating yummy cake. It's such a thrill to watch her grow up and get cuter and cuter.

I'm in the mood to reminisce, so here's a flashback of Baby Rushing as she's grown up: her 3 month session and her 7 month session.

To see the rest of the images, go to my website http://www.karellephotography.com/ and click on 'Portraits,' then 'Digital Studio', and find "Baby Rushing's 1st Birthday." You'll see the images that are on my blog and as well as the rest of the images. Also, check out the slideshow that's posted below!!!

Briella's 1st Birthday - Slideshow

Julie and John's wedding day Part 2

The continuation of Julie and John's wedding day. The reception was beautiful! The tables were wonderfully decorated with gorgeous flower arrangements and the cakes were very classy. It's always much more fun when people dance and Julie and John's guests did not disappoint - they can dance!

To see the rest of the images, go to my website http://www.karellephotography.com/ and click on 'Weddings,' then 'Digital Studio', and find "Julie and John's wedding day." You'll see the images that are on my blog and as well as the rest of the images.

Beautiful room!


The detailing on the cake matches the detailing on the back of Julie's dress - very clever! And how cool is the ring cake?


A few details.


The first dance.


Mother and Son dance, and the Father and Daughter dance.











I hadn't seen this before: Julie and John had 12th Man towels for the guests to wave as they exited. Great idea!

Julie and John's wedding day Part 1

Julie and John shared a beautiful day with their many friends and family down in Galveston. Thankfully, with the aftermath of the storm, everything worked out for them and they were able to celebrate in style.

Wedding Coordinator: Haley Hughes with En Vogue Events
Make-up Artist: Danielle with The Perfect Face
Church: Trinity Episcopal Church in Galveston
Reception: Hotel Galvez in Galveston
Cakes: Cakes by Gina
Videography: Steve and Sandy from A Mind's Eye
DJ: Mike from Impressive Entertainment

The rest of the pictures will be posted tomorrow on the blog and in the online gallery.

Julie with the girls, and the kids.


Julie looked beautiful on her wedding day.


I loved Julie's shoes! And she added a very fun detail to the soles.





Time to head to the reception!

365 - Week 16

Yea! Another week. But most of it was inside shots because I didn't have any shoots this week and it was raining and I was out of town so things got a little hectic for me.




In case you're trying to guess, it's an elephant.


I went out of town for a workshop and we had to photograph each other and Shanell did a great job posing!





I've had these three little characters for a few years and they usually sit upon a flattened penny that I made on a railroad track while in college; that's how small they are.


Rain, rain, love it! Except when it cancels my plans.


They're watching the sunset. Except that the sun sets on the other side.

Kings Firecrackers - U.S. Naval Academy Performance

I saw this on my friend Matt's blog and I just had to share it. WOW!
I'm particularly drawn to this video because I was on the jump rope team at my school when I was younger, but I think it only went through 5th grade and we just did performances for the P.T.A. meetings. I didn't think that sticking with it would be a strategic move for my future so I had to move on.

Veronica's senior session

Veronica very quickly warmed up and really got into the session we did for her senior portraits. In fact, she got so good at it, I stopped directing her and just let her pose on her own. She did amazingly well!!! She may look serious in all these shots, but trust me, she can laugh and goof around. Thanks Veronica and Carol for making it so fun.


To see the rest of the images, go to my website http://www.karellephotography.com/ and click on 'Weddings,' then 'Digital Studio', and find "Veronica's senior session." You'll see the images that are on my blog and as well as the rest of the images.

Wow, He's amazing!

365 - Week 15

I'm back on schedule! I've got so much to work on right now so I apoligize if it's taking a little bit longer for you to see your images.


I looked out the window on Monday morning and WOW!! And yes, I was up pretty early that day.


Why do things always have to be in focus? If I had focused this image properly, then it would be boring. Hmmmm, I think maybe this image could be used for those inkblot tests. What do you see??


I had a session with the Rappold family. Cute little girl!


I like playing with the sun in the background. Don't stare, you'll burn your retinas.


What is it?


I drove down to San Antonio this past weekend to begin a personal project. My friend Susan's father is a World War II veteran and he was a pilot in the Air Corps. He has so many stories to tell and I wanted to honor him with a photo session.



Again, why be in focus? This is so much more fun.



I outdid myself. I've added a bonus for this week. A few weeks ago, I shot a bridal session and the location has peacocks. And peahens. I had never heard of peahens. I learned something new. Several of the peacocks opened up their feathers and paraded around for us. It was beautiful!








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