Marlo and Darel's wedding day Part 2

Here's a few of the favorites from the reception.
Marlo and Darel had a lively group of guests and they danced the rest of the night and kept the music going.

And a BIG thanks to Blake for helping out on that day with shooting! You made the day so much easier.

You can leave comments for Marlo and Darel below where it says "Comments." Let them know you love their pictures!

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

A few portraits of the happy couple.


The couple's first dance.





And they partied the rest of the night!

Marlo and Darel's wedding day Part 1

Join me in re-living the happy day that Marlo and Darel shared with many family and friends. They started with the ceremony at the church where they met, Second Baptist Church, and then continued the festivities at the Westin Galleria with mariachis and lots of dancing.

Darel and the guys.


A few details from the bridal room.



Marlo enjoyed reading the note that her groom sent her before the ceremony. The bridesmaids did a great job helping Marlo with all the things she needed to do.


Moments before the ceremony.


More to come tomorrow.........

Montgomery family session

The weather teased us with rains and heavy winds, but thankfully all we got was a breeze. I met up with the Montgomery family at their house and we had our session at the golf course by their neighborhood. Thankfully we were able to finish the majority of it before kindly being asked to leave. It seems that having us stand on the golf course does more to affect people's golf game than the crazy winds we had that day.......but we obliged and moved on to a different area. All I can say is: check out the hair on the little guy! (the last picture)


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

The family!


And the kids. Yes, it was a windy day.

Jaclyn and James's wedding day

Jaclyn and James enjoyed an intimate ceremony and dinner with their families and then followed up with a reception for friends and family a week later. I was honored to be a part of their intimate ceremony and to photograph them with their families. Then, I showed up to their reception and photographed them and their guests in a photobooth - 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 "Jaclyn and James's wedding day." You'll see the images that are on my blog and as well as the rest of the images.

I love this sweet moment right after they are officially prounced husband and wife.



We followed the ceremony with a photo session out on the golf course at the country club. It's a beautiful place and they did great!








......and then the reception! You can see the rest of their guests' pictures in the online gallery.

Random Thoughts

****I realize that it's been a long time since I just wrote a blog entry aside from posting images from a session. I've just had a lot going on and I haven't had a chance to blog as much as I would like. So much going on and so many thoughts!

****I've spent the week at a photography school and I'm feeling so inspired, but also overwhelmed. There are so many things I want to change and things I want to try, but it will take time to get there.

****On that note, I may be starting a new portrait project that is related to the recent Johnson portrait session. I'd like to find veterans of World War II to do a session to honor them and the piece of history that they carry. I'm still working on it, but please let me know if you have any thoughts or suggestions.

****My computer shut down on me Monday night and now I can't turn it on at all. I'm having to send it in for repair, which means that I won't be able to upload any sessions for viewing, place orders, and various other activities. Frustration! On the bright side, I can't help but be super productive this week since I'll have way less distractions. And I'm also missing the power cord for the computer. Weird.

****Lately, I've had several "small world" instances. I've discovered different friends that know people that I know and it's interesting to see how people are connected.

****Is it just me, or does the mail somehow accumulate very quickly? I can't keep up! And then there's email, too......

Marlo's bridal session

I'm so excited about this session and I've had to wait oh-so-long to finally show them to you! Marlo and I, along with her support group ;) , got together to do her session and got so excited as we went through the session. I probably could have kept going for hours! Marlo did great and we have some beautiful images to capture her time as a bride.

JVS workshop

I'm so glad I had the opportunity to go to the workshop that JVS and his wife Anne put together. I drove up to Dallas for a few days and we learned so much about lighting. I loved it! During those two days, we were shown several different lighting set ups and then we were given the opportunity to practice each set up with a partner. Shanell was my lovely and willing partner and she did such a great job!




The many faces of Shanell.


Ok, so when I was putting the above montage together in Photoshop, I had only just pasted in the pictures and not re-sized or moved them around, and this is what I saw. I thought it was pretty neat. And yet weird, since it's almost so perfectly placed..........

A Family Silly Session

For the longest time, I've been wanting to offer these silly sessions for families. Yes, everyone needs nice family portraits and I think that is very important (or else I shouldn't be in this business.) But, I also think it's important to get some fun shots of everyone as you are today. I asked Stephanie and Brian if they would be willing to be my guinea pigs and thankfully they said yes. I knew I had picked the right group of silly people and my instinct was confirmed as we shot the session. They went all out with all sort of goofy props and really made it a fun experience. Thanks again guys!!


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

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!