Are you looking for a Christmas gift for a very special someone? Spice up his holiday with boudoir pictures!

I have two spots open THIS WEEKEND - Sunday, December 6 at 6:00 PM and Monday, December 7 at 9:00 AM. Email me at elyse@constanceelyse.com to book your spot and contact Katie at Modern Muse if you are interested in having your makeup done.

I had so much FUN shooting this session yesterday afternoon. Baby A could not have been more agreeable. He was all smiles and giggles and sitting up all on his own. But the highlight of the shoot has to be when he got to put on his Halloween costume.

His parents were fabulous as well. Total naturals in front of the camera and up for anything I asked.

J Family, thanks for hanging out with me. Enjoy your sneak peek and rest assured that we got plenty of toothy grins as well.

While I’m on the subject of Trash the Dress, I thought I’d come back and share more of Lauren’s shoot from a while back.

I just love the Spanish style she chose and how her red hair piece, shoes and lips pop against her ivory dress and all of the greenery and stone.

I cannot tell you how excited I’ve been about this shoot! These six women have all been friends since they were kids and even as they have all gone their separate ways over the years - moving to different cities, states and even countries, pursuing education and careers and adding husbands and children to their individual families - you can feel the familiarity and love that emanates from the group when they all manage to get together. They do a girls’ weekend every year and this year they decided to squeeze in a photo shoot among the shopping, dining out, relaxing and laughing.

I cannot imaging a more fabulous way to commemorate a tradition and I had so much fun shooting it and playing around with some fun editing tricks for the sneak peek.

Love this one!

Ladies, I hope that you had a relaxing weekend and enjoyed your shoot as much as I did.

As I drove to this shoot on Sunday morning, looking forward to meeting this adorable toddler and her mama and photographing them in the beautiful Texas hill country, it started to drizzle. I had been looking forward to this shoot for months, so I told myself it would be okay and kept on my way. Then it started to pour. By this time I was almost to their house, so I said a prayer for a break in the downpour and headed on.

It ended up drizzling for most of our shoot, but luckily we had a beautiful house with large windows to work in, a covered pavilion, a mom who was willing to let her sweet girl get a little damp in the name of photography, and a toddler who didn’t mind the weather one bit (except when she got a little mud on her boots).

Ultimately we were able to capture many wonderful moments, so here are just a few:

The baby’s name is Annabelle, but as I was photographing this birth the word that kept coming to mind was “grace.” Her mom, who has been featured on my blog before, was committed from the start of her pregnancy to have a birth experience with as little intervention as necessary. Over the almost 42 weeks that she was pregnant, she prepared mentally and emotionally for handling the labor without turning to drugs to numb the feelings. Every delivery is amazing, beautiful and perfect whether the baby gets here through a med-free birth, with the assistance of pain medications or by c-section, but I have to admire the way that Katie fought for the birth experience she wanted.

As I watched her labor hour after hour and even begin to question whether a little bit of pain relief would be such a bad thing, I was awestruck by the strength and beauty with which she (with the aid and encouragement of her fabulously supportive husband and wonderful nurse) worked through the contractions and got all the way to the finish line with nothing more than a little help with nausea. It was without a doubt the most beautiful thing that I have ever had the pleasure of witnessing.

Leave it to Katie to have perfectly applied eye makeup in labor.

Ultimately, after a few rounds of pushing, this birth ended in a c-section due to placental abruption and concerns with baby Annabelle’s heart rate, but Katie fully accomplished her goal of making it all the way through labor with no pain meds and minimal intervention. She has so much to be proud of for that. And the end result was such a beautiful baby girl:

I had the great pleasure of shooting a wedding with Libby of Libby Ann Photography recently. Not only did I love getting to be part of this couple’s beautiful wedding day, but working with other photographers is truly such a joy. I firmly believe that the best way any artist can grow in their craft is through constant practice, and learning from others who share their passion.

Bride and groom were both adorably anxious while waiting for the ceremony to begin.

One of the fun things about being a second shooter is that you have the opportunity to get images from different angles during the more formal, posed shots.

Could the groom’s parents look any more thrilled?

I know that I’m not alone in this, but probably my favorite part of any wedding is seeing the look on the grooms face when he sees his beautiful bride for the first time.

Sealed with a kiss…

I hope to find some time to come back and share some of the reception shots, but for now I have lots more sessions to review and editing to do!

My faith and spirituality play such a big part in my life, so I could not be more honored than when my clients invite me to be part of their own religious traditions. This was an exceptionally special event as Little A was christened by the same minister who christened her mother. It was truly a beautiful service. You could feel the love that the whole congregation wrapped this new family in as they promised to raise their daughter with God at the center of her life.