As I head off this afternoon for another amazing wedding this weekend I thought I would leave you with a preview of Kristina + Daniels gorgeous wedding album. Honestly, I can’t help but feel a bit of sadness as I close the chapter on this very special couple. My experience with them was simply beautiful and their album speaks volumes for their adoration for each other and for their family.  See the album for yourself here. Also, I will be out of the studio until Monday, January 4 but will still have email access should you need to reach me.  I wish you a safe and happy New Year!

A few months back I had the extreme honor of submitting a featured Totally Rad Actions recipe. I use TRA quite a bit in my post-processing for things such as sharpening, sharpening for web, batch resizing, and optimization. In return I received the most amazing album slip cover by the ridiculously talented Chrys Q. Seriously, these slip covers are outrageously beautiful and quite possibly the nicest thing I have ever owned. They are custom made for every order! If you are a photographer, or any artist for that matter, I urge you to head on over to her site to check out the entire collection. Mine is called Pendu!

 As 2009 comes to a close I find myself reflecting on what was truly an amazing year. Not only has my business blossomed in front of my very own eyes, but through undeterred dedication I have managed to achieve so early in my career what few photographers accomplish in a lifetime. For that I am thankful. From Honduras to San Juan Capistrano my clients have blessed me beyond words.  Yes, I am blessed. As I was sorting through my gallery this morning I just couldn’t believe the countless unforgettable moments I was allowed to witness, let alone capture through the lives of the most amazing people one could possibly know. Here are just a few glimpses into some of my favorite moments. Vote for your favorite and the winning couple will receive a gallery framed 11X14 to be treasured for a lifetime. Voting will close at midnight on New Years Eve and God bless us all in 2010.

 Vote Here! Click “View Details” in order to view associated image. Oh, and feel free to comment on why!!

Okay, I live in Texas. Austin is beautiful. Its artistic, liberal, and there is just so much goodness to be had here. But the one thing that we don’t have is snow. Ever. Like most photographers I keep an inspiration board posted in my home office where various images and articles that have peeked my curiosity have accumulated. Many have spurred some of my favorite images to date while others patiently wait to be realized. Earlier this evening I was sipping on hot cocoa (home made, not the powdery store bought crap) doing a bit of editing, still reveling in the pure bliss that is Christmas Day when I just happen to glance up at my board. This is the image that brought a smile to face. Seriously, from ear to ear. Then I said to myself, I said “Self, what I wouldn’t give to shoot young love in the snow!”

So, in honor of the holiday spirit I would like to offer a FREE portrait session to any couple who has been blessed with a wintery wonderland outside their front door. In fact, I will even split the airfare with you assuming that hospitality is provided for two nights stay. There are no requirements of eligibility. Any couple in love is perfect, whether you are recently engaged or are about to celebrate your 50th wedding anniversary. No rules. Just be in love. If interested please just drop me a line at clayton@claytonaustinlovestories.com titled “Let it snow” and tell me a little about yourselves. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Sometimes I feel as if I should require my clients to sign injury waivers at their engagement sessions. Honestly, it seems that there is no lengths that like myself, they will not go to in order to get that one amazing image. And that one. And that one. Even if it requires climbing a 10 foot ladder to scale the side of a 60 year old fishing  boat in the middle of a field (don’t ask me how it got there) they are always right there with me. Excited. Anxious. Sometimes very, very scared. But always committed. Here are a few of my favorite images from Kindra and Jake’s amazing session. 

Recently I had made the decision to no longer offer individual bridal sessions to my clients. I know. I know. Here in Texas I’m sure to catch some heat for it but truth be told, the majority of my clients are out of state and/or destination weddings where an individual bridal session isn’t cost effective or even realistic in most cases. Also, I really feel that the wedding industry is becoming more and more about the couple and less about just the bride. Grooms have become much more involved (willingly even!) and in recent years when given the choice the majority of my clients are opting for a unique and beautiful engagement portraits over the more traditional bridal sessions. In other words, engagement sessions ARE the new bridals! Of course I will always take the time to steal away the stunning bride for some portrait time on the day of the wedding. I will just no longer offer these types of sessions on an appointment basis. That being said I just returned from shooting one of the last few bridal sessions I had previously committed to and I have to admit, after seeing this image that I took less than 3 hours ago, I may have to reconsider! What do you think??

To think that anyone in their right mind would ever look to me for inspiration, to be quite honest still completely boggles my mind. In fact I am quite humbled actually. Who am I to inspire when I look to others for inspiration. Who am I to teach when most of the time I feel as though I am clueless and have so much to learn myself! In any case, it seems as though I have been receiving quite a few inquiries from my peers of the wedding and portrait photography kind lately who for whatever reason would simply like to pick my brain. So instead of taking hours upon hours to answer their questions individually, I have decided to post a Q&A session where I will answer any questions honestly and to the best of my ability.  If you would like to contribute to the session feel free to drop me a line or two through my contact form or by emailing me directly to Clayton@claytonaustinlovestories.com. I would love to answer all types of questions from photoshop to inspiration boards. Or if you simply would like to take a crash course in Clayton 101 and learn a bit about me personally I would be ecstatic to share. Nothing is off limits so fire away!

 Susan + Krister are the wedding and portrait photography duo of Picture That Photography visiting all the way from Canada and when they initially contacted me in reference to shooting their engagement session in Austin, TX, one of their favorite cities to visit, I must admit I was slightly nervous. I had never photographed another photographer before, let alone two at the same time.  Thankfully, and at the risk of sounding cliche, they really are some of the most genuinely nicest people I have ever met and their gentle and humble spirit put me at ease right away. Technically Susan & Krister aren’t officially engaged just yet but as you will see from their images it is clearly just a matter of time.  I would also like to mention that the red swing featured in this session isn’t just any old random swing. It is actually the very first swing hung as part of the Red Swing Project which has hung 90 red swings worldwide in an effort to raise money and unite human kind through the simple enjoyment of a single red swing. How befitting that my new friends from Canada would happen across this particular red swing only to steal a few moments to remind each other just how good it feels to be in love…