I will no longer be posting on this blog!!!!! Please see the big news at www.thuffmanphotography.com and sneak peeks will now be put on the facebook page so be sure to "like" it!

This was one of the most fun sessions ever! This family is so laid back and was so comfortable playing with eachother and being candid! There are so many cute ones that I had a hard time narrowing down for the sneak peek! You are all loved and healing prayers are sent to you this next week...bigs hugs!!!

We were racing thru this session Saturday morning trying to beat the storm! We made it but we have plenty of hair blowing pictures to sift thru! I told the ladies they had the built in supermodel fan but they weren't buying it!

Last time I saw Mr. K he was a little baby and this is the first time I have met Mr J! Mom has her hands full with these active, handsome boys!!!

She is such a classic beauty!

It was a hot but beautiful day for the Farmers to get married! I could not have asked for anything more on the last wedding that I will ever photograph. Kelly and Tye are such sweet and wonderful people and I am honored to have shared last night with them.

His laugh and smile will melt your heart!

Sorry for the long post but I am trying to play catch up! I have photographed some awesome families this week and some cool girls from Grigsbys Boutique!

We were supposed to do this session last Sunday so Kelly was the first person I talked to after my daughter called me to tell me that the whole family had just been hit by a 18 wheeler. Poor Kelly had to hear me fall apart on the phone while I tried to tell her I couldn't take her portraits! Anyway, we had a great time last night  and they looked beautiful as you can see!

Besides my own kids these are the coolest kids I know! These handsome guys are the sons of my husbands cousin and wife (got all that?!) Taking portraits of family members is really stressful but they were a joy this morning!

Want to apologize ahead of time if some of your portraits and frames are late. My family was in an accident last Sunday and we were in Ft Worth for a few days making sure everybody was ok to drive home. Everyone is doing well and thank you for your patience as I get caught up.

Seriously cute family tonight! The girls dresses are from Etsy...love that place! That little one reminded me so much of one of my family members and she even had the same name!

Just a little peek for now!

I love this couple!! They are the sweetest down to earth kiddos ever! This was the most fun I have had at a wedding in a long time!

All good sessions should end with a dip in the lake!!

Sweet baby ! is already a year old! I am writing a little article for something coming up and I will post here on Tuesday along with pics of Miss A thru this first year!

This little sweet pea was born Feb 24th! I love mom's who get babies in that early! He slept almost the entire time and let me mold him for 2 hours!

After 11 years of being a photographer, earning my certification, and meeting countless people that I now adore, I am retiring from portrait photography. I have decided to move on to something else...what that is...I am not sure yet! I had an amazing time with this work and I hope I enjoy the next job just as much. Thanks especially to Carolyn Miller for giving the chance to shoot the covers of San Angelo Family magazine-check out the new photographer taking over in April!

I am retiring December 15th 2011 so please come and see me before that! I would love to see you all this year so I can see all those kiddos once again! All my love and respect-tommie

Holli Aycock and Matt Garcia were married in December in beautiful California and came to have their party here at the Cactus immediately following their honeymoon! I will post more pics of their tables soon-it was amazing!

Sweet baby S slept the entire time and did great with his big sister!

So there is a lot going on this year for my family and we can't be more excited about it! Everything is not completley in place and probably won't be until the end of this year so I am going to keep most of the news to myself for now and keep you guys updated as I know more! But what I can tell you about is my new venture!

I will be creating a digital photography how to manual and cd that will be released before Christmas of this year! It is will have everything you need to start taking gorgeous portraits and the cd will show you how to edit them in photoshop! There will also be a bonus business section for those wanting to start your own photography business! I will not be able to offer any more classes this year as I will use every spare minute to work on the digital manual.

As I said, the manual will be released before Christmas and my date that I hopefully will make is Nov 27th! I am offering a pre release price on the digital manual and cd for $200 until release. After it has been released it will be $500. If interested in pre purchasing email me and I will send you a paypal invoice! tommiehuffmanps@gmail.com

Keep coming back here for more info and the latest sneak peeks!

Baby K was almost 4 weeks before we were able to do his newborn session! He did better than many 2 week olders with how much he slept and let me work with him!

Check out his very unique bedding in the background! What little boy wouldn't love to look at pretty ladies all day!

Will be arriving here after the first of the year-going to be quiet here on the blog until then so have a great holiday season!

Loved their colors!

(let me preface by saying-I have completed 1 1/2 sessions today and 2 discs are going in the mail in the morning so please don't get upset with me if you are waiting on pictures thinking that I should be working instead of blabbing-you will receive your portraits soon!)

...is to live on a small piece of land 5-10 acres with a garden, some chickens, maybe a few sheep or goats, contemplating a horse, a couple dogs, and maybe a cat or 2. For most of you living in San Angelo this is not a big deal nor uncommon in any way but for me...this is crazy. I was raised in the city either in Arizona orTexas. I loved the noise, the things to do, and I cried when my Mom moved us to San Angelo when I was in the 5th grade. She took me to the mall and I cried even more (how could anyone call that a mall I asked myself between sobs)

Now, my Mom always dreamed of moving to the country and living an almost Amish style life-and yes I thought she was crazy and old for thinking such thoughts. She is still to this day trying to get there and I hope one day she does because I have learned something along the way.

This country was once great. Families were once strong. Life was much simplier. Kids once respected and adored their parents.

Most people of that era came from or lived on a farm. Something about working together and getting things done for your family, your neighbors, and your community made people different than today.

My heart yearns to be a housewife that grows her own food and then cooks it for her family. My heart screams that I need more time with my kids and bonding over a campfire built on our land and frying fish that we caught in our pond. I want to learn how to quilt and embroider and knit and I want to teach my daughter the same. I want to join girlscouts (although I am sure that my age will draw a few looks).

I WANT TO BE A FARM GIRL!

Weird to me that I have become my mother.

and p.s. I did join a type of girl scouts for "older" girls and yes I plan to get my badges. I also ordered a embroidery book which hopefully I find time to read in the coming months. I guess its never to late to start on your dreams one step at a time.

(let me preface by saying-I have completed 1 1/2 sessions today and 2 discs are going in the mail in the morning so please don't get upset with me if you are waiting on pictures thinking that I should be working instead of blabbing-you will receive your portraits soon!)

...is to live on a small piece of land 5-10 acres with a garden, some chickens, maybe a few sheep or goats, contemplating a horse, a couple dogs, and maybe a cat or 2. For most of you living in San Angelo this is not a big deal nor uncommon in any way but for me...this is crazy. I was raised in the city either in Arizona orTexas. I loved the noise, the things to do, and I cried when my Mom moved us to San Angelo when I was in the 5th grade. She took me to the mall and I cried even more (how could anyone call that a mall I asked myself between sobs)

Now, my Mom always dreamed of moving to the country and living an almost Amish style life-and yes I thought she was crazy and old for thinking such thoughts. She is still to this day trying to get there and I hope one day she does because I have learned something along the way.

This country was once great. Families were once strong. Life was much simplier. Kids once respected and adored their parents.

Most people of that era came from or lived on a farm. Something about working together and getting things done for your family, your neighbors, and your community made people different than today.

My heart yearns to be a housewife that grows her own food and then cooks it for her family. My heart screams that I need more time with my kids and bonding over a campfire built on our land and frying fish that we caught in our pond. I want to learn how to quilt and embroider and knit and I want to teach my daughter the same. I want to join girlscouts (although I am sure that my age will draw a few looks).

I WANT TO BE A FARM GIRL!

Weird to me that I have become my mother.

and p.s. I did join a type of girl scouts for "older" girls and yes I plan to get my badges. I also ordered a embroidery book which hopefully I find time to read in the coming months. I guess its never to late to start on your dreams one step at a time.

Just one for now!

more of their sneek peek next week!

I have to much going on this week so I will upload a regular sneak peek of this fabulous family next week!

...you are not only an accomplished musician but you have an amazing old soul. Thank you for putting up with my antics tonight- I am glad I could get you to smile. Best of luck at Carnegie Hall in February!

I couldn't believe it-4 Girls! I was talking with Dad at one point and I can't remember now what I said but I remember what he said-" It is really fun." What an awesome Dad!

Something tells me this happens quite often in this house. Five ladies chit chatting away and Dad patiently waits his turn!

Just finished reading this book and it was quite amazing. I am not going to say what it is about because I probably would not have bought it if I had known what the story was about (I like stories that are somewhat predictable and lovely). Do yourself a favor and go buy it at Target (that is where I saw it) or your local bookstore and do not read the back just buy it and read it!

This cute family is due in about 6 weeks! I am super excited to do Mr. K's newborn session-his nursery is AWESOME-so different and unique for a baby!

One of my favorite photographers had a good post on her blog today. It was about being personal and vulnerable on your blog. So people who relate will want to hire you. I have done this sort of thing before and freaked out myself and a few others in the process so I have tried to make it more businessy but I think it is very boring so I am going to give it another try and keep it tame this time...at least for awhile!

So, for starters things I like:

Sprite

Iced Tea

Coffee

make up (though I don't wear much of it I like knowing I can put on any  color eyeshadow in the rainbow if I wanted to)

babies

staying home on the weekends with family and not having anything to do (this never happens but I live in a dream world a lot of times!)

photography (duh)

the list continues but I am now bored so there was my start on being personal-love ya!

I can't believe she is already 12! This session was the best we have had in a few years. She and I can finally collaborate and work off eachothers ideas and I love it! She is a super creative and talented person and I love hanging out and discussing ideas and then having them actually work like this portrait-LOVE IT!

Miss C is turning 16! She is our cousin from McCamey and came all the way up here for me to be able to take her portraits-I felt very honored!

Miss C and Miss E are 2nd or 3rd cousins we are not really sure!

Been photographing these kiddos since mom was pregnant with the oldest! They were so cute tonight and did great for us changing their clothes 3 times!

We are saving the cute family portraits for Christmas presents so this is the only one we can show now!

Sally did a professional workshop with me 3 years ago and we have remained friends ever since. She is a wonderfully talented woman and and even more amazing mom of 4...almost 5. She has put her business on hold to stay at home with her kiddos ...did I mention she was amazing! Love you sweetie see you soon!

These sweet boys belong to sweet parents. I am so happy how these turned out and so glad we got them done since we have been trying to do this shoot since June!

Nothing like a sister to make you laugh!

Didn't want to take away from Mom -you have awesome pics too-but I love seeing a Daddy his kids together!

Mr J was having a little break down a few weeks ago so we tried again today and he was all smiles!

So you don't see the mini farm in any of the pictures but cats, kittens, a dog, and chickens were all around us! I would have loved to take some pics with the chickens but Miss P said no way! The T parents are awesome for getting all 4 kiddos plus themselves plus a couch out of the house and into the field before the sun went down!

The ducks tolerated Mr. D very well and never tried to peck at him! They even brought their babies to see him a bit later!

looks like trouble!

A few bridal portraits that were taken a couple months ago at the Chapel in the Vineyard

The beautiful chapel

Check out those eyes and eyelashes!

Love it!

Dana Calhoun has put on Catwalk for the Cure every year for the past 5 years. It is an incredible event that always looks gorgeous and is so much fun and raises awareness and money for breast cancer. I have always been a spectator like everyone else and so always enjoyed the show like everyone else. This year is different. I have been working for Dana since May and she has been working on Catwalk since then. This is an event that she truly puts her heart and soul into and sacrifices many things in her life to be able to put it together. If you can't make it to the show please send her an encouraging  word thru facebook or email and if you are able to go thank you so much for supporting her and her cherished cause and showing her that her daily sacrifices are much appreciated.

This is Jackson telling us he is done with this shoot!

Love this one! Thanks for sharing your story with me guys!

My adorable newphews are 1 year apart and keep their mom and dad on their toes!

This little cutie is modeling how an older baby can use the the new prop and mom and Dad are modeling for my Love Story Session!

The Scott's have moved into their beautiful new home so it was time for pictures!

Tana and Jack were my first models for the the session that I am starting called Love Stories.They were incredible and this image was taken during one of the emotion moments when Tana was talking with Jack about a very scary accident that almost cost Jack his life a couple years ago. I did not ask Tana to write anything about her session but I got this message from her this morning and thought I would share it with you:

"Hey there....I love the picture! It is sweet! I am so very grateful that you allowed Jack and I to have the opportunity to take the photos. It was so much fun and he really enjoyed doing it. It really helped us look at each other in a different way. Amazing how just 30 minutes can change your life I love him more now than ever. Thank you again!"

So what is a Love story session you ask?

The Love Story session is usually done at a couples 5year anniversary and then every 3 to 4 years after. This is a completely different type of session that really gets to the heart of your marriage and love for one another and gives you an outlet to freely express through words and actions your love for eachother. We all know the statistics for marriage these days and many of us are dual working families with kids in sports and church meetings and business functions and our relationship with our spouse sometimes suffers. The loss of communication and really hearing each other gets put on the back burner. Having a Love Story session makes you each stop, listen, and remember one another and I am there to silently capture it.

We finished this session in record time to beat the storm that came rolling in Wednesday night!

The Miracle Kids Calendar is coming back! I photograph the San Angelo Miracle Kids every year and we did an awesome calendar a couple years ago and we are doing it again this year! I am only posting one because I do not want to give anything away for the release of the calendar in August/Sept. This little cutie was the last session of the day yesterday and she was ADORABLE!

This is beautiful Miss G and her Mamma! Miss G has been modeling for me since she itty bitty-in fact she was the first client I photographed after going out on my own as a photographer!

I am running a special digital session sale for limited dates! Receive your session plus cd with up to 30 retouched high resolution portraits for $400! Dates are June 23,24,28, and 30th. Call or email me wuickly if you want one of these dates!

I've waited 5 long weeks for this handmade bed to arrive! So cute! There is a rich burgandy tufted fabric for little girls which you will see Thursday night!

This painting was on a wall hanging that hung in my home all the years I was growing up. I love it for its beauty and color and serenity. I decided to try to recreate them in my own way. I am happy with them and am hoping to have the opportunity to improve even more on recreatins such a wonderful piece.

This is Carolyn, wonder woman, mother, grandmother, and cancer survivor. She included a family heirloom Bible and pearls into her portraits-isn't she awesome?!

Carrie was a great model! I really love this one but there are plenty more to come!

I love this one of Amy but there are a few more that I can't wait to play with!

close up

This is my first Donna Saggio (wise women) session. Casey was a patient and amazing model!

Can't decide if I like it in color or sepia

Close up of detail

Brooke and I went to school together for awhile and I think she started dating Micheal about the same time I started dating Tim and the guys played on a league basketball team togther that was coached by Micheal's dad...needless to say we have known eachother for awhile but this is the first time in years we have gotten together! Their kids are ssssssoooooooo well behaved and sweet and funny-can you tell I had a good time tonight?!

This little guy was not to much into sleeping today! We did get some really awesome portraits eventually! My new prop is not in yet but be looking for it mid to late June!

...that is a line from one of my favorite shows, Dead Like Me, if you haven't seen it you can download all the seasons on Netflix-totally worth it! So, I decided to go back to work part time at one of my favorite stores-Grigsbys! Dana and her mom Carolyn are a blast to be around and I usually take sessions only in the evening anyway so I thought what the heck! Anyway, I am a procrastinator and have horrible time management skills so I figured being really busy wil lhelp me plan my days a lot better when it comes to Getting Things Done! One thing that I am putting towards the top of my list is something that I think everyone should do so I am going to share it with you!

If you are like me then you have lots of pictures on the wall on tables and...the dreaded closet storage! My plan is to finish writing cards and placing them on the back of all my wall portraits this year. Here is the deal. I choose which child the particular portrait will be going to and then wite a short or sometimes long paragraph as to how I felt about that particular day or how much fun we had or what had happened recently or just anything I want to tell them. It is better to do it close to the day the portrait was taken but if you are like me time goes by way to quick and all the sudden it has been hanging for a year and I am just now getting to it. Instead of beating myself up over it I choose to date the letter and date the picture and just tell him/her what is going on now and what we enjoy doing together and how much they mean to me. I then put the note in a sealed envelope with their name on it and use double stick tape to tape it to the back of the frame or canvas.

Why is this a good idea you ask? Let's face it-no one knows when our time is up and we hope that our kids are grown before we go and we can give them the portraits ourselves but that might not happen. Having their name on the back shows who you want the portrait to go to and they get to read the note which will mean a lot to them one day no matter if that day is tomorrow or 20 years from now.

These two are so cute! Joe wasn't sure about the PDA at first but warmed up quickly!! Their wedding is going to be stunning at the Chapel in the Vineyard in October!

Sweet lil' baby let us play with her for a long time this morning!

I can't believe how much these boys have grown! I have been photographing them since the oldest, Mr B, was in mommy's tummy!

Mr B wanted his closeup!

Miss E modeled for me today so I took a break from working and gave myself some play time! For all you photoshop people-this is about 15 layers-I accidently merged 3 or 4 early on and did not realize it in time to unmerge them so 15 is a rough estimate!

I am still needing female models age 40 for a new style of photography that I am starting.

I also need babies! I have a new prop coming in soon and will need newborns - 1 year to show it off!

I also need moms with babies that are 1-21/2 years old. Boys or girls and I would love to have some curly haired kiddos!

As always email me if interested and I will let you know the concept I am going after. You will receive a slideshow of images taken at the session.

Crazy scedule right now so I will want to book these in mid to late June and later.

These guys are so much fun and I can't wait to photograph their wedding in Fredericksburg next year!

here are the 2 images that went into the making of the image in the last post. The portrait of the girl was taken in Dallas at Texas School and the last image I found on a website with stock images.

This lovely girl was a model at the school I was at a couple weeks ago so I cut her out of the alley she was in and put her here-I think she looks better here anyway!

Just a close up so you can see all the grain I put into the image. Grain makes me think of film and film makes me think of fine art.

So you might recognize Miss London from Fridays post! This is her hunny Will. He is leaving for West Point very soon and so they decided to get some portraits taken together-everyone with me now....aaawwwwaaahhh. Yes they are stinkin' cute and young love always makes my heart flutter a bit.

Miss London will be appearing in San Angelo Broadway Academys Fame the end of the month. We decided to try a little Hollywood glamour lighting for her portrait!

My seet Miss E had her first formal banquet last night so she ran by Grigsbys and had her picture made with all the other Facebook ladies!

I will be needing women in their 40s-100 for a new branch of photography I will be creating called Donna Saggio (wise women). For modeling you will receive a slideshow of images that were created during your session. I will be choosing over the next couple of weeks while all my new equipment comes in. Please send a picture of yourself and a short bio to my email tommiehuffmanps@gmail.com-nominate yourself or a special woman in your life.

This is the 'something'-not quite sure what it is but I like it!!

I have 1 opening for a mini session tonight at 7:30 call me to snag it! The mini session date for June is Tuesday the 15th. I book them every 15minutes from 6-7:45 so call me if you want to get one of those. The mini session includes the 15 minute sesssion and 8-10 proofs for you to choose from for your package of either 2-8x10 or 2-5x7 and 8 wallets for $175 plus tax.

Also, make sure you stop by Grigsbys this Thursday from 4-7 to get free mini makeovers, free martinis, and free Facebook photo!