Girl, Is My Weave Showin'?

I'm not proud that I quote the movie Joe Dirt fairly often. It's actually just one line that stuck with me for some reason. Joe is trying to tell some gate guard that his name is pronounced "Deer-tay," and the guard tells him, "Don't try to church it up, son!"

I say that all the time. (And I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who gets a kick out of it!) But I think Shandi, founder of BabeHair Bootcamp, and my own stylist here in Austin would probably like that line, too!

I pretended to be working today, but actually, I just went and had so much fun with a bunch of gorgeous girls at BabeHair Bootcamp! (If I strap on a camera, that's work, right?!)

And let me tell you. Things got real real. Real quick.

Shandi - gorgeous, petite, charming, little Shandi, started off the event by pullin' out her weave right there in front of Gawd and ever'body.

"You can't call it extensions," she told a room full of women as she yanked out half of her hair. "It's weave. Everybody knows it!"

Most women who wear a weave would neeever even admit it, much less show it to a room full of people! But Shandi is utterly honest with her attendees about all her beauty secrets, from how she curls her hair, to how she gets that perfect arch in her brows. (Botox!)

Mostly BabeHair is about learning how to get that perfect curl, that cute up-do and the (surprisingly few) products you need to achieve those looks. Don't worry! There was nary a BumpIt to be found! I honestly think Shandi's methods are probably easier than trying to get one of those things to sit straight on your head anyway! 

First she shows you on her own pretty little head. 

And then she invites a pretty little head up from the audience to try it out and show everybody that it's easy even if you're not a professional!

One of my favorite parts was when she showed us how to do the kind of half up, half down do that you might wear to work. Then she took it and made one of those perfectly imperfect ponytails out of it. But wait! She's not done! Then made a cute little bun out of the whole thing, and voila! Her attendee model was ready to go to a wedding!

But even though BabeHair is a lot about looking pretty, Shandi makes sure that everybody who attends knows that this stuff is really just "for fun."

She tells her babes that this is the 'kid in a candy shop stuff.' "Don't ever think that you're going to get the guy, or the job or the interview just because of something like extensions. You're beautiful and amazing just like you are," she says.

Some of her tips can be found online at http://www.shandinichelle.com/, but for the whole thing, you'll want to like her Facebook page so you'll know when the next BabeHair tour is happening!

God Bless Y'all, Babes!

Reeeeeee-Pooooooost!! Barefoot in a Sundress

So I was writing a blog called The Local for KOKE FM this summer, but it turned out to just be too much for me once Sam came along. But I loved it, and I'm kind-of hoping to get back to it someday. In the meantime, I don't want those posts to get lost, so I'm re-posting some of them here for safekeeping. This one with Haley Cole was one of my favorites, so it's the first one. Not exactly timely as we head into our coldest weather so far this season, but maybe it'll help keep you warm this weekend! 

Fun sidenote: one of the photos from this shoot is now the main photo on Haley's website.

Who doesn't want to be "that girl?!" The one who's everything he ever hoped he'd find? I can't necessarily lead you to the guy who's world turns on a dime when you step out of a Jeep, but I think I can help you with the sundress part...

Nobody rocks a sundress like an Austin girl, and therefore, nobody stocks sundresses like our locally-owned Austin boutiques. Luckily, there are several in town who think KOKE and The Local are cool and were willing to loan out a few dresses specifically for this post!

But who wants to look at a bunch of pictures of dresses on hangers? Much more fun to talk a local artist into playing dress up for an afternoon!

In our case, "that girl" is Miss Haley Cole. While fairly new to our area, she has jumped right into performing as much as she possibly can and was a surprise guest with Drew Womack at one of our Wednesday night Free Music Series shows. That's where she and I met, and I knew she was everything I'd ever hoped I'd find for this shoot!

So let's shop!

So if you hang out on tree branches or drink from water hoses a lot during the summer, I think eyelet lace is pretty much the only way to go. This color is everywhere this summer and flatters just about any skin tone!

 This is just one of the dresses we found at Luxe Apothetique's downtown location. They have a ton of dresses, and tops and lots of accessories, too. Both necklaces are also from Luxe. You can shop downtown on Second Street or up north at their location in the Domain. Bonus: both locations also have salons in them!

We thank Blue Elephant (North Lamar at 35th Street in the Central Market shopping center) for this gorgeous maxi dress! (I very seriously considered just buying it instead of returning it to them!) Maxi dresses have been big everywhere for a little while now, but I think they're especially Austin-y because their a little bit hippie.

We found the perfect earrings and bangle bracelets at Embellish Nails & Boutique on Bee Cave Road. (They also have a north location at Anderson Lane near Mopac.) And, as the name implies, you can get a manicure or a pedicure so you can really make sure you're showing off your jewelry to its fullest potential. (They also do facials!) 

Those earrings plus the bow necklace from Luxe were some of our favorite accessories. We kept them on for this orange dress from Embellish and added a cuff bracelet from a little boutique down in Bee Cave called Oh Yeah! (It's across from the Hill Country Galleria.) Can you read it?! It says, "If a girl wants to be a legend,  she should just go ahead and be one." Thank you, Calamity Jane, for those words of affirmation!

We also found this chevron maxi and Kendra Scott necklace at Embellish. If you're looking for a dress for when you sit on fences, this is probably the one.

Works with a guitar, too!

 

Blue Elephant also had this maxi with the cool neckline...

...and this one with the cool, neon embroidery. Ahhh...a pool sounds pretty nice right now!

And just a little more neon along the hem of the white, strapless dress above wraps up everything I have to show you from Blue. They've got a ton of clothes, accessories and beauty items, too. I actually go there a lot for gifts.

But we're not done altogether! Luxe had this Roxy dress as well as the necklaces Haley's wearing.

Luxe also happens to be where we found this green and white ombre dress. Not just anybody can pull off the low, flapper-esque waistline, but the ruffles make it worth a shot. Works for Haley!

The necklace with the ombre dress is from Oh Yeah! So is the one we paired with the green, paisley dress from Oh Yeah!

It's leather, and it's almost like a bolo tie modified and made cute for a girl. I've never seen anything like it! I think that Oh Yeah! probably has the most unique accessories.

And this is another color that flatters most skin tones.

So there you go! See anything you like? You might think that it's not terribly practical to be buying sundresses this late in the summer, but I've got bad/good news for you: summer is nowhere close to over in Austin! We've got a solid two months of sundress weather left! More if you invest in a couple of cardigans!

Here is the official link list:


Haley Cole
www.haleycolemusic.com
(Psst - you can see her tonight in New Braunfels at the Pour House!)

Oh Yeah! Boutique
www.atxmafia.com/
(Oh Yeah! is owned by the creators of the ATX Mafia line, and that's their main website)

Embellish Nails & Boutique
www.embellishnails.com

Luxe Apothetique
luxeapothetique.tumblr.com/

Blue Elephant
blueelephantboutique.blogspot.com/

Jenni

It's Not Fall Anymore!

It felt like spring today, and I hear we're getting some real winter weather by the end of the week! Se la vie in Texas, right?!

Sam loves to be outside, and since opportunities will be few and far between during the big cold front that's coming, I decided to take a detour after my hair cut today and spend a little while walking him around Mayfield Park. I was also feeling a little bad for putting him back in his carseat again after he was so good for the five hour drive from Jasper just yesterday!

This won't be our first big cold front for the year, though. During the most recent one, Sam and I passed the time with a little feetsie photo shoot!

I just love the way he crosses his ankles like that, and had to get a shot of it! We actually took these the morning before he fiiinally was able to grab ahold of his feet! He still has not gotten them to his mouth, but he's working on it real hard! 

Sam is very patient and a good poser for Mommy. 

I framed that one. I can't stand how cute that little red head is. 

We also took his three month picture! We were a week late, but we've been a week late for all of them, so I think that means we're right on track! Right? I'm counting it. 

I couldn't choose! Let me tell ya, Precision Camera is making some money off of me now! I never can choose between shots! So I don't. I just print them all.

Oh Sam the Man. You're so funny.

Orange You Glad It's Fall?

Sorry. I couldn't help myself with the title.

A couple weeks ago, the Hoggs & Killams got a major jump on their holiday to-do list when we went ahead and took their Christmas card pics! They donned burnt orange, we (miraculously) found a couple parking spots at UT and we got 'er done! (Again - couldn't help myself.)

Those boys. They are just too cute! Plus, they were troopers! It did NOT feel like Christmas or even autumn outside that day! They may have dipped some toes into the fountain toward the end. 

It wasn't too much cooler for Sam's and my stop at the pumpkin patch! He was quite intrigued with the pumpkins, but not so much with actually looking at the camera. We did get a couple cute shots of him, though! 

That boy. He is too cute! I wish you could see his overalls a little better. But I'm glad his little toes are poking out there! He was also a pretty good sport. He may not have looked at the camera for more than this one shot, but he didn't cry at all! 

Psst - A little tip: you'll notice I've got my face smushed up against his. It's not only because I can't stand how cute he is and have to snuggle with him constantly. It also allowed me to have a little bit of control over where he was facing without using a hand behind his head. If you want to be facing the camera yourself, just go cheek-to-cheek. Same effect! 

I'm glad it's fall. Orange you?! 

Okay, I'm done now. 

Love y'all! 

Jenni

Gorgeous, Darling: Your Best Makeup Bets for a Portrait Session!

I have a pretty simple makeup routine myself, and with a newborn around the house, the routine gets simpler every day! However, your engagement session, Christmas card portraits or senior session is really not the time for a little moisturizer and mascara! Turns out the rules for photo-shoot makeup can be a little different than your everyday makeup, and since I'm not the best person to teach you about those differences, I tracked down a pro for ya!

Meet Miss Rhea McCarter of Adore Makeup Boutique in North Austin:

Rhea and the rest of the girls at Adore offer all sorts of fun services like, customized makeup application for weddings, events & editorial shoots, makeup lessons, blow outs, lash extensions and eyebrow shaping, airbrush tanning...the list is long, and these girls are good at what they do! I met Rhea for the first time at a wedding that I photographed, and the bride just looked beautiful!

All that to say, Rhea knows what she's talking about! She'll get you all dolled up if you want to stop by her shop, but she also graciously agreed to share "the tip of the iceberg" with us, so that you can give your portrait session makeup a go yourself if you're up for it!

Here we go!

Younger, Happier, Prettier! 

Who doesn't want to look younger, happier & prettier in your pictures?! Rhea says the best thing you can do for your makeup routine is to take care of your skin. You want hydration, and you want smoothness! These two factors will determine how the rest of your makeup sets on your skin. Without them, you could follow all the other tips and still end up with an uneven look.

For hydration, you want to look for natural skincare products with essential oils. If you can stop by Adore, Rhea carries two lines that she loves and recommends: The Balm & Source Vital.

But if you're more of a drugstore type of girl, Rhea says the Cetaphil brand is going to be your most natural option. Eye cream is also important, but if you're fresh out, the natural moisturizers can be applied under your eyes as well.

For smoothness, scrub scrub scrub!! I wrote that three times on purpose. Find a good exfoliant, (like The Balm's Kiwi Facial Scrub) and use it no more than three times a week. If you really want to invest in your youthful glow, purchase a Clarisonic. Apparently all that needs to be said about this device is that, "It's amazing."

Firm Foundation

Now that your face is a smooth, moist canvas for your makeup, you want to start with a water-based foundation, as opposed to an oil-based one. (I had no idea there were different bases, myself! Good thing I asked!)

Rhea suggests Bobbi Brown or any kind of BB Cream. In my ignorance, I had to ask what BB Cream actually is. Rhea says, "It's like tinted moisturizer and traditional foundation had a baby!" You get moisture and coverage! And since it's water-based, it lasts longer and is both sweat-proof and water-proof. I promise not to spray water in your face during your portrait session, but I have yet to find a client who doesn't end the session dabbing sweat from her forehead by the end of an outdoor shoot! You definitely want sweat-proofing!

Finish What You Started

Your foundation's partner is the powder you layer on top of it. For photos, Rhea suggests a high grade mineral powder.

The high grade part is important. It refers to how fine the powder is. Your typical mineral powders, like BareMinerals, may do the job day-to-day, but in photos, they can give you an orange-y tint, and they won't hold off shine like you need them to. Your higher grade powders come from lines like glo minerals & Jane Iredale.

Adore carries glo, and you can find Jane Iredale in a few spas and doctor's offices around town.

Bonus powder tip: Instead of using blotting papers as you start to...ummm...shimmer in higher temps, Rhea suggests you reapply a light powder. Blotting papers can remove your carefully applied makeup. Who needs that?!

A Lovely Frame for Those Baby Blues

Shapely brows provide a pretty frame for the rest of your face! Even if you normally do your brow maintenance yourself (like me!), make an appointment with an aesthetician to have your brows shaped before your portrait session.

I know it's scary to let someone else have control over that part of your face - believe me, I've heard horror stories! But if you get some recommendations from friends with perfectly normal looking brows, you should be fine! If that's no help, Alex Hart at Adore is a safe bet!

While you're with your aesthetician, ask for tips on filling in your brows for your session. Most people don't do this as part of their normal makeup routine, but photos can show unevenness that isn't noticeable day-to-day. Rhea recommends using brow powder with an angled brush.

Show Off What You've Framed

You want liner, and you want mascara. The most important thing about liner is to get it close in to your lash line. Then Rhea says to apply a double coat of black mascara. (Always black for photos. It works harder than a black-brown to make your eyes stand out.)

Turns out Rhea is a drugstore kind of gal on this topic, too! For mascara, she prefers Loreal's Voluminous mascara. It thickens and lengthens without leaving clumps, and it's waterproof!

Secrets, Secrets Are..Well Sometimes They're Necessary

If you don't have at least a little darkness under your eyes, then you're either 16 or we can't be friends. Everybody has a little under-eye shadow they'd rather keep under wraps! To keep your secret, use a two toned concealer like this one from glo:

Use the darker shade under the entire eye, and then layer the lighter shade on top only where you have darkness. 

Add a Little Pop

If you ever wanted your eye color to pop, it's when you're taking photos. Some of Rhea's suggestions are light gray for blue eyes, a pretty lilac for brown or turquoise for even darker brown. "You want a little Victoria's Secret in there, but not too much!" She wants us to keep it matte - avoid shimmer! 

Get a Little Cheeky

"I feel like a lot of women in Austin don't wear blush, but it's actually important for pictures," says Rhea. 

Blush can be intimidating because it can go very wrong! (At least to me, it is!) But according to Rhea, you don't need a heavy application, just the right makeup in the right places. So a light-handed approach to blush should be doable for most girls! If you're nervous, choose a shade that's closer to brown than bubblegum. Rhea recommends Bare from the glo minerals line. And stay away from shimmer, just like with your eye shadow. 

No Need to Pout

Let your makeup do it for you! Rhea says to go simple with a neutral shade on your lips for photos. (Unless you're bold enough to go for an "all the way red" shade! Just avoid in-betweensies!) 

Things to remember when choosing your photo shoot lip color: you don't want high gloss, but you don't have to go all the way matte either. Something creamy will give you that younger, happier, prettier moisturized look. Rhea tells me that Burt's Bees' gloss hits this happy medium. 

Extra lip tip: Focusing the color in the "Betty Boop" area will keep your lips looking full. 

So there ya have it, ladies! Keep this post bookmarked for when you're ready to head to your photo shoot! Or if even this simple tips have you cross-eyed, here's Rhea's number: 512-524-0208. And her website: 

adoremakeupsalon.com 

Even if you've got a handle on this makeup thing, trying a new look is always fun! Adore's Makeup Bar is designed for just that! 

Drop by the shop, pick a look and let Rhea do the work for you! Take a few girlfriends and make a party of it complete with cocktails! Visit Adore's website for all the details and contact information.

And thank you so much to Angela, who let me photograph her appointment with Rhea for this blog! Angela is the editor of Bliss Bridal Magazine here in Austin. We owe her congratulations not only on the new issue, but also on the new baby, who will be making his debut soon!

Turned out gorgeous, Darling!

God Bless, Y'all!

Jenni

Jenni Roberts Photography

Puppy Dog Tails: Sam's Room

I promised pictures of Sam's room last time I was here. And now I have returned to deliver on that promise. I'm gonna go ahead and brag about how cute it is since, as it turned out, I had very little to do with it!

This is because almost every project I came up with included painting. I'm not sure if I was actually trying to be frugal like I claimed or if I was subconsciously trying to get out of the work. Either way, Michael was much more patient with all my projects than I ever expect him to be again.

Here is the best view of it, I think.

We picked a puppy dog theme. And yes, we realize this means we will someday probably have to get him a puppy dog. We discussed this actually. We briefly considered a teddy bear theme, because we felt we could more reasonably say no to getting him a bear. But in the end it was puppy dogs. I'm pretty sure Sam loves it.

The bulldog cutout is from an Etsy shop called Slippin' Southern. It was the first of what will probably be many orders from that shop. Go visit it. They have so much cute stuff!

The chest of drawers/changing table is one that we already had. But it used to be Ugly. (I meant to capitalize that. It was Ugly with a capital U.) Michael fixed it! Couple coats of primer and black paint, some new drawer pulls and voila! Much better.

Those adorable puppy dog water colors are also from Etsy. (Love Etsy!) The shop is called Jasper and Ruby. This is another one with LOTS of great stuff, although this one is all kid themed. Slippin' Southern has some that's for everyone.

Sam actually does love his puppy prints. He will stare and stare and stare at them while we change his diaper. That changing table might actually be his favorite spot in the house. Either that or the porch swing. It's a toss up.

Michael also made Sam his bookshelves.

And all of our sweet friends bought him all those books! They're so cute, and I already read them to him.

The two things I actually contributed were the crib skirt and Sam's mobile. 

I made the mobile, but I didn't design it. I had a template. They're actually little puppets that he can play with when he gets too big to need a mobile anymore!

And lastly, our chair.

It's already been a good, good chair. We spend a lot of time there. In fact, I slept in it the first night we put him in his room. (It reclines almost flat.) This was a gift from Michael's parents and we ordered it from Buy Buy Baby. Very comfy. And it's a rocker.

Oh! I did also frame that copy of Jesus Loves Me from an old hymnal. So that's three things I contributed! Look at me helping!

We all just love spending time in his room. It's now one of our favorite rooms in the house. I want to paint the living room and kitchen light gray, too, but I think Michael is all painted out for now! Aunt Brandi actually painted the walls for us. (All in one night!) Maybe she'll paint my living room for me! What do you say, Aunt Brandi? I'll let you snuggle Sam if you paint it for me!

God Bless Y'all!

Jenni

My New Favorite Picture

It's my baby smiling at me. We took that picture a couple weeks ago. He's even bigger and more smiley now! He smiles at me every morning when he wakes me up at 5:00.

It sure is a good thing he's cute.

You may have noticed that my new favorite picture includes no buckets or baby costumes or any elaborate props. I'm not saying that those photos aren't cute, and if you're a new mom who has it together enough to get ready for that involved of a photo shoot, more power to you! For me, I was rather proud that my shirt was spit-up free. (Although I can usually Photoshop some spit-up if need be!)

I have always liked my "lifestyle" type newborn sessions the best, and now that I have been on the other side of the lens, I like them even more! I know it sounds like a lot of work to get ready for pictures, but for these types of photos, all you really need is a burp rag and your sweet baby. We'll focus on things like how he sucks in his bottom lip when he sleeps instead of getting his head propped up just so! If you're like me, it's these little details and sweet traits that you want to remember anyway.

So if you've got a little sweetie at your house that you're wanting a few shots of, I am ready to start shooting portraits again! You can email me at jenni@jennirobertsphotography.com to make an appointment.

Now I'm gonna go shut my eyes for ten seconds before Sam needs me again!

God bless, y'all!

Jenni

So Much For Getting Back in the Habit!

Oh well. I really do have the best of excuses for neglecting the blog this time!

Sam is here!

He is about 2.5 weeks old now and weighs 8 lbs. 1 oz.! (Up 2 oz. from his birth weight!) Plus, he's a redhead!

See? His hair has actually grown a lot since I took that picture last week. We'll have to take another one soon!

We are all having a good time and I am squeezing this post in before he really wakes up and demands our attention again. Right now he's just cooing to let us know we need to start thinking about it. He eases us into things; he's a good baby like that.

Awwww...doesn't he just look like the sweetest baby ever? He totally is.

There will be PLENTY more pictures to come, including some of his now-completed nursery. It's puppy dogs, and his aunt and daddy worked really hard on it. (They took care of all the painting projects. Almost everything needed painting!) We were waiting for his chair to come in until a week or so ago, but it's here now and getting used quite a lot for feeding and cuddling and napping. And forehead kisses. Lots of forehead kisses happening in that rocker! One day Sam won't let me do that anymore so I'm trying to get as many in now as I can!

Well Hello There...

...My! It's been a long, long time.

How am I doin'?

Oh, I guess I'm doin' fine.

(annnnd if you understood that weirdness, then let's be best friends!)

Wowsa! It has been a long time since I sat down to write! Ya want to know why?

Well I got real sick. But not in a sad way! I was sick for about a million years...and/or three months. Don't worry, it went away pretty much the day my second trimester started!

I think pretty much everyone knows by now that I am pregnant and actually happen to be realllly close to having our first baby. And by realllly close, I mean about three days. Or ten if Baby Boy Roberts decides he is just too comfy to worry about things like being born next week.

See how close?!

Hopefully I will have newborn pictures for you very soon! Until then, I decided that I just had to get something posted so that I get back in the habit! I haven't had the morning sickness excuse in a long time, but I have had other things going on that took my attention.

Turning a guest room into a nursery, for one. (I'll show you when it's all the way done! We're still waiting on a chair!) Shooting & editing several weddings, which I'll be sharing in between baby pictures over the next few weeks. Getting things with Jenni Roberts settled so that "maternity leave" will be easier. Quitting my day job. That's right! I am a full-time photographer now. I looove it, and I will tell you more about that later, too!

So basically what this turned out to be was a teaser post! Sorry about that! It was not my intention when I started! But stay tuned! LOTS of photos and good things to share soon!

In the meantime, you can visit my new blog! (Which has also been taking a significant bit of my time!) It's called The Local, and I'm writing it for KOKE FM. "The Local" seemed appropriate since KOKE is the only locally-owned FM station in Austin anymore. That's where you will find all my live music shots as well as fun things to do around Austin. Writing that one has been a lot of fun and something different for me to try out, but I'm not ready to abandon Jifferdoodle either! So for now, I'll be doing both, and we'll just see how it goes!

Whew! Okay! Ice broken...habit reinstated! See you next time with a lot more pictures!

Love y'all,

Jenni