This little one was my very last session before maternity leave as I couldn’t turn down the chance to see this little smiling face.  Avery is a doll and just smiles, smiles, smiles.  Her Mom and her were in town for a few days and wanted to get a few quick fall portraits and of course Avery as a little chicken.  Mini sessions are ideal for capturing milestones, birthdays or holiday photos.  Last time I saw Avery she was just starting to push up so seeing her sitting pretty was exciting!  Since photographing her Mom & Dad’s wedding almost 2 years ago I have been blessed to document this little one grow.  She made an adorable chicken and is cute as pie.

We are so excited to announce the newest addition to the Tracy Autem & Lightly Photography Family. Gideon Matthew was born October 13 at 8:02 am . He weighed 9lbs and 3 oz and is 20.5 inches. I was so blessed to be there when Tracy and her husband got to hold their precious baby boy for the very first time and I wanted to share some of those images. Of course I couldn’t help but cry as I experienced their joy with them. We all truly are a family.

Sarah Rizy

Ann and John live in San Francisco but are getting married here in Texas next year.  Ann is originally from Fort Worth so I had met with her Mom who is handling most of the planning for them (got to love the Mom’s that make long distance planning possible) and was excited to meet the both of them at their engagement session.  We hit it off right away and dived right in to taking some photos.  With John being a true California guy I had to search my brain for he least “Texas” looking locations so that the photos would be perfect for both of them.  We always strive when picking locations to properly represent both the bride and groom and it can be easy to leave some ones personality out if you are not aware of their differences.  I think these two are a perfect match though, John just didn’t know what he needed was a perfect Southern girl from Texas until he met Ann.  They actually met by becoming roommates!  These two shared a home with a few others and started hanging out, became friends and their relationship just grew from there.   I can’t wait to see them again next May especially because they are having their reception at one of my very favorite venues, The Modern in Fort Worth!

Thanks to all our friends, vendors and Fort Worth people that came out and braved the rain on Saturday night to the Arts Goggle.  It was a treat to show off the progress on our new studio that we hope to be operating out of some time in November.  The Arts Goggle also gives myself and my staff a chance to share our fine art photography.  One thing that sets our company apart is that all members of my team have fine art photography degrees.  This means we all learned how to shoot on good old film cameras, played in the dark room, miss the smell of the chemicals deeply and love having a chance to truly play with a camera.  We find that putting forth a theme for our Arts Goggle shows works best and this year we displayed photos each of us captured in New Orleans last year using a film camera called a Holga.  This little “toy camera” as it is referred to by many has very little controls, takes 120 sized film, is plastic and comes in some super cute colors.  I first fell in love with the simplicity of this camera in college as it truly becomes all about composition and the unexpected.  You can shoot the camera as individual frames, you can easily expose each frame multiple times or you can shoot the negative as one long overlapping strip.  The later is my favorite and when I’m shooting it forces me to think about the last frame and how it could potentially interact with the next.  I wanted to share the work I displayed over the weekend, enjoy!

Looking for a free and fabulous night out this Saturday?  Then come on out for the bi-annual Arts Goggle in the Fort Worth Southside!  We are excited to be previewing our new studio location at 1215 6th Avenue right off Magnolia.  We are the first house behind Lili’s Bistro & Spiral Dinner.  Renovations having been moving right along and the interior is near completion and the front facade is starting to take shape and about to go a major remodel in the upcoming weeks.  We want to share our journey with you as well as our art work.  I am blessed that every photographer on my staff is a fine art photographer in addition to working with our clients.  Sarah Rizy, Sarah Halferty and myself will be sharing our film work that we shot collectively while on a trip to New Orleans late last year.  Our newest addition, Amanda McCollum, will be showing a piece from college as she recently graduated from TCU’s photo program.  We would love to see you so stop by for some wine and then take in the neighborhood and all the other venues have to offer.

For more information check out  http://www.fortworthsouth.org/ to view the map, list of venues, artists and more!