Enjoy Some Christmas Cheer!

There is nothing like Christmas.

There are so many parts that make this time of year special, and Aynsley and I really enjoy Christmas time. There are of course so many things, like the dinners, presents, and just the feeling that happens this time of year. We love giving to others whenever we can too, so it is a fun challenge for her and I to get gifts for our family that are personal for them.

Though all of these things are wonderful, we also make sure to remind ourselves of why we truly celebrate Christmas. Without Jesus being born, we would not be celebrating Christmas. For Him to be born on earth is an unbelievably spectacular event where God came to us in the most humble way imaginable. He came here to save us from our sins and to sacrifice Himself, giving us all a gift that we cannot repay. All we can do is be humble and eternally grateful.

In the joyous spirit of Christmas, especially since today is Christmas Eve, I thought as a Dallas photographer I would share some of the Christmas-themed images I’ve been fortunate to shoot. The funny thing, as with most editorial photography, is that these images were shot months ago. In fact, if my memory serves me right, I shot all of this around Halloween. That seems like forever ago doesn’t it?

I’m not going to lie; it was pretty difficult to get into the Christmas spirit while doing these shoots, particularly for the fashion work. This Dallas photographer loves to work to music, so Pandora is an absolute must-have when I’m out and about. However, I tried rocking to my Indie Holiday mix and it just wouldn’t work. I had to go back to Deadmau5 and the like. If you don’t know who that is, you should Google him and look at the images, he’s pretty talented and the music keeps me pumped. Although, truth be told I haven’t listened to any of that stuff for the most part since Thanksgiving. We started playing Aynsley’s Christmas mixes and Pandora stations, most of which is focused around Michael W. Smith. He is an incredible singer/songwriter/arranger, and we were extremely blessed to be able to see him live at the Meyerson Symphony Center this year.

For the fashion shoot, the art director wanted a very warm look, to give all of the images the sense of the model being at a Christmas party. I wasn’t getting exactly the look I wanted, which can be rather frustrating as a Dallas photographer, so I ended up turning my lights off and just using the modeling lights. It gave me the same softness and plenty of warmth. If you know anything about modeling lights, they don’t put out nearly the light, so I had to get creative and was very thankful for a sturdy tripod! We had a great model too; she certainly looked and acted like she was partying down!

Judie Byrd created all the food images that you see, with she and I teaming up to style all of them. I had never seen a Croquembouche before, so it was pretty interesting to see Judie literally whip one of these up. You can see all of the fine threadlike material, which just so happens to be spun sugar that she made in her kitchen. It was a bit messy, but absolutely fascinating to watch. I am such a foodie, and always like to see the process behind the food.

I hope that you have a wonderful Christmas, and that you are able to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas with family and friends. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!