Jill Hays Photography

Check out my new blog!

2010-07-02T08:16:00.001-07:00

This blog is old news! I have a new blog site and it is bigger and better. Please check out my new blog here http://jillhays.com/blog/

Shauna & Patrick's Wedding

2010-06-17T12:07:00.000-07:00

I had the pleasure of photographing Shauna and Patrick's wedding last month and I'm finally getting caught up and posting some of their photos. They had their ceremony early in the morning out at the beautiful Chapel Dulcinea in Driftwood, TX. The weather was amazingly cool and breezy and we were fortunate enough to be overlooking a huge field of gorgeous yellow wild flowers. There couldn't have been a more perfect day or a more perfect setting for such a lovely wedding!
After the ceremony, we headed right up the road to Trattoria Lisina at the Mandola Estate Winery for an intimate reception. If you've never been out to the Trattoria, do yourself a favor and make the drive. The food and wine are fantastic and the grounds are gorgeous. I can't think of a better way to celebrate and enjoy the company of your friends and family.
Before we left the winery, the staff was kind enough to let us into the (very chilly) cask room where we took a few last fun photos with all the wine barrels!

Walsh family portraits - Newborn baby Fischer

2010-05-12T13:38:00.000-07:00

Katrine and Steve welcomed their new baby boy, Fischer, into their family just a few weeks ago and came in for newborn portraits when he was just three weeks old. Fischer slept through most of our session, and there really isn't much that is cuter than a tiny little sleeping infant so that was ok by me! Just when we thought he couldn't possibly look any more precious, he flashed us a big beautiful sleepy smile!

Cook family portraits at Mayfield Park

2010-04-06T12:43:00.000-07:00

Photographing the Cook family out at Mayfield park was such a treat. We had gorgeous spring weather and found lots of beautiful flowers blooming in the gardens. The peacocks were out in full force and while Colin found them a tad bit intimidating at first, he later decided they were quite entertaining. Judy was a perfect little model for us and even helped scout out a few pretty spots to use that were loaded with new flowers. What a beautiful family!

Winslow Family Portraits

2010-04-01T13:53:00.001-07:00

The Winslow family came in for a new portrait with their little girl Emily last week. Emily is almost two years old and is just gorgeous. While she wasn't terribly thrilled with the idea of sitting still for her portrait at first, once Emily had her hands on that quacking stuffed duck she was laughing hysterically and having a blast. I love it when my little clients crack me up so much!

Megan & Jeremy - maternity & newborn portraits

2010-03-29T14:23:00.000-07:00

I just love it when my wedding clients come back a few years later with a little one on the way. It's so fun to be a part of their lives and see them grow as a family.
Megan and Jeremy came in for their maternity portraits only a couple weeks before they were back again for pictures of their beautiful new baby boy. It's a good thing we got those maternity pictures when we did! Christopher is a such a sweet little guy and did quite well modeling for us. I can't wait to see him grow and change over the years.

Katrine & Stephen's Maternity Portraits

2010-03-25T11:42:00.000-07:00

Maternity portraits are always so much fun. I just love getting to play around with different fabrics and lighting to really show off those beautiful big bellies.
Katrine is due in only a couple of weeks and looks absolutely amazing. We wanted to play around with some different silhouetted shots during our session and I think we got some great results. Doesn't she look gorgeous?! I can't wait to meet the new baby when he decides to make his debut!

Bennett Owens - Newborn Portraits

2010-03-01T11:44:00.001-08:00

Announcing Bennett Owens!
Bennett was just born on January 24th and came in for his first portraits right at three weeks old. He was a little sleepy (hence the yawns) but wasn't about to miss out on anything that might happen. Bennett is just precious and I can't wait to see him again and see how much he's changed.

Let them drink punch!

2010-02-24T14:53:00.000-08:00

A good friend of mine is starting a party planning business and asked me to take some fun pictures of punch to jazz up her new website. Who would have thought that taking pictures of punch could be so much fun? We spent hours coming up with all kind of fun little garnishes and debating punch flavors. I have to say my favorite is definitely the mermaid with pink punch!
Anyone need a party planner? I'll add a link to her website as soon as she has it ready to go!

Helia Askew - 1 year old portraits

2010-01-28T12:04:00.000-08:00

Helia was so much fun to work with. She is not at all shy and was so happy and giggly during our session. She is about to turn one and she's just starting to stand on her own, but she is definitely a pro when it comes to crawling. This is one fast little girl! She was cruising all over the studio checking everything out.
I hope you have a great first birthday Helia!

Nancy & Kevin's Maternity Portraits

2010-01-07T13:27:00.001-08:00

I absolutely love shooting maternity portraits! This session was amazing, the joy in the room was palpable. I photographed Nancy and Kevin's wedding just a few years ago and was so excited when they told me they were pregnant. I just can't wait to meet their new little one later this month!

Wolf Family - Mayfield Park sibling portraits

2009-12-15T14:41:00.000-08:00

Stephanie and Kevin wanted a nice portrait for their mother for Christmas this year. After our first session got rained out, we felt really fortunate to have an absolutely gorgeous December day for our session. Mayfield Park has lost a lot of their beautiful gardens with the early freeze this year, but we got some great fall leaves in return. I love all of the beautiful colors!

Hiltenbrand Family Portrait

2009-12-08T14:44:00.001-08:00

We did Cassie's senior portraits a few months back, but this time we got the whole family to come in for studio portraits together. The Hiltenbrands have been such a joy to work with!

Burke Family Portraits

2009-12-07T09:50:00.000-08:00

We took these family portraits on a gorgeous afternoon out at Mayfield Park. I have had the pleasure of watching the Burke family grow since shooting their wedding back in 2005. Thomas and Elizabeth are growing so fast and it's been so much fun to see their little personalities develop each year.

Stahl Family - Studio portraits

2009-12-02T09:16:00.000-08:00

My cousin and his family came to visit me here in Austin and it just happened to be their wedding anniversary so we decided a new family portrait was in order. We had a great time catching up over dinner and then headed into the studio for what turned out to be a really fun evening full of laughter. I may be a bit biased, but I think this is one photogenic family!

Whitney's Senior Portraits at St Edwards University

2009-12-01T14:19:00.000-08:00

Whitney and I found so many great spots for her senior portraits on the campus of St Edwards. It is such a gorgeous campus, I could have kept shooting all day. Whitney is graduating this fall with a degree in International Business. Congratulations and best of luck to you Whitney!

Talarcek Family Portrait

2009-11-06T13:08:00.000-08:00

The Talarceks have a beautiful brand new baby girl. Caroline was born just two weeks before we did her newborn session. She slept through most of the session, but a sleeping baby is a happy baby so that was OK by us. Besides, how cute is a sleeping baby?!

Will's 1 Year Old Portraits

2009-11-06T11:53:00.000-08:00

Will was so much fun to photograph! He just started walking recently and was absolutely determined to rearrange all of the furniture in the studio using his new found skills. Once that job was done, this little guy was cracking me up with his giggles and scrunchy faced smiles. What a fun age!

Mazzy and Sevi - Sibling Portraits

2009-10-14T15:50:00.000-07:00

Mazzy and Sevi are two and four years old and just moved here from Nashville. These little guys are so photogenic! They were much more interested in having me photograph pretty flowers and Buzz Lightyear toys, but they did eventually let me get a few shots of them and what sweet little faces they have!

Ladd Family Portrait

2009-10-13T14:11:00.001-07:00

We took these portraits of the Ladd family and their adorable extended family out at Bull Creek. Tye is just six months old and has so much personality! He was cracking us up with his constant giggling and seriously silly faces. What a cutie!

Stehling Family Portraits

2009-10-08T14:46:00.001-07:00

We took these family portraits outdoors at Dunvegan Keep in South Austin. We were very fortunate that the rain brought out all the beautiful greenery and flowers on the grounds. We also lucked out and had the first sunny day all week to work with!
Bailey is two years old and just adorable. She wanted to explore every nook and cranny of Duvegan. It was a bit tricky keeping up with her at first, but we did eventually manage to catch up to her grab some great family portraits. I just wish I had half the energy Bailey has!

Bishop Family Portraits

2009-09-30T14:31:00.001-07:00

We took these family portraits in the studio since it was raining all week long. El Nino is definitely here!
This family is just plain beautiful and so sweet too! Ben and Gabby were great models and were such a pleasure to work with.

Cassie's Senior Portraits

2009-08-24T13:17:00.000-07:00

Cassie is a senior this year at Westwood High School in Austin. We had so much fun taking her studio portraits! What can I say, this young lady is so smart and so gorgeous! She made my job easy!

Schwartz Family - Grandchildren Portraits

2009-08-23T14:10:00.000-07:00

Despite the 100 degree weather on this hot August afternoon, these guys were such a joy to work with! Linda asked me to take some portraits of all of her grandchildren together out at Dunvegan Keep in south Austin.
This was my second opportunity to work with the Larner boys, but my first time to meet the Schwartz family. These kids are all really sweet and we had a great time taking these portraits. I only wish there was a sound track of the constant giggles that went along with this session!

Jessica & AJ's Engagement Portraits

2009-07-14T16:44:00.001-07:00

Jessica and AJ are getting married next year in Kansas City but live here in Austin and love it! They wanted to get some fun skyline shots of Austin to share with their friends and family that are spread out across the country.
We had so much fun taking these portraits around the Long Center. There are so many great views of the city and some interesting architecture and landscaping as well. We got extremely lucky with the weather, it was only 95 instead of 105 that day!

Zoe's Studio Portraits

2009-07-09T12:15:00.001-07:00

Zoe came in for her studio portraits just at seven months old. She was such a ham for the camera and had a lot of fun practicing her new crawling techniques. She was doing pretty good! I'm afraid life is about to get a lot more interesting for her parents.
We finally got to really use the new wood floors and I couldn't be happier with the way they look in the photos. I love the natural look they give that you don't really get with the backdrops. I'm looking forward to using them more!

John & Christie's Anniversary Portraits

2009-07-08T15:32:00.000-07:00

John and Christie are celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary this year! They have some exciting travel plans to celebrate, but also really wanted to mark the occasion with a portrait of just the two of them. It sounds like these two have really had an amazing forty years together. I really enjoyed working with them and taking these portraits outdoors, despite the insane summer heat! I've chosen a few of my favorites to share with you!

Rimkunas Family Portrait

2009-07-06T15:37:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's been six years since I was Kate and John's wedding photographer! They now have two beautiful children and are about to move to Chicago. They decided they wanted an outdoor family portrait taken at the same location where they had their wedding before they moved. Saint Andrews Episcopal School is just as beautiful now as it was then. The kids loved it there, although I think peek a boo and Cheerios may have been what really kept them going.
I wish the Rimkunas all the best in Chicago! I know they will be dearly missed here!

Dario's Six Month Portraits

2009-05-15T14:30:00.000-07:00

Dario was so serious during our session, but so cute! This little guy has so much personality and boy does he love all the soft blankets in the studio! Can you believe he has such a gorgeous head of hair and he's only six months old? He's so handsome!

Meghan & Stephen's Wedding

2009-05-14T15:54:00.000-07:00

Meghan and Stephen had their wedding ceremony at the Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary Chapel. It is such a gorgeous chapel! I love the colorful blue doors and the stunning interior. We had a beautiful, albeit windy, day that gave us lots of opportunity for some fun shots outside.
The reception was at the Driskill and was just as elegant as it was fun. It was decorated beautifully with amazing food and an really fun band that had everyone up and dancing in no time. Although, I have to say that the kids ruled the dance floor at this wedding!

Olive Family Portrait

2009-05-14T11:41:00.000-07:00

Mike, Jennie, and Madison came to visit family in Texas all the way from Alaska! They are hoping to adopt another child and needed some family portraits for the adoption agency. We took their portraits out on lake LBJ on what had to have been the windiest day of the year! Madison was still adjusting to the new time zone and wasn't at all convinced that she should be put down for her solo portraits, but she was just happy as could be when mommy was holding her! What a cutie!

Sharon & Mitch Portraits

2009-05-13T13:45:00.000-07:00

Sharon and Mitch came in because they decided it had been way too long since they had a portrait made of just the two of them. Of course, with their new grandson within arms reach, they couldn't resist some pictures with him too!

Julie's Headshots

2009-03-06T12:26:00.000-08:00

Julie is a massage therapist and needed some new head shots for her website. We shot these in the gorgeous sun filled lobby at Frou Frou. I just love all the pinks and reds in there! Julie is extremely talented and sweet, definitely check her out if you need a massage!
froufrouskin.com

Katarina's Newborn Portraits

2009-03-03T14:35:00.000-08:00

Katarina is just six weeks old and just as cute as can be! I can't wait to see her again in a few months and see how much she's grown!

Thomas - Six Month Portraits

2009-02-19T11:36:00.000-08:00

What can I say, this little guy has one of those smiles that just makes your heart melt! Julie and I had a blast trying to make him laugh and smile, but he was much more interested in his bunny rabbit and his toes than us! It seems that bunny rabbits are the hip thing these days!

Zoe - Six month portraits

2009-02-18T17:05:00.000-08:00

Zoe was so much fun to photograph! She was all smiles and is just adorable. This is a girl that loves her bunny rabbit!

Marisa's Maternity Portraits

2009-02-06T14:31:00.001-08:00

Marisa and Steve are eagerly waiting for their baby boy to arrive next month. Marisa looks amazing! She really made my job very easy!

Burke Family Portraits

2009-02-06T13:35:00.000-08:00

I just had the pleasure of working with Elizabeth and Thomas for the first time and they are just adorable! Thomas is full of energy and gave us lots of precious grins and giggles. Elizabeth was a bit more shy, but just loved posing with her mommy!

Aidan & Alex

2008-12-16T10:03:00.000-08:00

The holiday madness has me way behind on my blogging, but I just had to share these goofy photos! Aidan & Alex were much more interested in taking photos with their candy canes than with each other! What silly boys!

Euker Family Portraits

2008-12-15T13:38:00.000-08:00

I went to Clear Lake City (by Houston) to take these portraits of the Euker family. Although things didn't go quite as planned with the rain, we did get some great shots on the tiny covered patio. While I was setting up some lights inside I snapped this fun shot of Anabelle hanging out on the couch. Something tells me she likes having her picture taken!

Chrisan Family

2008-11-03T10:34:00.000-08:00

We had a blast taking these family photos at Bull Creek. Kenney absolutely loved playing in the pebbles and watching the dogs run around on the other side of the creek!

DSACT Buddy Walk

2008-10-27T13:58:00.000-07:00

The Buddy Walk was established by the National Down Syndrome Society to celebrate Down Syndrome Awareness Month in October and to promote acceptance and inclusion of people with Down syndrome. This is the second year that DSACT, Down Syndrom Associaton of Central Texas, has asked me to photograph this extraordinary event and it was again, really fun and really heart warming! They had a petting zoo, minature horses, helicopters, fire trucks, games, live music, and all kind of other fun activities for children and families. Check out the DSACT website if you'd like to learn more about the Buddy Walk or DSACT.
http://www.dsact.com

Meghan & Stephen's enagement portraits

2008-10-23T15:22:00.001-07:00

We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful evening to take Meghan and Stephen's engagement photos. The wedding will be next spring and it sounds like it's going to be lots of fun! Meghan's sister's wedding was just last month and I am thrilled to work with her family again.

Larner Grandchildren Portraits

2008-10-22T14:40:00.000-07:00

Sandy asked me to photograph her with her seven grandchildren this weekend at Dunvegan Keep. What a great idea to get the whole group of cousins together! They were all so sweet and polite too!

Faeryn's 4 month portraits

2008-10-15T17:08:00.000-07:00

What can I say? This girl is just too cute! And check out those eyelashes...wow!
Faeryn was lots of fun in the studio. She was completely infatuated with her fingers, toes, and squeals! We made lots of noise and lots of adorable photographs.

Andrea & Murry's Wedding

2008-10-11T15:15:00.000-07:00

Andrea and Murry had their ceremony at the Westside Church of Christ Church. We then headed to the reception right down the road at the Avery Ranch Golf Club. We were lucky enough to get a gorgeous sunset and catch the moon sneaking it's way up the horizon. The wedding was simple and elegant and we couldn't have asked for a more gorgeous evening.

Hope & Shama's wedding

2008-10-11T11:30:00.001-07:00

Hope and Shama's wedding combined the traditions of an American wedding ceremony with those of a Sri Lankan ceremony. It was absolutely beautiful and I just loved all of the gorgeous reds and golds! We ended the night taking some fun pictures in front of the Capitol where they got engaged.

Paxton

2008-09-24T12:02:00.000-07:00

I think Paxton is already working on his super model poses! So serious, and yet so cute!
Obviously we couldn't let him be serious the whole time, so upside down he went!

Amanda & Andrew's Wedding

2008-09-24T10:00:00.001-07:00

Amanda and Andrew's wedding was beautiful! Their ceremony was at the Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary's Shelton Chapel. Being that it was a game day for UT, which is right across the street, these poor Rice Owls had to listen to "go horns!" all day long!
The reception was at Laguna Gloria and was set up beautifully. Unfortunately someone decided to take a big bite of the groom's cake before the bride and groom ever even got to see it!

James - One year old portraits

2008-09-18T10:56:00.000-07:00

James just came in for his one year pictures. He was a little apprehensive about having his picture taken at first, but he warmed right up! Is he cute or what?