No children were harmed in the making of this photo shoot.

But one of them came a little close.

My goals for the night were to test the lighting with my “clients” and figure out where exactly I wanted to conduct my mini sessions in the next few weeks and then to celebrate my husband’s 42nd birthday – all in the Bishop Arts District.  The Bishop Arts District is in Oakcliff, an old area of Dallas that has been revitalized with the coolest shops and hippest restaurants.  It is charming and trendy yet still maintains that sense of old Dallas – not stuffy or pretentious.  The streets are lined with trees and lights adorn some of the buildings….lots of orange brick, colored doors and painted murals.  It just feels so alive.

But back to my clients.  My kids – minus one.  My oldest daughter takes a theater class on Wednesday evenings so she wasn’t able to join us for the mock photo session.  “Lucky me!” she said as I dropped her off and got ready to drive to the other side of DFW with the rest of the kids in tow + Dottie, our 11 month old Sheepadoodle.   Unlike the vibrant and enthusiastic feel of the neighborhood, my three are quite the contrary.  They aren’t really too pumped about helping me out…and mainly I’m talking about my Camille.  Really, it just takes one to set the mood for the rest of the bunch. Isn’t that right, Moms?

GOOD-NESS! If looks could kill, I would not have made it home.

We continued shooting.  And we did get some cute shots.  I think I bribed Camille here with a replacement Apple Bloom (My Little Pony) since Dottie chewed off the other one’s leg.

All was going pretty well until raindrops came out of nowhere – out of this bright, sunny sky.  If you look closely in the picture above, you can see them.  Soon, it was raining pretty hard so we took cover across the street at Tillman’s Roadhouse.  (If you ever get the chance, eat here!  The ambience and menu are both unique and delicious.)

We ended on a happy note…playing in puddles and leaving soon to go meet Daddy and big sister at Gloria’s for a birthday celebration.

My plan was to also take a few pictures of my oldest, but it was getting too dark and I was exhausted.  Because of course, the work for this started early in the day.

Like giving the dog a bath.

Yes, just the dog.

I wanted to show off more spots, but the rain put a damper on that.  For my clients who have mini sessions scheduled here, I think you are going to love the colors and textures.  There are cute little alley ways and other areas off the beaten path, too, that caught my eye as we were leaving that I think will be great spots.  Hopefully these few pics give you some idea of what the area looks like of where we’ll be shooting.

And regarding clothing…always the important question!  I think shades of blue would work well here.  It would contrast well with the orange brick and with all the trees and greenery.  I would probably avoid oranges or reds because you don’t want to blend in too much with the buildings/surroundings.

And, of course, if you have a dog bring him/her!  I love including the family dog in your session.  There are several restaurants with patios that allow dogs if you plan to go out to eat afterward.  Why wouldn’t you?  Everyone deserves a good meal after 25 minutes of hard labor.

So my overall review is that The Bishop Arts District is a great place to shoot, even with clients who can be a tad stubborn. 🙂