Product Spotlight: Portrait LookBook

Every year I drive out to the Schaap families house near their dairy and shoot a family session. Every year I am blessed by their generosity, kindness and sincere friendship. One of the coolest parts of my job is watching families grow up. Watching their kids go from a little six month old baby to a nine year old. My job as a portrait photographer is to document these growing families and then give them a product to help store these memories. One of those products is a lookbook. It is a hand-crafted 8.5x11 coffee table book with 30 pages and various linen cover color options. I design each lookbook to fit each session. I photograph these family sessions in various angles and groupings with the idea that a lookbook would be a final product. My most favorite pose are close-up connections bewtween the family. For example, mom hugging on her daughter while walking down the dairy road, or big brother putting his arm around his little sister. Sweet moments.Here is a peek into the Schaap families lookbook.

The Cincis's Clovis, NM Family Session

Ya'll. Have you ever witnessed two new parents love their child so much it just melts your heart? I observed this today between these parents and their sweet 14 month old little boy.They were kind of adorable. And this momma (me) has two boys with absolute straight hair, so I kind of went gah-gah over his little wringlet. I mean. Come on. Not to mention, I have a soft heart for the mom and son relationship and I just want to photograph every little detail between the two.

Thank you Cincis family for letting me be apart of your morning today.

Pray for Emery

Hey there. I just want to take a second to ask if you would pray for Emery. She is having surgery tomorrow morning and her parents, friends, family and Emery herself need some encouragement. And please pray for complete healing. Here are some verses to get you started. Psalm 91:4-5 "God will cover me with his wings; I will be safe in his care; his faithfulness will protect and defend me. I need not fear any dangers or sudden attack during the day."

2 Timothy 1:7 " God has not given me a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind."

Psalm 139:13 "You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb."

Job 5:9 "He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted."

Our God is so big. So strong, and so mighty. There is nothing my God cannot do.

The Parr Girls

1,2,3 jump!

Country Living Parr Girls

It was a blessing to be in the company of the Parr and Rucker family tonight. How adorable are these beauties?

A Day in the Life of Liam Cross

I read a blog post today from Kelly Moore and it challenged me to take more photographs of my children on a day-to-day basis. So today I got my "big" camera out and photographed Liam doing his thing.Sadly, this kid doesn't have as many pictures of him as he is the second child. Benson has tons from this age. (first child probs) So today I am fixing that problem and capturing the little moments of Liam's life. He keeps me on my toes. He is such a busy body. I mean, he IS four years old. He is seriously like the energizer bunny from the moment he wakes up, to the moment he falls asleep. We have to tell him about five times to "go back to bed", "quit getting out of bed", "if you get up one more time..." haha I love this kid. And then I grabbed a couple of Benson when he came home from school while he was being so studious and doing his homework :)

And yes, this is all from today.

You can read more about the "9 Tips For Better Photos of Your Kids" on Kelly's blog here and also enter a giveaway: http://kellymoorebag.com/blog/2016/02/nine-tips-for-better-photos-of-your-kids/

The Actkinson's Tan and Black Christmas Family Session

I just finished my last family session for 2015 with the Actkinson family. It was the perfect family to end on.Thank you to everyone who booked a portrait session for 2015. It has been a wonderful year and I look forward to 2016.

The West Family Session.Lubbock Municipal Garden and Arts Center

The West Family knows how to rock a cute fall outfit. I'm loving the plaid.Happy Tuesday!

The Moroney's Del Rio Dairy Family Session-Friona, Texas

The Moroney family are no strangers to the blog. I did newborn pictures for their family almost three years ago when their sweet little girl was just a tiny little thing. (check them out here) Fast forward a few years and here we are at their families dairy, Del Rio Dairy in Friona, Texas updating their family pictures.Here is a sneak peek of my favorites. Check out the Del Rio Dairy here.  They put together this touching video of how important family is to them and their business.

The Curtis's Urban Family Session

I'm so lucky to photograph this family. They come down every year from Kansas to see family and at the same time, book as session with me. I have been blessed by them and their sweet kiddos.Thank you Curtis family for letting me into your family for the past 7 or so years.

Curtis Boys in Downtown Clovis, NM Family Session

This is what it's like to have boys. Pure joy, crazy wrestling boys.

Navy Blue and Green Fall Family Session

I just had a session with this cute family today. And I love all the Fall colors! Happy Saturday.

2015 Christmas Cards

Do you offer Christmas cards?Yes I do.  Any of the cards below can be mixed and matched with each other.

What size do you offer? 5×7 flat cardstock (this gives you two sides)

Examples below

What kind of finish is the card? recycled paper

How much do they cost? 5×7 flat cards start at $65 for a package of 25 cards (2 sides)

Can I customize my cards?

Some colors and wording can be changed to customize your family. The design of the card cannot be changed.

How do I go about ordering my Christmas cards?

Great! I’m glad you are ready to order. All you need to do is decide which design you want, and images you choose.

You can place your order with me at your Ordering and Viewing Session, or call me to place your order.

575.219.9312 cristy@cristycross.com

Is there a cut off date?

Yes. If you are want them all sent out by mid-December, please have your orders to me no later than *December 1st!*

After December 1st, I cannot guarantee you will be able to mail them out by mid-December.

How long does it take to get them in?

7-10 business days-this allows time for custom work, printing and shipping.

Where will they be delivered?

First to me, then to you.  This way I can make sure your order is super duper correct.

If you live in the Clovis area, you can pick them up at my studio.

The Schaap's Clovis, NM Dairy Farm Family Session

I pull up to the dairy, put on my rubber boots, and prepare myself for taking pictures with the Schaap's and their cows. I started to wonder if I was going over board wearing the rubber boots, until we entered the pins where the curious jersey cows mingled. There and then I knew I made the right decision, because placed in every square inch of the ground were cow patties. And I seemed to step in a lot of them. You gotta do what you gotta do to get a great shot.I always love working with this family, and I've been taking their family pictures since the youngest (who will be 9 yrs old in a few months) was a baby. I hope you enjoy the sneak peek of these very special people, and thank you Schaap's for always trusting in me to photograph your family.

The Kennedy's Texas Tech University Family Session

The Kennedy's and their family are as sweet group of people that I always look forward to seeing. These little munchkins were beyond precious.I mean, just look at those sweet little faces.

Mini Session with Benson

It's a rainy day and Benson let me do a mini session with him. I'm so glad he did.I'm loving his little style with matching orange headphones. Happy Sunday.

Jessica and Teagan's Studio Mini Session Benefiting Luke

Jessica and Teagan also took part in the studio mini sessions to benefit Luke. They are such a cute mommy and daughter duo don't you think? :)

The Douma's Studio Mini Session Benefiting Luke

Everytime I look at the mini session pictures we did back in August, I think of how grateful I am to all of the families who helped my cousin Luke with his medical fund after his accident causing brain trauma. It is incredibly moving to see people come together to help a person in need.I am thankful for this family.

The Morris's Downtown Clovis, NM Family Session

Who loves the classic music era of Elvis Presley and his friends? The Morris's do :)

The Zarikta's Downtown Clovis, NM Urban Portrait Session

How about these Zarikta boy? Studly, right? Thanks to their super fashionable mom, these boys were super stylish for their downtown Clovis, NM urban portriat session.Don't you agree?