Perfection {Houston Newborn Photographer}

Several months ago, I got an email inquiry for a newborn session.  Amanda had gotten my name from someone at her mom’s church up in Dallas (did you follow that?  I am still mystified as to who it was that knew about my business!  I mean, I am from that general area, but still.  It was pretty cool that someone 5 hours north of here would tell someone local about little ol’ Megan Thurman Photography.)  Anywho, I got this email from Amanda, and in it she tells me that once she got onto my site, she realized that we went to church camp together back when we were in high school!  I love this sort of small world stuff.  I immediately remembered her, and quickly put her down on my calendar for an April baby.  I can remember being so excited back in January that I would have at least one session in April.  Little did I know that this would turn out to be my busiest month ever!  But regardless of how busy my month has been, and regardless of the fact that I had to reschedule from our original date because of school stuff for the boys, and then reschedule again because I got sick, I was so excited about this session.  Reconnecting with an old friend plus a precious two week old baby boy equals perfection in my book.  And when I walked in and met sweet baby A…oh my word.  I’ll just let this picture do the talking:

This precious boy gave me so many adorable newborn smiles.

This precious boy also pooped all over everything more than any other newborn I’ve photographed.  (just keeping in real here!)  But I didn’t mind one single bit, even when I had to get a new shirt from Amanda about halfway through our session.  The extra laundry was totally worth it.  All he had to do was flash us a little “Blue Steel” and it was all forgotten.

I showed this picture to my husband and he thinks maybe it’s a little more “Le Tigre” than “Blue Steel”.  Just give it some time, and Magnum will be out in full force.  (And if you haven’t seen Zoolander you probably have no earthly idea what I am talking about.    And you should totally go watch Zoolander.  Such a funny movie!)

Mr. A was just so perfect and squishy and, well, perfect.

At every newborn session, there comes a point when I am just overwhelmed at the miraculous beauty of a newborn.  What an amazing gift from God!  And when I go back and look at them and start editing them, I become overwhelmed once again at the beauty and the love that God pours out in these tiny little people.  It takes my breath away.

Mr. A, our oh-so-willing model demanded a feeding break during our session, and of course, the star of the show always gets his way.  After his break, we headed outside for a few more pictures.  I love Houston this time of year!  I’m so thankful to live in a place where I can take photos outdoors virtually year round.  They had this quilt that is not only so cute, but A’s grandma made it for him, and I have no doubt that each and every thread was stitched in love.  I knew I had to use it in the photos.  This is A with a nice, full belly.  He was totally in the milk coma, and I’m so excited about all the pictures we got on this blanket.

And I have to share a family one, too.  Such a sweet and special family.  It was wonderful getting to spend the morning with y’all and capture these moments that are going to go by in the blink of an eye.

smiling all the time {Clear Lake Texas Senior Photographer}

I had such a great time at this session.  Emily is another sweet senior from my church.  Not only that, but she’s been one of our baby-sitters over the past few years.  While I don’t get a sitter nearly as often as I should (note to self, schedule a date night soon!), Emily still has a special place in my heart as baby-sitter extraordinaire.

Emily wanted to head down to Galveston for our shoot, which is always fun!  I love walking around finding all sorts of fun textures and colors.  Emily thought she might be awkward or uncomfortable in front of the camera, but I think these pictures prove otherwise!  She was totally comfortable and completely herself.  She had a huge smile is 99% of her pictures, which I think is perfect because Emily smiles 99% of the time.

I love it when I tell a senior to sit somewhere just how they would at home.  Don’t pose, don’t think, just sit down.  Those poses always end up looking totally natural and relaxed and become instant favorites of mine.

On our way back to the car, I saw this wall and knew I wanted to get some fun jumping picture.  Changing into her college shirt was such a great idea.  It just makes the picture so perfect and fun.  Emily is jumping for joy over her college choice and the fun and exciting things that are just ahead for her!

On our way back home, we made one more stop at another location.  Emily (and her mom) wanted some overgrown field/nature-ish pictures.  I had the perfect field in mind, one that I’ve been admiring for awhile whenever I pass it.  It did not disappoint!  And Emily’s outfit was absolutely perfect.  This chair was one of their props.  It’s a family heirloom with lots of special meaning, which makes it even better.  In my quick scroll through Emily’s gallery, this one stood out immediately.  It’s definitely going to be one of my favorites from the session!

Actually, I love all of the pictures we took in the field.  I just love this look and this location, especially for seniors.  Emily is so beautiful, inside and out!  And you would never guess by looking at this picture that just moments earlier a stick-bug had tried to get a little too cozy with Em.  I don’t know if I’ve ever laughed as hard at a shoot.  I wasn’t laughing at you, Emily…I promise.  I was totally laughing with you!  (okay, maybe at you just a little bit. 🙂  But even with bugs and who knows what else, Emily continued to smile away.

Thanks again for the fun afternoon!


Another Beauty {Friendswood Texas Senior Photographer}

Seniors sessions are quickly becoming some of my very favorite. I met this sweet girl and her mom last night and despite the wind, the humidity, and the clouds, we had a great session! Brianna was just as sweet and gorgeous as my other seniors have been this year, and there was no doubt in my mind that she was going to be a natural in front of the camera. Considering this was one of the first pictures we got, I’d say the camera loves her!


I think one of the reasons I love photographing seniors so much is because it’s just such a neat time of life.  When we are doing our session, it takes me right back to the spring I graduated.  There are so many big, exciting changes just around the corner.  It’s such a fun season of life!  Brianna has such a bright future ahead of her.  She’s going to head off to a great school in the fall, already knows what her major will be, and her life is just bubbling with potential and possibility.  I love being a part of it, even if it’s just for something little like a photo session.

And plus, senior sessions are just fun.  There’s a level of easiness that just isn’t there with the toddler session.  You guys know I love a spunky toddler, but I love an easygoing (almost) 18 year old just as much!


There’s no crankiness with outfit changes.  We can go anywhere, even if it might be a little itchy.


Seniors will even squeeze into a borrowed pair of shoes, just for the sake of the outfit.  And then, even with shoes that are too small, in an itchy field, they will look at me and smile effortlessly and gorgeously.


Brianna, it was great to meet you yesterday!  You were wonderful.  And beautiful.  And fun.  And I could go on and on.  I can’t wait to show you the rest of your session!


A Day to Remember {Houston Children’s Photographer}

Yesterday I had the really fun opportunity to take pictures at the birthday party of a precious little 4 year old. I was looking forward to this shoot so much, and it definitely did not disappoint! The party was absolutely amazing. It was held at the family’s gorgeous home and the activities included pony rides, a real monkey, a bounce house, a pinata, a visit from the Easter bunny and an Easter egg hunt, and much, much more. It was an absolute blast and I feel so blessed to have been a part of it! All the kids had the best time, the family was so very sweet, and the birthday girl was just as cute and as spunky as can be.

It was such a wonderful and happy event.  You could just feel the joy and the love that surrounds Miss A.  She is such a lucky and blessed little girl to have a mom and a dad and so many friends that love her so very much.

And I just have to share one of the little monkey, Miss Abby Grace.  As you can probably imagine, she was the hit of the party!  The kids couldn’t get enough of her.  And I was totally impressed by her, too.  In the words of her owner, “she doesn’t know she’s a monkey.”   And I totally believe that.  She was so social, sat nicely on the kids’ laps, caught grapes, ate cake, opened water bottles, and on and on and on.  I bet every kid left that party wishing for a monkey of his or her very own!

Thank you so much, B family, for inviting me to be a part of A’s special day!



The Birthday Girl {Houston Children’s Photographer}

I spent yesterday morning hanging out with this sweet little lady.  And what a sweetie she was!

She is turning one at the end of the month.  I love one year old photo shoots.  They are just on the verge of growing out of that baby stage into full fledged toddlers.  Their personalities are really starting to show.  And they are always, always cute!  Miss F was no exception.  Her mom had warned me that she’s a little slow to warm up to strangers, and sure enough, it did take a bit to get her smiling.  But with the powerful combination of singing and peekaboo, we finally got her.

They brought along all kinds of cute outfits, baskets, and props for our shoot.  It was so fun working with all the different stuff!   I especially loved the giant number 1 decorated with balloons.   I was also so glad that they brought along a cake so we could do a cake smash at the end of our session.  The cake smash pictures always turn out so cute.  Miss F. had been getting just a bit fussy before we stripped her down and pulled out the cake.  But as you can see, she clearly perked right back up.

And one more to share.  She has such big, gorgeous blue eyes!  I love this picture.

Thanks so much for braving the humidity, the ants, and the stickers so we could get these pictures!  It was really great to meet you guys.

Simply Stunning {Clear Lake Texas Senior Photographer}

Last night, I got to  hang out with another wonderful senior.  Again, how did I get so lucky to get to to this as a job?  It doesn’t even feel like work!  I convinced Rachael to be a location guinea pig for me.  And really, it took no convincing at all because she is totally laid back and go with the flow.  I am so thrilled with what we came away with!  And despite both of us being scaredy cats at one location in particular (it was a little off the beaten path and we definitely heard some weird noises…), the shoot was a ton of fun as well.  I mean, how could it not be fun when I get to work with this gorgeous face?  The camera loves her!

She’s clearly gorgeous on the outside, but even better, she’s got such a big, kind, loving heart to go with it.  She’s her own person, so confident in who she is.  I wish I had an ounce of that confidence at her age.  No doubt about it, she has such a bright future ahead of her.

After the scary noise location, we hopped back in the party van to check out this old blue building I’ve had my eye on.  I was giddy about shooting there!  I kept exclaiming “isn’t this so cool!  Isn’t this great!”  She just giggled and gave me a great “whatever, Meg” look.  I guess those who aren’t photographers don’t constantly notice things like this.  But she went with it and really, isn’t it so cool?!

With every senior session, I feel like I could just keep on going forever.  Rachael’s session was no exception.  We took pictures until the light was completely gone.  I’m having a hard time even narrowing down which ones to share on here, and don’t get me started on how I’m supposed to narrow down for her full gallery!

Rachael, I had a blast with you last night.  Thanks for being so perfectly you!


Legacy of Love {Galveston Family Beach Photographer}

Forty years ago, these two promised to love each other forever.  They’ve stayed true to that promise, and to celebrate they wanted to spend the weekend in Galveston with their kids and grandkids, and they wanted a beach photo shoot.


I was honored to even have a small part in celebrating their love and commitment to one another.  What started out as just the two of them has grown to include four sons,  four daughters-in-law, five grandsons, and six granddaughters.

We met on the beach yesterday morning and were greeted by bright sunny skies, and gusting winds.  And while it wasn’t ideal shooting conditions from a photographer’s point of view, it really didn’t even matter.  What mattered is the love of this big, happy family.  What mattered is these precious 11 little ones (all under the age of 7!) who are crazy about their Grammy and Grandpa.

After all of the group shots and all of the family shots, I spent some time just capturing the kids in all their kid glory, living it up and playing at the beach.  I just love some of the images I got!  These kids are so precious, and so loved by so many people.  As I watched them play and I thought about this family, my heart was bursting with love and gratitude.  I was watching a legacy of Godliness, love, joy, and happiness unfold before my very eyes.  It was a joy to be a part of it yesterday morning.

I even got a smile from this little guy, who I’ve photographed before and has been notoriously stubborn about having his picture taken.  He tried so hard not to look at my camera or smile, but he couldn’t help but let it go towards the end of our time together.

And I love this one of the oldest grandchild.  She’s a little fashionista!

Thank you so much, B family, for trusting me with your family photos. I had a great time with y’all yesterday!  Happy Anniversary!

Neighbors and Friends {Houston Family Photographer}

We’ve lived in our house just over 5 years, and I think this sweet family moved in to the neighborhood about 18 months after us.  I totally remember meeting Jill when they first moved in and thinking that I wanted to be friends with her.  Sometimes you can just tell right off the bat that you’ll click with someone.  At the time, I was a stay at home mom to the boys, they didn’t have kids yet, and she worked full time.  So while we would do the neighborly wave thing, it really wasn’t until last year that we started becoming real friends.  Now we hang out in our yards, watching the kids play, and we’re able to get in some much needed adult conversation.  She’s officially seen my house at it’s very messiest (4:30 p.m. anyone?  It’s like a bomb went off every day at that time!  It definitely makes us “real friends” that I don’t even flinch when the doorbell rings unexpectedly at that time and it’s her!)  I am so thankful to have a good friend just down the street, and I’m so happy that I got to take pictures of them.   They are such a beautiful family!

This next one I snapped on a whim before we really even started shooting.  I thought they looked so sweet standing like that! J is definitely a daddy’s boy.  (Don’t worry, Jill.  Your day will come!)

Thanks to another neighbor who moved last year, I scored this chair.  It was my first time to bring it to a shoot and I love the look of it!  I’ve been meaning to spray paint it, but after seeing it in action, I might just leave it as is.   Of course, the chair pales in comparison to the cutie sitting in it.  I just love how he popped his knee up like that.

I have to share this one too.  It totally makes me smile.  This location has some donkeys nearby, and J thought they were hilarious!  He got such a kick out of them.  When I first found this location, I was actually worried that the donkeys would be distracting or their super loud he-haws would scare the kids.  But so far, they’ve just been a huge hit.

I resorted to booger jokes {Houston Family Photograhper}

Last weekend, I got to take pictures of some of my very best friends. I love photographing friends, but in some ways, it can be a little more challenging.   The kids already know me.  They are already used to my antics and don’t find me amusing..what’s up with that?!  I always have to work a little harder to get those natural smiles, just like I have to work harder for them with my own kids.

So I will admit that I totally resorted to booger jokes and simon says to get them laughing.  And I snapped this picture in the middle of it, which you may have already seen on Facebook because it’s probably my favorite out-take ever.

Cracks me up!  But after the ice breaker of “pick your nose/pick your brother’s nose”, we got this one.  I love it.  And seriously, how much do the boys look alike??  They practically look like twins!

We got some good family ones, too, which was our main goal.  I just love this one!  All the kids happy and smiling and loving on their parents and Laura and Neil grinning down at the three most important things in their life.  This is my favorite kind of picture.

Precious family.  Precious friends.  It doesn’t get much better than that.