North Louisiana Lifestyle Family and Newborn Photographer

Category: family portraits

Dexter Family | Homer Louisiana Family Photographer

The Dexters- some of my favorite people. They are full of joy and laughter and are so caring. It’s an honor to know them and to call them my family.

Bethany and I grew up in the same church- her dad being the pastor. We have photos of her carrying me around. Haha!! Never did we imagine we would be sisters one day. I’m so thankful for the friendship that we have.

I did their family pictures a few years ago before sweet Brooke was in the picture. I still love those images today! After Brooke was born I did her newborn photos and her 18 month pictures. And now here are their family photos with sweet Brookie.

Brooke and Emma are a little over a year apart and they are best buds. Brooke gets so excited when she sees her! It’s the cutest thing. We love having so many cousins so close in age to our girls. They have best friends on both sides of the family!

We did their session out on our land in North Louisiana. They actually just live right up the hill from us. So that’s really fun!!

I had been eyeing this spot in our woods beside our pond for a few weeks and I knew I had to at least try for some images there. David has been doing some thinning of our woods and the way it looked with some fallen trees here and there just felt like it was right out of the mountains. I wasn’t sure if what I had in my mind would turn out, but let me say- it did!!

Their entire session is full of some of my very favorite images. I may have chose a few too many for this blog post but when they are this good you can’t help it!!

I hope you enjoy these as much as I do!

Oh Brookie

This cracks me up!!

Thank you so much for being here!!! If you enjoyed this post please leave some love

Xoxo,

Courtney

December 6, 2021
Conroy Girls | North Louisiana Photographer

Meet the Conroy girls..

These girls have my heart. They are the cutest and sweetest, and even sassiest, things you’ll ever meet. They love my girls with all their hearts and it’s always the best day ever when we get together.

I can’t believe how quickly they have grown!! Elaine and Moriah are only 9 month apart and Addie and Emma are only 6 months apart. This makes it so much fun!! They are cousins and I’m so glad they have little buddies so close in age.

These girls aren’t camera shy in the least!! Sarah Kate, for sure, LOVES the spotlight. She was full of poses. It was so fun!!

Moriah is a little more on the shy side, but she knew how to work that camera. She’s too cute!! And such a sweetheart.

Addie is full of personality and she will let you know when you’re doing somethgin she doesn’t like. She’s as sassy as they come but she can be so sweet too. Her and Emma fight like no one’s business but they still love each other.

I’m so glad we were able to get a few portraits of each of them and also highlight sweet Moriah for her birthday. She will be S E V E N in Decmber!!! Who allowed that to be???

We love these girls so much!!

November 22, 2021
Allison’s 12th Birthday Portraits | Shongalo0 Louisiana Photographer

Meet my little sister Allison.

Someone please explain how the little bitty girl i learned how to use a camera on is now T W E L V E years old!!!! Time please slow down a little.

Allison loves animals and always has. Even as a little toddler she would prefer the animal toys over baby dolls. When she would get a new America Girl doll she would play with the animals it came with more than the doll. As she has gotten older this hasn’t really changed.

She has always said she wanted to be a farmer when she grew up. Now that she’s old enough to take care of some animals on her own, or mostly anyeays, she’s got a few. Horses, chickens, dogs, cats, rabbits, a turkey.. She’s making out to be a great farmer. haha!!

When my mom asked me to take Allison’s portraits I knew they needed to be at thier home, with her animals. I’m so gald we chose this too because she was so much more natural with the animals than just by herslf. There were no forced smiles, they were all real.

Her horse that we used in these portraits is named Sunny. She is such a sweet horse and is Allison’s favorite. She’s a beautiful Palomino- Allison’s favorite breed. It’s been so fun going over and watching them care for them. In fact, it is Emma’s favorite past time. She LOVES horses too!

I hope you enjoy these portraits as much as I enjoyed taking them!!

So pretty!!

This girl loves her horses

Love this

Thanks so much for being here!! If you enjoyed this post, leave some love!

Xoxo,

Courtney

November 18, 2021
Sweet Sully Is ONE | Homer Louisiana Photographer

Sweet Sully is ONE!!!

I photographed this family back in July and just LOVED them sooo much! When Micah asked me to photopgraph Sully’s first birthday party I said “ABSOLUTELY!!!” They are the sweetest people you will ever meet with the cutest little boys. They have been a dream to work with!

I arrived early to their home in North Louisiana to begin photographing the detials of the party before the guests arrived. After the details were photographed I grabbed Sully for a few portraits of just him and then some with his sweet Mama.

Once the party started it was nonstop fun! Friends and family gathered around to celebrate this percious baby boy and to just be together. Kids played and had a blast, adults chatted about football, parenthood, and much more. It’s so good to see people together, connecting with one another in an age where social media is so overwhelming. To still see peopele interacting IN PERSON makes everything feel right in the world, even for just a few hours.

As Sully began opening his gifts, all the kids surrouned him to watch what he’d open next! SInce we’ve been watching the Toy Story movies with my girls lately, it made me think of Andy gettting his new toys for his birthday and the other toys waiting in anticipation to see what he would get next. HA!!

We had the best time together and I can’t wait for the next time I get to work with this wonderful family!!

His mama MADE this cake!!

I just adore this one

Sweet babies

Thank you SO much for being here!! If you enjoyed this post, please leave some love.

Xoxo,

Courtney

November 15, 2021
Our Family Portraits | Louisiana Family Photographer

Meet us- The Dexters!

As a family photographer in the Minden Louisiana area, I have learned that it is actaully very easy to be the shoe peddler that has no shoes. Meaning, I take portraits of others but have none of my family. This is NOT what I want to happen. I want to be able to have gorgeous portraits of my family just as much as I want this for my clients.

The past few years I have made sure I get us all dressed up and we go out in our field for OUR family portraits. It’s really a sight to behold, I’m quite sure. I typically have my camera set up on a table or our car. I set it on a timer and then set my family up. I start the timer and RUN into the picture. Sometimes it works, sometimes I get great BTS photos. HAHA!! Usually it works.

This year was, by far, the easiest with my kids. Last year, Emma wouldn’t look at the camera for nothing! Although I do not blame her- there was no one to look at, just a random camera. But this time she did so good!! I was proud!!

I had two sets of outfits picked out but I wasn’t sure which to use. I loved them both. I’m a big believer in coordinating with the decor in your home and usually going more neutral. But there was a blod patterned dress of Elaine’s that I just loved!! Then there were neutrals that I realy loved too.

One Sunday I decided to have us all wear the neutral outfits to church to see how I liked it. I ended up having a really good hari day that day and really liked the outfits on us so we decided to just get our pictures done that day! HA I’m always doing this LAST MINUTE.

We had just enough sunlight to make these images BEAUTIFUL!! And I love them SOOOOO mcuh!! Enjoy!!

Thank you so much for being here!! If you enjoyed this please leave some love!!

xoxo,

Courtney

November 12, 2021
Adrianna and Ben | A gorgeous church wedding | Minden Louisiana Photographer

Adrianna and Ben. The dream team. They are so fun to be around! You can’t help but have a good time.

This wedding day in Minden, Louisiana was such a special one. If you follow my work, you know I don’t really do weddings often. It’s not my specialty but for my close friends and family, I make exceptions. I have known Adrianna since we were little. We have photos of us going on vacationt together when she was, I think 2. Can’t remember exactly. But we were little! We were getting burried in the sand on the beaches in Florida. Then we took a trip to Tennessee when we were a little older and you’ll never guess who was part of that vacation- Ben and his family! Back then we never would have dreamed we’d be here today celebrating their wedding- but here we are! It’s crazy how life does that to us, isn’t it? We took several other vacations to FLorida together growing and made so many memories. Now Adrianna is moving off to Florida, so there’s a new excuse to go visit!

We started this day bright and early. It was a gorgeous day too! The sun was shinning and the temperature was just right. We woudln’t have asked for better weather! I know it made Adrainna’s day to have such a perfect day on HER perfect day.

We got started with the detail shots while the bridesmaids were getting ready. These details were just so lovely! And her ring! It’s so unique and stunning. I just loved it! Detail shots are something that’s really fun for me and I’ve learned so much from other amazingly talented photographers in this industry. One in particular being Katelyn James. If are a photographer, go check her out! She’s an incredible photographer and instructor!

Ok, back to Adrianna and Ben..

The wedding took place at her Grandfather’s (Papa, as she calls him) church in Minden Louisiana. I know this was so special for him. His first grandbaby getting married in his church. We know his wife, our dear Sister Karen, was looking down smiling on this special day. You’ll see in the detail shots how Adrianna honored her grandparents that have gone on before. It was so so special!

I could talk for ever about this wedding, but you know as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. So let’s get to the pictures!!

Congrats you two!!!

November 9, 2021
Wollmann Family | Louisiana Family Photographer

Meet the Wollmann family!!

These are some of the sweetest people you will ever meet. Not only are they sweet, but they are so fun to be around! They light up a rom wtih joy and laughter. And not only that, either- they are stunning! As I was photographing them here on our land in North Louisiana, I kept noticing how incredible each of their eyes were. All of them have the most goreous blue eyes.

We met them while in Arizona for my sis in law’s wedding. Little Lukas was only 7 months old and our Emma was only 6 months old. It was so fun to see them again and see how much our babies have grown! We had a picture of them two of them together at 7 and 6 months so while they were visiting Louisiana we had to get an updated one! They are both 3 years old now!

They just recently moved from Washington all the way to Florida! What a trip and what a climate change! Now that they are a little closer we are expecting more visits in the future. haha!

Speaking of visiting, while they were here for Adrianna and Ben’s wedding (you have to see this!!) we carved out about 30 mintues for family photos. Not exactly sure what all we would be able to get in that time, I set out to work fast and get as much in as we could. I would say it was sucessful!! The littles ones cooperated amazingly and hey, the older ones did too. Of course, it’s easy when you have such a photogenic family!!

Everything went so smoothly and I’m so glad it all worked out so well. Thanks again, y’all!! It was a great time!

November 9, 2021
Peach Orchard Family Session | Fields Family | Shreveport Louisiana Family Photographer

Meet the Fields family!! I love these sweet people so much! We go to church together in Minden, Louisiana and I have just loved watching Bella and Ian grow. I have photographed them a few times before and each time gets better and better.

Sarah has been wanting a cotton session for a few years now it has just never worked out. We really thought we were going to get lucky this time and it actually work out. Then we both got sick at the same time and had to reschedule. Bummer!! I drove by the cotton in Shreveport a few days before our session date and the cotton was being harvested!! NOOOO!

I quickly had to come up with another location and thanks to some other amazing North Louisiana photographers I came across a peach orchard!! I have always wanted to have a session in an orchard. I always thought there was nothing like this in North Louisiana, but this proved me wrong!

I drove past the orchard and just fell in LOVE!!! I had to come back with David to show him because I knew he would love it too. He’s been trying to start an orchard by planting a few fruit trees each year. We are up to 18 right now. To put that into perspective, this orchard had close to 500, I think it was. So we have a LONG way to go!

Ok, back to this session…

We decided to start at Sarah’s house so that we could get some photos of the kids with their animals. This was fun!! I always love to incorporate animals into a session. Afterwards we went for a drive into Shreveport to the Cairo Plantation out by the Dixie Maze and the Dixie Gin. I had no clue this place existed until only days before this session. I had been to the Dixie Maze, I knew where the Gin was, and I had even been to the Sunflowers that are literally RIGHT BY the orchard and I never knew it was there!

We had the best weather and the most stunning sunset! We couldn’t have asked for a better day!

Thank you so much Fields family!!

I just love this one

This one is so fun!

See how amazing this sunset was?!

Thanks so much for viewing our blog!! If you enjoyed this post please leave a comment below or even share!

Xoxo,

Courtney

32.513328
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October 29, 2021
How to choose your location for you session | Family Photographer in Minden Louisiana

Choosing the location for your family session can be tricky, especially in North Louisiana where there aren’t just spectacular views. However, there are some really great spots!!

One thing that I always love to recommend is selecting a location that is special to you and your family. A place you have made memories at makes your photos that much more special. If that be your land, a park, the lake, etc.

If you need help with location choices, we’ve got some great spots up our sleeve as well!

One place I personally love to photograph is actually our own land. we live on 10 acres between Minden, Louisiana and Homer, Louisiana. It’s a place with some much character and beauty.

Another gorgeous location is Lake Bistineau in Doyline, Louisiana. This is an absolutely STUNNING location!

Another location in the Shreveport/ Bossier area is McCormick Street. This location is absolutely incredible!! Gorgeous trees lining the road with stunning homes. Can’t ask for a better spot!

See how stunning?!

There are a few other locations in Shreveport bossier that are simply amazing!

Sunflower fields in the Summer

A peach orchard any time of year

Gorgeous pecan trees

Historic homes

Cotton fields in the early Fall

Another great location is LA Tech in Ruston, La

With gorgeous buildings and stunning light, you can’t go wrong here!

Minden Louisiana has a few beautiful places as well!!

Downtown can’t be beat!

And Simply Southern Cottage is always a good idea!!

North Louisiana truly is a lovely place for your family portraits and I can’t wait to meet your gorgeous family to capture such a special time in your life!

Xoxo,

Courtney

October 25, 2021
Christmas Tree Farm Sessions | Benton Louisiana Photographer

What says “It’s Christmas” better than Christmas tree farm sessions?! I’m waiting..

Hughes Christmas Tree farm in Benton Louisiana is our favorite spot for families to come out and enjoy the Christmas season and get their Christmas card photos taken!

We truly adore the sessions and look forward to them each and every year! There’s nothing like a good ol’ Christmas tree farm in Louisiana!!

This year we are booking 4 spots only!!

November 12th between 3:30 and 5:00!!

Sessions include:

20 minute sessions

10 images with the option to purchase entire gallery

For only $125!!

To book your spot email us at courtneydexterphoto@gmail.com with your email address and the time slot you would like!! Fee must be paid in full to secure your spot!

We love you and appreciate your support more than you know!!! ❤️❤️

Hope to see you there!!!

Book now

October 23, 2021