Austin Portrait & Wedding Photographer | Maria Bernal

High School Portraits: Mary

Maria Bernal — Wed, 08 May 2013 22:17:03 +0000

When Mary’s mom came into the studio – she said “I want something beautiful and unique”, I took one look at her daughter Mary and I said “no problem”. Mary is beautiful and sweet.

We had such a good time, we laughed the whole time!! Anyway.. we did an extended high school session and we were able to do photos in the studio and a couple of locations nearby. I am so happy with the images that we got.

Adore Makeup & Salon came up to the studio and did her hair and makeup and I was impressed like I always am when they come up here to work on my clients! They are just so amazing! Anyway..I hope you love her photos as much as I do!

Villa Antonia Bridal Portrait: Katelyn

Maria Bernal — Sun, 05 May 2013 08:00:08 +0000

Well… Katelyn wanted a beautiful bridal portrait. I told her that with the combination of her looks + Villa Antonia, we would get one. We planned this bridal almost a year ago so there was a lot of anticipation building before we actually were able to photograph it. Rhea McCarter Craft from Adore Makeup Boutique & Salon did the gorgeous makeup, as always.

So…we decide to ride together, Katelyn, her mom, and me. So… during conversation, I ask her mom where she is from. She tells me that she is from a small town in South Texas and I probably don’t know it. So.. I say..which one? She names one of the smallest towns in Texas and…that is where my husband is from. Her niece is married to my husband’s cousin! woh… so I guess we are related through marriage-SMALL WORLD

Anyway..I hope you enjoy her main portrait (it is the first one below) and then a few others that I loved.

Austin wedding portraits: Emily and Joe at Cimarron Hills Golf Club

Maria Bernal — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 14:50:58 +0000

Well….these guys got married quite a while ago and it rained like crazy on their wedding day-really hard. I was drenched. Then they scheduled an after the wedding session and it rained like crazy. Then they scheduled another after the wedding session and it rained like crazy. Then…we all took a break. waited for mother nature to put us all on her good side.

I always forget to blog wedding portraits but I wanted to put these up there because I really like them. They are so sweet and I just love them and their families. Hope you enjoy these images that were taken at the Cimarron Hills Golf Club.

Will and Abby are back

Maria Bernal — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 17:35:33 +0000

It has been two years since I saw them last. When their mom said, can you photograph them again-I thought…yes! I love those kids. They were so much fun. Our sweet little girl still looks like the same sweet girl just older but little Will…not so little anymore. He was just almost two when I photographed them last time and now at 4 years old… he is all grown up. He is super tall too so I thought he was 6 !

These little ones hold a special place in my heart. I photographed their little twin cousins a few years ago for their baby photos and I love them too. It is great when I get a chance to photograph families and to watch the kids grow over the years.. It is really interesting.

Abby was such a little lady. I put a chair down and she just sat in it like a sweet little girl. She was ready for her portrait! At one point, she grabbed my hand and dragged me to a little patch of flowers and she said “wait for me to look down and touch a flower and then take my picture, okay?” ha ha…little photographer in the making..

Will just wanted to make faces and have a great time like any 4 year old boy! So, I let him make a few faces at the camera for me and he had so much fun. Held my hand and repeated everything I said to him. ha ha, the repeat game. I can play that all day long!

This time, we went for something natural and sweet. I think we did that. Enjoy.

Actor Headshots: Chip

Maria Bernal — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 15:58:34 +0000

I love actors. They make me laugh. They make me cry. They make me feel things-that is their job. But… where do they begin and where does the acting stop? Sometimes, getting actors to just be them is the challenge. I love that part of my job!!

Chip was a fun guy! He pulled up in this awesome car (one of my faves-a 1965 racing COBRA, yum!) and we went to town! We had the best time:)
These were a few of my faves from the studio portion of our session.

Wedding: Melissa + Chantry

Maria Bernal — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 02:43:38 +0000

Well, I have been photographing Melissa for 4 or 5 years now. She is a competitive body builder and a personal trainer and I admire her so much. She has a discipline that is so incredible and I keep thinking I can be like her but… I can not. She is an amazing person and she is such a giver. She is so good to all her clients and she is so supportive and I love that she has been a client of mine for all these years.

When she announced she was engaged – I was so overwhelmed with joy. She called me and said “YOU HAVE TO BE MY WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER”- Who can argue with that? Plus, she is super strong-don’t argue with people who can take you down ha ha

Anyway… Chantry, her fiance, comes over and OH MY GOSH, what a lovely person. He loves her so much and they are so great together. Their engagement session was so much fun (you can see it by pressing ENGAGEMENT) I am so thrilled to know Chantry is with Melissa, they are so happy.

The wedding was at Villa Antonia and we could not have asked for a better day. Everyone was awesome (several of my clients were at the wedding and a bunch of facebook friends and other friends that I have met through Melissa through the years so.. that was fun). Melissa and Chantry looked fantastic, their bridal party was gorgeous and sweet-what else can be said? My crew and I were absolutely was thrilled to photograph them and I am so glad that I was there to celebrate their special day.

Anyway, here are a few images of them that I wanted to share today and let them know how happy I am for them!

Dog Portraits: Abby

Maria Bernal — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 12:24:13 +0000

Well, this little 4 month old sweetie came in and it was a breeze photographing her. We went for something completely different than my normal traditional style photography and we went for something modern and hip.

Abby was very responsive to the camera and my favorite thing about her are her ears. They make me laugh. I love how they are so tall and how one just bends over. Ha ha. Anyway, I thought she was adorable, hope you do too.

Child Portraits: Vintage Style

Maria Bernal — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 16:19:58 +0000

I do enjoy a vintage feel to photographs. There is something soothing and calming about old style portraiture to me. These two little girls came in to the studio and their mom wanted something unique, something very different than they have ever had.
She said…”jut photograph them the way you see them, I want your art” So… that is what we did.
They were so well behaved and that was surprising to their mom because she said it is really hard to get them to stand still for the camera and I thought they were gems! They just stood there and looking at them.. I felt this amount of nostalgia and I captured it the way I was feeling.
I love how these turned out.

Editorial: Pearl Hair & Makeup Studio

Maria Bernal — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 22:43:01 +0000

Well… I do love fashion. Everyone who knows me knows that. I was so excited to do the spring hair campaign photos for Pearl Hair & Makeup Salon. The owner, Jen Hoover, is no stranger to me-we have worked on many magazine shoots over the last few years so I was thrilled to do this with her for her salon.

Maris Malone Calderon did the makeup for this and it is gorgeous!! All three of us have worked together on so many editorial photoshoots that when we get together, we just have a magical environment.

The model was provided by The Campbell Agency in Dallas and they have great talent. If you are looking to hire a model for any editorial work, they have some wonderful faces-men and women!

Pageant Headshots: Danielle

Maria Bernal — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 02:35:29 +0000

This is my second year photographing Danielle for her pageant headshots. She is a great kid and I love photographing her. I still remember the first time I ever photographed her-shy, sweet, shocked at how gorgeous she is. It made me so happy that she loved her first shots.

Pageant headshots are some of my favorite ones to do because the girls always feel so pretty when they leave here! It is fun to do these Enjoy! I was very proud of her when she went to Miss Texas Teen USA for the last couple of years and I know she is going again this year!! Good luck kiddo.