pascale wowak photoblog

Elisa, Peter, Kenzi and Bodi

Many of you will recognize this adorable family as I have the opportunity to photograph them several times a year.  I adore them.  Kenzi is one of the most expressive children I have ever met.  Every shoot ends up being: The Many Faces Of Kenzi.   So stinking cute.   This was my second to last shoot before my big reconstructive ankle surgery bright and early tomorrow morning.  I had a mini headshot shoot tonight which I will be editing right up to the wire before going in to be sliced and diced!  As I was doing this shoot chasing Kenzi and Bodi around and being able to play with them and keep up with all the twirling and dancing and bubble popping I found myself very grateful for my mobility and I can't wait to be off the dang crutches and back in form to do what I do.  It's an active job and that's one of the things I love most about it.   I've had people ask me if I use a tripod when I photograph and it is so utterly beyond my imagination to ever be able to be that stagnant while I shoot.  I love moving and switching gears and changing angles and rolling with the punches.  Kids are active little beings.  Kenzi and Bodi are the perfect example of this and being able to keep up with them and their moods and their moments is the most fun aspect of what I do.  Well, that and capturing those magical snippets that make their parents happy!  Kenzi is SO sweet with her little brother, doting on him, hugging him, kissing him.  Just so tender.  And I really wanted to capture that because it's ridiculously sweet AND because she's insanely cute when she puckers her lips to kiss him.  You'll see what I'm talking about when you scroll down.   I just love this family.  Elisa & Peter, thanks for the fun, once again! Can't wait to see you guys after my recovery!  I hope to be fully operational to keep up with everyone at the beach next time!  xoxoxoxoxox

Brendan & Claire

This is my second time photographing this adorable family and I just love them so much!    I'm super excited that I get to see them again later this year!  By then, Claire will likely be walking and it will be a whole new scenario!  I particularly love the dynamic between Brendan and his baby sister.  Clearly, I am partial to the big brother/little sister pairing, for obvious reasons...  And I maintain my belief that that particular pairing results in the sweetest, most accomodating, gentle-spirited older brothers and incredibly feisty, diva-ish, bossy little sisters.  My theory holds true nearly 90% of the time!  Claire is still too young to see if that particular dynamic is at play here but I can absolutely attest to Brendan being super sweet, gentle, protective and tender with his baby sister.  When we had her on a tree stump and mom was not, in his opinon, holding onto her quite sturdily enough, he was very clear to point out his distress over that fact and demand that *someone* hold her and wouldn't let go of her until someone did.  He's ridiculously sweet with her.  The whole family is just all kinds of awesome sauce.  How many clients can you joke around with that their kid has hoarding tendencies!?  LOL!  Brendan was definitely in hoarder mode during our shoot and had us in stitches!  They also brought me the MOST DELICIOUS all natural homemade macaroons from their family's store in Fremont called Sweet Orchid Patisseries.  And I will fully admit to being a macaroon SNOB.  Most macaroons here just pale in comparison to the ones I've had in France but these were the REAL DEAL!  So yummy.  My kids and I gobbled them up.  They also have gelato there too!  I think the kids and I will just have to swing by there on our way to visit my mom in the East Bay very soon!!!

Janice and Jonathon, thank you so much for spending your Sunday afternoon hanging out with me!  I had a blast and can't wait for our next shoot!  There are some real sibling gem shots in this batch, I was loving them as I was editing your shoot!  Your two kiddos are utterly fantastic! Love you guys! :) 

 

Andy, Judi, Mizu & Kai in Sunny Seattle! (for reals)

Last week I was up in Seattle for this wonderful shoot with an old friend with whom I've recently reconnected.   Our story is a really sweet one.  When I was in High School, our class did an exchange program with a High School in Hawaii for a week.  It was a really big deal and we were so excited!  I was placed with a very sweet family and had an incredible week.  During that week I met Judi who was in the class and participated in our outings and events even though she wasn't my host family.  We instantly hit it off.  You know how some people just CLICK?  We clicked.  We remained pen pals for several years after that.  Yes, this was before the age of email and texting for high schoolers....  We WROTE ACTUAL LETTERS...GASP!  :)

Over the years we lost touch but I thought of her often.  Then through the miracle of Facebook we reconnected last year.  I learned that she was an architect in Los Angeles and about to be married to her sweetheart Andy.  When I was up in Seattle last month to support my friend Jayme's fashion show, Judi drove out to give me a big hug! She looked EXACTLY the same as in high school and hadn't aged a DAY.  If I didn't like her so much, I might actually resent that a little... hahahaha!

Over the next couple weeks she arranged for me to come back up and photograph her family, which includes her almost 1 year old Kai and 7 year old stepson Mizu (whom she has raised since he was 2).  It was such a treat to watch her as a mother and think back to how the last time we truly spent any in person time was well over 20 years ago as high schoolers...  Pretty amazing!

We were blessed with uncharacteristically GORGEOUS sunny warm weather and I was able to give Judi that luscious golden backlighting that she so fervently desired! YAY!  We started the shoot at their utterly fantastic modern home and finished off at GreenLake park.  Mizu and Kai were BEYOND adorable and it was just a really lovely shoot.   The whole family is beyond gorgeous and could totally be professional models, each and every one of them.   I had a great time and was thrilled to be able to come up and do this.  

When I was editing the pictures Ellie came in and observed for a while, as she tends to enjoy doing, and then she asked me if Judi and I were related because we had the same hair and big smiles.  I thought that was just really cute.  

Andy and Judi, thank you for the amazing hospitality and opportunity to take these images for you.  I hope you love your sneak peek!  Much love to you all!  xoxox

 

 

Avery, Quinn & baby Morgan!

You all probably remember the super fun pregnancy shoot I did just a few weeks ago for this beloved family!  Well, baby Morgan just made her appearance into the world and she could not possibly have been welcomed into a more loving and happy family!  They are as lucky to have her as she is to have them!  Avery is being such an AMAZING oldest sister and little Quinn is adjusting to her new role as "no longer the baby" quite well!  Mom and Dad, as always, are handling all the adjustments and lack of sleep with grace and humor.  I just love them so much!   The shoot was very "fly by the seat of your pants" because it seemed every time we were  gearing up for a specific shot, something caused us to re-arrange, switch gears, change things up.  We just went with the flow.  As I was setting up the backdrop Quinn and Avery were playing on the cushions so I grabbed some cute shots even though I wasn't done setting things up.  Cuteness waits for no one. :)

Later, as we were trying to get a very specific hands shot that we get with every new addition, Quinn was insistant on being behind rather than in front, it led to some really cute shots and I was rewarded for not hampering the unfolding of the events.  I also want to remind other photographers that while you are focusing your attention on a certain shot (ie: here I was shooting dad & baby Morgan), I always keep an eye on what else is going on behind or around me, and was able to capture a great shot of Avery.  Don't get locked into tunnel vision.  Keep observing all around you!  

Newborn shoots are notoriously challenging with siblings involved but this shoot was fun and everyone was working so well together.  Carly and Kevin, after three times of doing this together, I think we are just a well oiled machine at this point!!!  Love you all SO MUCH!  CONGRATULATIONS!!!!  *smooches*

ENJOY your sneak peek!  Just a few favorites, plenty more to come... :)

Anna & Alex

While staying up in Seattle this past weekend, I got to spend lots of quality time with my dear friend Amy.  Amy is one of those remarkable women who is just a "steady as she goes" kind of person.  On the one side, she is a solid, dependable, reliable, level headed and straight-forward gal.  One the other side she is incredibly funny, playful, creative, artistic, fun loving, and an absolute joy to be around.  Amy is a pragmatic straight shooter which is something I absolutely love and admire about her.  She's also the most generous, kind, compassionate and thoughtful person you will ever meet.  A devoted mother who is practically single handedly raising her two beautiful daughters while her fabulous husband is gone 6 months at a time on tours in Afghanistan.  This gal does it all and she does it well.

 Amy has been a rock for me over the past 2 years offering emotional and tangible support as I navigated a most challenging transition in my life.  I could always turn to her and know she would give me well thought out and practical advice.  When I was planning this trip I was super excited that I would be able to get images of her and her daughters to send to her husband and put on her walls.  Little did we know that her husband was planning a surprise trip and showed up just a little over a week ago for his 3 week stint back home. The timing could not possibly have been better!  I was able to capture images of all FOUR of them together, a very very very special moment in time for them.  The day was dark and gloomy but the mood was not, and everyone had glowing smiles!  You'll see that Amy has a thousand-watt smile that could light the universe!  Her girls, Anna & Alex, are two of the cutest, sweetest little bugs on the planet and I just completely fell in love with them.  I so enjoyed watching the special relationship they have with their dad even though they don't get to see him as often, it's clear how near and dear he is to their hearts.

 We did most of the shoot indoors at their home because it was just so cold and dreary outside but did venture out for a few minutes around their neighborhood before realizing that the girls were not feeling the outdoors.  By then, two hours in, they were done with the shoot but we still managed to grab some family shots on the couch.  I had to do some creative lighting techniques because there wasn't enough ambient light and using flash would have cast shadows on the wall behind them due to the proximity so I played around with a technique I developed a while back.  It worked well enough!   I'll be coming back up to the area in April for another shoot with another friend who lives up there and I am so excited to capture her family too!

 After our shoot we drove into Seattle to help Jayme get all set up for her fashion show and then had a rocking time there.  The next day Amy & James showed me and my James around Seattle for the speedy gonzalez tour in the 3 hours we had before needing to head to the airport!  It was just a truly amazing and wonderful weekend!!!  Amy & James, thank you for being such amazing hosts! I hope you  love your sneak peek!  Your girls were beyond adorable!  Love you and your family so very very very much!!! xoxoxoxoxoxox

Avery, Quinn &....?

I have been making magic with this wonderful family since very soon after I launched my photography business.  I have been able to photograph each of their (now three!) pregnancies and it's been such great fun!  They are a goofy, active and energetic bunch.  I always know that our shoots will be full of laughing, running, playing, and definitely have a dance party of some sort thrown in at some point.  I love so many things about this family but what I love most is their deep appreciation for LIFE. And LOVE.  And TOGETHERNESS.  They truly understand what's important in life and don't fret the small stuff.  They focus on their priorities and their priorities are each other.  There is a solid foundation of love and respect upon which the entire family has been built and they've never lost their sense of humor and goofiness along the way despite how exhausting it is to have two littles and jobs to juggle and all that comes with life in general.  If anyone can handle, with grace and humor, three kids 5 and under it's Kevin and Carly.   When we were walking down from the parking lot and I was commenting on how gorgeous the light was, Kevin turned to me with the biggest smile and proclaimed: "I'm just happy to be alive!"  And that pretty much encapsulates their constant, ever present joy.  They are just HAPPY.  Through and through.  Happy and playful and light hearted and loving and compassionate.   There is a gentleness about them that is just so utterly palpable.  It's always such a joy to be around them and be able to participate in the goofiness and encourage the displays of their inherently playful nature.  Engaging with each other and connecting is their "happy place", this is what they focus on.  You can just sense that they don't get swallowed up by the nitty gritty details that bog so many of us down.  Their sense of persepctive is firmly in place.  Their commitment to each other is unwavering.  I see them as a model of how I want to live my life and the kind of relationships I strive for.  With my kids and with all my other relationships in my life.  They are just truly fantastic people and it's an honor & delight to have them as clients and friends.

Carly & Kevin, here is your sneak peek with just a few favorites of mine.  I cannot wait to meet your new addition, find out his/her name and see you all as your newly expanded family unit! ENJOY the sneak peek!

Norah, Leah & Caleb

For full disclosure I should mention that Amanda is a friend of mine so my affinity for her family is not purely professional... But, if you knew them you'd love them too!!!  They're a wild and crazy bunch and just because I love to torture myself I suggested they bring their "slightly" overweight (he didn't used to be, some adorable baby *cough Caleb cough* has been feeding him food from his high chair the past four months) and somewhat not really trained dog to the shoot, just to add a little more spice to the day.... lol!  Listen, I love chaos.  I love kids.  I love babies. I love dogs.  Yes, it was pandemonium and yet I was still in my happy place.  Besides, how often do you get to hear a dog who sounds like a sea lion everytime he sees another dog walk by him?  Incredibly entertaining!  Amanda is the kind of mom I try to be.  That perfect balance of caring *deeply* for her children and wanting to raise them to be amazing human beings coupled with just enough chill factor that she's never wound up over the little things and yet is totally able to be firm and fair with her kids. She doesn't sweat the small stuff but she's totally on top of the important things.   She's got this mothering thing down.    I probably won't have any of this figured out until I'm a grandmother so I'm just kinda banking on the fact that I will be the worlds best grandma and my traumatized and ruined children will forgive me for screwing them up only because I am making up for it with my mad grandparenting skills.... that's kinda my game plan at this point... :)

I just really enjoy this family.  They know how to have fun and live life.  They've got a GREAT sense of humor.  They are playful and carefree and you just sense that they appreciate life, and that's an incredible gift you give your kids, you know?  Plus, HELLO PHOTOGENIC MUCH?!  Gah. Dimples, freckes, baby squishableness.... I was in heaven.   Amanda & Andy, here's your sneak peek, so glad we got a BEAUTIFUL day for this!  Love you guys!!!

The M&M families

I've been photographing these two families together, doing essentially three shoots at the same time, each family individually, both families together and also the cousins all individually, within their respective family unit and all the cousins together, for YEARS.  It's a December tradition for all of us! These gorgeous girls are sisters and grandma (their mom) gifts them this combined shoot as their Christmas gift each year.  Of course, she gets great images of her most favorite people out of it too so EVERYBODY is happy!  Best gift ever, hands down!  Here is a quick sneak peek of just a few favorites out of a gizillion images.  I don't offer these combined shoots anymore, they're entirely too much work, but I do it for these guys because I love them with all my heart.  The boys are super sweet and everyone works so well together that we are a well oiled machine. :)

At the very end I was treated to the oldest cousin (AJ) doing an impromptu dubstep dance routine for me.  Anyone who knows me knows that I am a HUGE fan of dancing in all its forms and I was BLOWN AWAY by this boy's MAD skills.  Seriously, he is gifted and FEELS the music.  I was beyond impressed and there's no doubt in my mind that I will be able to say one day: "I knew him when he was but a wee lad and I was the one who photographed him growing up!"  :)

This was my last shoot of the year so I want to take a moment to heartily wish everyone a very HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Enjoy the sneak peek grandma. :)

 

Ryan & his parents

A couple months ago I had a family shoot scheduled with this beautiful family and on the day of the shoot, Ed couldn't make it due to a work emergency.  Noha & Ryan continued on with the shoot and I got amazing shots of Ryan (incredibly photogenic boy that he is) and his mom but we added an extra "mini shoot" to the schedule in order to make sure we could get some real FAMILY photos of all three of them together before the Holidays!  We squeezed this shoot into a very busy week but we were so grateful it worked out and the weather could not have been more gorgeous that day either!  We lucked out considering how much rain we've been getting!  Ryan is a very active, squirmy, lively little boy and it's always fun figuring out how best to wrangle him!  I think we did a good job of letting him be himself, move around & explore but also getting the shots we needed!  Here are some shots from our quick session!

The W. Family

It was such a delight photographing this family whom I've known for several years but never had the opportunity to photograph until now.  My son Gavin has been in the same class as Christian for ages as they both attend the same small school.  They're good friends and love to hang out together.  I knew going in that this shoot would be a breeze because: 1) Andrew and Christian are incredibly good looking boys and 2) They are also incredibly well mannered and polite.   Throw in two photogenic, sweet, loving parents and it's a recipe for a fantastic shoot! And that's exactly what transpired.  We had insanely gorgeous weather and the boys were total sweethearts.  The deep, palpable, quietly strong love between Kerry and Jim really moved me.  There was such genuine tenderness, love and respect between them.  The way they looked at each other and held each other.  Such an ease and comfort, signs of a couple who have been together forever and whose love only gets stronger with every passing year.  Those two boys are so lucky to have that in their life, it's a great role model for them of what marriage should look and feel like.  I remember telling Kerry afterwards how special that was and how privileged I felt that they were comfortable enough around me to be their true, authentic selves.   I really enjoyed my time with this lovely family and I hope they love the results!  Kerry & Jim, it was an absolute pleasure!  ENJOY your sneak peek, I'll bring your package to school pick up this afternoon!  Sure is handy living so close to your clients! :)

 

Kenzi & Bodi

My last shoot with this family yielded one of my all time favorite sibling shots and I always look forward to the new locations all over the Bay Area that we get to play at when I'm photographing this adventurous family, from the Asian Art Museum in SF all the way down to the Monterey Bay Aquarium.  We've explored so many fun places!  We lucked out on the Aquarium shoot because we got there on a Monday morning before the crowds, on a sunny day, after a weekend of rain.  So, we were able to really maximize the spaces available to us and let the light dictate our shooting breaks.   Elisa did a MARVELOUS job picking out some really fun, classy outfits. She dressed Kenzi & Bodi with a "star" theme without it being overly matchy-matchy or Holiday-overloady.  I also love that Kenzi and her mom were wearing the same black sparkly TOMS shoes!  We got a ton of great shots so I struggled to narrow it down for the blog sneak peek, but here are a few favorites.  Great seeing you all Elisa & Peter! MUCH LOVE!

Mateo

I first photographed this gorgeous boy and his awesome parents several years ago when he was but a wee little boy with the most amazing, soulful eyes and incredible mass of curly thick hair.  I remember being charmed beyond words by his sweet disposition and tender heart.   Seeing him again, after a few years, just blew me away.  He's just as sweet and gorgeous as ever but has blossomed into a polite, playful and utterly delightful young boy.  His parents have done such a remarkable job raising their son.  I had a truly wonderful time hanging out with them, just three days post surgery, and worried that I would be low-energy for them but was completely energized by their love and joy!  The shoot had been rescheduled about a billion times for a myriad of reasons so I think we were all just so happy that it was actually happening!! LOL!

Rick & Kris, thanks for a lovely afternoon hanging out with the three of you!  ENJOY your sneak peek! xoxox

 

Jolene, Peter, Cassandra, Zoe & Sabine

I"ve been photographing this family FOREVER.  And I look forward to our shoots every year with great anticipation because we always make an adventure out of it.  Jolene & Peter give me FULL artistic freedom.  I can literally do whatever I want.  They trust me implicitly.  The girls are always full of spunk and life and it's just FUN.  This year they asked me what had I always wanted to do family shoot-wise but never had the opportunity to do.  I told them I'd always wanted to take a client and just walk around downtown Santa Cruz and shoot wherever I felt inspired, whatever captured my eye, whatever doorway or light or sculpture or alley or staircase drew me in.  Just sorta walking around and winging it.  And they were totally up for it!  YAY!  So, that's exactly what we did!  Jolene also managed to get permission for us to shoot inside the MAH museum which was pretty neat.  And at the very end we grabbed some fun shots in the VW Eurovan which is an integral part of their family life (lots of camping and road trips with this bunch) and it just rounded out what was a really inspiring shoot for me.  I love doing new things and this was just what I needed to invigorate me.  I loved it and the girls seemed to have lots of fun with it too.  

Jolene & Peter, thanks for always trusting me and giving me the leeway to just do my thing.  I think you'll love the results!  ENJOY your sneak peek!

Love you guys!

Adam & Matthew & their big blue eyes.

This beloved family drives all the way down from Napa just to see me.  It makes me feel like a million bucks because I can't personally can't stand any road trip over an hour with my two kids sooooo yeah. :)

When Julianne and I were planning this shoot, she was debating about whether or not to bring their new addition to the family, a Great Dane mix rescue pup.  Naturally, my canine loving self practically insisted she bring Rex.  And I'm so glad they did.  He's a great dog and I have a MAJOR affinity for the relationship between a dog and its "little people" so I was smitten from the get go. 

Adam and Matthew are two of the most rambunctious boys I have ever met.  From the minute their feet touched the ground after leaping out of their car, they didn't stop scaling, jumping, climbing, leaping, and tackling.  They are ALL BOY.  It was kinda like herding cats trying to get them to focus on me but I know these boys well enough by now that I know exactly what works and doesn't work and was able to dig into my repertoire of potty jokes to capture their attention.  Hey, I never said a shoot with me would be a  dignified affair.  I only promise that you'll love the images. :)

And, I'm hoping Julianne and Marchus love these.  I think it's our best set yet.  Even with the black eye and knocked out tooth on Adam.  LOL!  And this is just a couple weeks after getting a cast removed.  And sustaining a myriad of injuries leading up to the shoot.  Julianne knew better than to reschedule based on the knocked out tooth and black eye.  She knows with her boys that the injury at hand is likely LESS than what COULD POTENTIALLY be awaiting down the road if we tried to reschedule! LOL!!!  Those boys are nonstop!  My heart skipped a beat several times thinking I was about to witness some incident that was going to result in a trip to the ER.  Julianne is the perfect mom for them because she doesn't even bat an eye all the while I'm about to pass out from holding my breath and turning blue because I stopped breathing as they jumped off a boulder 10 feet off the ground.  I think having a super duper cautious and overly safety conscious boy has made me forget what NORMAL boys do! hahahahaha!

In the end, we got amazing shots and everyone had fun! Wooohooo!  And so glad Rex was a part of it!

Julianne & Marchus, thank you so much for making the long trek every year to see me.  I love your family!!!!

ENJOY your sneak peek!!!

Juliette, Arianna & Joshua

I've been photographing this family since the oldest Juliette was just a tiny baby.  In fact, Juliette and my Ellie are born just two weeks apart.  We are going on our 8th year of doing these annual family shoots! Deborah and I first met when they lived locally here but they soon moved to Carmel and thankfully kept having me come and chronicle their family as it grew.  And did it ever grow.  Deborah had three kids literally back to back.  And looked utterly fabulous doing it.  You'd hate her if she weren't so likeable! lol!

All three kids have very strong personalities.  Juliette is the one who I can reliably depend on to be my assistant and is very mature for her age.  She takes the job of eldest very seriously.  Arianna is unusual for a middle child as she is less interested in keeping the peace and mediating as she is stirring the pot!  She is full of fire and spunk and lots of life in that little body of her.  Joshua is more on the quiet side, probably used to being overshadowed by his two boisterous sisters.  He repeatedly tried to convince me that "he just doesn't know how to smile" and kept doing pouty faces for me.  I eventually broke that wall down.  Turns out he's a little rockstar in the making and all you have to do is ask him to sing to bring him out of his shell.  Soon, the smiles were flowing all around.  

Deborah & Charlie, enjoy your sneak peek!!!

Brendan & Claire

I had the distinct pleasure of meeting this family for the first time in the comfort of their home.   It was quite fortuitous that Brendan is crazed with Legos seeing as my 10 yr old son has been since he was about 2 yrs old and I am an official EXPERT in all things Lego.  Brendan and I hit it off right off the bat.  Baby Claire was about as sweet, happy and adorable as they come.  Mom and Dad were all kinds of awesome chill.  Needless to say, we had a great time hanging out at their house, playing, and getting to know each other.  I do so love coming to my clients homes (especially new clients) and photographing them in their element and finding the best light and locations within the confines of their property!  It's a wonderful challenge and I've found that kids are always so excited to show me their favorite spots and toys.  Makes for a great shoot! 

Janice & Jonathan, thank you so much for the extremely warm welcome and spending a couple hours with me!  It was great fun and I hope you love your sneak peek!  xoxox

Estelle & Sebastian

And their amazing wonderland they call home!  I so look forward to this shoot every year.  For starters, the kids are crazy cute and precocious.  Then, you add in some really nice parents.  A super sweet Polish Tatra Sheep dog named Sartaj. Then, the piece de resistance, you top it all off at the most stunning mountaintop home located on several gorgeous acres which comprise the property at Abounding Harvest Farm.  

This year it was uncharacteristically hot due to a heat wave and it was, like, about a billion degrees that particular day.  Seriously, it was well over 100 degrees at their home.  CRAZY HOT.  But everyone rallied like champs and we made the most of the sweltering weather by staying in the shade and maximizing the soft, stunning light once the sun crest behind the hilltop and washed their orchards in the most insane bath of luscious light you could ever ask for.  

I couldn't get enough of Sebastian, who is absolutely edible right now.  Honestly, full on nom-nom-nom material.  Too bad he wanted nothing to do with my camera.  But I still managed to get what I wanted.  I'm persistent like that. :)

And Estelle was her usual vibrant, feisty, delightful self, all wrapped into one very animated and joyous package!

Daniel and Nancy, it was a pleasure as always.  Can't wait for next year! :)

 

Ryan

I have been photographing this little dude for several years now.  I had the opportunity to do a quick shoot with him this week and we also snagged a few shots with his beautiful mama as well.  He's a gorgeous little boy with the most stunning eyes, luscious skin tones and fabulous hair.  Not to mention that killer smile.    We were lucky with the weather which was just slightly overcast but still with solid directionality to the light so I was able to maximize my ability to play with and shape the light to highlight his features. Once the fog rolled in, we headed to the ice cream shop and rewarded him for his superb modeling! :)

Noha, enjoy your sneak peek!

 

Ellie, Ben, Annabel, Trixie & Teddy

Five of the most well behaved, photogenic, cooperative, delightful children you will ever meet.  An absolute photographer's dream.   Most photographers would probably cringe at the prospect of trying to photograph 5 siblings but clearly they've never had the pleasure of photographing these kids.  This was my third time having the honor of capturing them on film and it was just as wonderful as the last two times.  I seriously cannot manage to self regulate with this bunch and always end up taking way too many pictures.  They just make it SO easy!!!  It's like shooting a J Crew catalog.  Gorgeous, each and every one of them.  And sweet as can be, too.  I'm already looking forward to our next shoot.

Joanna & Ned, thanks for producing and raising five of the greatest kids on the planet.  I love your family!

ENJOY your sneak peek, there's TONS more! 

Kenzi & Bodi

If you follow my blog at all you will have to recognize this family as I get to photograph them several times a year and I've chronicled every step of their journey as they've expanded their family first with Miss Kenzi and then the addition of Mr. Bodi, who just turned 1 and was the occasion for this particular shoot.

We were blessed with incredible weather, a gorgeous location and two happy kids!  Which, of course, means two very relaxed and happy parents too!  Admittedly, the lollipops may have helped but truly, they were smiling even BEFORE the lollipops made an appearance!  All in all, a most delightful and wonderful shoot with some fabulous images as the end result! YAY!  

I get to see them all again in December, at which point Bodi will be walking and that should add a whole new dimsension to our experience! LOL!  

Elisa & Peter, enjoy your sneak peek!  Love you guys!

The S. Family

I've been photographing this family since the very early days of my photography business.  It's been such an honor to be able to chronicle this family as they've added little ones and then watch as the little ones grow.  When I first photographed them, their son Conor was just a young dude and now he TOWERS over me and is off to college.  It's completley disconcerting.  I'm struggling with it all to be quite honest.  Pam & Josh have been so kind to the kids and I, having the three of us over for dinner to welcome us to the new neighborhood when we moved down this way after our big life transition.  It was so incredibly kind of them and hilarious to watch Isabelle (the youngest) fall head over heels for my Gavin.  Crazy cute! 

They wanted to do the shoot in my small village close to where I live and I was more than happy to accomodate that.  I love Capitola.  It's just a really great little beach town.  Vibrant and full of color and laid back appeal.  We worked our way around the village stopping here and there and grabbing shots as we went and ended up on the beach just as the sun was setting.  It was just another gorgeous California day with a beautiful family to photograph.  The girls are SUPER comfortable with me so I get to bear witness to all their goofy faces and silly antics.  This group is a lively bunch and there's never a dull moment!

Josh & Pam, it was a pleasure as always, thank you for once again letting me capture these memories for you.  I love our annual tradition!  ENJOY your sneak peek!

Wylie & his big brother Quincy

There are no words for how much I adore this family.  From the moment I first met them during a newborn shoot for their first son Quincy, I was instantly smitten.  Everything about them rang true to me and we had an instant connection.   When Kristen contacted me to book her newborn session just WEEKS after finding out she was pregnant with baby #2, that's when I knew they maybe liked me as much as I liked them! LOL! :)

Kristen and Walter have an amazing birth story for little Wylie.  It was an unplanned and unexpected home birth.  Technically, an in-the-car parked in front of the house thank goodness the neighbor is a labor and delivery nurse, kinda birth.  Walter caught his son.  Kristen is a ROCKSTAR.  Big brother Quincy was, initially, far more interested in the firefighter's who came to "clean up" than his baby brother!  And luckily Grandma was around to help with everything including wrangling Quincy and keeping him entertained during this session.  Such a wonderful, amazing, awesome family.    I especially loved that Kristen & Walter are not into props or "things", they wanted their newborn session to be as raw and authentic and natural and relaxed as possible.  Totally my vibe.    We basically hung out for several hours and I took pictures.  Directed a few shots here and there but mostly just engaged, observed and captured.  

Kristen & Walter, thank you for entrusting me yet again to capture these special memories for you.  As always, our time together was absolutely delightful despite the record making that was going on in the pee & poop department! HA! :)

Love you all!  (and a huge thank you to grandma for all her help!)

ENJOY your sneak peek!

Elliott & his parents at the Lavender Farm

Last year was my first time shooting at this amazing location.  I was hired to do a mother and son shoot for sweet Elliott and his gorgeous mama on the STUNNING property they live on.  They happen to live in a little house located right in the center of a private lavender farm out in the Monterey inlands.    This year I was brought back to do a family shoot and I was so excited because I got to explore even more of this insanely gorgeous property.   Not to mention that the family looks like they all belong on the cover of a magazine...so yeah, not the hardest shoot I've ever had, hahahaha!  Elliott was having his typical 2 yr old moments but in between he was ALL CHARM and ALL SMILES.  You'd never even know looking at these pictures.  He is one gorgeous kid.  I loved how mom and dad had fun with the shoot and were willing to wing it with me, letting the mind-blowing light guide me as to choosing where to shoot at all the stunning locations on the property.  I'm already looking forward to coming back next year!

Nicole & David, it was such a pleasure!  ENJOY your images!!!

Austin & Sydney

The day before I was scheduled to leave Austin, I got to spend some time with a friend (Hola Amber!) who lives a 2 hr drive from Austin.  She drove all the way down just to spend a few hours with me.  It was so great hanging out with her and getting stuck in a massive neighborhood street water battle in downtown Austin's bar district on 6th street.  People were dumping buckets from the rooftops, water gun snipers out the windows, gobs of water balloons tossed back and forth at the main intersection... Even the bartenders would run out with a water balloon, launch it across the street and then run back inside to their bartending duties.  I'd never seen anything like it but it was all kinds of awesomesauce.  That day Heather and her family were at a birthday party and somehow the subject of professional photos came up and a mom at the party was lamenting the fact that she did not have any professional shots of her sweet little baby girl who at 9 months was at the IDEAL age for photographing.... well, seemed to make sense to get me in on the conversation and so via texting we set up a mini shoot the very next day with Heather's friend Jenn and her two ADORABLE kids Austin & Sydney.  The shoot was scheduled for the crack of dawn the next morning since I would be flying back home later that day.  The weather was INSANELY muggy, hot and humid so much of the shoot was indoors which worked out beautifully since Jenn & Victor have the MOST amazing and gorgeous house and the kids have the most awesome rooms so I was in photographer heaven.  Austin was incredibly comfortable in front of the camera and took exactly 1.2 seconds to warm up to me and start mugging for the camera! LOL!  Sydney was a little more cautious of the stranger with the  big apparatus all up in her grill (typical of that age) but she lit up whenever her brother was in the room or next to her to make her feel at ease.  They were SO cute together.  

Jenn & Victor, thank you for welcoming me into your gorgeous home on such incredibly short notice and letting me capture these images for you of your adorable children!  I had a really great time and it was a lovely shoot and great way to cap off my stay in Austin!  

ENJOY your images!

Declan & Vivienne

Ah how I so very much enjoyed my time in Texas with this family.  If you read my previous post you'll learn more about the fun stuff I got to do on this trip to Austin.  But this blog post is all about Heather, David, Declan and Vivienne.   I love them all!  Declan is the sweetest and brightest and most charming little 4.5 year old on the planet.  Vivienne is full of spunk, fire, life and killer smiles (when she is willing to dole them out! She's quite judicious about that! Lol!).  Declan is so tender and sweet to all those around him.  He has no qualms giving hugs and kisses and is just a really gentle spirit not to mention incredibly bright.  He has impeccable manners and was always delightful to be around.  Vivienne reminded me a lot of Ellie: feisty, determined, and a force of nature.  That girl knows what she wants and she's going to find a way to make it happen.  But she was also very affectionate and spent much of her time on my hip with her little arm wrapped around mine for stability.  We had a special little bond.  I had the distinct pleasure of doing bedtime stories with both kids every night, something I absolutely LOVE doing, and it was so cute to have them cuddled up to me as we read.  It made me not long for my kiddos quite as badly as I was getting my "mommy dose/cuddles" through them!  

This shoot was quite spectacular insomuch that we did it at two totally different locations with two entirely different sets of outfits and two different times of the day (to account for the inhuman heat and humidity)  So, the first part was at the crack of dawn and the second part was at the end of the day.  Despite this accomodation for the weather, I was still completely drenched in my own sweat at the end of each shoot.  I just never quite acclimated to the heat and humidity.  In my defense, it was the hottest time of the year and they were having uncharacteristically awful humidity.  In fact, the day of our shoot was (luckily) the best of the 5 days weather wise as we had storms, clouds and even rain one day.  So, we totally lucked out!

I was tickled pink that I had been able to scour the area with Heather the day prior and visited a ton of potential spots so I could pick my favorite two.  I think we had two incredible locations and I even got to go shopping with them to finalize their outfits and make sure everything was absolutely perfect!  If any clients ask me how to pick out outfits that work well together without being crazy matchy-matchy, I am going to direct them to this shoot because the outfits were spot on.  Yay for teamwork!!! :)

Ok, enough chitchat, onto the sneak peek!  Heather & David, thanks again for hosting me and making my stay so wonderful!  I especially loved being up at 1 am sitting at Heather's computer designing new matching ringtones (based on the Dexter soundtrack) while laughing our butts off at our OCD-ness of making sure it started and ended at the precise spot we wanted it to.  That pretty much was a total highlight for me.  So very US! Lol!!!  LOVE YOU GUYS!!!

A quick shout out to Julie of ZOZOBUGBABY for Vivienne's first "look", how insanely cute is that dress!?!?!

And here's a quick iphone picture that Heather took of me during our shoot while I was photographing Declan and Vivienne spontaneously sat in my lap, resulting in me giving her some major loving.  Look at that smile.  Trouble with a capital T that one...  :)

 

Katie, Scott & Lewis

Katie is related to some long time clients (and friends) of mine.  She's admired the work I've done for them over the years and with her son Lewis home for just a week before he heads back out for another long stint doing his professional sports gig, she decided it was finally time to get a family shoot!  The last time they had hired a professional photographer was TEN years prior!  It was long overdue and I'm honored they chose me to capture these images for them.  They were an absolute pleasure to spend time with, so funny and easy going and totally willing to roll with my bad jokes and spazzy energy.  Loved them!

Here's your sneak peek, ENJOY!!! And mama, try not to miss your boy too much....  :)

Ashley & Bryce

This was my first time photographing this beautiful family but it was so naturally easy from start to finish that it felt as though I'd known them forever!  It helped that I already knew Amy from her attending one of my workshops and had already briefly met her kids.  Speaking of which, her kiddos were absolutely adorable and totally cooperative not to mention that even dad was really "into" the session which is always a treat for the photographer!  Even their super duper sweet lab Chloe was able to participate!  I think Amy got her Mother's Day/Birthday gift combo in spades! :)

Amy & Shaun, thank you for hanging out with me on that absolutely gorgeous day!  I hope you love your sneak peek!  ENJOY! 

 

Daniel & Hannah

I absolutely ADORE this family.  I look forward to our shoots in ways that borderline on unhealthy. Ha!  Seriously though, these kids are just a BLAST to photograph and the entire family has a great vibe, energy and ease about them.  They are so real and authentic and so genuinely a happy bunch.  I soak up their dynamic and truly hope that my son and daughter have the same wonderful relationship that these two have and that I have half the confidence and skill in parenting that their parents have.  They've done a remarkable job with these two (now teens! where did the time go!?) and I attribute that to the fact that they are such a rock solid couple with clear boundaries and yet blessed with a wicked sense of humor.  They're all kinds of awesome sauce.  :)

Lesley & Agustin, it was a pleasure as always.  Thank you all for courageously braving the ridiculously cold wind, frigid temperatures and gloomy skies!  I appreciate how you all brightened the day with your sunny dispositions and great attitudes!!! :)

 

Kenzi & Bodi

I get to see this lovely family a few times a year which means I've been able to chronicle every single developmental milestone for each of the kiddos (including both pregnancies!) and it's been SUCH a treat to be able to watch them as they evolve as a family and as Kenzi and Bodi grow and change.  The main point of this shoot was to get pictures of Bodi but we also got some sibling and family shots as well to round it all out!

Bodi is truly as cute as they come.  His big brown eyes, chipmunk cheeks and adorable little mouth make him absolutely edible.  He is starting to look SO much like his sister Kenzi at the same age.  At first they looked really different to me but now he is really starting to take after her.  Their dispositions could not be more different though.   Bodi is really laid back and quiet-natured while Kenzi is a flurry of nonstop activity and determined energy.  The girl knows what she wants to do and what she doesn't want to do!  There's never any doubt and you gotta respect her clarity! HA! :)  

It was an absolutely stunning day and thankfully the sun was shining brightly because our first pick of locations was unexpectedly closed when we arrived so we had to drive to an alternate location.  It all worked out beautifully in the end so I'm glad nobody panicked! Ha! :)

I'll be seeing them all again in a few months, can't wait to see how much chunkier Bodi's thighs have gotten....  :)

Elisa & Peter, ENJOY your images! 

Benjamin (& his big brother Lucas)

Nearly 3 years ago I was at this incredibly sweet family's house taking newborn pictures of Lucas.  This time I was there to capture memories of their newest addition to the family, little Benjamin.   It was such a time warp for me to be able to talk and interact with Lucas considering the last time I had seen him, he was just a few days old!  And boy did we talk!   Mark my words, this little boy is the next Steve Jobs, or something equivalent...  I was completely captivated and beguiled by his brilliance, expansive vocabulary and inimitable witty charm.   This boy is, quite simply, amazing.    I found myself wanting to stay long after the shoot just to have the distinct pleasure of being able to continue to interact with him and observe, in awe, his brain working in ways I've never seen a nearly 3 yr old brain function.   I was utterly and completely mesmerized by this child.  Before I left he drew me a picture, of a section of a train, not the whole train, because he intended to do different parts on different pieces of paper and then mail them to me one at a time so I could slowly assemble the full train.  I had him sign the drawing for me, which he happily did.  It's on my fridge.  And one day, when he's famous for discovering the cure for cancer or finding a way to turn mud into renewable energy, it'll be worth a pretty penny! HA!

But, I digress.  Little Benjamin is likely to be just as astute as his big brother because he only slept for a few minutes out of the 5 hrs I was there.  He spent most of the time awake and alert and intensely observant of his surroundings.   

Mom and Dad are two of the sweetest, kindest, warmest people I have ever met.   There is possibly no greater feeling than to have a client look you right in the eye as you are saying your goodbye's and have them tell you, with unmatched depth of sincerity and appreciation: "thank you for your art."    In response, I'd like to thank them for a most delightful shoot and having had the opportunity to capture some fabulous moments for them because they were willing to be so authentic, open and genuinely themselves with me.  It's THAT recipricol relationship and symbiotic dynamic which creates the art you see here. 

Much love to you F. family and ENJOY your images!

Gemma & Nico (in utero)

This past weekend I went up to visit my friend Rosaura (who is a fellow professional photographer) and grab some shots of her very pregnant self, her family and her incredibly happy little girl Gemma.   The weather was really iffy and it was SUPER cold outside but we braved the elements nonetheless and went to the local playground to hang and shoot.  Afterwards, Rosaura and I retreated to her bedroom and spent more time focusing on a bunch of EPIC semi nude maternity shots, which you won't see here, but were a bunch of fun to capture to say the least!  It's always a treat to photograph another photographer because you "speak the same language."  

Gemma is the most joyful, charming and delightful little girl.  She giggled nonstop and ran around the playground bouncing from activity to activity, always on the go.  A feisty, high energy little firecracker and I think I know who she gets that from.... :)   Gemma was extra sweet too because she told her mom that she was going to give her baby brother Nico her favorite bunny and her favorite blankie, both of which we made sure to capture images of her with based on the story behind it and the tender emotional connection.  SO sweet. :)

Rosaura got to pick the images she wanted to show on the blog's sneak peek so here you go!  ENJOY and I cannot wait to meet baby Nico.  CONGRATULATIONS again Rosaura and Scott!

For those who will be asking, Gemma's adorable dress is by ZOZOBUGBABY and her hairband by BLUE EYED FRECKLE!

 

Maggie, Conor & Charlotte

This wonderful family lives several states away but they come back to visit family in California (where I first met them and they became clients of mine) every year for Christmas.  So, we always schedule a family shoot during Christmas week while they are in town so we can continue our annual tradition!  It's such a treat to see how much the children have grown and changed in a year's time span.  Last time Annelys was pregnant and this time I got to meet baby Charlotte!   The poor little thing was under the weather and not anywhere close to her usual effervescent self and yet, despite this, she was BEYOND adorable and cute!  

I was also able to meet their Au Pair, Gretchen, and get some pictures of her with the kids and family as well.   It was, admittedly, a slightly chaotic shoot but with three adults, two rambunctious kids, a ridiculously cute little baby and one high energy photographer, we totally pulled it off!

Annelys and Sean, I hope you enjoy your sneak peek!  HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

Lily, Maya & Rowan

This is another long time client family of mine whom I just recently had the pleasure of visiting again for the arrival of yet another little girl in the family!  Three gorgeous girls!   I think I captured approximately three BILLION amazing images, so it was really incredibly hard to narrow down the sneak peek.  I had to just accept that many personal favorites would just have to wait for their eyes to see them when they get the CD package.   Lily and Maya could not have been more cooperative and ridiculously cute.  I was able to get an inordinate amount of stunning sibling shots which can be (let's be honest here!) incredibly hard with a 4 day old newborn, a 2 year old and a 4 year old.  But they were DELIGHTFUL and fun and responded so fantastically well to my antics. In fact, mom had warned me that Maya refuses to have her picture taken and when I initially asked her to let me take her picture she responded with an emphatic NO!  Two minutes later she was mugging like crazy for my camera.  So, yeah, that was certainly rewarding!  :)

Kim and Doug, thank you for welcoming me into your loving home a mere 4 days after giving birth to little Rowan!   I had a great time with you all and hope you are thrilled with the images we created that day!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!!!

Kenzi& Bodi

I just adore this family to bits!  We always do our shoots at a new location and since we do several shoots a year, that means we get to go on lots of adventures together!  This just may be my favorite one with them (with the possible exception of our very first shoot together when Elisa was pregnant with Kenzi, which I hold near and dear to my heart).  We did the shoot at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco.

I need to give MAJOR props to the director and staff at the museum because they were uncharacteristically accomodating and welcoming.  The director even gave us a mini tour to show us some spots with good light seeing as all the gallery areas are obviously too dark for natural light shooting and flash isn't allowed in the gallery rooms.  There is usually so much resistance from museums and I've experienced some really unfriendly staff at other places but they were absolutely wonderful here.  I plan on coming back with my kids during Christmas break because the museum is STUNNING (designed by the same architect who did the Musee D'orsay in Paris, which happens to be my favorite museum in Paris) and the exhibits running right now are fabulous.  So, I'll be back in a couple weeks for personal reasons!

I absolutely loved this venue and although you wouldn't think a museum would be the best place for a almost 2 year old and infant, we somehow totally rocked this session.  Kenzi does this crazy cute stuff with her mouth/tongue and I captured several of what I call "the  many faces of Kenzi."   Her baby brother could not possibly be any cuter either.  Elisa and Peter, I hope you love this sneak peek.  I can't wait til our next adventure!

The M-M families

I've been photographing these two families both individually and together since my first year in business.  I've chronicled all their pregnancies and every new member of the family!  The two moms are sisters and their mom (Hi Grandma Cindy!) gifts her daughters with this "joint" shoot every year for Christmas.  Naturally, I am completely biased here, but is there any greater gift a mom/grandma can give?  Think about it, she gives her daughters amazing pictures of them and their families AND she also gets amazing photos of her beloved daughters, their respective family units, all of them together and last but not least, her adored grandchildren!?  Win-win!

With FOUR boys 6 and under, it can be a bit crazy at times but these kids have grown up together and are more like siblings than cousins.  They absolutely adore each other and there is an incredible comfort level and closeness between ALL the members of both families.  That coupled with the fact that I know them so well and they know me and my style/approach so well makes for an impressively smooth shoot, all things considered.  

Shannon and Adam, Jennifer and Mike, and Grandma Cindy of course, ENJOY your sneak peek!

The P. Family

I go WAY back with this family.  I've known them since my days as a police officer and firefighter and long before I even was a mom or had an inkling of becoming a photographer.  They're my peeps.  I LOVE them and I LOVE being around them.  Our shoots are always playful and fun!  Their family dynamic is such that I am in stitches from beginning to end.   Unspeakable acts are committed.  I am sworn to secrecry.  Sorry.  :)

This year we were able to add two adorable babies to the mix!  Kendra had the most gorgeous twins last year, Ally and Kaylee.   The girls are SOOOOO cute!  They didn't really like the camera all that much but luckily they are so cute it doesn't matter! Ha! 

Debbie and Don are the most amazing folks.  Their marriage, to me, represents what a marriage should be and look like.  They just have it figured out.  They rock.  And their (now mostly grown up) combined kids are such well adjusted, awesome kids.  Have I mentioned how much I enjoy being around them???  :)

ENJOY your sneak peek! It's just a small taste of all the goodies we got during all the craziness!  LOVE YOU!

Quinn, Reilly and Tyler

My long time blog readers will recognize this absolutely beautiful family as I have been photographing them 2-3 times a year since I launched my business 7 years ago now.   It's practically serendipitous that we are now living in the same town as it makes it possible for us to now connect outside of our "shoot dates" as well.   Our kids all have the same energy (read: high) levels and get along great.   I've quite literally chronicled these kids childhoods and I am incredibly attached to them.  I definitely feel like I am part of the family!   When Tyler went through some life threatening medical issues last year I was terribly worried and by that same token I am incredibly pleased to watch her recovery and progress since then.   This family is just as rock solid and amazing as they come.  I am delighted to call them my friends.  Tara & Bryan, so glad we switched the date around in anticipation of rain, PHEW!!!  Hope you love your sneak peek! :)

Adam & Matthew & their fantabulous parents

Yes, I realize that's not a real word so just work with me here ok!?  I first met this family many years ago when I had just recently launched my business and little Adam was this BEYOND gorgeous Gap Model-ish baby with the BIGGEST blue eyes and LONGEST lashes you'll ever see.  None of that has changed and his baby brother Matthew was blessed with the same traits!  You could stare at their eyes for hours on end.  Absolutely mesmerizing.  Several years ago the family moved far away and yet they continue to come down once a year to keep up our tradition of me doing their annual family shoot.  I cannot even begin to express how much of an honor it is for me to be able to do this and to have them dedicate an entire day to traveling down just to see me.  It's pretty much just the most amazing feeling.  And Julianne is just so my kind of gal.  This woman is just incredible.  She's strong, smart and courageous beyond words having slayed dragons left and right the past few years.  I hope she knows how much I admire and look up to her.  I adore the whole family and look forward to our time together every single year.  

This time we went to Henry Cowell State Park and we were blessed with the MOST amazing light.  Just stunning.  We walked around the park and Julianne and I would spot the most delicious pockets of light at the same time.  Marchus was given reflector duty and rocked it out.  He knew exactly what I needed, which comes from years of doing this together, and I didn't even have to guide him through the process.  He just did a magnificent job.  So, between the stunning light, the gorgeous family and the perfect weather.... aaaaah heavenly!!!    I love you guys and I hope you like your sneak peek!!!  *muah*

Michaella, Isabelle & Connor

I love my adventurous client/friends!  Our shoot was scheduled for what turned out to be a very rainy day and due to mutually crazy and conflicting schedules, could not be rescheduled.  But that didn't deter Pam and Josh!  No way Jose!  She set everything up so that we had permits to shoot at the Conservatory of Flowers in S.F. and we met up there to get  this party started!  

Now, I would be lying if I said there weren't any unexpected setbacks.  Turns out the Conservatory is very small, and VERY dark (especially on a rainy day), and VERY humid (the kind of humid where I had to wipe the condensation off my lenses every 3rd shot), and very GREEN (icky color casts to contend with)... And the girls were definitely feeling a bit like caged animals rather quickly due to the crowds and confined space.... But, despite the "issues", we totally rocked it out and MADE IT WORK (I was channeling my Project Runway mode).  I did have to use OCF flash for the entire session which is not something I usually do but there was no other option because of how terribly dark it was inside the conservatory.  There wasn't even enough light to bounce back with a reflector, so very limiting in scope of lighting options.   

Fortunately, Pam and Josh took it all in stride and didn't let the setbacks get the best of them.  When the rain would let up for a few minutes we would rush outside and grab a few shots and then run back in when it came back down.  We were definitely flying by the seat of our pants throughout this shoot, ebbing and flowing with the best of them!   I think we went through Plan A, Plan B and Plan C within the first 30 mn!  It was all about improvising and working around whatever came in the way of us getting the shot!  :)

Then, after all that hard work they even took me out to dinner (so sweet!) and we had a lovely time enjoying super yummy food and great company.  THANK YOU S. FAMILY for a great time in the city!

I hope you love your sneak peek!  And thanks Connor for indulging me and being so easy to photograph!  Those dimples of yours will serve you well in college....  :)

Love you guys!

Te'a & Remi

Words cannot even begin to express how much I love this family.  I've been photographing them since shortly after I launched my business many moons ago.  We've really gotten to know each other as friends over the years.   Renata and Kevin have been such amazing support systems for me over the past few treacherous months and I just love them to bits for all their help.  Renata has the biggest heart and I just always love spending time with them.  The kids and I spent Halloween with them this year and it was so much fun.

This family just has the greatest sense of adventure and a total Carpe Diem approach to life.  Renata travels a lot internationally due to her work and she's just one of those fabulous people who has such a great global perspective on life and the world at large.  I picked "Big Jet Plane" as my song choice for their slideshow specifically because of how adventurous they are and how when I'm with them I always get the sense that they are on this fantastic journey together, enjoying life to the fullest and having fun in the process.  They think big and they live in the now.  I just love that so much about them.  As a family, they're playful and loving.  As a married couple, they are unequivocally supportive of each other's dreams and aspirations.  Their passion for life is a delight to behold!  :)

Plus, not only do they make me laugh so hard my sides ache the next day, but they also seem to appreciate my own twisted sense of humor so I can always let loose with them, which is incredibly refreshing!   R-K family, I LOVE YOU!  And I hope you love your sneak peek!  Oh, and THANK YOU for the amazing meal you sent home with me to feed me and the kiddos that night, it was RIDICULOUSLY good!!!! *muah*

 

CLICK HERE TO VIEW SLIDESHOW!

 

Cassandra, Zoe and Sabine

This time of year brings along with it my long time clients/friends which is just always such a treat.  I've been photographing the K. Family for many, many years and it's always an adventure!  This year we went to the Montalvo Arts Center in Saratoga which is a favorite venue of mine.  The girls, while all so very different in personality, do have on thing in common: they are all forces to be reckoned with!  They have strong personalities and strong opinions and wrangling them can be somewhat akin to herding cats (ergo my choice of accompanying song, hahahaha!) but despite the pandemonium, we always manage to create magic and get those great shots!  Phew!  I love these three girls. Little Zo, in particular, is my cuddlebug and muse.  She cracks me up with her adorable little facial expressions and wise, soulful eyes.  Sabine is quite the character and I love her spirited little personality.  And Cassandra always entertains me with her wicked smart thought process and funny sense of humor.  And yes, Zoe and Sabine are twins, and yes, I have SO many twins as clients! I LOVE TWINS! :)

In fact, the biggest source of chaos this year was MY fault, as I realized at the end of the shoot that I had inadvertently locked my keys in my car, and that the magnetic Hide-A-Key had someone popped open and the spare key was missing.... ARGH.  Jolene and Peter so graciously called AAA for me and hung out with me a solid 30+ mn until AAA got there, even though they had three very hungry and tired little girls ready to go home.   I am SO grateful to them!

I put together this little slideshow to showcase some of my favorites from our session.  J & P, ENJOY!!!

 

CLICK HERE TO VIEW SLIDESHOW

Juliette, Adrianna and Joshua

I've been photographing this family for almost 7 years now!  WOW!  That's just pretty darn cool.  I've watched the family grow from one kiddo to three kiddos, from calm to chaos, but it's always a very familiar sort of mayhem!  Reminds me of my own personal mayhem at my house!  :)

Juliette and Anna are always such little hams for me while Joshua, like years past, was just not willing to let me take his picture.  At all.  Little guy had made up his mind!  It wasn't until the very very very end of the shoot, when the sun had set, and the light was gone that he decided he'd let me grab a few shots.  So, I cranked the ISO to 3200, shot wide open at 1.4 and grabbed what I could! Little stinker!  But then you look at that charming smile, angelic curls, adorable face... and all is forgiven!

Deborah and Charlie, I know it was an adventure yet again this year but we always seem to pull it off don't we!?   MUCH LOVE to you all!

Enjoy your sneak peek!  The first two of Juliette are of her in her tennis outfit, SO CUTE!

Alex, Ethan & Olivia

Oh how I love me some Alex, Ethan and Olivia!  Truly no words for how awesome this family is.  I so look forward to our time together!  Then, you include their new 8 month old French Bulldog puppy Xavier into the mix and I was in total heaven!  But wait, there's more!  Try adding their newly purchased historic home in Palo Alto!?  DREAMY!!!  The house was just about to undergo a total, massive renovation so it was in complete disarray and "haunted house" empty which meant we couldn't do much inside (yet) but the porch and doorways were insanely awesome.  I cannot WAIT to come back when the house is completely remodeled.  It's going to be breath-taking....

It should also be noted that due to conflicting schedules and the busyness of life with three active kids, this particular shoot was crammed in in-between picking up the kids from school and rushing them out to their afterschool activities so needless to say we had a whole lot of shooting to do in a VERY short amount of time.   Quite honestly, with any trio of kids other than these three, it probably could not have happened.  And certainly not with these results!  But with Alex, Ethan and Olivia it was a breeze!  

I just wish Allison and I could have had more time to chat about our mutual boot fetish! HA! :)  Alas, I also had to go get my own kids!  Needless to say, the shoot was fantastic despite the time constraints and we rocked it out in record time.  These three never cease to amaze me with their witty, funny, playful, genuine and all around incredible selves.  Xacier just added a whole new element of fun too!  That dog is HILARIOUS.  First, he reminds me of Yoda.  Second of all, he PURS.  Yes, he PURS!  Third, he follows Allison around just like Kooper follows me.  That total adoration boy puppy dogs have with their human moms.  SO CUTE!  His facial expressions were to die for.  I was laughing so hard I blew a few shots with camera shake because of the faces he was making.  Incredibly expressive!

Allison and Dan, enjoy your sneak peek.  Your kids rock!  P.S. I can't wait to see the new house when it's all done!  I'm inviting myself over.  Just so you know.  :)

Tye

I just met this family for the first time, which is a rarity during this time of year as all my slots are already booked up with my long time clients, but it just so happened that I was able to squeeze them into my schedule and I am SO glad we did!  I absolutely adored!   Tye is the sweetest boy.  Very "deep thinker" kind of kid.  Taking everything in.  A little shy at first until he gets a feel for you and the situation.  Very bright.  Very observant.  A true delight to photograph as he is both incredibly photogenic and SO dang cute!

Mom Nicole really wanted to memorialize this year in particular because it marked a huge milestone for them with Tye starting Kindergarten, and I think she suddenly realized that the years are truly whizzing by!  I know when my son started Kindergarten is when it hit me all at once, that sense of this time with him at this stage being so fleeting.  This was the real deal, big kid school, and he was embarking on a new (and long) journey and, as a result, was one year closer to leaving me!  EGAD!  Sooooooo emotional!  :)

I am absolutely trilled I was able to capture these important images for them!  Jerem and Nicole, it was such a pleasure meeting you and capturing this moment in time for your family.   I very much enjoyed our time together and I hope YOU enjoy your sneak peek!

 

Samara & Camille

There are many reasons why the Fall is my favorite season and one of those reasons is because I get to photograph my long-time clients/friends.  They are the ones who, come January every year, book me out nearly a year in advance for my coveted Fall session dates.   My Fall sessions are always the first to book up completely and it's ALWAYS my long time clients who know how quickly those slots go so they grab them all!   It thrills me to no end because come the Fall season I get to see all my favorite families, the ones I have watched grow and chronicled over the past 6+ years.  It rocks my world basically.

And this family is no exception.   I LOVE them.  The girls are beyond adorable.  Mom and Dad are super sweet and totally "into" the shoot.  There is always such a happy, easy dynamic with them because we are also close friends and the girls are really connected to me as I am with them.   It's really just like old friends hanging out.  And those are my favorite shoots.  

Samara is a little ham when it comes to the camera.  Incredibly cooperative and not remotely camera shy.  A photographer's dream.  And Camille is a little fiery thing, not as interested in posing but full of spunk and personality.  Together, they just make my camera happy. :)

Heather and Danny are two of the nicest, sweetest folks you'll ever meet.   The first week I moved me and the kids into our new little cottage, Heather dropped by with her girls to deliver two days worth of vegetarian meals for us.  She has a heart filled with goodness and light.  Her caring and thoughtful gesture made my heart swell with appreciation and love.    I'm grateful every day for the amazing friends and clients I have.  Without them there is no way I could be making it as a single working mom.  So, from the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU!

ENJOY your sneak peek of your BEAUTIFUL family! There are TONS more on the DVD!  LOVE YOU!!!

 

Olin

I met Evelyn when we were both taking the same prenatal yoga class.  She was pregnant with Olin and I was pregnant with Ellie.  We hit it off and have remained friends all these years and I've been able to watch Olin grow up and blossom.   This boy could not possibly be more loved, more charming, more delightful, more happy.  He also happens to be sharp as a whip and is a constant stream of well thought out questions and pointed observations.    I think he may be smarter than me.  It's distinctly possible.   And if I didn't love him so much I'd probably feel bad about that! Ha! :)

Generally speaking, little boys just kinda sorta love me.  I'm not sure exactly why, but I seem to have a really great way of connecting with little boys for some reason.  Olin is no exception to the rule but I think he and I have a really extra special bond.  And it thrills me to no end to make him laugh out loud because then I get to capture that unbelievably dazzling smile of his.  The boy is incredibly photogenic and my camera loves him!

This year Evely and Karen decided it was high time we did a shoot at one of our local landmark beaches.  After all, we live here don't we!?  It was a stunning and perfect day at Natural Bridges and we frolicked for a couple hours just hanging out, playing and enjoying a gorgeous evening at the beach.  I adore this family and am so happy I get to take these annual pictures for them.

ENJOY your pictures Evi & Karen!

 

Estelle and Sebastian

I get to go to this family's AMAZING home and property every year and it's pretty much a photographer's dream.   The house itself if beyond cool, with a converted silo turned into a living space (house was featured in Sunset magazine years ago), and then the house sits on acres and acres of farmland with wild ducks, a Koi pond, fruit trees, veggies, a big dog (Sartaj), a bunch of adorable cats, etc....  Nancy and Daniel run and operate their farm which provides produce for a local CSA called Neighbor Farms CSA.  If you do not belong to a CSA yet and you are local I highly recommend you check them out, it's an incredible program and Nancy and Daniel are two of the nicest, hardest working folks I know.  It's just the two of them and they work their tails off managing the acres of harvesting they attend to year round.  

So, not only is the property nestled atop the gorgeous Los Gatos mountains but Daniel and Nancy have combined their love of nature and art with metal work sculptures throughout the property, an outdoor brick burning pizza oven, tire swings, you name it.  It's just a haven, truly.  

The last time I was there Sebastian was just a tiny little baby so it was truly a delight to see how much he had grown and changed.  He now looks like the spitting image of his father!  And Estelle has matured into a very verbal, poised little girl.   They're an incredble family and I look forward to our shoots every year.  This time we explored a new area of the property and went down into the woods a bit.  The light was GORGEOUS and by using a touch of OCF I was able to get rid of the greenish yellow tint that you get down in there and was able to produce beautiful images.   Poor little Sebastian was not feeling 100% that day so we weren't able to see as much of his normally extremely happy and exhuberant personality but he still gave us a few doses of that beyond charming smile of his.    In the past Estelle has not been all that interested in having her picture taken but this time she was quite the little star.   It was a really fun shoot!

On my way out Nancy gave me home made vegan chocolate chip cookies for my kids.  I'll admit to having eaten three of them on the way home which is fortuitous because when I walked in the door to relieve the babysitter the cookies were gobbled up faster than lightnening with nary a crumb left behind!  Daniel also very sweetly gave me a huge pile of freshly dug up Naked Lady bulbs straight out of his garden, which the kids and I thoroughly enjoyed planting in our new little backyard the next day.  THANK YOU SO MUCH Nancy and Daniel! 

Here is your sneak peek, there are TONS more on the CD!

ENJOY!!!!

Danielle

I've had the tremendous honor of documenting my friends Dave and Kristy's "journey" together from their engagement, to their wedding, then pregnancy, then newborn pics of little Dani, then family photos and Dani photos a couple times a year since her birth.    They are near and dear to me and Dani always makes it highly enertaining.  She is quite the fiesty little thing and now that she is 2 her favorite word is "NO", but she says it SO incredibly sweetly with a little high pitched sing-song voice that you can't help but giggle even though she flat out refuses to do anything you ask her to!  Ha!  

I know Kristy was really worried that I hadn't been able to get anything due to the (very normal) terrible 2's behavior but in between the tears, protests and tantrums we actually had some very lovely, fun, happy and delightful moments!  2 yr olds are all over the place emotionally and it's quite entertaining (when you aren;t the parent of said 2 yr old!) to watch them go through their wide range of emotions and erratic behavior.  It also didn't help that it was almost 100 degrees outside and we were all melting!  And yet, we still got GREAT shots!  How can you not with a little girl who has a smile like Dani's!?

We were able to use the same venue for this shoot as where they were married and that was an extra special treat.  I love the Saratoga Mountain Winery!  Such a gorgeous location!   A couple quick notes too, the picture of Kristy's legs and the pendant is to honor her MAJOR accomplishment of completing the Half Moon Bay 26.2 miles marathon just 3 days prior to the shoot.  Talk about AMAZING.   I could never EVER do that.  Aside from my right knee never having recovered from my big injury last year and me not being able to run anymore, even when I WAS running quite regularly, the most I could ever do was 8 miles and that was on a really good day at a really slow pace on a really flat course!  26.2 miles is superhuman to me.  And so MAJOR props to her.   And, clearly, the end result of all that training is those FANTASTIC legs of her.....I'm insanely jealous.   In fact, with every passing year she just looks more and more stunning and fabulous.  Motherhood suits her well!  

Without further ado, a few favorites from our session:

Aiden, Emerson & Kaisa

FULL DISCLOSURE:  Mama Kirsten is one of my bestest friends and I am very close to her family.  Her kids are friends with my kids.  Even our doggies are friends.  So, yeah, there's definitely a comfort zone there!  But aside from the fact that we are all near and dear to each other's hearts.... I can unequivocally say that this family is just AMAZING.  And I am qualified to say that because I know them so well.

 Side note: Aiden and Emerson are twins and it just occurred to me that I actually have a LOT of twins as clients.  Which is fortuitous because I happen to have a very strong affinity for twins.  /side note.

Kirsten is my rock.  She's the friend you turn to when you're in a quandary and you just don't know what to do, how to cope, what path to take or what to say.  She always, and I mean always, knows the right thing to say to get you back on track.    Maybe it's the nurse in her but she's just the most genuinely caring, thoughtful, considerate, "let me help you fix this" kind of person I know.  They just don't come more authentically GOOD-HEARTED than Kirsten.   But, least you think she is all rainbows and fluffy bunnies, this girl also has a wicked sense of humor and is sharp as a whip.  She looks so sweet and demure (on the outside) and then she'll say something and it will make me laugh so hard I'll nearly pee my pants (ok, admitttedly, that's easier to do these days, post-childbearing, sorry, TMI) mostly because I'm so taken by surprise that my sweet, sweet, sweet Kirsten could possibly say something like that!  I just love her.  :)

So, yeah, I love her, I love her husband, I love her kids.   The five of them look like a Gap ad.  They have personality in SPADES.  Yup, needless to say, the shoot was a BREEZE.  A huge thank you to Valgeen for letting us use her gorgeous backyard for the shoot, it was the PERFECT backdrop.  The weather/lighting went through three totally different stages during the shoot, it started out super cloudy, then the sun came out for a bit and then the fog rolled in really heavily at the end.  It actually rained the next day so we were incredibly blessed with the amazing light and weather conditions that day! PHEW!

Ok, I could go on and on and on about how much I love this family but I'm going to let the intimacy of the images I took speak for themselves.  I hope you can see/feel my love for them in how I captured them and engaged with them.   I actually used two fixed lenses for this entire shoot (something I rarely do with kids, especially 3 active kids) because I know them well enough to be able to predict where they'll be and how they'll react.  I also knew when to direct, when to pose and when to step away (far away) and just be an observant documenting the events as they unfold.  At the end of the shoot they had an impromptu, HUGE leaf-battle.  I got far out of the way (hey, I'm no dummy!) and sat on the ground and just captured it.   I loved how Kirsten wasn't worried about ruining her perfectly coiffed hair or how the kids were going to get covered in dirt and bugs and leaves and get tons of stuff in their hair.  She just lives in the moment and rides the wave.  Best mom ever.   When I'm having issues with one of my kids I always ask myself: "what would Kirsten do?!"  No joke!

Anyway, enough blabbering, click on the link below to watch the slideshow.  Be patient, it's a REALLY long one so it takes a while to load but trust me, it's worth it.  :)

ENJOY!

CLICK HERE TO VIEW SLIDESHOW

Norah, Leah & Caleb

This is one of my long time favorite families!  I just lurrrves them so much!  Norah and Leah are always in RARE form and I can predictably expect a FULL array of expressions and antics.   The girls are lively, funny, witty and always give me more than enough "material" to work with.  They feed off me and I feed off them and together we create magic!  Also, as you will see, the girls have the most INSANELY GORGEOUS eyes you will probably ever see on this planet.  I have NOT in any way enhanced the color of their eyes.  This is the real deal folks.  Truly mesmerizing.

Also, this time there was a new little brother in the mix!  The family welcomed little Caleb just three weeks prior to the shoot (which is not an age I usually photograph for newborns for a variety of reasons, one of which we discovered when this big boy couldn't fit in any of the baskets, hahaha!) but Amanda didn't want a highly stylized newborn shoot, rather she wanted images of Caleb seamlessly integrated into the family shots and a much more natural, intimate approach, so that's what we focused on and I loved it.

Amanda & Andy, I know you know how much I adore you guys but thought I'd mention it again here just to make it all official-like.  :)

I hope you love your sneak peek!

CONGRATULATIONS again on Mr. Caleb, he's absolute perfection.  May I have him?  (*smile*)

*** CLICK HERE FOR SLIDESHOW ***