pascale wowak photoblog

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!

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

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.  :)

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!!!

 

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!!!!

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 ***

McKenna & Shane

I've had the pleasure of photographing this family a few years now and besides the fact that they LOOK like a Gap Campaign ad, they also happen to be the nicest, sweetest folks ever!  I love them!

Our original shoot location was deeply entrenched in fog so we turned around and quickly decided to head to Natural Bridges which looked like the ONLY spot in all of the Santa Cruz/Monterey Coastline that wasn't fogged in.  And by some incredible miracle, it remained for most of the shoot the only little pocket of sunshine while the fog merrily rolled in ALL around us, just feet from the coastline.  It was almost freaky to have a full 360 degree circle of fog all around us and to be in this little pocket of glorious light.  On a few occasions the fog did roll in a smidge at which point I busted out some off camera flash but soon enough, that soft, stunning, slightly diffused light was streaming back in and we worked it!

The kids were a blast and McKenna, as always, was my little muse.  She is such a delight to photograph!  She's really grown up so much since the last time I saw her.  *sigh*

Michelle and Scott, thank you for a magical afternoon of light and laughter.  I hope you enjoy your sneak peek.   And I'm already getting excited about our location plans for next year, it will be AN EVEN GREATER ADVENTURE!  :)

In this first little series, I wanted to play with their shadows right off the bat while the sun was still strong enough to produce shadows because I could tell it would simmer down in just a matter of minutes (which it did) so each family member had a chance to strike a pose when it was their turn and then I created a little collection of those 4 images for the 4 family members.  I think it would look really fun framed with the 4 individual shots all lined up consecutively!

 

Mia & Chiarra

I've been photographing these girls for several years now and they are such cuties!!!  Their mom is absolutely stunning (if I could make my curly hair do what her hair does I wouldn't want to chop off all my curls) and we have such a good time observing the girls' dynamics with each other and trying to figure out the emotional minefield that is little girls and trying to gain their cooperation but making them THINK it was their idea! Ha!  Things were a little touch and go at first but the day was saved by a bunch of dandelions.  PHEW! :)

Mother nature seems to be confused because the coastal June Gloom has extended well into August now.... major bummer.  So, we did not have an iota of sunshine to work with but we made the most of it.  Little Chiarra was SO COLD and it was breaking my heart.  When you weigh as much as a small sack of potaties and have 0% body fat, you can get cold fairly easily!  Poor little bug.   She was a trooper though and powered through until the very end as we were losing all our light and her sister Mia was running through the waves in her dress.  

I adore this family and look forward to our shoots every year.  Victoria, I hope you love your sneak peek!  Give the girls kisses from me!  :)

 

Five delightful kids and their wonderful parents!

I had the distinct pleasure of going down to Carmel last week and meeting a family of SEVEN (!) in order to photograph them in and around their home and grandparent's home (just down the street).  Not only do I love meeting new families, but I particularly enjoy BIG families!  It's so much fun getting to know all the uniquely different personalities and dynamics within the family with five kids.  Ellie (16), Ben (12), Annabel (10), Beatrix (8) and Teddy (6) were absolutely the most polite, well mannered, and easy going kids!   Besides being incredibly photogenic (it would be practically impossible to take a bad picture of these kids), they were so genuinely loving and sweet with each other while still being playful and acting like real siblings do.  It was a pleasant surprise for me to have mom and dad (having never done a shoot with me) completely trust me and leave me to my own devices and inspiration.  They always seemed to know when to "disappear" so the kids would focus on me and not be distracted by them.  I LOVE parents who trust me right away like that.  Thanks Joanna and Ned!

Carmel is, of course, a superbly beautiful area with gorgeous homes and a stunning beach.  Sadly, that particular day was frought with icky, foggy, overcast weather, the kind of light which has no warmth, tone, richness or directionality to it.  Not my favorite but with some handy dandy reflector work and supplemental flash, in addition to finding good little pockets, we were able to completely overcome the bad light situation.  It certainly helped that grandma and grandpa's house had AMAZING areas with texture and rocks and doorways, steps, windows etc... LOVED it!

Ellie and Annabel were PROS with the reflectors and it was wonderful having them as my official assistants, and it took all of me not to speak to Ellie in a sing song voice like I do with my OWN Ellie! Ha! :)

Needless to say, with a family of seven, I just ended up with WAY too many great pictures for me to do a regular sneak peek, and I had to put together a little slideshow of my favorites.   To the S. Family, I hope you and the kids had fun at the shoot.  ENJOY your images!!!

CLICK HERE TO VIEW SLIDESHOW!!!

Quinn, Reilly and Tyler

This family was my SECOND ever "real" clients when I officially launched my business 6+ years ago.  I *instantly* fell in love with them and hoped beyond hope that they would love their pictures enough to hire me again (even though I truly had a lot yet to learn about photography).  Fortunately, there was enough "heart and soul" in my image creating process to make up for my lack of technical expertise and they did hire me again.  Phew!  In fact, I've been able to photograph them a few times a year every year since that first wonderful shoot.  I've been able to chronicle and document every major milestone for their now THREE kids (!) and it's been the biggest honor for me to be able to do that.  I am VERY bonded to those kidlets and simply adore mom and dad.  I consider myself very blessed that they found me.  :)

Little Tyler has gone through a really rough year medically speaking and so it was just so fabulous to see her bust out some of her famously HUGE smiles.  They are truly contagious.  You can't look at that girl smile and not be grinning ear to ear yourself.   She still has a long recovery ahead of her but she just keeps getting better each time I see her and it warms my heart to witness the undeniably strong and powerful love there is in this family, across every family member.  And it also extends beyond their tightly unit family unit, so much so that the grandparents have been huge sources of emotional support throughout the stress of the past year.  It just so happened that Bryan's parents were in town when we did this shoot (they had been visiting for several weeks all the way from South Carolina!) so we were able to include them in the shoot as well!  It was a pleasure meeting them and I hope they love the images we captured despite all the chaos! Ha! :)

Bryan and Tara, you know how dear your family is to me.  Thanks for letting me play the small role I get to play in the journaling of your family's memories!

ENJOY!

 

Ava & Bella

This is another family I have been photographing since the very start of my business 6+ years ago and it's always such a treat to get to hang out with all of them!  The girls are super duper effervescent and full of spunk.  I absolutely adore mom (who is always TOTALLY prepared for just about anything) and dad is quite handy with the reflector.  We make a great team! :)

The girls are absolutely gorgeous and Ava is somewhat of a muse for me.  I adore photographing herand I especially love her "look" in B&W images.  Her big doe eyes and long, luscious hair.... Love!  And little Bella has the most charming smile EVER, dimples and all.  I could just gobble her up.

And if just the fantastic shoot wasn't enough, mom sent me home with a ton of goodies including the most irresistible Marini's caramel chocolates and some organic dark chocolate bars (my fave! she knows me well!)... and I'm starting to wonder if my obsession with dark chocolate has become a wee bit too transparent!?  Should I do more to mask this lusting? Needless to say, the chocolates were quickly consumed during the editing process.... yum! 

Thank you L. family for a fabulous session!  ENJOY your images!!!

 

Taj & Levi

The last time I saw this family, Levi was a tiny little baby and the time before that older brother Taj was a newborn!  It never ceases to amaze me when I see families grow and evolve over the years how children's personalities remain essentially the same as they navigate through life.  It's something I get to experience even more dramatically when a year or more goes by between shoots and then I see just how much they have changed and yet how much they have remained the same.  It's a really cool thing, actually.  

Taj and Levi are really fantastic kids and it's no surprise considering how amazing their mom and dad are.  I so enjoy our time together and even though Levi kept me on my toes, we worked some serious magic thanks to the most incredible lighting (it was *perfect* that night) and everyone having a really chill vibe throughout. 

There's LOTS and LOTS of love in this family and I hope I was able to showcase this with the images I took.  Every interaction between mom and dad was one of loving, tender, supportive teamwork... just the way it's supposed to be.   At the very end, when the shoot was over and we were walking back to our cars, I spotted a little trail and a big arrow and I had to ask them to give me 5 more minutes (even though the kids were practically falling asleep at that point), and they indulged me.  I love the series I got here.  I especially loved the lemon we found and had fun rolling down the hill.  After all, when life hands you lemons... just send them rolling!  :)    Adrienne and Dan, it was a pleasure, as always.  ENJOY your sneak peek!

 

Cameron & Chloe

I just love photographing this family.  For starters, they're all gorgeous, which makes it easy, and they're really laid-back and chill, which makes it pleasant, and the kids are full of spunk, which makes it fun.  I just always know it's going to be fun and that as a group we will just all roll with the punches so to speak.    This was of particular importance for this specific shoot because despite an only 1-% chance of rain and sunny skies when I left the house for the shoot....yup, right in the middle of our shoot, when we were in an open field, a solid mile into our hike, it started to rain.  At first, it was just a light drizzle, which quickly turned to a sprinkle and then, rain.  So, here we are with two cold, wet kids.  And two cold, wet dogs.  And three cold, wet adults.  And yet, despite all the weather-induced adversity, we still had an absolutely lovely, fun shoot!  How is that even possible!?   The biggest surprise for me, having photographed this family for years at a variety of locations, was seeing how INCREDIBLE their house was and being in awe of mom's amazing decorating skills.  Each interior wall was a different color and yet they all blended in seamlessly, beautifully and with perfect integration of the wall art and ousted photographs.   The architecture, layout and decor of the house was a photographer's dream and I'm pretty much going to have to beg them to let me do the shoot at their house next year when we have sunlight so I can take full advantage of it!  :)

We were also incredibly fortunate that I had grabbed some fabulous indoor shots at the house before we took off for our hike (or, in my case, my hobble, since I'm still dealing with my knee injury) and that when we returned, even though it was dark and dreary outside, I was able to boost my ISO to 1600 and move some furniture around and use what was left of the window light to grab some more fun shots at the very end.

We also brought their two dogs on our hike which, as a big dog lover, was wonderful for me.  Hunter is 11 yrs old and sweet as can be, allowing 5 month old puppy Skylar to romp all over and use him as a constant chew toy.    The light outdoors was far from ideal and yet I still really enjoyed shooting in the forest, as there is just something magical about those redwood trees.  When we got to the field, I used some OCF to counter act the dreariness.  You'd never know it was sprinkling on us when we took those images!   

On the speedy-gonzalez trek back to the house, little Chloe insisted on carrying some of my equipment for a short period of time.  I assure you that I do not commonly employ child labor.  But she sure did look cute being my little 2 yr old assistant! 

I love watching the dynamic between Chloe and her older brother Cameron because it reminds me so much of the dynamic between my two.  The quiet, patient, introspective, philosopher-ish big brother and the crazy, lively, independent, willful, spirited baby sister.  They balance off each other really well!

Jennifer & Stephen, thank you as always for a superb time together.  I always look forward to our shoots!  ENJOY your images!

Alice, May & Baby Clara

It's become quite clear that every time I get to photograph this family, magic happens.    The entire family is an absolute delight to photograph but my relationship with the girls is truly something special.  It's just seamless from beginning to end.  The girls are full of vibrancy, joy and BIG personalities.  I can't get enough of them!  This time was particularly bittersweet for me because I was able to meet the latest addition to the family, little baby Clara, and also say goodbye to all of them as they are moving back to England in a few short weeks.   This just gives me one more reason to visit England next year, as far as I'm concerned....

We started out at their beautiful home and then headed over to The Elizabeth Gamble Gardens and finished off at Stanford, which has special meaning to Richard and Marta.   I was also blessed to have my own personal sherpa on-hand as Marta's brother was visiting from Europe and he graciously lugged all my equipment to alleviate my knee (which is in a brace from my knee injury/fracture/nerve damage etc..)   He was an absolute sweetheart, and so amazing with the girls.  He also happens to be Clara's godfather so we had to get some shots of the two of them together.  The girls clearly ADORE him so it was extra fun having him around.

We had so many amazing images that I put together another slideshow for them, and this is just the tip of the iceberg.   I am definitely going to miss you guys!!!

ENJOY your images! (be patient with loading, it's a biggie)

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE SLIDESHOW.

 

Alex & Tess - mini shoot

Today I am posting the second of my 3 mini shoots from this past weekend.  This shoot was with a pair of siblings I had already had the pleasure of photographing in the past so I knew it was going to be easy because these two kids are incredibly photogenic.  Alex has lashes that pretty much go on FOREVER and a truly magnetic smile.   Tess is about as cute as they come.  So, together, they're absolutely adorable.  Their dad was the one who, after a very speedy gonzalez lesson from me, handled all my reflector duties for the mini session and he did a fantastic job.  I love when someone quickly learns to "see the light" and understands exactly what I need to make magic happen!  Thanks dad!  Here is a sneak peek preview of our mini shoot.   ENJOY!

Elliott & Leah - mini shoot

I had three mini shoots this past weekend and I'll be doing a blog post for each.  The first one here is with siblings Elliott and Leah.   They were SUPER sweet.  I know their mom pretty well (we trained for a triathlon together last year) and I'd interacted with Elliott and Leah before but I feel like I was able to get to experience a different side of them.  Elliott is a pretty rambunctious boy, full of energy, but he was a total sweetheart during our shoot.  Very cooperative and incredibly gentle and loving towards his little sister.  She was definitely the one who was pushing away his cuddles rather than vice versa which was pretty funny.  I remember Gavin and Ellie being exactly like that at that age.  I was delighted that we got some during the split second when SHE cuddled HIM!  Phew!  Leah was far more camera shy, not really interested in looking my way, but despite her more quiet personality we still captured some great smiles and laughter from her thanks to a quick shutter release response time! Ha!  Besides, my favorite ones of her are the one where she is looking away and another one where she is looking slightly off camera, without a big smile, but with a look of quiet confidence and sweetness on her face.  Smiles are great, don't get me wrong, but I also like those in between moments.  They're both great kids and I was delighted to have been able to spend a little time with them and capture these memories for mom and dad!  :)

And in case you were wondering, this absolutely stunning light was just a single, well placed, well positioned reflector.  It's all about taking control of the light.  :)

Agnes, Manon and Lucas

Today's post is the mini shoot I did for my friend Agnes and her two amazing kids, Manon (pronounced as best I can generate american sounds to a very french name: "mah-know" and Lucas (pronounced Luke-ah).  I absolutely adore these kids.  If my kids turn out HALF as wonderfully as these two have, then I'll be one happy mama.   They are super close and sweet and loving towards each other and yet still have that wicked sense of humor and edginess that their mom has.  It's a perfect combination.   Ellie and Manon were especially adorable together, as they progressively became glued at the hips with every passing day.  In fact, both girls (who both started off the week with super long hair) ended up getting the exact same haircut just one day apart while we were there!  They kept calling each other "twin".  It was SO sweet.  Manon was especially helpful as she would take time out of her day every evening to translate french kid books for Ellie so I could take a quick bath and then help Agnes get everything ready for dinnertime.  SO helpful!  

We decided to do the mini shoot at the park just down the street from their house.  It's a lovely, colorful, beautiful park and while the location was absolutely gorgeous; next time I want to do their shoot at one of the huge, impressive cemeteries in Paris.   Not only am I just slightly obsessed with the sheer magnitude and history of these cemeteries but I also think that locale would better match Agnes's personality.  So, that's the plan for next time! 

The afternoon of our shoot was tricky weather wise as we got rained on TWICE during the shoot during which time we had to seek shelter while we waited for the showers to pass.  In between the rain showers it was sunny though!  So, we had cloudy light, sunny light, rainy light and drizzly light all in the span of an hour.    Ellie was my assistant and as much as I adore her, it was clear why I never bring my kids to work with me!  She kept wanting to get into the shot!  Silly girl.  Regardless, we all had fun with this mini session and I hope Agnes likes them!  Here are just a few favorites from our shoot.

I was testing the light here, which I didn't end up liking, but I did like this sweet kiss. :)

'

The D. Family

I love meeting and photographing new families.   Because my beloved, loyal, "regulars" book nearly all my slots practically a year in advance, I only have a handful of free slots for "fresh blood" (hahahahaha!) every given year.  So, while I absolutely cherish the familiarity, joy and comfort of photographing clients I have known and watched evolve over the past 6+ years, I also like the surprise of the unexpected while meeting new clients.  And this family definitely did not disappoint in the "excitement" department!   Nathan and Jacob are two HIGH energy boys and total BOYS with a capital B!

I joked with Jennifer that Jacob tricked me because when we met in the parking lot, he jumped out of the car and came running up to me and quite literally threw himself into my arms giving me the BEST bear hug on the planet.  I looked at Jennifer and said "is he for real!?"  After all, he'd never met me and this is how he greets me!?  What an angel, I thought!  She tried to warn me about his mischievous personality... but it was too late.  I was completely and totally smitten.    Well, needless to say, mom was right.  He has a BIG personality in that little 5 yr old body and is quite the character.  Both boys kept me on my feet.  Literally.  Chasing them.  Trying to convince them to stop their bodies for a nanosecond.  To not cause injury to each other if within a foot of each other... ha!  But throughout it all, they had fun and I had fun and we all laughed at their crazy antics.  I can imagine that there is never a dull moment in that household!

So, thank you D. family for bringing some spice to my lazy Sunday afternoon!   ENJOY your images!

Alastar, Odin and Zephyr

Alastar is a beloved client who moved away to Connecticut a couple years ago.  She was in town this week visiting family and friends so we made sure to get a session in for her and her boys.  They are embarking on a new chapter in their lives and this shoot is a way to commemorate their little threesome and to celebrate their new beginnings all at the same time. :)

They had just flown in from the East Coast the night before and were all sleep deprived and jet lagged not to mention worn out from a long day of traveling but you would have never known.  Everyone was full of smiles, high energy and showing me their vibrant little personalities!

Due to scheduling we had to do the shoot mid morning, which as you may know, is not the best light to work with outdoors.  So, we did a little bit of shooting at the beach (just a block down from where they were staying) and then headed back to the house to do some indoor shooting in a little bedroom that could not have been more impeccably designed for that purpose with big windows on two sides and a plain white bedcover to beautifully bounce the light back on their faces.   Yesssssss.  That stuff makes me giddy-happy.   A good time was had by all!  

Alastar's nickname ('Star') perfectly suits her and I would even venture to add a "super" in front of it to truly represent her.  She rocks.  Love you, Star!

Here is a sneak peek of our morning together.

Samara & Camille

I've been photographing this family for nearly half a decade!  Woah.  I absolutely love them to bits.  It helps that I consider them friends and look forward to our time together as a chance to catch up and hang out.  I also very much enjoy photographing them and their two adorable little girls.  Heather (the absolutely gorgeous lady in these shots who doesn't even know how stunning she is) is an incredible mom.  She makes it look easy.  The whole family is just really fun and easy going and it's always a pleasure to hang out with them.

Those of you who follow this blog know that I am not into heavy post processing and "overdone" images.  I like my editing to be subtle.  I'd rather let the authentic image do all the talking rather than covering it up with a bunch of random actions.  Having said that, there were a few images in this session that I really felt a tug to manipulate and give a somewhat "polaroid-y" and classic film feel to them.  I had fun with those and think they turned out really great but my style and approach to post processing will always be on the more minimalistic side.  Every so often, an image will tell me it needs something specific though, and I always listen. :)

Heather and Danny, thank you for spending time with me on that GORGEOUS afternoon, sandwiched in between two rainy miserable days... How lucky we were!  I love you guys and I hope you really enjoy this sneak peek slideshow.  

CLICK HERE TO VIEW SLIDESHOW!!!

 

Maggie & Conor

These are long time clients of mine who moved away to the midwest at the beginning of the year.  I was quite sad that I would miss out on our annual photo shoot tradition.  But then they emailed me saying they were going to be back in the Bay Area for a few days at Christmas and could I squeeze them in?!  Even though I was technically on Holiday Break there was no way I was going to miss our annual shoot!  Especially since mom was nearly midway through her pregnancy with Baby #3 (and looking ever so stunning might I add)!

We met up and had an incredible shoot.   Even though the weather has been iffy, cold, wet, windy and all around awful, that one day was very mild and at times even sunny!  When the sun was hidden I busted out my off camera flash and with my little control freak tendencies I was able to totally control the output, direction and ambient light to create exactly the look I was going for.

Maggie and Conor were awesome and we all had a blast!  I am so grateful I was able to spend this time with them during their short stay in California.  

Annelys and John, hope you love these! ENJOY!

The M & M families

These are two more families that I have been watching grow over the past 5 years.  Every pregnancy, every newborn, every new sibling...  These milestones are so precious and it warms my heart that these two families value my work so much.  The two sisters here hire me for the big milestones and then every December for Christmas their mom, grandma Cindy, gifts her daughters with this combined shoot.  I can honestly think of no greater gift!  This is a very tight knit family and the little cousins are growing up more like brothers than cousins.  It's really cool to see grown sisters so incredibly close not only to each other, but also to their mom, and to their nephews.   It's obvious that family is the most important thing in their lives.  And I get to document these memories and this journey through parenthood for them!

Our shoot was rescheduled due to the rain but it worked out for the best because the day we did finally do it was an absolutely stunning day.  The light could not have been more gorgeous (even though it was playing peekaboo between the clouds!) and the boys had fun romping in the mud and being boys.    As you can see, Jen is just a couple weeks away from her #2 being born, which will bring the tally of grandkids to FOUR boys under 5 for grandma to enjoy!  Woohooo!  Let the games begin! :)

I love watching the boys' unique personalities shine through even more with every passing year.  AJ is definitely coming into his own as the oldest.  He is super responsible, mature, and always looking out for the younger two and making sure everyone is following the rules.  He was incredibly polite and sweet as could be.   Easton (his little brother) is the total comedian.  He had me laughing so hard my sides were aching.  He was striking poses like you wouldn't believe, not to mention impersonating superman and, get this, Spanish Buzz.  I think I was practically in tears I was laughing so hard at his perfect rendition of his "Ole!"  He is quite the character.  And Chase, who is about to become a big brother, is a gentle, sensitive soul.  His fun little spirit was able to really shine through when he had some alone time with me.  His smile is knock-your-socks-off charming.  Watch out, ladies!  I can't wait to see what #4 is like!

Here's just a few favorites from our awesome shoot.  I had a ridiculous amount of "keepers"!

The 3 cousins!

Te'a & Re'mi - mini shoot

I had a mini shoot with these adorable girls a couple days ago.  The mom, Renata, is a friend of mine and her oldest daughter Te'a is friends with my daughter Ellie.  They even got to attend a week at summer camp (at the amazing Kennolyn facility) together and had a blast!   

Te'a was acting the part of the super helpful, mature, sweet older sister and Re'mi was being the typical little 2 year old sister!  I am SO familiar with that dynamic!!!  Despite the terrible 2's, we rocked it out in a short amount of time.  Doesn't hurt that they are so cute, either! :)

Renata, ENJOY!!!

Adrian & Garrett

I've been photographing these boys for several years now and have had the immense pleasure of watching them grow, not just as individuals but also as brothers.  It's such a treat to watch that relationship develop and unfold.  Adrian is a very bright and witty boy who always has me in stitches with what comes out of his mouth.  So quick that boy.  And Garrett is just gobs of charm piled onto more gobs of charm.  Between the two of them, they basically have "cute" down to a science.

I started out the shoot using OCF (off camera flash) but quickly realized that they were going to be way too active to make that work for us so I put all that away and went with the gorgeous natural light (+ reflector) that we had on such a stunningly perfect day.

Karisa, your boys are absolutely adorable and I look forward to every shoot we have together! ENJOY your sneak peek!!!

Yeah, I know you want to squeeze him.  I don't blame you...

Although I got a TON of amazing pictures of Garrett, this next one is my fave.

 

Such cuties!

 

Ruby & Peter

I love shooting in new locations, especially when that new location is an exquisite, beautifully maintained, lovingly tended, 30 acre property (including several huge ponds!) in the SC mountains.  Not to mention with the yummiest lighting around.  Oh, and, most importantly, a super sweet family too!  This private residence holds many fond memories for the G. family and it was an absolute privilege to be able to photograph this loving family on these amazing grounds.   Jeanne & Peter also happen to be nicest couple with two children who have the most genuinely loving and tender sibling relationship I have ever witnessed.  It was a photographer's dream shoot in every possible way.

Thank you so much G. family for a very memorable shoot.  I had WAY too many keepers and "favorites" for the blog post sneak peek (we were there nearly 3 hrs shooting!) so I had to put together a little "highlights" slideshow.

ENJOY!!

***CLICK HERE TO VIEW SLIDESHOW***

Juliette, Adrianna and Joshua

This is one of my VERY first clients!  Juliette was born just two weeks apart from my Ellie and I photographed Juliette when she was just a few months old.  I had just launched my business.  Deborah and I became fast friends and I was so sad when they moved to Carmel.  So, although I get to see them a couple times a year with our shoots and Deborah and I get to escape together for the occasional lunch, it's not quite the same.  I guess the solution is me moving to Carmel?! Ha! :)

Their house is absolutely stunning and the kids are really happy there so we decided to do the shoot in their front and backyard.  I brought my whole off camera flash with softbox set up knowing that for an active, always in motion family of five with quickly disappearing light in a gorgeous backyard where I wanted to showcase the luscious landscaping I would need lots and lots of light.  It was a life saver!

Juliette is the big sister.  She is quite the precocious little girl and always has me in stitches with her little quirps.  She has JUST lost her first tooth the night before.  She starts Kindergarten this year and it's so cute listening to her talk about it with all that giddy anticipation.   She is also my little muse being that she is far from camera shy.

 

 

 

Ava & Bella

This is another one of my LONG time clients.  I have been able to photograph so many momentous occasions (pregnancy, newborn, siblings...).  It warms my heart to be able to continue to chronicle them over the years.  Ava is very much like Ellie.  Full of life and has a BIG personality.  If there's one thing I can handle it's 4 yr old girls with BIG personalities.... especially when they aren't my own... hahahahaha!  Ava asked to ride in the car with me when we switched locations and seeing as I had carseats in there and everything we went on a little ride together!  She cracks me up.  At the end she asked if she could come home with me.  That's just the best.  I know I just glow when kids ask if they can come home with me.  Doesn't get much better than that.  

Mom had brought along colorful balloons and I was practically squealing when she mentioned it.  How had I never thought of that?!  Brilliant.  We didn't get the shot I had envisioned but we got even better ones.  Always works out that way.

Every shot from this shoot was "post-worthy" so I really struggled in narrowing it down... ergo the long post.  And I still had to cut it down three times!

ENJOY!!

Here's Ava.

My favorite shot of the day is this next one. 

And here's Bella.

Yeah, these girls are gorgeous.  And their smiles could not be any bigger.  They have the same smile.  Love that!

I almost deleted this next one because her hand was cut off and I DESPISE the cutting off of limbs in photography.  But I couldn't bring myself to hit the delete button and eventually it grew on me more and more.

I have a tendency to really shoot "tight"  and I'm trying to remember to step outside of that habit.  As I was zoomed in on this shot I heard a little voice say: "pull back! pull back!"  and I'm so glad I listened to it.

trying to keep up with big sis.

Gabby & Jillian

I squeezed in this super mini shoot (as in just 10 minutes!) for my friend Serina and her two beautiful girls Jillian and Gabby.  Gabby is in Gavin's kindergarten class (he's got a really great group of classmates this year) and both girls are just beyond adorable not to mention UBER cooperative.  Because of those two factors we were able to get an amazing amount of stellar shots in just a few short minutes.  It worked out perfectly.  The girls are only 15 months apart and you can just tell how bonded they are to each other, it's really very sweet.

Serina, I think you are going to be a very happy mommy! ENJOY! :)

the poor cat was basically chased and hunted down for this shot but hey, we got the shot! :)

Cassandra, Zoe and Sabine

You all know how much I love twins and this was no exception.  Granted, twin toddlers and a preschool-aged big sister is perhaps not the "easiest" shoot but it was certainly ENTERTAINING!  The best part is that I just completely adore this family and because mom and dad share my wacky sense of humor we made it through unscathed.  There was alot of laughter, perhaps to offset the tears (real and potential), but still, alot of funny moments throughout.   

I know mom was feeling the same way I felt after my own photo shoot last month but it all worked out just fine.  Jolene and Peter, I  hope you are pleasantly surprised!  I think I managed to catch the chaos and pandemonium mixed in with their vibrant, happy, effervescent personalities.  The three girls are so uniquely different and my goal was to really capture them as they truly are and showcase the loving, lively relationships within the family unit.  That said, it would have been hard not to since they all have such BIG personalities!  I'm kinda, sorta, a tad bit familiar with big personalities (ellie?gavin?) so I felt right at home!   

ENJOY!

Sabine is daddy's girl:

Cassandra is a natural comedienne:

and zoe is a sweet, sensitive little girl with a heart of gold.  So affectionate!

it should be noted that this fantastic pose was all Cassandra's idea.  she's a riot!

watching Sabine's swagger-run is so funny it brought me to tears!

i think dad was thinking about the glass of wine he was gonna need when he got home... teehee

you can't see it in this small format but the way mom and dad are looking at each other is priceless

I am just bonkers about this  next shot!

Behold the family of five, in the same frame together...at the same time... and nobody is melting down!  Zoe is clearly impressed: "ooooooh!"

Riley & Kyra

I've had the pleasure of photographing these two girls for a couple years now and they are just adorable.  When they interact with each other the cute factor goes through the roof.  They are totally best friends and so sweet around each other.  Mom assures me that they have their arguments but the genuine love-fest I always witness between the two of them makes me question that!  Total sweethearts.

They also happened to be in fantastic moods and I was able to get total cooperation.  Even though 2 to 3 yrs old can be a challenging age range to work with, I was graced with nothing but smiles and fabulous poses.

Riley looks so grown up with her missing front teeth (an accident), it belies her mere three years of age...she's *almost* four though.  And Kyra was a total flirt and little camera ham, just following her big sister's lead in everything.  

Randy, it's always fun to watch your girls interact and they were little rockstars, I hope you love the results!

Jade and Jake

I had the opportunity to photograph their mommy when she was pregnant with Jake and OMG we got the MOST amazing images ev-ah!  Mom is a former model (among many other talents) and just rocked it, that woman knew how to work a camera and totally got what I was trying to do; it was a pretty magical shoot, and so much fun!  

So, it goes without saying that I was very curious to meet her daughter (now a big sister) and the new little dude Jake.  I wanted to see if mama's DNA had worked its way into the little ones.  And did it ever!!  Jade was such a kick.  That girl was so comfortable with my big ole lens in her face and related to me so quickly and easily.  She would just strike these hilarious poses.  Athletic, curious and this perfect mixture of delicate ballerina and bug crazy tomboy... So great!

Little Jake however was not feeling so hot and when he started clawing at his ears mom and I both looked at each other and, simultaneously, we were like "uh-oh, ear infection!!"  So, I think we managed a total of three smiles from him, poor little dude!

The light was positively gorgeous though so that was such a refreshing thing after the weird light conditions we've had recently.

And before I forget, HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!

Now go check out Jennifer's "mini me"in action!

Emily & JT

I'm so specialized in dealing with the wee little ones that I rarely have the pleasure of photographing the older set.  Emily and JT were pretty much as easy as they come!  Beyond being incredibly attractive, they were the most delightful, charming, sweet "kids" ever.   Mom was there as my super duper reflector holder and it was so fun for me to watch the interaction of mom with her adult children.  Their bond was so natural and easy and just the way I picture, ideally, my relationship with my kids when they grow up.  If my kids turn out half as wonderful and well rounded as these two then I will be one happy camper.   Lili, I hope you and your husband love these images!

Mom said she has a picture of them when they were younger standing like this together.  Of course, back then, Emily was taller than her brother being the oldest child... look what a few years can do!

 

Brady and Sean

This shoot was set to happen at the UCSC campus but as I pull up they have cops doing security checks and only letting students in due to a big protest that was going on.  My first (momentary) reaction was to have my heart sink because the mom really wanted to do the shoot there... Luckily, I am really good at sweet talking and got permission from the police officer for me and my clients to enter the grounds for the purpose of completing the shoot! Phew!

Brady was such a sweet older brother.  He was so great about giving hugs and kisses!  Sean was so funny because he had this very "deep in thought" look on his face most of the time like he was just taking in the whole situation and wondering what in the world was going on! Like why am I getting so much love and not getting tackled to the ground!? :)

I have a series of three images from the boys in the doorway of the barn where Brady is leaning in to give his baby brother a kiss, it is the sweetest triptych EVER and I will be adding it to my home page triptychs on my business website in the next couple days.  You can see the motion of the kiss as it slowly unfolds and there is so much tenderness in that series of three images that it just melts my heart.  I just posted the final kiss image here to save space but the set of three will be on my home page soon!

Enjoy!

Thomas & Madeline

These two little ones are only 21 months apart and they were such a hoot!  They reminded me so much of my two in so many ways.  The best thing was the fact that they were laughing the entire shoot, just laughing and laughing and laughing!  I ended up with a pretty bad case of the giggles myself from all their contagious laughter.  I even tried to get some "serious" shots but they were far too busy having fun, which I imagine there are worst things than having to photograph children who are so darn happy! :)

We had such a blast and the shoot was as easy as they come.  It was such a pleasure meeting you guys, thanks for the fun! :)

Juliette and Adrianna

First off, I know this post is ridiculously long. I apologize, but I couldn't narrow down the images any more than this...

Juliette and Adrianna's mommy is a dear friend of mine,  in fact Juliette and my daughter Ellie were  born just a couple weeks apart and have so much fun together.  Unfortunately, they moved a bit far away so the girls don't get as many opportunities to play as before.  However, I am lucky that I still get to chronicle this beautiful family!  The last time I saw Adrianna she was just a little newborn and this week she celebrated her first  birthday.  Check out those pearly whites! It's truly amazing how quickly they change...  And Juliette was willing to go with me and try out all my posing ideas, it's always so much fun to be able to take the child away from the parent and engage them without that parental influence nearby.  I have found that kids act sooooo differently when their parents aren't around (especially mom!) and I can get them to really pretty much do whatever I say, and they are so focused on me that they laugh at my silly jokes (ergo REAL smiles) and let themselves just "be" without thinking of "acting" (or acting out!) for the sake of their parents.  And this has nothing to do with the parent or the child but rather just the dynamic that naturally occurs at this age when a parent is nearby.  It's not usually something I do during the age of peak separation anxiety but rather something that seems to work best around 2.5 years and up.  So if I ask to take your little one aside, don't worry and don't take it personally, you'll be pleasantly surprised by the results, I promise! 

I do have to say this as well:  give me a girl, a tutu and some window light = me swooning.    It's just the perfect recipe for gorgeous images.

Mama is pregnant with baby #3, a little boy!!!  Deborah, it was great seeing you all and I am looking forward to meeting the new arrival in April!! 

Zoe and Eli

Well, my Saturday shoot got cancelled due to a last minute injury (poor thing!) and as I was making my way down my long waiting list to fill the slot my husband called and informed me that he was being ordered to stay at work on forced Overtime (staffing issues) in between his regular shifts and previous overtime shift so he's been gone for four days now...(ah, the life of a firefighter's wife...) I'm glad he called me before I had given away the slot, so it fortunately all worked out in the end.  Due to this sudden change though, I had an unexpected couple days and was able to put together a Holiday newsletter, work on my photography workshop book, update my neglected personal blog, start sorting through my own kids' photos and decide which ones to put into their also quite neglected baby albums...  Phew!  And yes, between playing outside and doing art projects, my kids watched a lot of videos this weekend...  How do you think I get anything done!? :)

In the meantime, while waiting for my next shoot's images, here are a handful I took last week of my friend Michelle's little girl Zoe.  Zoe and my daughter Ellie are good friends and have similar personalities.  I took Zoe alone for a few minutes and got some fantastic images of her during that time.  Then when mom came out, naturally, everything fell apart, as tends to happen at this age!  I know this all too well with my own...  But I did get a couple cute ones of Eli, the big brother, and the last one posted here is my all time favorite sibling shot ever.  I would pay good money to have a shot like this of my own kids but, of course, my OWN kids won't cooperate with me!  All attempts to get this shot with them has failed miserably, cause it's me, MOM, taking the photo... Sigh...  So, at least being able to capture this for someone else was rewarding in and of itself! :)

Kyra and Riley

So, I have a feeling that when mom looks at these photo she's either going to laugh or cry (or both!).  You see, our shoot was fraught with one setback after another. From the ominous rain clouds surrounding us, to the ridiculously frigid temperatures and everything in between including a minor head injury that put the cabash on everything and a toddler that was kinda sorta not interested in having any pictures taken whatsoever.  Like, at all.   I actually drove home feeling a little depressed that I had not managed to accomplish my usual goal of stellar photos.   To say I was surprised by the fact that I managed to get ANY photos at all is an understatement, much less THESE photos.  I hope mom is as pleasantly surprised as I was, especially considering the "working conditions" we encountered! :)

The good news is dad was a world class champion reflector holder (!) and you can totally see the brilliant light he managed to get me on these photos.  It made a huge difference in the results especially with the light situation we had.  I hope Kyra's little forehead is doing better today!

Katelyn & Haley (Part Deux)

Some of you may remember my little "Gap Models" from a couple months ago!  I had the distinct pleasure of photographing them again, this time at their home which is located on a really incredible horse ranch with stables, pond, open space... Beautiful setting.  In fact, I did two shoots there that day of two separate families since the location is so far from my usual driving range.    It was alot of fun since the kids are all friends and I just kept switching back and forth between both sets of children which meant the kids got plenty of "down" time in between poses.  Worked out quite well!  So this post and the next post were actually done at the same time.  All the kids were great (between the ages of 5 and 12 which is the easiest age range to photograph) so it went seamlessly from beginning to end.  How gorgeous are these kids and this setting? Wow.  To the mommies: Enjoy your images!!!

Katelyn, this last one is just for you. I know your favorite horse was too busy eating to show her face but hopefully this will still make you smile!!

Emily, Nicholas and Zachary

This was the second family at the "horse ranch" shoot.  These kids were so cute and cooperative!  I LOVE this age range I got to work with!  Emily had had some really negative experiences with photographers in the past and was not only frightened by the idea of being photographed again but also VERY shy in front of a camera.  I think mom was a little worried that she'd spend the whole time with her face buried/hidden in her hands, but look at these images and tell me if you see even the tiniest bit of fear or shyness!  She is too cute for words!!!  The bond between the siblings was very strong.  Emily is lucky to have older brothers who are so sweet, gentle and protective.  It was adorable to watch them interact.  Jennifer, enjoy your images and I hope they make you smile! :)

Mckenna & Shane

Oh these two were so cute!  The bluest of blue eyes.  If anyone was ever to ask me what my favorite thing to photograph is I would say "kids' eyes."   It is so true that the eyes are the window to the soul.   If you really learn to pay attention you can read so much about someone just by looking into their eyes.  And children are amazing because their eyes are wild and free and uninhibited.  It's like a direct portal!

I'm sure it will be blatantly apparent while viewing these images that these two adorable blonded headed blue eyed cuties are siblings!  Mckenna was a total natural in front of the camera.  She was instantly at ease and I was even able to steal her away for a few minutes and get some shots with big natural smiles that mom has no idea I got.  She will now!

Shane was as adorable as they come and also passionately determined NOT to smile for the camera, at all costs!   But his big blue eyes and perfectly edible chubby cheeks more than made up for the lack of toddler teethy grins.  I should mention to parents out there who have children between the ages of 15 months to about 28 months: Yes, this is a challenging age to photograph.  If you are struggling to get a single decent picture of your child, rest assured, it is probably NOT you!  This is just a really tricky age for "sit still and smile" type imagery.  That doesn't mean you can't get fantastic candid portraits, but toddlers just really aren't interested in the lack of movement and focused concentration that is required for more formal type portraiture.  So don't blame yourself and don't get frustrated!  The images you do get will be a perfect representation of that particular time in your child's life.  Those blurry, pouty faced, tongue sticking out at you, running away furtively, jam on face, bruise on the forehead shots will result in much laughter down the years when you are all sitting together looking at that photo album.

So, without further ado, Michelle, enjoy your images! :)

   

Katelyn & Haley

These two sisters were so beautiful and perfectly attired!  I felt like I was shooting a Gap Ad Campaign the whole time! :)  I have to say that this is quite possibly the most delightful age to photograph in terms of the "easy" factor.  Erica, it was great meeting you and your girls, thanks for driving all the way down to SC on Labor Day weekend for this, I hope I made it worth the 3 hrs each way! :)  Enjoy your photos!