Ok, well maybe he isn’t mine…but I sure was wishing he was the day I came over to take his portraits. I was super excited to meet this little guy after taking his mom’s maternity portraits, seen HERE.  And he lived up to all of my (rather high) expectations!  He wasn’t the sleepiest baby ever, but he was so well behaved, awake and asleep.  His mom really wanted to get a shot of him with his dad’s police uniform hat…and that was the toughest part. Once that was out of the way it was pretty much smooth sailing!  And I so appreciate his parent’s patience as his was my last sesssion before I got married (only a couple of days before) and then I had a wedding and a honeymoon and am just now getting caught up with all of my client work!  So finally, at last, here is your sneak peek of your precious little guy – just in time for Mother’s Day!

They’re back! One of my most popular sessions of the year – the Valentine minis.  Valentine’s Day is less than a month away!  Take advantage of these mini session specials to make a meaningful gift for your significant other, capture a beautiful portrait of your child – and have some super unique and creative Valentine’s to hand out as well, or celebrate the love you share with someone else by capturing the essence of your relationship now.

Perfect for giving your partner a Valentine’s gift that will remind them of you all year round, or for an updated portrait of your child, along with the cutest, most unique  Valentines in town- perfect for attaching to treats, cookies, or even suckers!

Join us Friday February 1st (in studio) or Saturday February 2nd (Laguna Canyon)  for a mini, petite or half session.  All images come with full resolution digital files, gift prints and Facebook Timeline covers.  Valentine cards are offered with special pricing as an add-on as well!

..That’s what little boys are made of !  And this little boy was all boy! It was a very documentary style session – mostly following little “D” around as he chased the sun, played with sticks, dug in the dirt, brandished a cat tail, and loved on his dad.  I’m lucky I’ve got some quick shutter speeds, because 1/500th of a second was about all I had to capture any of the poses I put him in. But that’s ok, because often it’s these “real life” candids that I love the best, and we had a whole entire session of those!  And to adorable little “D” it was just a fun adventure down by the Back Bay in Newport Beach, and that’s great, because hopefully he’ll look forward to pictures next time!  You can check out his photos from last year here on the blog as well! Enjoy your sneak peek!

This session felt jinxed from the beginning. Having had to be rescheduled due to bad weather, we made a second go at it last Thursday!  This sweet family wanted to do photos at Crystal Cove State Park because they live right there in Newport Coast.  But there wasn’t enough time to properly submit for a permit to shoot there and Crystal Cove State Park requires a permit from the CA Film Commission. I told them we could give it a try to get some shots at their own stomping grounds, but there would be a chance we’d be cited or asked to leave. Sure enough, not two candids into our session we were approached and asked for our permit and then made to leave. Bummer. But fortunately for us, Shaw’s Cove is just a hop, skip and a jump down the beach from Crystal Cove and is a beautiful setting for portraits. So, in spite of our unlucky beginnings, we were able to capture some beautiful memories, in a beautiful location on the coast of Laguna Beach. I think the end result was well worth all of the hassles! Enjoy your sneak peek “C” family!

Here’s the same couple from the last post with Shane’s sweet daughter Skylar!  Can’t you just feel the love?

Can you tell that these folks really love each other… and they love to play… a lot? All of my favorite images from this session were the ones where they were interacting, playing, loving each other and enjoying their visit to the beach…not posing.  Hugs, tickles, ring-around-the-rosies, chasing waves…of course the fun and games all ended once the waves almost swallowed the littlest one up. But everyone thoroughly enjoyed their lovely sunny evening at the beach, as you can clearly see!

I believe. I believe in the spirit of Christmas.  I believe in the love that binds families together. I believe the spirit of a child and the beauty of relationships can be captured in 1/500 of a second. And this family has more than enough love to go around.  I have been photographing them for at least four years now, and every time it is a joy.   This is yet another client that began as just a client, but I now consider to be a friend – and I just adore her two lovely girls!  For this session we ventured to mom’s family’s home up in Running Springs in the mountains. What a wonderful location  for photos! It is always fun to go somewhere new and different, but this was an especially beautiful location. And I really enjoyed driving up  and back with them as well.  I can’t wait to come back to do some snowy photos up there!  But it was the girls and their mom who really made these photos come alive! Enjoy your sneak peek Dana.

I was so excited when my good friend and roommate from BYU came down to visit California with her family!  I knew I had to find time to see them in my busy schedule, and since my kids love to go to the beach, and her family wanted to go, we decided to meet at Diver’s Cove for a fun afternoon in the surf and sun!  Of course I brought my camera along, and although it wasn’t the best time of day for pictures and no one had coordinated outfits, we took a few posed family groupings and lots of fun candids.  Here are the results – and they bring back warm memories from a fun time together earlier this year. Enjoy Tami and John!

Here are some more of the family mini sessions from earlier this month at the mission San Juan Capistrano. This fun family mini session was a couples, maternity, children’s and family portrait session all rolled into one mini !  The biggest challenge was the adorable baby who didn’t want to leave her stroller. Mom used bubbles to coax her out – but once she came out to play, she took some pretty adorable photos.  And I had fun trying out dad’s lensbaby on my camera.  I gotta get me one of those!  I just love the selective focus.  Enjoy your sneak peek guys!

That’s what little girls are made of!  At least this little one was! She was such a joy to photograph at our mini sessions held at the San Juan Capistrano Mission 2 weeks ago.  One of the most expressive little kids  I’ve ever seen – with a new face for every situation. And a new pose as well. She really hammed it up! And she had a great time exploring all of the nooks and crannies at the mission as well! I had a difficult time ending this mini session because we were all having so much fun, and she was just so adorable. Enjoy your sneak peek “R” family! Your daughter was just a joy to work with!