Vanessa Honda Photography

A girl and her horse {Orange County Equestrian Photographer}

vanessa — Wed, 16 May 2012 22:53:06 +0000

I had the most amazing time this weekend with Misha and her gorgeous Connemara mare, Gem ( who is also a Reserve Champion for her breed) and he very lovely Arabian gelding, Willing. We hit it off on so many levels – Misha is a Senior in High School with big plans to follow her father’s footsteps and go to Vet School (which was just like me at that age – I actually graduated with a 4 year degree in Veterinary Technology, not photography). Misha also competes in hunter/jumper classes and has ridden dressage (also what I was doing at that age) and adores riding her grey Arab gelding (which I still do to this day!) So I was having a blast the entire time – holding and playing with the horses as much as I was shooting! Of course it was only natural, given her love of horses and riding that she have her Senior portraits taken with her riding companions in equine form! We met at the back end of Santiago Oaks Regional Park in Orange where we enjoyed beautiful trails, gorgeous scenery and lovely light as well…I haven’t even had a chance to look through all of the images we took from this session, but a few leaped out at me as I was downloading them that night, and I couldn’t resist editing just a couple of them. This truly will be a “sneak peek” as I haven’t even seen all of the images yet, and there were so many fun ones that I am pretty certain to want to blog more of this session later. But for now, here is a little tiny peak into the wonderful time that was had by all last Friday evening!

April Showers Bring May Flowers {Temecula Valley Family Portraits}

vanessa — Wed, 16 May 2012 06:45:27 +0000

Well, technically these portraits were taken before either April or May….spring comes fairly early to Southern California. But the flowers surely were beautiful for this March session at Sage Ranch…The beautiful weather outside to day inspired me to get these posted on my blog tonight. Happy Spring to everyone!

Fabulous & fluffy friends {Orange County Pet Photographer}

vanessa — Wed, 16 May 2012 00:22:09 +0000

I knew right off the bat that I had a lot in common with this new client! Mika is a vet who will be opening up her new practice in Japan in the coming year. She really wanted some professional head shots, but also some portraits showing her interacting with some animals to display in her office! It was very apparent that she has a great rapport with the pets and gets along well with all animals. She brought with her a beautiful, but ancient cat – her beloved Rio – who looks amazing for her age! And was probably the easiest cat I have ever photographed. We were also happy to provide some other lovely pups as models for this shoot – thanks Scott and Rebecca for lending your dogs, Lola and Jango. They were quite charming models! And Mika – thanks so much for your patience! Enjoy your sneak peek and your gallery will be up momentarily!

Birthday Celebrations {Laguna Beach Family Portraits}

vanessa — Fri, 11 May 2012 06:23:09 +0000

What better way to mark the passage of time than by capturing it in a portrait that will freeze that moment in time forever? That’s exactly what George, Sheila, Joe, Lindsay, RoseMarie and Diego (the German Shepherd), decided to do in honor of George’s birthday. They came from all over the country and met up at Pelican Hill Resort in Newport Beach, to spend a wonderful weekend together. Before dinner they had a lovely portrait session planned. After meeting at Pelican Hill we drove down together to Heisler Park and Diver’s Cove, starting in the lovely park overlooking the ocean and then moving down to the beach. I had a great time with this fun and lively family, and just adored Diego, the sweet German Shepherd as well. Thanks for your patience “M” family waiting for me to get these photos up! The very next day after our session was my little riding accident that threw me a bit behind, so I’ve been playing a lot of catch-up while recovering! Enjoy your Sneak Peek!

From the mall to the beach – that’s what Riesenbergs do best! {Newport Beach Children’s Portraits}

vanessa — Thu, 10 May 2012 01:51:32 +0000

So, it’s that time of year again. How did Mother’s day sneak up on my so quickly? My sister called a couple of days ago, telling me all her mother-in-law wanted for Mother’s Day was some portraits of the kids. And when was I going to finish all of my client work and edit her session? I guess that would be now! So here are least a few of each of my sister’s darling kids. And also some of my own kid’s best friends! In a session suited perfectly for my shop-a-holic, and beach-a-holic sister we started out at the anti-mall and Lab in Costa Mesa for a few Urban shots and then headed to the beach in Little Corona for more shots with a decidedly Southern Californian flair (Brittany was visiting here from Bountiful, Utah). Enjoy the photos of your kids, and Happy Mother’s day to a great mom of four – my sister Brittany!

Connor is the oldest – born only 3 days after my own son, Jared.

Courtney comes next and she and Kate are inseparable when they get together!

Owen used to be my biggest challenge to photograph – now he always smiles so willingly!

Little Jack was the challenge on this session, but he’s so stinkin’ adorable that he can get away with it!

Chic Magazine Cover Contest {Orange County Head Shots}

vanessa — Sat, 05 May 2012 04:59:07 +0000

Chic Magazine is having a photo cover contest, and although it’s a long shot (there are a lot of fabulous photographer’s entering), I knew I had the perfect cover girl for a model -so I had to try! It’s always fun to compete a little bit and learn from other photographer’s as well, and the Chic Critique forum is a fabulous resource for photographers to be able to do just that. If you want to stop by their site and see what they have to offer, just click on their name at the beginning of this post!

Man’s Best Friend (& Woman’s too) {Orange County Pet Photographer}

vanessa — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 05:51:54 +0000

“Dogs have given us their absolute all. We are the center of their universe. We are the focus of their love and faith and trust. They serve us in return for scraps. It is without a doubt the best deal man has ever made. “

~Roger Caras

I had the loveliest time photographing David & Chikako and their Cocker Spaniel companions. Not only were they adorable with each other, they were adorable with their loyal friends, who are the picture of health even in their older ages! And as icing on the cake, I found the loveliest new location to photograph them in -Cedar Grove Park, in Tustin. It was a super friendly park for dogs, which was of course a plus, with the added benefit of having a large variety of looks that could be achieved in one location. I loved the fabulous woodsy feel without having to drive all the way up to the mountains to enjoy! There were also some lovely flowers, rocky river beds, tall & wild grass, and nice green manicured park grass. Definitely a favorite new location. And David and Chikako were so sweet together. Enjoy your sneak peek guys, and thanks a ton for your patience, as I have been recovering!

Of Bikes and Beauties {Temecula Valley Photographer}

vanessa — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 04:38:00 +0000

Yet another post from my “Spring Session” with the “Y” Family. After our oh-so-fun Easter Egg Hunt, we proceeded to have more fun with the bikes and flowers! I’ve always wanted to do a themed shoot with some bicycles and Renee was more than happy to oblige me. And the Tunnel of Love at Sage Ranch was the perfect spring setting. I hope you all enjoy the delicious spring goodness as much as we did that day!

Happy (Belated) Easter {Orange County Family and Children’s Portrait Photographer}

vanessa — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 09:37:31 +0000

So, my original plan was to blog these images last Saturday, just before Easter. Well, that was before my trusty steed, Pax, decided to dump me on my head and shoulder during a (rather eventful) Saturday morning themed photo session (apparently the voluminous folds of my old fashioned riding habit snagging on a bush and flapping a branch under his belly and between his legs was a bit too much for him to take). So rather than a calm, peaceful, afternoon of photo editing and blogging, I got am all-too-exciting trip in an ambulance to the local hospital’s trauma center and spend the next few days in the hospital with a concussion and dislocated shoulder. Thanks to the trusty trauma surgeons there at Mission Hospital, I can now tell you again what year and month it is and who our current president is. But that little unplanned trip to the hospital kind of put a kink in my plans of getting lots of client work done this week. After finally being released from the hospital, I still felt the world spinning all around me and found it fairly difficult to even sit up or look at a screen for any length of time. Thank goodness for some awesome friends, family and even clients – thanks to them I have managed to make it through this week intact and without my children going insane! The downside is that I am just now blogging the fun Easter/Spring portrait session that I meant to get up last Saturday. Well, better late than never they say (and boy do I hope they are right!) This session resulted in so many fun and fabulous image that I am breaking it into parts - here is the Easter Egg hunt post. I love this client because she always makes having a photo session fun for her girls – and they always have something to look forward to. And we’ve made a bit of a tradition out of documenting their annual Easter Egg Hunt in the Tunnel of Love at Sage Ranch in Aguanga (near Temecula). Here goes!

At the conclusion of the annual Easter Egg Hunt

Lovely Lady Lily {Newport Beach Photographer}

vanessa — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 17:43:31 +0000

My how time flies! And how quickly our little ones grow! Seems like just yesterday I was taking Lily’s newborn portraits…and now she’s a rough and tumble toddler, charming all who cross her path! At times a little lady, but more often the tomboy who idolizes her big brother Tommy and follows his every footstep. I just love this gal! I’ve been meaning to take some 2 year old portraits for a while now, and finally got my chance to corner her with my camera at church, and mom said, “let’s just use these for her two year portraits, since she’s being so adorable today.” We had so much fun playing hide and seek behind the stone pillar. Works for me!