Vanessa Honda Photography

Once again I will be offering an incentive for those of you procrastinators(and to my fav always early clients!) to get your holiday card pictures done early! Now is a great time before the kids head off to school (for the older kids) and another hectic school year begins (for those with kids still in school at home) to have your family’s portrait taken. And if you can have your holiday cards ready in October, that is just one more thing you can cross of your list – early!  So for every full session booked by September 1st, I will be including a FREE set of  24 press printed holiday greeting cards!  To book your session now, just click here! And to whet your palate for the scrumptious card designs available, here are a few images of some cards from last year!

To accommodate more clients who want to get their family or children’s portraits done early and those who don’t have time or funds to dedicate to a full session, I have opened up 3 dates in the month of August for mini sessions.  All mini sessions will be for 25 minutes and include one full resolution digital file (perfect for making prints or on a holiday card).  The mini session price is only $100.

Saturday August 7th I will be holding portrait sessions on location at General Thomas F. Riley Wilderness Park in Coto de Caza.  The perfect “woodsy and natural setting” for a different look for your family portraits!
Time slots available are: 4:00, 4:30, 5:00, 5:30, 6:00, 6:30 and 7:00. Click here to book your session and reserve your time!

Friday August 13th I will be holding beach portrait sessions at Shaw’s Cove in Laguna Beach. This beach has a variety of different looks and settings, and offers good shade to start earlier in the day.
Time slots available are: 4:30, 5:00, 5:30, 6:00, 6:30 and 7:00.  Click here to book your session and reserve your time!

Saturday August 21st is a day set aside for families with furry friends!  I will be offering location pet/family sessions at Tewinkle park for the late afternoon/evening, and possibly studio sessions in the morning to early afternoon at the Passionate Pet Store in Irvine, CA.  Call 949-553-2434 for more details on the studio sessions. To book your location session, just click here!
Time slots for Tewinkle Park available are: 4:30, 5:00, 5:30, 6:00, 6:30 and 7:00.  Click here to book your session and reserve your time!

Do you ever wonder what it would be like to be featured in a documentary on your own special family? Maybe featured in the “Day in the Life of America” coffee table book?  Or do you have kids or a husband who dreads the yearly family portrait session because of the stuffy clothes and poses?  How can you make capturing the essence of your family so you can remember the milestones and relationships between you years from now… fun?
This year, instead of having a more traditional portrait session, consider making things fun and different by planning “Day in the Life” photography session to tell the story of your family.  These sessions usually last from 2 – 4 hours and take on more of a documentary feel. Some images may be set up (so you have one perfect image to put on the holiday card), but most images will be capturing your life as it happens.  There are many activities you can plan on doing  – from hanging out around the house together to going out for ice cream and window shopping downtown! Or playing in Balboa’s fun zone and then heading down to the pier. The activities can and should be as unique as your family is.. if you would like, I can help you plan something original and fun for your family. The best part is, everyone can have a great time and enjoy themselves and one another – nothing photographs better! Or captures the essense of the relationship you enjoy!
Day in the Life Sessions are $200 for the session only or $1000 for a session plus a 10×10 exquisite Fine Art Coffee Table Book.  And for all Day in the Life Book sessions scheduled by September, I will include a free additional 7×7 companion book – a perfect holiday gift for grandparents, etc.
Some ideas of activities you can plan to do as a family include:
-A day hanging out and playing at home – one of my favs!

-going on a picnic

-flying kites
-riding bikes

-swimming

-riding horses
-baking cookies

-bath time

-reading stories

-backyard BBQ

-swimming in the pool

-birthday parties

-playing games together (croquet anyone?

-dance class or sports team or lessons

-ice cream or candy shoppe outings

-a day on the town

-a day at the fair

-day at the beach

-going fishing

-hiking and exploring

-Day at Disneyland

-Gardening
I would love to hear from any of you about your fun portrait activity ideas!

Last week, I had the incredible opportunity to spend a day at the Amadeus Spa and Resort with my mom.  And I was blown away by the experience!  The attention to detail and quality of service was top-notch -from the complimentary valet service upon arrival to the sumptuous and tranquil surroundings during the entire stay to their graciously helping me get out the door on time to pick up my daughter at the end.  I have honestly never felt so pampered in my life.  And the massage was out of this world wonderful – the facial exquisite (never having had one before, I didn’t know what to expect, but it was so relaxing, felt so good and my face looked so much better afterwards) – and getting the pedicure and manicure was really fun and relaxing.  And to top things off, the director of this spa is one of my beautiful brides whose wedding I will be shooting in September.  So, because I so highly recommend the experience and had such a great time myself, I am teaming up with Spa Amadeus to bring all of my clients 2 Special Offers!

1) Book a wedding anytime this summer (June through Sept) and you will receive a complimentary certificate to Spa Amadeus to enjoy before your wedding day!

Book an Engagement Session AND a Wedding during that time and receive a FREE Gallery Wrap Canvas to display at your wedding (a $380 value) in addition to your spa certificate!

2) Are you gearing up for a gorgeous family portrait this summer and want to look your best?  Or do you just need updated headshots for work or your facebook page?  Book an appointment at the spa for hair design/style and a facial (or any two spa services) AND a photography session with Vanessa Honda Photography and receive $50 off of each service (your spa services and your photo session).  Photography sessions may take place on location (at the beach, a park, downtown), in your home, or in a studio setting.

To purchase your special discounted Spa/Family Session CLICK HERE

To purchase your special discounted Spa/Individual Portrait Session CLICK HERE

To schedule your spa services, just call 949.428.5799.  The Amadeus Spa is located at the Fairmont Newport Beach (4500 MacArthur Boulevard, Newport Beach, CA 92660).

For more information, call Vanessa Honda at 949.553.2434

These girls were both so fun and sweet.  Not to mention beautiful!  And they really did seem to be such great friends!  They had some fun ideas for their photos and we had  a great time together.  Enjoy your sneak peak “S” and “T”!  I had a great time with you – and your mom and cute dog too!

I had a fun opportunity yesterday to photograph a Matilda Jane trunk show.  Matilda Jane makes the cutest clothes – they are perfect for capturing the fun, flair and personality of little girls.  And my own daughter added – they just feel so good to wear because they are so comfortable!  Well, Matilda Jane is having a “cover girl” contest – looking for the cutest girl to represent them on their website and promotional material.  And each “trunk keeper” can submit photos of their clients to enter the contest. The pictures just had to be in front of the rack of clothing, with each child wearing their MJC clothes – so stylish!  I don’t know what you think, but I think these girls have a good shot – they were  all so adorable and had such fun personalities to boot!  And if you are interested in purchasing some of these adorable clothes, you can contact Maura Dwyer at (317) 514-6640 – check out their different clothing lines at http://www.matildajaneclothing.com!

Ok, so he may not with the cover “girl” contest, but he sure looked stylish in the Mossy Willow jacket!

Yes, she’s mine. Isn’t she cute?  Don’t you love how excited she is to have yet more picture taken of her?  This is my kid’s usual response when I bring out my camera…

This family really got a tour of Laguna Beach for their session(s).  The first time we were scheduled they showed up as planned, but poor baby “K” had a fever and a runny nose and just wasn’t his normal, happy self.  So about 15 minutes into the session, we decided to reschedule and meet again another day. Well, another day came, but unfortunately it was high tide, and our first beach, Wood’s Cove, virtually disappears during high tide.  So we met again at Shaw’s cove for our next session.  When the “S” family decided they would like a great sunset portrait, we decided to head over to Diver’s cove – where you can get a much better view of the sunset.  It was fun to get a variety of different shots and different looks at the various beaches in Laguna Beach.  This little family was so adorable together – you could really feel the love. And it was fun to see little “K” feeling better too!  Enjoy your sneak peak!

For a short time I will be bringing back my Spring Mini Session special… a 20 minutes session for up to 4 people or pets ($25/each additional) plus 1 full resolution edited digital for only $100.  I have found the most romantic, dreamy location for spring or Easter themed portraits (see my previous post) and I can even supply some adorable baby chicks if there is enough demand.  This special is good for any location, as long as I have at least 3 people/groups interested.  Call as soon as possible to book your session now – the flowers won’t last for long!  And neither will the special!

In the beginning of February we had a fun Valentine’s Day mini session event at the Passionate Pet store in Irvine, CA.  So many fun people came in for some cute pictures of their pets and themselves for Valentine’s day!  This Saturday we are having another event for Easter portraits.  Call the Studio at 949.553.2434 to book your specially priced $25 mini session for your pet.  For an additional $10 you can add your family or children to the session!  And Passionate Pet is also offering specially reduced pricing on their grooming/bath packages when combined with a photo session.   Check out the cute pictures we got at our last event and start planning your Easter/Spring pictures for this Saturday!

I am truly delighted (even overjoyed) to see a weather forecast predicting sun for this weekend!  As much as I LOVE the rain  -and especially the resulting greenery – I don’t love having so many photo sessions rained out, and it seems to happen every weekend! But this weekend should bring sun – and that perfectly compliments the beauty that is Laguna Canyon!  I recently discovered the happiness that is shooting in the less manicured, rugged beauty of this canyon on this photo shoot:

I decided I would love to do some more work there.  The only problem is that the parking lot closes at 5:00.  That works ok right now when the sun still sets at an earlier hour and before daylight savings time begins.  But this is the last weekend before daylight savings time begins, so to take advantage of this beautiful location, I am offering very discounted mini sessions for spring – perfect for those Easter photos of the kids or you just want to update your family portrait at a reduced rate!  These mini sessions will last 20 minutes and include 1 full resolution digital file for only $100.

Call me at (949)553-2434 or email me to reserve you slot now!  Or you can visit my super duper new proofing site and reserve and pay for your spot online HERE!