Vanessa Honda Photography

My adorable little friend Maren finally got her baby brother!  You can see her gorgeous mommy’s  maternity pictures here. Unfortunately, our session was right during little
Liam’s fussiest time of day (which really wasn’t all that fussy – he is such a good baby) but we weren’t able to get any of my favorite sleeping newborn poses in. Fortunately, he has such beautiful, bright eyes and we got to see a fair amount of those!  And Maren was popping in and out of all of the pictures, trying (often successfully) to steal the spotlight.  Enjoy your sneak peak, Maura!

And finally, the only sleeping shot of the evening!

I love it when a family feels so comfortable around me that they can let their guards down and just be themselves during their session. Such was the case this year with the “R” family.  Of course, it helps that this was the fourth year in a row of taking their family portraits – they know how I work and aren’t afraid to ask things like “can I take some pictures with your camera now?”  I wanted to find a different kind of location, having done two beach portraits and a park in the year’s past.  So I thought of one of my favorite new locations near Coto de Caza as being a good choice.  When they all showed up in flip flops though, I realized I hadn’t clearly communicated my plans of tramping through the brush to get rugged look I was going for!  So we stayed on the trails for the most part, and still had a great variety of shots to choose from!  All in all we had a fun time (in spite of the bugs and the stickers) and some gorgeous light and ended up with some memorable images. What made the occasion even more special was that it was the last week before their oldest daughter Grace was leaving across the country to go to school (our loss, Wellesley’s gain).  So we made sure to get some special pics of just Grace with her parents and siblings!

This was another fun new family visiting from out of state.  They had 5 delightful and well-behaved kids.  We met at Wood’s Cove and stayed until well past sunset,  just talking and watching the kids play in the waves. In between there somewhere we got in a few shots of the family and the kids (and even a few of mom and dad).  Enjoy your sneak peak “S” family!

I have a love/hate relationship with my computer. I certainly spend plenty of time with it!  I couldn’t do what I do without it. In fact, I can’t live without it.  But sometimes things go wrong, and then, because of my computer, I hate my life!  That was the story for the last week and a half, because I caught a very nasty virus on my image editing computer.  Fortunately, I had everything backed up.  Unfortunately, it took several days of unsuccessfully trying to fix the problem so that I wouldn’t have to format and reinstall (because it takes forever to get things running the way I need them to be to edit), and then when that didn’t work, it took several days of reinstalling all of the software, plugins, actions, filters, brushes, fonts, etc. and getting things just the way they need to be.  So, I truly apologize to all of my clients who have been waiting to see their images. I am on a roll playing catchup now!

And this is one of those families who have been waiting patiently!  Fun family get together at the Balboa Pier in Newport Beach and grandma was so proud of all her adorable grand kids (with good reason!)  So here is your long awaited sneak peak, and I hope to have many more up very soon for those of you still waiting!

I met Hallee and her sister on a warm summer evening as they were down visiting their grandmother in Huntington Beach.  Hallee wanted some beach portraits for her Senior Portraits, and she couldn’t have picked a better place than the Balboa Pier at Newport Beach.  It was a beautiful day, and Hallee’s natural beauty shone through as the evening wore on.  We snuck in a few with her grandma and sister as well.  I was so impressed with both girls and had a great time getting to know them!  Enjoy your sneak peak!

Another beautiful family on another beautiful beach with beautiful light… what a fun job I have!  And the love this family has for each other shines through in each and every image!  Trying to keep things short so I can get more posts up, but the pictures sort of speak for themselves here anyways.

What a fun family this was – 7 children, 18 grandchildren… and around 34 or so people all together – I lost count after a while!  And a beautiful family at that…all of them!  All together at the beach for a fun day in the sun!  We photographed one family after another and finally everyone together.  And everyone was amazingly cooperative!  thanks for making my job easier and for the great time we spent together!

So, my favorite twins are moving… to the Temecula Valley (Aguanga to be exact). I am going to miss them and our almost monthly visits with my camera  greatly!  It has been so much fun to see them grow, and their unique little personalities develop.  They have blossomed into beautiful young ladies – they are not babies anymore!  And I will miss their mother dearly as well – she has become more than a great client  -she is a true friend.  Thanks for everything Renee – and especially for all of the special time making and capturing memories. This day was no exception. We had a fabulous time together out in Coto de Caza, hiking and exploring and enjoying new adventures together.  And just as we were coming back, we stumbled upon some deer – which did not seem too afraid of me and my camera. It was a memorable way to end the day. We got so many great shots – I had a terrible time narrowing it down to just these to post here… but there are many more waiting for you in your gallery, Renee – very very soon!

This weekend, my daughter was baptized, and what a wonderful occasion that was!  I am so proud of her and the choices she is making!  And I am so grateful for all the support of family and friends who came to witness it!  And especially grateful to my in-laws for all of their help and for my parents and siblings who helped put on such a nice dinner afterwards – I could never have done it without you!  Here are a few of “K’s” baptism portraits that were displayed at her baptism. These were mostly taken at Chapman’s Law School campus – a beautiful place for portraits!

For the family and friends who would like to, you can view a slide show of Kate’s first 8 years by CLICKING HERE!

I had a great time a couple of weeks ago, snapping some shots for some friends of the family.  Karl and my husband were roommates from freshman year in college and have kept in touch ever since. We have spent many a birthday party, 4th of July, and blessings and baptisms together.  As well, as many nights staying up late and playing games.  They had family in town for their son’s baptism and took the occasion to get some family portraits taken at the beach by the pier in Santa Monica, where they live.  It was the peak of busy season at the beach there on a hot July day, and a little bit crowded, but the weather was perfect and the light was lovely!  Enjoy your “sneak peak” you guys – we should have the rest of the pics done by the time we see you this weekend!