Photography

01.15.15

Baby B is 9 Months! | First Year Photographer

I couldn’t believe it when it came time for Baby B’s 9 month session! The year was going by SO fast! I have to admit, I was a little sad that soon, I wouldn’t be seeing this little guy and his mama every three months:-) AND if I was honest I would say that the 9 month session is probably my favorite out of the Baby’s First Year Story. I mean the personality is there, the babies are mobile and in to everything, so it can be a hard stage for mamas, but for a photographer who LOVES to chase little ones around and capture them being who they are it is a BLAST!

We met at Veteran’s Park in Roseveille. I just love this park for it’s natural setting, and the bike path that makes for a safe “road” to be on:-) And it has a play structure!

Baby B did NOT disappoint with personality and mobility. He LOVED standing up, as long as Mama or a “support” was nearby. But, of course mom is best:-)

Jayden9Month_08 Jayden9Month_11 Jayden9Month_BLOG05

See he still thinks I am funny:-) Or maybe mom was standing behind me;-)

THIS series is one of my favorites, because it shows the different smiles, and the one of SHEAR entertainment and joy is my favorite! Of course this occurred right before he was done sitting by himself! But it’s a fun capture. We decided it was time to let him have his own time, time to explore and do whatever he wanted. I always come prepared for these sessions with park blankets, and a few toys, just in case they are needed:-) We also decided to see if he would sit in the bucket we used for previous sessions, luckily he thought that was a GREAT idea!

THIS fence in this field is one of my favorite features of this park. In spring the green grasses come up, in fall the colors change to yellow and red, and in winter the grass still has structure and a prairie like feel…and the old wooden fence is fun to climb on, sit on and just to look at!

I am SO glad Baby B had so much fun with this session, he is such a sweet and expressive little guy. It has been such a JOY to follow him through his first year!

I love to tell stories:-) And use images to help tell those stories…I would LOVE to capture your family and tell YOUR story, CONTACT ME today so we can grab a cup of coffee and start planning your session!

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01.12.15

India Part One | My Story Monday | Northern California Photographer

Welcome to My Story Monday! Mondays are the day I invite you in and turn the camera on my life so you can see some of my family’s story! I have done it randomly before in these posts, but now I will be writing weekly on Mondays.

As I told you I am starting this series by writing about India. I think it is SO fitting as a small team is currently there, conducting a discovery and listening trip. They are hoping to listen and get an idea of how we can do our trips better and have more of a continuing presence even when teams are not in country. Hoping to create lasting care, and just in general help in the best way not just OUR way:-)

So back to our trip. Tom(my husband) and I headed to India early December 2013. We went with a group of people to conduct a medical camp in various villages around Chillakalu where we were staying. As you may remember when I first talked about it here, that I donated all monies made from the Fall 2013 portrait season to fund my trip and all extras went to the ministry as well! AND due to your generosity I was able to fund my entire trip and give a little to the team for our camp! SO THANK YOU! I really can’t say it enough. Since going to India, the people I met have my heart! More than I would have known before. Your donation not only allowed me to help the people we met, BUT it also allowed me to grow in ways I never thought possible! As I said I can’t thank you ENOUGH!

Before the trip we gathered to pack supplies. We had many donations. From medications, to loans of testing equipment for eye exams to eye glasses, dresses and shorts for the children in the children’s home there, etc. AND we had to get them all in country, SO we all were allowed one bag of our own and we all carried one HUGE duffel bag across customs. Luckily Tom and I are very light packers, and even though I took things I never used (hello hairdryer), we manage to only pack one bag amongst the two of us, so he carried two duffel bags! This packing day was SO awesome because our kids were able to come and help pack the things we had collected for the kids at the orphanage we were staying at. I LOVE that they got to help and see what we were doing, get a little taste of the trip:-)

We also had a full day of Cross-Cultural training before our trip, which I was SUPER thankful for! It opened my eyes to how different we in America think compared to a large portion of the rest of the world. I also figured out what I was able to wear, and a little about what we would be doing.

SO you probably want to know where we were going and why. We were headed to Chillakalu, a village in the AP Provence in Eastern India. There we would stay with a pastor and his wife on the property of their children’s home where they have welcomed 100+ kids into their family and loved and cared for them when their parents couldn’t. They run New Hope Ministries, where they have a church and a school and where they help lots of families and people. India is NOTHING like America, I will be sharing more about what we did there in the future posts:-) Anyway, we went and conducted a medical clinic over 5 days in 3 different villages. Tom and I worked in the Eye clinic, but we had teams that did dental and medical. We also had some time to travel and see some of the country as well.

This was some of our team:-)

I really can’t wait to tell you all about it! It really was a LIFE CHANGING trip! In my journal I wrote about leaving my boys, I remember clearly that the days leading up to the trip my heart would race and I would get nervous at the thought of us both leaving our boys to travel across the world. Leaving them the day of was the HARDEST thing I ever did, and it was the longest few minutes as they were dropping us off and waiting for us to leave. I finally sent them away, I couldn’t take the waiting! It was all worth it, and obviously we returned safely:-) AND they learned a ton from our stories:-)

Next Monday I will write about our travel TO India, which is no simple task and took me further than I had ever been in my life:-) I can’t wait to tell you about Singapore!

You can jump to the India posts here:

Part Two – Travel

Part Three – In Country

Part Four – Clinic

Part Five – The Last Day

If you would like to learn more about New Hope Ministries, which is where we went, you can go to their website here, IF you would like to donate to the current trip you can do so here. THANK YOU!

Like MY STORY and want me to tell yours? Do you need new family images to tell that story on your walls, or in a book on your coffee table? Are you looking at your kids and wondering, where the time goes, and how they got so big? Do you want to celebrate who THEY are RIGHT now? I would love to tell YOUR FAMILY’S story, and CAPTURE YOUR LIFE! Send me an EMAIL, and we will grab a coffee and get to know each other!

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01.08.15

The Lukas Family | Roseville Family Photographer

This is another older session, BUT I just couldn’t leave it out! Amber is a dear friend, AND this session was just SO fun! When Amber asked me to capture her family, I knew she wanted something that capture who they were as a family, and she was NOT Interested in making her kids stand and smile, because really, who wants those pictures in your house? 😉 Amber and her family live in the cutest little neighborhood. It is just a quick walk to this fantastic park, one which I LOVE shooting at in Fall, but has turned out to be SUCH a great place to capture families in ANY season! This was a chilly winter day, just after Christmas, and I love the mood it gives these captures!

Amber’s style is so fresh and different, I LOVE LOVE that her family was COMFORTABLE! That is SO important when choosing outfits, you want your family to be comfortable, because honestly it shows in pictures if you are not! The colors they picked and the time of year were SO perfect for who they are, and for their house where these will be displayed! Back to the session…:-)

We started at this bridge, it’s beautiful and old, and the kids LOVE to run on it! It’s a walking bridge, so no worries about safety…
THIS might be my favorite capture:-)
BUT then again, there is something so great in the images where all bets are off and it is JUST about having fun! One good thing about little rain…there are still plenty of leaves to play in at the end of December!
This wall sometimes doesn’t work for pictures, but again I think it is perfect with what they are wearing and WHO they are, LOVE this! AND the series below it:-) I LOVE to include “outtakes” in my session because those might just be your favorites, and I have had PLENTY of clients pick those for their big wall prints, or especially CHRISTMAS CARDS:-)
After the family images, we decided to let the kids play! I LOVE this part! It’s EVEN more fun and beautiful when the parents join in! Swings and slides are just part of childhood, parks are where kids get to be kids. I love the JOY that comes across the littles faces as they place with their parents, I hope the family treasures these images as much as I treasure the opportunity to capture them!
If you have a session with me, I always, always try to include images of the parents. YOUR FAMILY started with you two, and your love and commitment to each other should be captured, how many pictures do YOU have with your spouse since having kids? Selfies don’t count:-) I mean real hang on your wall, or put on your desk at work images? Based on my own life, and client feedback, I am guessing not too many if you even have one…SO that is part of my job with your session, to capture images that show your relationship, and your LOVE.

“Amber, my beautiful friend YOU are stunning, and your husband LOVES You. YOU two are such a sweet couple, and now you have a sweet family!”
Mama and Babies are always sweet captures:-)

Maybe I should have entitled this post, “How to have a GREAT family session!” I could have outlined the steps:-) Mostly it’s, 1|Be COMFORTABLE, 2|Have FUN, 3|Let your kids be KIDS, 4|your color SCHEME should reflect your style, and your house:-), 5|Listen to me, it’s all going to turn out GREAT, no matter HOW chaotic, and crazy the day and your kids seem, TRUST ME!

Now that you have the tips, what is stopping you? I am ready, are you?

What’s YOUR story? Do you need new family images to tell that story on your walls, or in a book on your coffee table? Are you looking at your kids and wondering, where the time goes, and how they got so big? Do you want to celebrate who THEY are RIGHT now? I would love to tell YOUR FAMILY’S story, and CAPTURE YOUR LIFE! Send me an EMAIL, and we will grab a coffee and get to know each other!

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01.05.15

My Story Mondays | Northern California Photographer

Welcome to a new weekly feature on my blog! This is one of the new things for 2015! I have been participating in some business training, brand coaching, and various other aspects that will help me give YOU the best experience with life|stop photography possible! I am SUPER excited to put these things I am learning into practice.

One thing that I want to do is invite you in! I get to get a glimpse into your lives through your sessions and our times together but I thought it might be fun to invite YOU in to my life a little, to turn the camera on my life a little so you can see some of my story, or really my family’s story:-) I have done it randomly before in these posts, but now I will be writing weekly on Mondays.

I will be starting next week with a mini-series on the trip to India I took at the end of 2013, so be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss any posts! Before that take a peek at my FB page, for the month of December I posted an image a day, mostly of our everyday life! I have also included my ABSOLUTE FAVORITES from December below!

I started a 365 to keep my photography fresh and ALWAYS improving:-) My Story Mondays is where you will see most of those images;-) I hope you enjoy my story as much as I enjoy yours! See you next week for the introduction to my trip to INDIA! I am SO excited to share!

Like MY STORY and want me to tell yours? Do you need new family images to tell that story on your walls, or in a book on your coffee table? Are you looking at your kids and wondering, where the time goes, and how they got so big? Do you want to celebrate who THEY are RIGHT now? I would love to tell YOUR FAMILY’S story, and CAPTURE YOUR LIFE! Send me an EMAIL, and we will grab a coffee and get to know each other!

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01.01.15

Happy New Year! 2015 is here!

Happy New Year! Can you believe it is 2015 TODAY! CRAZY! Time goes by SO fast these days! Which is exactly the reason we strive to Capture Life! 2014 has been an amazing year full of amazing stories that I have had the honor of sharing. 2015 is set up to be just as great with our new house being completed, and many more stories just waiting to be made and told! Thank you from the bottom of my heart! I could not do what I do, without amazing clients like YOU trusting me with your most precious memories and family moments.

This year has seen many returning families, new families, senior sessions, and my first two weddings! I couldn’t have planned out a better year! We have also added Modern School Portraits to our list of offerings, capturing your kids school portraits in a way that captures THEM, who they are NOW. Watch the blog for posts from India(finally!) and more fun ways to capture and preserve your own story, as well as more regular posts that share YOUR stories and families:-)

I am so excited for all I have learned and started to add to your experience, I loo forward to fully implementing all I have learned! I look forward to new challenges, and new opportunities to grow, not only to improve YOUR experience, but to improve MY ART, my storytelling, and my images, which of course ALWAYS benefits you my clients! Look for new product offerings so that YOU can print your images and enjoy them outside of the computer and social media, new service offerings, and new perks! Keep up to date and in the know by following the blog, AND subscribing to our newsletter! That is where you hear about specials, new offerings AND get first dibs on session times and places! See you soon in 2015!

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