Erin and Luke got married on what must have been the most beautiful day of the year in San Anselmo, CA. The ceremony took place at lovely St. Anselm’s church, and the reception (at a private residence) was filled with music, dancing, and laughter. Congrats Erin
A little bit lifestyle, a tiny bit posed… a recent session in Alameda with one of my favorite families to photograph:
Alyssa and Braeden met in high school, fell in love, continued their relationship through college, and are now planning their September 2013 wedding. It’s so rare to hear stories like this! Because they are tying the knot on the Carmel, CA coast, they requested a
A newborn baby changes everything. Sleep deprived parents adjust to late night feedings and frequent diaper changes. Older siblings having to share attention and maybe even a room. Hours of around the clock care blend and blur into days, punctuated with moments of sheer love
I gained 50 pounds with each of my pregnancies. I tried eating healthy foods, watching my sugar intake, and exercising every day – but my body just seemed to want to fill out into pants sized much too big. Nine months after my second son
I love this family. They were some of my first clients and supporters (then a family of 3) four years ago when I started my photography business on a dream and a prayer. Since then I’ve captured maternity and newborn moments, first wobbly steps, hugs,
The smell of fresh rain on spring grass, sunshine peeping through thick clouds, deep puddles and two small kids ready to splash in them: childhood at it’s best! I was actually hoping for rain- it can be so dramatic! However about half an hour into
I recently spent all morning with this beautiful family, getting to know little “O” (two weeks old) and his proud big sister (2 years old). “O” is one lucky baby, as his big sister really, REALLY loves him!
I feel like I’ve watched this family grow. In just a little over two short years, these boys have changed from cute little kids with sweet baby-like faces and a ton of energy to big kids with specific dreams and goals- two brothers with two
While in Ohio over Christmas, I got to hang out baby style with my 6 month old nephew. He’s awesome. Here are a few images from a very informal session of little “G” spending some time with his mom & dad (my brother and beautiful
A little bit lifestyle, a tiny bit posed… a recent session in Alameda with one of my favorite families to photograph:
Alyssa and Braeden met in high school, fell in love, continued their relationship through college, and are now planning their September 2013 wedding. It’s so rare to hear stories like this!
Because they are tying the knot on the Carmel, CA coast, they requested a natural but not-so-coastal look for their engagement photos. After some brainstorming, we decided on the cypress trees at Fitzgerald Marine Reserve in Moss Beach, CA.
A newborn baby changes everything. Sleep deprived parents adjust to late night feedings and frequent diaper changes. Older siblings having to share attention and maybe even a room. Hours of around the clock care blend and blur into days, punctuated with moments of sheer love and amazement. The adjustment process is never easy, but always worthwhile.
Meet 6 week old “E”, with the most amazing blue eyes and awesome big sister.
I gained 50 pounds with each of my pregnancies. I tried eating healthy foods, watching my sugar intake, and exercising every day – but my body just seemed to want to fill out into pants sized much too big. Nine months after my second son was born, I was still trying to lose the extra weight. About that time, we decided to have family pictures taken by a talented photographer and personal friend of mine. She captured my family perfectly. However when I looked at those pictures for the first time, all I could think about was how fat I looked. How if only I had lost more weight, the pictures would have been stunning.
It got me thinking…
Most of us really struggle with body image. We are never going to live up to the idea of physical beauty that stares at us from the faces of men and women everywhere we look – magazines, commercials, and online ads. Face it girls (and guys too!). But here’s the thing- even models and stars have body image issues and imperfections. They also have personal trainers, dietitians, stylists, and make-up artists. And even after they have been made over by this entire team of people dedicated just to making them look beautiful, they are photoshopped. They are digitally slimmed, sculpted, smoothed, and de-blemished until perfection is reached. They are fake. We are comparing our real amazing wonderful bodies to fake bodies. No wonder we all have image issues. Even me- and I know better!
I can’t tell you how many times I have heard “I would really love to schedule a family session with you, but first I need to lose ___ lbs”. But babies grow into toddlers, and toddlers grow into children- and it all happens so incredibly fast! If a moment isn’t captured, it’s often forgotten. And it IS about the moments, right? It’s about those whispered “I love you”s, bear hugs, belly laughs, and shared joys. It’s about realizing all over again in one simple blissful moment that it’s worth it- worth the loss of sleep from 2am feedings, the worry that comes with an illness, the frustration that you sometimes feel after spending all day with a grumpy kid, the self sacrifice…it’s worth everything.
I know that in ten years, when I look back on my own family photos, I will not be thinking about my flabby stomach or my thunder thighs- instead I’m going to be re-living the memory of my oldest son jumping into my arms and planting the biggest wettest kiss on my cheek. I’m going to remember how my youngest son smiled with his mouth AND his eyes… and all of those good things. I am still hard at work trying to lose the baby weight. Self improvement is a process. But until I achieve my perfect model body (like never!), I’m going to keep smiling for the camera.
Please give yourself and your amazing body a break. Keep hugging, loving, and laughing – and try to have at least some of your beautiful life captured on camera. You won’t regret it.
I love this family. They were some of my first clients and supporters (then a family of 3) four years ago when I started my photography business on a dream and a prayer. Since then I’ve captured maternity and newborn moments, first wobbly steps, hugs, tears from big brown eyes, laughter, and a lot of love.
We chose a Half Moon Bay beach for this session, and were blessed with beautiful vanilla sky light and clouds the color of fire. Enjoy!
The smell of fresh rain on spring grass, sunshine peeping through thick clouds, deep puddles and two small kids ready to splash in them: childhood at it’s best!
I was actually hoping for rain- it can be so dramatic! However about half an hour into our puddle stomping, blue skies appeared out of the fog.
Because this was a lifestyle session (and not a more formally posed portraiture style session), I wanted to use my camera to only grab the essence of the moment. Puddle jumping was the priority, not posing! I love how cameras can freeze time- when used in combination with beautiful light, how a picture taken during a very normal moment can reveal so much excitement and soul… ok I’m starting to ramble. Here are a few images from this very perfectly imperfect puddle stomping day:
I recently spent all morning with this beautiful family, getting to know little “O” (two weeks old) and his proud big sister (2 years old). “O” is one lucky baby, as his big sister really, REALLY loves him!
I feel like I’ve watched this family grow. In just a little over two short years, these boys have changed from cute little kids with sweet baby-like faces and a ton of energy to big kids with specific dreams and goals- two brothers with two very different personalities.
This year we met at the Arastradero Preserve in Palo Alto CA. The large open space preserve, a mixture of evergreen forest and savanna grassland, is dotted with massive old oak trees and carved with single track trails. It’s a beautiful wild place.
Enjoy!
While in Ohio over Christmas, I got to hang out baby style with my 6 month old nephew. He’s awesome. Here are a few images from a very informal session of little “G” spending some time with his mom & dad (my brother and beautiful sister-in-law). Oh yea, and their 100lb slobber-dog. Seriously- this dog would love to pounce on you and then cover your face with huge sloppy wet kisses.
