Triple threat!

You know the saying, 'too many chiefs, not enough indians'? Well, for those who know this family (seen HERE and HERE) know that they already have too many indians and not enough chiefs. I love these little guys and have loved watching them grow up so quickly, in addition to their twin sisters.

In order to mark the spectacular occasion of their 3rd birthday we set out to get some great, fun photos with the amazing tee-pee their Nana made for them... gotta love Nana's!! As you can see we really only had one who was willing to wear his feather headband, but hey in this family one is better than none!

On the road again...

That's right, you heard it here folks! I'm taking the show (and family) on the road! This August we're hittin' the great wide open heading up to NorCal (bay area & central valley/Stockton area)... the birthplace of yours truly. Lots of destinations on the itinerary, but with only one goal in mind... NOTHING!!

So, naturally I thought while I'm there (and it ain't that often, unfortunately) if anyone wants to hook up for a photo session I can definitely make time for my peeps! I'm going to have an awesome travel session package that can't be beat! So call or e-mail me for all the details. Be sure to spread the word if you have any family/friends in NorCal, too.

Ahhhh, I can already hear the beaches calling my name...

Testing, 123... is this thing on...

That's kind of how I feel about my camera lately. I've been so busy in other areas of my business and life that sometimes my camera looks more like a home decor piece sitting on my bookshelf.

A few months ago I picked up this nifty little softbox for my external flash to experiment more with OCF (off camera flash). I haven't had the opportunity to play with it too much, but after being so inspired by a webinar class I'm taking this weekend with the lighting guru himself I just had to get out and test a few ideas and lessons I've been learning.

Unfortunately, as you can see I had no control over wardrobe or hair... that's what I get when I'm spontaniously inspired after bedtime.




And so this begins my love affair with light... and not the natural kind... anyone wanna come out and play??!!

LUCKY are they! | Mesa Family Photographer

Meet this very lucky family! The mama entered my contest to receive a free session over at the Full House blog and she WON! As soon as I checked out their family blog I was even more excited for this shoot. I am still floored by the overwhelming positive responses I received from that contest - a girl likes to hear nice things every once in awhile - and I really do wish I could offer everyone a free session.

I love it when my clients basically give me free reign with their shoot. No expectations. Just fun. Those are the best and most relaxed, as you can see from these AMAZING shots I got of this gorgeous family. You guys hang in there...the starving student life doesn't last forever...I'm living proof!

And see mama, I told you I got some fantastic shots...xo! Enjoy!








There is something so metaphorical about the shot above that I LOVE... Dad catching daughter... always being there when you fall... trust me... loving, guiding hands...!

Photography marathon | Mesa Family Photographer

What do you say to someone who emails you a week ago and says she wants to drive to you, from San Diego, for a family/newborn/kids photo session? You pretty much say 'you complete me!' And then you freak out!

Seriously though... this woman is top notch in my book. She and her hubby are both marines, however he is currently deployed to Afghanistan and is due home very soon. She, on the other hand, is running the house with their two kiddos and one just happens to be a 4 week old baby girl who's daddy is going to melt when he meets her. I have so much appreciation for her taking care of it all (not to mention giving birth without her man) ... I flip out when my hubs has to work 2 days in a row... I'm such a wimp!

Anywhoooo, so here is the fantastic trio! I'm beyond words at how flattered I am that she drove here to have ME photograph her sweet bunch! We first started off with the newborn session; her little angel was so good and peaceful and pretty much let me do whatever I wanted. Then we moved on to the session of the handsome big bro rockin' his dapper tux and barefeet - gotta love that! Then, we finished up the day trying to squeeze out of the kiddos every last ounce of patience they had to do ONE more shoot as a family. See, I told you it was a photography marathon! I'm exhausted just recapping it all.

Please enjoy the quickie sneak peek, mama!

Leaving on a jet plane...

I was beyond excited that I was able to capture just a *few* family pics for this good lookin' bunch before they head home across the pond. The mama is so uber-talented it's not even funny... in fact it's down right awe inspiring.





Seriously cute, right??!! Thanks for calling me up Linz... can't wait for your next visit!

ASU Grad | Kind of a big deal!

So this is Aimee... and she is so completely awesome and totally rocked this graduation photo shoot! Ms Aimee found me by way of this little contest giveaway I did a couple of weeks ago, and while she did not win (boo-hoo) she decided to contact me anyway to book her very own shoot. She is marking a gigantic milestone in her life and I'm sure her hubby and family are quite proud of her.

You're looking at the newest ASU grad in Landscape Architecture... and let me tell you, her degree has nothing to do with mowing your lawns or trimming your trees... just ask her ;-) I loved hearing all about the projects she had to complete and all the hard work that has gone into earning this degree... she absolutely deserves it all!





See, isn't she gorgeous. Congrats, Aimee!

Sneakers...Peekers | Mesa Family Mini Session

You may recognize this cutie patootie here... she is part of the original Fab 4 and I completely adore her and her family... especially that smokin' hot mama of hers! ;-)

I don't think you could meet a more down to earth family; they are absolutely near and dear friends to me.




I know my sneak peek is pretty slim but I've got 17 things pulling me 27 different ways right now so I promise to get a few more up ASAP... but for now, nibble on this goodness...

Senior portraits sneaky peeky | Danielle

So if you been following this blog for any length of time then this face will definitely look familiar. This is my gorgeous niece who has been on this blog more times than I care to dig up, but most recently HERE and HERE when I took her SENIOR model pictures late last year. With every SENIOR model that signs up we do TWO amazing shoots together. The first one is usually towards the end of your junior year or over the summer before your senior year and the other one is just before you graduate so you get some fantastic, fresh images for your grad announcements, etc.

I'm sooooo thrilled that Dani trusts me implicitly and will let me 'do my thang'! I can't tell you how important it is to have fun with your photos and to trust your photographer - ME!




Love ya girl!

It's GIVEAWAY time!

Hello all you wonderful followers, visitors and stalkers... you know who you are ;-)

I've teamed up with a dear friend and fellow blogger to offer one lucky (local, or willing to travel) person a free photo shoot with me. Ya-hoooooo!

So, whatcha gotta do is head on over to Viva Full House and check out all the details and simply leave a comment to win. Oh yeah, and if you blog, tweet or facebook about the giveaway you get even more chances to win. Sa-weeeeet!

OK, why are you still here when you should be HERE!

GOOD LUCK!

A worthy cause...

Meet the P family... such a wonderful, delightful and completely adorable family. Lucky for me they were the winning bid at a silent auction for a Florence Crittenton charity event in which I donated a family photo session. I was completely smitten with them from the second dad and daughter came to greet me as I mistakenly started knocking on the door to the WRONG house ;-)

Sweet little S was just the cutest and has a princess collection that would put my girls to shame. I'm so very grateful to have met this family and for their contribution to such an amazing organization.

I know Mama is anxiously awaiting these... so, please ENJOY!




This was just the cutest photo and such a funny moment that I just had to share it... love it!

Maternity never looked so good!

I've said it before and I'll say it again... I absolutely LOVED being pregnant! Since my babies were such little stinkers and demanded extra attention and help getting here (thanks, docs!) I just soaked up all the goodness and wonderment of being pregnant - mostly because it was it's own little miracle and because I knew it was such a beautiful thing.

Shooting this session brought all those wonderful feelings flooding back. I am so grateful at the opportunity to photograph women at this extraordinary stage in their lives. This is my dear friend Heidi and I am so glad she trusted me through this entire session. She is gorgeous, glowing, stunning and completely lucky to be welcoming her third girl into their sweet little family.




Oh yeah, and just for the record this photo above is now topping my all time favorites list. The beauty of this image is that it is 98% au natural... meaning no crazy photoshopping done here! That light, the setting, all done in camera. Except for a slight adjustment to the contrast... what you see is what you get.

Don't get too excited...

I repeat... I AM NOT A WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER. I was, however hired to be a 2nd shooter for the first time ever at a wedding a few weeks ago and I had an absolute blast. As you can see my job was uber easy with this beautiful bride and groom and I must say that I even considered for about 3.5 seconds taking on a wedding of my own one day. But then I realized the only part of wedding photography that I absolutely adore is this... the gorgeous portraits that I get to capture of the stunning couple! It's all that other "stuff" that I can totally do without.

This bottom right image has got to be another one of my all-time favorites. The necklace the bride is wearing is one she made herself (make sure to ask me about that funny story ;-) and I just couldn't help myself to try something a little more vintage-inspired with the post process.


So, to the obscene number of requests that have been coming in to do wedding photography... I thank you from the bottom of my heart for even asking me. To me, that is sincerely the biggest compliment I could possibly get. I guess for now I'm more interested in taking some killer, insanely stunning bride/groom portraits so if that's something you want to hire me for... please call me!!

Just a few more of my favs...

To my darling Stacy... Thank you for lending me your beauty. Thank you for your sweet words of encouragement. Thank you for your eager anticipation.





Of course, this shoot would lack all things fantastic and whimsical without the gorgeous Christina (maker of all the hair accessories). Be on the look out for her upcoming Etsy shop - Madame Pumphrey - so you can get your hands on one of her handcrafted beauties.

More things I adore :: good friends, good location and of course good light

... have I mentioned the light thing before? I'm almost sure I have... and this is why it is so important.





A fellow photog, nay comrade, nay BFF had this fantastic idea for a fun shoot and I was more than honored to tag along and snag a few shots. So, to my darling Tami... I can't wait to do it again!

Things I adore :: light, tall grass and a good hair accessory

I feel like my motto is 'Have camera, will shoot'! OK, well maybe not a motto, but I at least need to put it on a t-shirt or something. You see, I have this friend and she's kind of an amazing artist/designer of all things hair accessories. This was our actual convo last Monday.

Her: You wanna take some photos.
Me: Always.
Her: How about Thursday?
Me: Done.

And that was it; it honestly was that down n' dirty quick. Before I knew it I had arrived at the most glorious location, soaked up every last bit of light from the day and got some of the most amazing shots.

Enjoy.

Two more for the road...

...I just couldn't help myself! I'm pretty sure this is my fastest time on record for editing a photo shoot... all the pics were so fun!

It's all about the L O V E...

Meet Jamie & Steve... two adorable, easy going, up for anything my kind of people. These guys just recently celebrated their 10th (yep 10th) anniversary so what better way to remember the occasion than to book a Sweetheart Session with me... you know, the FREE one - remember you don't have to be engaged to get in on the action!! They were so fun to shoot and to hang out with... thanks a million guys... you're gorgeous!! Enjoy the sneak peek!

I just love it when my clients come up with a rockin' location idea... I mean, the laundromat... GENIUS! (I've secretly been dreaming of doing a shoot in a laundromat so I about fell outta my chair when Jamie suggested it!)

A little secret...

I'm gonna let all ya folks in on a little secret of mine... yep, it's confession time! While some photographers need caffeine to stay up late to get them through the nights of photo editing (unfortunately I, however need caffeine to fall asleep - sad, but true - and no that's not my confession) I actually only need one thing... iTunes Radio set to the 80's Flashback channel called Big R Radio-The Wave. There, I said it... I'm a HUGE fan of all the alternative/retro/over-synthesized music of the 80's!! It's the one thing that keeps me going during my late-nighters. See, right now as I type this its the Bangels - Manic Monday... totally fitting!!

And because I just finished editing all these senior pics of my niece I'll leave you with one final photo...

Senior pics sneak peek... {part 2}

Quick wardrobe change and we were off to our 2nd location...