Watch them Grow

Photographing life stages, and watching kids grow up is an amazing part of my job. I photographed the Harris family when their son was a newborn and now, years later I was able to see how he has grown and meet the new addition to their family. Connecting with families on more than just a professional level is really important to me. It is such a great feeling when the kids come to their session excited to see me and wanting to be photographed again.

The New addition

The Connelly Clan

Talk about an easy group. I arrived at the Connelly's home in Newport Beach ready to pull out all my "flair". With 6 kids, 7 and under, I thought I had my work cut out for me. Contraire mon fraire... All the kids behaved so well. I was able to get through the group photo without any problems. Playtime was so much fun and we were able to capture just about everything within 45 minutes. Now that is awesome! Here are some of my favorites

The photographers' child

My camera is in tote wherever we go, but admittedly I have not been good at taking regularly scheduled portraits of my own boys. This year I scheduled their session by officially booking it on my work calendar, then shopping for clothing, picking the location and in turn experiencing the stress that goes along with having photos taken of your own children.

We arrived at Balboa and first dropped our stuff off at the beach where they immediately dove into the sand, covered themselves with soot from the fire pits and ate snacks that ended up all over their clothes. I always advise my clients to go with the flow; natural photos are better than clean, unnatural ones... easier said then done!!

When you've spent the time to pick a date, take showers, pick out clothing etc, it becomes very hard to let go. I'll admit it first hand, but as the session went on and as I slowly let go of my visions and instead let what happen, happen, my boys began to relax and enjoy themselves which lead to photos that captured the beauty of my kids.

Sometimes it is hard to relinquish control, but as I experienced myself, the best photos are taken once we drop our expectations and let the kids, well, just be kids.

The beauty of a still object

I enjoy the challenge of a fast moving child or a fun loving family, but I won't lie, every once in a while it is refreshing to photograph something that does not move! A couple times a year I have the pleasure of photographing the wonderful and unique accessories and furniture at a local beach front store called McKee and Company. I can spend 2 -3 hours photographing and not even know time has passed me by. Please visit the URL and take a leisurely browse. www.mckeeco.com

March is in full bloom

One of my favorite local places to photograph is a park nearby our home called Cedar Grove. I was blown away yesterday by the transformation of this normally brown backdrop. Huge shamrocks were everywhere! And not just itty bitty ones, huge ones with large heart shaped leaves. I photographed Emmy Mae in the midst of this beautiful green wonderland.

lets not forget...

my hubby. He helps me manage, well just about EVERYTHING. From life with three boys to running a business, team work is key.

First things first

So before I get started on showing off some of my recent sessions I wanted to first introduce you to the true objects of my camera's affection; Evan, Ryan and Kyle. I "practice" new ideas and techniques on them all the time. They've certainly trained me to use a fast shutter speed and that when photographing kids I just have to roll with the punches.