Introducing Baby Stella | San Marino Baby Photographer

Baby Stella was such a pleasure to photograph!  Her gummy little smiles lit up her sweet face when her mommy was talking to her.  Nine weeks is a really great age to photograph because they are still so tiny and new, yet very social, aware, and ready to offer very expressive smiles.  Throughout the session it was so clear that Stella is adored by her whole family, especially big sister Sienna.  I had the pleasure of photographing Sienna three and a half years ago so it was wonderful seeing her again.  She is so fun and full of energy and I'm sure will continue to be a loving big sister in the years to come.  Thank you for inviting me into your home and welcoming me with such hospitality as I had the pleasure of photographing your growing family!

Mother's Day Portraits | Palos Verdes Family Portrait Photographer

Mother's Day is such a great reason to have family portraits taken and it was wonderful to reconnect with this family.  This was our third portrait session together, but I hadn't seen them since their youngest was just a few days old having his newborn portraits taken.  We met up in Palos Verdes on a very WINDY morning.  You can even see how windy it was in some of the portraits, but we still had such a fun time! It's probably because I have a little boy, but I love seeing little boys doting on their mamas.  It melts my heart - and you can tell that these two just adore their mother.  Thank you, Debbie, for asking me to document this special time for your family. Enjoy some of my favorite images from our time together!

What a good looking family!

I love the belly laughs that comes from tickle time!

Welcoming a Little Brother | Palos Verdes Estates Newborn Photographer

I absolutely love it when clients become friends, which is what happened with this family.  I met Maggie and Raphael three years ago after the birth of their first baby, Katelyn.  We enjoyed chatting as I photographed baby Katelyn.  We discovered that Raphael is also a clinical neuropsychologist, which is exactly the field that Brandon is working in now.  I have photographed Maggie's family several other times over the years, but this most recent session was extremely special as we welcomed a new baby, their son Jonathan. I thought it would be fun to share a few newborn photos from Katelyn's session 3 years ago to see how similar the babies look.  Maggie and Raphael, thank you for your years of friendship and I look forward to many more to come. Without any further ado, please join me in welcoming adorable Jonathan Matthew! I may be especially partial to his cuteness because of his red hair!

So much can change in just 3 years! On the left with Katelyn they just became parents and on the right their family has grown from three to four!

Katelyn (top photo) and Jonathan (bottom photo) look like twins separated by three years. Both so precious!

With an October birthday three years ago, we decided to take a few photos of Katelyn as a little pumpkin.  Maggie didn't want to leave Jonathan out of the fun, so he got to be an autumn apple.

I also love images of newborns with their eyes open, taking in the new world around them.

Look at how grown up big sister Katelyn is - and she is just an angel, too!

Gorgeous family of four!

Sweet little Jonathan was as happy as could be in mommy and daddy's arms!

Congratulations, friends!  You were already such loving parents and now you have one more little one to love.  Thrilled for your newest addition and growing family!

Julia is almost ONE and a HALF! | Yorba Linda Family Photographer

We had such a fun time chasing Julia around the park to capture some great smiles, silly faces, and thoughtful expressions, too.  You may remember her from her newborn portraits, but I can hardly believe that 17 months have passed since she was born!  Portraits of this age are all about being silly and playing lots of games to capture the true essence of a toddler.  And I LOVE the results of our high-energy afternoon at the park.  She is just so adorable and bright.  Brooke and Scott, you are both amazing parents and I feel lucky to be able to call you friends.       Oh, my!  I think we may have a glimpse of 16-year-old-Julia in the photo below- just look at that sass!

I think Julia may want in on the action here :)

You are one good lookin' family!  Thank you for the privilege of photographing your family!

California Here We Come! | Los Angeles Photographer

I am very excited to be relocating back home to the Los Angeles area in less than two weeks!  We have been living in Charleston for the past 12 months so my husband can complete his neuropsychology internship for his PhD.  We are both celebrating that today is his last day of internship!  Congratulations, Doctor, I am so proud of you! :) This year has truly been a whirlwind bringing some very big changes into our lives.  The biggest, most joyful change this year has been the addition of our sweet baby boy.  I will be sharing tons of photos and anecdotes on the blog, like a proud mamma, but for now you can see his debut HERE.

I am so excited to get back to California and start working on my photography again.  I did a few portrait shoots here and there and a wedding during my time in the Charleston; but between my seemingly-never-ending morning sickness and the birth of my first baby, I haven't done as much shooting as I would have liked.  As I prepare for a new start in California, I am rethinking how I want my photography business to run and what I want to photograph.

I still love photographing newborns and babies and have been doing a lot of that lately with my baby.  Hopefully he doesn't get too tired of the camera.  I love becoming a part of a family and documenting their milestones, especially as they welcome their first baby home.  I consider it a privilege to watch those babies grow up and become big brothers and sisters.  So as I refocus my business, I definitely will continue photographing all things family-related {maternity, newborn, baby, children, and family sessions}.

I am thrilled to announce that I will once again be accepting wedding commissions.  I started photographing weddings professionally in 2003 and am honored to have documented over 175 couple's wedding love stories.  A few years ago I needed a break from weddings.  At the time I was shooting two to three weddings per weekend and I was exhausted and getting burned out.  So, I took a step back to breathe and regroup.  I wasn't sure if I would go back to photographing weddings again.  Then a little over a month ago, I shot my first wedding in two years.  And, guess what?!  I loved it!  I realized that I did miss being a part of such a happy day and being able to document once-in-a-lifetime-moments for each couple.  While I was shooting the ceremony and the couple's kiss {as well as their gorgeous details} I found that I couldn't stop smiling from behind my camera.  So, that's the brief version about why I am returning to wedding photography.  I will be accepting a limited number of weddings commissions in Southern California once I return to Los Angeles.

I am also very excited about some updates that I am making to my website.  You can check out a few of the changes HERE, but be on the look out for a complete redesign to the layout and the photography offerings.

In the meantime, California, here we come! We left as two and are returning as three!