So many fabulous family sessions in the last few weeks! I love the open field and the backlighting that makes these images look dreamy. Not to mention I adore this beautiful family! Just a sneak peak at our session! Enjoy!
The light has been absolutely gorgeous for the last few weeks throughout Orange County. If I am not shooting, I am thinking about how I need to be shooting to take advantage of the beautiful light. My season has been filled with lots of commercial sessions, weddings and corporate photography. I have been missing all of my fabulous family clients.
So when Melody called me to say she was ready for her 2014 family photography session, I was over the moon. Especially when she said, let’s do something different! I spent a lot of time with the Barclay family last year talking about my love for Texas… or more specifically Austin. I also spent quite a bit of time talking with Scott’s Mom, who happens to live in Austin. So, I thought, how about a Western inspired session. I ran the idea by Melody and we started to brainstorm. Meanwhile, I spent a week in Austin and got reinspired!
After checking out Pinterest and searching for western inspired sessions, Melody suggested we go with a Boho Western theme. Totally my style, so I let her know I was totally in!
Fortunately Melody has incredible taste and completely styled our session! I am so in love with all of their images, I don’t know how they will choose. Here is their preview! Enjoy!
Check out the whole slideshow!
I have to admit it…. I am obsessed with Austin, Texas! The food, amazing… some of my favorite restaurants include Eddie V’s, Lamberts Downtown Barbecue, Garridos Austin for atmosphere and great food , and Blue Dahlia Bistro just to name a few! The people are so genuinely nice and have such great style, the music scene is exceptional, the landscape is amazing for photography AND you can walk everywhere in the city… a huge plus. Not to mention that it is my son’s dream to swim for University of Texas.
Over the last several years both my kids have gone to swim camp at University of Texas and Bob and I have spent the same week exploring the city. It has been our “date” week. We love it so much that in the future we would like to live there part time. Really, can you imagine calling Laguna Beach and Austin Texas both home??? Pure bliss. And we have been so lucky to make friends in Laguna who also call Austin home, The Sadler family. If you want to really know what the people in Austin are like, you have to meet Frana! She is an amazing ball of energy and positive vibes. She has been so generous with our family, helping set up reservations at The Austonian for us, recommending great things to do and places to go, etc. Her kids are just as amazing as the rest of her family!
So, thank you Frana! For being a great friend, and raising amazing kids. I can’t express how grateful we are to you! Enjoy!
I live a really busy life. I mean, crazy from 4:30 am until 8:30 pm. Between driving to practice before school, then to school, then picking up from school and then back to swim practice not to mention running a full time business and just generally managing life, there isn’t much down time. Fortunately my husband is all in and does more than his fair share.
Because our kids have set high goals for swimming, we only get 2 weeks off per year to travel as a family. When they were younger, I could whisk them away for a few days during a long weekend, but this is no longer an option. It makes me a little sad that our weekend trips are no more, but I am so glad I took the opportunity when it was available.
Yesterday, I got to spend the whole day with the kids and my extended family for Mother’s Day. I decided to completely unplug. No cell phone, no computer, just hang out with my family. We looked back at some great old pictures and laughed at all of our great times together.
I am so grateful that so many of my weekend trips included my Mom. She is an amazing woman! A 25 year breast cancer survivor, a pediatric nurse, a world traveler and a caregiver to her grandkids. She works out every day and is a total role model to our entire family. Here is one of our last trips to Arrowhead with the kids three years ago. Photography by both myself and my daughter. Happy Mother’s Day to all of the moms out there! I hope you had a great day yesterday!
Each and every year for over ten years I make my entire family get together for a family photo session. Not just my husband and kids…. but my mom and dad, my sister and her family and my brother and his family. We pick a color scheme, a location and we spend about two hours creating beautiful portraits, as well as some very funny memories. I then spend my last spare moments during the holidays putting together either a coffee table book or an album for everyone for Christmas. Every time we get together as a family, the kids sit down and look through the years of their albums and books and laugh. I am so very glad that I MADE everyone join me, even if it was a really busy year, even if I had to stay up until 2 AM to finish the albums and that I have these precious memories to enjoy year and after year.
That is why I always encourage all my clients to do the same thing, document their family each year and put together some kind of book or album. Sometimes in the moment, it seems like a real hassle, or like a large investment, but in the end it is one of the best gifts a family can give themselves.
Here is the beautiful Hawkins family that I documented for the first time last year. I loved how different all the boys personalities were and how much they all loved each other. Enjoy!
