Check out this amazing video, done by the very talented Connor Brashier! It is time to book your holiday shoot! Hurry, we were completely booked by the beginning of November last year!
Some people you just meet them one time and you know you have a connection. Somehow you feel that they are a member of your same tribe. You chat, and laugh, and feel like you have know each other forever. That is how I felt when I sat down with Pete and Jessika to talk about their upcoming wedding at Red Horse Barn in Huntington Beach. They are really low key, and clearly very much in love. As we got to know each other, somehow Chico State came up in the conversation. The weird thing is that we are all alumni. The other weird thing… they are the third wedding in one calendar year where either the bride or the groom was a fellow Chico alumni…. and that just makes things really fun! Fast forward to the day of their engagement session. Since they are having a rustic/ romantic wedding, we decided that the rusty vintage truck at my studio was the perfect starting point. We proceeded to the “love” tree, then on to the open field (“be careful to shuffle your feet to ward off snakes”) and finally to a very blustery beach finale for romantic sunset. I am so excited for their wedding day! Enjoy. 
Watch more on the their highlight slideshow:
In my years as an Orange County photographer I have more than a handful of amazing locations up my sleeve. So here’s part two of my best Orange County Photography Locations. (The first 10 locations are here.)
This resort and zoological garden is a little known Orange County setting for great photography. Located in Silvarado Canyon, it’s lush setting is perfect for family photos.
Traveling a little further down the coast San Clemente State Beach is a less crowded, more varied seaside backdrop for a stunning photography session.
Nestled in south Orange County are the 26 miles of trails of the Nellie Gail Ranch. The native California greenery gives way to beautiful grasses and trees, making this an especially unique photography location.
- Your Home
Sometimes you don’t need to travel at all to find the perfect setting for your family photos. Sometimes you need only stay at home. At home photo shoots can be especially fun as they not only show your family’s story, but your home as well, adding an especially unique element to look back on.
- Downtown Laguna Beach
I’m lucky enough to live in one of the most beautiful beach communities in Southern California and my studio, in Laguna Canyon is just minutes from one of the best “downtowns” in the county as well. This location is a treasure trove for a variety of shooting possibilities. (Read even more in this recent post about Laguna Beach Photography)
San Juan Capistrano boast several great photography locations, but one of the most fun is the Los Rios District, just across the train tracks from the Capistrano Depot. You can even stop for a bite to eat or tea time after your shoot.
While I love all aspects of portrait photography and capturing real family relationships, I am most passionate about photographing kids. I feel like in real life I am a little bit shy (those who know me well might find this hard to believe) and I feel a little awkward being silly… BUT with kids of all ages this completely goes away. I love to talk to them, hear their point of view, be silly with them, play games with them, just let kids be kids.
This kind of relationship with kids, has created a lot of wonderful opportunities for me. One of my favorite is photographing the lifestyle images for Adora Dolls. From working with Peggy and bj to come up with new ideas each year for the photography session storyboard, to helping select the wonderful models we use every year, this is definitely a passion project for me!
This past year I was fortunate enough to work with an incredibly talented teen to help capture the photography experience through video. Conner Brashier may look younger than his years, but he has a God given talent that is so impressive. Also, the little girls absolutely LOVE him! I won’t be surprised if he was receiving fan mail… seriously! At the end of the session, one girl even asked him to take a selfie with her!
Here are just a few of my favorite images from the Adora session, along with the fantastic video Conner put together of the photography shoot experience.
Meet Conner!
Behind the scenes Video of the Adora session:
The challenge with photographing lots of families, year after year, is always producing a unique, inspired and storytelling group of images that represent “your” family at this stage in your life. So many of the wonderful families we photograph at Blue Sky’s Studio want to document their lives each year (I do this too). As we are getting ready to send our oldest out into the world, I absolutely cherish the albums we have put together from our family photography sessions each year of our kids lives.
One of the best ways I know to produce unique images, is to choose a different location in Orange County, each year, to have your family photographed.
Recently, I went through loads of sessions and put together an album of all of my favorite locations, so Blue Sky’s clients would have the opportunity to page through lots of sessions and get inspired. You can check it out by clicking here. Each year, I try to add additional locations to my repertoire, which gets more difficult as you can imagine! The fact is, we are truly blessed to have a studio in Laguna Canyon. Not only is the studio a spectacular place to have your portraits taken as the lighting is heavenly, but it is also surrounded but fields, urban areas and very close to the beach. Seriously, in one session, you can have Urban, Coastal and studio images! Pretty cool if you ask me!
Here is a highlight of one of the areas in my own backyard (our family moved to downtown Laguna Beach this year and I can walk out my door and be in any of these spots within minutes). This location features the beautiful Victoria Blakemore, who will be attending the prestigious Parson’s School of Design in New York!
