I first met Meg and Jim when they were expecting their first daughter. We had a beautiful maternity session at my cottage studio back then, and now to see them as a family of four is such a special treat. It seems like just yesterday they were starting their family, and now that little baby bump is twirling circles in the fields! We had a beautiful sunset session with all four of them done by the water's edge, and here are a few favorites. I am purposely not sharing their family portrait yet because I want Meg to see it for the first time all complete when she comes to pick up their gorgeous canvas print.
outdoor baby portraits with family | east bay, ca
I love photographing babies! Having had two myself, I can attest to how quickly they grow and change during the first year. It seems as soon as they begin walking, they suddenly lose that "baby" look and start looking like toddlers. It's amazing the changes that take place in just 12 short months! Earlier this summer, I had the pleasure of photographing this beautiful little guy, Colin, and his family. Colin was around 9 months old when his parents brought him over for his portrait session and he was such a happy little guy! Since he was old enough to sit upright, we were able to take him out into the garden and get a variety of images of him in different little nooks. We used some vintage chairs, old wagon, and my flagstone pathway and just let him be himself. This is one of my favorite images of him from our set.
Twin sister's outdoor sunset portraits | bay area, ca
I'm very behind on blogging! This portrait session was a Mother's Day gift from these gorgeous daughters to their mother, Karen. The oldest sister, Kristin, brought her little twin sisters out for a surprise session and Karen was indeed surprised on Mother's Day with a beautiful slideshow of the images! This was a styled shoot, meaning that all Kristin had to do was meet me out on location and I provided the kids' outfits and accessories and styled their hair. It was a lot of fun and the girls were such a delight. I thought for sure the surprise would be ruined because Kristin said when she brought the girls back home they continued to talk about how nice Miss Gretchen is and that I gave them pretty dresses. Oops! Well, luckily Karen didn't catch on to their comments, so we pulled it off! Here are some of our favorites from the shoot...
Attorney Headshots
In addition to my family portraits, I also shoot a variety of professional headshot sessions during the year. My clients vary from business executives to entrepreneurs and designers. Who DOESN'T need a polished headshot these days? Just like with family portraiture, headshot sessions are always unique to your own business or personal needs. This particular session was for an attorney and was done quickly at my private studio. If your photographic needs also involve your office team, a session can be coordinated at your place or business in order to capture headshots for all team members as well as group poses. Outdoor sessions are also a lot of fun for professionals who require a more relaxed and casual headshot look. Again, every shoot is unique, so if you are in need of freshening up your online appearance or your marketing materials, give me a call at the studio and I'd be happy to chat about what I can do for you! Please check out examples from some of our current headshot sessions here.
A perfect Valentine's Day gift for your wife or mother | Walnut Creek, CA
Tomorrow is Valentine's Day! What do you have planned? Flowers die, candy gets eaten, but a portrait of your family or just your children will last generations. Why not present your wife (or your Mom!) with a beautifully packaged gift certificate for a portrait session? To help you last minute lads out a bit, I have several prepped and ready to go, and can arrange to meet you at my studio or somewhere local to your work on Thursday (assuming it's not too late in the day, since it's MY Valentine's Day as well!) so you can go home at the end of the day with a perfect gift she will LOVE! Ladies, if you are reading this and want to give your hubby a hint, just email him this link or post it on your Facebook wall by hitting the "share" button below ;) 
Samantha's senior portraits | walnut creek, ca
Do you like Sami's dress? I had her come over about an hour before our shoot and I simply "made" her a custom dress with some fabric and safety pins. Voila! A couture gown made just for her! She actually just had a tank top, bike shorts and Uggs on under all of this. Then we headed out to our evening location and created some beautiful images for her senior portraits. Even though it is nearing the end of January, we had a gorgeous evening with temps around 65 degrees. I always time my shoots so that we have perfect lighting and plenty of time to work before the light disappears. I brought along an antique ladder chair to give us additional options for posing since we would just be working in an empty field. I love the classic, elegant, yet simple feel of these images. Truly timeless and gorgeous. Thanks, Sami, for being so easy going and such a wonderfully beautiful subject to photograph, as always!
Family portraits and audrey's 1st year portraits | martinez, ca
This fall was full of beautiful family portrait sessions and I’ve been dying to blog all of them! Now that the rush season is over, I am finally able to sit down and get some of my favorites up on the blog. So let’s start with Kendall, Nick and Audrey (and their adorable dog, Riley)! Aren’t they a gorgeous family? I met them when they were pregnant with Audrey and we have been friends ever since. This was our third shoot together and each one just gets better and better. Our original concept for this shoot ended up not working out this time because we had to reschedule due to Audrey not feeling well, then again for weather. Gotta be flexible when we are working with kids and mother nature! Before we knew it, the clock was ticking down for the holidays and we just had to get the shoot done quickly in time for Christmas cards and gifts. So we headed over to one of my favorite spots that I just love for way the evening light falls in the winter months. I brought my old crate and Kendall and Nick brought some peppermint hot cocoa and we had a great time! Even though this was a “pulled together last minute” session, it turned out gorgeous and we are saving our original concept for their holiday shoot next year, so watch out! ;)
What I'm thankful for
It's that time of year again...the time where we all pause to think about what we are especially thankful for in our lives. While I can't keep up with the daily facebook post that everyone else is doing right now, I do want to share what I am thankful for! And here they are...
My little buddy
Rarely do I create a blog post about my own children, but believe me, they are photographed A LOT! I always intend to share their images, but somehow taking the time to do so never seems to happen. So since I just shot these of my youngest just today and literally JUST downloaded them onto my computer, I figured I would take a few extra minutes and actually put them on my blog! 
For those of you that know our family, you already recognize this sweet face as our little dude, Canon. He just turned 7 and is just the best little boy in the world (I'm biased). What might be hard to recognize is that Canon is affected by autism. Which, of course, means we are ALL affected by autism. We are affected because sometimes Canon has strong reactions to certain stimuli and that can cause strangers to stare and pass judgment on his behavior and our reaction to his behavior. But autism has also affected us in a very positive way. We have learned that each of us is wired differently and just because someone doesn't fit into the same box that we do, doesn't mean that there is something "wrong" with them that needs to be corrected. It's our reaction to people who are different from us that needs to be corrected. Canon has taught us to accept people as they come, appreciate the gifts and talents they bring, and to recognize that life would be pretty boring if we were all cut out of the same cloth! And I have to add...Canon is not only a very bright child, but he is absolutely the sweetest little boy on the planet! I overheard him telling his sister yesterday "I hurt my leg, but Mommy kissed it. Her kiss is magical!" Love that kid!!
Holiday Portraits for Shawn
Even though it is still about 8o degrees here in the Bay Area, it's not too early to start thinking about what you would like to do for your holiday card photos this year! I'm not a big fan of overly "themed" portraits, but I do love an image that will make your cards stand out. I picked up this old sled and the cute little ear flap hat and off we went to find a spot for baby Shawn that would give a holiday feel but still be "pretty"...meaning not a lot of bare trees and cold light! Because sessions are always done either first thing in the morning or right before sunset, the temperature was perfect so Shawn was not uncomfortable in his winter wear. Now we can easily use a few of the images with the hat and the sled for the cards, but because the images are nice and clean and the props are subtle, they will still make beautiful portraits that can decorate the home for years to come! I've got a few other ideas for unique cards this year and am quickly gathering my props, so expect more images to come in the next month as the holiday season gets under way!