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Posted on June 28, 2011

Only Cyndy would think of such a thing… she’s classy, creative, kind, generous and knows the difference between hospitality and entertaining. She can do both, which isn’t an easy gig to pull off, but that’s why everyone loves her! Grandma was turing 90, Aunt Judy was turning 70 and her son-in-law, Joe, was turning 40… so put them all together and it equals 200! Such a fun reason to celebrate! I loved the All American Theme that went PERFECTLY with this All American Family. To use Cyndy’s expression, it was just darling! Aside from feeling like I had just stepped into a Martha Stewart spread for July, I was struck by how much this family seems to genuinely enjoy each other. I can’t think of a better way to spend a summer evening. Thank you for including me, feeding me, and making me feel like part of the family! Happy Birthday to the honored guests! You guys are awesome!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted on June 26, 2011

I don’t think of myself as a particularly fearful person… but I have a few acute phobias: bees, confined spaces, driving behind those big trucks that have 27 large vehicles dangling by a small chain off the back ready to fall off and crush me, and shooting in full sun. They say the root of fear and phobias is feeling the loss of control. In the case of full sun, it more comes down to the fact that I just suck at it. It’s on my list of things to master, but it’s kinda like knowing you need a root canal… you can think of 75,000 other things you’d rather do first. So when Marcus of Covenant Photo Studios asked me to second-shoot a wedding this weekend, I thought, “Oh, sure… it could be fun!” Then we arrived to the location and I saw it… the sun. And not a tree or building in sight. Really…? Why didn’t I think to ask these questions ahead of time? I panicked. I was ready to just turn around and go home… And at about 5:00 pm, when I was standing on a mountain top in Riverside, overlooking the entire Inland Empire, wearing all black in the 100 degree heat, trying to meter my dark skinned groom, who was wearing a white tux, with half of his face in the shade and the other half in the sun, realizing I couldn’t see my preview screen to save my life since it was so stinkin’ bright, and after kicking a stinging nettle bush in my flip flops, I was wishing that I had. Surely, no good would come of this. Yes, Marcus was very gracious and tried to bestow some wisdom on me, but as the bride is about to walk down the aisle is NOT the time for a workshop. So I crossed my fingers and started shooting. I’d have to say that I was anticipating maybe 3 good ones from the whole day, and even those would have just been dumb luck. O-kay, so I got 11. And it had nothing to do with skill because if you asked me anything about what I did, it’s all a blur… like a bad car accident. So this post is simply to say, A) don’t call me to shoot your wedding in the full sun; B) not everyone can be good at everything and I’m hoping that’s ok; C) don’t wear flip flops when you’re shooting in the desert. At least I can laugh about it. Thank you, Marcus, for your patience, kindness and encouragement… at least the tacos where amazing, even if I am not!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted on June 26, 2011

Ya know how there is always that one person in your life that you admire, look up to, wish you could be more like, wonder how they got to be so amazingly good at what they do, ponder how they gained the wisdom and insight they have and, on top of that, are able to share it with those around them in such a way that anyone who comes in contact with them is a better person for it…? Well, Sue is my person. She is literally all of those things and more. I would keep going, but she’s also my amazing boss at the hospital and she’s also very humble, so I don’t want to get busted! (I know, Sue, I’d have to actually work there once in awhile to still actually be able to call you my boss, but THANK YOU for keeping me on the payroll…) Sue and I go back 17 years, to when I did my Medical Social Work Internship my senior year at APU. I was a clueless intern and she was Super Woman. Not only is she an amazing social worker, but she’s an amazing teacher. I will never forget my first day: she took me down to the morgue and said, “Here’s what a dead body looks like… freak out now, so you don’t do it later in front of a patient’s family.” What a gift. I can’t thank her enough for stuff like that. And she has also been my friend. Sue and our whole department came to my wedding 13 years ago. My first baby shower ever was in the conference room of the hospital, surrounded by my “work family”, a lot of whom are still there. She has been kind enough to give me extra hours when we were broke, and give me a year off when I had a baby. She’s kind and she’s generous and is respected by everyone. So, of course, when she and her husband, Steve, started planning to renew their vows, I jumped at the chance to shoot their celebration. Their story goes back to high school in the 70′s, where they were actually high school sweethearts and dated into college. (We made these huge prints to display at the reception… so cute!)

 

Then their lives took separate turns, until their paths crossed again and they married in 1996.

 

And now, 15 years after that, they wanted to celebrate the next chapter of their lives, their love, their commitment to each other

and their gratitude to friends and family for having been a part of their amazing love story.

 

And then the Big Day arrived…

 

 

 

 

Aren’t they gorgeous? And I have loved getting to know Steve better during this process… he is an AMAZING man!

 

I love that they walked down the aisle together…

 

 

This is Melissa, Sue’s daughter… it looks like she’s saying, “Do ya think those crazy kids know what they’re getting themselves into..?”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Any bride and groom that provides 27 varieties of Cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory are friends of mine…

 

Sue & Steve made the celebration all about the guests – their family and friends who have stood by them.

 

To know you, is to LOVE you both! Congratulations!

Posted on June 23, 2011

I knew our house was “our house” from the second I turned down the street and saw it at the end of the cul-de-sac 4 1/2 years ago. Then we went inside and saw the peach living room with the black couches and I started to have second thoughts… peach & black is just not a logical combination… but I persevered with the knowledge that walls could be painted and (fortunately) the ugly black couches were not included in the price of the house. The tour eventually led to the back yard, where there was the most amazing tree with a tree swing. That cinched it for me. All of the tactics that real estate agents recommend about playing on the buyers’ emotions and staging scenes where they can “picture” their family making lasting memories… well, it totally worked on me! I found out later that the tree swing had been there for like 15 years, which made me feel a little less like a sucker, but I was still a sucker for that swing. Then after we moved in, I had the horrible thought: what if nobody ever uses the swing?!?! What if it’s like the huge swing set the kids beg for, then never play on it once you’ve spent 6 weeks putting it together? And it just sits there, lonely… Did we really just mortgage our life away for a tree swing? Fortunately, for all of us, that was not the case. Everyone LOVES that tree swing. We even added a couple more of those disc swings so multiple people can swing at once. And I have yet to look in the backyard and NOT see a kid on a swing. I have my moments when I think we’re the “boring” house because we don’t have a pool or a PS3, but I am continually amazed, even after 4 years, that the kids still dig the swings. And Caroline, who just recently learned to “pump”, would live out there. So, I know I sound like that cheesy email that talks about drinking water from a garden hose and curfews being when the street lights went on and how much better life was when things were simple… trust me, I would not trade my iPhone for all of the tea in China. But I do sleep better at night, knowing that we chose a house for a tree swing, and don’t regret it for a second.

Posted on June 23, 2011

Meet the darling Brooke… I had the joy and privilege of shooting her head shots today and I am just in love with her! Not only is she naturally gorgeous (I don’t think she was wearing a stitch of makeup), but she’s a natural in front of the camera. Her poise and focus were amazing and her expressions were a photographer’s dream come true. She makes it look easy, lemme tell ya. She is also a swimmer, who practices 5 days a week, and I can tell that this girl is determined, with her head on straight. What a sweetheart! Thank you, Brooke and Laurie, for a fun morning!

 

 

 

 

 

Posted on June 22, 2011

I love shooting sisters… and I loved shooting these two twins (again) now that I’m calm enough during a shoot to remember their names (there was a day when I was so nervous & distracted by lighting and camera settings that simple things like people’s names were too much for me!) But Chloe and Page did not take offense to my past faux pas and were sweet enough to come back for more… and boy, did they Bring It! I think I met them for the first time as toddlers and I had to keep pinching myself that they were new 8th grade graduates and able to walk in heels that would have landed me in the ER. They are both equally striking but each brought their own spark and personality to the camera. Despite the sweltering heat (of course it was the first real hot day of the summer, but they were troopers), we had fun rockin’ out to our mutual crush, Justin Bieber, and just catching up. Thanks, guys! You are rock stars in my book!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted on June 13, 2011

Meet the gorgeous sisters, Camille and Maddie… part of the aforementioned family that I inherited when my brother, Brian, married their cousin, Jamie. And their mom, Stephanie, was the genius make-up artist that made yesterday’s Courteney, plus these two cuties, look AMAZING! Stephanie works in the make-up department of Modern Family, where you may have caught a glimpse of all three Massie girls (little sister, Bella was not feeling up to her “close up” yesterday) on the hit show. So of course, these working beauties need to keep their head shots current. (Can I just say how much I am loving this head shot thing?!?! It’s way too fun!)  We had a fun afternoon, just hanging out, playing with make-up, rockin’ out to their dad’s 70′s music… a good time was had by all. Thank you, Massie ladies, for lending me your talent and your beauty!

 

 

Just a quick before & after, so show that these girls’ eyes are really this blue… crazy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted on June 12, 2011

Meet the adorable Courteney… I photographed her for the first time a few years ago when I was just getting started in Photography (and begging people to let me practice on them… and I don’t know who was more nervous – her or me!) She was quite a cooperative test subject. Thank you, my dear! But My, Oh My has this shy little girl blossomed into a confident and dignified young lady! She is just finishing up her freshman year of high school and joined the Drama Club, where she managed to steal the show of their last production, with a talent agent in the audience, who is now begging for Head Shots of her. So OF COURSE I was was more than honored to shoot her again for such a special request. On top of that, I have inherited an amazing new extended family, which includes a professional make up artist (Thank you, Stephanie!), and with amazingly perfect lighting, the planets aligned just right for us today and it was magic! So here are a few from our session today. I have two other beauties that we shot, so stay tuned for them!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted on June 7, 2011

I love it when clients come back for more… especially when they are THIS adorable! I’m sure these faces will look familiar (think back to a couple Christmases ago… adorable red & green pea coats)… Ava, Ruby and mom, Angie came back for a Father’s Day surprise shoot for Dad. And I think he’s gonna LUV them! (Of course, it helps when the 3 leading ladies of your life are this cute!) We had a fun little Mini Session and these girls are some of the most cooperative, “on it” youngsters I’ve had the joy of working with. When I’m a famous photographer hosting million dollar workshops, these two will be my go-to girls as models. I just couldn’t get enough of them! So thank you, Beeley Girls, for lighting up my lens, once again!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Angie is gonna kill me for putting this one in here… She’s so stunning and I begged her to let me take a few of her alone.

I think I managed to get like four before she’d had enough of that. She’s WAY too modest!