Meet the Patock family….their session was one of those where all of the stars just seemed to be aligned–perfect weather, great clothing, and kids that were awesome (okay, the parents weren’t too bad either…:-)).  We had so much fun getting to know them, and as has happened on so many occasions, it turns out we had some mutual acquaintances that we discovered just chatting during the session.  Way to go on the great hat and scarf–we loved it!

These happy newlyweds came to us for some “family portraits” with their baby, Chopper.  Chopper is the cutest bulldog I’ve ever met, and the first one we’ve photographed.  It was so sweet to capture the glow still apparent in the Weygandt’s first year of marriage, but Mr. Chopper definitely competed for their spotlight.  It was an extra treat for us to photograph Scott & Braeden, as they are part of one of our favorite families!

Last Sunday we took the girls over to our friends at the Silver Spoon children’s boutique to photograph some of their brand-new spring arrivals.  We all agreed that some of the outfits definitely needed live models; enter Reilly & Teagan.  While the ladies pulled outfits, I styled the girls in and out of clothes as fast as Superwoman changed into her digs.  The girls had so much fun trying on all of the super adorable clothing, and even insisted on choosing a new hair accessory from the store’s vast assortment for each outfit.  Enjoy a peek at some of the Silver Spoon’s gorgeous new selection!

The Anast’s are just those kind of people who you can’t help but have a great time around.  We met them a few years ago when little brother was just a baby, so it was fun getting to see them again and this time, at their gorgeous property in Loomis.  When we first talked about the possibility of doing their session at their home and I asked N about what the property was like, she said it really didn’t have much on it but this falling down old tree.  We were super excited when we heard that, and of course she thought we were nuts but took our advice anyway and went forward with having their family portraits made at their place.  As you can see, the falling down old tree was awesome!  We had so much fun just following the kids around the property, letting them run free and explore.  We did sneak a few of mom & dad in, and the one shown here was our absolute favorite of them!  This lovely family is a constant reminder of how lucky we are to be doing what we love; they invited us back as a family a few weeks later for dinner…what a blessing to become friends and be invited into the homes of those we are so fortunate to photograph.  Thank you Anast’s for everything!

Little Miss B visited us for her 2nd Bebe session (her 3rd actual session since we also did mom’s maternity!) and was sweet as can be.  We had some fun in the studio first (and mom and dad really know what I mean when I say “fun”….you had to be there!), and then ventured outside to show off her awesome winter outfit, full of color and texture, which we absolutely loved.  We always have a blast with the Zander family, especially since Dr. Zander happens to be our dentist…it’s a treat to get to see him when we’re not laying on our backs with our mouths wide open!

You might have seen our earlier post with the fun images James shot while having fun with the Good Day Sacramento folks, and now we finally have the video clips to share.  Good Day invited James down last month to talk about the many awards he brought home from the SPA (Senior Portrait Artists) event in San Diego, as well as do a mock senior photo session with their weekends anchors on air.  I guess they must have liked it, because they invited him back the following weekend to share the images he took of them on air.  The clips below are in order and include his appearances on both weekends.  James had a blast and absolutely loved everything about the fun group at Good Day Sacramento.  Thanks to their entire team for making it such a great experience!  We’ve also included his winning high school senior folio that garnered the most awards at the SPA event.  Click on the clips below to see his TV debut…

Good Day Sacramento pt. 1 from james on Vimeo.

Good Day Sacramento pt. 2 from james on Vimeo.

Good Day Sacramento pt. 3 from james on Vimeo.

Good Day Sacramento pt. 4 from james on Vimeo.

We knew from the first consultation that this was going to be a fun maternity session.  S mentioned that she really wanted to go outside and by the railroad tracks with the bridge, so our minds immediately switched gears from a “traditional” maternity session.  S & J had some of their wedding photographs taken by this very same stretch of tracks near our studio and thought it would be fun to go out there again and document this next exciting stage in their lives.  We still did some studio work with them, and that was a blast, too.  You can see below that we turned the “fashion fan” on her to help bring out her inner diva. Our favorites from the day, though, were definitely the last few images we got by the tracks.  I just love the connection you can see between them, anticipating the arrival of their baby boy.  A few short weeks later they welcomed their son.  Meet the Bierer’s…

Meet Riley, class of 2010 Union Mine High.  Riley decided to keep her senior portrait session close to home so we went exploring downtown Placerville.  It was a little chilly that day and her clothing choices were well…not.  Riley was a trooper however, even going barefoot for quite a while in some deep ivy.  After some time shooting I asked how her feet were doing, and she said “Not sure, I can’t feel them”.  That was my cue to move on.

Next was a trip to a nearby vineyard Riley had scouted out.  It was perfect and had everything we could have asked for.  Great light, beautiful old structures, and a cool old truck (actually a COLD old truck).  Toward the end of the session Riley was shivering between takes and even then  wanted to keep going but at last, the sun went away and it was time to go home.  Thanks again to Riley and her mom for all the efforts, and of course the location scouting, it was a great help!

As many of you know, we held our first annual Vintage Valentine portrait event at the Silver Spoon children’s boutique a few weeks ago.  As this was our first go at this particular “theme” if you will, we had no idea how it would go, especially given that they were 15 minute mini-sessions.  Much to our delight, we had an overwhelming response, completely filled every available spot and then some, and the images turned out–magical.  We provided tutus, pettiskirts, tanks, and hair accessories for the girls (and thanks to the Silver Spoon for adding to the selection, as well as our talented friend who provided the amazing hand-made flower headbands-you can find her one-of-a-kind pieces on her Etsy store, Wrapped in Clover), but the boys were on their own this time around, with some suggestions to guide their choices.  As you can see from these examples, the boys looked adorable, too!  I wish we could post everything, including all of the delicious Valentine cards and custom montages people ordered, because they were all just too cute for words!  This event was such a fun experience for us and everyone who came out, that I’m sure this will not be the last…we’re already thinking of next year’s Valentine event.  We’ve chosen a few faves to post here, but it was painful to only show a sampling; if we had posted everything I wanted to, it would have pretty much been every image from every session!  Happy Valentine’s Day!

Meet Christine, Roseville High class of 2010.  Another fun session here at the studio & around town.  I almost didn’t recognize her when she arrived with her fab hairdo (it was down at her consultation).  She had it done up that morning and it just looked fantastic.  We started in the studio and then went out for a bit before the sun went down.  As you can see in the first few, it was just a perfect glowy day and Christine had the look to match.  Toward the end of the session I asked if she might want to do a few photographs with her hair down.  15 minutes and 35(!) hairpins later, she let it fly for some great shots.  Thanks for all the effort Christine!