When we received the call from M explaining that she wanted portraits of her and her daughter as a surprise for her husband’s birthday, we were so excited to be in on such a fun gift!  We knew we were in for a treat when they showed up for their session and Miss S had just come from getting her hair done and a shopping trip for snazzy new duds for their session.  Even though the purpose initially began as mother/daughter portraits, it quickly became clear that this session was really about S, as you can see!  Dad loved his birthday surprise and we loved being a part of it.  Meet the Billings ladies….

Mr. A is another one of our adorable Bebe Collection members.  We first met the Pulley family last year at our Costumes & Cans event, and then shortly thereafter they came for maternity portraits shortly before little A was born.  He was a very welcome addition to his two big sisters; we think he may pass them up in size pretty soon, though! 🙂  Meet A….

Meet Julia, class of 2010.  Julia decided to mix things up a bit and do some of her senior portrait session in the studio, then head out to a location for the rest.  Another wonderful job with different clothing to match the environment, it was a fun time.  She was very comfortable in front of the camera, and how about that hair!!  I think she was ready to keep going but finally mother nature had her way and we ran out of light.  Sorry about the heels Julia, I forgot to tell you about all the gopher holes out there!  Here are some of my faves.

When we first met the Thornings for their design consultation, papa Thorning wasn’t there and didn’t even know family portraits were in the works….his wife was thinking of just having us capture the kids, but after some chatting, we convinced her it was a good idea to come prepared for the whole family as well.  Fast forward to one of those early fall days that topped 100 degrees here in the valley, and we were trying to work quickly before anyone got too overheated in their super cool clothes.  We just loved their clothing choices, which totally fit their personality and style.  Everyone survived the heat and it was well worth it.  We were again so grateful for another wonderful family!

“Will you take a picture of me?”

On a rare occasion (and on her terms), Teagan will take a great interest in having her photograph made.  It typically happens seconds before we have a family of four ready to go for their own portraits.  Being the great helper she is, Stef and I have countless “test” shots of Miss T doing her thing.  And no matter how much I try to persuade her otherwise, she manages to always get the perfect Chandler Bing smile ready the moment the viewfinder reaches my eye.  Funniest thing is, she really thinks she is nailing it.  I have never met anyone so proud of a cheeseball smile as Teagan.

Now, I have seen countless parents try everything in the book to get their kids to do anything but the silly smile and I totally get it.  Something we are known for is getting that odd look that you rarely see (which may have something to do with me falling, tripping and otherwise making a baffoon of myself), but I gotta say, every time Stef and I see a photograph of Teagan and her C.B. smile, it well…just makes us laugh.

I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Meet Megan.  I just love it when seniors have a specific look in mind for their portraits.  Right from the consultation, Megan had some great ideas and looks she was after and she just nailed it.  She did a wonderful job of matching her clothes to the environment and really acted the part (and check out the cool necklaces!)  Thank you Megan for such a wonderful job here, sooo happy with how these turned out!

We have so many things and people to be thankful for this Thanksgiving….our beautiful, healthy girls; our families & friends; our health & home; the wonderfully amazing clients who bless our lives daily and allow us to make a living doing what we absolutely love; the brave men & women serving to protect our great country and our freedom; and each other.  May your Thanksgiving be filled with joy, laughter, good food, and a quiet moment to reflect on what you are thankful for this year.  Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours!

Meet Jessica!  A Roseville high senior with an award winning smile ( Actually she won the award in drum corps, but her smile really is that good.)  We decided to go for several different looks for her senior portrait session and she pulled off each one perfectly.  One of the faves was the garage door shot below, kind of looks like flag to me.  There was some other “colorful” artwork on that garage door that we ummm…opted not to show.  Thanks Staci for putting up with that.  We were about wrapped up when Jessica’s bo Joe made an appearance, and that lovely smile got even lovelier.  Awww…..

We first met the Holthe family earlier in the year when Miss N was about 7 months old or so.  They decided to come back to commemorate N’s 1st birthday and to capture her walking earlier this fall.  Our goal was to warm her up, as she is a very tentative little thing and takes her time to decide if she might bless you with her beautiful smile.  Well, she gave us some great looks this time around, and mom and dad weren’t too shabby, either!  They’re just a lovely family all around and we’re fortunate to have seen them twice this year!