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!

Last weekend we were fortunate to have been asked by our good friends to join them at their family lodge in S. Lake Tahoe for some winter fun (and superbowl).  We were thrilled and jumped at the invite, as poor Teagan has never been to the snow (she’s 4 1/2!), and it’s been so long I doubt Reilly even remembers it.  We were a bit nervous about how the weather conditions would affect our drive up, but just like magic, the clouds parted, the roads were clear, and there was no traffic!  Then, as is we had control over it, a ton of new snow fell all day Saturday, creating the most gorgeous winter wonderland you could imagine.  There was so much snow the kids were able to sled in the front yard right off the new hill that was once just a flowerbed of bushes.  In a word, the kids loved the snow!  Teagan was particularly fond of a giant snowball she found in the yard (see below).  We could not have asked for a better weekend–great friends, great weather, great fun.  Then, to top it off, the sun came out Monday when it was time to drive home.  In a word–amazing!  Thanks to Ann & Matt for being such gracious hosts!

We met the lovely Cubias family last fall (pretty sad that it’s February and we’re still not finished blogging from before Christmas!) and thoroughly enjoyed getting to know them and their adorable kiddos.  Mom did an awesome job on their wardrobe selections, and we just loved the girls’ hats and big brother’s colorful scarf.  The girls were like supermodels and seemed to quite enjoy being photographed; I think they would have stayed longer if we had let them!  A fun fact we learned is that their daughter goes to the same pre-school as Teagan (our youngest), so we often see each other there during morning drop-off.  Meet the Cubias family:

Meet Mallory.  From the moment she arrived at her consultation, I knew we were in for something special for her senior portraits.  Great clothing choices, gorgeous hand made accessories & scarves, and very specific looks in mind.  Among Mallory’s many talents was dance choreography, and she was kind enough to perform for me to capture.   At the end we ran outside to capture the last bit of dusk…and some more dancing.  This was very much a collaborative effort and Mallory’s input was wonderful.  Here are a few of my favorites.

Meet the lovely Lauren, Woodcreek High 2010.  Can’t believe I hadn’t photographed any seniors in Old Sacramento before, so I was all over it when Lauren suggested it.  Seemed like every 10 feet there was some new texture, or light pattern that had me yelling “Stop! Don’t move!” every 20 seconds.  Lauren got used to it.  She also got used to the curious onlookers (including the Sac Police) and still was game for everything.  Our last bit caught some attention from railroad employess, but in the end they were good sports about everything.  Really a great time.  Thank you Lauren!

The lovely folks at Good Day Sacramento took an interest in our awards from SPA this year and asked to come down to the studio to chat about them.  They also decided to have us do some shooting with Lori & Cody (the morning anchors) to “relive” their senior portraits.  Lori was a natural.  Cody was…well…Cody.  Big thanks to both Lori and Cody for having us, Dale for taking care of us, Ashley for all the communication, and last but not least, Ann Wokas for the hookup.  It was a fun time for me and a great TV debut!  Here are a few images from the shoot.   Enjoy! 

We’ve been photographing this family since big brother was 2, I believe, and now little sis is going to be 2 later this spring!  They came for their annual family holiday portrait, as well as to capture Miss G’s new skill–standing!  We always have the best time with them and are so thrilled to see them each and every time.  The kids are always in a good mood….I wonder if there are good bribes involved?? Just kidding…they’re awesome kids no matter what!  Meet the Pham family (again):

Miss K is one of our Bebe Collection cuties, and she was especially adorable for this session.  The looks she gave us seemed far beyond her age, seeming to have some “secret” the rest of us weren’t in on.  Maybe that secret had something to do with the fact that she was faster than all of us and kept me and her parents on our toes!  While I love all of the images from her session, this first one on the sofa gets me every time I look at it!

Meet Cat, Bella Vista class of 2010.  Cat arrived to her consultation just about every cool outfit available.  Boots, scarves, necklaces, dresses and oh yeah…a black guitar.  So again, off to the woods we went to chase some light.  It was a perfect day and as you can see, Cat did great.  About halfway through the session, she suggested climbing a tree for a few shots.  I wasn’t overly eager for this as my last tree experience ended with me falling out of it and a nasty scrape on my knee. (I was trying to show a senior how to get up in it)  Cat seemed pretty confident in her climbing skills so we went for it.  Glad we did as they were some of my favorite images of the day.  Thanks Cat for all your efforts!

When we met with Natasha last fall to discuss the portraits she wanted to have made of her family, we were excited on so many levels; first off, she is sort of family–she is my (Stef) aunt’s step-granddaughter; and second, she brought the coolest clothes to her consultation!  We knew if was going to be fun when she had so many ideas of looks that she liked, not to mention the fact that on the day of the session, she and and her daughter went to our friends at Article Salon (in the Fountains) to have their hair done especially for their portraits.  On the day of the session, the weather was perfect and the kids were superstars.  Miss A was a mini-supermodel and was up for changing clothes and looks as many times as she could squeeze in.  Little N was not quite as into being a supermodel as his sister, but he still did awesome nonetheless!  If I remember correctly, this session ended not because we ran out of outfits to change into, but because we ran out of light outside!  They were such a fun family to photograph and it shows.  Meet the Vasilopoulos family: