We first met the Keenan’s for their consultation when mom was only a week out from her due date with baby J.  Dad called me and wanted to surprise his wife with newborn portraits for her birthday.  What a guy!  It’s always fun to meet a couple before the baby is born and then only a few short weeks (or less) later to have them back with a new member of their family.   Miss J came back when she was brand-new, and she was the sweetest little thing.  She’s one of our Bebe Collection members, so before we know it she’ll be back showing her smiling and sitting skills…can’t wait!  Meet the Keenan’s:

When we met Krista for her portrait design consultation and discussed what type of portraits she was hoping for, she suggested we photograph her young family at her mother’s property.  After she began explaining the acres of vineyard and orchards where a few years ago she and her husband got married, we were super excited!  Not only do we love venturing out to new places, it’s also a treat to photograph a family at a place that’s special to them.  When James and I arrived at the location, we were overwhelmed with the litany of awesome places to photograph the Fenske’s.  It was especially fun following the kids around and watching them explore their own private wonderland.  Meet the fun Fenske family!

We met the Ellis family earlier in the fall (yep, we’re still that behind on blogging…thanks for being patient people! :-).  When they came for their design consultation, we knew Miss S was going to be a treat to photograph.  She was only about 17 months old and seriously one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen!  The day of the session was even more incredible, when S did everything we could have hoped and more.  I have never seen a child that young listen so well and not disagree about any of it.  James and I could not get over it, and could have kept her here all day!  (Okay, mom and dad were awesome, too….even if Miss S did overshadow everyone that day!)  We’re so excited for this family as they await the arrival of another sweet baby girl in a few months….good luck to you and we can’t wait to meet the new baby!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season filled with food, fun and family.  Just thought I’d share a few of my favorites from our Toys for Tots Santa portraits.  Again, it was a great time and we really appreciate all your participation.

Merry Christmas!

When we first met the Perry’s and they mentioned they had a vision of family portraits having fun in Old Sacramento, we knew we’d be in for a treat. While we watched the weather forecasts with anticipation that it might rain the day of  their session, we forged ahead with hopes for decent weather.  In the end, the weather was perfect with some awesome cloud cover (a huge rainstorm came through the very next day!).  Little Miss A was such a trooper as we traipsed all over old town; she was oft-reminded of the ice-cream cone she was promised.  We photographed until it was dark, and even then, we caught a few last shots.  We had such a great time with the Perry’s, and all I have to say is bravo to momma for hiking all over cobblestone streets in those snazzy heels!

Earlier this fall we had the pleasure of photographing the Luong family on their “weekend property.”  They have 5 beautiful acres that currently just has a cottage on it, as well as a pond with fish and some beautiful scenery.  The plan is to build their dream home for the family on the property, but for now they go there to just get away and enjoy country life with their 3 kids.  It was great to capture the obvious excitement this family has about their new oasis, and we can’t wait to see it when it becomes their full-time home! 

Santa Claus came to town!  Last Sunday we held our first annual Toys 4 Tots Santa portrait event at the Silver Spoon children’s boutique, and it was wonderful all around.  Santa came to hear the Christmas wishes of close to 200 kids, all while we captured those wonder-filled (and sometimes tear-filled) moments.  It was great to see how many people came out to see Santa and donate toys for less fortunate kids….a great reminder of the kindness in our community.  These were two of our favorite images of the day…okay, so we’re a little biased…it’s our girls!  Grandma brought them at the end of the day so daddy could have the rare honor of capturing the true innocence of their childhood.  A huge thank you to the Silver Spoon and everyone who came out in the cold to support our local Toys 4 Tots!

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….

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!

It’s that time of year again! Below are a few of our designs brand-new for the 2009 holiday season. All of these cards are custom to your own images and text and have coordinating backs to these “fronts.” While many people have recently or are just now having their family portrait sessions, those of you who had sessions with us earlier in the year can still use your images for these cards. The turnaround time on greeting cards is about 2 weeks, so please keep that in mind and don’t wait to the last minute! 🙂 Happy Holidays!