Where do I even begin about the Knebel family?  The circumstances which prompted their interest in having family portraits made, as soon as possible, are still so sad for me to think about.  Elizabeth’s mom had very suddenly and unexpectedly passed away, leaving them devastated and realizing how very precious every moment of life really is.  It takes an effort to have family portraits made, and we all have a million reasons why we will wait until next month, next year, or maybe never–too busy, too complicated, too much weight still to lose, and the list goes on.  The Knebel’s realized all too abruptly that the time was now, which is what brought them to us.  From the moment we met them, it wasn’t about being sad at what they had lost, but rather embrace and celebrate what they have in their beautiful, fun-loving family.  What a great lesson to be learned, on so many levels.  Since their family portrait session, I feel fortunate to say that I consider this family not just clients, but friends.  Please meet the hilariously funny, loving,  and very real Knebel’s!

Our journey with Crissy and Anthony began a few years ago with the birth of their son, Gabe.  When we heard they were getting married we were of course thrilled they wanted us to photograph it.   It’s a special treat to be photographing a wedding for people we know so well, so it was no surprise their engagement session was a joy.  I felt like a fly on the wall watching these two on a long date.  We started at the brew pub where Anthony proposed and had a beer (or two), then it was off to the lake.  Crissy was just coming off knee surgery and was a real trooper during our long stroll in and out of the water.  Thank you both for including Stef and I in this special time in your lives.  We are excited to hear what the future holds for you.

Today is our Reilly’s 12th birthday!!  And breaking news in the past few hours…the 14th grand baby on the Hays side of our family is going to share a birthday with his cousin.  Such a fun day!  To my brother-in-law and sister-in-law today–treasure every moment, as it will go by in the blink of an eye and before you know it, you too will have a 12-year old.  The past 12 years have in ways felt like minutes, but in others like an entire lifetime.  We have been blessed with two amazing and completely different daughters.  Reilly, our firstborn, is so smart, determined, and always mature beyond her years.  A perfect student and competitive gymnast, Reilly is always up for the next challenge; she definitely keeps us on our toes!  Take these portraits, for example; a few nights ago, she informed us she wanted a photo shoot the next day.  She immediately started tearing apart her bedroom, choosing outfits.  At that particular moment I wasn’t exactly in the mood to style her session, and will admit, I wasn’t into it at the moment.  Morning came and she had clearly not lost momentum, as she plugged in the curling iron and sat on the stool in the kitchen, beckoning me to curl her hair for her photo shoot.  I curled and sent her and James and their way to the studio (I have learned from experience that things go much smoother if I stay home for these sessions!)  I have to admit, I was very pleasantly surprised when James started showing me the images.  These images represent more than just my 12-year old daughter; they represent our daughter becoming an independent young woman.  Looking back, I’m glad I wasn’t “into it” that day, because had I been, these images may have reflected too much of me and not enough of Reilly.  Happy birthday Reilly!  We love you!!

Meet the Black family.  We first met when we photographed Ariahna for her senior portraits a while back (she is standing next to her twin brother).  This time the whole gang came along, and since we didn’t photograph her siblings before, they got a little extra attention 🙂  The day was gorgeous and so was this family.  A very close knit group, they were a pleasure to capture these moments.  Here are some favorites.

The Albu family was another of our Bebe clients that we were fortunate enough to document for their baby’s first year.  Watching Miss S grow and change over her first year was fantastic, especially because she has so much personality!  There’s nothing better than getting to know and grow with a family over their child’s first year of life.  Meet the Albu family!

Meet the Medeiros family; we had the pleasure of photographing them in Old Sacramento and had such a great time exploring  nooks and crannies around the town with the girls.  They were so much fun and up for nearly anything (especially Miss R, as we’re pretty sure she had a crush on James :-).  Since their session we’ve gotten to know this family even better and feel so blessed to have met them–so genuine and loving!

Each year it breaks our hearts to tell someone that we can’t fit them in for a family portrait session in time for the holidays, so this year we decided to give an early reminder to anyone thinking about scheduling family portraits between now and holiday-time.  In other words, do it now! :-).  We are already scheduling sessions into November, but it’s definitely not too late.  Please give us a call or shoot us an email if you would like to schedule your session or your portrait design consultation (for new clients).  The best time for a family portrait is NOW.  We are so often reminded of how precious (and often short) these moments of life can be, and what better way to preserve them with beautiful, timeless portraits?

We’ve been photographing the Ferrell family long enough to know that it’s always going to be a fashion treat whenever we see them, and their last family session was no exception!  The session was also for Miss V’s 2-year portraits, so she got a special wardrobe change.  We couldn’t help but grab a few of big sis while she was changing, and those turned out to be some of our favorites from the day.  The boys were just so happy to get a chance to run around that they had no time to help James with his “light tests”, wink, wink…:-).  We are so honored to have become the Ferrell’s family photographer, and each time we’re with them we’re reminded of the most important part of what we do–the wonderful people we get to know!

We thought that as the mercury rises it would help us all cool off to see images from a much cooler time of year, when sweaters and jeans are in order! (ahhh…we can always dream…Sacramento folks, just remember how great the Fall is here when the temperature rises to 107 this weekend!!).  Just call this “throwback Tuesday!”

This session with the Zander family was the conclusion of their second Bebe Collection, this time with Miss C.  We went to one of our favorite nature locations, which I love because it looks different all throughout the year, depending on the season.  Mom (Heather) always does such a great job bringing a variety of hats and hair accessories, and even one for herself this time!  It has been such a treat watching this family grow, all the way from their first maternity session.  Did I mention that Dr. Zander is also our dentist?  Not only are we fortunate for them to share their beautiful family with us, but he also keeps mine and James’ teeth healthy! 🙂  Meet the Zander family, again:

Photographing the wonderful Dawson family was a treat, in so many ways; so sweet to see three little girls doting on their baby brother; so breathtaking to watch two loving parents adore their 4th baby as if he was their first; so fun to see a family full of girls welcome a boy!  I can’t say enough about how lovely, caring, and genuine the Dawson family is.  They (and all of our wonderful clients!) are the reason why we love our job and count our blessings each and every day.