It’s always a bittersweet thing when one of our Bebe Collection members turns one.  We grow to know and love these families over baby’s first year and know we get to see them every few months.  Then the baby turns one, and we know we won’t see them every few months anymore….:-(  Miss A is such a sweet girl and made every session even more fun than the last.  Her one-year session turned out to be quite a blustery day, but it didn’t seem to phase her.  We want to thank Briana & James for entrusting A’s precious first year portraits to us–you guys are the best!

Meet Becca – class of 2011.  Soft, flowy, romantic…these were some of the words that came up in Becca’s design consultation.  She pulled it off nicely here and had the perfect outfits for this look.  Didn’t hurt that the light outside was just magical that day…

Thank you Becca and Justina(mom), I had a wonderful time.  Good luck at Cal Poly!

My faves.

Meet Taylor, class of 2011.  Knew this was going to be a fun session when we spent just as much time discussing America’s Next Top Model as we did Taylor’s clothes at her design consultation.  And it showed.  She certainly had no trouble in front of the camera. And those boots…

Fantastic job Taylor, see you at sushi!

Faves.

Whenever the kids are on a break from school we try to take advantage of it, even if only  for a couple of days.  One of our favorite nearby getaways is Carmel/Monterey.  I’ve grown somewhat addicted to online travel deals, and when I got the email about this cute Carmel bed & breakfast, I knew just where we were going during Spring Break!  This was the first time we stayed in the heart of Carmel, which is definitely cool since we could walk everywhere.  The kids were especially fond of the breakfast portion of the B & B, as well as the free VHS movie checkout (no, that’s not a typo…probably the last time we’ll see VHS tapes anywhere! 🙂 Another one of my new online addictions is to find the best places to eat wherever we’re at.  Well, the review sites did not disappoint, as we had a fantastic dinner at Flying Fish Grill (Japanese) and amazing lunch at Dametra Cafe (Greek).  Of course we had to visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium (the kids weren’t letting us off the hook on that one), but I honestly think we had the most fun just hanging out in Carmel and exploring.  You will see from the images that the kids did an excellent job of that!  Can’t wait to find out where our next unexpected travel deal will take us!

Meet Kelsea.  Kelsea came to us in an unusual way, her aunt went to high school with Stef and saw our work on facebook.  Crazy small world.

Now on to Kelsea.  Bravo on her outfits!  I really had a tough time not spending too much time with that purple hat…gorgeous!!  And then of course the cowboy hat…

We spent the afternoon running through every possible emotion to get these incredible images.  Confident, whimsical, curious, vulnerable, beautiful…she got them all.  Grandma was along for the session and was just as excited about it as Kelsea.  Thank you both for this great time.

Some faves.

Yesterday our baby girl turned six.  While we tend to go somewhere besides home for the birthday parties (much less work and kids always have fun!), this year we decided to get a little crazy and have Teagan’s birthday at home for a change.  We kept it small and had Kidzart come and do an art project with the kids.  Teagan chose to create ice cream sundaes out of clay (I think the number of fingers she’s holding up below is how many scoops she wanted to make, not how old she is! :-).  The girls had a great time building their creations, followed by a little pizza, cake, & coloring.  Teagan had a blast with her friends and said the art project was the favorite part of her party.  We ended her special day with dinner out at Mikuni Kaizen (mom & dad deserved some fun, too!.  To our sweet, fun, crazy little girl, we hope you had the best birthday and we are so blessed to be your parents!  Love you!

Amanda came to us from lovely South Lake Tahoe.  A fan of our work for quite a while, she knew she wanted to make the trip for her senior portraits.  We are so glad she did.  Some of her outfits had and urban vibe so we started downtown, had an “interesting” encounter with a local , then moved out to the grassy fields.  Light was great, and so was Amanda.  Perfect selection of outfits, style and attitude.  Thanks for coming down the hill Amanda, I had a great time.  Some faves

We first met the Armijo’s last summer thanks to some of our other clients.  The Armijo’s opened up the first Dailey Method studio in our area, and we are so thrilled for lots of reasons!  We first found out about them because of the rave reviews we heard about this unique exercise studio, and then we were so excited when they asked us to do some of the photography for their studio, and then, their own family.  We have been loyal to the Dailey Method every since (minus a couple of interruptions due to surgery and broken wrists for me–Stef…).  We were thrilled when Adam & Stacey asked us to photograph their family at Folsom Lake, where they like to spend time as a family.  Little Mr. R. was so cute and we loved watching him enjoy his surroundings.  We have been fortunate to get to know this family in several settings, and are proud to introduce them here.  Meet the Armijo family:

When I think about this amazing wedding we photographed on Saturday, the word that first comes to my mind is spectacular! While we don’t commission very many weddings, the ones we are lucky enough to be a part of tend to be out of this world–this event at Serrano Country Club definitely fit that bill!  Kasie and Thomas’ wedding was especially meaningful to us, as I (Stef) have known Kasie since 3rd grade.  We were so honored when Kasie asked us to photograph this monumental event.  We couldn’t wait to share a few images from the day, and while every detail of this wedding was planned and executed to perfection, what stood out more than anything to us was the pure outpouring of emotion that flowed throughout the day.  From Kasie’s mom pinning a family heirloom handkerchief to her gown, to the private moment when Kasie & Thomas first saw each other before the ceremony, one thing was certain–love was the theme of the day.  Kasie & Thomas, we wish you a lifetime of happiness and thank you from the bottom of our hearts for allowing us to be so intimately involved in this day.  We also want to thank our great friend and colleague, Melissa Hathaway, for making the trek from Portland to help capture some of the amazing images from the event.  Introducing Mr. & Mrs. Eaton:

Afin d’être irremplaçable, on doit toujours être différent.  “In order to be irreplaceable, one must always be different.”  – Gabrielle Chanel

Meet Lindsay, class of 2011.  And different she was.

Full of international inspiration, everything about Lindsay’s session seemed editorial.  From the moment we met her, we could just tell she was ready to get out and see the world.  Between Lindsay and her mom, I don’t know who was more excited about her session.  It of course went swimmingly, and Lindsay was full of surprises.  Super animated!  We kind of lost track of time and shot till the sun was gone, but she was a trooper and braved the chilly temperature and the dark.  I’m glad she did.

Here are some faves: