Getting to photograph sweet baby Kellan was an extra special treat, as he (and his brothers) belong to my good friend from college. Gretchen and I met on the first day of sorority rush at UC Davis (went different sororities) and have remained friends all these years. I’m sad to say that we don’t see each other enough, but it’s one of those friendships that never diminishes, no matter how long it’s been. We’re so privileged to have been able to photograph all three of her sweet boys from the very beginning; they have all been such great newborns to love on! Congratulations to you my friend, a true supermom!
~Stefani
Beautiful baby Grace “graced” us with her presence and stole our hearts along the way. Her story is heartwarming in so many ways; her mom and dad adopted her and brought her home from Ghana just a few short months ago. She was only 8 months when we photographed her, and she was already walking and super outgoing and happy. She is obviously a blessing to her parents’ lives, and we felt so honored and blessed to meet and photograph this little angel baby.
Rachel decided to mix it up with her senior portrait session and make some photos in the studio as well as a location near her home. She nailed it of course, bringing excellent clothing and matching attitude. Dead trees, old bridges, open fields and oak trees were just a few of the things that accompanied Rachel in these lovely images. Thanks Rachel for a great time and thanks Sue (Rachel’s mom) for going on the adventure with us (sorry I made you late for book club!) Awesome job Rachel!
The gorgeous Rioux family came to us to mark miss H’s first year with a family portrait and of course, some of the superstar herself. They did such an amazing job with wardrobe selections that unknown to them, we’ve been describing their outfits and color choices to many families we’ve been meeting with lately as what to do for their clothing! Miss H was an absolute doll and one of the easiest 1-year olds ever to photograph. I’m a sucker for tutu’s and big hair accessories on the little girls, and she just nailed it when we asked her to point her toe and drop her chin just a little (haha…if only it were that easy!)….some people are just naturals in front of the camera, and the Rioux’s were it!
Teagan started her first all day pre-school this year (sniff…) and not a moment too soon. Let’s just say, she has become a bit “restless” around the Hays household lately. Once again, Stef and I became invisible once we dropped her off and she rolled in like she had been there all year. Our days are a little less exciting with her gone, but also a bit more quiet..
We got to see one of our very favorite families, the Ferrell’s, this time for baby Ben’s 1 year portrait session. Those of you who have followed us for any amount of time have definitely seen these gorgeous kids before; we’ve photographed them so many times since we met them when mom was expecting Ben. This session was particularly special because the kids’ grandparents were visiting from Kansas City and joined in for their own portrait with the kids, which was then given to grandpa for his birthday gift (more on that later….we got to go to Napa to photograph the extended family on his birthday!). Ben literally has to be one of the happiest kids I’ve ever met….I can’t recall a time I ever saw him really unhappy. Speaks volumes to his wonderful parents….great kids come from great parents!
Some of you who follow our blog might remember the Beard maternity session–momma was wearing hubby’s firefighting turnouts in some of their images and we loved them! The moment we met the Beard’s we loved them, for so many reasons, and when we met Baby J for the first time, we fell in love with him, too! They really wanted to incorporate dad’s helmet this time, and he was almost too big for it but we managed to catch just one shot, and luckily it worked! We love that they have continued the theme of dad’s firefighting profession/passion during their first two sessions, and I have a feeling we’ll end up incorporating it in his next two this year as well. Meet Baby J….
We photographed the Corpuz family at their lovely Roseville home on a July day, when one would expect it to be bright and sunny, but we were in for a little surprise! We hardly saw rain at all this past year, and low and behold, it started to rain right in the middle of summer! Luckily it was only a little bit, and we took cover under their patio for a few minutes to keep from getting damp. That is when this gorgeous family portrait was made….thanks to the sprinkles! They really wanted their family dog, Mr. Cookie, to be in all of the family shots, but he had his own agenda. We did get a few of him, though, and they loved this black & white of him in particular (I think it was the kids’ favorite!).
When Stef asked me to set the alarm for 7am last night, I didn’t expect Reilly would have already been up for a half-hour.
Reilly started second grade today and so did a new morning routine. The lollygagging and late breakfasts have been replaced with “Dad! Hurry up, we’re going to be late!!!” Hopefully the permanent smile she had this morning will continue.
We arrived in plenty of time and within minutes Reilly was re-connecting with friends and checking out new haircuts. Have a great day!
