We met the lovely Dirven family at our very first Vintage Valentine event in 2010.  We have seen them every year since–lucky us!  We feel especially fortunate to get to photograph them, as they travel from over 2 1/2  hours away to come here!  I always know that they will show up with great wardrobe, as mom likes to show their style and personalities off in the portraits.  We actually made these portraits at the end of last summer (yep, we’re that behind on blogging!!) on a beautiful August day.  Hard to believe in just a few short months they’ll be back for their next family portrait!  It’s been such a treat getting to watch these kiddos grow and change, but one thing has stayed the same–their sweet relationship with each other.

We were thrilled to first meet the Beard family when they were expecting their first little miracle, baby J.  We first started with their maternity session (some of you might recall momma in hubby’s firefighter turnouts!) and then documented J’s first year.  We were thrilled when they announced that they were expecting baby #2, who we are debuting here.  We love photographing and spending time with the Beard’s, who we now feel fortunate to call friends, not just clients.  Baby P’s newborn session was no exception to the magic that always seem to happen during their sessions.  They always come in with a few ideas that seem to translate into gorgeous!  We love their willingness to experiment and go “outside the box” when it comes to their portrait sessions.  We should mention that the darling image below of the brothers laying with dad’s gear happened spontaneously–when we mentioned to big brother that it was almost his turn, he went over and leaned down over the baby, thumb in mouth and all!  Love him!  Meet the Beard family, again!

Photographing the Granner family was several years in the making, so we were thrilled when it finally came to fruition!  Jami called me a few years ago when she was expecting little Miss K, inquiring about maternity portraits.  Unfortunately those didn’t end up happening, as complications forced her to bed rest.  Fast forward a couple of years, and I was so excited when we heard from her to bring her kiddos to our Heirlooms & Expressions summer portrait event last year.  It’s always interesting to watch the interaction between older kids and little ones, and this was such a treat, as big brother and big sister doted on little K, as she clearly had them wrapped around their little finger! 🙂  Jami then decided to bring the whole gang back for a complete family session, where the loving nature of this family came through even more.  It’s definitely a testament to great parents when you see great teenagers.  Thanks for sharing them with us! (and of course, little Miss K, too…she’s a show-stealer!).

It’s that time again!  We’re thrilled to announce our 4th annual Mommy & Me Portraits for the Cure event.  This is an opportunity for all the moms out there who are often behind the camera to finally get a great portrait of themselves with their kids, all while donating to a wonderful cause.  We will be photographing on the background shown here, so please plan clothing accordingly (the background is lighter with pale pinks and greens).  Our biggest rule of thumb when it comes to clothing choices is to make sure you aren’t mixing lights and darks too much.  We will have prints ready in time for Father’s Day–hint, hint!  Hope to see you there!

Where to start with the Thumser family?? 🙂  We first met little miss K when she was only a few months old at our Vintage Valentine event last year.  We were so thrilled when the family decided to come back for family portraits some months after that.  So no beating around the bush here–Miss K’s wardrobe and accessories were amazing!  When mom showed up and started pulling out things covered in tulle, lace, and feathers, our hearts skipped a beat.  The best part was that she left her headpieces on long enough to get the shot!  Such a happy little girl-clearly a reflection of her happy, adoring mom and dad.  We had the best time with the Thumser family and can’t wait to see what fashion trends little K starts in the future!

Upon getting to know the Pimentel family at their portrait design consultation, we knew it would be fun capturing the dynamic of this loving family and the different personalities that make it up.  They decided to have their portraits made in Old Sacramento, as it holds special meaning to them for various reasons, including it being the spot where mom and dad first met many years ago.  When we showed up to meet them, we were blown away at how fantastic they all looked!  We loved the style and colors they chose, and the girls all took part in choosing their outfits as well.  It was truly a family affair, as grandma & grandpa came along to help out with the family dog and carrying any extra clothing ,etc.  We had a great time, going from one end of Old Sac to the other and loved the enthusiasm they all exhibited.  Their excitement and effort definitely show through in their portraits–we couldn’t be more thrilled with how they turned out, but more importantly, the Pimentel family loved them ,too!

We are back!  Sorry we’ve been offline for a bit, updating some behind the scenes stuff on the blog.  So happy to be back here sharing the wonderful people we are privileged to work with.  The Cameto family holds a soft spot in our hearts, as we have been through the journey of two maternity sessions, their first baby’s first year and beyond, and now baby sister’s first year is underway.  Since we did their first maternity session in the studio, we all decided to go for something different and venture outside.  It was gorgeous and as always, the wardrobe was perfect! (way to go Sarah!)  This session also doubled as young G’s three-year portraits.  As all sessions seem to be with this family, it was simply magical.  Fast forward a short bit and we were thrilled to meet the newest Cameto, Miss G!  Her newborn session was not too long before Christmas, so it was only appropriate that a few “seasonal” shots were captured, which worked perfectly for their birth announcement/holiday card.  It’s hard to believe that very soon we’ll be seeing baby G for her next Bebe session–can’t wait, as I’m sure it will be fantastic!  Meet the lovely Cameto family–again:

People like the Perry family are the reason we have the best, most blessed job in the world.  We met them several years ago to photograph their young family and have seen them several times since for various things.  When I got the call from Lindsey in October about the family portrait session she wanted to set up, I knew this one would take the cake as far as experiences we are allowed to share with our clients.  She knew by what date she would find out if she was expecting their second child and wanted to use their family portrait session to surprise her husband with the news.  The wheels were set into motion for planning the exact timing, location and wardrobe for the big day.  We did a few family portraits right off the bat and then suggested Ashley change into her second outfit.  While Lindsey changed Ashley, our job was to distract Taylor and get him in the position we wanted him for the big reveal without him getting suspicious.  We had his back to where mom and daughter would walk from.  You can see exactly what happened next here.  James and I were standing quite a bit further back, wiping tears from our own eyes as we watched what was unfolding.  The best part is that big sis had no idea what her shirt said or what was going on; mom just told her it was her “Big Superstar” shirt (they didn’t want to share the news with her just yet since they had literally just found out she was expecting).  They also didn’t want Ashley spreading the news just yet.  So here we are, being given permission to spill the beans–the Perry’s are expecting Baby #2!!  They’re just past the first trimester and wanted to share it with the world.  Congratulations you guys and thanks so much for giving us the unmeasurable privilege of sharing in the very intimate moment with your family. We love you!

When the Krisa’s called and told us they had a new baby boy they wanted us to photograph, we were thrilled.  We first met mom and little miss K several years ago at our very first Vintage Valentine event.  Then when I changed to a new family doctor, Shannon happened to be the PA there.  We were clearly destined to know each other somehow!  So, you can see why we were so excited to learn we’d get to photograph the newest addition to their family, Mr. B.  B was teeny-tiny when he was born, so mom wanted to wait until he had a little meat on him to do portraits.  He was such a cute age, smiling and even sleeping for us!  We’re excited that he’s part of our Bebe Collection and that we’ll see him again soon!  Meet the Krisa family:

Happy New Year!  We hope this finds you filled with plenty of good cheer, good company, and good food after the holidays.  We were fortunate to have all of these things this year (maybe a little too much of the good food…) and look forward to what 2012 has in store. We’re hoping it brings more wonderful people into our lives like the Booth’s, featured here.  We’ve combined the Booth maternity and newborn session here, which is fun to see the progression all at one time.  Mama K was fun and ready for anything, and J, like any good new father-to-be, was willing to do whatever his beautiful bride wanted. 🙂  Their openness made for beautiful images for sure.  Enter Baby B a bit later–what an absolute angel boy!  He was super alert and content for such a new baby–we were fortunate to really see his big alert eyes; at this age most babies are either sleeping or crying…:-)  J & K were beaming new parents, as well they should be, and we especially loved the image with Baby B nestled in on mom’s chest.  Pure, sweet, priceless…

Can’t wait to see them again soon for B’s next session–we can only imagine how fun he’s going to be this time around!  Meet the Booth family: