Round two of our castle senior sessions this time starring Kyla, a ballerina.  I will admit, it did take some coaxing to talk Kyla’s mom into a senior portrait session in a dilapidated castle but when she arrived, she knew we were all in for something special.

It took no coaxing at all however for Kyla to dance and float about room to room (yes including the haunted one) and give a stunning performance in front of the lens.  The light and texture of this place is always incredible and it contrasted fantastically with Kyla’s wardrobe.  We photographed until dark (even a bit later than that) and still didn’t even scratch the surface of this enormous building.

Thank you Kyla for your gracefulness and your fearless attitude, it was another magical day for me.

Some faves.

It’s that time of year again!  We’re excited to announce our 3rd annual Mommy & Me Portraits for the Cure event, where we raise money to support breast cancer research.  This year we’re keeping it local and donating the proceeds to the Placer Breast Cancer Endowment.  As usual, the event will be held at The Silver Spoon children’s boutique.  No appointments are needed, so just come in while we’re there!  The portraits will be made like those you see here, so dark colors will photograph the best.  We want to say a special “thank you” to the three lovely women and their kids who are featured here and have each been affected by breast cancer in different ways.  You are all strong, courageous, and deserve to be celebrated!

We thoroughly enjoyed the Speaking family for many reasons, one of which included their great wardrobe!  When we saw little Miss A’s adorable pink outfit, we knew she’s be stealing the show.  That is until, we saw mom’s shoes (and dress, and hair, and make-up)!  Dad wasn’t too shabby either (don’t want to make him feel left out…:-).  A was such a happy, sparkly-eyed little girl, and we couldn’t have been more thrilled with this session and getting to know this lovely family.  Meet the Speaking’s:

When Miss S and her mom showed up for their last session, we were overwhelmed with the amount of amazing clothing options we had to choose from.  We knew we wanted to capture some of the beautiful fall leaves, but the weather was not on our side–the ground was completely soaked, and there was no way we were going to sit her down in her gorgeous silk dress–so we decided to haul a chair outside and improvise!  It started raining moments after we got what we wanted, so we ventured in to the much warmer (and drier!) studio to finish off her session.  Even though S had an incredible wardrobe for such a little peanut, I think my favorite image from the entire session is this first one, where she’s wearing nothing but her headband.  Just goes to show a little accessory can go a long way!  Meet Miss S (again….):

When we first spoke with the Waterbury’s and learned they wanted their family to be photographed in a rice field, we were so intrigued!  It turns out they are rice farmers and this wide expanse of land is all theirs, and it was close to harvest time.  Their idea was to schedule the portrait session in early fall, right before the harvest.  We were so excited and thankful that they had a couple of spots in mind, because our heads were spinning with the overwhelming options.  Laura did such a great job planning their clothing, as she had one set of clothes to be photographed with one look, by their neighbors totally awesome barn, and then another set of clothes for the rice field images (little S’s great dress was from the Silver Spoon).  It was so special watching the kids run around free on their land, something so few children today can experience.  Capturing the relationships of a family is always important, but documenting this time in their life on their farm, that they plant and harvest, which defines so much about their lives, was amazing and truly an honor for us.  Thank you so much to the Waterbury’s for sharing their ideas, land, and precious children with us for a few hours.  (it should also be noted that very soon after these photographs were taken, brother decided to give little sis a haircut…:-).

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!  Here are a few highlights from our recent Vintage Valentine event.  Thanks again to all who came!

First off, sorry for the lack of posting–we’ve been knee deep in Vintage Valentine sessions!  Thanks for continuing to check back…

You might recall a recent maternity post from the Ferrell family in Lake Tahoe.  Well, this sweet baby girl arrived just a few weeks later.  Meet baby V…she is baby #4 for the Ferrell family and just as sweet as can be.  It’s so fun to meet a new sibling and see how she resembles (or not) the other kids.  In this family there is no mistaking the kids are siblings.  Looking forward to her next session in a few months…stay tuned!

We first met the Pope’s during an extended family session in Napa, when they were just newly expecting.  They live on the other side of the country, so we were thrilled to get the call that they would be visiting family here in town and wanted to bring their sweet baby girl in for a session.  Miss V was the perfect little subject and could not have been any cuter.  When we then got the news that they will soon be moving to California, we were even more excited (hoping that this is not the last time we are fortunate enough to photograph this lovely family…:-).  Wishing you a very smooth and uneventful move!

Since it’s cold and dreary outside, we thought you all might enjoy a flashback to summer and warmer times.  At the end of summer we joined one of our favorite families in Lake Tahoe for a departure from our typical studio maternity sessions.  We first met the Ferrell’s for Heidi’s last maternity session with baby #3, who is now a darling 2 year old boy.  Fast forward a couple of years and they were back to document baby #4 (2nd girl) before she arrived in September.  We were thrilled at the prospect of a beach maternity session on the shores of beautiful Lake Tahoe.  The best part is that they trekked down hills and across boulders to get to a spot not completely packed with summer vacationers.  The kids thought this was quite an adventure, of course!  We had a wonderful time with them, as we always do, and the things that stand out in my mind the most about this session were Heidi’s willingness to try new things, and their ability as a couple to still connect and focus on each other as if this were their first baby, all while their other 3 children were on the verge of falling off rocks or jumping into the lake.  Meet the fabulous Ferrell’s (again)!

It’s that time of year already!  This time around we are hosting our Vintage Valentine sessions at our studio in Roseville and are so excited to introduce our newest angel wings and custom-made tutu sets.  We will also be offering beautiful Valentine cards just like last year, as well as newly designed offerings to showcase your breathtaking images.  The best part is that we have all of the tutus, wings, and headpieces, so all you have to do is show up (see examples below for ideas on what type of clothing to bring for the sweet little boys in your life).  These mini-sessions will book up quickly, so be sure to call early to reserve your date/time.