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…:-).

We have photographed the lovely Martinelli girls on several occasions, but this was an extra-special session, as it was our first introduction to little Miss Kate, the newest addition to the Martinelli clan.  When I first got the call from Koren to schedule the session, chills ran up and down my spine at the news they had brought Kate home from China and were anxious to hang portraits of her in their home, so Kate could see she really was a part of this wonderful family.  I know Koren was a little concerned about how Kate would do in this new, unfamiliar situation, but as you can see, she acted like she was an old pro (I’m sure a little help from her big sisters didn’t hurt!).  We are always thrilled to see this family, and this was definitely a magical session for so many reasons.  Thanks Martinelli’s for entrusting us to create your family’s heirloom artwork!

First off, sorry for the long gap in between posts here!  James & I were in Portland last week teaching and learning at an amazing conference called After Dark Education.  Thanks for bearing with us as we try to catch up–so hard to leave during the busiest time of year, but it was a great experience and we feel fortunate that we were invited to be a part of it.  Now, on to the fabulous Burton family!  We first met the Burton’s when big brother was just a newborn, and we were thrilled to capture baby sister’s entire first year.  This session was the culmination of their Bebe Collection, as Miss R turned 1.  When the clothing choices started coming out, our heads were spinning!  Chandah brought so many great options!  We were thrilled with the fun black & red combo for the family, and all I can say about the fluffy pink dress with the to-die-for headband is LOVE IT!  This is definitely an example of what to wear for your portrait session!  While we love the whole Burton family, I can’t help but gush about little miss R here and how darn cute she is.  She’s quite the serious baby but it was so sweet that the big smiles we got were when mom was playing with her–she knows who’s stocking her closet with all those cute outfits!

Meet the Mitchell’s, one of our favorite Sac-town families that came all the way to San Diego for our beach sessions!  I was so excited the day I got the call from Katie telling me they were going to plan a trip to San Diego around the dates of our sessions. Now, I’ve mentioned before that the weather wasn’t exactly ideal for these sessions; it was windy and pretty chilly, especially considering everyone was dressed for summer!  Having been there and freezing myself, I just have to recognize what troopers everyone was during their sessions, and especially Katie.  By the end of their session, James noticed that her lips were turning blue, but not once did she complain or mention being cold.  Now that’s what I call commitment to getting the perfect family portrait!  (and I just have to mention their awesome clothing choices….the girls’ dresses were a home run, thanks to the Silver Spoon!)

When we first met with Leah, she already had very specific ideas for the session she wanted to do with her 2 darling daughters, including having their dresses all ready to go! (thanks to the Silver Spoon children’s boutique in Roseville)  She knew she wanted to be in a natural, field-like setting with her girls, and we knew just where to go.  We were in a race against time before big sister’s 2 front teeth would fall out…as of today, she’s toothless according to mom!  It was so neat to see the girls’ sweet interactions with mom, and they’ll forever have these images to remind them of this special, innocent time in their lives.  We want to thank all three of the lovely Robinson ladies for their willingness to climb through pokey weeds with bare legs, all in an effort to get the perfect shot!

Yes, it’s already that time again!  For the first time ever, our girls started school on the same day, at the same school today!  Reilly started 3rd grade and Teagan started kindergarten, and I’m not sure who was more excited–us or them!  Everyone was up and ready for school on time and in great moods.  Both girls had their outfits chosen and laid out well in advance.  Now if only we can stay as prepared, on time, and chipper as we all were this morning….one can have dreams, I suppose!  For today, at least, it fantastic!  As you can see from the photos, Reilly was much more concerned with getting to school and seeing her friends than posing for pictures.  Teagan was more excited about her outfit and shoes.  🙂  They both had a great day to what is sure to be a fantastic school year for both.  Congratulations to all of you parents out there experiencing the joy of back-to-school!

We met the Reid family for the first time on the beautiful beach at Coronado Island.  They are friends of our friends & clients, the McGuckin’s, who moved to San Diego a few years back.  The McGuckin family had their own beach portraits made last January, and when they heard we were coming down for beach sessions again, they told their friends (thanks for that, by the way!).  It’s unusual for us to meet a family for the first time at the session, but the Reid’s were so warm and friendly that it took no time at all for the kids to turn it on for the camera.  The kids were full of life and had no reservations about showing all of us!  We especially loved the interaction between the family, who clearly have a very close, loving relationship.  One thing about our beach sessions we didn’t expect in June–wind!  It wasn’t exactly calm and balmy for any of our beach sessions, and we just want to say thanks to everyone who came out and played with us and braved the conditions….you’d never know by the images that it wasn’t a warm summer day!

We knew when we met the Cosentino family that theirs would be a lively session with their 2 sweet kiddos.  Young L had all the energy and excitement that any little boy should, and Miss P was at the perfect point of “almost” walking (our favorite!).  The session was not only a family session, but also Miss P’s one-year portraits–she had the outfits and accessories to put any woman to shame! 🙂  The Cosentino’s are so warm and lovely, and we were thrilled to be able to capture this special time in their young family’s life.

We go way back with the Olson family–big brother was just a baby the first time we met and photographed them!  We still fondly refer to G as “Cheerio boy” because mom had to throw Cheerios at him to get him to stay in one spot.  Hence, there were a lot of images from that first session of him eating!  Things have changed quite a bit in those years since, and we are thrilled that the Olson’s have come back to us several times to document the growth of their beautiful family.  This time around, the timing was set to capture G’s last bit of his baby teeth smile.  I’m guessing next time around will be to do the same for Miss A…time goes by so quickly!