Meet Kolbie – class of 2013.  A lovely day for senior portraits, Kolbie braved her way through many mosquitos to get these fabulous shots.  Thanks for all the dancing and jumping, you were great!  Here are some faves.

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 are overwhelmed with the support shown this year once again for our Toys 4 Tots Santa portrait charity event.  We were thrilled to see nearly 300 families and collect such amazing toy donations from our generous community!  We also want to thank our co-sponsor, Northern California Dance Conservatory, for their help in making this event a success.  Below are just a few highlights from last weekend’s event.  If you attended, please don’t forget that your prints will be available for pickup (at the studio)  this Tuesday, Dec. 18 from 11am-1pm and Wednesday, Dec. 19 from 4-6pm.

We thought we’d whet your appetite a bit for the big Costumes & Cans post still to come with a few of our own girls.  We get so busy with our Costumes & Cans charity event each year at this time that getting our own kids into the studio in their costumes is a bit of a challenge (code for–we didn’t even get them in the studio in their costumes last year!).  I was feeling pretty guilty and decided we could squeeze it in today between school, homework, and Teagan’s guitar lesson.  The girls were excited to get in full costume with hair and makeup (which may not even happen to this extent on Halloween since Reilly will be at gymnastics until at least 6:30pm!).  Our 10-year old, Reilly, chose a gypsy/fortune teller costume and Teagan chose a flapper costume, even though she has no idea what a flapper is! (the power of sequins and feathers for a 7 year-old!).  Teagan was so impressed with herself that she requested to be on next year’s promo piece for our Costumes & Cans event!  Here are a few favorites…they each chose their full-body individual images here–we are getting a taste of how picky girls can be about themselves in portraits!  Happy Halloween!!

Meet Nicole.

Nicole had a special look in mind for her senior portraits and I was totally on board.  Day of the session, the weather was fantastic and everything that could have gone right…did.  Perfect wardrobe, and Nicole was wonderful in front of the lens.  She even braved the pond, pollywogs and all.  Thank you Nicole for the adventure.

Some faves.

Meet Alyssa.  Alyssa decided to have her senior portraits made at the lovely Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego.  Gorgeous weather (of course) and perfectly planned wardrobe with the help of mom (Rene).  We started inside and just wandered the hallways, staircases and huge rooms in the Del.  As the sun started to set we moved outside for more fun in the sand and surf.  Alyssa’s hair performed perfectly in the wind as she danced around.  Such a great session.  Here are some faves.

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!

Meet Jordan.

This was a very special session as Jordan came all the way from Republic, Missouri for her senior portrait experience. She found us through a mutual friend on Facebook and just had to come out.  We booked the session several months in advance, did some clothing consulting via phone/text message, and worked out the details and looks.  Everything looked good until about a week before the session, and the weather looked like rain.  Everyone was on pins and needles but the plane tickets were already set so the session was on rain or shine.  It rained for several days, then magically cleared up the day of the session, and returned the day after…crazy!  Everything that could have gone right did, with perfect patches of flowers, gorgeous light, cooperating butterflies, and a great hair day for Jordan.  Thank you Jordan, LaRae (mom), and Molly for such an incredible experience.

Here are some faves.

Meet Savannah.  We decided on Old Sacramento as the location for Savannah’s senior portraits, a perfect setting for her diverse wardrobe.  As we wandered the streets and alley ways, we both found all kinds of interesting places to make photos.  Brick, ivy, twinkle lights, old buildings…it was almost distractingly beautiful.  Savannah was great at blending in with the environment & mood, and was perfectly comfortable in front of the lens.  Thanks for such a wonderful day!  Here are some faves.

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!).