Abalos Family - Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve

One of the best things about photography is how it enables me to connect with people and offer them something valuable that they will be able to treasure for a lifetime, and even pass down to their children. Sometimes these are people I already know, like friends or family members, and sometimes it's people that I get connected with because they find me online or through a referral. Either way, it's always a pleasure to connect through photography!

In the case of Alice and her family, she was actually a high school classmate who I became friends with through Journalism and Yearbook class (which believe it or not, I was actually the news editor for, not the photographer- go figure!). Alice and I were Facebook friends and she had seen my post about Winter Mini Sessions I was having, so she contacted me through messenger. She and her husband Jason had been wanting to take family portraits with their beautiful baby girl and they just so happened to live relatively close to where I was having the sessions. So, long story short, they booked me and we had a wonderful time catching up and shooting the session! They even asked me if they could bring their furry fourth family member to the to the session. Of course, I said yes! The light couldn't have been more perfect that afternoon as I took photos of their entire family at Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve. 

Thank you Abalos family for letting me capture your beautiful family!

And as a bonus, here are some photos I took of the prints they ordered from the session. I love it when my clients order prints! As with all my prints, they are printed on high quality archival paper that will last them a lifetime and more.

If you are interested in getting beautiful family portraits taken of your family. Check out my current mini-session offer by clicking the link below!

Spring Mini Sessions Available

Rema Family Vacation - Encinitas Beach Lifestyle / Portrait Session

San Diego is a great place to visit in the summer. It's not too hot, there's a relaxed vibe all around, lots of things to do, and we've got some pretty awesome beaches. I wasn't surprised then when a fellow photographer (thanks Leif!) referred a family to me that was vacationing in San Diego and wanted to take family portraits at the beach. The Rema family wasn't just in San Diego to get away from the blazing Arizona sun, however. The trip was their way of celebrating both their daughter's fifth birthday, as well as their tenth wedding anniversary (Congrats on both awesome milestones!). They decided to commemorate the occasion with a beautiful beach portrait session on their last morning in SD, and in a last minute search for a photographer they met and hired me. And I'm glad they did, because it turned out to be a great session. Mom was wearing a beautiful traditional Indian Sarong at first, then the whole family did a wardrobe change into a brighter palette that complimented the beach setting very well. Beautiful family! See for yourself...

Thank you Rema family for inviting me to document your milestones during your vacation! Congratulations again!

Vacationing in San Diego this summer?
Contact me to book your family session today.

Rose Family - Backyard Lifestyle Session on Film

It's been about three years now since I shot the Rose family's portraits in their backyard on an overcast San Diego Saturday afternoon. I had done a newborn session for them when their daughter was born, and at the time of this shoot they had just recently become a family of four.  Clint, a Navy Veteran who is now an engineer, is a good friend who I met at work, and Kerri is an amazing high school teacher who makes a difference in kids' lives every day. They are an awesome couple with two adorable kids.  When they asked me to shoot their family portraits, I said, 'why not'? Only at the time, I didn't realize that my Canon DSLR was on its last legs. So, when my camera broke sometime before the day of the shoot, I had to find some other way to make pictures that didn't involve my broken camera. As luck would have it, I had my Uncle Ray's old Minolta Maxxum 35mm film camera (which I am still technically borrowing from him), and I ended up shooting the whole thing on film- and at that point I hadn't shot film in many years.  The following photos are the result.

Since I was gifting the shoot, I figured if things didn't turn out that great, they could always hire someone else to do it. Well, as you can see for yourself, the results were far from disastrous and I actually look back at that day as the 'genesis' of my decision to pursue family photography professionally. If I had failed miserably that I day, I probably would not be choosing what I believe is one of the most difficult photography professions to excel in. But despite the challenge, I had so much fun and felt like I was able to create images that would remind the Rose family of this very specific time in their lives and allow them to cherish it for decades.

Next time I'll talk about what a lifestyle session is and why I believe it's the best way to document a family's unique story at any given time in their lives.

If you want to schedule a lifestyle or portrait session for your family, contact me today.