Stacey and Ty are truly genuine people, I loved them from the first email! I had great ideas for their engagement session from the moment she told me she trusted me. When clients give me free rein, I feel like that’s when I do my best work because I’m able [...]]]>

Stacey and Ty are truly genuine people, I loved them from the first email! I had great ideas for their engagement session from the moment she told me she trusted me. When clients give me free rein, I feel like that’s when I do my best work because I’m able to be as creative as I like and I have the opportunity to surprise them. Stacey really wanted something more relaxed, nothing fancy so my plan was to just create a lovely atmosphere for them. I took them to one of the best locations that I know of in our area; Heritage Oak Winery; such a wonderful location! The owner of Heritage Oak Winery is extremely accommodating, nice and knows how to take care of clients, and his wine is marvelous too! The weather was perfect; warm but not too hot, a little breeze but nothing to fuss about or mess hair up. When my couple arrived I had them taste some wine while my hubby and I went and set up their picnic. We left our setup to go get my couple and on the way back, as soon as we pulled up and put it into part; I watched a large tree branch break off the oak tree and crash right on top of my beautiful picnic!!!! I had beautiful lanterns, wine glasses, wine bottles….ahhhh! I was livid! I took a few breaths and just thanked my lucky stars that my couple wasn’t sitting under it when it happened. Apparently someone was looking out for them too, to make it happen prior to them sitting under it, that or someone wanted to push my buttons ahaha. Either way, I’m thankful they didn’t get hurt. Nature is wild after all. It did make for some funny moments through out our session like when we joked that the wild jack rabbit that kept hoping around us must have grew wings, flew up and was bouncing on the branches to purposely sabotage our setup. Overall, it was a really great session at the winery/vineyard! Lots of beautiful portraits and moments shared between my couple!! After the winery, I took the couple over to downtown Lodi and did some city shots which are also, very nice! Downtown Lodi’s citizens were less then lovely, but we all held our ground and still had a great time!

Thank you so much for choosing me to capture this time in your lives. I truly hope I am able to be there for you on your special day. I have no doubt it will be just as beautiful, if not more!!

Enjoy.

Welcome to an educational blog!!! It’s been a while!!

You ALL know Ryan Tamayo; videographer of choice for me, what about you?! I know that at least three of my to-be-wedded couples have chosen his beautiful work!! I had the amazing opportunity to mentor Ryan, and what [...]]]>

Welcome to an educational blog!!! It’s been a while!!

You ALL know Ryan Tamayo; videographer of choice for me, what about you?! I know that at least three of my to-be-wedded couples have chosen his beautiful work!! I had the amazing opportunity to mentor Ryan, and what was even better is that our little model was his beautiful newborn daughter. Ryan is bless, like me, with a boy and a girl. Lucky man! They will drive you batty for the first three years, but once they hit that fourth year they get pretty awesome together!! Nothing cuter then watching your little baby boy who you thought would never grow up from those stinky diapers, run over and pick up his baby sister and kiss her boo-boo and tell her “it’s okay, i love you”. That’s the moment that will make everything just sparkle. Enough mama emotional talk haha. Ryan’s little girl was amazing!! I think I just might have annoyed them when we were doing our session with how many times I looked over just to say, “OMG she’s AMAZING”..! HAHA. From the moment we walked in and set up she was quiet as a mouse.

Her mommy got her out of her crib and took her out of her jammies, only then she opened her eyes and made a statement, but as soon as I got a hold of her and rocked her a little she was right back asleep. Newborns of all shapes, sizes, and ages are ALL different in many many ways. All of you are pry rolling your eyes and thinking, “duh!” but you really don’t understand until you have to handle them on a weekly basis. Think of them as teeny tiny people; really. They have likes and dislikes and they protest in all different kinds of ways. Sweet Adrianna was perfect and it’s hard to give advice on working around the fussy baby with this one, but…..she still had her preferences like no other sweet newborn I’ve ever had. When I was rocking her she didn’t just want to be rocked, she wanted to bounce a little and sway a little at the same time. If I didn’t do this she fought the eyes closing. She also loved to be stroked on the nose brim, which many babies tend to adore; so try that one out!!

After a few minutes of rocking her to sleep in diaper only, I loosened the diaper and laid her down. At this point baby always fusses a little in protest to not having cuddles any more. Some babies are okay with being naked, but most aren’t. My go to tactic is laying a on-hand blanket over baby’s back and tucking in their legs and feet and holding with one hand to feel secure while my other hands holds baby’s head and that thumb strokes the nose brim. Another trick, in this particular situation it’s key, you will want a heater on baby (not too close remember baby is new and skin is sensitive) and a noise machine. With the noise machine, each baby has a preference; big time!! I’ve had baby’s HATE the noise, some love any noise and others are very particular about it. Adrianna loved my silly excuse for a heartbeat that really sounded like a horse trotting haha, and she liked it right by her head.

Trick is to start with the cuddly positions first on the blanket backdrops. So here you will want to do a wrap or blanket draped. Adrianna did so well with going right into a very smiley deep sleep that I went straight for the naked poses and then right into the tricky pose. When doing wrap shots your best bet is to focus on the little details rather then moving baby to completely different situations, because at this point you want the baby to fall into a deep sleep while you just fiddle with things. Push fingers down; no curls! Watch that chin/neck/cheeks; they get smushed and makes baby look like someone they are not. Watch those feet and toes; be sure to crisscross them and tuck them in to cover up the unmentionables.

By now baby should be asleep, if not, ask yourself what could baby not be liking and change the situation to make baby more comfortable! Babies are sensitive, not all of them “sleep like babies” so from the moment you walk in the door you need to keep an eye on the entire situation and the environment and asses it as your work with the baby. Again, all babies have different preferences so if baby is still fussy and not sleeping the chances are there is something bothering baby. Typically, its the new and foreign situation arising in his/her home, but with special care it can be overcome! I’ve had babies who’ve hated a blanket texture, a hat, a noise, and even mommy being near can disturb them because they smell milk and want to eat all the time.

When it comes to those tricky poses that you see; baby in a hammock, a net hanging in a tree, on a book shelf, in buckets or baskets, or even the chin up on their hands, please keep in mind that each and everyone of these beautifully pulled off shots are in FACT composition shots and require an extra pair of hands, tripod, a smart mind and a heart. Never put baby in a compromising position; EVER! If baby isn’t SOUND asleep and you do not have an extra pair of hands, do not attempt the shot for the sake of getting “the picture” it’s never worth the baby’s health or life; ever!

There are many many tricks to these beautiful little beings and getting those amazing shots; more then I think I could write about and that is why I agreed to mentor Ryan and show him a few things of my own. When it comes down to it, there is no special tactic or “right” way of Newborn Photography. It comes down to WHO you are as a person and how strong is your passion for your clients and your work. I absolutely adore my job and even more, I can not get enough of the amazing people I work with! I do believe that is what helps me over come so many obstacles, even if they are fussy babies haha.

Adrianna’s Newborn session went amazing. I believe that she slept for us for about an hour and a half solid, and we were able to get all the shots we needed! Through the whole thing, I made sure that Ryan was set up with his camera just like I was so that he was able to get an experience like I was getting. Next time, if there is one Ryan, when I mentor you you will not be given such an easy route haha! The first time is always an intro and you can’t learn if you don’t sweat a little with us big timer Newborn photogs!

With all that said; I absolutely adored being the teacher and having someone look up to me in that manor. I hope that I am able to mentor more people in the future!!

Enjoy her photos!!

Her amazing starter shots

Prop shots

The tricky composition shot and her tiny details

Family!

and who doesn’t love pullbacks?

Karina and Adam were wonderful clients right from the get-go; paying their dues, signing their contracts and mailing them to me, and following up with their outfits. Truly what I admire as the “it” client. We hadn’t met Karina or Adam until their session date, and to be honest that [...]]]>

Karina and Adam were wonderful clients right from the get-go; paying their dues, signing their contracts and mailing them to me, and following up with their outfits. Truly what I admire as the “it” client. We hadn’t met Karina or Adam until their session date, and to be honest that always makes me nervous, but they were great! Right off the bat, these two were very nice and felt like close friends. The weather was a typical spring day; scattered showers and patches of sun peeking through the clouds. Even though it was raining, this couple had absolutely no care in the world! I couldn’t believe how sweet and comfortable they were with the rain and just being together as a couple. You can truly tell they have something very special amongst them. Through out the shoot I had them getting more and more comfortable, displaying lots of “pda”!! As time ticked and they started getting more comfortable I could really pick up on their feelings. I loved how Adam was just swoon over Karina; every time she spoke or touched him he would instantly gaze at her. Beautiful. They are a very cute couple!! I had so much fun with them. Towards the end of our session, I was taking that one last shot when Good Day Sacramento came over and asked to interview my couple, and thank god that they were up to it because it just made their experience that much more special to them!! I loved watching them cuddle as they were getting interviewed about the weather and their engagement session!! Production value for sure!!! All in all; beautiful couple, very great individuals, and lovely pictures!! I REALLY hope that when Adam is ready to pop the question (hint, hint, hint) that he will come back to me. Adam, NO PRESSURE haha…take your time, I’m not going anywhere and I don’t think your beautiful lady is either….but dont wait too long….ahaha. Hope that you all enjoyed their story and hope you enjoy there pictures.

Referrals, referrals, referrals; I can’t say enough how wonderful they are! Little Charlotte’s Mama is the sister of one of my other client’s whom I did Newborn Portraits for not that long ago. This new family is equally as adorable as their family!! Sweet little Charlotte had me at first [...]]]>

Referrals, referrals, referrals; I can’t say enough how wonderful they are! Little Charlotte’s Mama is the sister of one of my other client’s whom I did Newborn Portraits for not that long ago. This new family is equally as adorable as their family!! Sweet little Charlotte had me at first sight with all the hair she has; I was so utterly excited!!! When we started to set up she was quickly on her way to sleepy-land. We got set up, and started out with Charlotte and her big sister who is three. At first, like every single newborn I’ve worked with, Charlotte objected a little to the whole idea. With a few poses, a feeding, and a rocking from grandma; she was ready to go. We tried again and even though she was doing the most adorable pout and smiley faces, she was still putting up a fight. She was a tough little cookie who certainly had an opinion on everything, but another quick feeding, daddy loves, and a scene change; she quickly got VERY comfortable and it was “Game-on” for me. I’ve found that babies typically hate being moved from scene to scene or, different blankets, baskets, etc. What usually works is to try the “Scene” you want to use first, sometimes baby doesnt go for it but chances are if you keep trying something new baby will eventually fall in love with something. Charlotte adored the purple ruffle blanket and the heartbeat on my sound machine. What she didn’t like was my new fabrics I bought for her session, and the hat her mama bought for the session, but everything worked out perfectly and we got some pretty adorably.

I have had the amazing opportunity to work with this beautiful family TWICE before for sweet baby Blythe’s newborn portraits. She, to this day, has been my only little newborn to give me a run for the money!! Her mama and I still joke with one another about when she [...]]]>

I have had the amazing opportunity to work with this beautiful family TWICE before for sweet baby Blythe’s newborn portraits. She, to this day, has been my only little newborn to give me a run for the money!! Her mama and I still joke with one another about when she was a newborn, how she didnt want to be a model. Absolutely no worries though, because she’s absolutely perfect now!!! I adore this family to pieces, and now that I was able to meet Blythe’s daddy, it’s even more perfect. I honestly had myself psyched out that he was going to be a grouch or something because Blythe and her mommy were far too perfect….that’s the way the world works sometimes, but I was soooooo wrong. Blythe’s daddy is just as perfect as his two pretty ladies are!!! It was such a pleasure to work with all three of them and I can not wait till the next time. Blythe was such a good little lady; giving us tons of smiles and pretty big blue eyes that looked right into the camera!!! For their portraits I wanted to embrace the love between so it seemed that the best thing to do for their wardrobe would be to keep it fresh and minimal; I decided to have them dress in white. It looked beautiful with the sun flare and the tall green grass!!! Thank you again for inviting me back into your family’s life to capture the love between you three, you three embody love like I’ve never seen before within a family; it’s beautiful!!

When I first met Jenny and Matt I could tell that we were going to all get a long really great. They are so laid back and easy to talk to to the point that every time I am around them I think I talk their heads off! They are [...]]]>

When I first met Jenny and Matt I could tell that we were going to all get a long really great. They are so laid back and easy to talk to to the point that every time I am around them I think I talk their heads off! They are definitely people that you would love to call your friend. For their engagement session we all decided that an amusement park of great measure would be amazing, and that is exactly what we planned! The weather was a little on the warm side, but honestly perfect for water rides and roller coasters. Jenny and Matt did a wonderful job just being themselves! I styled their outfits to be colorful and fun so that they could stand out from the crowd and the busy background, and let me tell you; Jenny looked amazing! After walking the park together and capturing cute things that popped out to us, we decide to hide away the camera and have a ride together! What a better way to bond with your wedding clients then to jump on the “scariest” ride in the park; Medusa!? I think we all handled it pretty well and all screamed our heads off, but it was a blast!!! I wish we could have spent the whole day with Jenny and Matt, but they had a tux fitting to get to so they left the fun in our hands. Thank you so much Jenny and Matt for such an amazingly fun engagement session that is sure to be remembered for days!!!!! I hope that you all enjoy their pictures!!

Where do I even begin with this couple? They have been amazing clients since they were referred to me by another wonderful client of mine; Morgan! Referrals are the absolute best, they never let me down! Vinny and Ruth came to me in hopes that I was available for their [...]]]>

Where do I even begin with this couple? They have been amazing clients since they were referred to me by another wonderful client of mine; Morgan! Referrals are the absolute best, they never let me down! Vinny and Ruth came to me in hopes that I was available for their wedding. At first, signals were mixed and dates were confused; it seemed like I wouldn’t be able to do their wedding. After what seemed to not be very much arm twisting, Vinny decided he wanted to have me as their photographer no matter what just based on being a referral and what they’ve seen me do so far. They then decided to find a new venue to match my availability! Can you believe that!? Absolutely flattering; indeed! The best compliment yet, really. I am so grateful that they trusted me, and that they made adjustments so that I could capture this special time in their lives. Like every couple, during a consultation I ask about an engagement session and what are your desires for it as the client. This wonderful couple put it all in mine hands. That sounds really scary and can be if you have a flaky couple, but my couple has been wonderful from the moment they said, “We trust you. What do you have in mind?” My idea was, after getting to know then a little, “airplanes”. Hubby and I have been dieing to break the boundaries and take a couple to a near by airport that we’ve had our eye on. They agreed and from there I planned everything; props, outfits, makeup and hair, location, you name it! After many, what seemed to be silent insults from the location, I finally got in touch with the person I needed to talk to in order to get access to the airport. It was completely worth it! Thank you so much to the Lodi Airport’s office/airport owner Bob for not only granting me access to the entire airport, he provided me one of his personal airplanes so that I could get my couple up close and personal with one! A wave of his finger and two guys became me “little people” for an hour that day! I got to say where I wanted the airplane and when I wanted it; it was quite nice! Again, I am so thankful because they absolutely did not have to do a thing for me, so thank you again to them. Once I got Vinny, Ruth and their awesome pup Brody there, everything went wonderfully. Really a great session!!! Without further a due; the collages are below with a little more story telling. Enjoy.

Ruth & Vinny are going to “get hitched” in the beautiful City Hall in San Fransico with a few very close family members. My concept for their shoot was based on the fact that their “ceremony” was sort of an elopement, so I wanted the shoot to reflect that. Vinny & Ruth would arrive to the airport in Vinny’s awesome little car which was all decked out!

I love to make each session as much of an unique experience as I can so, for Vinny & Ruth I wanted to actually have their prop postcards to be REAL to them. I had each of them write something special to one another on a custom made postcard. Each post card was something relating to SF. Now it might not be much, but it’s something sweet that they can hold onto when the big day comes, or just tuck away in a memory box to look at in later years.

Vinny wrote, “I’m glad you winked at me. I love you.” with a very cute address to Ruth. Ruth wrote, “There is no one else I would embark on this adventure with.” also with a very adorable address to Vinny. And of course, we had to show off that STUNNING engagement ring, and her custom made map flower bouquet that I made her.

Waiting in a beautiful field of wildflowers for their airplane. And one with their pup Brody who also, can’t keep his eyes off these two!

..and once the airplane arrived we captured their very sweet and romantic final moments before being swept off to SF.

as we did our shoot, we had many sky divers in the background but because they were so far away they looked like birds so I wanted to just wanted to highlight one.

…..I would LOVE to say, “and they lived happily ever after” and REALLY flew off to SF. but that time hasn’t technically come yet. However, I am excited to say that I will in fact be there to capture their wedding day and be able to say “they lived happily ever after”, very soon!! I hope that you enjoyed this shoot as much as I did!!

Their love story:

Stephanie and Juanito went to the same high school, but never seen one another until they met through mutual friends around a year after high school; since then have been together for seven years! Their anniversary has now become their wedding date, and forever may [...]]]>

Their love story:

Stephanie and Juanito went to the same high school, but never seen one another until they met through mutual friends around a year after high school; since then have been together for seven years! Their anniversary has now become their wedding date, and forever may it be special and memorable to them!

My Story:

Stephanie and Juanito are truly both amazing people. When I first met them, which was in the very beginning of this whole wedding career, I was slightly intimidated with how confidant they were as a whole. They walked with one another with such confidence and assurance, there was no missing how comfortable they were together as a couple. When I was finally able to work with them on their engagement session, I was stunned. They were the exact couple I ever dreamed of working with. Their engagement photos were amazing and I knew their wedding would be nothing less then spectacular! Several months after their engagement session, we were all finally making those last minute adjustments for their big day; I could not believe it. I met up with Stephanie a couple times for ordering and planning, and I could not believe how happy she was. All my brides are happy, but she just radiates beyond all belief; I didn’t think she could be any happier, that is, until I seen her on her wedding day lol!! She giggled and laughed and smiled so much I couldn’t help but be as happy as she was; all day! The groom; nervous, seemed a little scared at first when we arrived but once we got to talking and his boys showed up you could see the excitement just grow, and the happiness in his smile just radiate throughout!! The day was starting out wonderfully. The guys were great, the weather was great, we were on time, and everything was wonderful. When we left the guys to head over to their venue, every light pole and street sign had a purple balloon on it. I am more then sure it was for a special event in the downtown Stockton area, but I absolutely loved the serendipity in it. Their wedding colors were purple, and even better was that as soon as you left their home it was on every pole till you hit the freeway! It at least made me smile for the couple! Once on the road only blocks away from The River Mill, my hubby and I noticed a bunch of things in the street……we got closer and…I couldn’t help but get excited and laugh. At this point I think Stephanie has really worn off on me with how happy and giggly I was. There was at least a dozen goats running all over the street. It looked beautiful how they were escaping with the amazing landscape and beautiful clouds. Quick pictures in the collages below. Soon after, we met up with the bride and got very busy with taking pictures. The wedding party was amazing with helping out and they handled my requests wonderfully!!! Stephanie and Juanito should be really thankful, as am I, that they did so great or else we wouldn’t have as great of pictures! Helping hands are amazing, and smiling faces look even more amazing!! Stephanie was never once, EVER, even an ounce of bridezilla. She was the sweetest person the entire day; making sure to take time to think of the people around her. Even when a few things went wrong during their ceremony, she didn’t bust out the bridezilla. Their ceremony was beautiful. The custom portraits were AMAZING and we got everything that we both wanted! The reception was a blast to capture!! The dinner was so yummy, and thank you so much you two for feeding us! Overall; amazing, amazing aaaaaaaaamazing wedding!!!! I am so in love with these two and how well everything turned out, that I simply could not limit this blog; it had to be shared for the masses. If you read this, please leave comments.

Stephanie and Juanito; enjoy!

The venue welcome

the groom’s details

the guys

all in their “swag”

her beautiful details

her arrival and putting on the dress

beautiful!

pre-wedding pics, but they didnt see each other until the ceremony

venue details

bride in waiting, the moment he seen her and the moment she seen him!!! LOVE LOVE LOVE

the ceremony

wedding party pics

officially husband and wife!

when all else fails, breath and love one another….they just happen to have me their to help make this a beautiful moment to remember!

the first dance

reception details

garter!!

bouquet!!

cake cake cake…and dancing!

candids of me n my beautiful bride!

One last thank you to everyone who made their wedding so beautiful! The venue coordinator Erin, the DJ, the videographer, and their family and friends; thank you all!

I have been photographing this beautiful little lady, and her family, since she was a newborn! Now, we are at her nine month milestone capturing super adorable things that she does! I’d have to say that nine months has to be, by far, my most favorite!! She has so much [...]]]>

I have been photographing this beautiful little lady, and her family, since she was a newborn! Now, we are at her nine month milestone capturing super adorable things that she does! I’d have to say that nine months has to be, by far, my most favorite!! She has so much character and I love how she lets you know exactly how she feels, which 90% of the time it was HAPPY! She’s certainly a perfect little lady with a pretty perfect mommy and daddy. I couldn’t be more in love with this family and this little girl. Capturing and watching their growth through the months has definitely put them in a special place in my heart.

For Zoey’s 9 month session we had originally planned an Old Sacramento session which was scheduled to be stormed on so the whole thing got canceled. We rescheduled with rain in mind, and let me tell you, everything happens for a reason; this new session we had planned came out beautiful. I couldn’t have imagined it to be any prettier or more lovely then this! Seriously, a million special moments were captured!! My approach was a natural, child-like essences to the photos with a reflection on what Zoey was doing at this ninth month stage. Her mommy told me she loves to play outside at the park, she loves her puppies, she likes to pick things up with her fingers and eat her snacks, she can’t get enough of peek-a-boo, and best of all; she LOVES to play with toilet paper! I captured each of these special things that she does, and I couldn’t be more thrilled with how everything turned out.

I find it a little hard to even think this once a teeny tiny newborn has become (so fast) a beautiful little lady. Now we have to plan her 12 month BIG GIRL session! Eeek. I can not wait to celebrate this big milestone with them and capture it!! I have something very beautiful and fun planned for Zoey!!! Stay tuned; three months from now

Now, what you’ve all been waiting for, her beautiful photos; enjoy!!!

In the field. I shared ones that I didn’t post on Facebook. These are my other favorites.

Beautiful Family.

Nummy-num time! She thought this was WONDERFUL!

…and what’s a nine month old without tp!? This TOO was a “wow” factor for her!

Playing peek-a-boo with the photographer and mommy under blankets. As you can see she thought this was fun!

and one blooper for the fun of it…for those of you who have no idea what she’s playing with it’s my camera’s “Hood” she was drawn to it so I popped it off and handed it to her. The result of this was a VERY drooled up hood and a super silly pic of her peeking through it.

I had much anticipation that today was going to be a gloomy and rather rainy day, but as daylight set in, the sun began to shine wonderfully through the clouds; I was ever so thrilled that this beautiful sunlight was going to be what lite the newborn’s portraits. What a [...]]]>

I had much anticipation that today was going to be a gloomy and rather rainy day, but as daylight set in, the sun began to shine wonderfully through the clouds; I was ever so thrilled that this beautiful sunlight was going to be what lite the newborn’s portraits. What a great background story that is; beautiful sunlight through dramatic storm clouds light eight day old baby’s portraits!? I thought it was pretty perfect, all up until those dramatic clouds became more then just an appearance, they became rain and darkness. Even though, the session went on. I quickly adjusted while baby had a little relaxing snack time with mama. Once baby returned to me, it was game on! Mom had left the room and dad relaxed on the bed; which was behind my set up so he couldn’t see me, nor I him. It got REALLY quiet, which was exactly what photographers want to hear during a Newborn Session. Mom was off relaxing I’m sure, dad had snuck in a few zzzz, and baby Olivia was fast asleep as well! She was honestly the first baby that ever did an amazing job on her blanket shots! She made the cutest, smushy, mouth-opened, drool, faces ever! It was too funny not to giggle my way through each shot. It felt a little weird laughing and talking amongst myself but it was just too much fun! After a few hundred perfect and different poses, I wanted to try and get her to do some neat prop shots. She decided at this point she just had enough and wasn’t much into the tricky stuff. We just moved on to the next gig. I do believe that I was able to capture a handful of lovely family shots of the three of them, and individuals with Olivia and her mommy, as well as some with her daddy.  Once I packed up the car and took a breath, finally, the sun was shinning again and my job was finished on a wonderful note. Olivia, her mommy, and daddy; all did a wonderful job!!

Just a few of my favorites from her most perfect little posing. Mind you that smushy face is ALL her, I tried to un-smush it; didnt work. )

Priceless. Dont you just love the face she is making in the last one. )

Some cuddles. LOVE!