a thousand words

love made visible

There are kids in my life that I love like my own.  People in my life whom I love like my own blood. The Waites just happen to be people like that.  

We were able to create new Waite family portraits on what could have been a very difficult day, the one year mark since Camille's accident.  Go ahead and read Stephanie's blog for her description and details.

I don't normally share entire galleries or portrait sessions, but I happily followed my sister-in-law's lead on this one.  

I hope the love this family shares with those on earth and in heaven (as well as the love I have for them) is apparent here. 

enjoy.

xxo

(technical note: if the show is skipping... press play, then pause and let it load before watching)

I behold beauty.

I absolutely adored photographing Morgan tonight.  (Not MY Morgan.. but a younger, much prettier, female Morgan!)  She absolutely glows from the inside out.  

Behold for yourself.

work it, girl!

my new favorite. of all.

towards the end of the shoot, morgan's mom arranged for some "favorites" to be included.  A wonderful idea and way to capture this fleeting moment in time.   I think morgan might like red velvet Sprinkles as much and I do...

a few favorite friends too...

wow.  that was fun.  have I mentioned lately how much I love this job?

xxo

 

{senior} sneak peek

I had the great chance to meet kelsey (and her mom, dad, best friend & dog!  hi guys!) this week for my twist on the senior portrait.  Kelsey had seen & liked my work about a year ago, then wasn't happy with the cookie cutter school portraits... that's when I was called in.  I love a girl who knows what she wants!   

meet kelsey...

{green eyes to match the green grass}

{a gorgeous profile}

You worked it, supermodel!  It was a pleasure spending time with you.

There's much more to come...

xxo

for the cliffords

One of the best parts of photography is the chance I have to meet new & wonderful people.  

It's a priviledge to be a part of people's lives for a few hours.  To watch them interact.  To hopefully capture their love, relationships and personalities-- then translate it into something that's tangible. Michele, I hope you can treasure these for a while!

{big sister was incredibly easy to photograph.  some people just connect with the camera so naturally!}

{I just adored little sister's spunk and sass.  We laughed and jumped and still managed to capture this.}

{little brother is 2.  Such a transitional age-- going from baby into a little boy.  I think this shows his lingering baby face!}

 

{some fun before we finished up}

I'll have more family sessions to share in the coming days!

four new feet

Is there anything better than a newborn baby?  From their sweet smell, to the way they fit on your chest just so, to the incredible feeling they bring to your home-- I love the teeny tiny ones!  (I could do without the blow outs, the laundry and the 2am feedings... but we are keeping it positive here...)

Better than A newborn, are TWO newborns.  It was such a pleasure and a lot of hard work photographing these sweet babies.  This post is going to be big!  

Baby Shepherd was sound asleep from the beginning.

His sister, Sunday, joined him a bit later.

I love how comfortable they were smushed up next to eachother.  What an incredible bond they are sure to share throughout life!

Possibly my session favorite, but it's difficult to choose just one.  

 

proud dad.

proud brother!

happy, tired, grateful, going-on-little-sleep, gorgeous mama!

I hope this peek lowers your photo anxiety, Heidi!

xo

 

gillespie heaven

I've mentioned it before (here)...  during college I made some incredible friends.  Thankfully, I've been able to keep in touch with many of them.  The Gillespies are no exception. They like to take an annual vacation to Balboa/Newport, and I like to invade and see them as much as possible while they are in the area.  We met up three times during the week they were here...

1st at our house.  The kids played, the adults chatted, and we all had sunday night sugar cereal.  Great friends and fruit loops... does it get any better than that?

{the char chars in the playroom}

Then we met up for a beautiful thursday afternoon on Newport Beach.  It was so nice to dig my toes in the sand and chat some more.

{photo courtesy of greg}

Finally on Friday, we got together for a family photo session.  I have been itching to try a new location for shoots, and the gillespies agreed to explore with me!   I loved being with my old friends and getting to know their new kids better.  Here are a few of my favorites from their session...

{i love L in his glasses!  we were having a deep conversation about thomas the tank engine at this point.}

{a beautiful family}

{and because I can't decide what I like best... little c in a vintage wash...

...or in full color??}

It was a great week.  I was in Gillespie heaven!

home having made new friends

we're finally home after a long LONG trip.  three states, six different places to lay our heads, many friends and family members visited, and endless amounts of good memories made.  I hope to find time to blog about all our adventures through new mexico, utah and nevada.  for now, I just have to share a bit of a session I did while in Salt Lake.  Lindsay (mom) and I met when we were silly and 18 years old. She has always been such a positive, happy person and easy to be around.  Lucky for me, her husband and two darling girls are no different!  

Seeing these parents, it's no wonder their kids are gorgeous.  the hair, the skin, the smiles... oh my!

the wonderfully energetic miss r.

 

the sweet miss e

I love when moms bring their own creativity and twist to a session.  Lindsay found a great string of colorful butterflies.  We had such fun flying them around the yard!

  

I loved being with this family so much.  By the end of the session (over our 10am bowl of ice cream!), I slipped up and referred to the girls like they were my own.  I love my old and new friends.  Thanks for having me, Lindsay!

it's good to be back.

christmas in july

A Utah family contacted me for a photo session back in November.  5 adult kids wanted to surprise their Dad with photography for Christmas.  What a great idea!  I never know what to get my Dad for Christmas, Father's Day or his birthday.  

Well, this Dad is finally getting his gift!  

There were 25 family members total.  I worked hard, but also had a lot of fun.  Sometimes I wonder if my clients think I am absolutely crazy!  I will do just about anything for a good shot. :D

{the youngest of the group}

{the eldest of the group!}

{one of my favorites from the evening.  beautiful, natural smiles}

  

{more beauty}

{even with a thousand people around, I can't resist the details}

{one black and white to end things...}

much more to come, michele!  

It was lovely meeting you all.

first time love

If I could use only one word to sum up the family I photographed yesterday, it would be LOVE.  As I stepped into the Taylor's apartment yesterday, love seemed to ooze from everywhere I looked.  There were love notes written about, wedding photographs hung up, and quiet acts of kindness performed.  

And then there was the way they looked at HER.  

Their first baby together.  

Baby Kate.  

She looks like an easy one to love, doesn't she?

Kate did NOT love to be tampered with, however!  She didn't appreciate me taking off her warm blankets and moving her this way and that.  The sleepy newborn shots were difficult to come by, but we still worked it!

kate really liked her soothie and swaddling.  newborn comforts.

so fresh and delicate.

the proud daddy now has two girls to love.

lastly, this photo is all about one gorgeous MOMMA.  just look at her!  Ani, you are glowing!

M,A & k...thanks for inviting me to your home and partaking of the love there for a few hours. 

xo

a peek for melissa.

remember this little one?  {nov '07}

my how you've grown, dax!   what a difference 6 months makes...

I got to play once again with my buddies, Ezra and Dax.   I feel like I say this for every stage, but... I love photographing this baby age.  When babies can sit up, grab their feet & giggle at their mommys, it makes my job a breeze!

I almost stole this chair out of Ezra's room.   Dax liked it too!

Big Brother.  I die over his blonde hair and blue eyes.

These two are lucky to have one another.

This last one is just for you, melissa.  Presenting...

churro baby!

xo