I was super honored when Amanda emailed me a while ago to set up a family session for her, Andrew and their beautiful baby girl Sylvie. I was originally introduced to Andrew by my former clients-turned-friends Sam and Justin, and found out that Andrew is a photographer and was a fan of my work. I’m not going to lie- there was some pressure going into this session knowing Andrew is a photographer and follows my blog… but I was SUPER excited to be asked to photograph his little family. PLUS- we planned to do the shoot on the Paramount Pictures lot thanks to Andrew working for the studio and getting us hooked up.

I left this session feeling incredibly lucky that I get to work with fantastic people, do what I love, and shoot in really cool locations.

Sylvie is such a precious little girl, and it’s obvious that she is the light of Andrew and Amanda’s lives.

Happy baby!

How gorgeous is Amanda? I especially love this photo on the left.

I love love love this expression on Sylvie’s face! To me, she’s a thinker and she’s an optimist.

One of my favorites from the session…

Happy, loving family. <3

Sylvie clearly wanted the spotlight on herself and Amanda in this photo…

Amanda was looking forward to some shots of Sylvie in a tutu. I loved it- it was super adorable… but I think Sylvie was a little tired and hungry by the time we got to this point…

Sylvie wasn’t having it… but I still love these shots. Babies get fussy- that’s what they do. I think it’s just as important to remember the happy, smiley times as the fussy, crying times… these photos are quite classic for that reason.

Exploring around the different spots on the lot.

I think these shots are going to be really special to have in 20 or 30 years… Andrew works for Paramount so these studios are a huge part of their life… I think it will be so great for Sylvie to be able to look back on this session and see these portraits taken around the classic studio setting.

I had been on the Paramount lot once before a few years back while in grad school. I had remembered this sky wall that has been used in various films, and thought it would make such a cool backdrop for photos… Fun fact- this giant wall stands in front of a huge sunken parking lot, which they can flood and use for scenes that take place out on the ocean. How cool is that? Luckily, the parking lot in front of the wall was not flooded, nor were there cars parked there. Love love these shots… PS – The Blackberry shots were not a setup…

Another thing that wasn’t planned: Andrew’s jump. The bonus of working with creative clients is they come up with their own way to spice up the photos and I couldn’t have been happier!

I’ll end this session with a definite favorite.

Andrew, Amanda and Sylvie- Thank you so much for being so much fun and for trusting me to document this time in your life! I look forward to seeing Sylvie grow up and to be able to photograph you all again in the future. xoxo

I was so excited to get an email from Kristin a month ago telling me that she and her husband were expecting and wanted to schedule a maternity session. Kristin is a great wedding coordinator from Orange County and I first met her when I shot some promotional photos of her and her sister for her company A Taylor Made Wedding. We hit it off right away on that shoot, so I was so excited to be able to photograph her again! Not to mention, she and her husband Pete are quite possibly the nicest couple around and I was so happy for them that they were going to have their first baby.

We started the shoot in Kristin & Pete’s home. Kristin wanted to start out with some more intimate shots… she looked absolutely gorgeous! This first one was a little experiment with harsh window light. Love how it turned out!

Hello gorgeous!!

The light in their shower was stunning! I’m so lucky to have clients like Kristin who see my eyes light up when I think of a shot and trust me to make it happen.

Then we got some shots of Kristin and Pete together. I love love this series of the two of them and think it captures who they are as an amazing couple and soon-to-be parents. They are so cute!

<3

A definite favorite.

Then we headed out into their neighborhood for some lovely sunset light. The shot on the right- I love!

Another favorite. <3

So ridiculously good-looking.

I’ll end with this shot because it screams three things: they are happy, supportive and in love. They are going to make the best parents.

Kristin and Pete- You guys are so great! I’m SO so happy for you and I cannot wait to meet and photograph Baby when he or she arrives! xoxo

For information on maternity, newborn, and combined sessions, email me.

Back in June, I photographed a super fun and special styled shoot with the amazing Jaimi Brooks of Fiore Beauty and Catherine of The Life Styled and I’ve been dying to be able to blog about it. The shoot was featured on the fabulous Junebug Weddings blog “What Junebug Loves” last week, so finally I can share some of the images here.

Jaimi and Catherine came up with the fashion- and beauty-centered shoot – a bachelorette weekend in – and I was so honored that they asked me to photograph it for them. The day was so much fun, and I am so happy with the images we were able to capture thanks to the amazing team and the lovely models.

Hair & makeup: Fiore Beauty

Styling: The Life Styled

Dresses provided by Shareen Vintage

Location: The London Hotel – West Hollywood

The daytime look. Our models from left to right: Elana, Mimi, Suzy and Cat.

Elana is a real life bride-to-be and was super excited to play the bachelorette for the shoot. Congrats to Elana!

How stunning is she? She looked amazing in this vintage red polka dot dress.

Suzy looking sassy.

Mimi was a natural in front of the camera and I loved this layered necklace look!

Cat looked so amazing in this vintage green lace dress! I just loved her energy.

Love.

The evening look. Elana was totally feeling this amazing vintage frock. Her hair was amazing!

A few bonus shots of Suzy in this amazing pink tulle explosion! I had so much fun with this.

What a great day and team of people. Thanks to everyone who made this possible and another thanks to Blair of Junebug Weddings for featuring the shoot! xo

A couple of weeks ago, I made my first post for my new personal photo project, which is a series of portraits of people in my life. Here is the second installment of this project that I hope to continue for a very long time.

Laurel

Laurel is an artist. She creates some of the most clever pieces and I would adore her work even if she wasn’t one of my best friends in the whole world. She is always drawing, painting or creating something… She is pretty much the best doodler in the world- I have a huge pile of doodled cocktail napkins to prove it.

She and I have had countless nights of fun and conversation, and we are constantly bonding over our similar, evolving perspectives of the world, as well as our similar desires to grow and learn, and create along the way. She is thoughtful, introspective, lively, energetic, kind, and beautiful, inside and out.

This is Laurel, as only I can see her…

Laurel- the champion of jumping photos.

Did I mention she is also inspired by divas? Beyonce in particular… we love Beyonce.

xoxo