Carpenter Family

Sophia:One Year

Sophia Noel Carpenter turned one year old on October 3rd. I was there the day she was born, so it is so neat to see her one year later. She is such a doll. We celebrated her birthday in San Dimas at her parents Adam and Rebecca Carpenters home with their close friends. Adam's mom was also in town from Michigan, which was special.
We chose the one day that it decided to rain to do the shoot at it was perfect! The light was awesome. Sophia was a little tired from her party, but she was a trooper. Everyone wanted to watch and help out in the shoot. What great friends!

Ritzau/Moore Wedding

One September 6, 2008 Cory and Kristen made a lifelong commitment to each other in San Clemente, CA. They said their vows at St. Andrew by the Sea United Methodist Church near where Kristen grew up. This was the church that her grandparents were founding members and her parents were married. The church was adorned with orchids, calla lillies, roses and sea shells. I met the girls at "Shake it", a hair salon in San Clemente the morning of the wedding for some pre-wedding photos. The bride, bridesmaids and mother of the groom and bride were all present. It was a fun time. Then, they made their way over to the brides house for finishing touches. It was so sweet...Kristen's dad wanted to give her the bouquet before she was one her way to see her groom.
A reception followed the ceremony at Irons in the Fire : San Clemente Golf course. It was so special because Kristen and Cory wrote personal notes on the place cards to every person that attended their reception. It was a testament of their love for others.

90th Birthday Party

Last Saturday, I had the opportunity to attend a 90th Birthday party. My husband Dave, works with Allison Voors at Keller Williams Realty. She asked me to photograph this event for her family. It was so amazing to see everyone celebrate the wonderful life of such a great individual. People came from all over, including relatives from Tennessee, Las Vegas, and Southern California. These are just a few of my favorite candids from the evening.

Day after: Sara and Josh

Sara and Josh got married on Jan 20, 2007 at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego. They were married in the Elipse Chapel. Sara dress was designed by Maggie Soterro. A good friend of mine, Tira Young with Tira J Photography, asked if I would shoot Sara and Josh with her a year an half after their wedding. Sara, Tira and myself graduated from the College Student Affairs program at Azusa Pacific University together. I was honored and excited to do this shoot.
After some preparation, we spent the afternoon at Mt.Baldy. I had the pleasure of being Sara's hair dresser for the day. Despite a few bug bites, we thought the shoot was a great success and had a lot of fun with Sara and Josh. I felt that these portraits caught Sara and Josh in their natural element, but in an elegant way. They both enjoy adventure and the great outdoors. Their first interaction was on a hiking trip with Point Loma Nazerene University, so it was only fitting that they have some wedding photographs to reflect that.

Wedding: Corey and Tahnee

Last weekend one of my oldest friends, Corey Adomitis got married to a wonderful girl, Tahnee. I have known Corey since elementary school! I had such a great time enjoying the wedding and taking a few candid pics of them. They got married near Mission Bay in San Diego at a place called Marina Village. My husband, Dave, officiated the wedding. He was my main subject of the day, but Corey and Tahnee were fun to photograph also:) I was so proud of Dave because he really took a lot of time to prepare for this special day.

Baby Sophia

I love little ones! I am going to have one soon..November 13th to be exact. There expressions and personalities are fun to catch on film! Sophia is really starting to show her personality. This photo shoot was done in the morning which made the light awesome. She is my best friends daughter, so we spend lots of time together. These are her six month pictures. Isn't she a doll? These are a few of my favorites. They were hard to pick.

Wedding: Whitney and Sara

This weekend I had the opportunity to shoot Whitney and Sara's wedding in Carlsbad, CA. It was a beautiful, but windy day. Which made for some awesome photos. This was a popular date for couple to get married because the date was 6-7-08. The ceremony was at the Grand Pacific Palisade Resort and the reception at the Seapoint. I ended up shooting most of the day with my new 70-200mm lense which was awesome, but a challenge. Needless to say, I was sore the next day because it is heavy. I need to start working out before I do these weddings.
I know Whitney from graduate school at APU. We were in the College Student Affairs program together. I got to hear all about Sara for the last two years. She was such a calm and beautiful bride. It really was fun spending her wedding day with her. Below is a sneak peek at the couple.

Headshots: Dave and Stephanie

My husband Dave started a real estate business. I am his personal photographer. Anytime he needs a headshot or photograph of a house I come to the rescue. It doesn't hurt that he is easy to look at and the camera loves him. Not as much as me of course. This picture was to be used on his new website. We took it around 7:00pm near our apartment. The light was great. We used a soft bouncer to bounce light on to the left side of his face. This was his favorite.


This is my friend Stephanie. Isn't she gorgeous? She called me one day to take some headshots of her for a magazine called Light and LIfe magazine. They are doing an article about her and she needed a photograph. The light was perfect! I got to try out my new lense 70-200mm 2.8. Specifics added for you photography buffs. It is an amazing lense. It really helped to focus on Steph's beautiful features. She also got to give some of her glamour shots to her mom for belated mother's day. I have enjoyed getting to know Steph through our church, One Voice Church.

Wedding: Bill and Teresa

In January I did not have a blog so I did not get to tell you about these two amazing people, Bill and Teresa. I got to shoot back up at their wedding. They are so in love and it shows through these photos. These moments in the courtyard were so special. It was the first time that Bill saw Teresa on their wedding day.

5 Months Old!

On Monday I got to spend time with Joel and his mother Hannah. They came over to my house for a 5 Month photo shoot. Joel's dad Sam works with my husband Dave at Keller Williams Realty. This is a fun age to shoot because they can't really move around much yet. Our biggest challange was getting Joel to balance sitting up for a picture. He did so well! We even decide to support the real estate business by taking a picture for daddy. You can check out their website at www.beautifulpasadenahomes.com. That is why Joel is holding a sold sign in one of the pics. Looking forward to taking his 6 month pictures!