Dawn and Kevin: Engagement

I have known Kevin and Dawn since the beginning of their relationship. They met at One Voice Church on the praise and worship team, where I attend. As I prepared for their shoot, I tried to think about them and who they are. They are such fun and eclectic couple that we did not even get to do all of the things I imagined for them. Here is a sneak peak at their engagement session. We started at Fuller Seminary where did some more formal portraits. There is a beautiful prayer garden and eloquent architecture on Fullers campus. We intended on doing a photo with a beautiful piano, since Dawn is a pianist and teacher, but the building was locked..booo! Instead we used the bench in front. Next, we moved on the the Rialto theater in South Pasadena. It is a vintage looking building that used to be a theater. Since Kevin has his hands in the movie industry and that is something they enjoy doing together, we thought that would be fun. The last place we stopped was the Fair Oaks pharmacy for some 50's inspired soda fountain shots.

Kera Joy: Newborn

It was "pure joy" to photograph Kera. After all her name means "pure". This little one slept like a princess through the entire individual portion of the shoot. She wanted a piece of the action while her two older brothers were around. After they left, she was in dream world and we got some very angelic photos of her. At 7 days old she already experienced a lot of love from her brothers and others.

This was my first time using a bean bag for a newborn shoot and boy did that make a huge difference in posing. Jenny and Matt are dear friends of ours and I not only got to be there for the birth of Kera, but also got to photograph her. It was such a blessing!

This is  a special quilt made by her Grandma and Great Grandma.

Bridal Shower: Orange and Pink

A week ago I photographed a blushing bride named Emily at her bridal shower. She was radiant as she welcomed all her guests and answered questions about her soon to be husband and herself. It was fun to hear stories of their engagement a top a building in downtown LA. I can't wait to hear stories about her secret honeymoon that the groom is planning. I secretly think they are going to Figi, since it is the one place she wants to go in the world and her groom seems like the kind of guys that would want to make her dreams come true. We'll see! Here are some photos from my first event shot in manual. I have been taking baby steps as a photographer, but am happy to have have tried something new. Here we go. Feel free to critique and leave your opinions.

Delicious food

Blushing bride gets some unexpected gifts...love these ladies faces:)

Isn't this a beautiful ring?

The Pink and Oranges details were perfect, from the polka dot straws to the orange ribbons.

She was so happy!

Friends that hosted the shower. They have been friends since elementary school

Groom sneeking in for a moment with his bride. I caught them:)

Newborn: Childs Family

Newborn: Emily Grace

Seems like yesterday I was at the hospital photographing Miss Emily Grace, now she is two weeks old. This little bundle of joy was so excited for me to take her photo that she was wide eyed and awake for over half of the time I was at her house. Her momma, Renee was calm and soothed her to sleep and we got these beautiful shots of little Emmie.

Moments after momma soothed her to sleep. Just the sound of mommas voice calmed her...it was so sweet.

Sleeping Beauty

This little bonnet was made by Emmie's grandma...she will one day use it as a handkerchief in her wedding:) This material she is wrapped in was in her Great Grandma Kitchen and was sewn into a blanket by her other grandma and Auntie while they prayed over Emmie and her momma. Love the history in this photo.

Newborn: Emily

Miss Emily Grace was born On February 26th, just missing a leap year birthday:) Fortunately for her mom, she came earlier than expected. Here are a few photos of her at the hospital the day after she was born.

Maternity Portrait: Childs

Bryan and Renee were expecting there baby girl to make her arrival sometime next week. To there surprise she came the day after we took these photos. We were a little bit limited because Renee had been on bedrest for about a week and could only stand for a few minutes at a time, regardless though they turned out beautiful. Renee was glowing. I told her she should be a model because she is so photogenic. Here are a few of the results.

Ocho Cinco was the nickname that they had for the baby before they found out she was a girl, but it stuck:)