Last minute gift idea!

Running out of time to get that perfect gift? Me too, hardly even started shopping for Christmas. Therefore, I know I personally will be doing a lot of gift certificates this year too! But, yes, I have gift certificates available in any denomination for that family member or friend who would LOVE to have a special photoshoot. Maternity, Newborn, Family, or Wedding. Call me up til Christmas Eve at 661-900-4501 to purchase a gift certificate, or visit my proofing gallery to purchase online (if there's not enough shipping time before Christmas, you may have to pay extra for overnight shipping or come visit me to pick up your certificate). Thanks for shopping and happy photo making memories!

Bakersfield New England Style

Every year I spend about as much time at Hart Park as I do at home, and every year I say "this is way more beautiful than last year." And while I do have memory issues lately (old age I suppose), I think it's an exceptional year for Fall colors. Everyone needs at least one family portrait in the Fall foliage. While I'm a very big fan of thinking outside the box when it comes to portraits, "Fall pics" is just one of those things you've just got to do at least once!

I'm going to be out at Hart park this Saturday and Sunday (November 14-15), as well as the Saturday after Thanksgiving (November 28). Then, one more weekend out there December 5-6--so one of those has GOT to work into your schedule!

These families were just taken yesterday afternoon and this morning, so this is currently how amazing it looks out there. You'll be able to see the rest of their images next week sometime on my website. Deadlines to order for Christmas cards and gifts delivered by Christmas is December 11, so schedule those shoots before it's too late!

So Cal Beaches still the best

Now that I'm a transplanted OC to Bakersfield girl, it seems that the central coast is the place to go for a family beach day (and a beach photography session). I've learned my way around Pismo, Morro Bay, Paso and even Cambria and yes they are stunningly gorgeous. But, after this weekend's beach shoot at Newport Coast, I realized that I still feel most comfortable shooting in my old backyard. The fresh, blue sky and the smoothness where the sand and water meet was home to me...sigh. Now, if we could just do away with the traffic that stands (literally) between here and there!

The Schonauer family made that trek this weekend and it was so much fun playing in the sand and water. These two girls were about as cute as they come in little white dresses. I won't be making another trip down (or to the central coast beaches either) until the new year, but if you like this look let's talk and make a plan for the New Year.

Christmas Card Time!

Can't believe it's actually November, time to get going on all those Christmas cards. If you had a shoot this past year, I can repost your images so you can order your Christmas cards. My cards range in style and price depending on the look you'd like and budget you have to work with.

My custom Christmas cards are so much fun (if I do say so myself!). The three most popular are the 5x7 postcard style, the 5x7 fold over card and the fun 5x5 tri-fold card. Take a look at these images to see what style you like best. The fun thing about these is that you can use multiple images with some of the fun stuff we shot. The press printed cards are $3 and $4 with an art fee of $25 (waived if you purchased a portrait collection).

If you still haven't done a shoot with me this year, what are you waiting for?! I can still fit you in this month, but call to schedule right away! The final date to order prints/cards for Christmas is Friday, December 11.

Call me to start your Christmas card order today!

Who Knew???

Who knew cotton could be so beautiful or that a junkyard could produce so many colors? Still on the constant mission to find new places to shoot in Bakersfield and what I'm finding is, I've barely scraped the surface. Three recent engagement shoots are proof. Most recently we went hiking with Richard and Amanda through the Southwest weeds to find some awesome crops that made for great pics. Bailey and Jessica as well as Will and Shanna trusted us enough to shoot them at a junkyard and none of us were disappointed with what we found. I loved it so much, this is where I'm going to do my own kids' Christmas card pics, so watch for those later! Lastly, with adorable couple Mike and Kelli we wanted a new twist on a traditional spot. Hart Park, although it's easy to fall into the same type shoots since I shoot out there so often--we went this day with fresh eyes and found some fun new spots to shoot.

Engagement shoots have become some of my favorite types of shooting, because creativity is a front runner and my couples have been so much fun to explore with. Kudos guys!

Happy Halloween Customer Appreciation

Well in the hustle and bustle of the Fall, I love the little break that we get called Halloween--a time to reflect on how my little ones are seeming to be less and less little every year. This year was the hardest yet on choosing a costume for my 10 year old boy. It seems there are aisles and aisles of cute costumes for girls, but when it comes to boys--not so much. Once they are out of the superhero/pirate phase...what then? I practically punched the teenage boy who worked at Party City the other day for calling me out on being a dull mom because I wouldn't let my 10 year old son be a scary monster with guts hanging out. Sorry, guess I'm old fashioned in some ways. I actually told my son at Party City to feel free and "google yourself a new mom when you get home." Ha!

That tangent aside, I am so fortunate to have great professional portraits every year of my kids in their costumes. Lucky for me, my professional photographer travels with me always. So this year, I thought I wish I could do this for all my clients! And so, why not? This year to say thank you, I'm opening up my studio for my clients who have done a Fall session with me this year (or are booked to do one) from 4-5 on Halloween night. It'll be just a quick session each, but at least we can capture a few precious moments that we will remember forever. After Halloween, I will mail 4x6s of the best shots. So, let me know if you'd like to join in the fun. Tell the kids this is the first candy stop of the evening (I'll be sure to have my candy jar stocked!). Happy Haunting (or not if you're as old fashioned as me!)

Purple Mountains Majesty

Well, definitely the most scenic wedding I've ever shot. The first part of September my assistant Stephanie and I had the privilege of driving to Aspen Colorado to shoot my beautiful cousin, Christy's wedding. We decided not to do it the easy way and fly, no we opted to drive an RV out to Colorado. I really wanted my kids to go and meet some family that we don't get to see much, so they went with me. Bakersfield's fun, but as far as scenery goes--it's a little...well...dry. But Aspen Colorado, hello??? Amazing. The RV aspect of it made it just a fun whole week, with lots of photojournalism involved. Actually I gave my 7 year old daughter a camera to photojournal the behind the scenes shots! She got some great stuff and plenty of not-so-great, unflattering shots that I pray you will never see.

The wedding day was due to have thunderstorms off and on and of course if that had happened the mountain top wedding that was planned would have been derailed. It was an amazing day however as we watched the clouds perfectly make their way around the outskirts of Buttermilk mountain--making the wedding dreams a reality. The scenery was majestic, the bride and groom stunning, and to top it off the chair lift with guests covered in red blankets was crazy fun. All in all, it couldn't have been a more picture perfect wedding. Here's a few shots that I'm not even sure do the day justice, but they were some of my favorites. The entire wedding can be seen on my website.

After the wedding we really did ride down the mountain on a ski lift. I actually learned to ski on this actual mountain when I was 12, so that brought back some nice memories for me as I remembered trees on which I nearly cracked my skull. Stephanie was quite the trooper on this lift, as she is a little height phobic, but she rose beyond her fears and I think the high is always a little sweeter when it follows sheer terror.

So, would I love to be a world traveling wedding photographer? Absolutely! How does that one begin that, I have no idea. But for now, I love our humble little town and the people that fill it-- however, I would happily rise to the occasion of escaping our 100 degree town to do more destination weddings. But really, it's all an adventure and I wouldn't trade my life for anything.

No wonder this is so much fun!

Here are three very different weddings, thick with color and characters. They could not be any more different from each other. Stephen and Alaina got married the end of August at Seven Oaks--which never disappoints. Alaina was game for just about anything when it came to posing. She layed on top of the table for a few priceless portraits--even hung upside down in an armchair! The boys, well we won't mention what they wanted to do for their portraits! Check out their entire collection of portraits on my proofing gallery.

Then there was Luis and Brittney who got married at Valley Baptist. The church sanctuary was beautiful, but we really had a blast with this fun car that we got to use as a prop throughout the day. Made for some fun stuff, especially when we went downtown with this awesome couple for a few unique photos. The remainder of their images will be up this weekend!

Lastly, but certainly not least was Shad and Misty's wedding in downtown Bakersfield. Their wedding was on top of a parking garage--no kidding. And it was breathtaking as the sun went down behind the Padre Hotel. It was a warm day in Bakersfield (really unusual I know), but the breeze was so nice. We did all our pictures downtown before heading to the Metro Gallery for the reception. There's a few more images to preview on my website, but the rest will be up in two weeks.

Yeah, I think I have a pretty good life...

My Sister

She needs her own separate entry. My middle sister made the trek down the aisle in August! I officially have a brother! We put this wedding together in a little over a month and it was, in my humble opinion, stunning. Thanks to Natanya (our youngest sis) and our 4th honorary sister Jamie (and a slew of others), we turned a Los Angeles backyard garden into a Moroccan palace. The evening could not have been more relaxed and magical. The night was made complete with the Left Over Cuties band playing into the cool evening. So, how exactly did I photograph this wedding? Well, I sort of didn't. Amanda and Ryan Frank, good friends and amazing photographers themselves came to help us out. The wedding images are on my website, if you'd like to check them out. PS. Those cute kids are mine :)

Well...

So apparently in the grand scheme of life, something's got to give. It's been a busy year indeed. I can't believe we're headed into the final quarter of the year. For those of you who are regular Facebookers, you've been able to follow our journeys over the summer--but now I've got to get back to the blogging world. I have put it off because I feel like there's too much I need to write about. My husband has convinced me just to start where I'm at now. So, here's a few highlights of our summer--then we're back on track with the Fall!