The Aden Family --- family photography

I donated a Family Session Package to a silent auction fundraiser for the elementary school across the street. I was very lucky to have the Aden Family generously bid on the package. They were such an adorable family! Very photogenic!!
Included in the package was a set of custom designed Christmas Cards so we scheduled the shoot for late November so we would have plenty of time to get the cards designed and in the mail to their friends and family. But it seemed that I was not the only photographer with that bright idea and that beautiful location in mind, I think we spotted 4 photographers by the end of our shoot! I'm confident that we took up the best spots though!!

Santa 2010

So I just had to post a few photos of my babies! They are both growing up so quickly! I swear my son used to let me bribe him with sugar so I could photograph him like crazy but now that he is two and he knows alternative ways to get the candy he isn't so keen on the bargaining for photo ops with Mommy any more! So getting a photo of him and my 6 month old daughter is virtually impossible and when he does decide to do something cute like sit next to her and acknowledge that she exists for something other than a pinching pillow (and I say pillow because her rolls resemble big fluffy pillows) I never have my big camera ready so most of my images of the two of them are with my iPhone. But some how I managed to snap a couple photos of the two of them before we headed out to go see Santa.

The Bonomo Family- family portraits

I'm sure most of you know by now who the Bonomo Family is. But if you don't please read their daughter's blog www.kennedybonomo.blogspot.com They are a very special family to me. We named our daughter, Isabella Kennedy Bagwell, after their daughter Kennedy. Her story and this family's journey is filled with trials and tribulations sandwiched by strength, perseverance, and determination. Kennedy is a fighter, she defines the meaning of "shattering the glass ceiling!" Her parents, Stephanie and Brian are my daily inspiration. They are relentless, even when it seems like every last chip is stacked against them, they stick with it with the most amazing amount of grace. I know in my heart that good things are in their future. Especially since what they deal with everyday is what anyone on the outside would consider a nightmare, they do it with a smile and they are thankful for everyday no matter how tiresome or emotionally draining it is. I'm sincerely thankful to know them.
Stephanie and Brian were born to be parents. They are amazing. So I am thrilled that they have decided to have another baby! Stephanie once told me she always wanted to have another baby, she wanted to see the bond a new baby would have with Kennedy. I am overjoyed to know that Stephanie will get her wish. She tells me she is terrified and unsure of how she will handle it all but I honestly have not one single doubt she will handle it amazingly. I can not wait to see her with her two babies and watch their journey continue!
Here are a few photos I took of the Bonomo Family a few weeks ago while I was down in Southern California for my friend Jill's wedding.

Jill and Adam teaser....

In High School girls were not always nice to me. I was not some tragic cast off or anything but girls were never very nice to me. But when even the most popular girls wanted to shame anyone who was seen with me, there were four girls who didn't care. Jill was one of those girls. We have been friends since our freshman year in High School. Countless football games, Mr. Dubransky's English class, a twisted rendition of Romeo and Juliet where we used WAY too many "likes" and "dudes" and several swigs of Boones Strawberry Hill, oh and who could forget the many excuses to go to Jill's house to check out her hot brothers. Unfortunately we lost touch for a few years after High School but reconnected a couple years ago and I am so happy we did. Thanks Facebook! or was it MySpace? I've lost track??
Jill is and always has been a beautiful, fun, kind-hearted person. She was always the one I joked around with and had lots of fun with. Though 14 years has passed and a million things have changed, nothing about Jill's spirit has changed a bit. As my assistant photographer put it, "she is timeless, she has a timeless beauty about her, such style"
I met Adam almost 2 years ago. Immediately I knew he was a great fit for Jill. He is such a kind man with just the right personality to compliment Jill's. They make such a wonderful team.
I was more than happy to be given the honor of capturing the memories of their "big day" I flew down to Southern California, both kids in tow, and shot the first half of the day and let my assistant shoot the reception while I celebrated along with them as a guest. Now as I have begun to sort through the thousands of images we both captured I couldn't help but pull out a few of my favorites so far. There are many more but I just wanted to post a few as a little teaser....there will be many more to come! along with some old H.S. photos!! Jill, you know I have to post some old photos! I just have to! That is when this whole photography obsession of mine started! They are 35mm so I will have to scan them and they might date me a little bit!
Thank you Jill, for being who you are and for everything you've done for me.

Samantha and Ron

This is going to be a wedding to remember! I already know it! This couple is an authentic Wine Country Couple. They were High School "Sweethearts" they both went to Analy High School so naturally we started their engagement session there. But since times have changed since we were in high school, the school was gated up and locked down so the best we could do was a few shots infront of the school. But to my suprise they took me to a little gem of a spot! It literally made me stop in my tracks and call (ok text) my Dad! It was a wine country version of the Field of Dreams but replace the corn fields with vineyards. I'm not sure what the winery is called but when you drive to the far back, down this dirt road the road opens up and there is an old baseball field that literally is surrounded by vineyards. It was wonderful!

Class of 2011-Jill Scannell !!!

Jill is my best friend Laura's cousin. She is so sweet and so adorable. We had a great time just driving around Petaluma with no set place in mind, we just stopped as we saw fun places. Some worked, and some well....not so much! We plan to take a few more once she gets her cap, gown, and tassel but we took all the fashion-style portraits early in the year. Here are a few of my favorites!

Annie + Anthony

Coincidentally after finishing an engagement with this couple, Annie and I just had to mention how we both felt like we knew each other from somewhere. Well we finally figured out that we had played club Volleyball together at Top Gun at Cal Poly Pomona about 10 years ago!! Small world right??
These two couldn't have had better luck with weather, they were married on October 2,2010. One would expect cooler weather, especially at the beach during the fall. Well So Cal had a different plan in place for these two. It was 98 degrees outside and the ceremony was at 1 so it was blazing HOT and super bright! But it was a beautiful ceremony and I was so happy to be apart of it!
They had their reception at Anthony's parents home in West Covina. It was by far the most beautiful backyard reception I've ever been to or photographed! It was simply breathtaking and so much fun. From the kids room decked out with video games and baby sitters to the roasted pig and amazing buffet, it was world class!! To make the world even smaller, one of her guests was my date to his Senior Prom 13 years ago!! What a wedding! ...........and I just found out they are expecting!!!! Congrats Annie + Anthony!!!

Sara + Dom

I come across many different types of couples. This one seemed to be the typical young, sweet, adorable couple....and they are! Sara is about as nice as they come and Dom is a great guy!! I think it was their first dance that moved me the most. Not sure why but you could really just feel how much they loved each other and how intense it was. I think another reason why I absolutely love this couple is they actually smashed cake in each other's faces! No one does that any more! I am starting to wonder what the point is of cutting the cake in front of everyone any more! It was originally an "event" because people expected a mini cake fight so they'd gather around the cake when the bride and groom were about to cut it, hoping to get the front row seat to the event. Now it's a room full of guests watching two people cut cake and feed each other. So it was so much fun to see a couple have a little fun with their cake this time!! It reminded me of when I was a kid at family weddings, it always looked so fun!

....the cake, the yummy yummy cake was made by the wonderful Carolyn Besse of Your Sweet Expectations

Mini Family Sessions 2010 - Day 1

Well it's not life if there are no challenges, right?? Day one of this Fall's Mini Family sessions kicked off with a photographers dream.........RAIN!!! Oh wait more like nightmare!! But, I was not going to let a little rain stop us from having a great day! We were slightly more limited on locations but we worked it out!
I really enjoy available light so I use it when ever possible. Even with portraits on a backdrop I try to set up the backdrop where I can still utilize the natural light. But on a rainy day like Sunday I was left with no choice but to break out my flash and dust off my notes from Frank's "Lighting on Location" class. It ended up working out very well! Even though the portraits turned out nicely with the flash I also wanted to get a few outdoor photos with what available light I could find with out getting my camera too wet. I have a small 5ft x 5ft porch and I didn't know how great of photos I could get from such a small, plain looking space but it really turned out to be a great spot!
Here are a few photos from 2 of the 3 shoots from Sunday.

Happy 1st Birthday Lucas!

Just about one year ago today I took some family photos that included a precious newborn baby boy, Lucas. He was so tiny but his gorgeous blue eyes could knock you over with one glance! He was just precious. I was so happy when Jacqueline asked me to take Lucas' first birthday photos!! It was no surprise that his blue eyes just stole the show again! I typically save this comment for my own son, but man Lucas is just about the cutest little boy out there! When he laughs he makes this face like he's a little mini man it's just so cute!! and him and his dog Coco are too cute together!
I took all the photos in available light both in my front and back yard. It was the perfect day for outdoor photos! It rained the next day! We got very lucky!!
Here is one of the photos from the shoot last year...

Here is Lucas now! It's crazy how fast they grow!