Last night I did a multiple family trade shoot with a bunch of other photographer friends of mine. It was certainly chaotic and long for the kiddos but also something that we moms, as Professional Photographers, deeply value and appreciate because we are NEVER EVER EVER in the pictures of our family's story. As the ones who document everything, we are the invisible presence. So yesterday, while two of the other families were tied up photographing each other, I had ten minutes alone with my kids, who had already been so patiently waiting for their turn, so I decided what better opportunity than for me to take some quickie shots of my own spawn - with my REAL camera rather than my iphone. Yes, it's like the cobbler's kids has no shoes syndrome. I spend my life nowadays making quality art and capturing incredible moments and memories for my clients with my high end gear and yet only have a ton of iphone snapshots of my own kids for the past few years since becoming a single working mom with no time for shoots with my kids... HA! Early in my career as a photographer I used to make the time to professionally photograph my children quite frequently. Now, I hardly ever bust out all my gear on my day off. It's a little tragic, actually. But, I do have a billion of those iphone pics so it's not like they aren't being documented.... Regardless, I thoroughly enjoyed taking these "official" images of my children for that short ten minutes and ended up keeping almost every image I took because they were all so fabulous. Turns out my kids, after years of being photographed by me have picked up on the fine art of posing themselves with very little direction from me. I picked the spot with the best light, set up my reflector, told them to stand there and they took it from there. I'm so lucky that these two kids - despite lots of sibling bickering - actually do love each other TREMENDOUSLY and are very tender and sweet with each other when it counts and matters most. I love these two so very much I can't even begin to express how much. There are simply no adequate words.
Te'a & Remi
I still distinctly remember my first shoot with this awesome family and knowing right then and there that we would be good friends for years to come. Their energy and their dynamic is extraordinary. Renata's zest to live life to the fullest and fill her kids lives with EXPERIENCES (rather than things) and ADVENTURES is something I can absolutely relate to and admire. Kevin's incredible dedication to his chosen cause (go check out F.A.T.T. - Food Awareness Through Training), his restaurant (Ground Up Burgers in Half Moon Bay) and their passion for Food Awareness and supporting local, sustainable farming is beyond compare. They're also just a whole lot of fun to hang out with! :)
You will quickly see in these pictures why I love them so much, so full of life and laughter and down to earth silliness. My kind of folks! We were fortunate enough to be able to do the shoot at Jacob's Herb Farm in Pescadero (a fabulous backdrop!) and make the most of the gorgeous light before a ridiculously thick wall of fog rolled in and blocked out all the useable light! PHEW!
Renata & Kevin, I adore you guys and am so glad we were able to get our shoot in again this year!!! ENJOY your sneak peek!!!
Quinn, Reilly & Tyler
I'm probably going to fail in adequately expressing how near and dear this family is to me but I'm going to try nonetheless. They started out as my very first "real" clients nearly a decade ago. The first paying client who was NOT a friend or refered to me by a friend. Total and Complete Strangers. I instantly fell in love with all three of them and wondered if you're supposed to like your clients that much, whether or not this was "normal" or even... healthy?! Ha! Over the years, we've become close friends and our children also happen to adore hanging out with each other too which is just, quite frankly, the icing on the cake. Tara and I even went paddeboarding for our very first time together two years ago and had a blast. I could list a million reasons why I love them so much but in the interest of time I will simply state that their family dynamic is just awe-inspiring. Tara and Bryan are a GREAT team. They have weathered an INSANE amount of intense stress and incredible challenges over the years with pure grace and ease, even though I know it hasn't been remotely easy. All three kids have this undeniable tenderness and affection for each other. Quinn and Reilly are so deeply emotionally invested in looking our for their baby sister, who has Angelman's syndrome, and it warms my heart to no end each time I get to hang out with them and observe that dynamic. Tara and I have had many discussions about how they've all managed Tyler's medical challenges over the years and it's always been in the framework of how Tyler has been a "value-added" to the family, how her condition has brought them all closer than they ever imagined possible, how Quinn and Reilly's impressing patience and tenderness was no doubt aided along by her unique needs. Tyler is quite possibly the most affectionate and smiley child I have ever met. Throughout the shoot she kept making the rounds kissing all her beloved family members and laughing, dancing and playing with them resulting that characteristic smile of hers that could light up the entire universe. She is their sunshine and they all joyfully orbit around her, delighting in making her smile, and in turn, her happiness makes them all happy. It's the most precious, authentic and pure symbiotic relationship I have ever encountered. This family is all about love, affection, dancing/music, patience, games, a can-do attitude and tons of teamwork. They are a well oiled machine and they never cease to amaze me. They don't coddle Tyler and the result of their approach is a little girl who is living life to her fullest potential and delighting in the world around her. They are both extraordinary and completely ordinary, in the best ways possible. So, yeah, I kinda love them to bits.
We decided to do the shoot in the morning this time, not my usual choice, but ideal for the location as we wanted to hit the Boardwalk before anyone else got there. We ended up having a blast and the kids were AMAZING. You'll quickly notice that Reilly is my muse. She has been since the day she was born and I intend to photograph her incessantly until the day I die, any chance I get, because she just makes my camera ridiculously happy.
Tara and Bryan, thank you for a super fun session and I can't wait for our kiddos to be crazy and wild together again soon! Much love!!!
Cassandra, Sabine & Zoe
This particular family I've been photographing since the twins were itty bitty babies and they've watched me evolve as a photographer over the years as much as I've watched their family grow and evolve. Jolene and I share a very similiar sense of style and artistic sensability. We are completely in sync when it comes to locations, lighting, clothing etc... She always comes up with totally rad new locations for our shoots which help push and challenge me as a photographer but also provide me with a virtual "playground" for me to just unleash my creative juices. This year she dressed everyone in a grey and black "steampunk meets Burning Man" theme and I was absolutely beyond smitten! The girls are fabulously wild and free spirited and ridiculously independent, and we always joke about how it's akin to trying to herd cats to get them all wrangled and under control at the same time but you'd honestly never know looking at the pictures! I especially love how Jolene and Peter have always given me full freedom to go with my gut during the shoot and they willingly go along with whatever crazy ideas or suggestions I come up with in my wacky little head. Jolene always manages to choose locations and outfits and vibes that I'm incredibly drawn to stylistically. Plus, I get to hang out with these 3 amazing little kiddos for a couple hours and I just love getting to know them and their unique personalities more and more with every passing year. It's always incredibly stimulating and even though I had a bad case of the flu during this shoot, I was completely energized by the girl's buzzing vibrant spirits and the excitement of shooting at such a superb location. Jolene & Peter had two lovely friends who kindly allowed us to do the shoot at their working quarry in Santa Cruz and boy did we have fun! At the end, we had to also grab a couple shots of the family with their beloved Westfalia van! It's practically the cornerstone of their "off work" life! I had so many favorites from this shoot it was really hard narrowing it down for the blog. I think I was on eye candy overload!
Jolene & Peter, enjoy your sneak peek!! I can't wait to see what you come up with for next year!!!
Kenzi & Bodi
This shoot was scheduled on Kenzi's 4th birthday which was kind of blowing my mind because I've been taking pictures of her since mama's maternity shoot with her! Elisa was not messing around with the Christmas theme this year! She showed up with everyone decked out in green and red, 3 foot tall REAL candy canes (I have never seen a real candy cane that enormous in my life!), banners, customized cupcakes, santa hats & mistletoe. She was embracing the Holiday spirit!!! She also came bearing cupcakes for my kids, which was crazy sweet and much appreciated by my spawn, so thank you Elisa!!! We somehow managed to incorporate all the props (small miracle in and of itself) and keep everyone happy while doing it! Bodi started off very serious but when I started playfully fake-crying he decided that was the funniest thing EVER and was all smiles every time I threw a fake "crying fit"... too funny! The weather and sunset were unbelievable that night. It was well over 70 degrees and after the ridiculous cold spell (26 degrees! in CALIFORNIA PEOPLE!?!?), this warmth was well appreciated let me tell you! We lucked out on the timing too because the very next day the entire area was covered in smoke from the Big Sur fires and the images would not have had this incredible glow and stunning light. Speaking of which, my heart goes out to all those affected by the fires, that is such a gorgeous area, one of my favorite places in the world to visit and the loss of home and land for those who live there is just heartbreaking.
It should be noted that when you bring cupcakes to a shoot, and hand them to the children, the children will ONLY look at the cupcakes from that point forward! HA! It was hilarious. We had to take them away temporarily... at the very end of the shoot, we gave them back their cupcakes with free reign to devour them. I fully expected Kenzi and Bodi to eat them, well, how I eat a cupcake, you know, which is to attempt to smoosh the entire thing in your mouth at once, isn't that how everyone eats a cupcake??? Well, nope. They were so clean, and polite, and poised while taking tiny little licks and nibbles. Clearly I was raised by wolves.... :)
Elisa & Peter, such a delight seeing you again this year, I adore you guys and can't wait until our next adventure! ENJOY your sneak peek!!!
