Meet the Washington Family – Keith, Natalie, little girls Mariah and Faith and baby Marcus (a boy!) on the way.  Thanks to Facebook I reconnected with Natalie, a good friend of mine from high school, and I was thrilled to photograph their growing family this past weekend.  It was wonderful to see one another after so many years, and to meet their adorable – and very sassy – little girls.

Seriously, how cute are these two girls?  Baby Marcus is going to be so loved by his big sisters.  Probably bossed around, too.

This is one of my favorites from the day – Daddy with his girls.

Finally some alone time for Keith and Natalie…

Okay “alone time” lasted about a second.

Take two on alone time:

Natalie mentioned that she and Keith have been together for seventeen years now – WOW!  Which just means that myself, Keith, and Natalie (1) have known each other a very long time, since Keith and Natalie began dating in high school, and (2) that we’re OLD.   It is such a joy for me to be invited to photograph old friends, and to see just how much has changed since the days of passing notes in class, off campus lunch, and really bad fashion choices.

There’s the diva in full effect.

Thank you Washington Family for a lovely afternoon at the park – it was wonderful to be reunited!

Oh, these two are some adorable divas in training…

More to come this week.

I’m not sure wandering around Surf City, USA (a.k.a. Huntington Beach) with the Creager Family is what I would call a “job.”  More like a fabulous afternoon complete with ice cream cones, bubbles, and lots of giggles.  Nothing “job-like” about that kind of afternoon.

This is the second time I’ve had the chance to photograph twins Caroline and Emma Kate and little sister Claire (remember the cousins shoot from a few months ago?), and thankfully the girls were ready and willing for photo shoot part deux – this time, mommy and daddy joined in on the fun:

We were told while shooting this image that this antiques store is housed in the oldest building in Huntington Beach, built in the early 1900s.

Time for ICE CREAM!!

Can you tell Claire is the little sister?

Time to hit the beach – the CHILLY water didn’t seem to bother the girls much.

Can you see why I love this family?  An entire afternoon shooting photos and never once did it feel like work.  Heather & Aaron I hope you love these photos – your family is such a joy to be with!

Happy early Mothers’ Day, Heather!

I love this family – more to come next week…

Last week I had the pleasure of shooting my first commercial assignment for Baby Taylored, a soon-to-be-opened Etsy shop filled with simple yet colorful clothing for little ones.  I saw Andrea’s creations at a craft fair she hosted at her home – I immediately purchased my girls’ Easter dresses from her.  We got to talking and all of a sudden we had an idea for a photo shoot that would showcase Andrea’s clothes – simple silhouettes with bright, colorful patterns.

I admit this was a challenge for me – my style of photography is more go-with-the-flow and just see what images I can capture with my camera.  Not so with this shoot – Andrea needed images that focused on the clothes, not necessarily the super-cute models wearing the clothes.  That’s the fun of my job though – trying new things and constantly learning what works (and what doesn’t) for next time.

Here are some images from the shoot – I especially want to thank all the models and their mommies for hanging in there.  This park is “rustic” and we sustained a few injuries from prickly plants.  But everyone was a good sport and made the shoot quick and fun!

I think this is my favorite print – love the colors!

Seriously, could these models be any cuter?  And so professional!  They would immediately strike a pose for the camera (as you can see).

If you have little girls, be on the lookout for the Baby Taylored Etsy store – check in with Andrea for more information in the weeks to come.  Andrea I can’t wait to see the online store – your clothes are going to be a hit!