Party of 5 and our 100th post | La Jolla Family Photographer

It's kind of nice to have my 100th blog post feature a family I've watched grow - from watching Allison plan hers and Marc's wedding, to their pregnancy, to the birth of the twins, and up until now. Their family has graced my blog twice before - once for Allison's maternity session, and again for the twins' newborn session. This time the family wanted to get together for some holiday portraits. So I met up with Allison, Marc, Brendan, Easton and Aven at their BEAUTIFUL home in La Jolla and managed to capture some great shots of this BEAUTIFUL family. The twins have grown so much since the last I saw them, and were just adorable and sweet; Brendan the handsome guy, was also sweet and I loved that he was so helpful and contributed lots of ideas for spots to shoot in. I also want to send a special thank you to Allison's parents! They were my unofficial assistants, jumping around like wonderfully crazy monkeys helping me to keep the twins' attention. I tell you there's nothing like grandparents - they are the best!

Since these images are going to be used for their holiday cards, I don't want to post too many and spoil the surprise for their family and friends. Without further ado - here are the sneak peeks!



I couldn't resist posting it - isn't Easton's upset face the cutest upset face pretty much ever?




Daddy had to sneak in some love for his little girl. Can you blame him?




Their dogs, Nitro and Nasher, are just as sweet as the rest of the family and couldn't resist sneaking in for a picture!


Check out the killer view! I want to live in their backyard! lol

Familiar, beautiful, faces | San Diego Family Photographer

I so enjoy photographing this family. Not just because Chelsea, Michael, Ella and Quintin are just about the cutest things ever, but because they are so sweet, easy-going, loving, and just plain fun. Not to mention, they stuck with me even after they came *this* close to getting attacked by a rogue squirrel (you HAD to be there! lol). I would have run for the hills, but thankfully, they hung in there and let me capture some more of their awesomeness. Since they're planning on using images from this session for their holiday cards, I'm only going to share a select few.

Oh and no worries...no humans or squirrels were harmed during the photographing of this family. :)

Another well put together family here. Really diggin the threads...






I cannot imagine how anyone could say no to this handsome little guy.


I would not be surprised to see Ella in a Gap commercial. She is gorgeous.


Is it any wonder why these kids are so stinking cute though?! I mean...hello.

Three men and a little lady...

Yesterday evening I met with Allison and James down at Seaport Village, which happens to be the place where James proposed. *Insert aww's here* When we were deciding on the location for their shoot, Allison told me that she preferred being near the water and, as an example, mentioned Seaport Village and that it's where they had gotten engaged. I thought there was something really special about the idea of revisiting their engagement spot with their growing family - sort of a "full circle" kind of thing. They've come a long way since that fateful day and have since married and had two ADORABLE little boys - Luke and Reid - and I'm so glad they let me capture a little moment of their lives.

Oh...and once again people, I just HAVE to say it. I get to photograph the most beautiful families in San Diego. No really - just look for yourself...







I love this next one - I think they look like they're in a catalogue. By the way, I have to say that I love their wardrobe choices. See how they're coordinated without being entirely uniformed? Modern without being too trendy?



A little brotherly love for ya. (and I told you - adorable!)

Scheduling and the Sweet & Sour...

Late breaking news: One of my clients had to cancel her holiday session, which was scheduled for this coming Sunday, November 1. If you or anyone you know is interested in taking their spot, email me ASAP to secure your session.

That said, aside from the now available November 1 spot, I am booked through the rest of the year and have started accepting clients into January 2010, with inquiries into February. So if you're looking for some portraits, whether for yourself or for your family, shoot me an email so we can get you booked ASAP.

Along the same vein, there will be an increase in prices effective January 1, 2010. If you book your 2010 session prior to that date, the 2009 session fee will be honored. So whether you book a session for January 1, 2010 or December 31, 2010, as long as you book/confirm by December 31, 2009, your session fee will be priced at the current 2009 rate.

So now that the business talk is out of the way, I also wanted to test out a new blog segment I'm considering, which is just a way to share some things that I've really been enjoying and not with all of my readers/friends. So without further ado, here's the first edition of the Sweet/Sour list.

SOUR

^_^ Identity thieves. So, while my identity hasn't been stolen or greatly compromised, someone recently managed to get a hold of my debit card info and made some purchases...in Pasadena! Weird, annoying and frustrating. Unfortunately, it has also happened to three other people I know since then. So it's important to stay on top of your bills, statements, et al people.

^_^ Chase. Related to the identity thief incident, my bank is going on the sour list. I found out about the situation because they left me a message about it on my answering machine. When I called back, the man I spoke with said he would close the account and I could get a new card at the bank. When I went to the back and told the teller this, he said no problem and indicated that I would have my new card within a week. Well, a week passed and nothing. I called Chase and the woman said it takes 10 business days. On the 11th business day I went into the bank to pull out money to get me through the next week; I also asked if they could track my card order. The teller says to me, "I'm sorry - there's no record of a replacement card being ordered." WHAT?! So yeah, Chase is on my poop list right now. Considering switching so if you have any recommendations or glowing reports about your bank, please comment below.

SWEET

=) The shrimp tempura sushi roll at Bento & Noodle. I'm in love with it and there's not really much else I can say about that. I imagine there will be lots of food items on the sweet lists to come. If you don't know, I am a total foodie.

=) Bejeweled Blitz on Facebook. Ugh. I hate admitting that one, but it's true. I spend way too much time playing this little diddy. And I even dowloaded the app on my BlackBerry. Someone, anyone...help me.

=) New music. Well, music new to me. I've found myself listening to these albums A LOT recently, and I want to share with you guys.
Funeral by Arcade Fire

Only by the Night by Kings of Leon

Helpless Romantic by Jon B.

And because a post just isn't a post without a picture, I'll leave you with this one - in the spirt of the upcoming holiday. :)

A teaser of a sneak peek...

I'm dealing with some computer issues which I hope to have resolved this week, so this post is going to be relatively short. I'm calling it a teaser because, well, you all know how picture crazy I get and like to share a ton during sneak peeks. But alas...the computer issues aforementioned are limiting me. I've already typed this a couple of times and had to start anew after being booted mid-post.

Anyhow, I'd like you to meet the uber-adorable Hudson and his beautiful parents. I'm more than honored that they drove all the way down from LA to let me hang out with and photograph them and their handsome little guy.





I am CONVINCED that Jenn is or was a model, because check out how she "smizes" like nobody business!



Jenn and Kevin proving that parenthood is hot! :)



And keep an eye out for more of them later this week, as we also squeezed in a holiday mini-sesh with the rest of their family! :)

Worth a try...

It's not something we've ever attempted but I figured, what the heck. If she wins she wins, if she doesn't, she's still la luz de mi vida (the light of my life)! :)

Gap is holding a nationwide contest to find the next faces of babyGap and GapKids, and Beans is entered into the contest. Check out her entry and please vote for her here:

click here to vote

If you do take the time to vote for her, I thank you in advance. And remember...you can vote once a day, every day through November 17, 2009.

Del Mar got a little more beautiful today...

I'm fighting the onset of a what feels like another cold, so I'm going to keep my yammering to a minimum on this one. What I definitely want to say about this family is that

[1] umm...could they BE any more gorgeous? Seriously, the lot of them.
[2] they are as sweet as they are gorgeous. I had such a great time just hanging out with them. And lastly,
[3] Grandma didn't make it into the blog today, but I wish I could bring her to all my sessions! There should be an award for unofficial assistant of the year...because she would win! An award and cookies. :)

So let's get to the pictures! Make sure you're sitting down because there are a lot of pictures in this sneak peek!

Here's miss Addison...adorable even from behind ;)












HOT!











Leah and Mike, it was such a pleasure to meet you all this morning. Thank you for choosing me to document such a special time in your lives and I am so looking forward to meeting: