I LOVE photographing seniors.   I took Camille to a few locations I hadn’t used before, and she proved them to be worthy of returning!  I photographed Camille’s sister last year so it was extra special to get another beauty from the same family!  As usual, I can never narrow down my favorites, and since I blog so infrequently these days, I figure I better make it worth your stop in here!  Here we go…..

Have I mentioned before that I love photographing high school seniors?  Well, if not, I’m saying it again.  The girls especially are always excited to have their picture taken which makes my job extra fun.  And Kara was no exception.  She’s super sweet, undeniably gorgeous, and was a fast changer.   And I might mention that her mom packed a cooler of snacks for all of us which was fantastic since I always shoot over dinner time.  Bonus!  I wish I could show all of Kara’s pictures…there’s not a bad one in the bunch, but alas, I narrowed it down for the sake of the blog.  Enjoy looking through these favorites of mine!

I think this was the very first picture I snapped…perfect.

And a few more in front of one of my most favorite doors in Balboa Park.

And the fun goes on….

How amazing does Kara look????

This is her mom’s garnet…love that special touch…

Presto, change-O…

I couldn’t decide how I liked this picture better…color…or black and white…hmmmm…

And I always end here in this spot…perfect light at dusk…always.

Thanks Kara for sharing this joyful, fun, and momentous time in your life with me!

Boy!  It’s been a loooooooooong time since I’ve blogged.  I deliberately took some months off, and now I have some serious catching up to do!  I’m starting off with this dynamic duo…they are my cousins from Alabama and we took these pictures in, ahem, July.  But who’s counting, right?    Last time I saw them they certainly weren’t the mature young adults that they are today.  They were such gracious hosts to us the summer and were just as sweet as can be to my kids.  LOVE that!  I really wish I could use this location for a senior shoot later this week….hmmm…not gonna happen.  I loved having a new environment to shoot in and Matt and Megan were good sports.  Miss you all!

One can really start feeling her age when she photographs the DAUGHTER of one of her high school classmates.  It’s been 20 years since I’ve been a senior in high school and I’m pretty sure that I didn’t knock out my senior portraits like Cierra did.  Cierra made my job extremely easy during our shoot and extremely difficult as I tried to narrow down the shots that turned out.  She is so strikingly beautiful and has such a sweet spirit…kind of like her mom. :)  I still remember all the girls being  jealous of her mom’s hair in high school and it looks like Cierra inherited those gorgeous locks too. 

In my daughter’s words, “Prepare to be amazed!”  Enjoy looking through these favorites of mine.

And again…same picture…different edit.

Gotta love a girl who wears her favorite team with pride.

Don’t you have something that when you look back on your high school pictures you say, “Why did I wear THOSE?”  I’m going out on a limb here…but these might be it for Cierra.

And that’s a wrap!  Thanks Julie and Cierra for making the long drive down to San Diego…I think it was worth it!

It’s a trifecta for these girls!  These three sisters had so much fun during our downtown shoot that I found myself just letting them “play” and snapping along  the way…it doesn’t get better than that!  I probably couldn’t have shot for hours…if it wasn’t for that small problem called “sunset.” 

I have a new theme this year on my blog.  It’s called, “I won’t blog very often but when I do it will be worth checking in!”    It seems as though I have the same “problem” with every shoot lately…just too many great shots to pick from.  When I started picking pictures to blog for this post I came up with 43.  Now even I think that’s too many!  I think I cut it in half…but who’s counting anyway?  Lots and lots of sass, spunk, and style to check out!

And that’s a wrap!  And believe me when I say that’s only a third of the “good ones!”

I’m only half way through editing this session, but it seems like these pictures were taken forever ago.  Between Spring Break and, ummm, life…I’m behind.  I wanted to give a little sneak peek for Dad and Mom…stay tuned…there WILL be many more to share from this super sweet session!

First up…the whole family…aren’t they great?

And they love each other.  I love that.

A few of their darling kindergartner…seriously…can she be any cuter?  And she’s got the personality to match!

I’m not kidding when I say I’ve got a dozen more shots from this spot…all taken within seconds…all equally adorable!

Next…their kind-hearted and beautiful middle schooler…who just happens to be a classmate of my son.  She wouldn’t give me any dirt on him though.

And the sisters together….

And one last one for now.  I asked the parents to give each other a little kiss and this is what I got.

Beautiful and super cute, talented, perfect smile, and doesn’t take a bad picture…this only begins to describe Becca.  We had originally planned to take Becca’s pictures this past fall, but we had to wait on that Letterman jacket…which really worked out better for me since the fall was CRAZY!  I think I enjoyed this session much  more now, and after a much needed break, I couldn’t have picked a better person to start 2011 with.  It was next to impossible to narrow down the proofs since they all looked amazing and I’m pretty sure I’ve completely overwhelmed Becca and her family with what they have to look through…sorry…and good luck with that.

I told myself that I would limit this post to 20 pictures…well 21…so sit down and enjoy!

When posting seniors, I like to “bookend” it…so here is one of the very first pictures I took…actually I think this was shot #3…oh, yes, I knew this was going to be both easy and fun!

Let the fun continue….

Did I mention that Becca is also a cheerleader?  Could she be any cuter???

And that letterman jacket we were waiting on…

We kept strolling along and I threw Becca in so many nooks and crannies..I’m sure they thought I was half nuts!

And one of my favorite doors…

And one from the end our shoot…I told you she nailed it!

Thanks for allowing me to capture this momentous time in your life!

Valentine’s Day has always been one of my favorite holidays…mainly because it’s so easy to throw a themed party. I’ve had some smashing successes over the years. Now that my kids are getting older it’s losing its lustre a bit…for the boys anyway. Grace is still all about it. Also losing its lustre with the boys…valentine pictures. Can’t say that I blame them…if I were a nine or eleven year old boy I wouldn’t want my mom taking “cute” pictures of me either. But alas, I have my Grace! She’s growing up too fast, but still willing to “play” with mom. Forgive me for the overkill on pictures…I poured my efforts for three kids into one. Plus, she’s my last…and my girl.

Happy Heart Day Everyone…share some love!!!

Now that most people embarking on a 2011 photo project are SIX weeks into it, I, on the other hand, am finally wrapping up my 2010 project.  Looking back, it’s rewarding to see all the images come to together, but I was surprised at how taking just ONE photo a week often seemed to slip my mind until Saturday night.  I was typically scrambling at the last minute, but now that I have this to look back on, I’m so glad I did it.  That being said, I’m not doing it this year.   Maybe next. 

If you followed this project at all, you’ve realized I never did week 52.  Who does that?  Seriously, on the last week I totally bonked.  Actually, I had big plans.  What I really wanted to do was take the fam to the beach and make them spell out “2011″ with their bodies and take a silhouette.  Great idea, right?  I thought so….it just didn’t happen.  I can totally see it in my mind though.    So…moving on.  A good friend suggested I just put all the pictures from the year together and call it “week 52.”  I looked at her and said, “Brilliant.”  In typical me fashion, I couldn’t make it simple.  So I made a collage:

And then I made a video of the whole lot of pictures.  I’m pretty happy with how it came out and I know I’ll cherish it for years.  For your viewing pleasure:

2010/52 Week Project….life is good.

Meet my dentist and her gorgeous family!  This is the last of my much overdue sessions that I wanted to give some blog time to.  I think her family was less than enthusiastic about getting their pictures taken, but I got them to admit that they did indeed have fun.   There were about a million people in Balboa Park this day so it’s a bit miraculous than no one else appeared in their family photos.   Take a look!

First up, the fam in front of one of the rad doors…oh how I love the doors in Balboa Park!

They brought their dog, Frosty, too.  He was a trooper.

Speaking of  Frosty….

And a bunch more of my personal favorites.

With this beauty in the house, Dad better buy a shotgun…if he doesn’t already have one.

And there you have it.  All caught up, and just in time too.  I’ve got a beauty of a senior girl to share soon!