I’ve had the privilege of being with Jay & Amy through some pretty cool milestones in their lives.  From their engagement session, to their Cook Islands wedding, to their LA Reception, to the birth of their first child Max.

This was my first baby shoot!  I haven’t done them up until now because to be honest, I wasn’t quite sure how to photograph newborns.  It’s not exactly the same as posing a bride, but what I realized is that all I have to do is what I usually do – have fun and document what I see. 

Thanks Jay & Amy, for trusting me to take these photos!

Grandmas.  <3  During Jay & Amy’s wedding, they were already talking about how excited they were about their future grandchildren.  Pure JOY on their faces!

This photo cracks me up!

First piano lesson.  I love how he’s sleeping.

Don’t worry Max, I used to do the same thing when my mom made me take piano lessons.

Amy & Jay’s friend knitted this little football outfit for them!

Absolutely ridiculous. 

Time to get fed and put down for bed.

The view from their condo.  It was a gorgeous day!

If you are interested in having fun pictures taken with your little one, I think I got the hang of this baby photography thing. 

Matt & Sarah (and their dog Birch!) were the models for my Bay Area workshop last week.

Fun-loving, radiant, and beautiful. 

Asking couples intimate questions about their relationship will always get you some really great moments. 

This is what they did when I said, “Cheek-to-cheek.”  Why I love Matt & Sarah, in a nutshell.

Oh look – a plank next to a stump.  What to do with that?

Build a teeter toter of course!

Birch, ready to play!

Doggie photo bomb.

“Let’s explore!”

I’m not sure if smiles can get any bigger.  I am in LOVE with this moment.

Sometimes you can just tell when people are beautiful inside and out…

Thanks Matt & Sarah, for inspiring people to love life!!

As a photographer who takes pictures of people, there are two reasons why it’s important to be on the other side of the camera from time-to-time:

1. It is by far the best way to learn what your clients want.  How on earth are you going to truly know what they want, unless you’ve been in their shoes?

2. It’s only fair.  A lot of photographers don’t like to be in front of the camera.  It took me quite a while.  How do you expect your subjects to be comfortable in front of the camera, if you yourself don’t know how to do it?

I booked an official photoshoot (first time in YEARS) with a fine young photographer named Taylor McCutchan.  He took pictures of me with my dog Sammie.  Here are some of the results.

What I learned from doing this photoshoot:

- Sparking an immediate emotional response from a potential client is CRUCIAL.  I went on Taylor’s blog and the first thing I saw were pictures of this girl and her two Corgi’s.  There was no thinking involved.  My immediate response was, “I WANT.”

- It is better to hire artists based on THEIR style and let them have creative control.  That is when you get the best results.  As a creative person, I know that too much direction or too many rules will block creative energy.  Taylor asked me a few questions like, “What do you think of this?.”  I said, “Taylor, I’ll do whatever you want.”  I think the photos turned out pretty amazing, don’t you?

- Delivering photos in a timely manner is UBER IMPORTANT this day in age.  Taylor had the photos ready for me within a week.  Before that, he gave me some sneak peeks.  A week is not a long time at all, but I felt myself really eager to see the photos.  I was excited about them.  I wanted to see them like, NOW.  I know that it takes a while to edit photos, so the little sneak peek is a nice touch, just to put the client at ease.

- Scheduling photoshoots with loved ones should be done on a regular basis.  In my opinion, once per year at least.  After my mom’s dog passed away she said she wished she had more photos of him.  I’ve had my dog for 7 years now and I’ve never had professional pictures taken with her.  I love these.  The shoot was fun too, so why wouldn’t I do this every year?!

Photographer or not, if you haven’t had a photoshoot in a while (or ever), get on it!! 

Nowadays with digital, photographers take a boatload of photos.  It’s such a blessing to have the opportunity to be able to do that without spending a ton of money on film, but it could be a curse too.

Culling hundreds (sometimes thousands!) of photos can be time consuming.  For some photographers, it’s the longest part of the editing process.  I’ve learned that a big part of it is confidence.

I believe in the ONE.  I love seeing a photo and intuitively knowing – THAT. IS. IT.   

Here is the ONE from a recent shoot.

There were a bunch of other pretty photos in the bunch, but I don’t feel the need for them.  When I shoot, I seek quality.  My goal is to look for that one moment, that one photo, that sums up EVERYTHING. 

Check out January’s issue of Bello Magazine to see my editorial shoot with Tilky Jones.  I shot it alongside the fabulous Jana Williams!

Wrap photo.  Great team!  This was the first time I’ve done a big shoot at my place.  Think I’ll start doing it more. 

I photograph Christmas card photos for the Adachi’s just about every year and somehow, they seem to get more and more ridiculous.  I freakin’ love this family.

This year’s theme?  Gangnam Style.

 Merry Christmas ya’ll!

Afraid you won’t have time to take holiday photos this year?  We’ll take care of you, quick and easy! 

I am teaming up with Jana Williams to take holiday portraits in Downtown LA this Saturday, December 1st, 2012.

Space is limited.  Send us an email to reserve your spot!

And in case anyone is curious, the backdrop will look exactly as it does in the photos above – white with sparkly lights.  SPAAAAARKLYYYYY! 

The thing that is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself. - Anna Quindlen

Little Green Cars performed at the Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever (one of my favorite venues!) and I had the privilege of photographing them.  Band/music photography is something I’d like to start doing more often.  It’s very inspiring and as a photographer, you have the best seat in the house. 

Stevie was very excited to be using one of Bruce Springsteen’s picks.

I love to watch (and photograph) girls getting ready.

Hm, that sounds a bit creepy.  Raise your hand if you feel like a creep!  (*slowly raising hand) . . .

Clothing, hair, and make-up don’t matter in the grand scheme of things, but it can be awfully fun.  I love getting ready and lookin’ perrrrrty!