I don't have to say much…
They are seriously, the cutest couple!  And can you GET more photogenic??  Joanna told me they'd never had their pictures taken.  Wow.  I'm glad I could break them in with my camera.  🙂

Joanna and Duane were kind enough to run around Castro Valley with me and literally jump out the car on the side of the road to take pictures.  First I took them to an old field, which had some really tall grass.



Then, in the middle of the field was a huge pile of concrete slabs.  I told them to just trust me (famous last words!) and I got these series of photos.  They might be my favorite from the day!



Next stop on our tour was a barn that I always drive by.  My local readers will recognize this barn.  The colors are fab and I've always wanted to photograph here.  Poor Joanna suffered a leg wound climbing over the fence for me.  Talk about sacrifice!!





Joanna and Duane, I hope you enjoyed your tour.  :)  And I had so much fun being your own personal paparazzi for the day!
-Kristin

I love when families want to include their dogs in some of their family pictures…because they ARE part of the family!  JJ was such a sweet family dog.  He wanted to be in every picture 🙂 and he always looked right at me, like he knew I was taking his picture!
The girls were so cute.  They were great at making each other laugh too!





Such a lovely family…

And this picture of Gina and Fred is one my favorites…

Thanks for letting me hang out with you all yesterday! Enjoy the pictures…
-Kristin

Where does the time go???





Jillian turns four with a sassy new hair cut!
-Kristin

Now you can't say you haven't been warned!  This sweet family got their walking quota in for the day during our photo session.  I told them I'd bring them to all my secret spots…you know the kind that don't have directions.  You just have to duck into a neighborhood, find the trail head and get to just the right field, etc!


Hayden just turned one today…Happy Birthday big guy!  And despite a big ol' tooth coming in, he was super happy and content.



I love being able to capture families in a natural way.  Hayden and his mom and dad were so comfortable and easy going, that it made my job a piece of cake!

 



I know this is a lot of pictures to share, but there were too cute not to share!  And this is just the tip of the iceberg. 🙂
-Kristin

…brothers, I got some cute shots of my boys last week too.  Like I said, my typical photo shoot is pretty wild!


But, there was also some sweetness mixed in!

This is exactly how they are with each other…Jake is very sweet and loving, Cooper is a zany ball of fun. 🙂

I sure do love these guys!!
-Kristin 

I think the relationship between brothers is so sweet.  Maybe it’s because I have my own two boys and I love it when Jake watches over Cooper or when Cooper will just give him a hug ‘just because.’ 
Marcus and Lucas have that adorable connection and when I came over for their photo session, one of my favorite moments was when Marcus read to Lucas in their chair.

I think Lucas may have been a little distracted by me!  I loved how they were running around the house in their bare feet, so I also had to capture a little of that. 🙂

My job is so fun because I get to see the world through a child’s eyes.  Getting down on their level and capture a moment of what it’s like to be them….

Here was another moment where you can just imagine what it’s like to be four years old!

And I don’t remember what I said here, but I’m obviously hilarious! 🙂

I love love love the boys’ mini-boden outfits…

Lastly, here’s a shot of the boys in the doorway…the gorgeous doorway, one of my favorite spots in their house!  And I love the contrast with the blue.

Christy, thanks for being so helpful with snacks and beverages on hand at all times, catching kids running down hills and all the rest!  I had a pleasure meeting you all!
-Kristin

That’s what people tell me about photographing my own kids.  When, in all honesty, photographing my kids is wayyyy harder than anyone elses. 
When I tell them to get close, something that starts out as this:

Quickly turns into this…Jillian licking her closest brother.

And before I know it, they’re rolling around on the ground!  Anyway, it’s always fun…so who cares if it’s hard!!  I had a cancellation this week and told myself earlier that every cancellation meant a booked session with one of my own kids.  This time was Jake’s turn.

Jake’s getting pretty big, so we had to be creative.  Sitting there to pose just wouldn’t do.  I saw another photographer take musical instruments into an open field and knew I’d hit the jackpot.  I wanted to put my own twist on the idea. 
Jake is such a musician.  His Nana and Papa, not to mention his dad are all musically talented.  The drums are Jake’s specialty.

This is all I’ve got edited so far…I’ll share more later!
-Kristin

I know this is late to do a post on Mother’s Day, but it’s too cute not to share.  Jillian’s preschool class did a little presentation for the mom’s, so I brought my camera along.
This is her handing me what she had made. 🙂

My friend Maggie took this one of us together.

And Jillian wanted a picture with her teacher, Mrs. Kaufman.  All three of my kids have had Mrs. Kaufman as a teacher and many of my 30 something friends had her as a teacher too!  She is the sweetest lady and Jillian is always spouting advice that she has learned from her.  🙂

We got to stay and watch our kids do their thing, so the first thing Jillian did was dress up.  Hmmm, where does she get that from!?  Although, in this picture I think she looks like she is a seventies child!

Here is story-time…

And a picture with on of her best friends!

-Kristin

…with a three year old!  You might remember this little guy  from my Easter mini-sessions. 

Caleb’s mom invited me back to their house to do a full family session and Caleb was cuter than ever!!  When I asked everyone to move locations, he would say ‘great idea’ and ‘sure’ when I asked him to move his hands, for example.  He even replied ‘sure’ when I offered him a job as my assistant. 🙂
Caleb’s little sister is equally as cute and let me put her in the hands of her big brother, which sometimes worked out better than others!

Here are a few family shots I got from today…

And one last one of mom and dad…awwww!  The scenery couldn’t have been more beautiful.  I was really lucky to be able to visit their parents’ property on a perfectly sunny day.

Thanks for letting me hang out with you guys…and Caleb…I’ll be sending you a job application!
-Kristin