Here’s a bit of what I was up to last week…
I was at the Seal Beach pier when one day when it was bright and sunny. Ten minutes later the fog rolled in, then back to sun. The weather was crazy and indecisive that day!
I also had a last-minute location change when I found out there was a race going through the park I was supposed to be shooting at. Love thinking on my feet!
And a gorgeous evening photo session in one of my most favorite fields ever!
Don’t forget! Today…Friday October 28 (Rossmoor) and Monday October 31 (Huntington Beach) I’ll be at Rascals to Rebels to take pictures of your kids in their Halloween costumes! There are no appointments, so bring your kids by any time between 4 and 5pm on Friday and 3 and 5pm on Monday. It’s $20 (cash or check only) for 3 digital images (of my choice) that will be emailed to you the next day. Quick and easy..and an amazing deal!
In other news, last week I photographed a line from Sierra Julian. My models were so adorable and it was a first time for all of them! They all did so well!
I’ve been putting together quite a few mock-ups lately for my clients. When you hire me to photograph your family, I love to work with you to choose a location that fits your style and compliment that with clothing. The perfect blend of color and texture can bring so much to a photo. Not only does it show your personal style, but it adds interest and draws you in.
This mock-up was made for a family with 2 little girls who are doing their photo session at one of my urban locations. I wanted to create a holiday look without too much fuss. I also love the gold and navy against red brick.
Mock-ups are meant as inspiration, meaning I don’t expect my clients to run out and buy each piece that I put on the board. But, it will give them some ideas to run with…whether it’s the color palette, the use of texture or how to work with details and patterns.
So, I gotta be honest with ya. I’ve been a little behind on work. Things have been crazy busy with my family life and work, so I’m not in the kitchen as much as I’d like to be. For the past few months, I had back up recipes/pictures in a folder on my computer because I was cooking so much. Well, those have run out and I wasn’t making anything super exciting this week for dinner. I needed quick and easy. So, instead of bailing on this week’s food feature, I decided to show you what quick and easy looks like in my house.
Last night for dinner I made bourbon chicken and roasted broccoli. The hardest part was stopping to take pictures. I mean this is one of those dinners that is put together before I can even get my kids to set the table!
I had a giant bag of broccoli in my fridge, so it was as simple as roasting (with olive oil, salt and pepper) it in the oven at 425, then tossing with lemon, pine nuts and parmesan. I based it loosely off this recipe…The Best Broccoli of your Life.
While the broccoli roasts, you are cooking the chicken and dumping together a few pantry items for the sauce. SO EASY.
This is the recipe for Bourbon Chicken. Which has Asian flavors, but I’ve been to many Chinese restaurants and I’ve never seen Bourbon Chicken on the menu. 🙂 Regardless, it tastes good!
Oct
24
When I was first starting out, I remember watching a photographer that I admired and it was shutter click after shutter click, hundreds of them. For those of us that grew up with film cameras, it’s a transition from the feeling of being limited to the amount of film you have on hand. Digital blows all that out of the water. I know there are people who stick to their guns about really contemplating each shot, framing it perfectly and not going home with loads of junk images that never see the light of day. But, people, I photograph children. And they do not wait for me to frame them perfectly and they also don’t care how many images I ‘waste.’ Sooo, I fire away. I keep shooting the entire session. Even when I feel like I’ve got the shot, I try to squeeze in just one more good one. Sometimes, it’s when the camera leaves my face that the stars align and everyone relaxes into the perfect shot. Let’s just say I have a quick trigger finger. 🙂
I also shoot during the get-to-know-you that happens at the beginning of a session. I’ll be talking to the child, asking them questions, raising the camera to my face, then back to chatting and so on. Once we get into a groove, the natural expressions just start rolling. Sometimes, kids like to take a new smile ‘out for a test drive’. They’re not really sure what I want from them, so they just start trying things out. I’ll even show them the back of my camera…of course everyone loves to see themselves. We just keep talking and interacting until BOOM that look, you know the one I’m talking about, it just happens and I know I’ve got the shot. And that’s when I’m glad I didn’t give up.
This post will have to be short on words because I’m a one-woman show this week and lots of photo sessions to run around to! Here’s my week in pictures:
I’ve been hinting here and there at a recent project that just wrapped. Blue Christmas trees and hot pink snow flakes can only mean one thing…Oilily! If you’re not familiar with the brand, it’s European children’s clothing and it’s all about the unexpected. Lots of mixing prints, layering and details like you can’t imagine. So, I when I got the opportunity to style and shoot a few pieces from their Holiday line for the splash page of the website, I was on color overload! I kept referring to my friend Laura, who pushed me to take it over the top and I’m so excited with the results.
If you want to check out the splash page on the Oilily site, click here: Oilily USA
Just wanted to share a few fall-inspired/Halloween decorations I recently put up around the house…
I saw these little white pumpkins at Trader Joe’s and had to buy them! They are so cute and I love how different they are. I just put them on my cutting board with some moss and a few tealights. Instant fall update for the kitchen table.
My friend Laura inspired me to do a paper garland, so I decided to try my hand at bats! I found an easy cut out shape on-line, then bought some sparkly black cardstock at Michael’s. I traced the bats and the kids helped me cut them out. About 3 bats in, they decided it was too hard, so my in-laws helped me cut out the rest! 🙂 I sewed the bats together into 3 strands and pinned them in the window. Then I put some cobwebs up in the corners.
You know what I could use right about now? A latte. Not just any old Starbucks variety. I need a good strong coffee with perfectly foamed whole milk and a pretty design on top. Years ago, when I graduated into the title of coffee drinker, I only liked overly sweet blends. You know the kind where the whipped cream on top is the least of your problems!? Then I had 3 kids. I’ve given up white mochas and carmel macchiatos but I love the simplicity of a latte made with whole milk.
A few weeks ago when we were visiting Hume Lake Allyson took me to meet Elisa…remember the girl that made my adorable beanie? She is seriously into coffee.
I’ve been to places like Intelligentsia and Blue Bottle, and they don’t have anything on Elisa’s latte. Except pretentiousness. 🙂
I’ve never watched someone pour latte art. Or photographed it! It was so cool to watch all the layers happen.
Gorgeous. Now go get yourself a latte. Or knock on Elisa’s door.