Every once in a while its nice to get together with other photographers to learn, practice, and just hang out. This week I did just that at aScott Robert Lim workshop. The event was held at the Santa Anita Race Track
We studied natural light, what to look for, and its patterns, and off camera lighting using numerous strobes. So here are a just a few of my favorites using both natural light and off camera lighting.

A ver special thanks to Vivian Tran of “All Made Up” the make up was fantastic! I love to focus on the eyes and these girls had the most amazing eyes and lashes! You rock Vivian!

Oh Travis, how sweet are you to share the spotlight with your gorgeous girlfriend! lol, Seriously it was such an awesome idea to include her. She made you laugh, you made her laugh, you both made your moms and me laugh. You two are adorable. Heading downtown to The Mission Inn district was the perfect grungy backdrop to contrast your dressed up outfits. Good luck young man with your baseball career, I cant wait to hear about all of your success, heck, I love hearing all about it now With your talent, sweet smile and fun personality you cant help but go where ever you dang well want to! King High School Baseball is lucky to to have you. Im not going to give your entire shoot all away just yet  because this is just Part 1 of his session. This Spring will be part 2 so hold on more gorgeous pics to follow…..

Taylor and David’s wedding story reads like it was pulled straight from a fairy tale. The Moms of these two (besties in High School), were expecting  at the same time. They spent  a lot of time together with their young toddlers experiencing all of the “firsts”. As the years passed their families grew and they remained  very close. Taylor and David were the best of friends and fell in love <3 <3!!  Its been quite a while since Ive seen kids that have so much going for them. They truly are very inspiring kids. The love that these two families had not only for their kids, but for each other really had to make this one of the most beautiful weddings I have had the pleasure of being a part of! and it had nothing to do with the obvious beauty of the bride and groom, but everything to do with the admiration and respect they have for each other! Now……. on with the pictures from the wedding that took place at the Canyon Crest Country Club.

I thought I’d share with you my “gallery wall” in the making. Whenever the topic comes up with clients about designing a gallery wall I get the same sort of confused look. My opinion is IF you are not going to to extra large canvases or  large canvas prints, then to make a bold statement, a gallery wall should be created. The thought of hanging several prints of all different sizes takes a little thought, however its much easier than you think. My wall, when finished is going to be a mix of canvas wraps, and framed canvas prints. the largest canvas being 18×24 LOVE mixing it up!!! ( I have another wall for my extra lg. canvases) Thats another post.

My First step was to hang the 2 white distressed frames. I knew I wanted them together. That part was pretty easy. The first and really only rule comes into play after you have hung your first ,( or in my case 2) frames: PICK YOUR GUIDE LINE. You can go with the top ( which is what I did) horizontal line, or the bottom horizontal line. In my top horizontal line ALL of my portraits that I put on this wall will be at the SAME HEIGHT. Now below this guide line I can do whatever my heart desires! I get my frames from all over the place, I removed the glass from the store bought frames because I will be using Canvas on Masonite for them, which gives them a much more upscale look than a print behind glass! I used blue painters tape to give me a visual of where I will be putting my Canvases. I love this idea because I get a picture of exactly how a particular size will look on the wall. If I don’t like it, I try another size until I’m happy and THEN I place my order! Great idea huh? I know, sometimes I even amaze myself! lol

This is a view from down stairs as you come in the front door.

And this is a not so great picture of going down the stairs! lol Oh and YES those are antlers over my green secretary.:) Now go get busy with your blue tape, then call me for your session.

Today my house is sort of a wreck, laundry on the couch that needs to be put away, kids soccer stuff laying around the living room, shoes that have been kicked off once in the door are lying at the bottom of the stairs etc. There is one small place in my kitchen though that is mine….all mine!  I change it up often with all sorts of vintage finds, and  for each holiday it hold some kind of treasure. It just makes me happy! and no one touches it. It’s a small old copper and silver serving tray. Im standing at the kitchen sink  pretty much all day (well it feels like all day), so why not have a sacred spot however small that brings you joy?  Today my vintage tray hold an old medicine bottle filled with flowers, a small brown transferware dish that jewelry collects in, and a tube of hand cream. So where is your sacred spot in the midst of your busy household?

Although I didn’t know Ryan personally, I felt as though I did. I think most onlookers today felt the same way. All of us with such heavy hearts that on the streets where we gathered there was little conversation, just lots of emotion. Lots of anger, lots of compassion for the family, for the RPD family, and his service family.  You look at the images of Ryan and his family and think, “They could be my next door neighbors”, or, “He’s the exact age as my nephew”, and somehow you feel that much closer. When my husband saw the short piece with Ryan’s Dad on T.V. he said ” I know him, we have worked out of the same plan room for many years” (construction business). It seems that here in little River city, if you’ve lived her for some time we all know each other in some sort of round about way! It was evident today. Thank you Ryan for fighting for my freedom, and my safety!

These two really do have quite a romantic story. They met at the ranch where Mary Kay boards her horse. John is the local horse shooer who frequently worked with the horses there. Couldn’t you just picture their image on the front of a romance novel?
Their wedding took place at the Historic Mission Inn in Riverside. They enjoyed an intimate Sunday morning wedding and an incredible brunch reception. It was delightful!

I had no clue what I was in for with this wedding! lol Every dealing I had with Amber, the bride was very, straight forward, all business and details, details, details, but when I arrived at Macia de Yabara Amber had given the party girl within permission to come out and play! I was really wishing I could put my camera away and just be a guest! This wedding was one surprise after another. This being my first…..Oh yes she did! Amber walked down the isle with this ball and chain tied to her leg, (I dont know how she managed to not trip over it) and let it hit the pavement when she said “I do”! It was a riot!
You can see by her Dad’s expression he thought so too!
I do believe a good time was had by all!!! Congrats to you Amber and Jeff! xoxox

I waited and waited for this little sweetheart to be born so I could capture her cuteness! We are sorta-kinda- related, in a round about way. Her mom is the cousin of my niece on my husbands side. Confused? Me too! Who cares, I get to gobble up her sweetness now on a regular basis at family gatherings…..and Im so looking forward to documenting her first yr!

I dont think I’ve been to a more symbolic, emotional, beautiful wedding in quite a long time. It was a bit challenging to say the least to capture great images when your eyes are filled with tears! The joy and pride in Laiana’s  dad’s face, the feet washing durring the ceremony, Curtis’s mom seeing him on the front lawn from the upstairs window and yelling out to him how handsome he looked! You could certainly feel love in the air!!

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