Christmas Eve

I hope everybody had a great Christmas. We got to spend Christmas Eve on Coronado with family. It was awesome. Nothing like great people and great food. Throw in 4 dogs, 2 tweens and an adorable toddler and it's a perfect evening. One highlight was a quick walk to the Hotel Del Coronado. The kids got to ice skate (Kai for the first time)and all of us were treated to an incredible sunset. It was really clear that day, you could see the (Mexican islands) of the coast (pink picture in the middle).
All of these photos are straight out of the camera, no photo shop.

Merry Christmas

Sweet Twins

These sweet 2 week old twins loved snuggling up together. Can you tell that the boy was a whole pound heavier at birth? Amazingly,these two not only have big brother Jonah (see below), but also have 14-month old twin siblings. What gorgeous kids.

Pilot and His Lady

Here are is a WWII inspired shot and a nice close up of this beautiful couple. Actually, they told me they have a picture of a pose like this from their wedding many years ago. Sweet to see that the magic is still there.

Airport Museum Shoot

I was thrilled when this family booked a session at an airport. Everybody knows I love the beach, but you may not know that ever since I was a little girl I loved flying in planes. I grew up near an airport, heard Berlin airlift stories from my parents, and loved traveling by plane. I played stewardess and was actually accepted to be a flight attendant for Lufthansa. Then my life took a totally different turn (including a history degree, anything old is extra cool). So being at a plane museum at an airport, with my camera and a beautiful family was a treat. I'm super excited to share these pictures, I had to wait until their Christmas cards were mailed :)
Thanks, G. family, I hope you'll love these pictures as much as I do.










P.S. I love boats, too, I used to race in an Olympic boat class (470) and have a couple of skipper's licenses, I'd love to do a boat/yacht session. In due time, I'm sure.

Makos Surf Team

Meet the Makos Surf Team of San Clemente. My favorite surfer is the cute guy in the middle (blue shirt under the hoodie). There are longboarders, shortboarders and body boarders. Go Makos!!!!

The Shoemaker's Kids

Feeling a little guilty about how few pictures I've taken of my kids lately. Life's been busy with school, soccer, flag football, surfing, and my growing business, I just haven't taken a lot of cool pictures of my kids. And boy are they growing. Time seems to go faster and faster. This one was taken by my photog friend Colleen during our Christmas photo session. Love it! I was able to sneak in a few of my kids as well, they will be posted soon.

B-52 Bomber

Saturday I did an awesome shoot for a helicopter pilot and his family at the plane museum at the Camarillo airport. Photos from that shoot to come soon! While we were there, we got to watch a vintage B-52 bomber take off and land. Wow, did that engine purr (I'm not into that type of thing, but really liked it, I don't know why). Made my History scholar heart skip a beat.
Really look forward to going back there some time to listen to the stories of the veteran volunteers. The shot of the poster reminded to say "Thanks". Actually, it gave me the chills.

Irish Lads

This Irish family wanted some portraits of their boys in their backyard. The whole shoot was so relaxed and pleasant, no gusty winds like at the beach or other interruptions. Just lovely.
I tried capturing the boys personalities, love the close ups. And the pretty family portrait.

Sweetness

I just couldn't bear not sharing these. How sweet is she?

Malibu Family

It was fun to see the R. family again for their Christmas pictures. It always amazes me to see how much the kids grow. The beach was very windy the day of the shoot. I loved the JOY letters the mom brought to the shoot, what a fun idea. At the end of the shoot she gave them to me to keep, looking forward to having some more fun with them this season. Little K. (the older girl) has such a striking resemblance to my favorite aunt (who was a fashion model), even in the way she strikes a pose.

More.

How cute are these kids? B.'s eyes are killer! And little L. makes me want to have a little girl again. The top picture is my favorite, I love how he is leaning into his little sis and how she is holding her foot. Imperfectly perfect. Just like life. Can't wait to take my kids to this location. I've been so busy doing shoots I have no recent pictures of my own kids. Shame on me. I'll have to schedule a session or it'll never happen.

Hip Family

I shot at this location for the first time, and I LOVED it. Wow. This is a preview for this family, still working on editing the rest of the session. Vanessa is a stylist, her family (including her two die hard surfer dudes) looked amazing. She loves preparing families for photo shoots, so if you are interested, let me know and I'll connect you.

Beach Family

This beautiful family was the largest I've ever taken pictures of. I was determined to get some great shots, considering just how much work is must have been to get everybody ready at the same time :) These are some of my favorites, I was amazed how many good shots we got, but then these kids are used to their "mamarazzi" mom, who takes lots of great pictures of her kids. And did I mentioned how sweet and well behaved everyone was? Just a joy to be around.