{ the calvert ladies }

I found myself shooting back at the Orange Circle again today... but in a spot I'd never shot at before: the train tracks. It seems like a crime that I've never been over there with my camera... its SO cool! It was my client's idea... she's a genius :-)

Anna and Ruby make such a great team. I love the looks they give each other and their hugs are epic (see one of the photos below, you'll see what I mean). They really seemed to have fun playing on the tracks and seriously laughed more than I had all day (to be fair, I cleaned my house all day. No laughing matter...). Anyway, I absolutely love these two cuz, well... they rule!

I've been loving direct sun and shadows lately.

Oh, didn't you know? Ruby is part gazelle :-)

Here's that hug I was talking about.... aaaaawwwwwe.

Super favorite of the day!

2nd favorite... I love my new flash techniques :-)

So much personality!

{ the benzie family }

Ay caramba, sometimes my job is tough. But, sometimes it's not only easy, but ridiculously fun. Here's a prime example:

Last Friday I had the pleasure of teaming up with little Gavin again (you may remember him from The Hope Chest photo shoot) for some more photos in Old Towne. He made me laugh throughout the whole shoot and surprised me when he turned into a bundle full of smiling energy from the shy, tired little guy I saw when we first met up. His mom and dad were pretty amazing, too and I really can't wait to meet the family's new edition next year.... newborn photos, Erica??? :-)

Here are a few of my favorites from the day:

I love me some group hugs...

Haha, this one makes me smile... check out that death grip Gavin has on his mom's neck... and yet she smiles beautifully :-)

So serious...

{ lance + laurie }

Last weekend I had the honor of assisting Kate Noelle with one of the most beautiful weddings I've seen so far... and not only because the bride and groom were ridiculously good-looking and all the details were great, but because everywhere I looked there was a ton of smiles and happy tears. Laurie and Lance were so incredibly happy and excited to be married I couldn't help but grin myself. Here are some of my favorites from the day... photos were a big priority for them so they allotted LOTS of time for them. Hence a bunch of favorites :-)

We did the portraits at the most beautiful estate in Rancho Santa Fe... I really could've spent the whole day shooting there.

In order to get as many photos as possible (and so they could have a more private first look) they decided to see each other before the ceremony. I LOVE when couples decide to do this... it's such an amazing moment.

They couldn't keep their hands off each other...

They also couldn't stop complimenting each other about how amazing they looked.

One of my favorites of the day...

The lovely ladies...

Right after we shot this pic Lance spontaneously yelled across the yard, "I love Laurie!!!"

Super, ridiculously adorable flower girls.

These cool guys are the best of friends. They even have a complicated secret handshake.

The ceremony was full of sentimental stories, a photo slideshow, laughter, and sweet glances back and forth.

You may kiss the bride...

And lastly, here are the beautiful details....

{ the rim family }

Only about a half hour after meeting this family I felt completely comfortable and happy to be around them. They all have a calm, happy way about them.... which is something amazing considering our photo shoot involved 3 locations and 3 outfit changes. Tara, the little girl, made my heart smile when I heard her yell from upstairs where she was undergoing a costume change, "Miss Amanda... I miss you! Miss Amanda... I love you!" Ahhhh, so sweet! Then little Ryan practically made my heart melt when he wouldn't stop saying my name... I really could've hung out with them all day.

Here's one of my favorites from the day:

I love sliding glass doors... they make anywhere a beautiful place to shoot because of all that light they let in... these photos were taken on the kitchen floor. LOL

A bit more formal...

Another favorite from the day... you should've heard me here. I had to sing the Cookie Monster song to get Ryan to stay there and let Tara hug him for so long. Haha.

How cool is this wall?! I want one in my backyard... if only I had a back yard *sigh*

Laughter makes the best photo... in my opinion.

Madly in love with the color here! Laura, you did such a great job choosing the outfits!

One of my favorite things about doing on-location photography is shooting somewhere that means something to my clients. In this case it was Pinkberry... it's one of their favorite places to go as a family.

A very serious 'cheers' from Ryan...

Another amazing wall that I wish I had...