Alyssa’s senior shoot started out at a new location for me. The Cozmic Cafe in Placerville- I love that building- so much character! I also love new locations…it allows me the opportunity to think on my feet and also creatively as I work out a new spot and its’ light. Alyssa is a singer, and we had the opportunity to borrow their stage for a bit. It made for some fun portraits, and I even got Alyssa to sing for me for most of them. What a beautiful voice she has! After we finished with the stage, we headed up…

The Calitri’s were the lucky winners of a session for Intel’s big annual fundraiser for charity. The whole family seemed to love getting outdoors, and the boys didn’t mind that there was a seemingly endless amount of rocks to throw. Thank you Calitri family- enjoy your blog teaser- all of your proofs will be up by tomorrow!

I met Caity about 6 years ago through a mutual friend. She is local to our home in Pollock Pines and used to do some babysitting for us !  Ya see, when you don’t have parents that live nearby, you get to meet alot of 11-14 year olds looking for a little extra income. Courtney, her mom asked me to join the Chamber of Commerce recently so I was glad when she called to have me photograph her daughter’s senior photographs. We did a slightly longer session to incorporate some images of the two of them as well as some…

Hard to believe it but Miss Madison will graduate next year. When I first met Madison and her parents, she was about the age of my oldest daughter, Jaz. In fact she even babysat my kids for awhile there! Poof- now a senior in high school-gosh that happens fast! Getting out with her for her senior photographs was an honor. The images blend innocence and youth with absolutely lovely and gorgeous young lady- inside and out! A warm smile- a friendly heart- I wish for you all the love and happiness the world has to offer- go get ’em Miss…

Tom and Bethany may very well be one of the kindest couples I know. We’ve only spent a few occasions together- a meeting or two, an engagement session, their wedding and then shared a lovely winter dinner last year at Cafe Luna in Placerville. So I guess one could surmise that I really don’t know them that well. How could you after only a few times? That’s the funny thing about my job. Weddings are of course, very personal. Spending a day with a couple on one of the most important days of their lives, meeting family and friends and…

I photographed the Hodges family a few years ago, when there were just 3 of them. This year it was time for another family session, this time as a family of 4. We met in the early morning light at Boeger Winery. And got to spend some time catching up doing some wine tasting after the session. Thank you Hodges family!

Got to meet up with Julie and Brian who were married in 2008 up here in Pollock Pines. I remember that day- not only how easy going and fun their wedding was but how my commute was about two minutes. Not many wedding commutes like that:)  Julie and Brian are now the proud parents of Juno and Kona who spent the day at the groomer getting spiffy for the shoot. The fall colors are just starting to emerge up here and it was great to catch up AND capture them in my lens!

The Haffners’ are one of those families that everyone seems to know here in the Pollock/Camino area. I had the pleasure of both meeting them and photographing them a few years ago for their 20th wedding anniversary, and this time it was not only time for another family session, but also Colby’s senior session. We met up at Sly Park Lake on what turned out to be a burn day (that’s mountain talk for smokey), but we used it to our advantage and got some awesome shots of Colby emerging from the smoke and sun flare on his bike. It…

I have a bunch of techniques that I use to get people to loosen up a bit and smile, but during this shoot Jeff, my husband, who was assisting me on this Tahoe shoot, utilized one that had honestly never crossed my mind before. Fortunately the camera was facing the direction of the clients or my white balance would have been really off….see if you can tell which image it is! I only instructed him to be witty and charming- I swear! We had a great family weekend with the Little’s getting away to Squaw- hiking, eating, tubbing and the…

Keith and Tiffany are expecting a baby and I know they are going to be fantastic parents. I first met Keith and Tiffany when they asked me to photograph their wedding back in August of 2010 in Grass Valley at the Harmony Lodge. I love working with these two (soon to be 3). They have a love for adventure and a warmth of spirit that just makes you want to spend more time with them. “Finn” is going to be a lucky little boy! We met up down by the river in Sacramento where the two of them hopped on…

Kate and Aaron’s wedding started on a most beautiful Lake Tahoe day. I left Pollock Pines for the fresh aired fall drive along the river and then around the east side of the lake to arrive at Northstar several hours early to check out shooting locations and make a plan for the day! I met Aaron in the Northstar Village. He claimed that he couldn’t smile on command, but I think the fact that two of his three sisters were there to make him laugh helped to remedy that. Kate got ready in a suite with all the other girls…

One of my favorite parts about doing extended family sessions is getting to watch and capture how the whole family interacts. Cousins hanging out, grandparents interacting with their grandchildren, parents “working” their young children for natural expressions….and knowing that I am capturing a moment in time for this family that will be forever a part of their family history. I met up with the Tyack family for their extended family session at Sly Park Lake. The air was crisp, the light was beautiful and I couldn’t have asked for a better evening for this session. The kids and adults skipped…