Northern California Family Photographer

Getting a family of five together in one place as children head into their teens – and beyond – can be a tough task. It can be even harder to get that dedicated, relaxed family time without the stress and distractions of daily life. Which is why it was a privilege to be able to capture the Butler family at-play and just enjoying one another’s company recently at Sly Park Lake. Eldest son, Josh, was heading off to Air Force boot camp not long after our session and so his mom, Tracie, was especially emotional at having all her” babies”…

Headed over to Gold Ridge on a sunny Christmas eve to capture the Ganno family all in from out of town. This year little Hayes from Colorado was the new addition to the family- just 5 months old. We had planned the shoot for the 23rd but the weather was rainy and I thought it would be best to postpone for sunny Christmas eve. I even had my husband assist me on this one:) A family affair! I think it’s cool when a family who comes together from many locations and generations decides to make this happen. Life is so…

I feel fortunate to get to work with many of the same families year after year. I believe it has been about 8 or 9 consecutive years now with the Anderson family. This year we mixed it up a little with formal attire against the historic Coloma background. I love the grey attire, the bright green grass against the old rock walls. It is fun working with them to come up with something new and fun each year. Below is an image that Jess recently sent me of their wall of photographs from over the years. Seeing this made me…

I have the best job. And, it’s the people that I work with that are most responsible for that. Yes, of course, I live for “creative flow” but without those folks that always warm your heart, I wouldn’t be sitting here while there is a mountain full of snow just up the hill. Ok, not exactly true, I’m a blue bird day skier…In the storm, I’d rather be here right now with my tunes cranked loud and my fire the same, editing photographs that I know are going to make my friends, Tom and Bethany smile. At least I’ll be…

After watching Tiffany and Keith exchange their vows to each other, and then getting the honor to witness Finn entering the world, it seemed only right to get to spend the morning photographing him on his first birthday. What a treasure he is. How can you not smile looking at his? I brought a little gift for Finn that we all enjoyed while watching his unencumbered enthusiasm. Spending time with these three always makes me feel grounded and happy. How cool is that? Enjoy your blog teaser….the rest will be up in a few more days! Happy Holidays!  

It’s always great to have family photographs taken at your own home. It’s a wonderful way to remember your first house, the house where your kids grew up, or the house you grew old in. And it’s great for me when the property is as beautiful as the Coyle Family’s is. Our day started out great! Mari must have planned afternoon naps perfectly because her beautiful boys, Emmett and Max, were all smiles for their photo session together in the rocks of their front yard. As the sun was setting behind them, the light was perfect and I couldn’t stop…

Capturing the height of fall with the McCann family at the beautiful Boeger Winery, we were so glad that we also hit a beautiful, sunny day!  It is especially hard for parents of this age group to get it all together, cleaned, ward-robed and to the shoot on time, that I commend Reiko for booking early and giving herself plenty of time to find some cute clothing. As it sometimes goes with these sessions, especially the ones you plan way ahead for:) Hailee fell on the playground a few days before our shoot and scraped up her face so we…

After many session reschedules(and I know how hard it can be to get so many family members, going in so many different directions, together), we finally arrived at our session last week at Boeger Winery on a beautiful fall day. I applaud John for his diligence in making it work. Time slips away so fast. There were no Japanese maples in bloom as they were at the Kessler home earlier in the year but plenty of color from the vines. Several years back I photographed Andrew’s senior photographs and now he is continuing his studies at UC Davis. Add a…

I had to ease my way into this session. I was working with a sleepy almost four year old that had taken a nap on the car ride over.  It can sometimes take little ones a little while to warm up to a strange photographer, and a sleepy one requires some pre-photo session bonding. I was able to connect with Marina while tossing rocks into the lake.  She loved it, which made it hard to pull her away from the water’s edge.  I succeeded…and was able to switch her to throwing the fall leaves over her Mom and Dad.  Every…