A while back, I was approached by Mignonne to do some portraits. Her and her husband James are expecting a baby boy in April and wanted to capture this special time in their lives with photos. I am always up to do “belly sessions” because to me, it’s the natural “next step” after getting married. Plus, how could I turn down participating in (and capturing) this important part of their family history?

So, this past Saturday they were in town attending their baby shower (hosted by their awesome friend, Jean) and the three-and-a-half of us got together a few hours before it began to shoot around. We met at noon on a very sunny and otherwise beautiful day which, though great for picnics and outdoor fun-in-the-sun, is not the best time to take photos. (It’s a good thing to keep in mind when planning any photo sessions or wedding ceremony start times: full sun during early afternoon equals harsh lighting conditions, which equals not-so-great photos.)

Nevertheless, knowing this beforehand I took some time a few days before and drove around the area we were going to be in so that I could find the best spots to photograph my expectant couple. Because we only had a couple of hours before the baby shower, I didn’t want to waste time finding locations the day of.

It definitely paid off. Please kindly enjoy these photos as much as I enjoyed taking them :o)

On Sunday, we packed our gear into the car and headed over the hills of the Santa Ana Mountains (I think that’s what they’re called) towards Irvine to meet up with Charlene and Chris. I was so honored when they approached me to do these photos. Pregnancy is such a special time in any couple’s lives and I was especially humbled, being that this is Charlene and Chris’s first child. They’re expecting a baby boy in a little over a month and he’s going to be one lucky kid to be coming into the world to this amazing family.

Charlene is an awesome wedding coordinator with Picture Perfect Events. You can find more information about her fabulous work here at MyFoxLA’s HotList. We’ve worked together in the past and she was so helpful in making my job easier at Melissa and Dave’s renewal that I knew it was going to be a fun and relaxed day of great picture making. Chris is your typical, man’s man. He’s a great person with an always-relaxed, always-cool attitude and he’s going to make a great father!

We had an awesome time on Sunday with Charlene, Chris, Maddie, Sandy, and myself. We started off in their beautiful Irvine home (while it was still raining outside.) When the clouds parted, we grabbed lunch, then headed down to Laguna Beach and grabbed a few more images. The weather was perfect and there were plenty of people out and about. Maddie, their 2 year old Golden Retriever came along with us and kept Sandy quite busy, dragging her around trying to get near the water while I snapped away. (Thanks babe!)

Please click and enjoy the images in the slideshow! The song is “Baby, Now that I’ve Found You” by The Foundations.

(Don’t forget to come back here and show me some love by dropping some comments :) )

Yesterday after work, I got a chance to go hang out with my old friend Lawrence. Lawrence and his wife Kristine had a baby recently, Kayla. I haven’t had a chance to meet her yet, and since I’ve known Lawrence and Kristine since 8th grade I was pretty excited to go hang out and I brought my camera along for fun.

Kayla is adorable, as I’m sure you’ll agree with me from the pictures. She’s a happy little girl, and has this curious look on her face all the time. Gotta love her pompadour, too. I bet she’ll be smart when she grows up. Here are some pics from yesterday. Unfortunately, Mommy Kristine had to work late so Loc and I hung out at their house in Brea and walked down to the park nearby.

Here are a couple pics of their dog, Belle. She’s a Golden Retriever. Very loveable and sweet. Totally mellow too.

isn’t he cute?

Sorry about not updating my blog in a while. My alter-ego day job has been keeping me quite busy. Things are hectic since I recently moved over to join a new team and have been suffering at the hands of the newbie learning curve. My new boss seems cool, except that he wants to keep me busy. But anyway, we were able to squeeze in a portrait session with Branden this past weekend. His parents wanted to get some images of him to share with friends and family, as well as to capture moments of him while he’s still in that newborn stage. I hadn’t seen him for a week and already, he’s changed so much. His face looks chubbier, he moves around a lot, and his eyes open to stare at you when he’s awake. It’ll be interesting to see his growth by next week.

Which brings me to an important note. I recently came across this great article that stressed the importance of frequently having professional portraits taken of your children as they grow up. It’s exactly for the reason that they grow so fast that you want to do this. Sure, snapshots are fun too but an image taken by a professional with pro-level equipment brings the enjoyment onto another level. The value of a beautiful family treasure that can be enjoyed for years (and by future generations) offsets the price of the photo session.

I hope that Ann and Chuck (as well as Branden, and the rest of our family) enjoy these images for years to come. If you would like a portrait session done of your children, feel free to get in touch with me. My contact info is on the about me page :)

I think he just woke up here:

And here he is getting sleepy again. Babies don’t stay awake very long.

Yup. They don’t stay awake for very long at all.

Must be dreaming something nice.