behind the scenes: coloring & contortionism

I am not a graceful photographer. When I'm on a shoot, I don't dress in cute skirts or heels. I bend. I twist. I kneel and crawl. Whatever it takes to get the shot. I contort myself into some pretty interesting poses. I've never quite seen it from this side of things. But thanks to my husband and his iPhone, I got to see myself act like a monkey. Ha! But thanks to his iPhone, I also got to see another cool side of what happens... something that most clients don't see until they experience it for themselves. The FUN and unexpected moments. Like coloring. Yes, coloring. As in crayons, markers & drawing paper.

Sometimes I'll incorporate it into the actual shoot. I might ask everyone to create a family portrait together.

And sometimes I'll use it to create a pocket of alone time when needed. For instance, I'll ask the kiddos to create a quick picture or card for their parents. They've got 5 minutes... GO! And then in that time, I have some alone time with the parents... where I'm able to get pictures of JUST THE TWO OF THEM TOGETHER. Because, honestly, how often does that actually happen?

And the next part is fun, too. Each kid takes a turn presenting their drawing to their parents. The pure love and joy on their faces... and the hugs and kisses that follow... are absolutely beautiful to behold. And 100% genuine.

And it makes for a FUN... and memorable... experience for all.

------------------------------

Some behind-the-scene iPhone pictures...

And the resulting shots I was able to capture...

A few more behind-the-scenes with the iPhone...

And some resulting shots...

Contact me if you're ready to play with a session of your own. I promise we'll have FUN.

girls just wanna have fun

I spent this past Saturday in the company of my 2 best friends, celebrating the (belated) birthday of one of them. We've known each other since we were 6. (For anyone who's counting, that's about 28 years of friendship.) Wowsers. Life had been a bit stressful all around lately, so we decided to make it a fun day of relaxation. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh. We started by surprising the birthday girl (Michelle) with a 90-minute combo Thai/Swedish massage. While Michelle was being turned into a pile of relaxed goo, Jen and I entertained ourselves with some coffee.

Then it was off to Crystal Cove. It turned into one of those new moments for all of us, when we discovered this treasure in our own "backyard," and wondered why we'd never been here before when we've lived here all our lives. We decided to skip the shuttle service and walk the scenic route, which led us through this really cool tunnel with all sorts of "Earth Day" paintings.

Unfortunately, the Beachcomber Cafe had a 2.5 hour wait (gasp), and our tummies wouldn't cooperate for that long. So we headed up the staircase (which totally counts as exercise, by the way), and then grabbed some blts on cheesy-parmesan toast, chili cheese and sweet potato fries, and malts all around (which totally negates our earlier exercise... dangit). We warmed ourselves in the sun, enjoyed our lunch and fabulous conversation, and even had a whale sighting.

Back down to the sand and took the time to explore a bit.

Jen remembered hearing that the cottage used in the movie "Beaches" was in this area, and we didn't have to go too far to find it. Bonus FUN moment... someone asked us if we were actors. Ha!

Then we were off to explore the tidepools.

We left just before sunset, but the day wasn't over yet. Next it was off to treat our toesies to some polish and shine.

Then a stop-off at a great local bakery to pick up some treats for that night. (And no... all of these weren't just for the THREE of us!)

And finally we were off to join up with a few more friends for a "girls night IN" dinner.

Good food, good friends, and great conversation. One of those days that made me look back and appreciate just how lucky I am to have these wonderful ladies in my life.

Positive Signs

I like to surround myself with inspiration. I found some chalkboard markers and started to play with my easel... adding one quote per side to keep me smiling.

DIY Packaging Station

This is the year of organization! And my first mini-project: an over-the-door wrapping/packaging station! I've wanted to do this for SOOOOO long, but just never took the time to tackle it. Till now. (Ta-Da!) (That's a lot of "t's", but let's move on, shall we?)

I have a teeny-tiny place, so not a lot of room to spread out as I'd like. But I didn't relish my old routine of breaking out a box of supplies and digging through them every time I had an order to prepare. Nuh-uh. So now, I'm streamlined. (I hear the angels singing as a golden ray of sun appears...)

I bought myself an ordinary over-the-door towel rack to use for this project. Then I simply draped my favorite tissue papers over the bars. (Note: must use smaller size tissue, as many types are too long to fit here without being trimmed first. I learned this the hard way with the striped-patterned tissue paper.)

On one hook at the bottom of the towel rack hangs my spool of baker's twine.

On the other hook hangs some gift bags. I use one gift bag to hold the rest of my smaller packaging supplies: thank you notes, pens, scissors, and logo stickers.

Now everything has its place. My boxes are kept flat inside my closet, and my smaller supplies have a place of their own within easy grasp.

Easy-peasy. And super-cute, too.

Supplies:

• towel rack from The Container Store
• tissue paper from Target and The Container Store
• baker's twine from Crate & Barrel
• small logo stickers from Moo.com
• large logo stickers from Millers Imaging
• thank you cards from Paper Source
• pens from Paper Source
• scissors from Target

REMEMBER: Just a few short days left to take advantage of 2012 pricing! Pricing goes up as of January 31st. Contact me here to book your session now.

new affliation with MINTED + a new year's special

Never sent out Christmas cards? No problem!

Send a HAPPY NEW YEARS card instead.

Feeling a bit guilty because you ran out of time to send out Christmas cards? Don't worry. More and more people are sending out NEW YEAR'S cards as the new, less-stressful alternative.

And since I've recently become an affiliate of MINTED, you now have easy access to amazingly beautiful and high-quality greeting cards, announcements, invitations and more.

I will even handle the uploading of your session images to the Minted site so you have instant access to start playing with the designs. See my recommended New Year's card designs by visiting my site at www.theSuitcaseStudio.minted.com.

And now is a FABULOUS time to book your family portrait session. My rates are going up a bit this year, but I'm offering one last chance to snag a session at my 2012 pricing. Book your portrait session by January 31 (and have it take place before February 28) and the session fee and all prints & products will be offered at my 2012 rates. Click here to take advantage of this offer and book your session today.   PS: don't wait too long to book.. I've only got 4 sessions left available for this timeframe!

go explore // the Camp

One of my resolutions for 2013 is to get out more and go explore.... even if that exploration takes place pretty much in my own backyard. Southern California (and Orange County, in particular) has so much to offer, and even though I've lived here all my life I feel like I have barely scratched the surface of it all. So I promised myself to try something new at least twice a month... whether that means driving around finding new locations to use for my portrait sessions or just heading out to try a new place for lunch. Hopefully, this means you'll be seeing a lot more images from my "travels," and might just be inspired to try a new place or two, yourself. So, here we go.

First stop: The Camp in Costa Mesa.

I suggested trying a new lunch location to Tony today, and he was totally game. I remembered hearing something about "amazing tacos" at The Camp, and figured we could give those a try. (And as I had only been to The Camp once before, and Tony had never been before, we get bonus points for newness.)

We drove there with tacos in mind, but once we got to The Camp we were seriously torn. There were SOOOOO many amazing food places to choose from. So we did the easy thing and decided to try a couple of them.

First up: Taco Asylum. (The name of the "amazing taco" place.) Their menu was making us drool a bit, but having never been there before we decided to play it safe and order something simple: the short rib taco. A-MAZ-ING. We will definitely be coming back for more. VERY soon.

Next up: Umami Burger. There was a bit of a wait (sidenote: how COOL is it when the hosts are using iPads to add you to their wait-list, and then just send you a text message when your table is ready?!!!), so we decided to explore the area a bit more. We wandered through The Camp, taking note of all the awesomeness around us. (Sidenote #2: if anyone wants a portrait session here I am DEFINITELY adding this place to my "locations" list. I have the contact person's name for The Camp and will be able to secure a photo permit here with no problem.)

Aluminum paneling, mini trailers, a hammock and lots of greenery... this place is simply BEGGING for a photo shoot.

Even their parking lot is adorable. Check out these inspirational parking spaces.

And then... on to the food. Umami Burger. I'd been to one in Las Vegas before, but hadn't been to this location. So it totally counts as new.

Tony and I decided to share a "Manly Burger" (beer-cheddar cheese, smoked-salt onion strings, bacon lardon), an "Umami Burger" (shiitake mushroom, caramelized onions, roasted tomato, parmesan crisp, umami ketchup), some fries and a beer.

YUM. Definitely YUM. And how could you NOT love a place where their branding extends clear to the actual food (the "U" stamped on the top of each bun)?

Unfortunately, we didn't leave room for dessert, but will definitely be returning to The Camp to test out another place soon.

amazing

He has no idea how amazing he is. Creating something from nothing, an imagination come to life.

And after 10 years together, I still love to sit and watch him work.

Just a typical Saturday/Sunday afternoon for my husband... sitting at a table at South Coast Plaza's Crystal Court, headphones on, working on his newest drawings.If you ever see him as you wander through, don't be afraid to stop and say hi. And see the amazingness he is currently creating.

A New Kind of Family Portrait

The Barone family decided that they wanted something just a bit different than their traditional "sit on the rocks at the beach in matching clothes and smile at the camera" family portrait. And so they came to me, ready for something new. Ready to PLAY. Shelby and Steve were still a bit nervous... as all parents are in new circumstances when they're not quite sure just how the kids will respond. But once we got started, they breathed a deep sigh of relief and were able to really relax and enjoy themselves for the afternoon.

Because we let go of the "rules" of traditional portraits. You know... sit, smile, look here, scoot closer, place your hand here, tilt your head, hold that, do it again, etc. Bleh. That doesn't sound like much fun, and if I was a kid I'd certainly get restless in a portrait session like that, too.

Instead of capturing families in a "perfect pose," I celebrate their personalities. Their interactions, bonds, and everything special about each member of the family as individuals, too. I let each person be themselves, and am there to capture it along the way.

How? By making it interactive. We have conversations. We play games. Which leads to LOTS of natural smiles and laughter.

I focus on capturing what I call the "in-betweens." It's what happens when the person is able to forget about my camera and simply reacts to what's happening. They radiate joy and their personality just SHINES. And all the things that make that person unique come shining through... the way they wrinkle their nose or tilt their head or smile widely... the way they REALLY are when nobody is watching.

THAT's what I strive to capture. Pictures of the people you know and love... cute quirks and all.

Because seeing someone as their true self is to see how beautiful they really are.

Click here to read Shelby's review of her portrait experience with me.

Ready for your own portrait experience with me? Contact me to learn more and get started!