You’ve probably heard of Ashley, a.k.a. Lil Blue Boo, and her awesome shop and blog. She is a beautiful wife, mother, businesswoman, daughter, friend who is in the fight of her life right now against cancer.

There is so much that is incredible about Ashley, but what really touched me was her strength, courage and humor in her approach to fighting her cancer. I read her posts about chemo, the love she has for her daughter, husband, mother… and I’m in awe of her LOVE of life in the face of such hardship.

Her mantra is “CHOOSE JOY”. Simple, right? But if you really embrace that mantra, it’s telling you that JOY IS A CHOICE. It’s telling you that it’s time to stop waiting for joy to catch up to you, to surprise you, to happen TO you. What it means is choose it TODAY. Because as Ashley has shown, today is a gift… tomorrow is unknown. Life is precious. Embrace what you have, live it, feel it, and CHOOSE to find joy in it. It really is such a beautiful concept isn’t it?

To help Ashley in her fight, her friends created Team Ashley to lend her their support. And one of the things that came out of it was the Team Ashley auction. I’m one of the vendors who donated to this worthy cause.

So can you help?

Go to the Team Ashley auction today…. look at the tons of awesome items being offered… and place a bid. Anything you can do will go directly towards helping Ashley.

Here are the links:

Team Ashley Auction

My Auction Page

Lil Blue Boo Website (click specifically on the “cancer chronicles” for more information about Ashley’s condition).

And don’t forget…. CHOOSE JOY!

This was one of those family portrait shoots that almost didn’t happen! Traci had booked me back in December for her family session, but it was one of the few days we had where the weather was horrible — not just gloomy and overcast, but threatening, dark skies and lots of rain. We rescheduled it for January, which resulted in another cancellation due to Santa Ana winds. Thankfully, on the third try the weather cooperated and we got a little sun and no winds.

Traci’s main reason for wanting a family shoot was to get a picture of her family that she could blow up really large to hang above her fireplace. And I have to say, she and her husband, Brad, were awesome clients. They told me exactly what they didn’t want  (too much sun flare, sitting on grass, etc.) so I could understand their vision, but left the rest up to me. We ended up getting a lot of posed shots for them to choose from, but I was also able to sneak in a few candids which I really ended up liking, too. And I loved shooting their beautiful daughters who were adorable and so fun!

Thanks so much Traci! I loved shooting your beautiful family!

…Here’s your slideshow!

(click here to go right to the slideshow…)

If you live in Orange County and you don’t know Kelly, you are most definitely missing out. For starters, she writes two awesome blogs – According2Kelly (her personal blog with fun ideas, crafts and great writing about motherhood, running and TONS of other unique things) and Just-Spotted.com (which is THE definitive source on everything you need to know about living in, exploring and experiencing Orange County). She is a crazy-smart businesswoman, an amazing wife and mother, an incredible athlete… and she does it all while being SO DARN NICE!

Kelly contacted me back in early January wanting to do a Valentine’s-themed photo shoot. I, of course, jumped at the chance to shoot her beautiful family! It was also a good excuse for me to let my “crafty” side out to create some fun Valentine’s props. And thanks to Pinterest (which if you haven’t already joined you should), I was able to create some really fun props to give the shoot the Valentine’s-inspiration I was looking for.

I had SO much fun on this shoot! The whole family came relaxed, smiling and ready to have fun… I mean, what’s better than that?

And have you seen a more beautiful family? Every one of them with the most gorgeous blue eyes!

And look at this little one… can she get any cuter? And her personality is so darn ADORABLE!

And these two were SO funny! See how Owen (on the left) has his hand clenched? That’s because every time we wanted to get him to smile, we would talk about Star Wars and light sabers… and he’s pretending hold his own light saber in that clenched fist!

This is one of my favorite shots….

These three were so sweet together. The boys so clearly adore their little sister….

Sometimes, don’t you just wish you could get up and DANCE!!!?? Love it!!

She wasn’t sure what she wanted to do….

She was trying to smile like “Punzy” which stands for Rapunzel. Because she IS in fact, Rapunzel!!

Isn’t she gorgeous?

Even the dog was in on the fun!!

Thanks so much Lewis Family!

(To see all the images from the shoot, you can watch the slideshow here).

This is a shoot that I look forward to every year – that’s because the Swanson family are great friends of ours, and Nicki is one of my closest friends. They are, in short — really awesome people!

First of all, they are California peeps (Aaron was born in Minnesota), but they are totally like Midwesterners…. they are so laid back and down-to-earth, they are really, really nice people, AND they love hockey! (Even though their team is the Anaheim Ducks, and NOT the much better, more talented Detroit Red Wings).

I always have such a good time when I shoot these guys… I always know that Aaron is going to pretend he doesn’t want to be there… Shane is going to make me work as hard as possible to get any shots of him, Kylie is going to be adorable, and Nicki and I are going to laugh through all of it.

Aren’t they a gorgeous family?

There is so much love in this family….

These two have an awesome marriage… so much love and respect towards each other.

And these two… they absolutely crack me up! Shane can be such a goof-ball, and it’s only a matter of time until Kylie joins in. It is so cool to see a brother and sister who get along like they do!

Shane is an AWESOME hockey player… he has some mad skills on the ice, and is one of those kids you look at and think you’ll end up seeing in the NHL someday (hopefully for a team like the RED WINGS, but I digress…). He plays for the Jr. Anaheim Ducks Squirt team, and I was lucky enough to take some shots of the future Hall-Of-Famer!

And Kylie is a dancer at South Coast Performing Arts. She will probably be on Broadway one day and I’ll be able to say I knew her when! Isn’t she the cutest?

These are two exceptional kids… from one exceptional family!

I am so lucky that I get to take pictures of people that I truly love! It’s the best job in the world!!!

Thanks Swanson Family! xoxoxo!

Here’s your slideshow!

(To see all images, go to the slideshow here).

I LOVE when I get to see families year-after-year and I can see how the kids are growing. You will probably remember this family from last year. Remember this little munchkin?

Well, I couldn’t believe how much she has grown in one year! Not only is she bigger, but her personality has just blossomed! Last year, it took a while for her to warm up to me and it was much harder to get her to laugh. This year, she was so fun! She talked to me about Minnie Mouse and her best friend, Lamby… She held my hand while we were walking… She was an absolute joy!

This is her now… all smiles!

She loves to dress up and get her picture taken!

Oh, and she found some pine cones that she loved. She kept smelling them and said they smell like chocolate (even though her mom said she’s never even had chocolate!)

I took more shots on this shoot than I have in a long time – this family is just so darn beautiful!

She loved decorating the mini Christmas tree! She especially liked the little gingerbread man ornament I had. Of course, it’s hers now… how can you say no to that face!!

You can their love for each other and for this precious little girl!

Thanks Saint-Onge Family! Here’s your slideshow!

One of the worst things a family can go through is when a family member falls ill. And whether that loved one is physically, emotionally or mentally ill, it takes a toll on everyone in the family.

Most families go into survival mode — you try to take care of what you have to TODAY… because sometimes thinking about what the future holds is too scary, painful or just unknown.

As many of you know, my Mom passed away from Alzheimer’s Disease last year. She was symptomatic with the disease probably five years before she died, with the last two years being the worst. And I went into that mode of dealing with the emotions, learning everything I could about the disease, trying to understand what she needed most at whichever stage she seemed to be in.

I thought a lot about her dying… what I would feel, how I would tell my children… but one of the things I never thought to do was to take professional pictures of her – with my kids, with her family, with ME. It wasn’t even on my radar screen. And by the time I did think about it, she was dying… and I didn’t want to remember her like that. I wanted to remember her living — the sparkle in her eyes, the smile she got when she saw her grandchildren playing, the way she looked when she laughed.

I am passionate about fundraising for Alzheimer’s and doing what I can in the search for a cure. But until then, I know that there are many families dealing with the day-to-day care of someone with Alzheimer’s… and I’m sure preserving memories by having professional photos taken is probably not a priority.

I want to help.

If you or someone you know is dealing with a loved one suffering from Alzheimer’s, you can send me their/your name(s) through the contact button on this page. I’ll be giving away a limited number of complementary portrait sessions to help document the beautiful, vibrant life they are living NOW. Because now is really all any of us has.

Have you ever attended a class or workshop where you were almost jumping out of your seat wanting to put into practice what you’re being taught?  That is EXACTLY how I felt when I listened to Zack & Jody Gray talk about lighting this past weekend at their In-Camera Workshop in San Diego. The focus of their workshop was off-camera lighting and how to use strobes to get dramatic, crazy-beautiful images.

I’ve never attempted the use of a strobe, mainly because the entire concept seemed so difficult and complicated. That and I HATE using flash in my photography, so I just stayed away from any off-camera lighting as much as I could. The whole idea of mixing natural light with flash just seemed… wrong. And being the lighting novice that I was, I lumped everything that wasn’t “natural light” into “flash”. And I am really happy to be proven wrong.

I was already familiar with Zack & Jody from their incredible photography. But what I wasn’t expecting was how GREAT they are at teaching. They have a gift for taking what appears to be a complicated topic and explaining it in a way that makes sense. After only a couple of hours of classroom instruction, we were outside setting up our own lighting pattern to shoot one of our models. And the first shot out of the camera for all of us was PHENOMENAL.

Check out these images…

Zack & Jody have this incredibly refreshing way of looking at photography – not just in technique, but in how they view it as a profession. They don’t see themselves as “celebrities”, they know where photography fits in their lives (it doesn’t define them), and have a incredibly passionate (yet realistic) love affair with photography. It’s inspiring to say the least.

That, and they are two really cool peeps to hang out with!

Thanks Zack & Jody! You guys rock!

I love this time of year – I get to hang out with such awesome families… and it’s even better when I get to bring MY family to hang with the family I’m shooting!

I have to say that I adore this family – first of all, they are just unbelievably beautiful (have you seen the beautiful eyes on these people?). Add to that extremely nice, fun, laid back… and extremely cool… so cool that Kim brought wine and snacks for after the shoot! The kids ran around being crazy monkeys and the parents drank wine and chatted until dark. Such a fun time and pretty much my dream-kind-of-shoot.

Thanks so much, Lochners! I loved every minute of it!

Here’s your slideshow!

The Holidays season is just around the corner which means that Holiday portrait season is in full swing!

I’ve recently gotten a few inquiries from clients looking to do “mini-sessions” this year…. and while I don’t usually do them during the Holidays, it feels like a great time to try them out! The mini-sessions are great options for those who just want a few updated shots of their kids, and for those looking for some updated and festive shots for their Holiday cards.

So whether you’re looking to do your annual family portrait session or wanting to get some updated family shots, book soon as spots are filling up quickly!

You always know you have a great shoot when the photographer is constantly laughing along with her clients… and that was definitely the case when I shot Alex and Jake! Not only are these kids crazy-funny, but they have the whole “boy-vibe-thing” going. You know, that whole burping, farting, wrestling, trying-to-be-as-gross-as-possible, thing that all boys have…

First of all, Alex is just plain FUNNY! The kid has the most amazing facial expressions, and he is just FULL of life! He never stopped laughing or talking the entire shoot! And Jake, being in middle school, was a little more reserved…but most of the time he couldn’t help himself to jump in and join Alex in the laugh-fest…

I also got to get a few shots of the family dog, Zoe, who had just turned a year old! She was so great and easy to shoot!

I left the shoot still laughing at how fun they both were!

Thanks G Family! Here’s your slideshow!