Samantha

Another super fun senior session I did recently.. One thing I love about senior sessions is the variety of looks & setups we get to do. Samantha wanted a beach session, so we went to a cute little beach town with tons of fun locations.. I really had to control myself from using every single spot I saw! It was really cold & windy that day but Sam was such a trooper & didn't even complain about being cold.. even when her teeth started chattering! The best part of the day was when we went back to our cars so she could get her next outfit & she pulled out her ukulele! I absolutely love it when clients bring their own props because it really adds something special & personal to the session.  Plus, I just happen to love ukuleles & have been wanting to learn how to play for awhile now, so I was super excited that she brought hers. I had so much fun doing your session Sam, thanks for an awesome day & for braving the cold!

Ali xx

It's official..

I love senior sessions! After a small shoe mishap, we didn't have enough time to go to the location we had planned on using, so what you see here is totally improvised location-wise. We weren't sure what we were going to find setting out, but in the end I think the adventure of it was the best part of the day! I had so, so much fun doing this session for my niece, who is more like a little sister to me. I only have older sisters, so when she was born she filled the 'little sister I always wanted' position perfectly. It really seems like yesterday that I was called out of school by my aunt because Alyssa was about to be born. I remember so clearly that first moment I saw her, & thinking I had never seen such a beautiful baby. She had perfect, snow white skin, tiny red lips, and believe it or not, a head full of jet black hair (which was replaced with blonde by the time she was about a year old). It's no surprise then, that she has grown into such a beautiful young woman.. I just didn't think it would happen so fast! Alyssa, I am so proud of you for all you have accomplished & the confident, creative, genuine person you have become. I wish you all the happiness & success life has to offer as you begin this next chapter of your life. I know I'm not that much older than you, but I must say as I watched you graduate from high school last week, I was feeling like I just got really old, really fast!

I usually don't post very many photos from my sessions, (ok if I'm being completely honest I don't post very much here at all) but I promised Alyssa I would do a big post for her.. so here it is, possibly the worlds longest blog post ever! Perhaps this makes up slightly for my lack of posts this year..? I hope you enjoy..

Ali xx

baby nya - orange county newborn photographer

I met my friend Amy back in college, and we lost touch for quite a while, but thanks to our friend Andrea, I got to visit Amy and her sweet baby Nya last week, and took some photos while I was there. Nya is Amy's first baby, and I can already tell she is going to be an amazing mother.. and Nya is just the sweetest little thing ever! It was so good to see you again, Amy.. I hope we can stay in touch this time and that I can take more photos of Nya again soon!

Ali x

what I did this weekend..

No silly, I didn't have a baby! But I did get to photograph one.. oh how I love baby toes!

..on another note, I have decided I am possibly the worlds worst blogger ever. Much catching up to do..

Ali x

my silly girl..

It's been raining here for the last couple of days, so when Chloe woke up this morning & saw the sun shining, she promptly went & got her hat, gloves, sunglasses & camera, & went straight out the door. When I went to see what she was doing a few minutes later, this is how I found her.. eyes closed, laying totally still & soaking up the sunshine. (Don't you just love the princess pj's?)



And what would a child of mine do on a gorgeous sunny day, but practice her photography skills? See her checking the (imaginary) LCD in the photo on the left?



Hope you're having a beautiful sunny day in your part of the world, too!

Ali x

p.s. hat pattern can be found on ravelry.

I heart faces...

..I really do. I would have to say my favorite type of images are 'close-ups' of faces. Although I do love to capture big smiles, silly faces, even grumpy faces & everything in between, there is a certain expression that I really love to capture.. I think of it almost as a 'non-expression'.. the one that comes in between the smiles, the laughs & the tears. It's one that I don't think gets caught on film nearly as often as other expressions, & usually takes a lot of patience to capture.. but one that I think is so worth the effort. This weeks challenge over at I heart faces is 'dramatic black & white'. One of my favorite photos of Chloe immediately came to mind.. it is definitely one of my favorite 'face' images, & probably one of the most 'dramatic' photos I've taken...



Wish me luck, & be sure to stop over at I heart faces to see all the other amazing entries!

Ali x

Flowers for Zoe

On March 24, 2007, my sister gave birth to a beautiful little girl. I was pregnant at the same time as her with Chloe, and we were due only 5 months apart. We had always talked about how we dreamed of having our kids at the same time, being pregnant together, shopping for baby clothes & watching our kids grow up together, knowing that they would be best friends.. just like us. It really was a dream come true when we both found out we were pregnant & even more exciting that we were both having girls! But then something happened, that neither one of us could have ever imagined.. just one month after I had Chloe, my sister went into labor.. but she wasn't due until July..

There was nothing they could do to stop the labor, and it was just too early.. she was just too little. On March 24, 2007, my sister's beautiful baby girl flew to heaven.

I will never understand why I am able to sit here and watch my daughter playing on the floor next to me, while my sister can only dream of what her little girl would have looked like today, or what her favorite toys & movies would have been at age 3. Each one of Chloe's birthdays, each milestone she reaches, each little dress I buy for her, are reminders of what my sister is missing. And when I'm exhausted from being up all night with a sick toddler, or when I'm complaining about her tantrums, picky eating, & whining to be held all day, I know that my sister is wishing with every ounce of her being to hold her baby again, to be up all night with her while she's sick, to deal with a thousand & one tantrums. It's just not fair.. she should be here, too.

My sister once told me that right after Zoe was born, she started noticing pink flowers everywhere she went & that now every time she sees pink flowers, it reminds her of Zoe. Today Chloe & I picked some pretty pink flowers for Zoe, & I sat for awhile with her, smelling the flowers, feeling the missing, & breathing in all that I have to be grateful for.

Happy 3rd birthday, tiny angel. We will never, ever forget you.

Love,

Auntie, Carter & Chloe x