Oh the Places we will go: Laguna Beach

I don’t know how I got so lucky to end up living in one of the most beautiful places in the world.  Seriously, I am constantly grateful that I get to call the beaches of Laguna my “office”. :)  And what could be better than to bring three gorgeous boys and their fabulous parents with me to work?   The Moses family was one of the last sessions of 2014.  As you can see from the photos, they are a spirited crew and absolutely beautiful children.   I love to capture boys just being boys, so we had a lot of tickling, tackling and a few slow motion races.  The best part about working with boys is that they are totally willing to play games.  The hardest part, is to keep it slightly under control and make sure no one gets hurt.  I even got a chance to catch a few quiet moments with just Mom and Dad.

December through February is the best time of year to shoot at the beach.  The sun sets directly over Catalina, and it is really the only time of the year that you get those truly pink sunsets.   Seriously, check out Facebook at the end of the day, and see just how many of your friends are posting pics of the gorgeous sunsets.  Thanks again to the Moses family for coming out to play!  Enjoy!

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Crazy Kiddos? No problem!

I am not ashamed to admit it, I am a photoshop junky.  Long before I was shooting fun, fabulous portraits for clients, I was cutting and pasting heads from one shot to the next.   Yes, I actually started my photography career as a touch up artist and quickly learned that if I wanted to fulfill my personal vision for my clients, I had to step behind the camera.

I love nothing more than working with crazy, spirited kids and their families.  But, and this is a big BUT, it is extremely difficult to get the “perfect everyone looking at the camera with perfect smiles on their faces,” shot organically.  This is where head swapping can save the day.  Take this example, I have been photographing these gorgeous kiddos for years.  Our sessions have lots of giggles, silly faces and potty humor and that means it is tough to get everyone to look at me at the same time.  The image on the left is the original image I shot.  Their darling son is cracking up and looking off into the distance.  The daughter’s hand, on the right, looks a little strange bunched up in her dress… but with the power of photoshop….. everyone is perfect.

Now you know my secret, not every portrait starts off perfect!  But hopefully the end results will be enjoyed for a lifetime.  Enjoy!

 

Orange County San Clemente Pier family portraits

What have you been reading lately?

For the first time in my entire life, I went almost three months without reading a book from late September to late December.  I can’t believe that the time just flew by and I was so busy with work, kids, friends, family, etc. that I just never picked anything up.  Over the years, I have been in a few book clubs and always was the go to gal with my friends for book recommendations.  In fact, my biggest problem in book clubs, was almost every book they recommended, I had already read.  People are always amazing that I read so many books with my busy schedule.  Honestly, if you followed me through my typical day, you would be amazed at how many moments there are to just grab a few minutes to read.  For example, you would never find me waiting in line at the post office without my book in hand.  The best part, is my Kindle is now on my phone, so I am never without something to read.

So you might be asking yourself, how come I went for so many months without reading???  I asked myself the same question, and it is honestly because there were too many other distractions.  I watched more Netflix while I was touching up images, so that felt like my break… even though I was working.  But the reality is, watching something doesn’t have the same effect on me.  Reading allows me to relax and unwind and it quiets my mind.  I missed it!  I was feeling anxious all the time and I didn’t know why.  On December 21 after an incredibly busy family photography season, I escaped for a few days to my folks place, in Arrowhead.  There my Mom and I lite the fire, settled in under some warm blankets, and read some amazing books.  Finally, I felt totally relaxed.

If you are like me, and love to escape into a great novel, you should follow my Goodreads.com page.  I try to updated it frequently with what I am reading.  I would also love to get input from you on great recommendations.  Here the link to my page:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/2843345

Last year I did and art piece called “Love Story” based on my book obsession.  Here is the final piece:

lovestoryfinal

 

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Beautiful Madison’s High School Senior Portrait Session

I have been fortunate over many years to have some amazing young photography assistants work for me.  In Madison’s case, I have known her for years!  In the Blue Sky’s Salon and Studio days, her portrait in one of our beautiful vintage dresses, hung on the wall.  She grew up to be every bit as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside.  I love that she runs on the same clock that I do… be early whenever possible…, that she has a great sense of style and always helps with wardrobe for our clients.. also, that she gives me great insight into the High School experience and what I should look out for when it comes to my daughter.  We have had some great laughs together, and more than one boy we have photographed seems to have fallen for her.  I was truly honored to shoot her high school senior portraits.  Thank you Madison and thanks to your family for raising such an amazing young woman! Enjoy!

Love is in the Air, High School Senior Creative Session

Happy 2015! October to December was a whirlwind of activity for me. Between all of the photography session, a busy family life and trying to stay healthy and active…. the time just flew by. I can not tell you how grateful I am for all of my fabulous Blue Sky’s clients for helping me to achieve my goals for for 2014.

As I do every year, I spent last week working on my goals for my family, my business, my health, my friends and my spirituality.  I never set resolutions, as I know from the past, they are very difficult to keep.   But rather, I review my goals from the past year, note what I did right, and what I can improve upon and spend time just being grateful.

During this time, I came up with our “Share the Love” campaign. Three ways for me to show you how grateful I am for your continued love and support, and ways you can “Share the Love” with your friends and family!

1) Share the Love Mini Sessions: These sessions are the perfect way to celebrate Valentines Day and include a 30 minute photography session, (1) edited digital file and (1) fun custom Valentines e-mail template to send friends and family for $149.00 (don’t forget we also do super cute Valentine cards).

2) “Share the Love”: With Friends and Family. During our quiet season, we would love nothing better than photographing your friends and family. We will give you a beautiful gift certificate to give to your close friends and family for FREE!. The gift certificate is for a $200 photography session and an 8×10 portrait print (this is for new clients only). For every one of your friends who comes in and completes a photography session, we will give you a $50 print credit. There is LOVE for everyone (you must be an existing Blue Sky’s client to receive a gift certificate. The person who receives the gift certificate, must be a new client to Blue Sky’s Studio.

3) Share the Love High School Senior Sessions: For our upcoming graduates, we are offering a two for the price of one session fee. Bring your best friend, your boyfriend/ girlfriend or a group of friends and for each paid client, you will get one session fee for free. Sessions must be completed by March 15, 2015.

And since this post is all about Love.. here is a session from last year from my Fine Art Show. The first image is the called “Heart Strings” and was the fine art piece I used in the show. The rest are of beautiful Sophie from the same day. Enjoy!