My number one question in November is….. “Kristin where should we do our photography session this year”????  While I strive to continue to add fun, unique locations to our list of perfect photography places, I also LOVE input from my clients!  Yes, that mean you! :)  So, for the next several weeks, a few times a week, I will feature a cute slideshow of one of my favorite locations.  Today, it is right in my backyard…. downtown Laguna Beach.   Thanks to beautiful Tiffany for being my senior model:

I love lots of personality… silliness…. sassiness…. kiddos with lots of character. These two cuties and their adorable Mama definitely fit the bill. Not only were their outfits outrageously cute, but we also giggled the entire session. This is one of my favorite type of family photography sessions. Lots of great places to shoot on and around the train platform and a family that is just enjoying being together.

It is once again the best time of year for family photography. If you want to book something really fun and creative, it is best to start planning now, as my schedule gets totally booked out in October and November. Enjoy!

Life is good!  I recently moved my office to the top floor in my home.  And seriously, why didn’t I move a long time ago?  I now sit and can look out at the beautiful ocean, and I feel really inspired.  I feel like it is just really important to be thankful for all of the wonderful experiences I have had, for the great family I get to hang out with, for the amazing clients I get to work with each day and for my really diverse group of  friends who surround me with love and support.  And the best part, I can now call a lot of my clients, friends.

So now to new friends, the beautiful Remillard family!   I spoke with Lisa about them wanting a really beautiful three generation family portrait.  We talked about all kinds of great locations, and decided on a location with an ocean view.  The only problem was each time the date came, it was too windy, rainy, overcast or something that prevented us from shooting on that date.  Finally I said, let’s try something different.  How about the Mission in San Juan Capistrano?  As it turned out, her mom was a docent at the Mission and it held a special place in her heart.  AND…. she had an inside connect that allowed us to shoot beyond closing time.  Don’t you just love an inside connection?

Not to make any of the adults feel like I don’t love them, but the best part of the session was Lisa’s adorable niece & her pink monkey!  Such a cutie.  It took a lot of fake sneezes and peak a boos to get her great big smile, but it was so worth the effort.  Enjoy!

p.s. my Spring Mini sessions will be announced tomorrow!  Just in time for Easter!

Lucky, lucky me that I get to work with these two beautiful gals every year around their birthday.  While I have a lot of advantages when it comes to these two because we know each other really well, they love getting their portraits taken and they are typically up for anything, there are still many things Mom & Dad & I have to collaborate on before we actually start the session.

1) Location, location, location…. When you photograph kids every year, or families for that matter, they want variety.  While it is kinda cool to pick one place and shoot there every year to show how the family has changed, it is not my thing (and I am guessing most of my clients would agree that it isn’t theirs either).  So, when I photograph the same kiddos year after year, it is one of my challenges to come up with new, fun, hip places to shoot them annually.  Typically this is a collabrative effort.  As many of my clients can atest to, we start planning for the following year’s session as we wrap up this years!  My clients have been amazing at coming up with cool themes and new locations throughout Orange County.

2)  Is there a location that best capture the kiddos or the family at this time in their history:  For example, and I know you ALL know this, my family spends all their extra time at the swimming pool.  AND the swimming pool is located at Soka University.  So it just made sense that in 2012 we photographed my family on Soka’s campus.  AND yes, we got one picture with the pool in the background… Thanks to Emily Ivey at Fresh Ivey photography for shooting the session!

When it came to deciding a location for the twins session, we considered a number of factors, such as where have we shot in the past, the age of the girls, what would be a fun spot to capture their true personalities, and where could we get a lot of different “looks” in walking proximity.  We came up with the Fun Zone in Newport Beach.

3) Now, what should they wear- Coordinate but don’t be matchy/ matchy. My mantra.  The clothing should match the location, the age and the story you are trying to tell about the kids/ family.  In the twins case, we wanted bright bold colors to go with the colorful background of the ferris wheel and arcade, more neutral clothing with a pop of color for the beach and denim for the candy story.

Often I also encourage incorporating props or personal items to make the session my client’s unique story.  Since we went to the candy story, the candy made a perfect prop!

Here is the results!  Enjoy!

She showed up with a car full of clothes, an amazing smile and ready for anything.  Believe it or not, this entire session happened in my Laguna Canyon studio.  We started inside (the natural light in my studio is really to die for) and continued on in the parking lot, laying in the street full of leaves, climbing into a tree, just whatever looked good with her amazing wardrobe.  I love these type of sessions that have an editorial feel really tell the story of Gianna.  She is headed off to either SMU or USC next year and either school will be lucky to have her.  Thanks to Gianna for being such an amazing beauty and so much fun to work with!  Enjoy.

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