A Mommy and Her Little Man!

Sweet times with a mommy and her little man!

Generations

Kids and their grandparents! What a fun and special time for all of them!

Photo Sessions For Charity Donations

Though we all love to capture happy moments on camera, there are often times that we should capture those difficult moments as well. Through struggles of illness such as cancer, end of life times with elderly loved ones or major deformities that are debilitating and heart wrenching, we should capture the life of those people. We should be embracing the bald heads, the pale or flawed skin, the love that surrounds them and the drive to survive that often spills from their souls. If you have a difficult time or special person that you would like captured on camera, please email me with the diagnosis, an idea of when you would like to schedule the shoot and how many people will be in the photos. All session fees will be waived and 25% of the purchased prints will be donated to the charity of your choice.

Please email me at kristylou073@hotmail.com with your information. Thank you!

Holiday Photo Session Special

If you book a Holiday Photo Session before December 15th, you will have your 30 minute shoot at your choice of locations, up to 6 people and:

CD/DVD of all photos taken
4x6 proofs of all photos taken
All for only $135!!

**Add the following prints to the package for an additional $50:
1 8x10
2 5x7
10 wallets

Contact me at kristylou073@hotmail.com to reserve a spot.
Happy Holidays!

Children in Photos 2009

Engagement Photos 2009

Father and Son

So much can be said with no words at all.

Cruising....

Please excuse the quality of these photos, they were taken with a camera phone which I am not a huge fan of but I am a bit neurotic about catching the siutation on any kind of camera.

My husband and I took a cruise to Ensenada, Mexico for a "just because" trip. We have both been working crazy hours and haven't enjoyed each other nearly as much as we should. We still see each other everyday but too often we have to do so while feeding the kids, getting everyone dressed and out the door for some various outing, doing homework, taking a shower, etc. It's hard, as I'm sure you all know, to find quality time each and everyday with not only your kids but your spouse too. That all being said, Brian and I try to escape from the everyday life at least every-other month or so.

The cruise was a sort of celebration, as well, since 2/3s of my audits for my day-to-day gig are over and went as smooth as silk! It's also the calm before the storm for the next, and biggest, most important of the audits in May. For Brian, it was an emotional out, time away from work, a time to let loose (and learn some disco moves) and a way to cherish what we have back at home.

The following are some photos, again not fantastic quality, of the first night on the cruise.

Oh, he LOVES ME!!!
Hey, none of that on camera!

You can kinda tell we needed some "us" time!

Raining Outside

In Southern California, we don't get all that much precipitation. So when we do, it's intriguing! The kids were cooped up inside with rain, sleet and snow coming down outside throughout the day. All four kids were "writing" in the condensation on the sliding glass doors. I caught the kids at different points admiring the changes in our weather. I love to catch them thinking about our world. That's part of the beauty of living in an area where we have real seasons to be part of.

Capturing Special Events

Shooting special moments in candid settings can often capture more than a planned photo shoot. Planned photo shoots are classic and can catch a special time as well but it's planned and organized. When you carry your camera around with you and shoot birthdays, haircuts, school or athletic events, you can catch the personality of the special people that are part of your life that you wouldn't grasp with a planned shoot.

My daughter Chloe decided she wanted to get her haircut about a year ago and Daddy wanted her to wait. He wanted her to look like a little girl as long as possible. Over the past year, she has worked her dad into saying yes for many reasons but the one that got to Daddy was that she would be donating her hair to Locks of Love, an organization that creates hairpieces for children that have gone through cancer or other medical diagnosis that cause long term hair loss. Since my hubs is 13 years in remission, this was a deal sealer. Besides my husband, a very close friend of ours is also a childhood cancer survivor that was diagnosed at 3 years old and is now Chloe's age and cancer-free. For Chloe's 8th birthday, we took her for the haircut that meant so much to all of us. We even had all of her brothers in tow in support of her new do and the donation to a fantastic organization. Chloe is an amazing girl with a huge, generous heart.

For more information on this organization please see http://www.locksoflove.org/.

Valentine's Day

My amazing Valentine and I escaped the kids, jobs and house for 4 days and traveled to San Jose, Napa and San Francisco. We were on a bus in the middle of San Fran and I eyed this man who was fascinating to me. I took one picture and it captures so much.

Love is in everyone from my silly husband and I eating ridiculously sized sundaes at Ghiradelli's to this sweet man who is probably older than my parents and still showed the whole city that he had a special sweetheart on this day. Enjoy creating your own ideas of this man and where he was going, what he'd been doing and what his Valentine would say to him.

Ridiculous Sundae at Ghiradelli's Square

This is MY Valentine! Handsome, huh?

Wedding Photos

Wedding photography, the way I do it, isn't necessarily typical photography. I want a few of the husband and wife in a more intimate setting. After all, this IS about the two of them. Incorporating family is equally important, especially when family and friends visit from far away. It's vital to talk to your photographer about what YOU expect and want caught on film. I am always open to new suggestion, ideas that you've seen or something off the wall. Intimate photography is my favorite, whether it's engagement photos, boudoir photos or couples time during a wedding or commitment ceremony.