When Your Bestie is Having Her Baby | Newport Beach Maternity Photographer

My beautiful friend had her baby boy this month and my goodness there is nothing like those “firsts” together. This little person, who was there for so long, just tucked inside, is finally face to face. And in that moment, you wonder how ever lived your dats without him.

This photo shoot was definitely extra special to me as one of best friends ever met me for a sunset shoot in Newport. It had been gloomy all day along the beach until close to time, when the clouds blew out for the most gorgeous evening. Maternity will forever be one of my favorite genres to photograph.

Newport Beach is Cold So We Relocated to Cabo for Warmer Sand | Orange County Family Photographer

We live ten minutes from the beach. You would think we would want to go somewhere like the mountains for vacation, right? What can we say though: we’re chasing that warm sun life whenever we can. When I say that Newport Beach is “cold” I mean like high 50s/low 60s, which I understand some may laugh at, and with good reason. I grew up in Michigan, who even am I. But to my kids, who only know Southern California degrees, it’s straight up jackets and boots weather, and we were longing to be in our summer dresses again. Cabo did not disappoint, either! Mid 70s, a bit of humidy, and a lot of sun, these kids were living their best lives sipping pina coladas pool side.

Aaand, my mom dreams come true: I finally got a picture of the four of them all together! It may have taken us one year and a flight to another country, but we did it. Be right back, going to go print these out large now! :)

Beach Family Session | Beach Family Photos | Orange County Family Photographer | Newport Beach Family Photographe

Ten years ago we came to Newport Beach on a family vacation. We wanted to escape the freezing cold winters of Ohio. However, instead of our usual Florida stop, we decided to mix things up this time and head over to Orange County, CA for the first time. Little did we know how that one “simple” escape to warm beaches would have our family living along that same sand just one year later. Needless to say, we fell head over heels in love. We remember this one particular drive we would take along the Coast in Newport where we would see the the waves coming in below the winding cliffs. We would look at each other and be like, “What a dream it would be to actually call this place home.” Of all places, that one particular spot with the winding cliffs is where we now do all of our beach sessions! Just too good to not still be our favorite. And speaking of favorites, this family fits so perfectly into that spot. We have gotten to watch their sweet babies grow up right behind our lens, and it is such a gift each and every time we meet up again.

Watching Families Grow One Photo Session at a Time | Newport Beach Family Photographer

One of my all time favorite things about photographing families here in Newport Beach is watching those families grow. I first met these six when there were only four of them, and big sister was only a few months old! I have had the privilege of hanging out with them at the beach each year, and seeing their beautiful love for one another just get bigger. Three, then four kids later, they just become more and more my favorite each time. The big kids have gotten to know me which is just so special and little sisters are slowly recognizing my face now. They have the best parents to top it all off, and I feel like I’m hanging with old friends now!

You Don't Have to Stop Taking Photos Just Because Your Kids Are Older | Newport Beach Family Photographer

By far the majority of families I photography are those with young kids, and I get it. It’s those years you just don’t want to forget, those little details you want to hold onto forever. Chubby hands, silly dances, kisses with mom, and swinging in the air with dad are all my favorites too! However, now that I am a mom of not only a baby and toddler, but also a ten and twelve year old, I am seeing just how much of their “big kid” moments I also want to hold onto. I will look back when they are off on their own and reminisce on these days we had together, looking back at photos and seeing just how young they still were. Sports, after school clubs, friends, work, the list of reasons why it seems way too hard to get schedules together and everyone down to the beach is legit, I totally get it. BUT, it is so worth it for just one day out of your year. These are the memories you will cherish forever. Long gone may be the days of dimpled grins, but I can still get those beautiful faces to cuddle up close with you for a minute.

I got to hang with this gorgeous family at Newport Beach last month and loved every minute of my time with them. The sunset was amazing, the light golden, and their love and laughter all the icing on top.

Let's Feel Your Family's Joy | Newport Beach Family Photographer

Ahh, allll the happiness from these four! Can’t pick a favorite out of all this joy! These parents were so relaxed and just really leaned into their two girls’ playful and energetic souls, and the results are my favorite. Decide to have fun at your next family photo session and watch the beauty unfold!

Back From Maternity Leave | Newport Beach Family Photographer

After welcoming my fourth little baby earthside, I took a couple of months off from photo sessions to rest and heal. Well, “rest” is a very abstract word around my life these days—haha—but regardless, I have no words to describe how priceless this time has been watching my family grow together. I have now slowly been getting back into the groove of things though, shooting a small handful of sessions each month. One of my very first sessions back started with one of my very favorite families! We first met when they were vacationing here in Newport Beach three years ago. Their kids have only grown more beautiful and amazing, and I enjoyed every minute of hanging down at the sand with them. It was freezing, the winds were whipping, but they brought all the joy!

Our Baby Girl is Here | Newport Beach Family Photographer

Cue all the tears, tissues, and happy laughter: our rainbow baby girl is here! Shiloh Calise made her appearance earth side December 27th, making all our Christmas dreams come true. She is absolutely perfect and we are just a little bit obsessed with her. The kids hold and cuddle her constantly and watching their love for her is better than anything I could have ever imagined. The reality that I am a mom of four is such a dream come true.

I wanted so badly to get individual pics of each kid with their new sister and one morning all the stars just seemed to align with these moments that took my breath away. I can feel their love for her, and the warmth and safety she already knows in their arms.

This next one was Shiloh at less 24 hours old. I’m so happy to have this photo from that most beautiful day.

These are the words I wrote to her about this next photo, taken on day 3: “I’m bleeding, sore, and tired: I wouldn’t trade it for all the world. To finally be here in this moment, wrapping you in my arms; like a dream, much too good to be true. But then I do dream, for that short time before I hear your little cry again—and there you still are, taking my breath away with the reality of it all… thank you for letting me be your mom. Thank you for healing the cracks of my heart with your love.”

And a sweet hand knitted gift from our neighbor, at 9 days new. In just this short time our sweet girl has already started to act so much older, looking around and making eye contact. Time please slow down now! Shiloh Calise, you are a real life dream come true.

My Own Maternity Photos | Newport Beach Maternity Photographer

37 weeks pregnant and I just knew I wanted to document this special time with our rainbow baby still in my belly. Between school, work, and all the kids activities though, it was so hard to find that free evening. It was a random weekday where we all happened to be at home. I looked out the window and saw the sunset was going to be beautiful. With that, we ran like madmen and women and got ourselves together in 20 minutes flat. Rushing up to the hill by our house I knew we had about 15 minutes of sunlight left. I figured if my husband could just grab a single good one I would be so happy. Well, my kids were dreams, my husband outdid himself, and they gave me the most special gift of this pregnancy. I will cherish these photos forever with my greatest loves.

Engagement Session in Newport Beach | Orange County Family Photographer

These two: cutest ever!!! I cannot choose a favorite from my time with them! Engagement sessions will forever and always have my heart, and these two brought it with all their love and sweetness. This was one of my very last sessions I did before taking my maternity leave, and it didn’t disappoint. We met along the coast of Newport at a mostly empty winter beach. And speaking of love: COLOR!! I just love the choices of her blue and pink dresses and the way they brought that extra pop to the scene. Give me all the fun loving, colorful, Newport beach couples please? :)

Watching Your Family Grow | Laguna and Newport Beach Family Photographer

I absolutely love meeting new families and capturing their special moments behind my lens. I always feel like we’re all best friends by the end. :) But when my best friends come back year after year, that is a whole other level of love for me! Watching families grow behind my camera is such a special gift that I did not realize would be so special when I had first started out in photography. I met this particular family when brother was just an only child. I still remember when I got the message they were expecting their little girl. I have been able to see these little beach babes become little toddlers and preschoolers. It has been such a joy seeing them each year and getting to tell their story over and over again.

Maternity Sessions in the Cold Still Works: Newport Beach Family Photographer

Winter photo sessions are my very personal favorite! Yes, it is cold. Yes, I have to go unthaw in a hot shower when I get home. But, also, YES, to empty beaches!! Not only does a small crowd help make it so much easier to get those beautiful landscape shots, but the comfort level is next level. Unless you model for a living, no one is usually super comfortable being behind a camera. But how about being behind a camera with people sitting on the sand just staring at you? Or trying to get a shot and having to keep waiting for others to walk by? In the winter months we get to erase all of that, and just concentrate on having fun! And hello, the fun I had with this beautiful, growing family! These two are going to be the BEST parents ever!

Also, side note: who else wants to wear a yellow dress on the beach?! I absolutely loved the way this color popped among the sunset!

That Beach Photographer Life | Newport and Laguna Beach Family Photographer

I remember the first time we came to Newport on vacation. It all seemed like a dream that people actually lived their day to day in a place like this. I remember walking on the beach one afternoon while my family was napping thinking how unreal it would be to call this town home. Fast forward seven years later and the beach is now my backyard. Like most everything in life, I unfortunately don’t feel quite the hazy dream when I step onto the sand anymore. However, it’s still one of our favorite places to come hang out at on the weekends. And those sunsets continue to make me oh so happy every time I get to shoot a family in front of it! Especially when the family has as much joy as this one! I’ve had the privilege of watching these boys behind my camera since the youngest was just a little baby. Each year with them is my new favorite! So much love and happiness, the sun and sky seemed to want to laugh right along with them. :)

Two Months Old and Already a Beach Babe | Newport Beach Family Photographer

This sweet family was moving out of state and wanted to capture some memories before leaving their Newport Beach home. Baby girl was only two months old and oh my goodness gave me alllll the baby fever again! My Adele was this same age just last year at this time and yet it already seems so long ago that she was so itty bitty like this. I say it over and over, but I will repeat again: take all the photos. Record all the videos. Capture every last memory and moment as they really will be here and gone before you blink.

I very rarely photograph such a young age at the beach but this doll was made for the camera! She stayed calm and alert for our entire time together, moving her big eyes between her momma and the camera! There really is something about that ocean roar that puts even the smallest of us at peace. Orange County will miss this family, but luckily they will be back to visit often. I’m already looking forward to the next time I get to have them behind my camera again!

Beaches and Bellies | Newport and Laguna Beach Maternity Photographer

Have I happened to mention once or twice how much I love photographing maternity sessions?? ;) There are just no adequate words to describe how beautiful this time is. Watching as your belly expands, knowing there is a miraculous life that you will have the privilege to raise. First time parents are my very favorite to shoot, as I know the way their hearts are about to beat right outside their chest.

I love for my maternity sessions to carry that whimsical feeling of the inner hopes and excitement parents are feeling at this time. To give each mom a small piece of that unmatched beauty that is motherhood. She may not always feel so pretty. By the end it’s sometimes more liked a beached whale—haha! But her beauty is far beyond the physical. It’s that real glow that comes from growing a real life. My number one goal each and every time I pick up my camera is to show her how amazing she is.

And this evening, my goodness! When we showed up Newport Beach was pretty heavy with clouds, but I saw that along the horizon there was a patch of clear and was pretty sure it would break out for us. Within a few minutes it did just that, showing off in all its unmatched glow and illuminating the sky! Just perfect for one of the sweetest couples you will ever meet, who are going to be THE best mom and dad.

Let's Capture Some Photos With Your Big Kids Too | Newport and Laguna Beach Family Photographer

You don’t have to stop the family photos just because your kids are older. They are still every bit the moments you will never want to forget. By far, the vast majority of shoots I do are of younger kids, and I totally get that. First off, they look completely different from one year to the next, growing before we have time to blink. And at their age they don’t even think much about the lady with the big camera, besides that I’m there to have a good time with them. As our kids grow so do their schedules. I think they become even busier than us in fact as our life suddenly becomes mini van parent. ;) And from year to year the appearance doesn’t change so much. But that doesn’t mean that just once or twice you can’t find an evening where everyone’s schedules magically coincide and you freeze this still beautiful time together.

When I first started in photography I was at such a loss for how to capture genuine interaction during the teenage years. My babies were babies—I had no experience with these big kids! ;) As my own two are now growing though I realize the bond is still there, the relationship simply shifting from cuddles and goldfish crackers to nice meals around the table with your friends. The love is still there, just waiting to be captured. And this is exactly how these four were together. So much connection and joy, we laughed and talked and enjoyed our time together in the hills of Newport. Orange County was in the middle of shifting from its spring green to summer browns and I just loved all the texture and color. It fit so perfectly with all their sweet love.

Happy 1st Birthday to My Baby Girl || Newport Beach Family Photographer

Cue all the alligator tears, my baby just celebrated her very first birthday! I swear I was just bringing her home from the hospital and pacing the floors at night. But I blinked and here we are. Adele is a constant ray of sunshine to our home and it’s hard to remember how we ever lived without her sweet smile.

Happy birthday baby girl. Thank you, thank you, thank you for letting me be your mom.

First Family Photo Shoot of 2021: Laguna and Newport Beach Photographer

When you get to start the new year taking photos with this family, you just know it’s going to be a good one! They were such a breath of fresh air, filling the beach with all their love and laughter. Winter beaches will forever be a favorite for me as a photographer, because: good bye crowds! But this winter in particular we have been crazy spoiled with amazing weather where we don’t actually feel like our fingers are going to fall off by the end. ;)

This mom gave me the biggest compliment after receiving her photos too. She explained they have family picturess taken almost every year, but with these images, “I don’t have one favorite. They are all my favorite! Every single one is perfect!” I definitely spent the rest of that day smiling. I put my everything into each and every session I do, and to hear these words back means much more than I can express.

June Gloom Had Nothing On Us | Newport Beach Family Photographer

For everyone local to Orange County, there is the ever popular phrase “May Gray, June Gloom.” And for the five years we have lived here it has always made its grand appearance. The actual gloom is really the marine layer that comes over the ocean and spreads over all the towns nearby. That thick, gray cloud coverage rushes in like clockwork sometime during the evening and lingers until around noon the next day. You then get a few hours of beautiful sunshine, only to be met by another layer that same evening. For ever sunny California it’s actually a most welcomed time here for most. That cloud coverage does wonders in what would usually be some hot months, giving us instead some amazing temperatures where we can play all day outside without breaking a sweat! For photography, however, they are the months that I generally look forward to the least. It is so hard to plan what to do as we can think it’s going to be a perfect sunset, and then watch as the dark gray mass comes sweeping in right before we start our shoot.

I took the month of May off this year as baby girl was just born. :) Starting back up again mid month, I had five sessions for June and was fully prepared to embrace the soft blues that the layer lends. But nature seemed to want to treat me extra kindly all five days, bringing in some amazing sun breaking right in the middle of those “gloom” clouds. We were gifted with the most beautiful shades of light and color! How I got so lucky I do not know, but no complaints over on this end! I like to think it was the families themselves, filled with so much happy sunshine they simply chased those clouds away. :)

My Own Little Beach Babe | Newport and Laguna Beach Family Photographer

I started working again mid June and have seriously have had the BEST families to ease myself back from maternity leave! So many photos I need to share here, but first some quick snaps I took of baby girl a few ago. And by quick, I’m not joking. The attention of a five week old is definitely a short one! My gosh, they change by the day though. At now eight weeks she is smiling and cooing and filling my heart into an overflowing pile of happy mush. Also, lucky for me, she loves the beach! I guess being part of this family, what choice did she really have though? ;)