On top of all that perfection, there was something that made the evening so much more special. You wanna know what it was? It was the relationship between Kylee and her mom. It was so incredibly evident how much they cared for each other in the littlest things. I know these photos were a stretch for mom but she was bound and determined to not only get them for her daughter, but for her daughter to love the photos and enjoy herself during the session. Mom respected her daughter when she didn’t want to be watched during the picture taking, and she sat in the car and read her book, although I know it was killing her not to watch.  It went both ways, too. After one location, Kylee got into mom’s brand new car with dirt all over her boots and she immediately apologized when she realized that the floor mats had gotten dirty and mom instantly said, “oh, don’t worry about it honey.” Again, such a super small thing, but an example of how sweet these two were together.

Without further ado, I present to you the lovely and gorgeous Kylee…

You would not believe the amount of cars honking as they passed by.

Blonde hair and piercing green eyes. WOW.

I just love this one. What an intense look in her eye. Seriously, this girl was so much fun to photograph.

Congratulations on entering your senior year of high school, Kadie. You have so much to look forward to!

I am only having a very limited number of sessions this year so don’t delay – if you’re interested contact me asap to get your name in my calendar. A retainer of $250 is required to hold your spot. This will cover the Mini Collection, but you always have the option to upgrade to the Full Collection (see below) after you view your photos.

I normally use a lot of words in my blog posts because I want my readers to feel what I felt, see what I saw. I think these photos speak for themselves so I’m going hold back on the commentary and just let you take joy in the photos. Enjoy!

Enjoy the sneak peek!

Shake the lime. Shake the orange. Fruit is fun!

I can’t get over those BIG blue eyes.

Just look at those two little teeth. This pic made you smile, didn’t it?

Can you tell I had someone behind me doing something very funny?

These two are expecting their first baby in a few months. Aren’t they sweet?

Grandma and Grandpa. I wish I had photo like this of my grandparents from when I was little.

No wonder their little girl is so cute. Just look at these two.

What a gorgeous set of siblings.

I could tell Jinn was beyond excited about entering her final year of high school. She’s one of those kids you just know will be a success at anything she attempts. I’m sure she has a very bright future ahead of her.

Jinn has played at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall and requested a photo in front of the big Portland sign. Turned out pretty cool, eh?

I LOVE how the backlight picks up the natural red highlights in her hair.

Another one of my favorites. I just about died when I saw that dress. Isn’t it gorgeous?

I swear I could have easily spent hours there listening to her play.

As you might imagine, photographing a 3yr old and a 1yr old boy can be a bit challenging. What 3yr old boy doesn’t want to run all over the place? What 1yr old (boy or girl for that matter) doesn’t always want to be holding a goldfish? This is why I love challenges. I feel success when I can get them to look in the general direction of my camera and look happy, no matter what they’re doing!

I hope you guys enjoy your sneak peek! I have lots more for you to see in your gallery. ‘Til next time…

I just think this one is fun.

I have some really cute ones of him sitting on those steps. He was smiling and looking at my camera because he was looking for an alien hiding inside. Finding aliens was the newest and most fun adventure in this little boy’s life that week. In the second shot, nothing screams Southern California like palm trees and a beach cruiser, does it?

This one needs no words.

Funny stories to go along with both of these photos. He looks super cute and happy in the first one, right? I, as the photographer, was sooo lucky this little guy looked like he was smiling when indeed he was crying. In the second shot, we were standing in an alley way where the wind blew in just at the right angle to completely blow her skirt up. We’re talking total Marilyn Monroe here. I could see everything she had on under her skirt. Much to her husband’s dismay, I didn’t happen to catch that on my camera because I was bent over laughing so hard, but the restaurant worker sitting outside on his break near us might have had an entertaining 15min.

I don’t know if they knew I was behind them snapping away. I love candids.

Those dark brown eyes reflect the light so beautifully. Don’t both boys just totally look like dad?

I love these shots for a couple of reasons. First, I just love how pure happiness just glows from this little guy’s face. Second, I’m thrilled I managed to nail focus on each one when he was running at lightning speed right at me.

Aren’t they gorgeous? These two have really created an amazing life together.

Playing in the waves was the highlight of this little guy’s day.

Melts my heart.

Love this shot.

Quite possibly my favorite before and after shots. This is how our evening ended. The tide was coming up and before you know it, this poor little guy got knocked over by a wave. Dad was there to pick him up and they quickly stripped all of his wet clothes off and wrapped him in a warm dry towel. It was actually the perfect ending to a fun photo shoot!

It was a true honor to finally be able to take your family photos! Next time I visit, I’ll bring my kids so we can actually hang out more! xoxox

Love the light in this one as well as their expressions. All I see is content.

LOVE LOVE LOVE everything about this one. We got the most fantastic backlight up on that rooftop.

The boys. Super cute, yes?

If you know her, which a lot of you reading this blog do, you know this is totally their personality. Together since they were teenagers and still super frisky? Love it.

You should have seen what they were doing right before he had his hands all over her tooshie.

Isn’t she just the sweetest little thing?

You should have seen the looks on their faces when I asked them to hold hands. It was pretty adorable in a yuck-don’t-make-me-hold-my-sister’s-hand kind of way.

No one can do red lipstick like she can. Love their expressions here.

It was a true privilege photographing your family!!!

Happy first birthday!

I asked permission from this session’s mom to mention all of this and if she’d be interested in writing something up about her experience. Here’s what she had to say:

He was diagnosed on the spectrum at age 2 with Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD-NOS). We feel very fortunate because he is high functioning but that’s not to say the past 4 years have been without struggles. Communication and the social interaction used to be a huge concern but thanks to Early Intervention and ABA therapy (I’m a huge advocate) he has made amazing strides! Within the past year the ADHD has been particularly challenging. Unfortunately ADHD goes hand-in-hand with Autism Spectrum disorders.

What has been very challenging for the family is trying to plan as much structure as possible for his day. This is not easy especially when going to unstructured events such as a photo session. This causes him increased anxiety which, for him, results in hyperactivity and sensory seeking behaviors. Though he has improved so much over the years. As an infant and toddler we didn’t get a lot of good professional photos just because he was often irritable and very busy. When we saw how “uncooperative” he was it just increased our anxiety as parents. A photographer who is working with a child on the Autism Spectrum needs to be very patient, versatile and engaging. Sometimes it takes a little more time to get that one good shot! You definitely possess the qualities that I think a photographer who is working with a child on the spectrum should have….patient, engaging and versatile.

Enjoy your sneak peek! I hope you love them as much as I do. I really enjoyed getting to know your family.

Started out with a cute family shot. Have I ever mentioned how thrilled I get when everyone looks at the camera? Seriously – that makes me soooooooooo happy.

Adorable, right? So cute!

I don’t think I’ve ever met a toddler who doesn’t like to swing on mom and dad’s hands.

Got these smiles after I asked them to say “strawberry cheese.” They thought that was FUN-NY.

Love it.

Mom and her boys. Love how it looks like the little one is puckering up for a BIG kiss.

Dad and his boys.

Had to show a couple “real” shots. These guys were cracking each other up with their faces. And this monster truck was a very important part of our session.

The easiest pics to get are the ones of just mom and dad. Ahhhh.