This past Friday, I got to spend some time with Lauren and Matt, and their newest addition, Chase (I took their maternity photos back in January). He was absolutely perfect the entire time — and he finally opened his eyes for me at the end. Such a little cutie!! Here are a few of my favorites:
And some family shots:
Stephanie and Joel are having twins, and they wanted to announce in a cute way on Facebook that their new additions will be both a boy and a girl, so we did a quick 15-minute shoot specifically for this purpose — they turned out so well!
Their feline also wanted to be part of the action!
After discovering a product that reduces wrinkles, age spots, dark circles and cystic acne, I started a second business — selling Nerium AD. This all-natural botanical skin treatment is applied just once a day, right before bedtime, and the results are astonishing. See for yourself:
Ordering as a preferred customer costs $90 a month (this includes shipping, and your bottle is automatically shipped to you each month). You can easily cancel at any time, and because your first 30 days is a risk free trial, if you don’t like it for any reason, you can return your bottle and get your money back.
So what does this have to do with a free 45-minute photo shoot? If you sign up as a preferred customer for three months, I’ll give you a free session!
Here’s how it works:
- Order NeriumAD as a preferred customer
- Use NeriumAD for three consecutive months as a preferred customer
- Receive a free 45 minute photo shoot (a $125 value) for you, your child, your pet or your family – whatever you like – anytime after your third month using NeriumAD.
Within a month of the shoot, you’ll receive a link to an online gallery where you can view your edited photos — choose five you like best, and you’ll receive the high-resolution files to print and share online as much as your heart desires!
Decide after three months that you just can’t stop using Nerium? Just get three people to also fall in love with the product and sign up as preferred customers, and your next bottle will ship free! Pretty good deal, right?
It’s been a busy few months .. here’s a peek at what I’ve been up to:
Dale Jablonsky, Assistant Executive Officer of the Information Technology Services Branch, CalPERS
(l to r) Gregory Franklin, deputy director of health information technology for the California Technology Agency, and Keith Tresh, director of California Technology Agency's Office of Information Security
Jennifer Pahlka, founder, Code for America
Jennifer Pahlka, founder, Code for America
Karen Robinson, CIO, Texas
Kristin Russell, CIO, Colorado
A few weekends ago, I met Lauren and Matt out at Beale’s Point for their maternity shoot. We used a few props, and Matt wasn’t a big fan, but some of it made him laugh enough to get some good shots. Ultimately it’s so clear how in love these two are, and I can’t wait to meet baby Chase when he arrives! Lauren and Matt are gonna love him up. Here are a few of my favorite shots from the day:
When getting portraits taken, many people aren’t quite sure what to wear, so this post is designed to offer a little guidance, not only for portraits, but for maternity shoots as well.
For both men and women, wear something you feel comfortable in and love. The more comfortable you feel, the more comfortable and natural you’ll look in the photos, an the more you’ll love the photos themselves. Second, try to avoid patterns, stripes and plaids — unless they really, truly represent your personality. Solid and neutral colors typically work best: black, white, gray, brown, navy. Soft pinks and blues can look nice if they work with your coloring, but bright pinks and yellows don’t usually turn out well.
For women (in maternity shoots or not), flattering dresses always look nice (in solid colors), and jeans of any color look great. For maternity shoots, yoga pants when doing bare-belly shots work very well: They’re nice a stretchy, and aren’t likely to leave indentations on your skin. If you’re wearing a top, choose v-necks, squarenecks, turtlenecks or deep scoop necks. On the whole, women should avoid crewnecks. Also, long-sleeved shirts often are the most flattering, but sleeveless and spaghetti straps work well. T-shirt length sleeves should be avoided unless you have beautiful, sculpted or very thin upper arms. For maternity shoots scheduled in the comfort of your home, there’s also the option to wear boyshorts and a strapless bra for more boudoir-type photos.
For the guys, wear jeans, khakis or any other pair of dark pants (but keep in mind the comfort factor — and what your partner is wearing). Rumpled (not starched), plain white button-up shirts also look nice, and bringing a regular white and/or black crew-neck t-shirt is also a good idea.When looking through your various dresses and shirts to wear, stick to clingy, though not necessarily tight, fabrics with a little bit of stretch. For shoots with a wardrobe change, you could also wear a big, white, button-down rumpled man’s shirt to get bare-belly shots. Any shirt or cardigan that opens down the front works well too. For maternity shoots, try not to wear fabrics that are binding so there are no marks on the skin during the shoot.
On the whole, solid, dark colors like black, dark brown, navy blue and charcoal gray tops and bottoms are preferred. Layers are great; wear the t-shirt under a crew- or v-neck sweater or jacket.
For maternity shoots, I will always bring at least a few props, but you are also welcome to bring items you’d like to incorporate, like balloons, blocks, ribbons, flowers etc. If you have a question about a potential prop, don’t hesitate to ask!
Any other questions? Shoot me an email!
Interested in getting some art for your walls? Then take advantage of my current promotion! Get a 24×20 canvas print of the photo to the left — a gorgeous banyan tree in Maui – for just $89 (normally $160). Act fast! Only 25 are available, and the promotion ends on Saturday!
I ended up cutting the 10-day challenge short because the holidays were just too crazy, but here are the final three photos I took before Christmas eve. Ultimately it was fun, but timing was tough!
I wasn’t sure how I was going to get today’s challenge done, but I’d forgotten that it was cookie decorating day at work — and one of my coworkers has amazing cake decorating skills, so I asked her to use them on a cookie for me. She ended up decorating six cookies — the sleigh with four reindeer, Rudolph included, and the earth below. It was adorable! Unfortunately I could really only get two cookies in the shot, so here it is: Rudolph pulling the sleigh.
I got to see Mannheim Steamroller tonight with a friend of mine, and it was a good time. I will say the videos the group shows during its performance definitely needs some work, but it was fun experience! Here’s my “something bright” from the show (and clearly we were in the nosebleed section!):
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