Thursday, August 18, 2011

Great Food, Nice Staff, and They Have a Tree in the Building!! {Fresno, CA. Child Birthday Party and Portraits}

The month of June brings the beginning of summer and summers in this area are usually unforgiving when it comes to the heat. June is also the birth month of my oldest child. The first three birthday parties we had for him, the temps were well over 100 degrees which was not very easy on his guests. As he got older, we (mom and dad) got wiser and chose to have indoor parties for him. This last year he had his birthday party at his favorite restaurant, Huckleberry's. He loves the food there, the staff is always friendly with us, and most importantly (in my son's opinion) there is a tree in the building. Now to a 6 year old that is pretty cool! Here are some shots from his birthday festivities~

This is his 6 year old portrait session we shot up and around our local river.



I had the hardest time finding some party ideas for this theme. So for party favors we purchased the small canning jars and stuffed them with chocolate cake crumbs and gummy worms to give it a look of a jar of worms for fishing bait. The invites I saw on the Oh So Beautiful Paper website and went with something similar.

Because his actual birthday fell mid-week we had his party with a few friends on the weekend and we took him for pizza and had a cake at home on his actual birthday.




Monday, August 15, 2011

Off to the Races {Fresno, CA. Baby's Milestone Portraits}

I love doing milestone portraits for many reasons. I enjoy being able to spend time with clients knowing that we will get a chance to visit again in a few months (if not sooner). I also enjoy these year long sessions because I enjoy seeing how much a baby develops just in the few months that I havent seen them. With how fast this little guy was crawling during his session, I expect him to not only be walking but probably out running me for his 12 month session. :)
I enjoyed shooting this little man's 9 month portraits and being able to catch up with his fabulous mommy at the same time. This handsome guy did a great job during his session and mom was a great helper getting him to smile. Thank you for once again welcoming me into your home. Here are just a few to enjoy. Hugs!!






Friday, August 12, 2011

100 Years of Blessings {Fresno, CA. Family Portrait and Event Photography}

I have mentioned many times before that there are many aspects of this job that I adore! One being the friendships I have made with clients. One particular friendship that I have gained from this job is from my dear friend E. When she called me for these two days of sessions, I was thrilled to do it!

Her wonderful family came into town from all over to help celebrate this beautiful woman's 100th birthday. The first day for the formal portrait session, I so enjoyed not only spending time with the birthday guest of honor but getting to know her daughters, son-in-laws,grandchildren,great-grandchildren, and more! What an amazing family she has!!

The second day session was of her actual birthday celebration where I got to meet more of her family and friends. That weekend helped remind me of the many people we influence in our lives and for this birthday gal, 100 years is a lot of years of influence!!

Thank you so much to her entire family for allowing me to share these memorable weekend with all of you and I enjoyed getting to know my friend E's wonderful family! Blessings to all of you!





I photographed all the beautiful individual families the first session day but wanted to share this shot of this family's adorable basset and beagle since the doggies were not in any of the other group shots. :)


The guest of honor had so many kind and touching words said about her and her life the day of her party.

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Support Local Artisans {Sanger, CA. Childrens Portraits}

Growing up in our small community, I was always encouraged by my parents to support local vendors. You know, the "mom and pop" places that are sadly becoming a dying breed in the world these days. I remember my dad telling us, "sure you may get to purchase the same thing from the chain store cheaper but when you buy local from the people that know you, if there is ever an issue with the item, you have a person to talk to about it and not a corporation with store policies. And most of the time they'll replace it with or without the receipt...with no questions asked." And I would have to say that I still believe that theory to be true. I love dealing with artisans with creative talents that not only take the time to listen to what I am wanting but who give your items that special attention they give when making it.

I have always wanted to learn to sew. I have my mother's sewing machine she handed down to me but have yet to sew anything with it. I have tried but just dont seem to have the knack it takes to sew. Lucky for me that through the fates of our children being classmates, I have grown a friendship with a local artist who has the amazing talent of sewing the most adorable clothes. Alyssa at Polka Dot Moon Bowtique does an amazing job sewing!! I am so glad to have hired her to create these adorable dresses for these sweet little darlings for Christmas and was thrilled to be able to finally photograph these little ladies modeling their dresses. Thank you again Alyssa for making these and I cant wait to purchase more of your clothing creations!!