dear clients,

i love you. you are beautiful, fun, and make my job so easy! and did you know, after your sessions are over and the orders are placed, i miss you, and wonder how you're doing. boo. anyway, i am just reminding you that if you want to order prints before the holidays, all orders must be placed before december 1st. that way all of your lovely images can be tied up in a bow and placed under the tree! framed pictures make the perfect gifts (especially for parents and grandparents and such, but you already knew that!). please contact me with questions. you know how to reach me. =) also, will you e-mail me your current address? yes, you. all of you. that way, i can send you a holiday card, and we can keep in touch. it will be great.

love,

your photographer

on love and photographs.

i would like to preface this by saying that this post was really intended for my personal blog. because it's, you know, personal. but then i thought, you know what, this is WHY i photograph, what makes me who i am. this is my inspiration and motivation. i guess this is also, in my own way, how i express love and gratitude in my life. so it felt appropriate to perhaps share it here as well. i hope i am right.

danny arrived today and we had the most beautiful evening with joe and brittany at the beach. the guys went running, the boys ran around in the sand, splashing and throwing rocks, the moms, we watched. and of course i photographed. it really was the most perfect, beautiful night. i have a ton of pictures to share, but right now i am getting ready for bed and just savoring the evening.

i have been thinking about the balance of living in the moment and capturing the moment. sometimes i hear people say that sometimes they have to put down the camera and just BE in the moment. i get that. i TOTALLY get it. but i also feel almost exactly opposite 99% of the time! to me, i feel most ALIVE on nights like this, beautiful setting, my family, best friends, and camera in hand. everything just feels right. i believe i actually enjoy the moment more completely when i capture it in a photograph. i am also the kind of person who prefers to do two things at once- movie and a craft, internet and music, bath and a magazine, clean my house and talk on the phone, i enjoy each aspect more by doing them at the same time.

i have felt for some time now, that because of my relationship with photographs, i see the world differently, i see my life differently. i am more aware of the beauty all around me, i see the art in everyday life as a mother, the little details stand out in a different way. my son's eyelashes or a sandy toes, the colors in our halloween pumpkins, the way the light peeks inside my kitchen in the morning. it's all clearer, it's all better, i appreciate it more.

there are of course moments that can't be photographed, only felt. tonight, just after the sun went down behind catalina, the sky was bright peachy-orange and the water so blue. the colors danced across max's skin and glistened in his eyes in a way i have never seen, it was absolutely breathtaking. i already had a couple hundred images on my memory card that i just knew i would love, but all i wanted was to catch this moment in the most perfect way so i could keep it forever. but wouldn't you know, max was wet. a little cold. and just wanted a snuggle. i squatted down in the sand for some hugs and just let my camera hang from the strap while i just snuggled max and watched the fleeting light on his face, just inches away myself. it was beautiful, emotionally and artistically. no buttons to push or focus to adjust, but it was art just the same. i thought to myself that even though i couldn't actually take a picture of this moment, that i would take a little mental snapshot and always remember his sandy fingers at the nape of his neck and his soft cheeks pressed to mine, while that orange light touched us both. part of me was sad for a second that i missed the shot but i am finding my mental snapshot to be just as rewarding to come home with as the many physical images from the night at the beach. nights like this i am truly so thankful for my happy, simple life and the little family we have created together and that god has given us. the opportunity to step back and look at it through my lens has shown me just how remarkable it is.

beach baby.

can you handle mr. owen in his little get up? he has to be the cutest 18 month old on the PLANET, and the beach today was breathtaking. i brought the vintage cardi and bow tie along with me and was thrilled when they fit. i have only been here a few days and already i have SOOOO many pictures to share. we have been spending a lot of time at the beach and i am reminded why i had such a hard time leaving orange county (it's where we lived for about a year and a half pre-utah). it never gets easier...

allen family...

ok, seriously is this not the most GORGEOUS family? families with 5 or 6 kids usually make me a bit nervous, especially when they are so young. but this family was SO well behaved! i had so much fun with this bunch, and boy are they just an easy group to look at or what!?

his mom and i were absolutely dying over the pictures of little bronson. i can't quite get over him!

so striking, love her red hair!

miss shelby was NONE too excited when it was her turn for her individual shots. but we got her warmed up after a minute and i was so thrilled with how these turned out!

this girl should model, i'm telling you!

cameron was such a little stud and so helpful with his younger sibs. such a good big brother!

he just got this motor scooter thingy and so of course we needed an action shot!

the boys

the girls

mom and dad. no wonder they have such darling kids, huh?

we also did a special shoot just for lindsey in her baptism dress. she is turning 8 this month and is just such a beauty. i love how pretty and timeless these turned out.

happy weekend!

love, max.

hehe. little stinker.

we're just going to have a lazy weekend at home playing outside with eachother! no sessions this weekend (what??! i know.) means a little catching up and relaxation. yay! here's a few from yesterday that put a smile on my face. enjoy.

and look at my friend chelsea's twins lauren and hallie. aren't they just the most darling, sassy little girls in their leopard outfits!? i just love them. thanks for playing with my cranky little boy!

a small favor. ok. somewhat large.

hey guys! important question. this weekend, might i borrow your canoe? you think i am kidding. only i am really not. its for a shoot of my family... PRETTY PLEEAAASE! Be your best friend....?? the thing is we won't even actually put it all the way in the water. let me know, ok?

meggie + paul - wedding

what can i say? what a BEAUTIFUL wedding. every detail was perfect! i had such a fun day with these two. they have such a great style and i loved the venue, the CHANTILLY MANSION! it's a historic home turned wedding venue in Layton, UT and would totally recommend it. i loved the bride and groom's rooms, the lighting was totally opposite and so fitting. it has a great open area and a lot of different sitting areas and rooms that are just beautiful. also, my second shooter HEATHER did an incredible job. i am so happy to be debuting some of her work for JKP! you can look for her again at some upcoming events as well. =)

GETTING READY

THE CEREMONY

*great shot by heather!

paul waiting to walk down the isle.

meggie trying to stop crying on her way out to the isle. she was very emotional during the ceremony- it was so sweet!

meggie's mom watching her walk into the gazebo- such a priceless moment!

Mr. and Mrs. Nelson!

*love this shot by heather, congratulatory hug from grandma!

TOTALLY obsessed with this funky couch and pretty light.

*gorgeous meggie, by heather

THE RECEPTION

I got some new lighting equipment right before this wedding and was LOVING the set up of these stair shots! my favorites: