Having cake and eating it, too | aliso viejo child photographer

I can barely believe it. In just short of 12 hours, my "baby" will be entering Kindegarten. I am filled with joy, excitement, and a sprinkling of sadness and nervousness. Nervous because her world is opening up to more strangers and we are both going to have to ascertain which will become friends and which should not. Sad at the realization that my baby is no longer a baby. Sometimes, in short, fleeting moments, I wish I could stop time and she could stay my baby. But those moments make me cherish our photos and this job that much more. The photos capture that moment forever. And in that way, I like to think I do get to have my cake and eat it, too.

I need a baby | aliso viejo newborn photographer

Not in the way that you might be thinking.

By far, my favorite type of photo session to do is newborns. I just love seeing cute little squishy babies in all their newtotheworldness. There is nothing like it. You're getting fresh human beings before being influenced by anything or anyone. They're adapting to life outside mama's belly and yawning like they've been working in the farm from sun up to sun down. You know that big yawn I'm talking about. I love capturing these precious moments in their lives because they don't stay this tiny, this wrinkly, this pliable for very long at all. You can already see them losing a bit of those things at just two weeks old! That is why I think it's so important to have photos to document newborns in the first couple of days. Heck...if I could be there with you in the hospital, I would! (I really would; birth photography is something I'd like to get into someday, but I'll save that for a later post)

Ok now, couple my love of shooting newborns with my itch to pick up my camera and shoot someone other than my own crazy kid (not that I can tire of photographing her!) and you've got me going back on my word. I know I said I wasn't taking on new clients until September...but I'm making an exception for the babes.

So there you have it. I want a baby. or two. or four. Do you know anyone who just had or is about to have a little bundle of joy? Send them my way folks! :) Interested parties can either email me at info@sweetface-photography.com OR shoot me a message on Facebook!

HAPPY WEEKEND!

What's on your walls | orange county family photographer

Following up from last post, we’ve officially gone from moving to moved. Settled, however, is clearly going to take some time.

There are still boxes unpacked, shred bags un-shredded (my God the volume of documents we need to shred!), and items I only realize I need to find at the inopportune time of when I actually need them. *shrug*  Still…the one thing that bothers me most is the bare walls. I have some photos and trinkets up on the mantle already; and I have my one piece of authentic Palauan wood art that I definitely will hang but I’m just waiting to hear which wall will beg me to hang this piece of art on it. Yes walls can talk! But the rest of the walls in this place are milky white aka blah. I’ve long been a fan of art and even have some favorite artists but that’s just for the sheer enjoyment of viewing those pieces, whether in a museum, book, magazine, online, etc. It is an entirely different thing to choose art for your home. There are lots of paintings and pieces I’ve seen online that I like, but I mostly look at them and think, “do I love it?” and “will I love it in a year? Five years? Ten?”

So that in mind my friends…who’s art do you love and have let find a place in your house? Where do you shop for the pieces that become a part of your everyday landscape?

Here are some pieces that have caught my eye; some I’m considering purchasing, others I’m just admiring for the sake of admiration.

I SOOOO want all three of these Polaroid pieces framed and on a wall in my place. I will DEFINITELY be ordering them. They are courtesy of the Yellow Owl Workshop via Velocity Art and Design’s site.

I got turned on to Blanca Gomez by the lovely ms Tara Whitney. She blogged about some reno she did to a small space in her home and found these adorable prints by Blanca. That same day, my friend Erin, who has an amazing blog, talked about some spur-of-the-moment reno work in her own home (turned out beautifully), which included art from a store that carried Blanca's work. How sweet is this?

I absolutely WILL own an Audrey Kawasaki someday. WILL!

 

And I’ve kind of taken to Kristin Kemper’s pieces. There’s a bit of a Disney feel to her work. I’m thinking I may be able to find some stuff I can use in the daughter’s room. Wdyt?

And I am inspired by these pieces by Matthew Heller. It’s a watercolor collaboration between him and his son. I’m thinking of attempting my own collaboration with the girl to really personalize the space. I also dig his Homage to Music (literally the words of a song on the wall).  Would love to do that in a room someday…

Movin' on up | orange county family photographer

Yes...you read that right.

The big news is that Sweetface Photography is moving! Starting in July, I'm going to be an Orange Countyer! Orange Countian? Orange Countyite? OCR (Orange County resident)…yeah...we’ll just go with that. ha!

First I want to thank all of my clients over the past three years. It has been quite an amazing run here in San Diego (my home for the last 20 years - literally). When I first started Sweetface, I had it in mind that in order for me to be successful, I would need a ton of clients booking me. But very shortly I learned that while that may be an appropriate goal for some, for me, my success meant repeat customers. Because it meant that [1] they appreciated my art so much that they felt secure in trusting me to capture some lasting memories for their families. And an equally important [2] these wonderful people not only appreciated me as an artist, but connected with me on another level. That has become my barometer for success – repeat clientele – and I’ve been very blessed in that the majority of my business has been such. So on that end, I admit I am quite disheartened leaving behind such amazing people.

However, I am going to go into this move with an optimistic heart and mind. I’m telling myself that I can achieve the same level of success and even grow, as Sweetface Photography plants its feet on Orange County’s soil. I will be taking the summer off so that I can settle in, get me and my family acclimated to the lay of the new land, prepare my little one for KINDERGARTEN (wow!), and get the business changes in order. While I will not be doing any physical shooting this summer, I WILL be accepting clients for the holiday season (sessions taking place September through November). So my friends, if you have any friends and family members in the Orange County area (or close by) who you happen to know are looking for a family photographer who wants to grow with their growing families, please let them know I’m headed their way and to shoot me an email. Or heck…even if you’re in San Diego, we can definitely work something out as far as travel for your session. I already have one San Diego family (one of those amazing repeat clients/friends I was talking about earlier) booked for their holiday session in San Juan Capistrano! So things can definitely be worked out folks. Talk about a great way to veer away from the “typical” san diego shoot. ;)

*sigh* I’m long-winded, I know. I promise, I’m shutting up soon.

Again, I just want to thank all of you for your support, encouragement, and for many of you, your friendship. There seriously are not enough words to express how much you mean to me. It’s been one amazing ride.

You stay classy, San Diego!

A walk for the mind and spirit, 2011

Family and friends,

I am writing you today to tell you about an upcoming event that I am participating in that is both very important and very exciting to me.  It is NAMIWalks for the Mind of America, NAMI’s signature 5k event that is being held in San Diego, CA at Balboa Park next weekend, on April 16, 2011.

This will be my second year participating in this event and I'm very much looking forward to it. The spirit of last year's walk was one of hope and positivity. Again this year, I will be running with my head up; proud to know that every step helps to further research for treatment for those suffering any one or combination of the many forms of mental illness. More specifically and personally, I'll be walking with the hope that it helps get us closer to finding the cause and hopefully one day a cure for dementia and Alzheimer's - an illness that has affected my family very closely, through my Grandma Anne and her sister, Laura. We are still praying for these beautiful women to fight their way back to us, but in the meantime, we participate in events like this one to help fund the research that will facilitate that fight.

I would like to ask you to come and walk with me or to donate to support my participation in this great event. Visit my personal page to sign up: http://www.nami.org/namiwalks11/SDC/gitpick.  There is also a link so you can donate directly to me online. Donating online is fast and secure, and I'll get immediate notification via e-mail of your donation.

NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, is the largest education, support and advocacy organization that serves the needs of all those whose lives are touched by these illnesses. This includes persons with mental illness, their families, friends, employers, the law enforcement community and policy makers.  The NAMI organization is composed of approximately 1100 local affiliates, 50 state offices and a national office.

NAMI is a 501(c)3 charity and any donation you make to support my participation in this event is tax deductible.  NAMI has been rated by Worth magazine as among the top 100 charities "most likely to save the world" and has been given an "A" rating by The American Institute of Philanthropy for efficient and effective use of charitable dollars.

Thank you in advance for your support.

Love, grace and peace,

Gwen

ps

Please feel free to pass this on to your friends and family. Thank you.

For more information about the National Alliance on Mental Illness, please visit: www.nami.org

WARM holiday wishes | la jolla family photographer

I love that while this is what the holiday season looks like for some...



...ours looks like this, complete with the likes of a gorgeous family like you're about to see.  And like I love warm holidays in San Diego, I love this family.  I've been lucky getting to photograph Chelsea, Michael, Ella and Quintin for the past year and a half (Quintin was just six months old the first time I shot them and he recently turned two!); luckier still just getting to know them.

Once again, the family is planning on using these photos for their holiday cards, so we'll post just a few so we don't ruin the surprise for their friends and family.

I think we're alone now | chula vista maternity photographer

(only my fellow 80s era folk will get this post's title.  lol)

Meet Tiffany.  Tiffany is wife to Kurt, mommy to (the insanely adorable) Samantha, carrying their second little girl, Charlotte, a total sweetheart and g-o-r-g-e-o-u-s to boot.  I mean seriously.  Methinks she must have been going back for seconds and thirds when they were handing out good looks.  ;) 

Here's a are just a couple of sneak peeks from her maternity session this past weekend.

One of my faves from the session...


The beautiful Sammy


Another fave...


It's a good thing she married a firefighter because she is smokin'!