Much to my surprise...

...a friend of mine just emailed me to tell me Sweetface Photography is on the list of nominees for this year's San Diego Parents Pick awards for family photographers!

Now that my jaw is up off of the floor I can tell you just how thrilled I am to even be on this list with some of the local photographers I admire most. I don't expect to win but to actually make the top five would be a goal I certainly wouldn't mind bragging about. ;) So, if you please, click on the ginormous logo below or just click here to nominate me!

Don't forget - you can vote every.single.day until June 13! :)

A dozen smiles | San Diego family photographer

Today I met one of the most fun, charming, and beautiful families in all of San Diego. Seriously. I'll admit being a shade nervous anticipating my largest group yet - eight adults and four kiddos under three - but I had *such* a great time photographing all of them.

As you can imagine, shooting a large group means LOTS of pictures, so this post is going to be word light and photo HEAVY (which is how most would prefer it anyway. lol)! Let's get to the sneak peeks...

Let's start with where it all started - Roberto and Ana (and their furbabies, too!).

With their grandbabies...

The whole gang!

Check out Ruthie and Peter heating things up. Careful you two - that's how you got the lovely Valencia and Toby ;)

Definition of cute = Toby

Go ahead...melt from the sweetness! :)

Another furbaby, Cooper, getting in on the photo action...

Hayley, Eduardo, and Adrian looking fab.

I found myself a little jealous of Adrian's wardrobe ;)

Dan, Jessica, and little Sophia being beautiful together...

I swear Sophia is "smizing" like no one's business. Tyra would be proud ;)

LOVE this family. Great job guys!

Christian's parents-to-be...

Yesterday evening was yet another gorgeous evening in San Diego. The weather was perfect for a fabulous parents-to-be session for Sophia and Steve, who are expecting Christian Oliver (name love!) this September. The parents-to-be wanted to capture this special time in their lives - you know, when they're still able to get some peace and quiet ;) No seriously, maternity sessions are fast becoming my favorites to photograph because it is all about hope and transition; it is a time to celebrate the love that created this life and the love that will grow because of it. There is a look that can only be found on the faces of expectant parents and Sophia and Steve were no exception. It is a look that I can only describe as peaceful excitement. Normally that would be oxymoronic, but in terms of people awaiting the arrival of their child - it makes perfect sense. So anyway, let's ditch my jibber jabbering and get on with the sneak peeks!

Ahhh...proof that I am funny! ;) lol

Seriously how gorgeous are these two? Christian is bound to be a heartbreaker, I'm telling you.

Here...right here. This is that peaceful excitement I was talking about.

Of course Steve looks great, too, but check out Sophia in all her Vogue-worthy fierceness! Work it out girl!

Sophia and Steve, thank you for letting me capture this special time in your lives. I am so looking forward to meeting your little man in a few short weeks. Until then, I hope you all enjoy our sneak peeks!

Lucky...

Vanessa and I go way, way back.  Good ol' CP alum - we went to the same high school, graduating only a year apart.  I bet if I told her then that she would marry the man of her dreams just two years after I graduated, she would have laughed that big, happy, infectious laugh of hers and told me I was silly.  But that very thing happened.  10 years ago Vanessa and Jair married in Heritage Park, and to celebrate such a wonderful event, we went back to the exact spot where they exchanged "I do"s.  Can you get any more romantic than that?  Well...Jair can, but more about that later.  If I could sum this couple up in three words?  Fun, affectionate, and loving.  It is very clear in the way they interact, both verbally and physically, that they are still in love all these years later.

Ok, enough chatter.  Let's get to the goods.  Here's your sneak peeks...

I love that they decided to go for a vintage, victorian-esque look, and I'm finding that the black and whites are really working.  See for yourself...

Can you say gorgeous?

Vanessa - I titled this post "lucky" because at one point when I was photographing you, Jair whispered in my ear that he was so very lucky to be married to you.  See...I told you he could up the romantic anty.  ;)

Jair and Vanessa...I hope you both enjoy your sneak peeks, and here's to another 100 years.

Three days 'til Mother's day...

...but I wasn't able to log in and update yesterday, so I'll be posting both the 4-days and 3-days segments this evening. But ha - you're still only gettin' one teaser photo! Yeah - I'm mean like that. lol

Four things I love about my mom...

*I love how loving, forgiving, and open-hearted my mom is. Mistake after mistake, my mom will ALWAYS let you wipe the slate clean. She always sees the silver lining, and when you only remember all the bad things about a person or thing, she can always seem to remember at least one good thing about them/it. She has really taught me to stay objective in most situations.
*I love when my mom cooks! She, of course, hates cooking altogether, but when she does it, it’s always good. Have you had her spaghetti? No – you need to. But I’m not inviting you because that means less for me. ;)
*I love that my mom is patient with most anything and anyone – except when it comes to her dining experience. She has been known to make us get up and walk out of a restaurant if the service is s-l-o-w as all get out. Some waiters have tried to convince her to stay as they notice her walking out, but to no avail. Once she’s up – dude, she’s out. I crack up about it every time. Not that this is a regular occurrence or anything.
*I love that my mom believes in me and fully supports my wanting to pursue photography. When I told her my ultimate goal of creating this business for myself and eventually doing it full-time, she simply told me, “And you will.”

Three more things I love about my mom...

*I love that she gets so excited when she buys us something. I remember when we kids were mere elementary schoolers and we still did the big “school clothes shopping” extravaganza. You remember it! Anyway, we would always come home and do fashion shows. She would “make” us go try on every single thing we bought and show it to her. “make” = we pretended we didn’t want to do it, but oh we so did. ;) sorry for the grief mom!
*Speaking of excitement – I love how excited my mom can get over some of the most random things. It doesn’t take much to entertain her (eh-hem…she loves most anything on the sci-fi channel. lol). Take her love of Fridays, for instance. I mean, we all love Fridays, but I’m convinced none love it as much as she does. The woman squeals in delight, sings, claps, and dances every.single.Friday. Well, every working Friday.
*I love my mom’s honesty. She will support when I’m right and let me know when I’m wrong. She can check me and uplift me at the same time. I really dig that about her.

Love you mom!

Special Delivery

I just wanted to post a doubly huge CONGRATULATIONS to Allison and Marc on the birth of their twins!

Baby boy, Easton, and baby girl, Aven, made their big, unexpected (she wasn't due until June 9) debut early yesterday morning. I've already seen a couple photos of them and as I, ahem, predicted, those tikes are G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S!!! So looking forward to meeting them soon. :)

You can catch up on their maternity session from earlier this month, here.
And because a post just isn't a post without photos...here's a couple more shots from their fabulous session.

Congratulations again to Allison, Marc, and big brother Brendon! See you all soon!

The things you dream about...

Sigh. I'm sure most people dream about things like exotic vacations, expensive cars and houses, winning the lotto, etc. I, on the other hand, I dream about camera equipment. Yes...camera equipment. While you were resting your pretty little head on your pillow and picturing yourself frolicking along white sands and crystal blue waters, I was dreaming about lenses. I'm talking full on picturing getting online, going to the website of choice and filling out the order form! lol I chose to take it as a sign, so in a couple of days, I will be adding these bad boys to my arsenal:

The 50mm f/1.4.

I currently have a 50 f/1.8 whom I've named "Nifty", but I'm trading him in for this guy. He will be called Nifty Deux. I know - how creative and original of me.

I'm also expecting this dude - the 100mm f/2.8.

He will be replacing both of my kit lenses (who have not seen the light of day since the month I first bought Atreyu [uhh...that's my camera's name]). Not that there's anything wrong with them; but what's the point in keeping them if I'm not using them? Now is not the time for wasting money, you know? Anyhow...here is what Aries will look like.

On a totally different topic - can you believe we're already heading into May?! Where is the time going? It seems like the older you get, the faster time goes. Thankfully, the older Sweetface Photography gets, the busier it gets. May is already shaping up to be a busy month here, as weekend session slots are filling up fast. Booking into June and July has already started, so if you've been wanting to get your family's photos updated, get some headshots for you or your child, or just get some fun anytime shots...get a move on! :) There is no time like the present!


PS - speaking of May. Umm hello...Wolverine this weekend; Star Trek next weekend! I am SO looking forward to summer movie season. What are you looking forward to seeing? Comment below!

Why not a mini for mom and dad?

Both Mother's day (May 10) and Father's day (June 21) are fast approaching. If you're still at a loss for what to give the 'rents, consider giving them the gift of portraits! Limited-availability mini-sessions will be offered on Saturday, May 2, starting at 4:00pm at one of our beautiful beaches.

Aside from making a great gift for mom and dad, a mini-session is the thing for you if you've had or recently had a session with Sweetface Photography but would like new images for the season or to mark a milestone, but not wanting to schedule a full session. Or maybe you've been meaning to try a Sweetface Photography but just haven't gotten around to it. Or maybe you're a friend of a client who's photos you've seen and want a taste of what I have to offer! Or maybe you just want a few gorgeous images of your kiddos. Whatever the case, our mini-sessions wont compare to the full session experience, but they are PERFECT for a little sample of what I have to offer.

Each mini-session costs just $75 and includes:

Approximately 30 minute session (please inquire about pricing for groups larger than four)
10-15 images in a private online gallery
Complementary 8x10 print and 10% off your order
A CD with 3 low-resolution watermarked images for sharing via email, facebook, et al.


If you are interested in booking a mini-session, just send me an e-mail.

If you prefer the luxury of a full custom session, my calendar is filling up fast! Shoot me an email and we'll get you in...one way or another!

Worth the bugs...

I had an amazing shoot with one fantastic couple today.  Allison and Marc are expecting twins in about six weeks (though you could never tell just by looking at her cute, perfect little baby bump) and wanted to document this special time in all their lives.  Along for the shoot were many, many, many little bugs...but we still got many, many, many fantastic shots!  

Anyway, these two (or should I say four?) were the perfect subjects; both so sweet, funny, and came ready to try anything.  It's also very clear that these babies are going to be gorgeous - just look at their parents!  va-va-voom :)

Allison and Marc, thanks for letting me capture this time for you guys.  I had such a great time photographing you and I cannot wait to meet your little boy and girl!  Hope you enjoy your teaser shots...emphasis on teaser ;)

It's that time...

~ VOTING CLOSED ~

Sorry I'm late getting to this, but you can blame Cox Cable for this one. As many know, we moved this past weekend. Our internet/phone/cable was supposed to be set up on Saturday, but apparently they didn't turn it on. Sunday we called it quits a little early because we were all beat; it was then we realized our services hadn't been activated. So hubby called them and after making him run up and down the stairs to test all the jacks in every room, they still couldn't fix it. They couldn't get a tech out to us until yesterday, frustrating me even further. Oh well - I'm just glad they were finally able to get us up and running.

So all that said, let's just put it in the past and look to future. There are more important things to think about - like who is going to win our Sweet Faces contest. We got lots of adorable entrants - so cute they all are, I'm just glad that I'm not the one who has to decide who the winner is. Voting starts now and since we were delayed in getting this up, the final voting day is now moved to Sunday, April 5.

So here's how it works - in the comment section, post the number of the photo you'd like to vote for. Remember, only ONE vote per household, per day. Make sure you tell your family and friends so they can get in on the voting, too! Please note that in an effort to maintain fairness, no 'anonymous' votes will be counted.

So without further ado, I give you your Sweet Faces contestants...

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Good luck to all the contestants and happy voting!!!