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!

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'! 

How Christian got his groove back | san diego family photographer

First let me just say that this post comes oozing with optimism (those who know me best should start picking their jaws up off the floor now).  Can it be that months of computer/website/whatever else could go wrong are finally on the mend?  I'm holding out hope that things are finally looking up.  Email is still a little wonky, but I think we've finally got the new website just about ready to launch.  The blog has been slow...ok, dead...for the last few months due mostly in part to said computer issues, but also to some personal stuff that's well...personal.  That said, I've got my optimism on and what better family to start with then this one...

...you may recognize them.  I've photographed them twice before and both me and my camera love them.  When you last saw Christian, he was brand spankin' new to this world and his parents, Sophia and Steve were adjusting to life without sleep.  ;)  Well, Mr. Christian is now a year old and even more handsome than the last time we saw him.  On top of that...this boy loves to dance.  He cannot help it...if he hears a tune, his body has to dance.  So like most his age, he was a little hesitant with me sticking my big ol' camera in his face, but with a little help from dad's singing the theme song from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Christian got his groove and worked the dooty out of their session.  ;)

Note: It's holiday season again...which means limited sneak peeks.  Gotta save the surprise for everyone's holiday cards.  but no worries, Christian was so "on", we've got plenty of just his cuteness to hold everyone over.

Rockin' the dress | del mar portrait photographer

In a few short weeks, Annie and Richard will be celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary.  To celebrate, Annie emailed me and said she wanted to get back into her wedding gown and shoot at the very spot where she said yes to Richard all those years ago (how romantic is that?!).  I was so looking forward to this shoot because I've always wanted to do my own "trash the dress" session, so I got to live vicariously through Annie.  Plus, she just seemed like so much fun to hang out with it - and she (and all of her boys) proved me right.  

Have to start with the shoes.  I just love a pretty pair of shoes!



Rawr!  Check it - Annie is owning this shot.









Ten years and three kids later...



...it's no wonder she had such an amazing smile throughout the shoot!  gorgeous!


Happy 10th anniversary Annie and Richard!  Here's hoping the next 50 are just as fun and amazing!!!  :)

Trisha |bonita maternity photographer

Sometimes I wonder if I should really call this a job.  Because, aren't you supposed to hate going to work?  Picking up my camera to capture special moments in time for people is, I imagine, much like the moment when a kid first hears the chiming of the ice cream truck.   A moment of joy and anticipation.  That joy is magnified when my clients are sweet, charming, funny, and gorgeous.  Trisha is all of those and thensome - even despite nearing the end of her pregnancy (and you other moms know exactly how hard that time can be).  I had such a great time photographing, and even better time just getting to know her and her family.  

First I'm going to start with this.  Because after my love of my family, photography, and food...there's my love of shoes.  I couldn't resist a shoe shot when Trisha broke out these little lovelies...




Did I mention she was g-o-r-g-e-o-u-s?








Finally, one of her and her boys.  How beautiful is this family?

For the sake of art | oceanside family photographer

Jessica paid for her family's session by check.  Right before I deposited that check I reviewed it for accuracy, and when I looked down at the "for" line, Jessie had written in "the sake of art" and it made me smile and literally laugh out loud, and I knew in that moment I had this session's blog title.

Jessie and her family welcomed me into their beautiful home for their photo session yesterday morning.  I had so much fun shooting them all - there was so much love, laughter, and even a couple of bottles of wine.  I swear I have the best clients pretty much ever.

Lovely ladies...

Let's end where it all started ♥ 

Box of chocolates | pacific beach family photographer

What's the saying ol' Forest Gump made famous?  Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get.  Well, the same can be said for photographing young children - especially when they range in age from 10 months to 5 years old.  And especially when the 5 and 3 year olds are boys.  But these kids were such a breeze to work with, and the entire family is beautiful, sweet, and the camera loved each and ever one of them.  Take a look for yourselves...

I just love sweet, baby girls...

Seriously?  How awesome and adorable are these boys...

Mom and dad are totally working it for the camera.  Hotness! ;)

I heart the K family.  Fo' real...

Happy Family | coronado family photographer

Riva contacted me a few weeks ago wanting to get some portraits of her family of five, but was a little hesitant.  I understand - it's a little nerve-wracking being in front of the camera.  I'm so glad she decided to just go for it because [1] children grow up so fast and [2] I got to meet this beautiful, sweet, fun family!  Twins Jeffrey and Brandon delivered exactly what I expected from twin three-year olds: LOTS of energy and play.  Baby Lauren is just the cutest, sweetest little girl; I just love her smooshy cheeks!  Riva and Scott, you have such a beautiful family - it was such a great pleasure photographing you all.  Hope you enjoy your sneak peeks!

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! :)

Show me the awkward | san diego family photographer

Hello friends!

The first contest of 2010 is here and there's a little bit of a twist on it this time around. If you haven't experienced the awesomeness of the Awkward Family Photos website yet, please take a moment to peruse it first and try not to soil yourself during your fits of laughter or flashbacks of your own family's awkward photographic moments) to witness the inspiration for this month's contest. Go ahead and check it out...I'll wait. :)

Ok, so many of you have seen the most standard of contest solicited by photographers, myself included. The basic premise - submit a photo of yourself, your family, or your child(ren) and let the voting begin. The premise here is still just that, only this time I want you folks mustering up the courage to publicly display your own awkward family portraits, submitting those photos, and encouraging your friends and family to vote yours the most awkward! Fun, right? Well...I can say that because I'm not putting my family's awkward photos on display. Erm...because we don't have any...yeah, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. lol

Entering is very simple. Just send me an email with your family's most awkward photo and a quick description about the photo (a couple of sentences will do just fine).

That's it - it's that easy! I will be accepting entries from May 1 until May 10. The top three finalists will be featured on my blog on May 11, and voting will last through May 15. Voting instructions will be posted that day as well. The winning photo will be announced May 17.

Now, what's the big prize up for grabs? The winner will receive a FREE session and a FREE 11x14 print (that's a $180 value)!

Official rules:

1. Winner must reside in or be willing to travel to San Diego, CA for the session.
2. Only one entry per person/family.
3. Please include your name, address and phone number along with your entry photo.
4. Winners of previous Sweetface Photography contests or prizes are ineligible for participation.
5. Winning session must take place before August 31, 2010.
6. Prize not redeemable for cash.
7. Winner will receive one free session for up to five people and an 11x14 print. Additional prints and digital images from the session may be purchased at 10% off.

So go ahead folks - I want to see photos of wicked big hair and shoulder pads, AC Slater mullets and acid wash denim, identical winter sweaters on all the kids, goofy/freaky/funnylooks on your family's faces, or whatever else you think is just hilarious and fun!

What are you waiting for? Go tell everyone you know to enter this contest. All entries should be mailed to info@sweetface-photography.com.

And because a post just isn't a post without a photo...

Party of three and a half | Chula Vista maternity photographer

You might recognize the beautiful family from a session we had last year, when little Bruce was just three months old. Well, the handsome little fellow is about 18 months old now, has grown so much, and will soon be a big brother. That's right - parents, Ace and Marie, are expecting another little boy in June, so we got together this weekend to celebrate this growing family. There were so many great shots that I had a hard time narrowing down some favorites to post for the sneak peek! But I had to narrow it down to just a few; take a look at some of what we got...

I just love happy families.

How cute is big brother Bruce?!

Gorgeous Marie. Gorgeous.