{Ryan} Class of 2010 - Lakewood HS Senior Session

Yesterday I met up with Ryan for his last minute senior session (but like I told his mom...better late than never!). Graduation is already next week! WOW...congrats to all you 2010 grads.

His mom mentioned that I had very few images of guys on my website. Which is true because this is only the 2nd senior session I've shot for a male. Crazy, right? I actually really enjoy it though. Guys are a total different experience and I had all sorts of fun ideas.

I was happy to get to know Ryan during our session. Would you believe he even sang "I'm yours" by Jason Mraz for me? He has an awesome voice and I was so impressed that he actually sang for me after asking him.  Thank you! Here's a sneak peak because I know how anxious you are to get this in time for the BIG day.

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{Captured} Ruiz Family

Sunday afternoon I met up with the family of one my current students and co-worker teacher friends. I've actually known this family for quite some time since Matt is the head basketball coach at Lakewood HS and I advised cheer, starting back in 2002. Austin and Chloe were just little guys then, which makes it fun to see how they've grown and changed in their appearance and personality. We had a lot of fun walking around the Long Beach lighthouse and talking about work and life. That's the best part about this job! Connecting with people and just talking! I really feel like photography and teaching has grown my community so much and I am so grateful! Here's just a few faves from our time together...

 

I really love these top two images next to each other because Chloe and her mom have the same cute closed smile.

 

 

 

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{Captured} Kristyn

I met Kristyn in downtown Long Beach last night just before sunset. It was kinda of an eeire night with the smoke in the air from the SoCal fires. Kristyn is hoping to get some commerial work and needed some headshots. No prob! She is such a sweet girl...the kinda girl that underestimates how cool and beautiful she really is! Within the first five minutes of our session, I was in love with some of the images we captured. It was so hard to narrow down the preview. See for yourself...

 

 

 

I got so many amazing images within the first half hour of our session, I really wanted to experiment with some night shooting and flash. This is definitely out of my realm but I'm happy with the results.

 

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{Engaged} Jen + Dan

Last night I met up with Jen & Dan in downtown Long Beach to capture their engagement session! I can't tell you how I excited I am to shoot their wedding this month too. First, they are a super fun and silly couple (and I mean that in the most affectionate way possible). And, second, they are marrying at the same venue, The Ebell Club, that I got married two years ago. It will be so fun to revisit the venue and to see their personality and touches to the place. After spending some time with them last night, I have a feeling that their wedding will be nothing short of fun, fun, fun. Thanks guys for making me laugh and for being so sweet when I made a complete fool of myself by falling during our session. I have a nice little bruise and bump in rememberance.

Don't you just love Jen's dress? It's adorable and so perfect on her.

 

 

 

 

{Captured} Derek - part two

I rarely get the oppotunity to shoot guys! So I asked my friend Derek if he would be up for a fun urban lifestyle session. And he said YES! I've been thinking about this shoot for weeks. And it did not disappoint. We headed downtown around 5pm on Thursday night and I was a bit worried about losing light. Well, the lighting just so happened to work in our favor. There was a magical glow in the sky that made for some very fun shots. I had such a difficult time choosing what images to blog because there were so many good ones. I won't even tell you how many images I actually shot. It was ridiculous. I love this guy. He's super smart, and beyond his years. He speaks Spanish better than I do, which is not that big of a deal except that he's only had high school Spanish. I'm super stoaked that he was accepted to UCSB to pursue Spanish Education! And one more thing, I especially like his collection of hats, watches, and belts! Too fun. I hope you like them, Deri Diego!

 

 

 

 

{Captured} Derek

 

 

 

 

I love Long Beach

So last week I shot a 50th Birthday party at a downtown Long Beach condo. The host has the most amazing view of residential Long Beach and the beach. I got some great after-the-rain-night shots that I wanted to post. I've always loved the Villa Riviera condo building and her condo looks directly at it. How awesome to have this view as your winding down from a days work each night? I'm jealous!

 

 

 

 

Whitney

After shooting Kaiden on Saturday in Shoreline Village, we headed up to Pine Street in downtown Long Beach to get some urban headshots of his aunt Whitney! I always love shooting in downtown Long Beach because there are so many fun murals and graffiti walls that make for some hip backgrounds. I shot a ridiculous number of images of Whitney in a short period of time. The girl could not take a bad picture! Whitney is a Chiva Girl, dancing for the LA major soccer team. Look for her if you ever make it to a game.