Before I tell you about the most beautiful Orange County Family session, I have to tell you about my cute friend Emily!

About Emily

I met Emily and her family a little over a year ago in Orange County, CA. We met while attending the same  church.  I quickly realized how kind and funny Emily is! She comes to church every week with her cute family and she is always in the absolute cutest outfits. Basically she is constantly giving me shoe envy!

Emily is incredibly passionate about a skin care. She works with a company called Rodan + Fields, and I can see why. I have heard great things about them, but not until I met Emily did I come to understand how fabulous these products are. I have always, always struggled with my skin. Growing up I had a super hard time feeling good about myself. I was constantly worried about if my make-up looked okay, how smooth my skin was, and who was judging me. Worst of all, I was judging myself worse than anyone else.

Over the last year, I had noticed how fabulous  Emily’s skin was. She has talked to me all about what Rodan + Fields does, and has helped me to see that I really can have some wonderful results! It’s truly amazing because she was able to customize a skincare program that was just right for me, and what my skin needed. Skincare isn’t “one size fits all”, and I’m glad they cater to each persons needs. I also have to say, I LOVE how long the product lasts for. It’s quality, and when used right – your regimen will last you for 3 months.

I’m so grateful to Emily because she found the right  regimen for me,  and I can already feel AND see a difference!

Where to have her session and what to wear

Emily has been dying to get new Family Pictures for the last little while  and so we began talking about what she wanted her images to look like. She was super worried about outfits, which I had a hard time believing considering her outfits are always on point. We also discussed location and she was definitely feeling some kind of woodsy and open feel. We settled on Carbon Canyon which is one of my favorite spots for an Orange County Family Session.

During the Session

Jason and Emily have the cutest, and nicest little blended family. Jameson, the youngest is such a little stud. He was happy to smile whenever I asked him to, and he even enjoyed all my crazy photographer sounds I make to get attention! Grace is SO sweet. A little shy at first, but oh so sweet and has the cutest personality. We even got her to show off her super pretty pearly white teeth! Sam was a crack up! We would take the “classic” smiling shots, and then I’d ask them to look at each other, say funny things and laugh at each other. He wasn’t about that “fake laugh” life, but pretty soon we got the real laughs and I think they turned out pretty fabulous! Probably my favorite moment was when I asked Grace and Sam tickle Jamison. Sam went full force, and it was SO cute. I love watching older siblings love on their younger ones.

I’m pretty sure this is the cutest little Orange County Family Session!

Rachel reached out to me through instagram expressing that she was really hoping to have a family beach session done in Southern California. The beach was important to them, and I could not wait to make their family beach session dreams a reality! Rachel and Alex live in Arizona, but Alex had spent time in Southern California while growing up. I knew she was my kind of client when she mentioned how she wanted to get a family session done while she was on vacation!

We settled on Little Corona Beach in Corona Del Mar. This is a favorite beach of mine for family beach sessions because of its beautiful rock formations and cliffs, while also being a pretty mellow beach with few crowds. The water is calm, and the scenery is gorgeous. Another reason I love this beach is because I always meet my families at the top and we take a nice little walk down to the beach together. This gives me a chance to enjoy chatting and getting to know my families, while also becoming fast friends with the little ones! This wasn’t hard with Camilla and Kingston. Camilla was sweet and friendly from the moment I started taking to her, and Kingston has the biggest grin. Can we also talk about how adorable their names are? Original, yet classic.

While waiting for the sun to rise a little higher, Kingston was running around giving the sweetest smiles and so I just began to snap away. Oh. My. Heart. He’s going to be a heartbreaker! Camilla jumped in and gave her brother all of the loves and I just knew this session was going to become a favorite of mine.

The soft morning blue colors give me all of the feels, and their outfits were perfect for this setting. Basically Rachel is mom goals and really just had everything together so perfectly. You can definitely tell she is raising some kind, thoughtful children. As we parted at the end of the session, Camilla gave me a hug and Kingston signed “thank you”.  Can I get a heart melting emoji or what?!

To see the full session you can view here!

Before the Session

My dear friend Allison has been a photographer for the Smithey Family for many years. She recently relocated. She was sad that she would be unable to capture their last baby’s lifestyle newborn session. Allison reached out to me because she wanted to make sure they had the same quality experience as their previous children had.

I couldn’t have been more excited when I began to chat with Rebecca Smithey. She reached out to me to schedule their session. Once our scheduled session date had arrived, I texted Rebecca and let her know how excited I was to spend the morning doing their newborn session. I arrived at the address listed in our contract, knocked at the door and waited. When no one came to the door, I called Rebecca and found out that the address I was at, was actually her parents’! I had missed an email from her, with her home address! In situations like this you have just got to roll with the punches! We quickly remedied the situation and decided to do their session at her parents house.

During the Session

Rebecca has THREE adorable little boys and thought it would be easiest to meet where her parents could help out. While I waited for them, I had the chance to meet and chat with her incredibly sweet parents. Get this – they even have the perfect little nursery in their home!

When Rebecca arrived her cute boys, Mathew, James and Andrew – they could NOT wait to introduce me to their newest member, Josie. This girl is going to have a band of brothers to keep her safe throughout life. Each one of them wanted to hold, hug, kiss and be in pictures with her during they’re lifestyle newborn session.

I could tell there was worry about how excited and rambunctious these boys were, but I personally enjoy this! Children aren’t afraid to hold back their emotion, and so watching them look tenderly, laugh with or play with each other is so beautiful and special.

If you’re unsure about doing a Lifestyle Newborn Session because of happy, wild little ones, don’t worry – they make it all the better and I’ve got you covered!

Here are some of my faves  from this gorgeous session! I had a hard time choosing! To see the rest, checkout this link!

 

Almost a year ago I met Kat, Danny and Knox. We met through a mutual friend on Instagram. Who knew they would become some of my absolute best friends! Actually, best friends all around because Knox is Grey’s little buddy. And we are couple buddies with these two fabulous people!

I was pretty stoked when Kat asked me to do their 4 year anniversary photos, because well, they are a gorgeous couple as well as so incredibly fun, laid back, and just good people/friends. Kat and Danny met in in High School. He went on a Church Service mission for two years, and she waited for and wrote him while he was away. They seriously are the cutest ever. I am pretty sure it is impossible to not want to be their friends.

If you’re ever looking for someone awesome to follow along on instagram, it would definitely be Kat. Her Disney style, mom-life and down-to-earth style is always refreshing, positive and fun to follow. Their vlog is also on point. If you ever feel like watching vlogs that bring you all the smiles and feels, check them out here!

We decided on Carbon Canyon Regional Park, which is a GORGEOUS park in Orange County. They brought sweet Knox to their session, and naturally I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to snap a few pictures of them as a whole family. Knox is the sweetest baby and never hesitates to give me all of the smiles. He was an absolute angel and gave us all of the smiles we needed within 10 minutes. The rest of the time was theirs, and they were perfection. Cuddling, giggling, dancing and being who they are 100% of the time makes my job insanely easy.

Be prepared to see these photos over and over again, because they are perfect!

 

Leslie and I have been chatting about her family session since last fall, and I am SO glad that we were finally able to make it happen! Leslie has 5 gorgeous children ranging from 2nd grade to high school senior.

I’ve been working with so many young families recently, that I forgot what it’s like to photograph older children who I don’t have to physically chase! But in all seriousness, they were fabulous kids! I’ve never seen 5 children who love each other so much, and are so easy going!

Leslie mentioned how she LOVES railroad tracks, and she knew of a pretty spot that we could try out. I’m so glad she knew about this hidden gem, because these family photos turned out beautifully!

Their youngest daughter Alexus is darling. She’s a sweetheart and was so excited that they brought there cute dog along, Nala. Can we talk about how cool it is to bring your family dog to a Family Session? I am so glad that they did! Especially after seeing how loving they all are with her.

Their oldest, Jonathan, has the best, most positive attitude! He knows how to keep his siblings excited, motivated and happy. We also had a chance to do his Senior Session at the end of the session, but I’ll be posting about that later! He was a stud!

Levi, Seth and Price were all so incredibly fun too! Basically they are all pretty cool kids, and we can definitely attribute that to their parents – Lance and Leslie. I have to say, they are a fabulous looking couple and I always love when I get the chance to get updated couples pictures for my families. Once you become a parents you are “Mom + Dad” and don’t get opportunities get images of you as a couple as frequently as you’d like! These two look and are so good together!