Jul 21

Portraits Coronado Family Portraits

This last weekend I took a quick flight out to San Diego to meet up with my friends Kindra and Michael and shoot some family portraits for Michael's family. I photographed Kindra and Michael's wedding just over a year ago and since then they have become dear friends. It was SO refreshing to escape the Arizona heat and spend a day on Coronado Island. I decided it is my dream place to live. Now if I could just come up with 2 million dollars for a house there, I'd be set. The day looked like this:

It felt like total bliss, but it's not the best lighting for getting blue skies. Oh well! We still had fun and worked with the light! We started out at Michael's parents' house. I couldn't resist getting a few shots with their super-cute casa:

The whole fam -- Kindra, Nancy, Michael, George and Michael's sister Kelly:

What a fun family to shoot:

The girls were rocking some colored heels so we had to show them off:

We headed over to the beach so we could get some shots for Nancy in front of the Del:

The kids:

Some sibling love:

And the cuteness just keeps coming:

Finally we rounded the shoot out by heading down to the yacht club. I had to get a couple of Kindra and Michael. I guess since they're super-cool and have been photographed by me endlessly, they knew how to work it:

Michael needed some photos with this random owl. I'm thinking Facebook profile pic:

And we made sure to include George and Nancy's "baby" in the shoot:

SO fun! Thanks for a great shoot guys!

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Jul 12

Portraits The Beals Family

This is the cute Beals family. On Friday morning I got up at 4:30am and drove up to their home on Camelback mountain so we could do their portrait shoot in some good light and beat the Arizona summer heat. We started shooting around 6:15 and it was already 95 degrees! These guys have been dear friends of mine for years and they are one of the most photo-loving families I know. They were total troopers. Even though they were sweating and I made them sit on rocks -- they had fun with it:

This is Martha and Steve -- the ones responsible for originating the cuteness:

Martha and Steve have three daughters -- Sarah, Becky and Michelle:

Are these not the cutest sisters you've ever seen?

All three of them did pretty well for themselves in the marriage department:

You might recognize Michelle and Brent - the ones on the right. I shot their wedding 2 summers ago! Sarah and Aaron have a cute little guy named Austin:

And David and Becky are expecting a package in January:

In the midst of the summer heat we had to work the pool into the shoot somehow:

And one final sweet shot. A mom-sandwich:

Martha actually had brain surgery only a month ago. You would never know it from how amazing she looks! A few months ago she started having double vision and through a series of events found out she has brain cancer. Ugh! My heart just aches because I adore this sweet family so much. Martha had a malignant lesion removed during surgery and also has had a very precise form of radiation. She has to wait a few more weeks to get her next MRI to find out more about the prognosis. If you are the praying type, please pray for this dear family!

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Jun 05

Portraits The making of a Portrait Shoot

Remember this shoot I did a couple months back?

The amazingly talented folks over at Serendipity Videography put together a short film chronicling the making of this shoot! How fun is that!? When I showed up for the portrait shoot I had no idea that they were planning to film it and edit the footage together but hey -- they're videographers -- so why not? I absolutely LOVE how the video came out -- they did an amazing job editing it! Before you watch the film click on over to Serendipity's blog to read a fun story that Taryn, one of the owners of Serendipity, wrote about the shoot. It was fun for me to read Taryn's perspective. She gives me credit for far too much including being unaffected by some things that were going on at the shoot location. In ACTUALITY I'm just a bit oblivious and tend to be tunnel-visioned when I am shooting -- I had no idea that any of that was going on. I barely even noticed the video cameras which is part of the reason I'm excited about this film -- I didn't remember they were making it! Serendipity Videography & Melissa Jill Photography from Serendipity Videography on Vimeo. Thanks guys for putting this together! I love it!

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Apr 27

Portraits Kleiman Family Portraits

I recently met up with this cute family at Desert Mountain to capture some family portraits for them. You may recognize Seth and Bethy -- the cute couple on the left -- from my blog. They've made two appearances already. I shot their engagement photos last August and a portrait session with them and their adorable dog Ella back in September. These two are getting married in September and hands down they win the prize for the most pre-wedding sessions I've ever done! I love it! Because of them I'm thinking I might need to come up with some type of frequent customer program with my own little punch cards. Like once you buy 10 sessions you get the next one free :). This time we got together to capture family portraits for Bethy's family. The session was a surprise for her parents who live up in Desert Mountain and I was thrilled to be able to spend some time with Bethy's family before the wedding in September. I'm going to have so much fun at their wedding feeling like part of the family! Bethy's brother Benji, his wife Aimee and their 2-year-old son Jonah were in town visiting from Chicago. So cute:

I love the bright colors they chose to wear:

Jonah is excited to meet his sibling who is on the way:

Dan and Joy have been married for 34 years!

We ended the shoot at Dan and Joy's home so we could make sure to include "the rest of the family" in a shot. These guys LOVE their puppies so of course we get along great :).

Since our shoot last September Seth and Bethy have added a new member to the family -- little 3 pound Sophie. I couldn't believe this thing was actually alive -- she was so itty bitty I could put her in my pocket. And believe me, I wanted to.

Can't wait for the wedding!!

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Apr 07

Portraits Bills Family Portraits

If you've ever wondered what a portrait shoot that was completely run by a 4 and 2-year-old would look like, you're in luck! Buckle your seat belt and get ready for a wild ride. I thought it would be fun to shoot this cute family in their natural environment, doing some of the things they love doing. Briar (4) and Brinkley (2) were THRILLED to introduce me to their world. We barely got settled into one room and activity and we were off to the next! I loved it. We ended up with so much good stuff. I absolutely loved Taryn and Jeff's attitude and approach to the shoot. They want to get photos of their kids every 6 months or so because they are changing so quickly at this age. And they're not like a lot of parents who want the typical posed family shot with everyone looking at the camera. They realize that's somewhat of a high expectation for a 2 and 4-year-old. They just want to capture their kids as they are -- with their natural expressions, doing what they love to do. So they're totally laid back and just make the shoot about having fun and interacting with their kids. I think this attitude really fosters a great environment for us to get the best photos possible. With that said....seat belts buckled? Here. we. go! Briar showed me his room, and more specifically, the bouncy quality of his bed:

And here's little miss Brinkley showing off her room that is just as cute as she is:

This is Miss Kitty who isn't too fond of strangers but I thought she deserved an appearance:

We did some swinging with dad:

And more jumping on the bed, which I hear is a nightly ritual in mom & dad's room:

Love these family shots:

Back in Brinkley's room with Mr. Bear:

Some fun daddy/daughter moments:

We did a bit of hallway bowling:

And even showed off our driving skills:

By the end of all this fun activity, the kids were pretty much done. But I always try to get "just one more shot" and this is what we ended up with. I just love the expressions!

So fun guys! Thanks for letting me into your world!!

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