Anita & Analiese, Baker Beach, SF

So excited to share this session! I love San Francisco and the beach and what better way to spend an evening than doing a Mom and daughter session at Baker Beach! Anita is a dear friend of mine, we go way back-all the way to high school, and we get together every year to update her portraits of Analiese. 

I have been photographing Analiese since she was in the womb and it's very special for me to photograph her, to see her growth as a child and watch her become a little person, she is almost in kindergarten! It amazes me how much time has passed and how big she is, she has such a funny personality, sassy and so smart, a lot of energy, loves to play and loves her mommy. Thank you so much Anita for being a fabulous friend over the years and for having me photograph you and Analiese, it truly is an honor and I can't wait for many more years of lifestyle sessions! It's going to be awesome! 

Just one.

I love this image of my niece, Meli, she has incredible eyes.

Nathan, 5 days new

Nathan Joel Gutierrez was born August 21, 2011 at 5:05am and has been such a blessing to his parents, grandparents and extended family. 

I had the pleasure of photographing my great-nephew when he was just 5 days young and it was such a wonderful experience.  It was my first time photographing a 5 day new newborn and I was so excited! He has so much hair and is such a sweet baby, very calm. During our shoot Nathan slept most of the time (as newborns do) and did such a good job, I was a proud aunt! I can't wait to share with you all his growth throughout the first year of his life! 

Enjoy my favorites from our session and to all the Giants fans out there, enjoy the little Giants socks towards the end, his daddy is a huge fan!

Jorge + Amanda, Engagement Session, Diablo Grande

Their wedding is only one month away and I'm so excited to share with you their engagement session.  

Introducing the soon to be: Mr. and Mrs. Gomez, otherwise known as Jorge and Amanda, my brother-in-law and future-sister-in-law.
We did their session one August evening at the Diablo Grande Golf & Country Club, tucked away in the hills near Patterson, Ca.

I pray that you will have a blessed union and many years of life, love, happiness and blessings!  I am so excited to welcome you into the family Amanda!  To Jorge, I am so excited you have found the love of your life, she brings out the best in you!

Can't wait for the big day, congrats you two!

Just around the corner!

Happy Friday everyone!  Had to share a few pictures from upcoming posts to keep you up to date on what I have been up to!

The first is from a personal shoot featuring my brother-in-law, Jorge, and future sister-in-law, Amanda! We did their engagement session in August and had so much fun! They are getting married in October in Reno and I can't wait to be a part of their special day. I will be attending as a guest, but I will be sharing pictures of Amanda getting ready on her big day, later in October, I am so excited for them!!

  The second picture below is of my great-nephew (so crazy, I'm a great-aunt now!). Nathan, was 5 days new when we did his newborn session and is such a precious little thing. He is a few weeks older now, but I hope to share more pictures of him as he grows. I can't wait, it's going to be an incredible journey! 

50th Anniversary-Ray + Eleanor, Roswell, New Mexico

At the beginning of July I took a roadtrip to Roswell, New Mexico and had so much fun!  Roswell, New Mexico? Why? To see the alien landing site and museum?

No, but coincidentally the annual "alien festival" happened to be going on during our time in Roswell.

I was invited by Renee Oliver to join in the fun and photograph her parents 50th Anniversary and to take a mini-vacation.  Of course I would never turn down an opportunity to travel and traveling with my husband makes it so much more fun, it was our first trip together out of state!  So, 7 of us, myself included, drove from California to New Mexico to spend time with the Vaz family, partake in the long holiday weekend during the 4th of July, attend a graduation party, 4th of July party and a 50th Anniversary/Family Reunion Party.  And party we did! We ate a lot of fabulous food, met so many wonderful people who are now friends, got to see what life in Roswell is like and relax.  Roswell is a lot like California (minus the dry, summer heat), there are dairies, countryside, farmland for miles, it was beautiful.  I also got in touch with my Portuguese culture (I'm part Mexican and part Portuguese), spent time talking with people who were also visiting about Portugal and the Azores, life in the "old country" and started every morning with Portuguese sweet bread and coffee. It reminded me of my mom's awesome Portuguese sweet bread and I felt at home, it was great!

Ray and Eleanor Vaz celebrated 50 years of marriage that weekend and it was such a wonderful celebration.  I was so amazed by their unconditional love for one another, their partnership as husband and wife and as parents and grandparents. They have created quite a legacy for their children and grandchildren and their children to come.  The festivities kicked off with a family portrait session with all of their children and grandchildren (6 children plus their spouses & 19 grandchildren!!) The evening was followed by a wonderful dinner, a dance from Ray and Eleanor and dancing under the New Mexico stars to end the night! It was such a fun time for everyone there!

It was such a wonderful experience to be a part of, to see family come together in celebration and share in the love and happiness.  I wanted to give a big thank you to Eleanor and Ray for opening up your beautiful home to me, my husband and Andy, for being so welcoming and so great to work with!  As well as the entire Vaz family, you are such amazing people and thank you for being so welcoming and fun!

I am so excited to share my favorite moments from the anniversary with you all, enjoy!