Family: The Messerschmidts

I've had the pleasure of sharing photos of this gorgeous family more than once before, and I never get tired of it. There's always something nice to say about them.. and the photos are always so incredibly cute! But the last time I shared family photos of them they were 4.5. And now they are 5!! Baby boy Charlie joined them less than a year ago.. and he is the perfect addition to the Messerschmidt clan! We shot these several weeks ago, but am happy to confess that I've been so busy that I got a bit behind on posting. :/ Atleast the weather hasn't warmed up much yet here in So Cal... so this post won't seem all that late.
As always.. they were shot and worked on with oh-so-much love and hope ya'll love them too!

So I had to start this post with one of my favorite photos of the day. Anyone who knows me pretty well could tell you that I have an incredibly tender heart when it comes to dads and their kids. There is something so incredibly sweet and special about a man who pours himself into his family, and loves his children unabashedly. Not because they have to.. but because its obvious how much joy they get from making them laugh.. loving on them.. and being a source of strength, wisdom and comfort. Well, Geoff would probably make some sort of smart-alecky joke in his British accent in response to these compliments.. but he is exactly that kind of dad. And he is incredibly lucky to be married to Alice... who is his equal when it comes to being a great parent. :) So this photo makes me happy sigh. Just a boy and his dad. Gah!

And the only thing that could possibly beat that are these snapshots of him and his two girls, Ava & Abigail.. and of course, his lady love Alice.

I mean.. seriously?? Look at these faces! Especially Alice. Guurrrrrlllll you so stylish and gorgesauce it kills me. And you should get paid to breed and raise gorgesauce children.

And these family pics below are just magic. I mean.. come on.. 5 people.. 3 little ones, one of which was less than a year old.. and you'd think they were getting paid to sit there and look so good! I especially love how Charlie is looking up at his parents smoochin. Swoon!

Before we wrapped, the Abigail and Ava made me and my camera very happy with these classic fun photos! Who needs summer?!

And so the shoot had come to an end. Baby Charlie let me know that he had had just about enough of hearing "Chaarrlllliiee! Chaarlllliiee look at meee!!" -whistle- -smooch- -anyotherweirdnoisetogethisattention- etc. In fact, I'm pretty sure that this face means "Come on lady. I'm cute. You're nice. This has been fun.. but let's grab some lunch yeah?"

So handsome Charlie got to go back into his stroller and we were walking back to the parking lot, when I just couldn't resist using this open road for just a few last shots.

Cannot stand how adorable it is that Charlie is peeking over his feet at me! haha Perfect. Just perfect.
Dear Messerschmidts.. thank you for trusting me. Thanks for taking your pretty little selves with your pretty little shoes into muddy wild nature and for being such good sports about all of my crazy posing ideas. Mostly, thanks for being awesome. Really hope that these photos make you feel all warm and fuzzy for years to come! xo

Film: Kim & Ryan

So if ya'll haven't read any of my raves on shooting film before, you can read one of them here. Meanwhile, I just got a roll back that I had shot several different couples on and just had to share this photo today of Kim & Ryan. I love it mostly because of her laugh! But I also love how obvious it is that the photo isn't digital. I love the colors.. the warmth.. and oh yes, (go ahead and roll your eyes now).. the love. These two are getting married in less than TWO months. (So exciting!) Cannot wait to be a part of their day.. and cannot wait to get more of this yumminess on film and flash compact memory. :P

Maternity: Shawna + Jake

Can't even begin to tell ya'll how proud I am of this particular blogpost. Not only because I oh-so-love these photos.. but because of who the photos are of! If you've been following my work, you'll definitely recognize Shawna & Jake. A mutual friend referred them to me quite some time ago, and since then I have shot their family/engagement photos.. their wedding photos.. and now I'm sharing with you their MATERNITY photos!! How awesome is that?!
So Shawna & Jake already have some beautiful kids (you can see them here).. and now they are expecting baby Avree to turn their family of 5.. into a family of 6! Normally we would have included all the little ones in the shoot, but I think Shawna liked the idea of having the focus to be on Avree. After all, with 3 older siblings, Avree's one-on-one time with mom and dad is gonna be rare and precious!
A few weeks ago I scheduled to meet them at a natural wilderness area north of Whittier.. and I took one look at the steep incline that we would've had to climb in order to enter the park.. and I made a last minute decision to figure somethin else out. The last thing I wanted was for the 9-months-pregnant Mrs. Rojas to go in to labor during our shoot. Happy to report that it didn't take but 5 minutes to find a nearby spot to shoot at.. and I wouldn't have changed a single thing about the day!
So very happy that Shawna and Jake trust me and my camera to capture this incredibly special time in their lives. And excited to be sharing some of my favorite ones with you all!
Hope ya'll love them.. as always they were taken and worked on with lots of love!

I just loved the details of the day.. the afternoon light, the brush, the dirt road.. just too good. We are incredibly blessed to live in Cali.. where there is no end to the variety of natural backdrops.

 And the human details were pretty great too! Love her decision to rock boots!

As I've shared before.. Jake and Shawna met at work. So I love that Jake and Shawna wanted to use his SCE lineman job in the shoot... because its a little shout out to how it all started!

Love the pic below of them laughing.. because these two laugh a lot together. Its one of the things that makes them who they are. Love that!

And just to mix things up a bit.. we changed up their looks a bit and had them get comfier. Happened upon a gorgeous sunlit spot.. and ended this shoot in the most perfect way.

And probably the highlight of this post.. Shawna's belly! Unless you're a super model you probably aren't ever thrilled about the idea of having someone photograph closeups of your stomach. And that is probably even less exciting when you're 9 months pregnant! But Jake and I did our best to convince Shawna that as pregnant bellies go.. hers was beautiful and totally had to be shared! I'm so happy she trusted us.. and hope these photos encourage all pregnant women out there to strut their bellies proudly! And come on now.. could Jake be any sweeter in these?? Avree and her brothers and sister are lucky to have such a good dad!

And speaking of sweet.. had to take a sec to feature this bunting flag banner made by Shawna's mom. So cute!

Finally.. I had to wrap this post up with closeups of Avree. :P Shawna and I were inspired by some great maternity shoots on Pinterest.. and wanted to have a way to present the sex of the baby in a pretty way. And it doesn't get prettier than a pink bow. :) I also wanted to use these to share something that I've noticed before when I'm going through my photos... and that is that my eye gets stuck in ruts. What I mean is.. despite having practically unlimited opportunities (thanks to digital photography) and a live and willing model that I can ask to move in any number of ways.. I still end up with a bunch of shots that look very much alike. And whenever I notice this... I make it a point to spend time looking at art and photography, to be inspired by other artists.. in hopes of filling up my mind's eye with different angles and "looks". I think museums, magazines, and yes, even Pinterest can help push you out of these type of creative ruts. :)  I will say that fortunately for me (and for Shawna and Jake), this particular creative rut resulted in some really pretty pics.

Jake & Shawna.. I know that Avree is such an incredible blessing to you both! And she is so lucky to have you as mom and dad. So very happy to have met you way back when.. am so honored that you continue to ask me to share in some HUGE life moments with you.. and I cannot wait to meet little miss Avree! Congrats to you both! Xo