Every 11th

Babies are the most fun to shoot. They are energetic and have their own unique quality, but as anyone who has photographed babies will tell you, they are very UNPREDICTABLE. Selah gets her picture taken every 11th day of every month. She was born on 9/11 and from then on I document her month to month. Of course, there's a ton a pictures in between. With babies you have to come in real close to really get that special shot. I now focus a lot on the eyes and on her expressions. It also helps that Selah loves to get her picture taken. My friends baby, Scarlett was also born on an 11th day so she gets her picture taken too. It's a wonderful tradition we've started and a lot of fun for us as moms as well. We pick out their special photo shoot clothes and already have planned something spectacular for February. Come back and check them out.

One Photoshoot, many different options in Photographs

 Digital photographs have a catch 22 with me, I love being able to see the image right away to make sure I took the shot I wanted to make, being able to edit photographs to meet the uniqueness of each person but film is in my heart. However, I gotta get with the times and the times call for instant gratification. One can now have a photo shoot, upload the images, make edits and have dinner all in one day. As was the case for this photo shoot. I wanted to show the different images that can be created from one photo shoot. So yes I have to pay my respects to the digital world and I am grateful for it. Pay close attention to the detail of every photograph, there is something different in each one.

New Year 2012

As I'm writing this I'm finishing up "thinking" of my new years resolutions. One of them is definitely documenting through photographs the lives of my children. I know most might think that I already do, being a photographer, but I also fall prey to the busyness of life. This year though, I want to resolve to take more "just because" photos. How many of us have taken that dreaded Olan Mills photo where everyone looks so stiff and "positioned"? And now especially with anyone being able to search YouTube for tutorials, you find more and more super impose backgrounds on pictures and calling it a "professional photograph". I'm guilty of it myself. I'm sure I can dig up the dozen photos I have of my son during his first year of life through studio photos. But I've discovered over the years that children look their best when they just being themselves. That's not to say they can't look polished every now and then on special occasions but I promise you, you'll have better memories of the photographs taken when they were in a more natural setting. This brings me to remember a time when a photographer came to take our family picture. We lived in this small apt and my mom dressed us up and this photographer set up, put up his background, set his lights and positioned us all. Right at the precise moment of the click, my youngest sister decides to throw an epic tantrum, to which we have documented photographs to prove. It was terrible! With all that said, here's a photograph of my children on New Years Day. We just came home from spending the night at my friend's house and I thought that before they got out of their outfits, I wanted my very first photograph of 2012 to be of my most important people. My children. 

not perfect, obviously I wish Selah's hair band was not sticking her ears out but this is the way that they posed. I love the spontaneity. Enjoy your family's photographs, don't expect perfect because at the end of it who's standard are we measuring up to? That's what this photographer is all about. 

Fall Weather

Playground

I love the simplicity of this photo. My son is waiting for Sophia to finish the swings and he's so patiently waiting....This photograph is also in Mexico. There's this small park there but I love that there is so much color all over this playground.

bicycle diary

This is from a recent trip to Mexico. I had my film camera and I had been walking around this block from my parents house and well...I really like bikes. They have this ubur-coolness. I like the colors here, the orange from the bicycle, the white and the shadows. I love that bicycles are so universal.

my first love...film

I know that technology has really facilitated our lives and that's cool and all, but with photography, film is still, I think, fascinating. I mean you have this anticipation of what your photograph will look like. I remember growing up when I would finish the roll of film, go to the drugstore to develop it and I would show up later to look at the photographs and I would just be giddy with excitement. Here's one of the photographs with film...Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

This is my dad's bible, in my parents room in Mexico. He built a little alter with this bible holder and he prays every single day. I like that the bible looks used ya know, like it's not been sitting on some shelf collecting dust. His glasses being right there just shows that he finished reading the scripture and he casually set his glasses afterwards...I just really like the lighting of this photograph and I swear I couldn't have done this with a digital camera. The digital camera would have wanted to correct some of the low lights and would have done this image pin sharp which would not have given off the same feeling as it does now being a bit blurry...I love it.