Mendez Family-July 204

I LOVE this family. Amanda and Henry have been together since God was a boy. Ok, not really, but they have been together for a really long time. Like forever. Amanda is my best friend's cousin, but in the last few years, she has become one of my closest friends as well. Amanda and Henry have a gorgeous 4 year old, Maddie. She has amazing long, curly hair and is as smart as a whip. Last winter, Amanda and Henry found out they were expecting baby number two. The pregnancy started off very rocky, but thankfully, things got a bit better. After what seemed like forever, we finally got to find out the gender. A boy! Not long after that, and after lots of tests, they found out that, surprise, baby is a girl (I knew that all along). They also found out that Mila had many chromosomal abnormalities and would not survive. Mila was born sleeping in April, both a heartbreaking and beautiful moment that I was able to witness. Since then, Amanda and Henry have had to learn a new way of life after loss. Though you never "get over" a loss like they have, they have more happy days then sad, and each day brings hope. After such a tragedy like they experienced, they needed something new and fun. So new family pictures it is! They are super easy to photograph, especially Maddie. She knows she's adorable. :) It was a nice evening at sunset. Very laid back and relaxed is how I shoot, so they complimented that perfectly. I hope you love these pictures as much as I do, because they are some of my favorites ever!

I'm back!

Wow! So it's been a little while since I last blogged, as in almost 2 years. Blogging obviously wasn't a priority, and it didn't help that I wasn't getting any feedback on my posts from anyone other than my bestie and my mother! :) My shoots are spread out just enough, that I feel like a can give each session some special attention, more than what goes on Facebook, at least. Over the last 2 years, lots of things have changed! My knowledge, my ability, my equipment, my editing techniques, my business sense, and brand have all changed so dramatically! I'm in such a good place right now with my work, feeling great about the final product that I hand off to the client, that in itself is a huge change. If you haven't seen it on FB yet, my new logo is above! I needed something that was me, and when I saw this design, I knew it was me. It's a little classic, fun, fresh, and playful. And that is exactly how my work is portrayed. With all that official business being said, here is some of my recent shoots!

Wedding season is over!

On my last post, I had 3 weddings ahead of me. All three were SO completely different!

The second wedding I shot this summer was at a park, very small, 50ish people. So informal in fact, that we did pictures before the ceremony! Here are a few from July 16th...






August 3rd, I traveled north to Monterey to shoot another super small wedding over looking the beach. I love these pictures, especially since there was absolutely NO sun that day!














August 20th, was my last wedding of the summer, which also happened to be my uncle's wedding! It was a long day, but it was so, so, so much fun. Each time I shoot a wedding, it's such an honor, and this was no exception. I love being a part of a day that has so much meaning. I think these show why...













Well that's a rap on my summer recap!

Oh, and I'm on Twitter now, @photo_nat, so come follow me!