When my friend, Jennifer, suggested doing a family shoot at Descanso Gardens, I was excited because I have heard how beautiful it is.  I have never been to Descanso Gardens, but it did not disappoint – the gardens were beautiful and the sunset light was gorgeous – perfect for our shoot.  Jennifer and her sister, Pat, decided to split the family shoot between their two families.

First, here is Pat and her daughter, Milan.

Milan is such a beautiful girl.  I love the rim lighting here.

Pat and Milan had such a sweet, close relationship.  They genuinely liked to do things together and take pictures together.  I love the lighting and mood of this one.

And I had to get one of Milan here alone.  I love that she’s reading Breaking Dawn – how perfect!

And Milan again – I couldn’t get enough of this lighting.

Having fun together.

Here is Milan playing with her little cousin, Sophia.  I think this is my favorite of the day.

Sophia was happy to have the camera on her.  She showed me these beautiful flowers.

And this HUGE leaf!

This one cracks me up.  I think it may be my second favorite of the day.

And here is Lukas, reading with his sister.

Such sweet puppy-dog eyes.  I don’t know how you resist that, Jennifer.

A sweet moment together.

The happy family.

Thanks for asking me to take photos of your two families.  You picked a beautiful location – I hope you enjoyed it.

I was excited and a little nervous when Martha asked me to take some pictures of their family.  Her oldest son, Mason, is blind, which creates a challenge.  I usually focus on eyes and facial expressions, but Mason experiences his world through his other senses and doesn’t “see” the same way.  So as I anticipated this photo shoot, I decided to try to capture a little bit of the world as he experiences it.  I also wanted to focus on their family’s interactions, because they are so loving and playful with one another.

Here is Mason.  I’m not sure what it is about this picture, but I love it.  He seems so introspective and taking it all in.

Mason and his younger brother, Logan giggling together on the chair. Mom was tickling their cute little toes.

The family pushing Logan on the swing.  Logan loves to stick his tongue out like this when he is having fun.  I think it’s adorable!

I couldn’t believe how tender and protective Logan was of Mason.  He looked for ways he could help Mason join in, like pulling him in this wagon.

And leading Mason to the play equipment.

I couldn’t get enough of their gentle interactions.  I love that even while playing and having fun, Logan looks back to his brother to make sure he is alright.

Having fun on the slide.

And then they played on the swings.  I love their expressions in the next two.

Because Mason is blind, he doesn’t know to look at the camera.  This combined with Logan’s endless energy, made it pretty hard to get a “traditional” portrait of their family.  But I can’t help but love these next photos showing the families interactions.  They just make me happy.

What a tender moment.

Logan, deciding whether to jump…

Yep – here it goes.

Mom and dad looking fabulous.

And a few last ones of everyone having fun.

Thanks for letting me enjoy an afternoon with your beautiful family.  I was touched by how sweet and loving your family is.  I hope you had fun in the process.

I’m still catching up from all my family shoots before Christmas so bear with me – there’s more to come.  In December, my cousin Deborah had asked me to come down to San Diego to take family portraits of them.  Their family was so fun and energetic – I enjoyed spending the day with them.  Here are the kids playing peek-a-boo.

Oh-la-la

I asked if they wanted a shot of their feet, but the kids had so much more fun making a dog pile.  I love it!

Little cutie patootie, Wyatt.  I love his eyes.

And sweet sisters, Eliza and Maddie.

The kids had fun feeding the ducks at this little pond.

And then, they got a special treat when their parents said they could climb in the waterfall and get wet.  So fun!

This is my favorite series.  Look at their awesome expressions.

And here’s some portraits of the sweet family.  They are adorable.

This was their Christmas card photo.  Deborah makes beautiful hand crafted cards as a demonstrator for Stampin’ Up.  She is very talented.

Last shot of the day.  Such a sweet and loving family.  I hope I did your beautiful family justice.

You may remember Chris and Carina from their engagement session at Downtown Disney a few months ago.  I was so excited to shoot their beautiful wedding in December.

Carina started the day off by getting ready at Puff Beauty Salon in South Pasadena.  I loved the charm of this vintage salon.

From there, we went to All Souls Church in Alhambra for their ceremony.  Carina and Chris are good friends with Deacon Eudoro, so it was very special that he could marry them.

After their wedding ceremony, we traveled to a few locations in Old Town Pasadena, including City Hall for their portraits.  I just love this first one of the ring bearer and flower girl.

Doesn’t Carina look beautiful!

My favorite shot of the day and their favorite as well.

Their reception was held that evening at The Rococo Room in Pasadena.

Their first dance was lovely.

This is my favorite ring shot.  I love that it captures the mood of the reception.

Thank you for sharing your special day with us, Chris and Carina.  It was a beautiful wedding and you are an amazing couple.  I hope these photos capture the love and tenderness you have for each other.

I was so happy Grace and Arnold invited me over to take pictures of their little cutie, Eliana.  She was only about 6 weeks old at the time, but check out that crazy cute hair!  I couldn’t get enough of it – she was so adorable.

Arnold was so sweet with Eliana.  He was tender and caring and so helpful.  What a great dad!

I just had to get a few of her adorable parts.

The lovely family.  If Grace and Arnold are any indicator, Eliana is going to be one cute chick.

Exhausted after all the excitement, Eliana went right to sleep.