Lilia and I Play Dress-Up at The Rag Doll Pink Palace

I met the sweet Lilia and her amazing mama, Jane Buckingham, at the Rag Doll Pink Palace for an epic three hour photo shoot for Saturne Magazine's Sept/Oct publication. This was my first time collaborating with the French publication and being a whole continent away I had to be alot more involved in the planning than usual which was stressful, fun, and gave me a whole new respect for all the editors I work with!

I had only a handful of days to secure a full glam team for this shoot, as well as for the photoshoot that I had the very next day with The 100 actress Lindsey Morgan, so to say my week was hectic was a bit of an understatement. However, by the grace of the photography gods, I was able to secure a team for each shoot and was ready to create some art with some amazing artists.

My stylist, Shaina Feldman was detrimental to making this shoot successful and truly outdid herself. She showed up with so many beautiful options for Lilia and I play dress up in and what better place to shoot than in a real life dollhouse?

Shaina Feldman stylying Lilia while Jane is working hard in the back

We were able to shoot 8 different outfits during our time together and I just cant decided which look was my favorite. I love the first and second look, but I also loved the last one too! Which one is your favorite?

Outfit 1- In Her Palace

Outfit 2- Wall Flower

Lilia looking amazing, me in my Target mom tee - whomp whomp

Outfit 3- Roses

Outfit 4- RagDoll

Outfit 5- Vintage Lace

Outfit 6- Circa

*Funny story about the above photo. I told Lilia to channel Britney Spears vibes circa 2000 for this portion of the shoot because, well.. look at this set up! Lilia looked at me like I was crazy and had NO IDEA what I was talking about. Shaina busted out laughing at me, and had me check my age while she pulled up the Britney archives on you tube for Lilia to watch.

Outfit 7- Hatter

Outfit 8- Blossom

I am beyond blessed to have had the opportunity to work with these ladies and I cant wait to work with them again! Make sure to grab your copy of Saturne Magazine when it releases this fall.

Metamorphosis: Meeting My Internet Bff and Our Feature on Vogue Italia~!

As all great modern friendships go, I met Alexis through a mom group on Facebook two years ago. Our friendship blossomed over our love for photography and we started chatting more frequently; text messages turned into phone calls, phone calls turned into video calls, and video calls turned into a roundtrip flight to Los Angeles. Alexis took the long 8 hour trek across the country to meet face to face!

We fell into sync as though it was a normal afternoon and this was something we did all the time. We made the best of our 24 hours and started off with a shoot in Vasquez Rocks, and then a trip to Huntington Beach complete with churros and Karaoke. With a harrowing ride back to LAX the next morning, we may or may not have pushed the gas tank to the limit, with 30 minutes to departure. alll because.....we kinda sorta, got distracted with puppies at the mall. And that right there defines our relationship haha!

On a whim I submitted two images from our shoot to Vogue Italia and one was accepted! This is my first accepted image by the publisher after months of submitting previous work. It is just so fitting that the image that finally spoke to them, is one that was created with my sista from another mista. What a great way to end our trip, and begin the next level of our friendship.

Check out her amazing skills at www.instagram.com/invoke_indigo

PART ONE: 'Formation'

PART TWO: Metamorphosis

Steve and Elisa: DIY Their Way to the Alter

When the dress has been worn, the cake has been eaten, and the guest have all gone what is left to remind you of your big day but photographs!? They are so important and document the beginning of your new families history, and as a photographer there is no greater honor than being chosen to capture those cherished images.

When Steve and Elisa asked me to cover their small, intimate wedding I jumped at the chance. They were such a dream couple for me: laid back, fun, and creative. This duo, along with family members and friends DIY'ed their entire wedding and the love that was put into every detail was seen through out.

On the day of their wedding, I arrived to a lovely little house in Eagle Rock, CA where I was greeted by the bridesmaids, bride and her parents who were all getting ready. This is one of my favorite parts of the wedding day; capturing the bride getting ready for the next chapter of her life. It is such an emotionally charged time and witnessing the various emotions one person can experience in such a short amount of time is just overwhelmingly beautiful.

When we arrived to the venue, the Women's 20th Century Club of Eagle Rock, friends and family were gathered around wearing smiles and their best dressed as they conversed before the ceremony. The ceremony started right around 530 and was short and sweet: complete with a beautiful speech from dad and a rose petal toss at the end!

After the ceremony, we did a quick group portrait session before I whisked the Bride and Groom off for their first portraits together as husband and wife!

The Bride and Groom expressed early on the importance of their portraits together and luckily they reserved plenty for us to go out and explore. We all climbed into my jeep and hit the town for some fun and unique images.

When we got back to the venue, Steve and Elisa made their grand entrance and greeted guest before sneaking away a second time for another little portrait session inside the historic building. I fell in love with the 1903 building during our walk through a few weeks prior and I was hell bent on getting portraits of them posted up against the vintage decor.

There were so many amazing moments through out the day but my favorite part is what happened next. I placed the couple at a piano and while I made my way out onto the balcony to shoot, Steve cracked the lid of the piano and quietly and softly began to play a little melody. Elisa put her head on her husbands shoulder as they sat their for a moment just soaking in their new roles as husband and wife; the sounds of their party drifting in from the next room. It was such a lovely moment and I was so honored to be witness to it.

We finished out the rest of the wedding with a very laid back reception with just one speech and dance with the brides father, a quick first dance with the newlyweds, the cake cutting and the rest of the night was spent hugging, laughing, drinking and dancing! This truly was a special wedding and I am so thankful to have been there capturing every moment from this amazing day.

Krewella

When the editor of Grumpy Magazine contacted me to shoot their next artist I was stoked to hear it was the EDM musical masterminds Jahan and Yasmine Yousaf of Krewella. The magazine set up a simi-vintage, slightly outdated hotel room in Studio City to do a grunge inspired rock shoot with the girls. I brought along some vintage luggage and a few other props to add to the scene.

The stylist showed up first with a whole rack of outfits and a rows and rows of accessories

Next on the scene was the hair and makeup artists, followed by the ladies who made up Krewella. The team got the duo ready as nightfall began to set in.

Being a natural light photographer this was all suuuuper out of my comfort zone and I silently prayed to the photography gods for good photos. While it was intimidating and a bit of a challenge working with flash and such, it was so much fun and certainly a highlight of my camera thus far. Not only were the girl extremely nice and funny but they slayed this shoot. mean...Just see for yourself

Sun Kissed Baby

I met Audrey 4 years ago, in Denver CO when I use to nanny her younger siblings. She moved out to Southern California with her boyfriend Victor, shortly after I did. One day in early May, I randomly messaged her because I had a dream that she was pregnant, four months later she messaged me to tell me that she was in fact pregnant!

Audrey and Victor are moving back to Colorado this week to be near family and so their son can be a Colorado Native. Something Coloradans say with pride (my own son is a Colorado Native!) But before I could let them leave, I had to get them in front of my camera and do a California style maternity shoot.

Pomona Creators

Pomona Creators workshop and photography education

When this momma to be came driving up the mountain in huge 4X4 pickup I knew it was going to be a good session, and when she stepped out in this dress I knew it was going to be an AMAZING session! Jaime was so easy and FUN to work with, she admitted to feeling silly at first but she was a natural in front of the camera and ended up owning 'The Princess Walk'.

This momma has 3 more weeks to go before her baby boy is her in arms. Wishing you a safe delivery Jaime!

golden organic

I met this stunning momma soon after I moved to California, a little over 2 years ago now. I hosted a picnic and invited a ton of people, and cooked a ton of food and only one person showed up haha and that person was Dorothy. She and I instantly became friends and attempted to keep in touch, but life gets so busy sometimes and when you throw in motherhood and being an entrepreneur well, the social life really goes out the window.

It had been a year since we had spoken, so I was beyond delighted when she reached out to ask if I could do a maternity session for twins! When she told me she was making her own dress I almost died with delight! We really had the best time capturing these images and I am so excited to meet the newest additions to their family!