I had to categorize these as both “dance” & “pregnancy” portraiture, because they most definitely are! Michelle & I have been friends since our days of dancing together at UCLA. We’ve known each other now more than half our lives, & this last fall, we celebrated our 40th birthdays in November. And to make the occasion even more special, we were both also just 3 weeks apart in our last pregnancies, & both expecting our third child. Michelle traveled down to LA to see me, & we took the opportunity to do some pictures–of course! Michelle has been one of my muses since our college years–her beauty is unique, timeless, exotic, romantic, & being a dancer, she moves with such grace & ease. During our photo session, she embodied the ecstatic feeling of carrying life inside her–and here these pictures I think celebrate the dance of life… 
babies
go bruins! • the roh family
little ones, outdoors, we are familyI have had the pleasure of knowing Alice since we were colleagues at Beverly Hills High School. In the past few years, each of our families has grown, & I’ve loved photographing theirs & watching their three adorable children get big all too quickly. This fall, Alice asked that we shoot at UCLA, & I loved the idea, because it’s also my alma mater. I found out that she met Chong there in the freshmen dorms! They were married five years later…there’s always something so romantic about finding Love early in life…> sigh < And I can always tell that these two are still very much in love…It was so special to be able to do their portraits there…where it all began!
waiting for ting-ting • the hsieh-schumacher family
little ones, outdoors, pregnancy, we are familyYvonne is an looooong-time friend of my sister’s; they’ve known each other since fifth grade! Over the years, I have gotten to chronicle the friendship among nine of their classmates. Now, most of them are married with children, & every so often I get to marvel at how my little sister’s friends are all grown up. Luckily, Yvonne and her family live in Los Angeles, so I get to see them & shoot them regularly. Recently, Yvonne was a featured model for Belly Armor, a company that makes blankets & clothing for pregnant moms to shield their unborn babies from the effects of everyday radiation from cellphones & laptops. The company was founded by another one of my sister & Yvonne’s childhood friends, an entrepreneur & mom, Aileen. I got to shoot all their new product photography–a pleasure & an honor to be an involved with such a visionary company! And my follow-up was a pregnancy shoot with Yvonne, her husband David, & their older daughter Sonia. In just a few weeks, they’ll be welcoming Baby Sister!
red hot holidays • the corter-bell family
holidays, little ones, outdoors, we are familyI met Alithea & Bryen through mutual friends Karen & Jason over five years ago. Karen introduced me to Alithea, because she thought we’d have a lot in common–including being pregnant at the same time! Now, it’s been five years, six pregnancies (all but one of them simultaneous) & four kids between the two of us! In addition to growing a wonderful friendship of mutual support & lots of shared philosophies, I’ve also had the pleasure of capturing their family in pictures for births, holidays, & “just because” with lots of regularity. Theirs is one of the last families I’m shooting this holiday season, since I’m on maternity leave through the spring. And as usual, it was a fun, high-energy shoot, followed by a great playdate, great conversation, & lots of snacking. Good times!
