au revoir, america • the francon family • beach portraits

beach, little ones, outdoors, we are family

Ah, ze French. Zay are tres, tres romantique. I like to encourage husbands & wives to get cozy in their portraits, & often when they have kids, it’s been a long time since they’ve been able to look longingly into each other’s eyes for any stretch of time. There is thus some awkward giggling sometimes, especially with a camera trained on you, & your kids running in circles. But this pair, Maite & Sebastien, didn’t need any coaching. Zay are, of course, French. So with their adorable Melissa close by, they got cozy & romantic right on the beach. And the whole family was so playful & fun–it was a great time! This was their Bon Voyage portrait, since they moved back to France this weekend. We will miss them! I hope that these photos will remind them of the SoCal sunshine–and bring them back for a visit soon!

pattern-mixing • family trail walk

little ones, outdoors, personal, we are family

There’s a fire trail that runs behind our house, & it’s like having a backyard that is really long & narrow & leads to the “special drink store,” where my husband takes the girls on Sundays to indulge in this Japanese soda that comes in a glass bottle with a marble in it. We’ve walked the trail in every season–breezy summer, crisp autumn, chilly winter, & now green spring. I’m glad I took my camera on this walk to capture my oldest daughter’s complete freedom with fashion (stripes, plaids, & knitted patterns all mixing beautifully), & just the mundane miracle of everyday life with my family. This was our baby’s first trail walk; held tightly in the arms of daddy, he slept through the whole thing.

The girls raced each other over & over again on the damp dirt trail…

Here’s Zoë letting Zara win, & I wish I had a picture of the look on Zoë’s face after, because she looked more joyful & proud of herself letting her sister win than she did when she won herself. Such kindness & compassion in a child!

laleh & kaveh • the shannon-noghreh family welcomes twins!

little ones, we are family

In January, I had the pleasure of doing pregnancy portraits for my dear friend, Linda. Two weeks ago, her twins arrived via natural childbirth! “Baby A” became beautiful boy Kaveh, & “Baby B” is the lovely little girl Laleh. Linda is an amazing woman who makes having twins, nursing twins, diapering twins, & all manner of caring for twins look like a walk in the park. She is so vivacious & full of joy & humor. These babies are so lucky to join this family of Linda, Kamboud, & big brother Kian. I can’t wait to chronicle the growth & change of these beautiful children & this wonderful family. In these photos, Kaveh alternated between being asleep & milk-drunk, & Laleh was all alert, eyes open & taking it all in…

Kam & Kaveh, & their identical profiles…

This image below is a special one, because the backdrop is a Persian carpet given to Linda & Kam from Kam’s mother who carried it all the way here from Iran…

baby nicholas maxwell • the au-watts families

little ones, studio, we are family

Tricia & I have known each other since birth; our moms are best friends from junior high school! Both our mothers were tickled blue this January, when Tricia & I gave birth to our sons within three days of each other. I was so honored & happy to celebrate the arrival of their Nicholas Maxwell with this session of portraits for Tricia, husband Josh, Baby Nicholas, & his grandparents on both sides, as well as Tricia’s brother & sister-in-law. The best part of the day, besides coming away with some treasured photographs, was just everyone hanging out together. We know that Baby Nicholas & Baby Zen will grow up to cause quite a bit of trouble together!