BHHS BFF • sarah, amy, marla, & coleen • manhattan beach, ca

beach, beauty & boudoir, outdoors

This shoot has inspired me to create a new package for my clients: the “BFF” Package, as in Best Friends Forever! And perhaps I should also design a “Farewell LA” package, since this session too was created because yet another long-time LA resident is leaving us for new adventures elsewhere. In this case, recently married Sarah is off with hubby to return to her Midwestern roots–as well as a great new house & new job. Her gal pals of more than a decade wanted to celebrate their friendship with some pro pix, & I was extra excited to shoot them, because they’re all old colleagues of mine from Beverly Hills High School; it was super special to commemorate their sexy smiles & fun friendship in these photographs. Amy was hoping to get “one really great group shot.” Well, I think we came away with more than just one!

And how we all really feel about Sarah leaving…

kyle • class of 2011 • calle mayor middle school promotion

events, outdoors, personal, we are family

I was never one of those women who cooed over babies & wanted to nuzzle their heads & smell them & hold them & bounce them…until Kyle. His parents are my cousins, & they live just a few minutes from us, while most of our relatives are much further away. Many years ago, when I arrived at Kyle’s first birthday party, he was curled up in his mom Beth’s arms. She explained that he wasn’t feeling so great, & he surprised us both when he willingly let me hold him. He fell asleep on my shoulder & remained there for the whole party. For the first time, I understood how holding a sleeping baby was one of the best feelings in the world.

I could hardly believe it when this month, I watched him lined up among a river of red robes waiting to receive his middle school diploma. A stylish lad & a long, lean player of volleyball, he’s now taller than both his parents. He’s also the object of much worship by both of my daughters, who always greet him with a high-pitched, two-syllabled squealing of his name. His was their first graduation ceremony, & fittingly enough, two weeks later, he would also attend Zoë’s PlaySchool graduation. How is it that a five-year-old & a fourteen-year-old are both on the cusp of something so new? Can we as parents ever keep up with all these threshold moments?

I know everyone says, “It goes by fast,” but you just don’t realize it until you hug your “little” cousin congratulations, & you leave the parking lot first, because he’ll be going off to a party all on his own…

four of five • the uslander family

little ones, outdoors, studio, we are family

Another wonderful family I’ve met through Riviera PlaySchool…& another family on the move…Sandy & Bob are headed out of Los Angeles to points south for new adventures, but before they leave, we celebrated with some new headshots & family portraits! Their two gorgeous sons were at the session, rough-housing like loving brothers & lighting up the day with their big grins; but we missed having their daughter here too. Hopefully she’ll enjoy seeing her family together in these pictures–she was mentioned all through the shoot. I so enjoyed the inspired conversation we shared while clicking & in between set-ups; we talked about the real need & desire for all people to truly & deeply connect (with others & with ideas, through every type of vocation) & to create. Well, I feel very lucky, because I got to do both on this day with them.

non-traditional school pictures • riviera playschool • spring 2011

little ones, outdoors, preschool

My girls have been attending this amazing, unique preschool for the past couple years. I call it a “Paradise for Preschoolers,” because it encourages children to do all the things that most parents won’t allow at home: dig in the dirt, paint with their hands, splash around in the water, run barefoot through the mud–in short, get good & dirty experiencing the world around them. It’s not that I don’t allow my kids to get messy at home–it’s more that it stresses me out, because, you know, I’m the mom; I have an agenda, & that usually includes trying to return things to a tidy & clean state at some point today, or at least sometime this month.

Riviera PlaySchool‘s program is a combination of constructivist & humanist ideas; but most importantly for me, their curriculum includes a lot of work on communication & conflict resolution. They have a very good teacher-student ratio (1:4), which allows teachers to really spend a lot of time guiding kids through their struggles & frustrations. Let’s face it: Life is at least 50% difficult situations & emotions, right? We really need to help our children acquire & practice the skills that get them through that “shadow” half of living–not just teach them to obey, comply, & be nice. They will experience failure, heartbreak, & disagreements. They will witness cruelty, unfairness, & betrayal. How they respond to those things will determine their ability to succeed and be happy–which is what every parent prays for. Their ability to get through disappointment, confusion, & pain is going to be far more important than their grades or their test scores. I truly believe that–& I was a high school teacher for 11 years.

I love this school & its mission–& I have learned so much from the teachers &, as a result, improved my parenting. I feel so fortunate to have found this community for my kids & myself, & I love contributing to it in any way I can. This month, I did the student portraits, & in keeping with the spirit of PlaySchool, we kept things spontaneous & fun. I hung out & let the kids get to know me & my camera, & then one by one, we invited them to have their portraits taken. I also snapped lots of candids of them exploring their world & enjoying the PlaySchool environment–creating art, investigating bugs, communing with friends. Traditional school portraits are always so stiff & rarely show children genuinely smiling, so I hoped to create something different–lively portraits with kids authentically relaxed & being themselves–making funny faces, studying the camera contemplatively, expressing their personalities. It was a joy to get to know them all through my lens!