waiting for ting-ting • the hsieh-schumacher family

little ones, outdoors, pregnancy, we are family

Yvonne 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!

amazing aimée • dance portraits

beauty & boudoir, dance, outdoors

I had just done portraits for Aimée’s son Marco, & she asked about doing some headshots for a project she is working on–choreography to the poetry of Rumi.  I was so excited by the idea of creating portraits that would be interpretations of Aimée as the poetry–romantic, magical, mystical, earthy, sexy, dramatic.  I had such an inspired session with her–and was so impressed by how game & courageous she was to move & expand into these different versions of herself. Make-up artist, Lizette Perez, created two distinct looks for Aimée, & she embodied both with such ease. Between locations, Aimée &  talked about Life–and in these portraits, I hope that she sees what a butterfly emerging she truly is…This post features a few from our first segment, which included a hike up a hill–a perfect metaphor for just the beginning of our visual, poetic, & collaborative journey…

…wood nymph…

…mesmerizing gypsy…

…simple poetry…

…shimmering crescendo…

erika • boudoir session

beauty & boudoir

Erika is one of my oldest pals–we’ve known each other since high school.  She possesses an unabashed lust for life–and just loves to laugh.  And she laughs at herself, which is something I aspire to!  I took these photos when we were both still single & looking, & even though she is now a wife & mother of two, she is as hot as ever!  I’ll have to take some new photos of her soon…