just a taste • mrs. d • boudoir session • palos verdes estates, ca

beauty & boudoir

Mrs. D is one of the most wise, crafty, & creative wives I’ve ever met. She speaks with an understanding of relationships & men’s brains that far exceeds her age, so much so that I really think she ought to write a book. While planning her boudoir session, I was really awed by how attuned she is to her husband’s likings & tastes. And she spoke of making him happy in the most generous, enthusiastic way. And their efforts to stoke the flames of love & desire & connection are all the more meaningful, as he is deployed somewhere far, far away, for much, much too long. Mrs. D & I had such a fun time getting creative, & she was bold, & brave, & a celebration of feminine wiles. Can’t wait for Mr. D to finally see these soon…And they’ll be more to come after this sneak peek…

joanne choi • mom/food blogger • headshots • santa monica, ca

headshots

It’s hard to believe that Joanne & I have known each other since 1994! That was long ago, when we were both in the graduate teacher’s program at Stanford–before embarking our beloved careers teaching English, before finding Love & getting married, before becoming moms, & before starting second careers. And seeing her for the first time in a decade this last weekend was just like seeing family–we just fell right into step with each other, talking like not a minute had passed since our last face-to-face conversation (which was incidentally, probably very quick, since it was at her wedding!). We met up in Santa Monica, where she was visiting her brother & his family. I finally got to meet her three beautiful kids, which is like a glimpse into my future, because she also has two daughters & a son, a couple years ahead of me.

Joanne is a food blogger with her amazing Week of Menus. This is doubly impressive to me, because in addition to raising her three children while her hard-working hubby works far away, she is able to blog…about cooking. Do you realize that involves: 1) grocery shopping, 2) actually cooking, & 3) writing about cooking, & 4) taking pictures of what you’ve cooked! Anyone who knows me knows that cooking is as foreign to me as raising alpaca, shoeing horses, & learning Swahili. I just don’t have a knack for it–or any concept of how to begin. It’s an art, a language, a way of being–and I just never got the bug. Joanne has quite the following, & it’s easy to see why, because her writing is wonderful to read, & her recipes are delicious. I’m proud to say that recently one of her blog posts included a snippet of a conversation we were having over Facebook; too be included in one of her reflections is a true compliment!

One of my favorite things Joanne does is that she’ll ask her Facebook fans: What do you have in your fridge right now? And then she’ll give them ideas to create something yummy out of those ingredients! (If you think you could use that kind of Cooking Fairy Godmother, then find her on Facebook!)

Joanne also has a love for photography & is always so supportive of my work. It was a treat for me to be able to “play” & do some headshots for her. I can’t wait to shoot her whole family. And next time, hopefully a full-blown environmental portrait with her in action.

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…

ecstatic • michelle • dance & pregnancy portraiture

beauty & boudoir, dance, little ones, pregnancy, studio

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…