5 years old!

Is it a sign of a photo editing addiction when I shoot, sort, edit and storyboard my family photos the same way as I do wedding photos?

I guess it's okay this time since this little princess is my most professional model.

the Binghams

The Bingham's and I went to play at the beach this week for some family photos before they move away from San Diego. Their three boys always make me giggle and tuesday night was no exception. They are so individual and curious. It was kind of like herding cats to get them in one place at the same time. A wonderful side effect of that? Lots of great shots of Mom and Dad. 

Meet the Coopers

I had the pleasure of meeting the Cooper family on a very special weekend excursion here from Arizona. We went to La Jolla for some family portraits and then met up the next day for the main event. I wasn't sure that my jokes and silliness would work on older kids as well as they work on little ones, but I think the boys would tell you my best, okay only, joke was hilarious. Right guys? Guys? *crickets* not unlike the original response to my funny joke.

Can you guess what would have enticed them to drive to San Diego? (other than my stand up skills)
You'll just have to check back tomorrow to see what it was.

More of the Bramwell beauties

I'm sorry to all the manly Bramwell men, I just can't call these boys anything other than beautiful. They are more than cute, and not quite big enough to be burly. They are so handsome that I think they can safely be called beautiful...I happen to know their Momma agrees.

How it all started

the bashful grin

the stoic stare

Mom and Dad are going to be chasing those girls away!

Trial Run

I'm trying a new edit to make the picture better on this blog....so let's see how it goes.  Thanks Cam and Mandy for being my guinea pigs....even though you didn't know you were.

here's edited for the web;

and here is the original edited image;

which one looks better to you? Can you even see a difference? This is all new to me but I'd like for the previews here to look a little better than they do. Although it's kind of nice when people come over for edit's that they are pleasantly surprised that their photos look better on my screen than they did on the web.  Hmmm, that might not be the best marketing strategy, "AlaMODE photography, Tara actually does better than you think." I'll keep working on it.

Bramwells part one

I had the brilliant idea to break up family shoots into two parts when possible. Especially when there are little ones in the family, so that they don't get so pooped out.  So here's a little teaser from the boys shoot. We're returning to the winery, and hopefully the tractor again on saturday with Mom and Dad.

Hairy Grass

We had to change locations for this family shoot last minute due to a bridal faire at the RB winery. I was a little worried about whether Blue Sky would cut it, but much to my delight, it worked out great!! My favorite of all was the hairy grass. Kara thought I was gross...but it was so cool!

Preview for Becky

Here's a preview of the many more to come.  I actually narrowed it down to 31 photos to edit and play with...I know, I have no self control.

Beach Bums

Here are some more shots from our afternoon at the beach.  By complete accident we were there for amazing light that I didn't know we'd get. The helpful sun shaded the family so they didn't have to squint and still lit the water behind them with a gorgeous glow. A recipe for a happy family and a happy photographer.

S.O.O.C.

That's photographer speak for Straight Out Of Camera. Can you believe how gorgeous this family is? There's not much to do to these beauties. I'll post more soon I promise!

Sing-a-long

What could be better?

family 5K

I met this sweet family last week at what I thought would be the perfect time for family portrait.  However the sun was setting fast and so these guys ran around with me to make the most of it. Good thing they brought their running shoes...and I had a few gummy bears to keep them hopping.