Sister Castro

I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is a religion that I love, and one that has shaped me into the person that I am today.

In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (some people know us as the Mormons), young adults have the opportunity to give up 18-24 months of their life to do missionary work. They move away from their families and friends, and spend that time sharing their beliefs and helping others. It's actually a pretty incredible opportunity to be able to give up part of your life to share something that is so important to you.

With that information in mind, I would like to introduce you to one of those amazing future missionaries. 

Meet Pamela.

Pam contacted me months ago to schedule her mission pictures. Even before she received her mission call! She had no idea where in the world she would be going, all she knew was that she was going to serve the Lord for 18 months of her life. That faith is so incredible to me!

I shared in her excitement as she received her call to serve the people of the Philippines. And together we tailored the session to be exactly what she wanted.

On the day of her session, Pamela came with her two older sisters and her adorable puppy. I love when family comes to sessions like this! It helps you to relax, and not feel as awkward. I didn't have to worry about that at all with Pam though. She was an absolute natural, and gorgeous both inside and out.

It was a pleasure to get to know such an amazing young woman. 

Good luck on your mission Sister Castro! 

Your Home = My Studio

As a new mom, the last thing that you want to do is get all dressed up and leave the house. I know for me, I practically live in sweat pants and baggy shirts for the first couple weeks of my baby's life. Does that make me lazy? Maybe. Am I the minority on this? Probably not. You just created a human being! I think that gives you an excuse to wear comfortable clothes for a while. (Hey, if you want to wear comfortable clothes until your baby is 54 months old, more power to you! No judgment here!)

This is one of the major reasons that I have chosen to not find a studio space. There are so many reasons that a studio would be more convenient for me as a photographer: all my props in one place, the ability to have consistent lighting, more room to work in, etc.. But in the end, who's convenience is more important? Mine, or my awesome clients? Yep, you win 9 times out of 10.

For each and every one of my newborn sessions, I have no idea the conditions that I will be walking into. Of course I have talked to mom (or dad) to find out what they are wanting. But when it comes to lighting, space, and/or pets, etc. I am totally in the dark. I love the challenge that this provides.

When I first enter your home, my brain starts going in hyper drive to find the best room with the best light. Sometimes the best lighting is in the bedroom, sometimes in the kitchen, but most of the time I find it in the dining room next to some big glass doors. If you read my post about my newborn session at Presley's home (find it here), you know how much I love me some big glass doors.

Not only do I find the challenges exciting, I also love being able to incorporate your home into the session. Like this beautiful stencil wall from Miles' session:

Or the fabulous gray floor at Gavin's house.

Or even this simple wall from Preston's session. 

I am so grateful for such wonderful clients that welcome me into their homes!  And if you don't feel like your house is clean enough, or pretty enough, or styled well enough, don't fret (mine for sure isn't...)! I bring floor drops and other tools to make each and every picture absolutely priceless.  

Reeder Family

I love and am grateful for all the amazing clients that I get to meet, and I know that I probably shouldn't have favorite ones, but sometimes I can't help it. I have photographed this beautiful family for years, and they have become some of my favorite people to photograph! 

 Seriously, can you blame me? Look at how cute they are!

They just welcomed their third boy into their family, and I can't think of a better excuse to have some family pictures taken. Especially of this bunch. 

It's still pretty hot here in Arizona, so we wanted to quickly get some great shots in before we all melted. Luckily, these boys are pros and we were able to capture some sweet photographs in no time at all! 

This is their precious newborn, born just 17 days ago. He is almost three weeks old, and still so teeny tiny! Momma was afraid of having a big baby, but he was their smallest by far.

I love how alert he is! And look at the red in his hair! Too cute.

As always, it was a pleasure to be able to spend some time with this beautiful family. I look forward to watching these boys grow up, and photographing them every step of the way!