Melissa Taylor Photography

Kora | Vista Birth Photographer

2012-01-26T22:13:00.000-08:00

December 27th, I got a text. I jumped up, put on some makeup and got ready to head out the door. I had wondered how this was going to work, with two kids of my own, constantly hungry from being pregnant, and a sick husband, but the timing for me was impeccable. It was only 7:30 pm, but the kids and hubs were in bed, and I had just eaten dinner. Score!

It's silly to think that there I was putting makeup on, wondering how I looked, and how convenient the timing was, when I knew I was going to go document a day in history. It certainly wasn't me doing the laboring, or making a grand entrance! I was pumped full of adrenaline at the thought of being able to be a small part of this. It was the night Miss Kora was entering the world, and I'm certain it'll never be the same.

I stepped out of the door after checking my equipment twice, okay, maybe five times, remembering the feeling of leaving for the birth center and searching for my "baby bag" of essential things required to have a baby (though, now looking back on it, my second baby bag was packed with much less than the first pregnancy's, but I'm pretty sure they both were left in the car entire whole labor...).

Right there, bright as the Cheshire Cat's smile, was the moon rising, like a huge grin.

You were long awaited, Miss Kora, and I'd like to imagine that the moon was smiling in excitement and anticipation the night you were born, for everything you've brought to this world with you.

This was such an amazing experience, that I'd love to do again. If you're interested in having birth photos taken, please email me at melissa@mtaylorphoto.com

Evelyn | Vista Newborn Photographer

2012-01-26T20:46:00.000-08:00

At the end of November, I got a new niecey! Aaand a horrible cold. No one wants to get a newborn sick, so I stayed clear of this sweet bundle, and at the first sign of recovery I trekked over and snuck in a few shots.

Snap. Sneeze. Sanitize. Repeat.

After fourteen days on this bright, exciting world, newborns start to be more alert and don't fall into that deep sleep photographers need for those cozy, cute, posed shots. I made it on the infamous day fourteen, and was glad we fit it in because she was awake for most of it (but successfully passed out after some good coaxing), and her mama needed to get her Christmas cards out. I must mention what a spectacular thing this was for me to see... Gen, you had a baby, and had your announcements and Christmas cards out in the mail the first week of December. You are amazing!

I was organizing my craft drawer (more appropriately dubbed, "Crap Drawer," by my husband and myself, because of all the knick knacks waiting for a spare, childless moment to be turned into creative masterpieces) and found my wedding thank you's, and the 30 wallet-sized photos intended to be inserted into my baby shower from my first pregnancy. This May/June, my husband and I celebrate our 5th year of marriage, our son's 4th birthday, and our third child. That's horrible. So, Gen, you can see why I have such amazement at your accomplishments. I'm in awe!

By the way... thank you everyone for your encouragement, support, and lovely wedding/shower gift. =/

Without further ado, here is Miss Evelyn Joyce, and her proud, big sister, Olivia.
Welcome to the world, sweet girl!

-2011-

2012-01-16T12:47:00.000-08:00

Here's to another year of adventure, love, growing, and uniting. 'Cause that's what living life is all about, folks!

2011 Highlights

<3 Melissa Taylor

Onward and Upward!

2012-01-15T22:45:00.000-08:00

Another year past. I can't be the only one who felt like they were strapped into a racecar and sent through a year at full speed, right? It's gone so fast, it's halfway through January when I'm writing my "end of year" blog post! Oopsies. This year, I want to be a better caretaker to my blog, and not write the boring 'ol fluff, but something real and that can be related to... so here we go!

Photography included, its been a year of learning and trusting. My husband and I began school full time last January, which was an adventure of its own. I shot my second and third wedding, shot for Miss Fallbrook 2011, and even got a chance to dabble in birth photography. I've gotten to taste so many forms of photography and it's helping me to figure out what it really is I want to pursue as a photographer. This year will be even more focused on that.

As if our hands weren't quite full before, we decided to get a new puppy! His name's Russell, and he's a big lug, a St. Bernard/ Lab Mix, and much, much larger now.

What's a funnel doing in a wagon, you ask? You'll have to ask my son!

Also, I suppose it's time to mention that the last few months have been a bit slowed down on the blog because my work time (aka 10pm - 1am) was temporarily reserved for.... the growing little girl that's taken up residence in mah belleh, due at the end of May. Yep! I realized a bit ago that I never made it known on my fan page! I'm coming to the point in the pregnancy where it's, well, unavoidably noticeable that I'm indeed pregnant and not just letting myself go, so I figured I'd warn you out there! Thank you to my last few shoots, including my latest wedding, which were done with almonds in my pocket, and surprisingly few bathroom trips.

For the those of you who have a hard time with these, this is not an inkblot, it's a baby.

I've hit that nesting stage, so the well welcomed, clean-frenzied woman has come out of me. I arranged about twenty photos on my wall, pinterest style, mopped in places I haven't looked at since my last two pregnancies, and have scrubbed my hands raw. Yesterday. There are some changes and clean-ups due to happen very soon on my site and the way things are run around here, too. No stone left unturned!

Most of all, I wanted to really, truly thank all of my clients and fellow photographers who have encouraged, supported, taught, and had so much grace with me in my first year of business. It's a bit cut-throat out there in the photography world. I've been taught things from those a few years ahead of me, who have saved me so much strife, and also talked some sense into me when those tough questions like pricing, and the digital file versus prints decision had me questioning everything I was doing.You know those dreams where you're walking around school, naked? These are the moments I'm referring to, and I'm sure anyone in this business can relate to.

Does she not have ANY self-respect??

When I was 15, I didn't make the field hockey team. Awkward little Melissa just didn't realize that the high school team had it's bars set a tad bit higher than the ultra- encouraging, and perhaps coddling, team from my middle school. So, what's a girl in a new district to do? Water polo! I joined the waterpolo team during preseason, and was told to suit up and stop by preseason practice at the local college. The pool was much better than the elementary school pools I later practiced in (a little foreshadowing...See, I made the team! ), but I'd never swam a legitimate pool "lap" in my life! My gracious new coach suggested try putting my head down in the water, instead of swaying it side to side with each desperate stroke. So THAT is why they wear goggles!!

Nope. After two kids, the self respect is pretty much gone.

Next up, a scrimmage. Whaaaaat? Little freshman Melissa was thrown into a full on scrimmage with senior varsity players. Yes, I swallowed a lot of water. Yes, I threw the ball to the wrong team. Yes, felt like my brand spankin' new swimsuit from Big 5 was torn off of my body, but I survived it. I didn't only survive, I ended up on the varsity team the next year, remembering to be a bit more gentle with the freshman newbies.

Today, I'm happy to say, I've graduated the stage in photography where I felt like I was thrown into water and had to figure out how to swim. Hooray!

I've got much more to learn, but I'm loving every.single.moment. Happy 2012, World!

Love, Melissa Taylor

(PS. I put together a little collage of some highlights of last year. I'll be posting it tomorrow!!)

Ezra | San Diego Infant Photographer

2012-01-13T09:43:00.000-08:00

Okay, who can resist that face??

I love watching Miss Ezra grow. As part of a belly to baby package, I've gotten to take photos for her mama's pregnancy announcement, maternity, newborn, and I got to see sweet Ezra again. Lucky me!

Watch out, Krisann, next will be her birthday!


Some highlights from Ezra's newborn session.


	My Favorites!

Niki | North County Portrait Photographer

2012-01-13T08:53:00.000-08:00

Oceanside Pier

This is a long awaited blog for me! I got contacted by Niki about doing a shoot for her birthday. Niki has a serious love for photography, so I was really honored to do her photos for her. I know that they were long awaited and that she was so excited!

We met below the pier and got started. Let me tell you, this girl knows how to pose! Niki, I hope you had a wonderful birthday (a little belated ;) ) and I look forward to seeing your own photography grow!

Greenberg Family | San Diego Family Photographer

2011-12-14T17:09:00.000-08:00

Finals are over, and now it's catch up time! This is the Greenberg family. We had a great time, and somehow managed to get so many great shots of FIVE kiddos!

Here are some of my favorites.

New Print Products | North County San Diego Photographer

2011-09-29T13:02:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited to be working on a new package plan here, at Melissa Taylor Photography. One of the new products available to you is the 3x3 Mini Accordion Album. These albums come in identical set of three, and are especially lovely for newborn sessions, because you can give two away, and still save one for yourself. They're small, cute, and customizable. This is one of the three templates that I offer (from Melissa Davis Design!) and I adore it!! It's printed on pearlized paper, so it has a gorgeous glittery sheen to it.

This is the front cover.

The inside panel. The albums could potentially hold twelve photos.

Outside panel.

Stay tuned for more print package details. Contact me at melissa@mtaylorphoto.com for more information, and to book your next session!

Little Girl Land| North County San Diego Children's Photographer

2011-09-18T22:07:00.000-07:00

Sadie and Kadee. The dynamic, wiggly duo.

Forgive me for the possibility of this annoying tune getting stuck in your head, but I can't help but sing the "Toyland," song when I see these photos of my little girl and her neighbor-friend.

Esther and I took on a challenge of wrangling two runaways, and with me taking the photos, we quickly discovered we were outnumbered. At first, the girls weren't too keen on holding still/ not making grouchy faces/ sharing, so I snapped a few, then we tried again after a nap. The second attempt was much more successful!

I like to call this one "Shenanigans," because she kept trying to run away. She looks like she's up to no good, I tell you!

Josh sat on the sidelines most of the time and serenaded us with lovely musical keyboard accompaniment.

Tangerine face.

Peekaboo!

In conclusion, I loved to see these little ladies be kids and get dirty in their little matching princess outfits. Adorable. PS, Esther, thanks for letting me steal some shots of Sadie!

Shiloh | North County San Diego Newborn Photography

2011-08-27T10:49:00.000-07:00

You remember the beautiful Marks family (View their maternity session here)?? Well, their little one is here! Shiloh is beautiful, and (I think!) looks so much like her older sister. We spent around four hours working on this session, gently posing, shooting, soothing, patting, changing, and it was worth every minute. I'm so glad we saved the outside shot for last. The sun broke out right before sunset, and was glowing and beyond perfect. Congratulations, Marks family.

M+R Wedding | North County San Diego Wedding Photographer

2011-08-25T21:34:00.000-07:00

Wow. I'm so grateful to have been a part of Mike and Rianne's wedding (Psst! Here's their engagement session!!). I loved their style!! I could ramble on and on, but I'll get to the part we've been waiting for...

Congratulations, you two.

Stay tuned for more!!

Boldt Family | North County San Diego Family Photgrapher

2011-08-22T12:13:00.000-07:00

Next up, is the Boldt family. This shoot was full of laughs, love, and dodging some presents left behind by the neighborhood coyotes. We made it through without incident, in case you were wondering. All that aside, take a look at this gorgeous family!

Marks Family | North County San Diego Family Photographer

2011-08-22T12:04:00.000-07:00

Hi, all! I wanted to take a few moments to catch up on my blogging before school starts up again this week.

This is the Marks family. They all are dear to my heart, and I love what we captured. I must mention that Miss Skyla was a doll, and did quite well with her cookie bribes for smiles.

Stay tuned for a sneak of the newest addition to their family!

Disneyland | San Diego Photographer

2011-06-07T22:38:00.000-07:00

We got to go kidless to Disneyland for our 4th anniversary, so I finally got to bring my camera. Thanks to my family for watching the wild-ones!

Altman Family Session | San Diego Photographer

2011-06-07T22:14:00.000-07:00

This is a long awaited photo session! Esther Altman is a good friend and new neighbor, and having the photos done at their new home was really special. This will be a sweet memory of the beginning years as time zooms by and these kiddos (mine and her's) grow up.

And here we go!

Miss Fallbrook 2011-North County San Diego Photographer

2011-06-07T21:43:00.000-07:00

Here they are, the long awaited pageant photos! I had never been to a Pageant before, and was taken aback by the grace, community, and friendship that was flowing from each of these girls. What a great cause. I really enjoyed spending time and working with all of you.

There were two pageants for different age groups; the Teen and the Miss, and then we rushed over next door and squeezed (and by squeeze, I mean it to the full extent!) into a little room/hallway/chair storage area for some group and family shots. Fitting lights, backdrops, and 6+ people and making it look great was quite a feat, but with it came a lot of confidence of what can be done.

The full pageants can be viewed and purchased here; Miss Teen, Miss Fallbrook

This was one of my favorite moments. Meet the 1st Miss Fallbrook, Miss 1937. She never received a crown or sash, so they honored her on the second night, with one to call her own and then the barbershop quartet sang to her. Such a sweet and honoring moment.

Congrats, girls!

Ezra-Newborn| North County San Diego Photographer

2011-04-14T13:39:00.000-07:00

She's here! I've had a blast photographing the Gentry family from their pregnancy announcement all the way to Ezra's birth. I'm sure we'll be seeing more of this beautiful family in the future ;)

Welcome to the world, Ezra Flynn.

We started off at their home to get some more intimate shots, then drove to a nearby field that was covered in beautiful wildflowers. It was a photographer's dream!

Now in this one, look closely at her eyes. You can see the reflection of her daddy's face. So sweet!

Congratulations, Gentry's. You do great work! For more photos from the set, check out my flickr page.

Mike and Rianne: An Engagement Session-North County San Diego Photographer

2011-04-04T21:33:00.000-07:00

What beautiful people! You two made my job so easy. One of my favorite parts of my job is to catch those glimpses in people's eyes that just show their emotions and love. Wow! They brought their own props, had amazing wardrobes, and are so in love. Congratulations to you both! And I look forward to shooting your wedding soon.

Here are some highlights. For more, check out my flickr page.

Fun in the Sun

2011-04-02T08:27:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the first glimpse of glorious summer in So. California. I pulled out the little pool and filled it up on our deck, and the kids had a blast! I had fun letting them splash past their "normal" splash zone rule implemented in the bathtub, and also playing with my new lens.

Right here, folks, is what we call merging. I used a smaller aperture to keep both subjects in focus, and it looks like Josh is pouring a bucket of water on his baby sister's head, while I giggle. IN fact, He's a good four feet in front of her. The camera is an amazing thing =).

Road Trip, Pt1

2011-03-28T09:20:00.000-07:00

The family and I went on a road trip from southern California, all the way the coast to Redding, which is very near Oregon. It was quite a test to see whether our (almost) three-year-old son and 15 month old daughter would cope. They did splendidly, which is good news, because wed love to do something like this again! I took several hundred photos, so I'm cranking these out a bit at a time, as family life allows =) Most were taken from a moving vehicle, so bare with me! This covers from around El Capitan, through Pismo Beach.

It was mind boggling to see cattle right next to the ocean, grazing. Now that's what I call dairy!! Happy viewing!

Get us out of here!!!
Before/after (simple editing, versus contrast boosts, etc)

ANd here's a sneak peek of the next batch! The Bay Bridge in SF.

An Exciting Announcement!

2011-03-26T15:03:00.000-07:00

I'm proud to announce open booking for three mini-session photo shoots! For 75$ you will get a thorough twenty-thirty minute photo shoot with full sets of poses for a group of up to five people. As a result, you will have 5-10 photos to choose from in a private gallery, and a CD of web quality photos so you can share on your Facebook, email, and other electronic ways to all your friends and family.

I'd also like to announce 20% off booking fees if you book a full session before May 1st!

By sharing my Facebook page announcing my mini- sessions, I'll enter you into a giveaway for an opening in one of my mini sessions with a free 8x10! Be sure to comment HERE with your email included in the comment so that I don't miss anyone, and I can contact the winner. I'll enter the count into random.org to choose a completely random winner. If the winner has already booked a session, I'll refund them =) I will draw on April 23rd!

Email me at melissa@mtaylorphoto.com if you have any questions. Hope to see you soon!

Many thanks to Julie Scoggins for your beautiful designing!

Krisann and Miah- North County San Diego Photographer

2011-03-23T10:32:00.000-07:00

I've had the opportunity to document Krisann's pregnancy from her announcement to everyone, when they found which gender the baby is (though there was an ultrasound oopsie!) to her last weeks of pregnancy! It's any day now we could be meeting...... wait, that's a surprise, too!

Here are the lovely Krisann and sweet Miah.

Its exciting to think that the next photoshoot with these girls will be to introduce the sweetest addition to their family!

I Heart Faces: Beef

2010-10-11T15:14:00.000-07:00

Where's the beef!? It's been a while since I've done a ihf challenge, but I couldn't resist entering this shot. Check out the other entries at http://www.iheartfaces.com/!

Long time no see!

2010-09-27T09:35:00.000-07:00

Life's been a blur lately! It's hard to decide what to use my free time for, and with Little Miss crawling at the speed of light at the sight of our laptop, computer time's limited. Today, though, is blistering hot, and I'm staying inside my A/Ced cave until I see clouds, so I'm going to share my recent photos!

Here's the harvest moon from the the autumn solstice.

Here's my Kadee Bug and my Dad. We've been working on the new family farm stand, and Kadence graciously helps take inventory of the green beans.

The little things

2010-08-18T22:53:00.000-07:00

I've been itching to take more photos, just simply to get better at my technique and editing, but having a two year old (my previous guinea pig, turned ornery) makes that nearly impossible. See photo->

Sitting outside while he sheepishly drank out of the sprinklers and climbed on "his" tractor, I realized that if I just take a moment to pause, there's life and beauty all around me, I've just been too busy to see it.

Bubbles!

2010-08-14T16:26:00.000-07:00

Bubbles are great! I don't care how old you are, if you stare into a big bubble, you'll be amazed by the world in it. It's not quite like Cinderella's bubbles though =P

I Heart Faces; Week 29 Challenge

2010-07-20T16:46:00.000-07:00

Over my head challenge!! This is exciting, because one of my all time favorite photos of my sister fits right in!

Be sure to check out the other entries at iheartfaces.com!

Joshypoo

2010-07-20T15:54:00.000-07:00

It's been a while! Now that the wedding photos are done ( psst here it is! ) I've got some more time to take other photos.

Here's Josh outside with the sprinkler =)

Today's Creation

2010-07-05T22:38:00.000-07:00

Today I tried my hand at storyboards! Here's what I ended up with :)

For these I used Coffeeshop's storyboard preset, but later I'm going to play around and design some of my own. Gottat love Coffeeshop's free actions!!

Peterson Wedding-North County San Diego Photographer

2010-07-04T20:36:00.000-07:00

Sara and Justin's wedding was gorgeous! It was located up on Palomar Mountain, and everything about the day (except giant-man-eating mosquitoes, and lost cars bringing essential items =P) was perfect. Here's a peek at what I've been working on. I've got thousands to sort through =)

Congratulations, Petersons!

We stopped on the way up the mountain for a must have photo from the lookout point (The same place my husband proposed, too)

And fun highlight of the day, climbing on top of wheeled scaffolding for this photo

For more photos, check out my flickr page. I upload here as I edit, so check back often more the latest edits!

Bryanna

2010-06-25T10:16:00.000-07:00

My good friend, Kate, and I did a photo shoot yesterday in preparation for tomorrow's wedding. Bryanna made for a gorgeous model, and it was fun to set up my flash remotely with my umbrella. So much to learn!

I even got a few with her and her sister :)

I love the bokeh in this one!

and my favorite of the day!

That was just a sneak peek! You can see the rest here!

I Heart Faces; Teens

2010-06-22T15:06:00.000-07:00

This photo was taken when I was 16 or 17, back when I had no clue what those letters meant on my camera, but knew that photography was something I loved to do. This is my friend Kristina. She gorgeous, so that made my "job" easy =)

I took what I know now and applied it to what I knew then (rule of thirds, maybe? haha).

Fix it Friday; Week 59

2010-06-19T09:05:00.000-07:00

Here's the original for this week's fix-it- friday from I Heart Faces.

The composition of this photo made a lot of things possible, especially with the focus on the eyes!

I wanted to try out a new action I got from CoffeeShop, and it worked splendidly with this sweet pink toned photo.

I used Johnna's Tea Party action from Coffeeshop, and applied a layer mask to the two layers it included, and masked out the eyes. Then I ran Bright Eyes, and used it on the eyes and lips. For a final touch to draw in the eyes to the center, I cropped by rule of thirds then added a soft light vignette.

I Heart Faces; All About Babies

2010-06-15T09:57:00.000-07:00

I was torn on this one. I've got two beautiful kids, and many many photos of them! I finally narrowed it down to one of my favorite pictures of Joshua. From the time he was in my belly, he was in love with music. It sounds silly to say that, except for the fact that I felt it, pun intended.Every Saturday night I sang at church, and he would kick my bladder to the rhythm. So it seems only fitting that in the outside world, he loved guitars to moment he saw one. Even at two he beats on his super- cool- rockstar drums (while I hide with the baby in the other room), and we sing about applesauce and cheese.

That said, here's my little boo, back when he was little (*sob*)

Come check out all the other cute babies at

Self Portraits

2010-06-11T11:04:00.000-07:00

For those not a friend on my personal facebook page; I got a new remote for my camera so I played around and took some pictures of myself. I felt utterly ridiculous posing all by myself, but they came out really well! I got some practice using textures, too, which is a lot of fun :)

So often I'm the one behind the camera, so I rarely have photos of myself, let alone ones that I really like =P

This is my absolute favorite

You can see the rest on my Flickr!

Fix it Friday; Week 58

2010-06-11T10:43:00.000-07:00

This is this week's Fix-It Friday from I heart faces!

I did two edits this week, but I'm liking the first best because it enhances the sunrise. I adjusted the levels, popped the colors using curves, then used CoffeeShop's Honey Retro action. I wanted the eyes to be a more natural color than the yellow the action applied to them, so I then used the new edited photo as a new layer with a mask on top of the original one (with just the levels adjusted), then masked out the eyes. Then I used CoffeeShop's Bright Eyes action. I rotated the photo and cropped to draw attention to the mother and son, then rounded the edges.

I also added a texture with a slight border for the finished product.

The next one was very similar, but I used CoffeeShop's Splendor B&W action instead.

Head on over to I heart faces to see the other edits!!

Tub Time!

2010-06-08T16:50:00.000-07:00

These didn't come out exactly how I had planned in my mind, but I'm still really happy with them! I had pictured both Josh, two years old, and Kadence, 5 months, pleasantly sitting together in a wash bin, with pastel water balloons that looked like bubbles. Problem one; Josh is two and nearly runs around in his sleep. Problem two; Kadee is 18 lbs and a tad too big to fit in with her big brother. I managed to get one decent photo of Josh holding still long enough while looking happy to be there. That will suffice =P

Kadee had a blast though! She tried to grab the balloons the entire time, and is a great model because she's plain 'ol cute =)

Trying to edit pictures with two kiddos, though, is a whole different story. I've resorted to staying awake until midnight to get some done!

Enough jibjab! Here they are!

You can see the rest on my Flickr page!

I Heart Faces; Play

2010-06-08T16:30:00.000-07:00

This week's contest challenge theme is "Play." I've decided to enter this photo of my daughter, Kadence Jubilee. I shot this yesterday and plan on posted the rest in a bit. I could think of nothing better than a five month old, trying to figure out how those hands work while trying to squeeze those bright colored balloons. I know I'm biased, but she's so darn cute!

To edit the photo, I edited my photo in raw format to accentuate the pastel colors. I used a black layer mask with a texture at a low opacity to paint exactly where I wanted the texture to show. Then I used a vignette with overlay mode to slight darken the edges to draw your eye to the center and make the texture more dramatic. Last of all, I used coffeeshop's rounded edges action to make it more playful.

Head on over to i heart faces to see the other entries!

Fix it Friday; Week 57

2010-06-03T22:17:00.000-07:00

This week's photo is too sweet. I can't resist little baby toes!

I used a similar technique as last weeks edit, because it complements baby skin so nicely, Coffee Shop's Golden Vintage, that is. I also cropped and rotated the photo to change the focus of the photo.

This is the original, here.

And here's my fix

For my second edit, I rotated and cropped, then adjusted the coloring. I added a Maple Tea Paper texture.

Check out the other fixes at http://iheartfaces.blogspot.com/ =)

My new projects!

2010-05-31T14:03:00.000-07:00

I've been learning so much from fellow photographers and by playing around with my new PSE8 program. It's been really exciting to see all the before and after shots as I go through my old portfolio photos.

SOOC

After textures and vignette
My only fear is that he looks like he belongs in a Twilight movie! Haha!

Before

After

or some reason, my before of this one won't upload correctly, but here's the after =)

I think each edit (including the before's) have their own mood, but I'm loving the textures!

Fix it Friday; Week 56

2010-05-28T08:34:00.000-07:00

This week's fix had saying, "Awww!" The pattern in the background was beautiful, but the picture overall was missing something. Here's the original.

First, I adjusted the levels; light and colors. Next I took the backdrop and created a new layer mask, then adjusted the colors to complement the soft skin colors of the newborns. I adjusted the opacity and added a slight Gaussian blur. Here's the outcome

Then I ran coffeeandteaphotography's Golden Vintage action, and added a border.

Little Miss Dahlia

2010-05-26T09:30:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to my friends Charles and Desiree! I had the honor of snapping a few pictures during our Mom's group last week =)

Smiling at Mama

And my Favorite...!

Welcome to the world, sweet girl!

Fix it Friday; Week 55

2010-05-22T12:23:00.000-07:00

A little late, but here's my Fix it Friday =) Every week has a challenge for photo editing. I couldn't help but make three versions!

This is the original

And here are my edits. I used CoffeeShop's Powder room action for the first, and Soft Autumn Glow for the second.

Megan and Josh

2010-05-18T21:54:00.000-07:00

Josh loves his Auntie Megan, or as he likes to call her, "Bacon." They gave me some practice with the props I had out in preparation for a family photo session.

I Heart Faces; "Faces and Flowers"

2010-05-17T13:48:00.000-07:00

This week's i ♥ faces challenge is, "Faces and Flowers." This is Brianna. My two year old son calls her, "Banana." I've been privileged enough to have known her since she was six years old.

You're a beautiful, smart, creative young lady, Brianna i ♥ you!

A look back

2010-05-17T10:49:00.000-07:00

It's been almost TWO years since Will and Abby got married. (Woohoo!) This was my first "real" wedding I ever shot, we helped each other out. I got photos for my portfolio, and they got some cheap wedding pictures! Looking back, though I had SO so much to learn. I decided to go through their pictures again and revamp them, so to speak. This includes lots and lots of color editing, but the outcome is so rewarding. Here are a few that I've done so far. (Afters, then the befores)

I hope that over the next two years I can learn as much as I have in these prior.

Sara's Meet and Greet

2010-05-16T12:19:00.001-07:00

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Originally uploaded by moleissa07

Sara and I met up on Palomar Mountain, CA, an hour away from the city. This is where Sara grew up, and now where she will celebrate her Big Day! We walked the location of her upcoming wedding, and snapped a few shots.

Sara, you looked beautiful, and I'm so excited to capture all those precious moments at your wedding!

To see the rest of her photos, check out my Flickr page.

Senior Photo Shoot with Chelsea-North County San Diego Photographer

2010-05-16T11:50:00.001-07:00

Chelsea and I had a blast taking pictures! We were planning on traveling to a few different places to get all of our photos, but turns out our backyard had a great variety.

You look beautiful, Chels! Congratulations on your graduation =)

To see the rest of Chelsea's shoot, check out my Flickr page.