Mango Street Photography

one of the many things i love about my job is that every day is different. each family i photograph has a personality, background, and story that is their own. i so enjoyed getting a glimpse into alex, lyuda, and roman’s story as they are still in their first year of living in the states after moving from ukraine! in fact, they took andrew and i out to dinner after their session (thanks again, guys!) and shared about their time here in america, and they even (very patiently) taught us some russian phrases. there is something so amazing about hearing another language, it gives me goose bumps. maybe it’s the simple reminder that the world is so much bigger than my circle, but i think there is also something tremendously wonderful about the beauty of language. back to the session. since roman was about to celebrate his 2nd birthday, this session was all about him and capturing life at age 2. enjoy a peek~

one thing i learned very quickly is that 2 year olds like to be on the go. roman definitely kept me on my feet, but i had a blast!

at some point, i think every little boy dreams of driving a train~

roman had such a great smile. when he was having a great time, everyone knew it!

i love that this picture shows roman holding onto both of his parents–such a picture of the partnership and teamwork that goes into parenting.

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thanks again, guys, for everything! for sharing dinner with us and for giving us a glimpse into your story. we loved it!!

last week i had a great opportunity to travel with andrew on a business trip to california, a destination that rarely makes the list for his trips since his company already has an office out there. we decided to seize the opportunity for me to join him, and i’m so glad we did! we started off in san diego and stayed a night with my aunt and uncle, which was such a treat, and then spent the remainder of our time in the greater l.a. area. on thursday, i had the rental car and half a day to myself, so i did some exploring and documented it to show andrew later. enjoy a glimpse:

i decided to take  a drive down to huntington beach, and because it was such a gorgeous day, i kept driving. i was thrilled when i stumbled across newport beach/balboa island. when i was in middle/high school, i read a series of books that was based there and had always dreamed about going one day. check out the cuteness of balboa island.

as much fun as it was to be exploring by myself, i was itching for some people to photograph. there were literally great spots everywhere you looked!

these trees lined the streets of balboa, and i fell in love with them!

seriously? who has a cute post office??? balboa island does. by the way, golf carts were everywhere–people that live on the island use them as their primary means of transportation.

if people aren’t riding golf carts, they are riding bicycles. this one was tucked in an alley next to a bookstore we had checked out. again, this was photography location heaven!

as i was sitting on this bench to eat my tasty lunch from a local market (insert photo for andrew, of course), i got a phone call from andrew that his last meeting was over. he explained that it would be a while until we met up because he was all the way down in newport beach. back up. “wait, i’m in newport beach!!” turns out we were about 5 minutes from each other and got to spend the rest of the afternoon together in the setting of one of my favorite books growing up!!

while there, we HAD to get the famous balboa bars that i had read about–delicious!

after a bit of exploring, we said our goodbyes to balboa and headed back up to go out on a date night and walk on the beach~

our only photo with palm trees.

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under the pier~

sunset is my favorite way to end a day together~

and in-n-out burger is my favorite way to end a trip to california.

now that we are home and settled, i’ll be back next week with new sessions to post. until then~

i had been hearing from mutual acquaintances about how fun this family is for the last couple of months, so when our session finally rolled around earlier this week, i was geared up for a great time. these kids did not disappoint! the wynns were amazingly comfortable and enthusiastic in front of the camera, and don’t get me started on how these 3 siblings interacted together–so loving and considerate. yes, i’m gushing, but it was great. i could go on (obviously), but i know you’re here to see the pics. without further ado~

one thing i thought was so cool about this session is that the mom let her kids choose their own outfits. it was great because they were comfortable in what they were wearing, their clothes showed a little more of who they are individually, and they looked wonderful!

i could easily take photos of this girl all day. not only is she absolutely gorgeous, but emily was the picture of serenity living in the midst of 2 brothers. i wish we could have chatted a bit more as i discovered she shares my love for reading~

another tidbit about this session? shot at their house–love love love it!

meet chris. after he told me that he was indeed not the family clown, i very quickly discovered otherwise. i had a fabulous time watching his energy and summer excitement, and i think this photo is so “him.”

this is a very musical family, and andrew is no exception. he knows how to rock it on the drums!

i’m pretty sure andrew had this smile on his face the entire time i was there.

so one great thing about doing a family session at your house is it is super easy to incorporate your dogs. well, you may have noticed a few dog shots in past posts, but it wasn’t until this session that i thought it would be fun to capture the process. these top two photos are so absolutely priceless, i almost like them better than the “official” shot. thoughts?

thanks again, guys! i had such a wonderful time with you~