Signs of the season....

Noticed some signs that the autumn season is upon us.



Leaves starting to turn beautiful colors...





Fallen leaves all ready for me to step on...

(Yes, I will go out of my way to step on a crunchy looking leaf and I hope you will too!)



And one of the best signs of all?

Pumpkin Pie at Costco.  $5.99 for a whole gigantic pie?  YUP!

(And let me give you a tip straight from the lips of my mom.  FREEZER.  Did you know you can freeze slices of that pumpkin pie to enjoy later?  Well, you can - you don't have to eat all 102 slices of that Costco pie in a few days (well...unless you want to)

Now you know and you can thank my mom.



"Pumpkin pie, if rightly made, is a thing of beauty and a joy - while it lasts..... With pastry light, tender, and not too rich, and a generous filling of smooth spiced sweetness - a little 'trembly' as to consistency, and delicately brown on top - a perfect pumpkin pie, eaten before the life has gone out of it, is one of the real additions made by American cookery to the good things of the world." 
 The House Mother

5 Doxies and their folks San Diego Pet and Dog Photographer

Got a phone call from head Dachshound, Coco Pebbles.  "Woof, woof...woof"

Luckily I speak dog, so I knew she wanted to set up a portrait session for her family.  (Yes, speaking dog is one of my many talents.)




 I first met Janice and Jim and their 5 doxies at the Wiener Dog Races.  Remember those?  HERE?  HERE?

Well, the whole family asked me to come to their home for a big family portrait!




We spent some time playing, some time goofing around and some time arranging five happy puppies and their mom and dad....



The doggies (and their parents) were adorable, with such personality!

We also captured some individual portraits - mom and dad are planning a wall montage with all things doxie.



(I DID say we did some goofing around....)

As a photographer, my greatest honor is being asked to capture memories!  

If you'd like more information on having me capture a slice of YOUR life, click HERE

“Happiness is a warm puppy.” 
― Charles M. Schulz

Baby B to be! San Diego Maternity and Newborn Photographer

I LOVE my clients - love watching them enjoy their sessions and love it when they tell me how much they love their portraits.

I want to be their photographer for life!

So I was over the moon when one of my past bride and grooms gave me a call for maternity portraits~!





We all had fun  catching up, and hearing about the nursery and their baby plans...







Speaking of nursery, the theme will be children's books, so we added some to our session






If you'd like to see their photo video show, click HERE

Stay tuned - because you'll see them again for their newborn portraits!

As a photographer, my greatest honor is being asked to capture memories!  

If you'd like more information on having me capture a slice of YOUR life, click HERE

"A baby fills a hole in your heart that you never knew was there."

Marianne and Dana are married! Custom Designed Wedding Album San Diego's #1 Best Wedding Photographer

Just in case you are interested, let me tell you a bit about the timeline of a Savoring The Sweet Life Wedding.



I meet with the bride and groom several times to discuss their photography, plan their wedding day timeline and answer any questions they might have in the months before their wedding (or "year before their wedding"  - I often book a wedding more than a year in advance!)

We meet for their engagement session - so we can REALLY get to know each other.

Before their big wedding day, I visit their ceremony and reception venues during the exact time of day to check out the lighting and plan our portraits (we want to use our time wisely on the wedding day.)



Now fast forward to the day AFTER the wedding.......

[insert time warp sound here]

Within two days after the wedding, I'll post a sneak peek on their facebook page

Then within about two weeks - usually before they return from their honeymoon - their entire wedding gallery is ready - with all their portraits edited to perfection and their custom photo video show ready to watch.

They can share their gallery with their friends and family and anyone can download any portrait they want for FREE!



But wait - the work isn't finished yet!

THEN, I start designing their wedding album!

I like to spend about three weeks designing their album - and since every wedding is different, every album is different too - no regular ole templates for my brides!

When the album has been designed, I invite the bride and groom to my home studio to look through their wedding album on my computer to make any changes they want.

When that's done and the album is PERFECT, we send it to my publisher.

And about three weeks later.......Ta DAAAAAA~



The center binding is invisible, so we can have portraits spread across two pages....



Would you like to see Marianne and Dana's entire wedding album?  Click HERE  (You'll note that every two pages would be attached to each other as a double page spread.)

Some brides also order mini albums for their parents - the perfect gift!~

"Even though it lasts just a few short hours, the elegance of a wedding stirs enough pride in a 
mother's soul to last a lifetime" Author: Linda Curren

Marianne and Dana are married! Reception Fun! San Diego's #1 Best Wedding Photographer

I'm not sure how to best share 5 hours of fun and beautiful moments...



From the first dance...to the toasts


To the cake cutting


And the bouquet and garter toss...







And all the fun moments in between!



And right near the end of the night, I always ask my bride and groom if they'd like to step outside for a quick nighttime portrait.

Something that sort of finishes the story - and they DID want to - so we zipped to the balcony to capture this:



And this!  (With a little help from 4 of their bridal party, some flashlights and a slow shutter setting)

If you'd like to see the entire wedding day story, click HERE

As a wedding photographer, my greatest honor is being asked to capture a couple's love story!  

If you'd like more information on having me capture YOUR wedding day love story, click HERE 

Most glorious night!
Thou wert not sent for slumber!
~Lord Byron, Childe Harold

Marianne and Dana are married! A gorgeous reception! San Diego's #1 Best Wedding Photographer

Is this ballroom incredible or what?













And thinking of every detail!

If you'd like to see their Wedding Day photo video show, click HERE

As a wedding photographer, my greatest honor is being asked to capture a couple's love story!  

If you'd like more information on having me capture YOUR wedding day love story, click HERE 

I have said nothing because there is nothing I can say that would describe how I feel as perfectly as you deserve it. Kyle Schmidt

Marianne and Dana are married! Portraits In Downtown San Diego San Diego's #1 Best Wedding Photographer

Marianne and Dana planned for an hour of portraits along the coast and downtown.



The entire bridal party rode in style in the biggest hummer limo I've ever seen!





I had pre-planned all our stops so we used our time efficiently - and BEAUTIFULLY!







Don't they both have the most amazing eyes?  Color and the sparkle of love!





The bride and groom specifically wanted to visit the Gaslamp Quarter street sign - so we made that one of our stops.



(How fun is that?  And the policeman stopped at the red light, just watched our antics in the crosswalk with a smile on his face.  I'm sure this portrait will always bring a smile to the faces of the bride and groom as well.)

I know they loved it because this next portrait was the one they chose as the back cover of their wedding album!




And when we arrived at their reception site - the beautiful Westin - I grabbed my fish eye lens for a quick portrait of the couple with the entire high rise hotel behind them!

If you'd like to see their Wedding Day photo video show, click HERE

As a wedding photographer, my greatest honor is being asked to capture a couple's love story!  

If you'd like more information on having me capture YOUR wedding day love story, click HERE 

If I am pressed to say why I loved him, I feel it can only be explained by replying: "Because it was he; because it was me."

Montaigne