One, Big, Happy (DANCE) Family.....

So when I hear the name, the Deaver Family.... The only thing that automatically pops in my head is DANCE. See everyone, we grew up dancing every single day of our lives... no really... every single day was Dance and Gymnastics. Once we got picked up from school, it was straight to DANCE. The Deaver Family is part of my Dance Family. It is so crazy to see everyone all grown up, doing their own thing, havin their own families, crazy, crazy, crazy! So when she asked if I can come down there and get a whole family shot, I was totally honored. The Day went GREAT, well great for me, not so great for the two younger little girls...which then = not so great for the parents, which then = not so great for the Grandparents... LOL. But sure FUN for ME! People often asked me how I handle some stressful situations on a photo shoot... Well, EASY... It doesn't bother me! You'd be surprised how many parents think that this isn't going to work... and me saying... OH yes it is....
So this Busy, Hot, Don't Know if this will Work, Fast Shoot... Went GREAT! and so Happy I was asked to do it for such Long Time Friends....






A Tea Party makes everyone Happy!

{True LOVE}

Beautiful....

So I have ideas all the time. I feel like my mind never stops. Whenever I think of something new, I know my Friend would never say "No" and never turn me down. So here is just one of my random ideas....lol.

Ring Ring, "Hey it's me, Can you come down in your wedding dress and just have fun with it?" Then she says, "Sure, When?"
Tomorrow would be great... and just get ready to Rock it Out!
and that's what she did.. and for that I am forever Grateful. Grateful not only for her as a friend, but for inspiring me to this next chapter ..... Wedding Photography!!! Whoop Whoop....

I heart my Friend...

I heart my BOOTS...

Thank you Girli... your support is totally appreciated

Graduation....plus a Million Other Things....

Well this shoot has been in the making for a few months....lol. Yes a few months! A mother of five + work + sports + school + twins graduating + the THOUSANDS of other things going on = Many Crazy Photo Shoots! Really happy she's a great friend of mine though.... We still haven't even gotten the Whole Family there for a picture... that's how busy they are. Here are a few for now that I thought i'd share. I haven't even shown her these and I've had them FOREVER! So here's just a little sample of what's to come...

Good Day...

So much fun to get out to new places. This family had this location in mind and I'm ALWAYS willing to go to new places. Now the only things that pop into mind when families choose a location is LIGHTING. I work with only natural lighting, which makes some locations a little more of a challenge. I know they're not thinking of shadows, natural reflectors and so fourth.... That's my job right?... but I've never run into any major problems... My mind just works extra hard to try to find the best spots... and this place had quite a few. We walked and walked and walked... I described it like being at the zoo with NO animals... (not the best description...lol)
Very nice location for a very nice family... Thank you!

A Great Gift...

A photograph is really a priceless gift. I love when I get calls from people who want to give a loved one a PHOTO SHOOT as a gift. Seriously... What a great gift. It's really the only way we can freeze time. I was so happy to meet this family. I knew that it had been a while since they were photographed as a family. Now that I think about it, I might need to work on that with my family... hmmmmmm ... ok, sorry. So as you can see, they got some really memorable shots that they will have FOREVER...

Sisters...

Loading my car up with a few props was kinda fun. I decided to take on more with photos. I have these thoughts sometimes that I feel I just have to make happen. You sometimes get these funny looks when you bring this up with the families you will soon be photographing. A combination of looks like "ya, ok.. is she all there?"... I never got that look with this family and they really loved the idea. Vintage again was on my mind... huh.. maybe my new Ebay Vintage friend i've been hanging out with... ha ha ha.. you know who you are. Anyway, vintage it was. I had so much fun with all of these and they really remind you to never forget your SISTER... (if you have one)

Yay! It's a Girl...

We've known Len-Dog for quite some time now. Yes, very few of us are aloud to call her Len-Dog... Dates back to our good ol waitress days. So happy most of us have all kept in touch and happy she made me a part of such an amazing experience called "Motherhood". To be honest, I don't think she was super happy of having a Maternity shoot, especially when I'm asking her over the phone to bring Tank Tops and Dresses... All I can say is her reply included a "NO" and "Beef Shanks"....lol. Enough Said! So as our shoot date got closer, I have to say she had me a bit nervous. Me nervous? on a photo shoot? The place where I feel most comfortable? I don't think I slept some of those nights thinking about it. I even think I had a dream of her in a turtle neck... I know ... I don't get much sleep these days. I have been having some Crazy dreams...Well the date was here and she shows up LATE... just kidding... She shows up and has this whole assortment of colorful clothes. I even saw some tank tops. Yay... I think I see some excitement! As I'm getting my camera ready, I keep telling myself "simple Desi, simple". These turned out Perfect! They really show Simple yet Beautiful...Just like her. Thank you for trusting in me to capture memorable photos.

Boys.. Boys... Boys and did I say Boys?

So first off I gotta say, I Love this Family! When she (the mother of these beautiful boys) first asked me about a photo session with her husband and Four BOYS... yes FOUR boys, I couldn't help but think of the words "Rustic, Dirty, Vintage and Farm". Seriously, that's what popped in mind right away. She seemed happy with that idea and I think we were on the same page with it. I knew of a great location for these pics, but I needed to get permission first. At first I thought about being a little sneaky and just showing up take a few pics and leave, but I hated the thought of getting asked to leave and ruin my day and my pics... errrr... so I worked up the nerve to call and thought the worst they'd tell me would be "NO". The lady I spoke with agreed I could take some pics just don't get in the way of the horses. Ok... not a problem. I was lucky to know someone who knows that location well and showed us a few great spots... wait .. GREAT SPOTS! So that's how it all worked out. The boys were so well behaved. It really made me think that something maybe wrong with my boys?? hmmmmmm.. I wonder what that's like to have such well behaved boys?? Well ok, maybe I'm starting to vent my hard day, but we will save that for another BLOG, and yes I love my BOYS! So back to this day. I had such a great time with you and your family and I love the softness of these photos. Very soft, very simple, and very you...

Happy Mothers Day..

Clients that call and use you more than once is such a GREAT feeling. Makes you feel like you've really done your job right and that you've made someone happy. I love that I'm able to give that. I was asked 7 months ago to take Little Emma's newborn photos... and was asked again to take some fun fun fun Mothers Day Photos. I wanted these to really be special and bright... This was her first Mothers Day and you could tell being a mommy was the most important thing. Once again had some crazy idea of an old swimmers cap and thought it would look super cute on a smiling seven month old. I knew it had to be RED! I went out and purchased real swimmers caps and a big bunch of fake flowers. After separating flowers from stems, I plugged in the glue gun. Started out with a tester to realize that you CANNOT GLUE SILICONE!!! Nothing worked... Then .. DING.. another idea. I knew it had to be somewhat stretchy, so I found some stretchy material, glued it together and started to glue flowers all over it. Fingers almost deep fried, but dang was it cute!
So I couldn't be happier with the turn out. These photos just make me SMILE! Thank you guys for trusting in me enough to get two (of many) magical moments in your lives... Thank you thank you!

Old Town

I had such a blast this day from start to finish. I love shooting away from home. It's kind of a rush for me to be out of my element, and also not really knowing who I'm gonna shoot is somewhat exciting. I feed off the unexpected (i think).
So, after meeting and introducing ourselves, the girls shortly warmed up to me. These girls were way too FUN. They really reminded me of my sister and I. Both Parents were super cooperative, Thank you sooo much... So fun girls and cooperative parents equals and Fun Shoot!

http://www.oldtowntemecula.com/ ROCKS!

LEILUA HULA (The Hula School)

I'm so blessed to be a part of such a Great Family. It's sad we don't get to see each other enough, because we're all too busy these days. My Auntie happens to Own this dance studio and has done such an Amazing job... I don't think people realize how much goes into a business like this... but it is NO JOKE... She's always positive and kind and I love her dearly....xoxoxos

Click here if you want more info Leilua Hula

(I don't even know if she's seen these photos yet)

HEADSHOTS

My cousin needed some headshots... Can you tell that I am at of loss of words today? I really have nothing exciting to write about...

Need I Say More?

Hangin out watching my Husbands Rugby Team...

Simple..

My cousins wanted some simple family photos on the beach.... So guess what they got? Some Beautiful Simple Photos of them on the Beach...lol. I didn't want these to look real traditional. I couln't be happier with the way these turned out. You have a Beautiful family and thanks for making me a part of this day...

Anni Bananni...

I can say this over and over again, but They Grow TOO Fast. I can't believe how grown up she looks in these photos. I was trying something new out this day and thought she'd make the perfect candidate. Starting some new things with my photography were I can kinda choose the location, clothing, and style. Lots of Fun for Me and hopefully the results are lots of fun for You!

Hot Hula Auntie

I've got One Hot Auntie... She is a group/personal trainer and runs many fitness programs all over. We can all see that fitness is her passion... I wish it was mine. She was recently on America's Next top Model teaching her Hot Hula Classes and I'm sure you will be hearing and seeing lots more about her programs. You can visit her web site as well at anna-rita.com

Anna-Rita Sloss Enterprises, LLC

One Cute Boy...

Since birth he's had people compliment him a lot. Hoping this doesn't go to his head, but he is so dang cute. He tends to be in his own world and sees nothing wrong with that. I love that he can make me smile even when I'm trying my hardest to be serious. I love that he can play any sport he attempts. In a way I kinda love that he doesn't fully understand certain things yet, but he thinks he does. I love that he is so strong willed, because we are who we are for a reason. I love that he's MINE and at times he may be a challenge, I would NEVER change him for ANYTHING...

My BEAR...

I was just playing around with my camara lens this day and thought i'd grab a cute kid... which happend to be my bear. I think with him being my middle child, he's grown so so fast, and it makes me sad. I'm so happy I took these this day, just so I can look at them any time I want... I love him so...

LADY....

Hard to believe how fast Our "LADY" has grown. She dresses her self 80% of the time, and I thought today called for a little photo shoot. She knows what to do in front of the camera and loves every minute of it. She made every facial expression she knew of in five minutes... so I just kept shootin away and thinking what a fun little girl I have... I am so blessed!

twins, cousins, twins...

So this shoot I did a while ago, but still one of my favorites. I was lucky enough to meet this family the day of the shoot. Growing up I was somewhat obsessed with TWINS. I had to have twin dolls, twin My Little Ponies and even friends that were twins in school. I then grew up babysitting twins and now get to photograph Twins. Lucky for me this family had two sets of them... LOVE IT. I didn't post their individuals, but this group shot says it all.

Beauty...

This shoot was actually not planned at all. I ended watching Avea and her brother this day and wanted to do some First Birthday photos. Avea was turning one and I wanted to give her mom these photos to remember. I know I remember doing some newborn shots of her the day they brought her home. Now I can't believe it's been a year... CRAZY how fast time goes by...

New Faces, New Places...

I have so much fun meeting new people. You get to make new friends on every shoot. How cool is that? I had the pleasure to meet this family on the day of their shoot. We had sent e-mails back and forth from our blackberry(busy people) to try and work this out. The RAIN was our main concern. Thank goodness it was beautiful out and everything worked out perfect.

Oh Baby...

It's always so exciting to get a phone call about a Maternity Shoot. Once I book that date, my mind fills with ideas. With most of my photo shoots, my mind really does the work when we meet that day... but with a Maternity photo shoot there's only so much you can do with a cute Belly. I do however get a pretty good idea that day of what kind of photos you're gonna get... Your personality really shows and so it will in the photos.... even the "Belly" ones.

So for this shoot I show up and am greeted by the sweetest couple ever. New baby (obviously) on the way with Mommy who can NOT get more Beautiful. Seriously ... one can only wish to look this great 8 months pregnant. We set up with Dads help (thank you).. and get to shootin. I couldn't help but think how much I really miss having a Pregnant Belly (not the one you're left with afterwords.... lol), and how exciting it is to bring home a New Baby! Auhhhhh .... Ok .... I'm out of La la land now..... So ya, this was fun fun fun... I love these photos and hope to see the new arrival...

{SPORTS}

So I'm starting to do Athlete Photo Shoots. It' s not your typical School Photos... It shows way more than that, and it's really fun. I like to say it's a combination of "Who you are... and What you DO" ... I think these photos show both those qualities. I'd say mostly parents of High School Students call and ask about these shoots, but any age and any sport would be just as cool...(hmmm maybe I should do one with my boys... ya I'll get to that) Anyway, if you have any questions about these shoots or know of someone interested ... Just ASK....

{Cousins}

Sometimes it's just nice to show a preview of some of the shoots I do. I don't show all my work... I like to leave that up to my clients.

This was a cousins shoot that actually went kinda fast. Good friends of our family, with kids running everywhere.... Including Mine! I swear I thought my kids were going to be in the background of half these photos, until I noticed them M.I.A. (missing in Action)... but what do you expect when you're at a park? The cousins however, just wanted this to be done with. A few arguments + A little crying = Really Cute SHOTS! OK, now Let's go EAT.... ha ha ha

My Niece

I was so Happy to finally get some shots of my Niece. Not only is she an only child, but she is the oldest Grandchild as well. There are a total of 8 grandkids and one on the way (not me)... she always has plenty to do when she is with her two Aunties and we love her so much...

Together...

These days it's hard to get the whole family together. Everyone on different schedules, living in different cities, not to mention plenty of other things going on in between. Some how this Amazing family pulled it off and I'm so glad it worked out. These were taken on such beautiful property, that it was never an issue on where to take the photo. They were so "Real" as a family that I felt totally comfortable. The thing I like best about meeting new families is that for that hour or so, I get time with Just Them. It's such a short time, but these photos sure show a lot about them. Thank you so much for making me a part of this...