Rysdale Family – San Diego & Balboa Park Desert Gardens Family Photography

I have some families that I don’t see on a yearly basis so when they get in touch for another session it just reinforces the idea that they enjoy my style of photography. There was only one other occasion that I worked with this family and that was for their daughter’s birthday party. It was a small gathering for a few family and friends. The one thing I remembered about them was how lovely and delightful they were as well as their extended family. I was happy to find they were still full of good humor for their holiday session in Balboa Park. The kids were fun and crazy, running around making funny faces for me and both mom and dad rolled with the up’s and down’s of our session. This family is great and working with them again is a no brainer.

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The Mielke Family – Redlands Family Photography

I am big fans of this family and they are huge supporters of my work. It was my turn to make the trek to Redlands for their family session. Jessi always does a fantastic job and choosing the locations for our sessions in Redlands. The library is a very special place for them since it’s also the place where they were married. A family of four is soon to be a family of five and I hope Jessi’s pregnancy is going well for her. We took these photos before she was showing as it also served as a chance for them to tell the girls about the new baby. It was really funny to watch as they told the girls about the baby but they just weren’t quite sure what was going on. I hope to meet this new family member at some point and continue to see them throughout the years.

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Bennett Family – Redlands Family Session

I am showcasing back to back sessions including another child in somewhat of a full meltdown. It’s the nature of the beast. Little kids are tough and they do the best they can but like all of us adults they still have their good and bad days. My job is to be creative and find ways through a child’s bad mood or defiant behavior. I find most of the time a child acts up is just because they need to have some fun. That is why I encourage running, jumping, playing, tickling and any other act that produces real genuine smiles and giggles. It feels like I just conquered a mountain anytime I can make this happen.

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Gargol Family – San Diego, Del Mar Beach Family Photography

This is one of my favorite out of town clients and this session is an example of how everything can go wrong and somehow we still end up with a few gems. One of their girls wasn’t feeling well and it was so bad that she cried almost through the whole session. It was hard to watch and feel helpless to do anything. I was sure at one point that I had failed. There’s nothing worse than knowing it’s all going downhill especially when it’s a very good client that came to San Diego for a beach vacation and all they wanted was a few fun family photos. Thank goodness they are so awesome and so understanding of the situation. It all ended well and I am sure I will see them again in the future.

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Bhatti Family – San Diego, Coronado Beach Family & Maternity Photography

This is a gorgeous little family session on the beach in Coronado. Their little one didn’t love the sand so we pretty much kept her happy until she had enough. I’d say she hung in there until we were just about out of light. Can you tell I’m uploading multiple new sessions to my blog one after the other? My descriptions are getting shorter and shorter…

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Gutierrez Maternity Session – San Diego, Balboa Park Desert Garden Maternity Photography

This shoot was a really special one for me because I have known Adriana for just about forever. She’s been a coworker of Jesse’s for years and in that time we have shared many laughs in all kinds of social outings including happy hours, my big 40th birthday in Vegas, the countless times she has come to do my makeup and of course on their destination wedding in Vegas. Looks like we all love Vegas! So anyway, doing this maternity session was a pretty big deal to me. I practically shamed her into it! Not really but I did give her a gentle nudge over social media and I am so glad they booked! We had just about the perfect evening for photos and that dress was amazing! Here’s to hoping they’ll call on me again in the future!

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Sciammas Family – Liberty Station Point Loma, San Diego Family Photography

Let me take you back to August when I met up with the Sciammas family for another session. This time included their grandmother who traveled all the way from Israel for an extended stay here in San Diego. It was a typical family session with little ones which means I divide my time between running around to capture the kids and assuring all the adults that even though the kids aren’t behaving in the way that the parents would prefer that it’s all good and we are getting plenty of good stuff. It’s like I’m a robot on repeat during sessions like this one because I’m constantly saying the same thing only it’s different families that I’m saying it to. One day my work will speak so strongly that no one will ever doubt that the chaos we are all experiencing is actually making for fantastic photos. I’m a bit cynical and sarcastic today but it’s only because I’m so tired. I love my job for reals and it’s families like this one that keep me wanting more.

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Dexter – Cincinnati Pet Photography

Back in August my dad, our dog Ruby and I all traveled to Ohio for a visit with family. The trip was sort of necessary. My dad really wanted to go back to Ohio and see his friends, I needed the break from full time caring for dad and of course Jesse needed a break from all of it. It turned out to be a pretty good trip for the most part. I had a bit of trouble with dad on the plane on our return flight but overall we all had a good time. I took a ton of personal photos of Ruby and my brother’s two dogs. I promise to elaborate more in another post about the in’s and out’s of traveling with my dad and his dementia but this post is about my friend Susy and her puppy Dexter. I did a couple of sessions while I was in Ohio and Susy hired me to photograph her new puppy. I took my sister in law with me so we could visit and check out Susy’s new house. It’s always so hard to see everyone when I come to visit and a lot of the time I can’t make it happen to see everyone. It leaves me feeling guilty but my hope is that my friends understand. This was the only time I had with Susy while we were in town but I am glad we were able to touch base and catch up. Some friends you have for a short while and others you have for life. I have had both and I am fortunate to have a few that have stuck around all these years.

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Ricci Family – San Diego, Ocean Beach Sunset Cliffs Family Photography

I have been tackling more and more extended family sessions. This one came to me as a referral from one of my all time favorite photographers, Jasmine of Let’s Frolic Together. She is my wedding photographer unicorn and I think her work is incredible. She calls on me from time to time to second shoot with her and as long as my schedule permits, I always say yes! Working for her is one of the biggest compliments to me and I am always flattered to work alongside of her. I met this family on the day of one of the weddings I was helping Jasmine photograph. It was this amazing Joshua Tree desert union and I couldn’t believe my good fortune to be there shooting any of it! Since Jasmine spends the majority of her time shooting weddings, I am the benefactor of all her amazing referrals for family photos. I always feel a little bit of anxiety before shooting a large group like this and in my head I always ask myself what the hell I am going to do with all these people. Somehow it always works out and sometimes after it’s all said and done I feel as if I must have blacked out and don’t know how I got through it. It can be a daunting task to work with so many people and try to remember everyone’s name but names are my thing and I like to get it right if I can. People get my name wrong all the time and it makes me mental! I get Joel, June, Julie, Jenny, Joe. I find it to be an aggravating feeling when someone butchers my name so I always make a point to work just as hard on remembering everyone’s names while I am shooting. Oh and then I go home and take notes so I never get their names wrong. So blah, blah, blah, lots of people, my name is Jill and I can shoot the shit out of your extended family photos. Enjoy the next few billion photos I pulled from this session.

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