the chadwicks | pasadena family session

bernie + rachel make lovely little girls. the kind that bring joy into any room they enter - but also sass and spirit in the best way. like i'm already a little jealous of the woman mavis is going to become. they're a family full of musical talent (have a listen to loud forest's latest release) and lovely habits like reading the newspaper. i feel that these in-home sessions are the most important images i can be taking right now and it was so good to hear rachel talk about the way she felt when she saw them - tiny snippets of their every day, preserving these very sweet, sometimes very trying years with littles. i want to take photos of the beauty in the every day. the little pieces of reality that will be precious and important for years to come. thanks for sharing your dear family, chadwicks.

olive lou | newport beach in home portrait session

you know when you meet a baby that keeps getting better and better with age which is hard to believe because they started out so great already? this little munchkin can flash the most contagious full-face smile and all your worries go away. 6-7months is hands down my favorite age to photograph. smiley, snuggly and oh so squishy. and i can't even get started about the light in this bedroom or the way those stripes look on that ilford 400 film. it's been so fun to watch this mama come into her own. she sure is good at lovin' that baby.

zoe nathan for life + thyme

When I first moved to Los Angeles I had a list a mile long of creative folks to contact, introduce myself to and hope to collaborate with. A very small list of folks even responded and when they did, not much was returned. This kind soul, however, welcomed me with a warm cup of coffee and proceeded to share his vast knowledge of the city's best restaurants. Writer, photographer and founder of Life+Thyme Magazine, Antonio Diaz is so good at what he does.

Their most recent issue was released in December and all about family, tradition and food (my most favorite things). So I met Antonio at the home of baker Zoe Nathan to discuss how those things fleshed out in her own life. I entered the light-filled quiet space in disbelief that there were three children living there. Things were in order and the newest babe (just six weeks!) was dozing contentedly in a bassinet in the corner. Zoe and her husband Josh Loeb spoke graciously and attentively to each child while somehow managing to carry on a poignant conversation with Antonio about the restaurant industry and how they strive to serve and love on their employees all the while throwing together the most delicious cranberry orange cornmeal cake. (Cut to my memory of myself six weeks after I gave birth to Ruth and the house was a wreck and I couldn't tell you way day it was...) In short, the morning was a beautiful encouragement to me of a kind, generous, loving family who happened to have a successful business. You can read all about Zoe+Josh's mission, passion and success in the Winter Issue of Life+Thyme.