4 Sisters :: Family Session

Meet Leah, Vanessa, Melissa & baby Taylor. Every now and then I get the feeling that subjects are too easy to photograph. This was one of those sessions. All beautiful and with such awesome personalities to work with. Baby Taylor HAS to be one of the easiest toddlers I've worked with. She smiled SOOOOO much. It was too easy almost. Hope you didn't mind mom, I snuck one of you in there. :)

My wife had a hard time with this session. She peeks over my shoulder every now and then to see what I'm working on. With this set, she would walk in, look at how precious Taylor was, squeal and then storm off with comments like, "we need a girl" or "not fair, boys clothes are no where near as cute". (For those that don't know, we have 2 boys). All I'm saying is the baby factory is closed sweetheart. Love you babe.

Really love the "Charlies Angels" shot of the girls and the last one of Taylor with the red knit hats kills me. Took out the "Hassas" chair on this shoot as well. The red velvet really worked well here. Also the pink and brown coat shots were magic. Loved that.

Hope everyone has a splendid New Years. 09' is looking quite busy. As it stands I have 25 weddings booked with about 10 other consultations scheduled for the next couple weeks. Hope 09' rocks for everyone. Better book me now before I'm famous :) Much love.

~Sam

Lauren & Philip :: Engagement

Shooting in Monterey Cali is just unfair. The scenery did all the work for me. Great choice guys. Meet Lauren & Philip. Awesome couple that came up from Bakersfield to have an engagement session with me. I'll be shooting their wedding in April of next year. STRONG connection with these two. You may recognize Lauren as one of the bridesmaids form Delaina & Danny's wedding from a month back. Matter of fact, Philip is Delaina's younger brother.

So the fence shot is one of my faves from this set. Props to Philip for this one. He lost some blood jumping the fence to get the shot. I'm not exaggerating, he really did. Free 8x10 from me guys :)
The beach stuff was fun as well. We did 3 wardrobe changes with these guys. Love that.
Had the pleasure of having Quan come out and second shoot this one with me as well. "Izz niiicce." you had to be there.

Congrats agian you 2. Merry Christmas and happy new year to all friends and family. Enjoy the shots.

~Sam













Thanks Rebecca. :)

Merry Christmas

Things I'm truly thankful for:

~ My awesome family, (hottest wife and the baddest boys in the world)

~ My local church (878 Boyton yall, I also have to give a shout out to my old church of MANY years, Revival Tab, it's members and pastor are very dear people to me)

~ The many friends my wife and I are blessed with. Too many to name. You know who you are. I love you.

~ A job I truly love, (I get paid for this?? Wow)

~ A beautiful home, (even in tough economic times, we've been fortunate to keep out lovely pad)

~ A new car this year. Shelly, (my 92' Honda Prelude) finally gave up the ghost and I introduced Remy, (2009 Toyota Corolla S) into my life. Awesome ride.

~ Apple Products, (I know that sounds dumb but it's true. They have made life easier)

~The Intertubes, (a.k.a. ~ the net, the internet, the web, the toobs) Life would be difficult without it. Email, my website, this blog, FTP, proofing, advertising, forums, fun. It provides a lot. Be careful though :)

~You.

Thanks for stopping by. Merry Christmas everyone.

~Sam

Mia's First Day Of School :: Slideshow

If you're family to Mia go grab a box of tissues. You'll need em. As a father myself I realize the amazing speed in which our children grow up. Mia, your parents held you with just one hand, it felt like yesterday. You we're such a big girl, not even crying as your parents left that afternoon. The same can't be said for them. You'll understand when you get older. We're all so proud of you.

Mia is a niece to me and Steven, (daddy in the sideshow) is my brother-in-law. Him and his wife Kelly are not only family but dear friends. They'll be here for the Christmas Holidays. I love this time of year. :) They are a wonderful family and are starting a church in the city of San Rafael California. Real Life Church

This will end up as a story book. The first image is the cover of the book as well. Be sure to turn the speakers up. Merry Christmas everyone.

Slideshow: Mia Grace Caballero

~Sam

Franklin-Ryan-Alyssa-Susanna-Nina-Victoria-Olivia-Julia

Had a wonderful family session with my long time friend Ryan, (handsome SINGLE stud with the tan sport coat) and his adopted family. The names of the other family members, here we go............franklinryanalyssasusannaninavictoriaoliviajulia.
Wowzers! Thats a lot of names that end with A. Such a stylish set of young people. This is session is supposed to be a secret for mom so sshhhhhhhh.

Julia, (the youngest) is an absolute doll. Ryan let me know she has Chi Du Chat syndrome. If I'm honest I've yet to here of it till that day. She's actually quite the miracle. Ryan tells me the someone with Cri Du Chat usually only develops a 7 word vocabulary at most. Comprehension is also not expected to be good at all. Julia however has a 70 word vocabulary and comprehends FAR more than most with Cri Du Chat. She even has her own BLOG. Go pay her a visit and let her know how beautiful you think she is.

The BEST part about this session is I had 2 of the most talented photographers in U.S., (you think I'm kidding, I'm not) come out and shoot this one with me. Maurice Ramirez & Ed Pingol are both internationally recognized photographers. Both award winning and both tearing up the wedding photography world. I hesitate even link them in fear of looking like a total noob compared to these guys. Serious fun. Check out some of the behind the scenes. Take care and enjoy the images.









Behind the scenes:
most of these were courtesy of Maurice and Ed. Thanks again guys. Some hilarious stuff here.

How can you not love this shot

My mom would laugh hysterically at this knowing her 30 year old son STILL sits like this! My sisters are laughing looking and reading this, I know they are.

The result of this pose is just above.

Maurice getting the shot.

Maurice, right, Ed left

The frame

Best way to end any photo-shoot. Pho! You're probably thinking, Sam's bowl was the empty one. Not so, actually mine is the one on the left with the most remaining. The empty one is Maurice's bowl!! Dude can put it away.