That doesn’t mean I don’t like the sweetness of Valentine’s Day, though! I’ve been dying to make these cookies for awhile and how ADORABLE did they turn out?

These are just like those big sugar cookies you see at the grocery store, with a new theme for each holiday. Except these are about a MILLION TIMES better! Seriously. 3 sticks of butter will do that to a cookie. 4, actually, if you count the icing.

No matter your views on Valentine’s Day, I hope you are enjoying it, in your own way, with those you love!

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I started with Vanessa as she got ready with her family in the suite.

Vanessa + David chose to have a first look before their ceremony.  We whisked around the Pomona Sheraton. This can be my favorite part of the day because often it’s the only time the bride and groom get alone (well, besides me)!

On to the ceremony! The ceremony was short but incredibly emotional and sweet. Vanessa and her father are radiating happiness – love this image!

Their cake was adorable! I loved the topper.

A picture of their first dance:

Vanessa and her dad had an incredible dance number! I’m not sure what dance they were doing, but they were amazing! I loved the moment afterwards when he hugged her.

You KNOW New Year’s Eve is a time to party! The guests had a great time :)

Congratulations, Vanessa + David!

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2011 was a great year for me, much in part to the wonderful clients I worked with. My love of photography continues to grow. When I first got into the business, one of the tips I received was the specialize, and indeed I first started taking photographs because I was interested in wedding photography. Each time I’ve worked in a new segment, such as families or newborns, I’ve felt a little nervous. Is this something I would enjoy shooting, and can I produce results to my clients at my own high level of standards? I can say at the end of 2011 I don’t feel any particular need to specialize right now. I love shooting everything and I will continue to do so for some time, perhaps branching out in other areas. Well, except pet photography. I don’t think I’m ready for that ;)

The new year is a good time to reflect and think of room for improvement.  Last year I took a number of workshops and will continue to this year to improve my skills. Lighting is one of the most complex skills to master photographically and I’ve made great strides this year, but there’s always more to learn. Stylistically I’m happy with how my photos are turning out. When I first started, I used a lot of actions, but now I prefer to get the image as close to perfect in-camera, and use Photoshop to make subtle tweaks. I also plan to work more on posing and interaction; I love working with clients on engagement sessions and wedding days, and I plan to hone my vision to create more dramatic photographs.

This is the last photograph I took in 2011, at Vanessa + David’s wedding. I certainly wasn’t thinking this at the time, but this is a good photographic summary of how far I’ve come. I saw these pretty lights hanging from the hotel tree and wanted to show the effect while lighting the couple in a spotlight fashion. I was able to use off-camera flash to bring my vision together and couldn’t be happier with the final photo.  There is no way I could have attempted this photo when I started my business!

Happy New Year! I hope 2012 is a wonderful year for everyone!

I’m not really a Christmas cookie type of person, but for some reason, this year I decided to take a Saturday and make a bunch of different recipes. These were all so yummy!

These chocolate chip cookies are now my favorite! I know that’s a controversial statement, much like saying “my favorite mac and cheese recipe,” but really, these are to die for! I think it’s the 3 types of chocolate in the cookies that does the trick :)

I’ve never made lemon bars before and these were very easy and quite good! Lemony and not too tart :)

Chocolate mint cookies – very tasty! My favorite part is right after you take them out of the oven, you place an Andes mint on top and let it melt for 5 minutes, then spread across the cookie with a spoon. Yum!

Cranberry cake – I’ve made this a couple of time, via my mom’s recipe. It’s really easy and also very good! I’ve never been one to partake in cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving, but this cake is so sweet that the cranberries’ tartness is a perfect complement.

These chocolate covered cherry cookies are tied with the chocolate cookies for my favorite!

For someone who claims to love Christmas so much, we don’t really have a lot of decorations…just the tree, stockings, and a table runner. I picked up this glittery wicker tree last year. It sure makes a pretty photograph, huh?

And, in a true departure from my non-crafting ways, I actually made something this year. I’ve often joked my Pinterest board is just a record of things I will never do, but I saw this wreath, and it looked so cool and didn’t require anything special so I decided to give it a go! I almost gave up because I had to go to 3 different stores to get all the supplies, but I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out! I originally found it on Whipperberry.

I took this picture of our Christmas tree today out-of-focus – pretty cool, huh?

In the spirit of the Christmas season, how amazing is this story? Kind people are paying off layaway charges at Kmart. It’s these types of things that make me happy to be part of humanity!

This photo was shot at f/1.8. Nice background blur effect.

I stepped even further back and opened up my aperture to f/1.4. You can see how the lights get even more blurred and how the circles are almost completely round.

I then stepped down to f//2.0. As you can see, the shapes start to get a little more square.

I put the photo right next to the tree in this last one – as you can see, even though I’m still shooting at a low aperture, the lights don’t blur. Distance is key!

Happy shooting!

How beautiful is Juliette?

I love her face in this one! Looking to mama for reassurance :)

Love the laugh here :)