Anyone that’s ever hired us to shoot family pictures knows, we love laughs. People can go ANY where to get family portraits, soon I’m sure they’ll offer them at Raley’s and BelAir. But if everyone’s not having a really great time, we all know what happens. We get the basic pyramid-family-smiling-at-a-camera shot that we stare cock-eyed at, wondering where the excitement is. So we rarely stack you all up, yell out something corny and click 5 frames of smiling. Oh no, we’re out for a challenge! We want laughing. The kind where someone’s buckled over, grabbing their sides, drooling just a little, kind of laughs that make us giggle and smile for the whole year you have the thing hung up like artwork on your wall. And who else to play picture day with than the Lytle family?? They laugh ALL the time, and it doesn’t take any prompting from some corny cameraman like me!

I (Caryn) thrive on being around people. The energy in people is like a Monster drink shot straight to my nervous system. I’m instantly awake, vibrant, and if I can say ~ on a good day, even funny. Why? If I spend time alone, I feel tired. I feel unproductive, sleepy. But a voice on the other end of the phone or even better, the presence of another human being caffeinates my soul and brings me to life. I love people. I love you, the person reading this silly post. I feel your heart beating, smell your energy, hear your inner laugh. And when I walk into a room where people are there, my synapses start firing and my adrenaline starts racing through my veins. SO… this is one of the BEST reasons I love what we do. When we book an appointment, inevitably you show up at the same place where I’ll eventually show up (hopefully, we pray, on time!) And when I do, the fun begins! I love your jokes. Your quirky comments. Your nervous energy about having to pose for pictures or smile for too long. But every time, we just laugh and hang out and capture a few awesome shots of you feeling your most awesome and amazing self.

And this leads me to our most recent high school senior portrait session. We always suggest you go with our “Senior Experience” session since it includes Cori at Moxie Hair for full photo styling and Carly was excited about the idea. And I have to say, within 2.4 seconds of entering the salon, I KNEW we’d have a blast! Her mom and I clearly were BFF’s after our few phone calls. (Seriously, let’s have coffee soon!) And then there was this ball of firey energy that blew me away. Carly is a kick. No easier way to say it. Funny? Yes. Beautiful? Um, yes. Quirky and crazy? Absolutely. What FUN we had cruising around Towne Center in El Dorado Hills. She clearly knows Tyra Banks personally or something, the way she worked the runway ~ er, sidewalk. And I laughed along with her mom the whole session at how much fun she was having. As always, THANKS for the experience!! Here’s a sneak peek at our day…..

I love Sogno Winery. I do. I love the owners, since they’ve been amazing to our family. Their wines have been amazing the last couple years and their property is gorgeous. So we were really excited when Joanna and Garett asked us to join them out at Sogno for their long awaited wedding day. It was in the high 80′s the day before the wedding with sun glaring all over the place where the guests would be seated. And the weatherman said it would be in the 100′s two days later. But on Joanna and Garett’s day, it was a breezy, beautiful, blue skies with fluffy white cloud day. And in the mid 80′s with those clouds blocking the suns harsh rays. Absolutely amazing. Here’s what we got to be a part of that special day.

Oh, for those of you who know me (Caryn), I’m NOT talking about me over here. No, I leave that awesomeness called organization to Stella. AND to our very own professional organizer, Cheryl Kaufman! Yes, there might be a touch of truth to the artistic side of me that craves a bit of disorder, frenzy, overwhelm and even a touch of out-of-control. But to our aid and advantage, Cheryl LOVES to get in the middle of it all and make it fit in precious little homes all their own. So if you find yourself buried in your business treasures or just looking for a change of direction in your small business office space, you have to give Cheryl a call. She’s the girl who gets giddy about cleaning up other people’s space AND making it a more effective space in the end. World, meet Cheryl. Cheryl. Meet our lil’ world.

Anyone who has ever taken a couple hours out of their lives to get their hair done knows how l o n g and t e d i o u s it can be. So when I met Teri, Cori and Monica of Moxie Hair, I knew in an instant my idea of getting my hair done was about to change forever. They. Are. Fun! It’s always a bunch of laughs in their studio and they simply have a great time styling us. Make up. Clothing. And of course, hair. Each of them has their own sense of style and it shows in the work they do for each of their clients. We bring all our style session clients to Moxie to bring out their best in all areas of style and it has changed the way we and our client experience a photo session. And we love it!

Recently we spent the day out at Moxie to capture them at work and here’s a glimpse into our time together. Don’t you just wanna be their best friend? I know! Me too.

The first two are a couple of clients with their “after” looks. We do love a touch of sass!

I’m thinking it might be time well spent attending the road trip workshop from the organizers of WPPI, the monster conference for wedding and portraits photographers. They’re on their way here next week. Wednesday in downtown Sac. Now, it’s no Las Vegas and it is only one day, not 10…. but that’s just what I need right now in the middle of high school senior sessions and a busy wedding season. One full day of inspiration, new ideas, fresh perspectives and of course those cute rubber duckies from Pixel2Canvas. Have you see our canvases? Or the little ducky friends that come in each shipment?? They’re made by Roxanne and her amazing team over at P2C and they are stunning. The canvases, that is, not the ducks. Stunning would be over the top for them. Cute? Sure. Silly? Absolutely. But we’ll leave the glamorous descriptions to the wall art!

I would like to take this moment to say, “Oh. My. Gosh.” Why? I’ll tell you: Luke and Brittany’s wedding blew us away. Brittany, was stunning from beginning to end. Adorable, poised and graceful. She doesn’t know it yet, but we’ll be using her as a model one of these days.

As photographers, it’s such a joy to be allowed in the doors of a wedding between two people so in love and so Christ centered. These two are starting their lives together in just the right place.

We had a blast and judging by the way these two families got down with their bad selves on the dance floor, everyone else did too.

Congratulations, Luke and Brittany!

One thing a studio cannot get you is a picture of your baby with a face full of fresh water from a fountain in the park! If a client ever asks, “why ARE you more expensive than a mall studio??” I will refer them to this session! Nothing beats real laughter from actual experiences in the life of your child. And only on location portrait sessions can capture that. We crawled around this water park giggling like the babies all around us (and I mean the parents and I!) while we captured these precious brothers in their 3rd of 4 sessions we booked for the year. It truly was “a day in the life of the Ryan boys”!

Here’s your refreshing peek into the day….

I’m pretty certain I’m having at least as much fun as the preschoolers and kids I meet on location. I used to think it was just part of the gig, rolling around on the grass, laughing til my face hurt, chasing little ones around tree trunks in a silly game of tag. But now it’s clear. It’s simply not just the gig. I love laughing like that! I do. I love that kids find me strange. Weird. Even a bit ~ er ~ a LOT crazy. I love it! The laughing from the core of my soul as they find the giggles on the other end of my lens is what I look forward to. I pray on my way to each session, always have. It goes something like this: “Dear God, please help me find the fun and bring out the fun in this lil’ gig you’ve blessed me with. Make it fun! Make it memorable. For them and for me. Amen” And he’s delivered again today.

We love playing tag with 2 and 3 year olds during family sessions. We enjoy blowing bubbles and giggling like a school kid, just to connect with a preschooler. It’s what we do, it’s what we shoot, and we look forward to it every time.

However, sometimes it’s nice just to be an adult. Even if for just an hour. To talk about college, and classes and cameras. To share stories about home renovations, redesigns and dance recitals. And THAT’s what we got to do this week with the Abel family. No babies. No toddlers. Only 2 grown college kids and their parents! What a joy to not talk in a high pitched voice and ramble on about baby dolls and matchbox cars! …. we’ll just hold off on that until NEXT week! Until then… check out our grown up photo time. Thanks Abel family for the laughs!