This amazing little family – I can’t even begin to tell you how overjoyed it makes to have been able to document so many milestones in their lives. I still remember my very first meeting with Dawn to discuss her wedding – we talked about travel, and bicycles, and food (so much about food!) and I seriously walked out of that meeting feeling like we were old friends. I had the opportunity to photograph their engagement session and wedding, then maternity portraits when Dawn was carrying little Ryder, and this session, where they’re expecting their second little boy. He’s since arrived and I couldn’t be happier for them!

At the last moment, Dawn decided to bring the teepee from Ryder’s room, and I loved how it turned out in photos! :)

How completely sweet are these two? I was so happy when Kristen found me from Tori & Kate’s session, and planned a fun lifestyle shoot as a surprise for her girlfriend Michelle. We brainstormed ways to incorporate little aspects of their relationship – like their love for books, and the sweet notes they write to each other on coffee cups – and finished up the session with a few rounds at the ice skating rink!

I felt a bit emotional as I was going through and editing these photos – the love these two have for each other was in each and every image, and I seriously feel so lucky to have been able to capture a snippet of it, and to be able to share them openly here. I felt this extra strong sense of I want people to see these photos. I want them to see this love, the kind of love that comes in all shapes and forms, that is honest and innocent and real and unstoppable. That it is such a beautiful thing :)

I am a firm believer in dreams. I believe that if you can imagine something in your mind, you can make it come to fruition. That if you want something with every ounce of your being, you can dream it into a reality. This was the mantra I repeated to myself when I began purusing wedding photography. I repeated it religiously as I picked up my first camera and clumsily fumbled through the controls and cursed my less-than-perfect photos. I reiterated it when I emailed photographers to second-shoot and received a less-than-ideal response. As I excitedly set up my business email only to log in to a less-than-full inbox – for the first few months, I wanted to shake my first at the sky and whine at the world, but I kept the encouraging words in the back of my mind. If you can dream it, you can make it so.

I love meeting people who are following their own dreams, so when Tammy contacted me with her story I was so excited to work with her! She wanted to move from her self-proclaimed “normal desk job” into a career in sports broadcasting and needed some headshots for the occasion. We fittingly did the session at the Walt Disney Concert Hall (what better location than a hall named after such a famous dreamer?), and as we shot I asked her about her goals and aspirations. Her passion shone through as she talked about her love for sports and her highest hopes for the future. Tammy – thank you for sharing a piece of your story with me and best of luck in pursuing your dreams! :)

The metallic walls of the concert hall are stunning, but I was so enamored by the garden! The lush greenery (complete with the most unique colorful flowers) was such a nice contrast to the mod silver walls!