OK, we have to confess…the balloons weren’t exactly for us.  Officially, the colorful helium-filled bubbles were on hand to help the cute little guy, Nate, in the photo below, celebrate his 5th birthday.

You see, our business officially started five years ago when we found ourselves in Nate’s nursery, photographing him at just four weeks old.  It was his first time in front of the lens, and our first time behind it.  We got a couple cute shots.  Nate was a great guinea pig model and his expressions made the afternoon fun for all of us.  But boy, did we have so much to learn!  Aperature?  What’s that?  Shutter speed?  How does that work?  ISO? How do you adjust that?

But over the past five years our expertise for photography has grown by leaps and bounds, just like Nate!  Thanks so much to our good friends, Greta and Chris, for letting us borrow their son for portrait practice numerous times since that very first session.

We’d also like to thank all our fabulous clients for supporting us as well.  Your trust in letting us record your memories and special events means the world to us.  Thanks so much for an awesome five years!  We can’t wait to see what the next five years has in store for us!

Last night, Keith and I thought it would be fun to take a look at all the photos we’d taken the past 12 months.  Our hard drives are full of 40+ family sessions, engagements, weddings, birthdays, and anniversaries that we had the awesome opportunity to photograph.

But it’s always better to show, not tell, right?  So to visually recap the year, we’ve put together this nifty collage featuring ALL of our fabulous 2011 clients.

So to all our our families and bridal couples, we’d liked to say THANK YOU.  Thank you for trekking through the tall grass, across the sand, or up the hill to find the perfect photo spot.  Thank you for dazzling us with your cute outfits, adorable hair ribbons, and stylish shoes. Thank you for your smiles, giggles, and the little dances in front of our lenses. But most of all, thanks SO MUCH for trusting us with capturing your celebrations, memories, and special moments.

The day: A Thursday
The time: Late afternoon, when the sunlight is warm, yet soft
The location: An orange orchard in south Orange County
The subjects: US!

What????????!!!!!!

For the first time since we got married, Keith and I put down our cameras and experienced life in front of the lens. You see, for the past four years (we celebrated our photography business’ fourth anniversary this week!) we’ve photographed a ton of great families and awesome couples.  But we never made the time to drop our cameras long enough to have some proper photos of our own taken.  And we’re so glad we did!

Guiding us along the way were the talented Mark and Candice Brooke of Mark Brooke Photographers.  We’ve admired their work for several years, so when we heard they were available for a session, we jumped at the chance to book it.

Not only did we get some great new photos we can proudly display on our mantle, but the session confirmed a few things we always suspected with our own clients:

1. It can be tough trying to find the right outfit.
2. It can be intimidating to have that lens staring straight at you.
3. During a session, you might ask yourself, “Does my hair look OK?”
4. Or you may ask, “This pose feels slightly awkward.”

But here’s the thing…while a session may bring out a few small insecurities, the result is worth it when a pro you trust is behind the lens.  Mark and Candice proved that, just as we hope we always do for our own clients.

We hope you enjoy these photos.  And when you book your wedding or family session with us, go ahead…it’s OK to tell us you might be nervous.  We’ve been there, and done that, but we’ve also had a ton of fun along the way.

We kicked off our anniversary festivities a little early with a visit to Disneyland and California Adventure yesterday (with much thanks to our friends Chris and Greta for the tickets!).  We loved how the park was decked out with it’s Halloween decor.  We couldn’t resist getting a shot in front of the pumpkin on Main Street.  The Disney Photopass guy was so kind to take our picture, but a little baffled trying to figure out where we were from.  The conversation went a little something like this:

Disney guy: So let me guess where you’re from…Australia?

Keith: No.

Disney guy: New Zealand?

Lori: No.

Disney guy: London?

Keith: No.

Disney guy: I know! Utah!

Lori: No.

Disney guy: Canada!?

Keith: No. Try, Orange County.

We were all laughing.  It must have been the extremely stylish floppy hats we were wearing that threw him off.

Happy Anniversary to my wonderful husband!  The last five years have been quite an adventure. I can’t wait to see what the next five have in store.

1) Despite the rain we’ve had almost every weekend since February, we have managed to squeeze in a few portrait sessions.  We’re working hard to prep those photos for future blogs posts.  Stay tuned, there are some pretty cute shots on the horizon, especially of an adorable newborn that we can’t wait to blog.

2) Since this is the off-season for engagements and weddings, Keith and I have spent several weeks making sample albums from our 2009 weddings.  This year marks the first full year we’re offering albums to our clients, and we’ve got some awesome options for both press-printed coffee table books and traditional leather ablums.

3) Keith and I love gadgets.  We especially love cheap gadgets.  And it’s even better when those cheap gadgets come from Hong Kong via eBay! About a month or two ago, Keith and I attended a local photographer get-together to hear a presentation by wedding photographer guru Mike Larson.  His presentation included a brief off-camera flash demonstration.  And what was his device of choice to trigger his flashes remotely? Cheap gadgets off eBay!—Yongnuo flash triggers.  We were sold on their ease of use, speed, and small size.  That night we ordered our own set and we’ve been hooked since.  Want a little sample? Check out this photo we took at local park one evening.  We had a lot of fun testing the flashes that night. I’m just glad the residents surrounding the park didn’t call the police on us.  We must have looked like quite the pair.

Although we’ve visited the snow before, this trip was full of many firsts, including…using tire chains, taking turns snow tubing with a toddler on our laps, and playing bumper cars with a snow berm.  Good times!

But my favorite moment of this trip…seeing my first snowfall!  This morning we woke up to a winter wonderland—the first part of a winter storm was making its way over the mountain.  It was hard to resist watching the fluffy white stuff fall to the ground.  We threw on some jackets and ran outside with our trusty point-and-shoot camera to document the occasion. This is my favorite shot, and quite possibly 2010′s Christmas card picture.

But I’m not complaining.  You see, Keith and I discovered one shop in particular that we’ve grown to be quite fond of—Yogurtland.  During last summer’s heat wave we made several trips to our local Yogurtland to cool off with their deliciously addictive frozen treat.  My favorite combo: strawberry with Madagascar vanilla and a few gummy bears on top.  Keith prefers a mix of chocolate and peanut butter.  So what’s your favorite flavor mix or topping?

And if you want to talk with us about your wedding, or maybe a family session you’d like to book, send us a note.  We’d love skip the coffee shop and instead chat with you over a cup of fro-yo.  We’ll even spring for the gummy  bears.