Walnut Family Portraits at Snow Creek Park // Claremont Family Photography

Let me begin this post by saying that I love all my families equally.  We are so thankful that we have been trusted to be part of SO many happy milestones, made memories that we had never known were so important and made friends and family along this journey.  Thank you everyone for welcoming me into your lives.

Tus, Fatima and Dominic have to be one of my favorite families.  Well, to be fair, they are [just about] my family.  Before Dom came along, Fatima and I were sisters with a love/hate friendship.  We just loved to be mean to one another, but in a super I love you kind of way.  LOL Fast forward, Dominic has not only brought sunshine to our lives, we couldn’t think of life without him.  Isn’t my godson the most handsome? 

Tus, Fatima and Dom – love you guys!

Xoxo, Gina

Fullerton Family Portraits at Craig Regional Park // Claremont Family Photography

When strangers become friends and when friends become family. 

That’s what the DLaC-F’s are to us.  It’s been such a blessing to do life alongside these beautiful people.  In the short couple of years that we’ve had the opportunity to get to know one another, we’ve become part of the same family – our hula ohana.

With the pleasure of Jade and Eden becoming such amazing friends, watching Ava and Alyssa continue to blossom into strong, amazing women and being big sisters to both Jade & Jarron, it’s only natural that our friendships with Rachel and Keith continue to grow. 

Keith, Rachel, Ava, Alyssa and Eden – thank you all so much for allowing us to make memories with you.  Your beautiful inside and out and we are happy to have you in our lives.   

Xoxo, Gina

Book your family session today!

Yagami Family Portraits in Boyle Heights // Claremont Family Photographer

The Yagami Family are such a fun and unique family and we couldn't have been more honored to  photograph their extended family.

Their grandmother was living at a retirement home in Los Angeles and with some family flying in from Japan, she was surrounded by her family for some beautiful portraits. 

There were a total of four generations and we couldn't treasure our time more.

The stories between them are countless as Yasuko's granddaughter has learned to play the koto under June Kuramoto from Hiroshima and has played in numerous shows and cultural events. Her grandson is also an accomplished chef that has served many celebrities and dignitaries from Beverly Hills to Japan. 

We couldn't be prouder to see their family grow not only with their accomplishments, but with the love for their family. 

Although their grandmother passed soon after taking these portraits, her legacy and heritage are clearly on display for her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren for many years to come. 

We're so grateful to be able to create these family portraits for the Yagami family and we hope you enjoy them as well!

If you need to update your family portraits or maybe you haven't taken any, I encourage you contact us to do so and start sharing your legacy with your loved ones!

I'm looking forward to hearing from you!

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Book your family session today!

Cloar Fall Family Portraits

The Cloar family - need I say more?!  I absolutely love their family dynamics.  As photographers, we have the blessing of meeting and taking part of so many memories.  We've had the pleasure of witnessing the first hours of little London's birth day, and capturing these awesomes family photos for them months later.  

The Cloars have have 8 amazing children each of which has such unique talents and gifts.  The smiles you see are not just for the camera, these are genuine loving, happy-go-lucky individuals that make family a family.  Cloar fam, thanks so much for allowing us to be part of your lives and giving us the blessing of capturing these memories that will last for all the days of our lives.  May the Lord continue to bless your lives.

Schedule your Holiday Family Portraits today!

We'd love to see you and your family! Let us know how we can help you update your family portraits and we'll be in touch.

Zach Perez | 1 Year Portraits

One of the things I absolutely love about our grow with me session's is becoming part of your story.  The first year in your child's life is full of amazing stories of sleepless nights, milestones of the first time they turned over, sat up and took their first steps.  

With little Zachary, I remember meeting him for the first time in his newly decorated Star Wars themed nursery.  I was over the moon meeting him, and was so excited for him - he has some pretty awesome parents after all, and is blessed with 2 older sisters that will be sure to take great care of him.  

As life is in constant whirlwind with soccer practice, school and work, Zach's 1 year session was set after his birthday, but boy did we have a blast.  Take a moment and see this handsome stud work the camera.  He's a natural.  

Zach, Sandra, Lucilla, Amelia & Little Z - Thanks so very much for allowing us to be part of so many of your special occasions and milestones in your families lives.  We love seeing your family and look forward to our time together again soon.

Guide For A Successful Photo Session With Toddlers

As a parent, taking your toddler anywhere in public can sometimes be a challenge. You are always hoping they’ll be on their best behavior, but you never know what will affect their mood on a minute by minute basis. This unpredictable nature sometimes causes worry or panic for parents who are paying for a session with their toddler and unsure of how it will turn out. Afraid that their toddler may not sit and smile at the camera exactly the way they have envisioned it in their minds. We have good news for you though, THAT’S OKAY! Toddlers are so fun and so full of personality. They are at a magical age where they are discovering so many new things in the world around them and also discovering how they can assert their independence. We want our parents to feel relaxed and comfortable in their session knowing that these toddler moments of curiosity and exploration are ways that their personalities come out and shine in the photos. When you’re looking ahead at planning for your family session or your child’s portrait session, here is a guide to help you plan for the session and how to assist in making it relaxed and fun for you and your child!

Go with the flow. 100% of our portrait sessions never go as planned, so don't worry. Your family is perfect, just as you are. We will strive to get the essence of your family as a unit, your children's personalities, as well as sneaking mom and dad for a few minutes to get some portraits of just the two of you.

Let us know some of their main interests. If they have any special interests, toys, or movie character's that they love, let us know. It helps us connect with them on their level. Allowing us to converse with them about their interests can help them to open up and feel more comfortable with us.

You don’t have to be the bad guy.  On a shoot, we know you want your kids to be on their best behavior (and we do too), but allow your kids to be themselves. Although you may feel like they are showing off, we need their energy to show their best personality. We will also work really hard to get that nice smile of theirs.

Stay relaxed. When you are stressed and tense, it tends to trickle down to the children making them feel tense or nervous. Try to relax and feel at ease knowing that we are here to help guide you and your kids through the session. We will interact with your kids to help them feel comfortable and guide them as well as letting them guide us in helping us capture some truly special images. When they are allowed to have fun on your portrait session, everyone looks more natural and relaxed.

Make sure they get plenty of rest. Good rest the night before and if its an afternoon session, a nap, can make all the difference. You should feel comfortable to discuss the best time for the session with your photographer ahead of time, using your child's natural happiest time of the day as a guide to selecting the time for your session.

Come fed. It can be hard to focus and participate cheerfully when your stomach is growling, so a small healthy snack right before hand is always helpful too. Be weary of sugary snacks beforehand, as each child’s sensitivity to sugar varies and could put them in a sugar rush. Be sure avoid colorful lollipops and candies 24 hours before session. Some of them stain their mouths and can linger for a day or two. Also, feel free to bring snacks to give in between shots as incentive. Snacks like raisins and cereal are good options because they are small and are not messy.

Bring an activity to do together. Do they have a favorite book or game they love to play? Bring it! Do you guys enjoy playing a family game of football or soccer on the weekends? Bring it! This can help make them feel comfortable and can assist in creating some great authentic photos of you guys together enjoying something you love.

Finally, just HAVE FUN! Let go and allow yourself to relax, go with the flow, and enjoy this time with your family. It will allow us to capture the pure emotion and organic love between all of you.

We're here to help you stay relaxed and have fun while capturing images that you'll love! Book your session now!

Walnut Family Portraits // Documenting the Chavez Family

Our first session of 2015 was the beautiful Chavez family. Some of the greatest moments in being a photographer are those times when documenting families of multiple generations.  When Anna contacted me to have her family portraits taken, she wanted to be sure to share how important these photos were to her, which included having her husband, 3 gorgeous daughters, her son-in-law and 2 most adorable grandchildren.   

As with many of us, our family members live or go to school out of state, and that was the case here.  We only had a small window of opportunity to schedule our session together as Anna's youngest daughter was going to be flying back out of state.  We are still so excited that everything worked out perfect!  

Anna, we want to thank you again for allowing us to document the love and connection you and your family shared with us.  You have a beautiful family, and we look forward to seeing you all again soon.