[Picture Life] with the Millers | Orange County Family Photographer

In April I held a Mother's Day Giveaway contest in my VIP Facebook Group (go join!) where I had people nominate a deserving mom for a FREE photo/video shoot. So many incredible women were nominated and after all the votes were counted, the winner was Ashley Miller!

Ashley and I worked at the same company in HR a few years ago and I had not seen her since she left. It was great to catch up a bit and to meet her adorable little fam.

Without further ado, meet the Millers!

It was a pleasure to document this family at one of their favorite places and give them photographs and a film to cherish for a life time. If you are interested in booking your authentic family session, drop me a line!

Thank you for stopping by. Check out our Facebook and Instagram for daily updates.

xo,
Sarah C.

[Picture Life] with the Stevens Family | Orange County Family Photographer

Amy reached out to me to take photographs on her family including the cutie, Bennett! There’s a great park right behind their backyard so we went on a little adventure, had dinner, and then bed time!

I love capturing a day for a family like this. It shows how everyone interacts together and is a great way to freeze this moment in time to cherish for years to come.

[Picture Life] in DTSA | Orange County Photographer

Ali & Sarah have been friends of my husband and I for a couple years. They are both talented artists: musician and graphic designer. Ali plays in my husband's band often on guitar. I have been wanting to photograph them for sometime now in their adorable loft apartment in Downtown Santa Ana and so we finally scheduled a shoot.

This was a typical Sunday afternoon for these two: patio gardening, going out to have lunch, hitting up the local Farmer's Market, working in their home office space, playing with their pup Stout, and drinking tea. I love capturing the essence of everyday life. Enjoy!

It was a pleasure to photograph these two in their natural habitat of Santa Ana. If you are interested in booking your authentic session at home, or on an adventure, drop me a line!

Thank you for stopping by. Check out our Facebook and Instagram for daily updates.

xo,
Sarah C.

[Picture Life] with Amanda | Orange County Photographer

Amanda and I connected recently through a Facebook group that is full of Orange County models and photographers. I wanted to take some photos with the mustard grass that is just EVERYWHERE right now so we went on a little adventure. They are my favorite thing about Spring and I adore her look. Isn't she just darling?

I recently discovered a little prism from an old polaroid camera and decided to bring it on our shoot and play with that, as well as do a couple double exposures. Enjoy!

Thank you for stopping by. Check out our Facebook and Instagram for daily updates.

xo,
Sarah C.

[Picture Life] with the Sanchez Tribe | Orange County Family Photographer

I met Katrina, David, and their oldest daughter Alana when she was about 4 or 5 years old. We met at a church we were all attending at the time and Alana enjoyed when I spun her around after service. We parted ways a few years ago and haven't been in contact too much since, so when I arrived at their ranch (aka Ranchez), it was a warm welcome as if I had been there dozens of times. All the kids warmed up to me pretty quickly and it was a joy to photograph them going about their Saturday morning.

Alana is now 10, Deluca is 5.5, Levi is 4, Xander is 2.5, and August was born in December. They are the sweetest family. Their house is full of love and community. Mama bear Katrina says, "Our goal for our tribe is to love God and love others, and to give our children rich childhood experiences through simple living on the Ranchez and quality home education."

It was a pleasure to photograph this family at home and give them photographs to cherish for a life time. If you are interested in booking your authentic family session, drop me a line!

Thank you for stopping by. Check out our Facebook and Instagram for daily updates.

xo,
Sarah C.

Happy 30th St. Patrick's Gender Reveal Day!!! | Orange County Photographer

Three celebrations at once? Yes, please!! A good friend of mine, Jillian, is going to be a first time mother this year!! I am super excited for her and her husband Matt. My husband and I met them at our friend Michael's Celebration of Life in November. She has quickly become one of my fave gal pals and I was honored to be asked to photograph this special day. On Sunday, March 12th, Jillian got family and friends together for a St. Patrick's Day themed gender reveal/30th birthday party. It was SO HOT out, but it was great to be around good people and good food celebrating.

Food was catered by In-N-Out (yummmm) and friends and family baked delicious treats. Jillian made lucky charms puppy chow. It was delish and straight out of a Pinterest recipe.

Since this was a gender reveal party, guests were encouraged to place their bet by adding $2 to the pot of gold. If the baby is a girl, she will be named Ripley. If the baby is a boy, he will be named Bronson. After lunch, it was time to reveal by popping a giant balloon. Guests were given poppers to pop when Jillian popped the giant black balloon so everyone could be part of the reveal.

IT'S A GIRL!!!

HAPPY 30th BIRTHDAY JILLIAN!!

CAN'T WAIT TO MEET YOU RIPLEY VALEN!!

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[Picture Love] with the Jepsens

Taylor has been a good friend of mine since I have lived in Orange County (9 years of friendship). I was absolutely thrilled to be her wedding videographer. Her and Jason are a truly wonderful and loving couple. It was a magical day full of laughter, love, and fun! I had a blast hanging out with them and their loved ones. Check out their highlight video below!

Thank you for stopping by. Check out our Facebook and Instagram for daily updates.

xo,
Sarah C.

[Picture Life] with The Lynns

Kristen Lynn and I played roller derby together years ago. She retired some years back when she started her family but we have kept in touch through Facebook. A few years ago when her son Harry was only a few months old, she let me come over to try my skills at "newborn" photography. Turns out, I'm not great at posing babies and prefer lifestyle/documentary style. Kristen told me that she never got family photos because she didn't like posed portraits. I was very happy to hear that, since I am pursuing this documentary style full-blast now!

Enough backstory, fast forward to a few Saturdays ago when I went to the Lynn household and spent a few hours with this awesome family, documenting their typical Saturday afternoon. These are my favorite types of sessions because I enjoy capturing the ordinary and freezing everyday moments for parents who can enjoy their babes and look back on these photos forever, to remember this fragment of time. From this session Kristen and her husband Harry will be able to remember when Joey loved playing dress up and would change her outfit multiple times a day and loved to play jungle gym on her parents. They will remember when little Harry was still into Lego's (even though Minecraft is also pretty important to him) and he was in the stage of wanting to show you everything he did with your undivided attention. In a few months, some things may change but through these sessions, we can create art and memories together to last a lifetime.
 

These moments will happen without a camera there to document. I'm honored to give this gift to the Lynns to cherish for a lifetime.  Hope you all enjoyed this session and be sure to drop us a line to book your in-home storytelling session today!

Thank you for stopping by. Check out our Facebook and Instagram for daily updates.

xo,
Sarah C.