Happy Birthday Kaya!

Kaya's mom started the planning for her portraits in November & the time has come, with mom & dad & two of her grandparents visiting from Arizona. Being two, Kaya has her own ideas about everything, but she had time for some beautiful portraits. More will appear on the blog in the next few days. Kaya is a beautiful, happy two-year-old who has a lot of fun exploring the world.

Heading into Portrait Season!

Hello! Richardson-Daniel Photography has been working on a part-time schedule for the last ten years. Parenting and other commitments have been keeping me busy, but Fall 2012 is the time when the focus is on expansion! I am now geared up to create great portraits for the whole family; babies, children, teens, high school grads & family portraits (whether there is one & a dog or a family of 12!). This is a great time to arrange for school portraits, family sessions and Halloween dress-up photos! Holiday cards are available for 2012 that will show off your family and keep those connections with long-distance friends and family. I have some surprising new products which are available now that you will love. Call for an appointment to discuss your needs. Part of the process as we go towards the portrait, will be a free consultation regarding clothing and location that will work best for you. Don't hesitate to start the conversation - you'll be glad you did. I'll be posting some of the new products soon.

Family Portrait Time is here!

The month of October is a good time for updating your family portraits! Besides creating good gifts for the family, the Christmas Cards will be amazing! This year I have a new set of templates for Christmas Cards that will show off all of the personalities in your family! Consider taking a group image and then small groups and individual portraits. It is time to give your loved ones some really great images of the family! These portraits will be there in the years to come, reminding you of how beautiful your family is!

Call me soon at 323/683-3770 to schedule your family's portrait session.

March already? What's up with the speed of time these days . . . ?

Just back last night from my uncle Bob's 80th birthday in Sacramento - a real treat, seeing my parent's friends and cousins that I could still recognize 40 years later! Uncle Bob was in good form, and a very nice fellow, as always (he's my mom's youngest brother).

A short photo session for Ireland today, who is just between getting over a fever and welcoming two teeth, so she didn't have a lot of tolerance for bright lights and pretty dresses today. With mom & dad's help, however, we did manage to have a few moments when she relaxed a bit. Enjoy this little video of the images we captured today.

National & State Conventions & a National Merit Award!

February is here already!
Every year, just as soon as we get past the holiday season, Photographers of America hold their national convention - this year in Nashville Tennessee. I've been able to go for the past several years and have enjoyed the benefits of seeing the art of the most talented photographers in America and Australia along with how they work and run their businesses! As my eyes are trained to see what can be done, my work has improved! I have entered a print into the Western States Print Competition this year (held during the California Pro Photo Expo - California's convention), and have gotten my first Merit Print! Achieving this at the WSPC, means that the National group will verify the merit and this gives me my first National Merit. This is no small thing, as the prints in the competition are amazing, and have come from all around this side of the coast!

A few details about this image (the one at the top is my merit image)...
Last year we went to the Renaissance Faire near San Dimas. I took my Canon 5D with me, as people are traditionally well-dressed and interesting to watch! This handsome fellow just seemed surreal with the stark contrasts of his white beard and the dark environment he was in. Just shows that you have to be ready - you never know when something amazing will come into your line of sight! You can capture it now or it will be just a fading memory. Most of us have some sort of a camera with us at all times. I've even gotten some amazing images from my iphone. The one below is of my daughter on a trip to Lake Tahoe.



Something that we all need to be aware of...
If you have a hard drive crash will you lose the only photographic record of your last few years? Print your pictures! Even a shoe box full of pictures is always fun to go through, Computers don't make great storage devices for your life's memories!

Holidays & Joy!

Life at this time of year scurries along like a squirrel running for his life! I mention squirrels because I've seen a couple of them lately that were going so fast, I couldn't see their legs move! With their tiny legs and so much ground to cover, how do they do it? Can I learn to do that too? Maybe it is the motivation that moves them, or maybe they're just in a hurry, but if I can learn to fly like them, it could create a veritable time machine . . . (I'll be looking into that)!

I thought I'd show you a video that I created this week from a photo shoot last month. A very cute little boy who is only a couple of months old. He was a little tired, which makes for very peaceful portraits when a baby can relax into a little sleep! Mom & Dad and Grandpa also joined in the fun.

It is the second week of December, & having been busy with photo shoots, I haven't begun to decorate the house yet! This weekend we'll get some lights, start a fire in the fireplace (can't believe how cold it can be in Los Angeles - I know, you folks in Alaska get real weather, but this feels cold for us fair-weather friends!) Time to crank up the holiday spirit!

Holidays are all about families, love and respect. May this be a great Holiday Season for All! I'm looking into starting a few new family traditions as this will only be the second Christmas where we stay home! We'll miss the larger Sacramento family just for the season, but look forward to catching up soon! Joy to All for the Holidays and a Prosperous New Year!

September!

I must confess that summer has been all consuming! What would be so bad about year around school? Well I suppose it is nice to have free time and no responsibilities to speak of when you're a kid. Now as September has come, Lily has gone back to school weeks ago. We're very proud of her! She's moving on towards getting her Child Development certificate and doing better and better. This semester she'll be working in a pre-school one day a week - getting some real experience.

Gage started his first week at Citrus College last Monday and likes it so far, though the culture shock of losing endless days of freedom are a little wearing for him. Getting into homework mode is also a little tuff, but he's adapting as he needs to. Lauren starts next Tuesday, then the photography business will be back in full swing as the weather cools a bit!

Cooper!
This last week I captured some images of a very handsome little boy in the studio. He was anxious to get a haircut, but I thought it better to get some portraits of him first, as he has the most amazing soft curls I've ever seen. I think you'll agree.