Ole Hanson Beach Club First Birthday Portraits - San Clemente, California

Through experience, relation can be shared and in that relation friendships are formed.
I have always been able to relate to others through experience, it’s how I connect, express myself and be in exchange. Over the past few years, being pregnant, giving birth to and raising my incredible little daughter, I have really felt, understood, experienced, fallen in love with what it means to be all those things, to grow as a parent - in relationship with my daughter, with myself, with my husband, with my community and this world as a mom, her mom.

When I meet other souls on a similar path, it really feels like witnessing a shooting star. There is the unspoken understanding, this gratitude, this admiration as I too know what it means to be in the phase of raising a young human. Oh, it is the greatest joy, yet some of the most challenging moments I’ve been faced with in my 33 years around the sun.

Friend, this family here is truly incredible. They were connected by another dear friend (Thank you Christy) and we quickly started diving into their vision, their desire, their questions around a very important session, first birthday portraits. Within a few minutes of our phone call, I could feel their excitement. The location - one of my all time favorites, Ole Hanson Beach Club where I shoot a number of weddings (gosh - do I miss that venue so much this year with all the wedding postponements) as they were married at this very location a few years ago. The date was picked, but the time we kept open until a week before the session as with little humans, their schedules are ever changing and we wanted to document during that sweet spot (you know the one - after a really good nap, so full of energy, love and just pure awesomeness) and of course, the golden hour.

As the day arrived, the weather, the lighting, this amazing family couldn’t have been any brighter as they celebrated their first daughter’s first birthday! From balloons, to mirrors, to taking walks and ending with a cake smash, this little ham - Amara soaked up the camera!
​To this amazing family, thank you for the honor, for the trust in documenting this monumental time in all your lives. It’s truly a great honor.