Sun - January 7, 2007

The Sanders Family

Today I had the privilege of photographing Dane Sanders and his family. I've gotten to know Dane over the past year or so and his family (wife Tami, and kids Abbi, Lisi, Alaree, and Drew) over the past couple of months, and they are such wonderful people! Dane is one of those people (and I don't think there are enough of them) that really cares about others and wants to see his friends succeed. He always tries to bring other people up, and that is such a great quality. I don't think anyone who knows him could say a bad word about him! If you haven't seen his new SIMPLEPHOTO.TV site , you should check it out, sign up, and share a video--it's free and fun!

I will also say that anytime another photographer asks me to shoot for them, it is not only very flattering, but a bit intimidating in a way. Photographers know if you're on the mark technically, so there's an extra element of pressure added when you shoot for someone who's in the business! In any case, I could not have been more excited to shoot any family, and these guys were predictably great to work with.

We parked and walked for awhile and shot in a few different places:











The kids. Dane and Tami have four kids, and they are so well behaved! They also get along shockingly well--it's so refreshing. Introducing the kids:

Drew, 7:




Abbi, 5 almost 6:



Lisi, 4:



Alaree, 11 months:



I tried to take a few extra photos of Alaree, I figure that by the time you get to your 4th child, she's a bit less photographed than the first few. Plus, look at these baby blues:





Sibling bonding:







Dane & his girls:



We went down to the beach afterwards to shoot just a couple more family shots:





We also took some time to shoot a few photos of Tami & Dane alone together:

They are very beautiful:









Dane's a nice guy and all, but can you believe he tricked someone as stunning as Tami into marrying him?!



Photography skills might run in the Sanders family--Drew snagged this shot of me, which I actually really like!



Thanks for the opportunity Dane, you are awesome! Can't wait to hang with you all again soon :)

jessica claire, orange county wedding photographer

Posted at 12:37 AM    

Fri - December 29, 2006

Paul & Susan's 40th Anniversary

When I was originally contacted about doing some family photos for this awesome family, I had no idea they were such a big group! The photos were a gift from the five children of a couple who just celebrated their 40th anniversary. There was so much love from all the kids to the parents but it was obvious that the grandkids were the apples of everyones' eyes!

The beautiful couple--congratulations on 40 years of marriage!



The whole big family--it was the windiest day ever! Between the trees and branches being flung at them at about 30mph, it's amazing we even got this shot:



The babies--all so cute!

This is Alex--he certainly loved mugging for the camera:





Zoe--she was so proud when she told me she just got a Dora the Explorer backpack:





Yasmin, what a little model!





Chloe--the newest addition to the family:





Thanks for being so relaxed even with the crazy weather!

***TODAY is the last day to vote for your favorite couple to win my CONTEST!

jessica claire

Posted at 11:44 AM    

Tue - December 19, 2006

Jessica's Shagadelic Bat Mitzvah!

What a crazy weekend! This weekend, I shot Jessica's Bat Mitzvah up in Los Angeles, and wow, was it amazing. You might remember Jessica from her portrait session that we did a few months ago . First of all, I remember being 13 years old, and I was nowhere near as mature and sophisticated as Jessica is. Maybe it's because she's grown up around fashion, or maybe she's just uber cool, but either way, it was clear that she has her own style and influence that was apparent in every aspect of this event. Of course, she is still only 13, and therefore needed a team of people to help execute her vision.

Heading up the team were her mom Barbara, and mom's best friend Barbara Bemel, owner of delicious catering company, Soup to Nuts. These two created an event as good as any professional coordinator could have! They really made it so unique and special with tons of killer details.

For the record, I do not shoot many Bat Mitzvah's, nor do I aspire to. For the most part, I really only like to do these for certain families who will let me do my thing and produce the kind of work that I like to do. The Leigh family is absolutely amazing, wonderful and warm in every way. I've got a few other upcoming projects with them, so stay tuned for more!

Below are some of the photos and you can ***CLICK HERE*** for a shagadelic slideshow of my favorites!

The dress:



Jessica was a two-shoe girl:





She's also a Mac girl!



Check out these natural eyelashes:



A few portraits:













Right before the actual Bat Mitzvah:





And onto the party! They rented out all two stories of Jillians, which is sort of like Dave & Buster's. There was some crazy dancing downstairs, and a bowling alley upstairs. Check out the decor:







Jessica came in on some British Guards:



In the decor picture, in the way back you can see a Union Jack flag. It was about 8 feet high and around 12 feet wide, and made entirely out of balloons and lights!

The Leigh family:



Jessica & some friends having a groovy time:



Andrew and Barbara were just so proud! Here they are with Jess right before the video. Elysium Productions, my absolute favorite videographer did an unbelievable video for Jessica, you can see it on their BLOG:



Here's Elysium : Alex, a native Brit, and Julie:



Another wild balloon sculpture:



The cake:





Peace out, baby!

jessica claire

Posted at 01:46 PM    

Thu - November 16, 2006

The Nuzman Family

I have gotten to know Kamee, Jaren, and Gunnar through Becker's family over the past couple of years and ever since I first saw Kamee & Jaren's son, I have wanted to get my camera on those blue eyes of his! Yesterday, despite Gunnar's broken leg and huge cast, we trekked out to get some family & Christmas photos and had a great time. I figured we'd have to carry Gunnar everywhere, but you wouldn't believe how fast he gets around even with that cast on--I don't know how anyone keeps up with him when he's not wearing a cast!

Gunnar and his gorgeous eyes:



I love how little he looks here:



Gunnar was not so much into taking pictures unless his parents were swinging him up high or tossing him around:



In fact, every time we tried to shoot, he would run away:



Gunnar and his beautiful mom:



And in a balancing act with dad:



In a strange twist, "Santa Claus" showed up with candy canes right in the middle of our shoot:



At that point, Gunnar had to resort to his paparazzi-defense techniques in an attempt to end the shoot:



We gave him a little break and shot some photos of mom & dad:



And then we remembered how much Gunnar likes to be the tallest person in the photo and got some more family shots:







As a little reward for being such a good little guy at our shoot, Gunnar got to play in the water:



Thanks guys, you are wonderful! See ya soon!

.

Posted at 09:57 AM    

Tue - October 24, 2006

Ava & Ireland

Kids are everywhere lately! The other day, I got to meet a gorgeous family to shoot some fun photos on a beautiful afternoon. These little girls are so adorable! It is so much fun to be able to meet the kids when they're this young to see how they change and grow every year. I can't wait to work with these little ones again.

Ava:



Ireland:



Ava loves when daddy swings her up high! I bet by the next time I see the girls, little Ireland will be up for it too :)



one more:

jessica claire

Posted at 08:24 AM    

Mon - October 23, 2006

The Best Bribe Ever

Yesterday I had the pleasure of shooting some of my favorite kids, Frances, George & Mary Louisa for their family Christmas card. I guess they were not all that thrilled to have to get all dressed up in Christmas getup and behave for me, because they seemed a little anxious to change clothes and get to the next part of the day.

As a nice little reward for being good and taking some photos like this:



and this:



and this (I don't even want to know what was going on behind my back!):



They somehow convinced their parents to let them have a whipped cream fight as a reward!

They were in for it, Frances could tell:



Even the littlest one was not immune:



Not exactly what I wanted to see coming at me:



You can run but you can't hide:



There is, apparently, only one way to wash off after a fight like this:





good times!

jessica claire

Posted at 01:08 PM    

Thu - October 5, 2006

Congratulations to Richard & Kabrel

There has been a new addition to my family! Since it has been a few years since there has been a new kid added, and also because this is the first boy of the little ones, it is very exciting that Philip was born late Tuesday night at almost 11 pounds (and no, Kabrel did not have a C-section!).

Yesterday I went up to Cedars-Sinai in LA to check out my new little cousin, and he is just great. I probably held him for about an hour and he didn't make a peep--he is a great sleeper (at least so far). Annabelle is turing out to be a wonderful big sister, and mom and dad are both doing well also.

Here are a few shots:

jessica claire, beverly hills baby photographer

Posted at 08:07 AM    

Mon - September 4, 2006

jessica leigh

Yesterday I shot photos of a great girl, Jessica Leigh. Jessica is having a Bat-Mitzvah in December that I will be shooting, so we needed to get some great photos of her for all kinds of cool things she has planned! Jessica is a girl with her own funky style, a great attitude, and the posing skills of a model. I will admit I was a little worried going into the shoot because I remember how I was at 12 and 13, and I don't know if times have changed or if Jessica is just extraordinarily mature, but she was a total rockstar!

Jessica's theme is 60's London, funkadelic Austin Powers-ish cool, and I think we got some great shots to reflect that. Jessica wanted to look vintage with a modern edge, and I think she did a great job with the styling!

We ran all over LA shooting in a bunch of different outfits--here are a few of my faves:



























Thanks Jessica, Barbara, and Barbara--see you all soon!

jessica claire, los angeles wedding photographer

Posted at 11:57 AM    

Tue - April 4, 2006

Ariana, Logan & Sienna

I had the absolute pleasure of shooting Ariana, Logan & Sienna last week along with their mom, Ana. These guys were so lively and so much fun to work with! I do have a special spot for kids between 4 and 7 years old because they're just so energetic and fun--you can see the people they are becoming and they are just having fun carefree! Of course little Sienna, when she wasn't being run over by her older brother and sister was totally adorable also.

A few favorites from our shoot:

Logan:



When Logan said he had a Gecko, I didn't quite understand what he meant, but he really does have a Gecko! It's a sturdy little creature too, and seems to be a great pet:



Ariana:



Ariana is gorgeous! She had no problem with the camera at all--its almost like she's done this a few times before!:



Sienna:



Sienna was a little wary of me at first but she warmed up quickly and had a great time:



A few more:

in this episode: children's photography, malibu, kids being kids!

Posted at 10:16 PM    

Thu - March 30, 2006

Zoe & Keira

Although I love shooting weddings, I also love that I have such a great business shooting kids as well. It is so much fun to meet all the kids and basically just play for an hour or so while I get some great shots of them just being themselves! Parents tell me all the time that they've had photographers come with big backdrops and lights for portraits and the children hate it and won't sit still--and why should they? It's just not natural for kids to do that!

Here are a few from a shoot earlier this week with Zoe and her baby sister Keira:

Zoe:











baby keira:



its always nice having a flower shoved in your face by your sister:

www.jcsphoto.com

Posted at 10:57 AM    

Sun - March 5, 2006

the julis family

Today I got to shoot one of my favorite families, the Julises. These guys are such a nice family that I shoot a couple times a year for various reasons. There are four children and shockingly, they all get along very well! Usually we just shoot for a little while then play soccer or tag, which is exactly what we did today. I realized how bad of shape I'm in because when I was "it", every one of them outran me!

A few photos of the kids:

rose:



esther:



maya:



elliot (sporting the von dutch hat for the second year in a row :) ):



I even got to shoot a few photos of Mitch & Joleen today:



and, of course, the whole family:

www.jcsphoto.com

Posted at 07:15 PM    

Sun - January 15, 2006

Marni

Today I got to photograph an absolutely amazing girl named Marni. Marni is a great kid for lots of reasons, but the thing I really loved about her is that she's a true original. I mean, how many 9 year olds do you know are into the Beatles, take classical guitar lessons, wear funky clothes because the clothes other kids wear are "kinda plain and boing" and have a punk rock attitude?! When I say attitude, I mean that in the best sense of the word, because Marni is sweet as can be and was totally willing to do whatever I asked of her with a smile and no complaints at all!

The result was some killer images that I can't wait to put on my website:

pink chairs and converse sneakers rock:



she looks 9 going on 25 here:



It was a nasty day and we almost cancelled the shoot, but I'm so glad we didn't! We definitely made the most of the rain:



Even Sugar the dog was a good sport (check out the little rainboots!):





I told Marni to put on anything she wanted, and this is what she came up with:



Another great outfit--she even knit the thing she's wearing around her neck herself:



fun with polaroids:



Outside the Marni store on Melrose Pl.:





Marni, you were awesome!! By the way, Marni's mom, Amy Phillips is an amazing professional scrapbooker. We've worked together on a couple projects and have a bunch of stuff in the works right now! Her website isn't quite ready to show yet, but if you've ever wanted to take your old photos and do something cool with them, Amy is the woman to call. We're also offering packages with my photography and her scrapbooks (my albums are also available), so if you're interested, drop me an email at jessica@jcsphoto.com.

www.jcsphoto.com

Posted at 12:00 AM    

Wed - January 4, 2006

Tatum & Cody

Today I had the unexpected pleasure of shooting a great little family--Melissa and her two children, Tatum & Cody. This shoot came up kind of last minute, but it really made my day! Melissa's kids are just so adorable and it was so much fun getting to spend a little bit of time with all of them.

One of the things I love about shooting children, particularly younger children is that they are totally not self-concious at all. They sing, dance, play around and have fun without worrying about what it will look like. I've yet to meet an adult as comfortable in front of the camera as most of the children I get to shoot.

Melissa & the kiddos:



Melissa & Cody:



Both Tatum & Cody have the most beautiful eyes:





And look! Siblings that really get along (there was none of this in my house growing up :) ):



I love this shot of Melissa watching Cody play:



Tatum is gorgeous--look at that hair!



Children's sessions are available from $400. Check out the kids section on my site, jcsphoto.com

www.jcsphoto.com

Posted at 11:18 PM    

Tue - August 23, 2005

Lindsay, Kevin & Connor

Its been a long time since I got to spend time shooting older kids, it is so much different than the little ones! Lindsay is an awesome girl--I met her when she was doing an internship for a wedding coordinator who was working on a wedding I shot earlier this summer, Janet & Chris. I thought it was so great when her mom called and wanted to get some recent shots of her three kids before Lindsay goes back to school. Kevin and Connor were also a pleasure to shoot, although Kevin was a little embarrassed that I made him do photos in downtown Laguna Beach where anyone could see us! Connor is definitely a camera ham and there are some great shots of him running and sliding in the sand.

I love these shots of each one individually--they all have most beautiful smiles:

www.jcsphoto.com

Posted at 08:13 AM    

Sat - August 20, 2005

Emma & Lili

I just love Emma & Lili! I've been after their mom Jennifer to let me take some photos of the girls for awhile and yesterday was the day. The girls are very different but so much fun! Emma is a girl after my own heart, she was definitely more into trying on my shoes (4 inch heels--she was actually good at walking in them!) than doing pictures. Lili is a little ham, she's a rockstar/model in the making! Here are a few photos of the girls:

Emma:



Lili:



The girls:



Also, if you're a mom in the LA area, you have to check out Jennifer's business, Creative Space. This is the coolest place for kids--they can sign up for all kinds of classes that you would never think they'd offer for kids--skateboard design, cooking, all kinds of things.

Thanks for a great shoot & see you guys soon!

www.jcsphoto.com

Posted at 09:30 AM