When Kristen contacted me about a shoot last year and mentioned it would be her, her husband (Dan) and a toddler, I assumed it was the typical family shoot. Well when I met them last week, out from the car comes THE most adorable little african american boy EVER. "J" (which i'll call him for privacy reasons) has been their foster child since August....and they are hoping and praying that they are able to adopt him. The bond that these 3 have is AMAZING. You would never know that they weren't blood related besides the color of their skin....and to me...skin color means nothing. Love is love.....and the love that I felt being with this family was unbelievable. I captured some of my favorite images to date with them.....but unfortunately (for legal privacy reasons), i'm not able to share any of them. My sister can vouch for me though. When I returned from the shoot with a heavy heart, I explained to her all about "J" and showed her some of the photos. The entire time was accompanied by "Awwwww! Look at them!" and "Oh my gosh, he's SOOOO cute!". "J" was smiling throughout the shoot and was SO happy. I can only hope and pray that little "J" is able to be adopted by K+D and live the most wonderful, safe and loving life he deserves. 

Since I can't post any of the photos with "J" in them, I can still post a few of this amazing couple. It takes a HUGE heart to be a foster parent......and not only did they have "J", but they also temporarily have an 11 week old newborn - baby "C". To add fuel to their awesomeness fire....they are frickin' adorable too........

Shortly after I posted, I received the sweetest email from Kristen:

"Oh Julie. Perfect. Just Perfect. What you wrote brought tears to my eyes--thank you for such a generous intro to our photos. It's funny because I've been wanting to make J a shirt that reads, "Love is Color Blind"...therefore your take on our "family" flittered my heart + soul. From the bottom of our hearts we thank you. God forbid, we lose J, we will have the most amazing photos of him EVER.

You rock.

Kristen"

There are many clients I just KNOW I will love from the minute I start corresponding with them. This family was one of those clients. A super cute couple, a gorgeous newborn, a well behaved dog, all kinds of music equipment AND a vintage car?? Put a fork in me....i'm DONE! On top of that, it ended up being a gorgeous day (almost "hot" because of the sun) and we got to venture outside with miss Isla. I absolutely LOVE taking outdoor newborn shots since it's not the "norm". Anyway, prepare yourself for a beautiful family...........

 

Little miss lump on a log ;) 

 

San Oso is one of the most well behaved dogs ever. He is their "first baby" and was a rescue dog :) 

P.S. - In Lot116 news........

(1) There are only TWO ONE spot remaining for fall/holiday *MINI SESSIONS*. This is the the LAST spots I will be booking in Oct/Nov, so if you know you'd like a "holiday card shoot", this is it!: http://www.lot116.com/blog.php?id=1021

(2) Don't forget to enter my *CONTEST* for a FREE SESSION (it ends on MARCH 5th!): http://www.lot116.com/blog.php?id=1030

(3) To keep up to date with Lot116, join the Lot116 Facebook page! Thank you to everyone who has joined! :)

Thank you!!

I'm super happy to announce my 6th cover for Tot/Kid Trends Weekly! Check out Cole, Jaylen, Gabriel and Konor gracing the cover of the "Let's hear it....for the BOYS" issue.....

I figured it was about time for another Lot116 contest! I asked around for what type of contest I should have this time and got lots of good ideas....but my favorite was one that my sister (go figure!) mentioned: 

"How 'bout....find/suggest the most unique local location and win a shoot there!"

So here's the deal: By "location", this could mean pretty much ANYWHERE! Like....some hidden gem of a location (please, nothing that every photographer shoots at), a friend or family members home that is awesome, your backyard (huge bonus points would be a big tree with a tire or rope/board swing, cute treehouse, fort, etc), an amazing bathroom with an awesome bathtub (vintage clawfoot tub, or even a new tub that is just amazing), a gorgeous kitchen, bedroom, gorgeous pool, music room, kids playroom, your business location (Restaurant? Fire station? Sea World trainer? Disneyland employee?, Farm/Orchard?, etc), a secret little park that no one really knows about, etc. I'm also a sucker for vintage cars, pets, skateboards, etc as well...so those could count as extra bonus points. I am however a "natural light" photographer, so I prefer locations that get great natural light.

*NOT FROM SAN DIEGO?* - It's ok! Even if you are in another city/state, you can enter! You will still win a free session with me, BUT would have to pay for travel fees, etc. You would still win the $300-$350 (weekday/weekend) session fee, so that's a few hundred off of a shoot right there! :) 

 

The WINNER would receive my "Basic Session Package" (worth $300 -$350!): 

• Photo session (approximately 1-1.5 hour(s) at a location of your choice) in the North County San Diego area, up to 4 people -$30 per additional person(s). The basic session fee ONLY covers the photographer's time and talent. No prints, no discs or digital files come with the basic session. This session is best for those who prefer to order prints from the online gallery only.
• Approximately 30-40 images shown in your private (password protected) online gallery (mixture of color and/or B&W) for print ordering.

 

 

Basically i'm looking for something cool and unique! If you think you have the perfect "photo shoot spot", here's what you do:

1) Take 2-3 photos of the location(s). Yes, you can submit more than one location!

2) Email the photos (please make sure they aren't overly huge - to save my inbox haha) to julie@lot116.com and add "Location contest" in the subject.

3) Let me know what area the location is (so that I know whether the location is in San Diego, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, New York, etc). 

4) Let me know the ages of any kids that would be in the shoot (and NO, you don't HAVE to have a kid to be in the shoot - this could be a couple, one person, engagement shoot, newborn shoot, etc)

 

The deadline for this contest is two weeks from today, so please email you entries NO LATER THAN MIDNIGHT on FRIDAY, MARCH 5th. The winner(s) (yep, who knows, maybe i'll pick more than one ;) hehe) will be announced on/around March 5th :) Good luck and feel free to spread the word!!!!! :) 

More to come next week :)  I've got more shoots tomorrow and Sunday, so next week there will be plenty of blog posts :)  Have a wonderful weekend everyone! Yes, I know it's only Thursday....but close enough! :)