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Maternity photos in the spring are one of my favorite sessions. There’s the excitement of the baby and the beautiful backgrounds and everything comes together so beautifully.

I drove down to Elk Grove for this shoot so that we could incorporate the family’s beautiful home. I got there a little early so I poked around the neighborhood looking for nice spots to take them to. Just down the street from their house was a driveway lined with pink blossoming trees. It was like heaven…

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I thought you’d enjoy these brother and sister winter portraits in El Dorado Hills. One of my favorite things to photograph is a sequence of events. Sure, you could do that with video, but there’s something special about freezing that expression in time — it seems to show more in a still photo than it does even in real life.

At first everything was very proper (omg…I love, love her little dimple and his missing tooth!).

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Last year we offered “Grandparent Portrait Sessions” for Mother’s Day and they were a big hit! I know Mother’s Day isn’t until May 12th, but it can’t hurt to plant the seed…ha!

Here are a few images from a session with some of my favorite kids. One smile out of these two could brighten even the gloomiest day.

Found the perfect brick wall to make a “girls side” and a “boys side”.
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I loved everything about this session: the fact that it was just the two of them, his wildness and mom’s willingness to let him be that way, the way they played together, laughed together and what perfect teammates they make for one another in this little game called “Life”.

I had to include this shot. This little guy LOVES throwing stones. I think I captured about a hundred pictures of him just throwing stones, lol! And he liked to stuff about 25 of them in his pant pockets…yeah, I have a picture of that, too.

Our Sacramento Spring Mini-Sessions sold out fast and were a big success with lots of new and returning faces. Here is just the tip of the iceberg with a few of my favorites from the first day.

Okay, seriously? How cute is she with those stunning blue eyes and three little teeth poking through???

Loving the way they coordinated their clothing with the perfect combination of light aqua and plaids for spring.

This lovely couple thought they’d warm up for their newborn session with a short and sweet maternity session amongst the orange trees.

I couldn’t get enough of this little guy. He just smiled and smiled and smiled.

So sweet! I love this age when they are old enough to be super easy to work with but they still openly adore their mama.

This is only from the first round of mini-sessions – more previews to come in the next few weeks! Until then, I’m off to LA to photograph a very special little baby girl at only four days old! I can’t wait

Oh how I love spring-time photography sessions! My heart does a little flip as soon as I see the first signs of daffodils and cherry blossoms. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that my birthday is in April or that it’s just so darn beautiful — probably a combination of the two.

I adore all of the red hair and freckles in this family’s session. They are expecting their third child so we did a combo-family-maternity session and the kids had loads of fun, laughing and playing. We caught the light just perfectly on a sunny day sandwiched in between a few rainy ones. Love it when the sun comes out just when you need it to – whew!

I thought it would be fun to share a few sneak peeks for the families who attended our October 2nd mini-sessions. There were far too many great images to comfortably choose only one per family…it’s like torture sometimes trying to narrow them down, but I like to keep the full galleries a surprise for the parents. It’s a tough life, I lead.

And probably my favorite picture of the day…I just had to include her with those big brown eyes and mischievous smile! She was being all wild and silly (my favorite kind of girl – no joke). This was her very own crazy-face just for me. Goodness, I love my job, lol!

- Jill

It just felt wrong announcing the “holiday” schedule in August, but now that most kids have gone back to school and it’s officially September, I’m opening my holiday schedule for full sessions and announcing the long-anticipated upcoming mini-session dates!

If you’d like to schedule a FULL SESSION, please call or email me and we’ll reserve a spot for you on the calendar. If you’re expecting a baby within the next few months, contact us with your due date so that we can pencil you in. Please keep in mind that if you’re wanting pictures in time for holiday gift-giving, your photography session will need to take place prior to NOVEMBER 15th. As of today, we only have a few weekend slots available before then, so let us know if you’d like to take one.

For MINI-SESSIONS, we’ve added a new location this year, which I’m very excited about! Here are the days that we will be holding the mini-sessions:

Friday, September 23rd | 3:00 pm – 5:30 pm – SOLD OUT
[Old Sacramento]

Sunday, October 2nd | 9:00 am – 11:00 am – SOLD OUT
[State Capitol]

Saturday, October 22nd | 9:00 am – 11:00 am – SOLD OUT
[McKinley Park]

For those of you who aren’t yet familiar with our popular holiday mini-sessions, here are the details:

Session Fee: $50
Includes:
20 minute session for up to four people (each add’l person $15)
10-12 retouched images to view and select from
*Prints, holiday cards, digital files and albums may be purchased separately

Spaces are limited and are reserved on a first-come-first-served basis. Mini-sessions are great for updating pictures of the family and/or getting a few perfect shots for a beautiful custom holiday card.

If you are interested in our holiday mini-sessions, please email us at info@jillcarmel.com with your preferred date. Be prepared to pre-pay for your session slot so that we may reserve it for you.

And here’s a fun picture from a recent session – goodness, aren’t boys great!

Hope to see you soon!

Jill

We wanted to capture “A” at this fun time in his life when his two front teeth had fallen out. We spent the summery afternoon making bubbles, fishing at the lake and, most of all, laughing. What a fun family! I could’ve photographed them all day.

A series of images can be fun to put in a single frame in your home. It’s not a full-blown home movie, but just enough to show some personality…

Here are two sets from a recent mini-session that made me smile (sized perfectly for a 10×20 frame).

It’s amazing how much fun you can have with a leaf!

I think it’s funny how siblings always hug each other sooo hard. If only adults did that more, lol!

Until next time,

J