Sneak Peek: Riley's First Birthday Shoot!

Carra O'Neal April 3, 2017

I can't believe Riley is almost one! She is such a joy! Boy was this a fun and laid back shoot! I wish more families would do morning shoots. Riley was in an incredibly good mood and the spring light just rising up over the hills in Alamo was incredible! Can't beat the green hills, either!

So while the Yahrs were totally on top of it, I unfortunately was not... forgot the picnic blanket (Bri saved me on that one!) and messed up my battery system so I thought I had 2 charged batteries when I really had a fully charged battery and a half charged battery... And for some weird reason I used the half charged one first and had to run to my car and change it out halfway through...Thankfully Justin and Megan were awesome enough to put up with my scatter brain! :)

Happy Birthday Riley!!

Absolutely in love with Megan's hair. I know this is about Riley, but I'm obsessed with the color! — Absolutely in love with Megan's hair. I know this is about Riley, but I'm obsessed with the color!

My favorite couple moment is always right before a kiss. I sort of botched this one (too low of a shutter speed) but I still love this photo! So much love!

Loved this dress! Wishing I had a little girl right about now ;)

New Territory: Product Photography!

Carra O'Neal February 23, 2017

I ventured into new territory recently! A client who I did family portraits for last year has her own Fair Trade earring business and she asked me to do some product photography for her site and her social media accounts. I thought, why not? Below is a small sample of the shots I took. Check out her site for more photos and, of course, to order these beautiful earrings! http://www.skyeandgrace.com/ And to see more of my photos and to stay up to date on any sales, check out Skye and Grace on Instagram. @skyeandgrace

Working with different backgrounds for some of their social media accounts. Check this one out on Instagram! @skyeandgrace

Getting the perfect white background while still maintaining shadow detail for a website is a bit of a challenge... I watched 3 different tutorials before finding the method that worked best for me!

Working with colors and different backgrounds!

I also took a crack at studio portraits for social media marketing. What a ton of fun this shoot was!

Stay tuned for more studio portraits! I will be taking a crack at a studio newborn shoot this weekend. Hopefully I can soon offer that as a regular service!

Also heading to New Zealand at the end of next week. For those of you missing my landscape, wildlife and underwater photography, stay tuned for some epic shots next month! Super stoked!

I'd love to hear what you guys think so far and what you'd like to see more of! Leave me a comment on this post or head on over to my contact page and give me a shout out! Thanks!

A Los Gatos Family Shoot

Carra O'Neal January 9, 2017

Right before New Years I met up with an old friend and her boys to take some photos. I met these guys 8 years ago when they were kids. Now they are practically adults! It's hard to believe! I had such a great time. And boy, what a different experience it is photographing grown ups! Thanks for asking me to be your photographer, Shirley!

Marisa & Kyle's Surprise Wedding!

Carra O'Neal December 18, 2016

Here's a quick sneak peak of some of my initial favorites.

Marisa put this small ceremony together in a week! I can't believe it! It was just perfect. Exactly the small and intimate ceremony she always wanted. I had such a wonderful time shooting this wedding. The whole evening was laid back and despite the cold it was full of so much joy and love!

Dodging Raindrops!

Carra O'Neal December 9, 2016

This time of year brings some seriously unpredictable weather. After moving this shoot earlier in the day to avoid rain we still got caught in some! And all this after rescheduling the first time because the entire park was closed last weekend! But these guys kept their spirits up and, as it turns out, umbrellas are fun to play with!

Kaia was an absolute joy to photograph! Her sly smiles just crack me up. What a personality!

I probably shouldn't admit this but this photo is one of my all time favorites. It's moments like this that make my job so awesome and fulfilling!

Kaia didn't want to smile for me at first but there was no shortage of smiles for Mama!

Alana was the biggest trooper of them all! Didn't seem to notice the cold weather or the rain. Even fell asleep on her Mama for most of the shoot!

I think you're in trouble with this one Jaime and Ken!

Despite multiple scheduling roadblocks and foul weather I'd say we pulled off a successful shoot! FINALLY! :)

Bonderson Family Sneak Peek!

Carra O'Neal December 7, 2016

Boy was it a cold morning. But WOW, what a great backdrop at the Bonderosa!

Chase is so fun to photograph. He's always having a blast!

Can't beat the green hills of California in the winter!

Day Family Sneak Peek!

Carra O'Neal November 30, 2016

We shot these right in the Day's backyard! What a blast we had!

My husband and kid tagged along on this shoot. Somehow Matt convinced Lee to give Gabrielle a kiss. We could be in trouble with these two!!

Williams Family Sneak Peek!

Carra O'Neal November 29, 2016

It was a cold and very wet morning but we managed to get some smiles and have a little fun!

What a sweet smile! And those eyes! Can't get over them!

Nothing like a swing to get a kid (or an adult) to smile!

Love this in black and white but with Sadie's blue eyes it looks great in color too!

So many more to get through. Back to editing for me!

New York City Transplants

Carra O'Neal November 23, 2016

Yesterday I got the pleasure of photographing a family that just recently moved out to California from NYC! It was wonderful to chat about making the transition and adjusting to life in California. After all, I made that move 8 years ago (can't believe it's been that long!). Here's a sneak peak of some of their photos!

Only 6 weeks old. What a trooper she was!

All Smiles!

Carra O'Neal November 21, 2016

Due to the rainy weekend we had I was forced to re-schedule a few shoots. I did end up squeezing one in. I was insanely worried the kids would be miserable because of the cold, wind and occasional rain but boy, was I wrong! These kids were all smiles! I didn't even managed to go through all the photos and found these three gems already! I'm in love with them!

The kids wanted to climb a tree so I said "why not?"

Seriously, JJ looks way too grown up in this picture!

'Tis the Season for Family Portraits!

Carra O'Neal November 17, 2016

Last weekend I had full day of shoots trying to catch those perfect moments for Holiday cards. Below are a few of my favorite works-in-progress.

It's always a huge challenge to capture each and every member of a young family smiling and happy all at the same time. While I tend to come close, I don't always get it. So, I like to provide my clients with pictures of their children smiling even if it's not with the whole family around. I will go all over a park attempting to find that one place or activity that will make them smile!