Now Olivia is five months old, almost the same age her sister was when I first photographed her, and the family is settling into their lovely new home, which was the perfect setting for their photos. Olivia looks a lot like Charlotte did at that age, so it was such a full circle moment for me to photograph her. I always have so much fun with this family and I can’t wait to do it again next year!

I’ve photographed Jenny and Jeremy before – I’ve known them forever! Jeremy is my BFF’s cousin so he’s known me since I was like 12, or something. Crazy! We did some family photos with these two and Jer’s kids last year and so it was awesome to get them in front of my camera again. I’d never met Jenny’s sister Caiti before, but she was so awesome and sweet and a natural in front of the camera. This was a fun shoot!

Thanks, Jenny, for asking me to photograph you and your family again! It is always a pleasure.

Jennifer and David were married almost two years ago and a couple of weeks ago I finally got to meet the newest addition to their family, Davey, who just turned 1! Jen and Dave thought it was high time they had some family photos taken, and I was super excited to meet this little guy. Lil’ David started walking when he was just nine months old, so it was fitting that we let him run around a park so that he could be photographed in his element. At some point during the shoot Jen asked me which was harder, shooting a wedding or shooting a one year old. I turned to her and said, “Well, brides never run away from me when I’m trying to take their photo, so I’m gonna have to say weddings are easier!”

I had so much fun following Davey around, and I’m so happy for this little family!

Olivia is such a beautiful and happy baby and watching the three of them together was really beautiful and made me imagine what life might be like when Chris and I decide to get one of those baby things people are always going on about. So much has changed since Caroline and Raul’s engagement session a little over a year ago. Can’t wait to see what’s in store for them next!

The reason for this shoot is because Alexis and Giannina realized they spent almost no time togehter on the wedding day, hence, they don’t really have any photos together of just the two of them. This made all of us sad, so they decided it was time for a portrait shoot of just the two of them. The best part is, they were inspired by this cooking engagement session I did earlier this year and wanted to do something similar. Plus, they’d feed me the results. So, obviously I was sold.

Alexis and Giannina, I’m glad we got to spend the afternoon together. Thanks so much for the laughs and yummy food! Here are a few of my favorites from the day:

When Kim told me the big news she actually did so under the guise of asking me about maternity photos, but made it seem like she was asking for someone else. I told her I haven’t really done many maternity photos and actually would only be interested in doing them for past wedding clients. And then she asked me if I could make an exception for my best friend. And that’s when I proceeded to FREAK. OUT. Squeeee!!!

So, we waited for Kim’s belly to get nice and big before we scheduled the session. This was excruciating for me because it felt like it took forever for her to look even remotely pregnant. Every time I saw her I would examine her bump. Sign of progress meant we were that much closer to her session, and then after that all we would have to do was wait for that adorable little baby. Well, Kim’s due in a few short weeks so we finally got some photo time in.

Because I am the awesomest friend ever, I scheduled an appointment to get Kim’s hair and makeup done before the shoot. I wanted her to feel extra special and beautiful. And, apparently I am a poor planner because that process took much longer than I expected so by the time we left the salon we only had time to race to a nearby Beverly Hills park to catch the last five minutes of light. But we managed! My amazing professional camera equipment is the only reason we were able to pull this off. We shot 90% of the session in almost pure darkness. Not ideal, mind you, but I am so in love with the way these turned out.

Congratulations to my beautiful friends, Kim and Johnny. I can’t wait to meet my beautiful little niece, Mackenzie!!

When I just couldn’t squeeze any more natural light out of the setting sun, I busted out my video light and had Johnny assist me with lighting Kim. I had her look away for a few frames and love this next shot. She looks like a super (pregnant) model!

And I just had to throw in this scene-setting shot of Johnny rockin’ the video light for me. So funny!

But I quickly realized I needed help navigating through the crazy fun terrain of the wedding industry. I met a few people here and there, many of whom were helpful and kind and welcome, a few that were not. Eventually my heart lead me to several different women individually, and now we are a collective. We call ourselves The Traveling Hearts Society and the 12 other girls who make up this group are pretty much the best thing that have happened to me since I started my company.

Eleven of us spent four days in Big Bear together last month and it was exactly what I needed to recharge and re-ignite my spirit and creativity. I left Big Bear feeling different. Ready to be better. Knowing I had a very strong support group to fall back on if I failed. A group to pull me right back up, dust me off, and push me forward again. Friends like that don’t come along often. For many, they don’t come along at all. Believe me when I say we are all fully aware of how lucky we are to have found one another.

Adrienne, Ala, Amanda, Ashley, Diandra, Gladys, Heather, Jackie, Jordana, Mary, Meg and Megan: Thank you so much. For allowing me to be me. For being you. And for the love, support, laughter, tears and inspiration we’ve shared. You are all so wonderful. Love, love, love, love, love. Looking forward to July like you would not believe!

A couple of weeks ago I got to spend some time with the Trimble family while they were vacationing in California. Erin emailed me several months ago to arrange a family session while they were in town from Arizona and I was thrilled to finally meet her and her gorgeous family. Erin and Brian have five beautiful little girls who were so much fun to photograph. They truly made my job easy! Thanks to Brian, Erin, Eliza, Libby, Ellie, Hattie and Ruby! I hope you guys had a great Disneyland vacation!

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It was super fun spending the afternoon with this family. Here’s a photo recap of our day.

Contact Heidi Ryder | Heidi Ryder Photography Portfolio | Heidi Ryder Photography Blog | Los Angeles Wedding Photography