Photographing them was a dream. All four of them are super fun and pretty comfortable in front of the camera, so I didn’t feel like I was working, at all. And that’s the way I like it!

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

Jillian worked very hard on the details for this party and it really showed! There were lanterns, balloons and paper pom poms all over the house. She even made the cupcakes and cake, including the flower and butterfly fondant details. So impressed.

One of my favorite elements of the party was a time capsule that Jillian planned for Charlotte. She had every guest write a note to Charlotte for her to read on her 18th birthday. Such a great idea and so personal. I wish someone had done that for me!

Charlotte’s dad, Dennis, cooked up some wonderful butternut squash soup, a delightful salad and even croque-monsieur (fancy name for grilled ham and cheese sandwiches) for everyone to eat. Sophisticated food for a one-year-old’s birthday party? Maybe, but Charlotte was the only baby in attendance and she LOVED the soup!

When it was time to blow out the candle on her cake, Charlotte got a little help from her mommy. I love the look on her face. She was having fun!

I think it’s kinda cute that the balloons behind Charlotte’s head look like balloon antennae. Very festive!

Charlotte dug into her cake like a true lady. Barely made a mess at all – and she even used a spoon!

After gifts were opened everyone just sat around and soaked in Charlotte’s cuteness. She obliged by hamming it up for all of us.

Happy birthday, Charlotte! You are the sweetest, most adorable one-year-old!

Contact Me | Heidi Ryder’s Portfolio | Los Angeles Portrait Photography

When we got the the ranch to meet up with the Armes’, some of the kids had fallen asleep on the drive over. Speaking from experience, getitng woken up in the middle of a nap is no fun at all, so I was preparing myself for a couple of grouchy kids, at least for the first few minutes. That couldn’t have been farther from the truth though – all four of them were smiley and happy and they blew me away with how smart and polite they were. It was obvious to me that this is a close and happy family and Alan and Debbie are great parents. I was excited to get started.

Here are a few of my favorites from the shoot. A big thank you to the Alan, Debbie, Brayden, Aubrey, Rethy and Willan for being such fun subjects. And also, thanks to their friend Natalie who nominated them!

There’s a beautiful old tree at the Ranch and I was very pleased to find that this family is a tree climbing family.

Clearly, the kids get it from their mom!

And here’s one of the two responsible for this lovely family.

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

Janelle is my best friend‘s sister and Kat is Janelle’s daughter. When Janelle asked me to take some portraits of the two of them, I was super excited. I only got more excited once we started and I realized that all this time I had these fabulous super models at my disposal. We had a lot of laughs and the session was a lot of fun. And I’m so excited by the shots we got! I’ll photograph these beautiful ladies any time…

We found this awesome field in Rancho Cucamonga that used to be a vineyard but all the vines were dead and dried up. It was a great backdrop for cool portraits.

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

It was so touching to sift through all the entries. I read stories of triumph, stories of despair, stories of strength and stories of hope. Unfortunately there were several entries where people nominated themselves, which unfortunately disqualified them since that was against the rules (sorry, folks – fair is fair). Ultimately, though, I know the right family won out because of the way I felt after reading their story.  The  patriarchs of the Armes family, Alan and Debbie, seem to be the epitome of what parents should be in my mind: kind, selfless and generous. Not being a parent yet myself, I can only imagine how fulfilling it must be to put your children first in all aspects and to teach them the value of giving. Their friend Natalie nominated them for this gift and it was obvious that she admires and loves this kind family greatly. In fact, I’ll let Natalie do the talking…

“Alan & Debbie are the proud parents of 4 amazing children.

With a houseful already, Alan & Debbie still make time to help other people. Alan volunteers with the local boy scouts & Baseball. They both cook food for people who are sick, new parents or even friends they know are just busy & overwhelmed. They are constantly watching other people’s kids for free, volunteer with their church, and they are always donating to local charities & homeless shelters.

They live life very simply, all four kids roomed together until recently when they decided to sacrifice their bedroom & now sleep in the back family room area so the boys could have a room and now the girls have a room too. That’s their lives, total sacrifice for their kids and others. Always giving & never asking for anything. Thus this Christmas season, I think the Armes’ family is totally be deserving because of all they’ve done for so many other people!”

So, congratulations, Armes family! I am so looking forward to meeting all six of you and making beautiful portraits of your beautiful family.

Merry Christmas to all! I’m going to enjoy some time with my own little family now. Hope you all are getting to spend time with people you love.

There are so many ways for people to give to those in need: Food drives, toy drives, monetary donations – you name it, someone has thought of a way to help other people. One of the great things about this world we live in is there is no shortage of ways to give back.

That’s why I’m pleased to announce my participation in this year’s Giving Is Awesome campaign. I chose Giving Is Awesome as my catalyst for giving back this season because it allows me to bring joy to a family’s life in the best way I know how – through beautiful images of their shining faces.

So, this year I am giving away a portrait session (a $450 value) to one deserving person, couple or family. At first I thought of limiting the contest to families only, but then I realized that whether or not a person has family should not make them less than deserving. Same goes for couples. The point is, no one is immune to hard times, so I’m not excluding anyone.

You likely know someone who’s experienced a tragedy, is struggling to stay afloat, is raising kids while holding down more than one job, or is volunteering selflessly despite extenuating personal circumstances. You know someone who can’t afford custom photography, but who would cherish it this holiday season. You know someone who deserves a year-round reminder of their family’s spirit, love and beauty.

I want to know who they are, and I want to give them the chance to experience complimentary custom photography.  It is in your power to give them the artwork they deserve this holiday season.

Here’s the deal:

1. To enter, fill out the form below and tell me WHY this person, couple or family deserves this photo session.  The more you tell me, the better, as helping me understand what they have or are going through will increase their chances of winning. Those nominated must sincerely be incapable of purchasing my services. (Being unable to make mortgage payments for a two-million-dollar-vacation-home in Paris does not qualify as sincere financial need.)
2. You cannot nominate yourself.
3. Those nominated must live in Southern California, or at least planning to visit before February 2010.
4. Prize is non-transferable.
5. The lucky winner will be chosen by me and my panel of judges (ie. my husband).
6. The deadline for entries is December 20th.
7. The winner will be announced here on the blog on Christmas Eve!

Open your heart to someone this holiday season – and thanks for giving me the opportunity to open mine.

Mini-sessions must be scheduled between now and November 21st to ensure delivery by December 1st – leaving plenty of time to get your holiday cards addressed, stamped and mailed off! Check out the adorable designs I’m offering below. Love them!

Holiday cards are also available to my 2009 wedding and portrait clients. If you’re interested in ordering, just pick your favorite design, the photos you’d like to include in the design, and email me at heidi@heidiryder.com to place your order!

Contact Heidi Ryder | Heidi Ryder Photography Portfolio | Heidi Ryder Photography Blog | Southern California Wedding Photography

So,  a couple of days later I met Annie’s mom and aunts (and Robin – Hi, Robin!) at Lacy Park in San Marino. I have to admit I wasn’t quite sure at first how I would go about posing four sisters for portraits – it’s not something I do every day. I realized very quickly, though, that I had nothing to worry about – these ladies knew exactly what they were doing. They were models and now I totally know where Annie gets it from!

Annie’s dad and one of her uncles even tagged along for the shoot and so I included them in a few, as well. It was a fun shoot and I’m so glad I got to get some portraits of these four sisters before they had to return to having an entire ocean between them. Here are a few of my favorites:

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

Oh, sorry – just daydreaming there. Yeah, so my friend Josh Fialkov did some writing on Afro Samurai: Resurrection, which was nominated for an Emmy. He and his wife Christina got to get all dolled up for the Creative Arts Emmys this past Saturday and they asked me to come take some photos of them since they don’t get to dress up often. It’s not every day that I get to photograph an Emmy nominee, so I happily obliged.

Here are a few of my favorites.

Here are a few of my favorites from our play date in the park.

So, like most boys his age I’ve known, Joey is completely obsessed with Buzz Lightyear from the Toy Story movies. He brought along his costume, which mom and dad say he LOVES to wear as much as possible. Getting to put it on was his treat at the end of the shoot for being such a great little model. He had an absolute blast running around while wearing his Buzz wings and yelling, “To Infinity, And Beyond!”