At the time we shot this session, Natalie was around 8 months pregnant and her son Ethan was just about to turn two. Some might still remember Ethan on this blog as the little birthday boy who really couldn’t get enough cake. How fast did he grow up, eh? Anyway, it was my pleasure to capture them in their final few weeks as just the three of them, before the joy of welcoming a new little one to the family.

If you’ve been following my blog long enough, you will recognize some members of this beautiful family from my shoot back in 2007. Since then, they’ve added a new little one to the family: meet Gia! Gia is quite the troublesome little sister to Reza, and is already a rather fearless explorer. Her head is always on a swivel, looking for what she wants, and when she spots it, she is going for it. There were times I wanted to put down my camera to marvel at this little person’s awareness and tenacity.

It was so much fun to be with the Mohammeds again, to see them grow in number and to experience their family. Every family is different, and I just love how it feels to be in the middle of all the various families I’ve had the privilege to photograph over the years.

There is something really special to me about photographing the same people over a span of time. There is an incredible familiarity. The trust that is established through those experiences is almost tangible.

I hope you get to experience a bit of this beautiful family through my pictures.

See more on Facebook: Mohammed Family [Lifestyle Portraits]
Reza’s Baby Pics: 2007
Location: Pasadena, CA

This is just from aa impromptu session I put together for my friend’s niece Kylie.

First, never underestimate any hallway with white walls and white ceilings if you have a strobe in hand.

Second, what is it about kids that captures part of my imagination? Kylie and I don’t even speak the same language, and yet, I am so easily drawn into her world. Going through the pictures, I am euphoric with the innocence of her self-expression, and at the same time weighted by the responsibility of wanting to see her grow up strong and beautiful.

17 people. One family “formal” portrait. Something unexpected, I hope?

Above are picture of my parents that my dad took. Some of you know that I grew up with a photographer dad.

I’m sharing these images from my dad’s archives for posterity, as an homage to my dad… and because it’s my birthday. :)

I’m not sure that I really enjoyed having my picture taken as a kid, but looking back, I really cherish these images.

Sometimes I feel a little strange blogging completely different types of images one post right after the other. The last post with Ethan was this explosion of energy and curiosity. This post is more of a meditation on the precious and intimate beginnings of new lives. For some reason, I am very emotional about this set of picures. I’ve known Grace, the new mother, for many years and there’s something about the tenderness in which Joe touches his babies that really gets at my heart.

So I think about these things, and I realize that they are all intricately connected – the explosions and the meditations, the curiosity and the fragility, the joy and the (joy). We are immensely capable of feeling this huge range of … things … yes we spend so much time trying to compartmentalize them all, as if one thing cannot be experienced in fullness while experiencing another. I sit in this tension as I write this post, reveling in that ballistic celebration that was Ethan’s birthday and the quiet serenity of Caleb and Peter’s new life.

You might remember Ethan from a few months ago in my Moser Family shoot. Apparently, these creatures known as babies grow rather quickly. Ethan just had his first birthday. And that means he gets his own cake. Don’t try to separate a boy from his cake!

You can watch the entire thing unfold on video as well: [Natalie's Blog]

Back in July, I shot a really experimental session with the Bangash family. They asked me to come back and do a little bit more of a structured shoot as well as spend some more time just shooting some portraits of the parents together. I was more than happy to see the Bangashes again. The kids grow up so darn fast!

It wasn’t that cold when I shot this session, but I went with a decidedly winter/fall feel for this shoot. There’s something nostalgic about this time of year that I really wanted to convey.

It was an incredible privilege and honor to be asked to do a family lifestyle session for my good friend and gifted photographer Natalie Moser. I shoot with Natalie all the time, at a variety of event and weddings. I think I actually shot one of her last weddings before giving birth to her son, as well as the first wedding she shot after… so I’ve gotten to see this boy grow. And boy, has he grown (22lbs at 7.5 months)! Anyway, I am a bit speechless at this point. I feel like these pictures say more than I can with words about how much love I have for this family. They have a beautiful energy and I hope these pictures communicate that with some clarity.