Well, it’s 10:30 pm, the kids are asleep, the husband is snoring beside me on the couch, and I’m catching up on my Oprah while putting the finishing touches on a session who will be meeting with me tomorrow to see the images. What better time to post a quick sneak peek for them? 
So… in some kind of record time for me between session and blogging it… here goes!
This sweet little missy was so happy and smiley, I really didn’t have to do anything to make her smile. I didn’t even have to work. Easy Peasy.
I really love this shot, how it shows that she’s in the adorable crawling stage, and how mom is cheering her on in the background.
This smile… we saw it a lot. So happy that smile takes up her whole face! Dad made her so happy, I loved their connection.
This shot… she’s actually on her dad’s back, upside down, and I’m shooting up at her. I think it’s funny that you can’t tell.
Dad is an avid gardener. I like that his human crop and his veggie crop are both represented in this shot.
In this shot, dad is holding her upside down and you can’t even tell. Oh, you can? Oh… yeah…
Happy happy family. Love it.
Martina and Ara met during the infamous Bay to Breakers race in San Francisco. It was only fitting that we have their engagement session there! We spent the whole session at Golden Gate Park. We had amazing, gorgeous light, and they are a wonderful, happy couple. We had the best time. Seriously? How cool is my job!!
Here are some favorites.
I really love this “grandma shot”. They look so relaxed and happy here. [I call the looking and smiling shots "grandma shots" because these are what makes grandma happy. She might be disappointed if all we had were artsy fartsy shots!]
This light… I was dying. They were laughing at how giddy I was while I was taking this.
This is at the beach… I love their bare feet.
I love the feel of this shot.
And the fun continues…
I still have a few spots available for next Saturday’s mini’s. Downtown Campbell is so much fun because of the variety of looks in such a small area.
I really love the variety of footwear in this family.
Short notice, yes. But the sessions are only 15 minutes… how much lead time do you need?
Announcing May Mini Sessions! Downtown Campbell. May 22.
Cost: $150, includes one 11×14 print. Contact me for details, shannon [at] shannonmontez [dot] com
Last time I did mini sessions was last November. I loved so many of the images, I’m going to have to break the sharing into two posts.
More tomorrow…
I am so in heaven right now… this weather is amazing. The sunshine, the greenery, the perfect temperatures… I can’t get enough. I can’t stay inside. Today I decided to ride bikes to the park with Franklin for lunch. And then, when it was time for dinner, we decided to ride bikes to the taqueria to grab dinner and then to the park again! The kids flew their mini kites they’d gotten in their easter baskets, the sun was setting with that gorgeous light that makes my heart sing… I didn’t have my camera, but that’s ok… I enjoyed the moment thoroughly.
It’s the perfect time for pictures though! Right now, everything is so lush and green and amazing. To prove it, here are a few shots from a family session from a couple weeks ago. So much fun!
I’ve been shooting this sweet girl since before she was born. It’s just SO much fun to watch these kids grow! Watching other people’s kids grow and change is fun and doesn’t come with the tinge of sadness that happens when your own baby gets bigger. So, bonus.
Anyway… We had lots of fun.
I’m SO looking forward to their wedding. Rosie was telling me about finding her perfect dress, and their wedding plans in the vineyard… I think it’s going to be an amazing day and I can’t wait!
In the meantime… we had so much fun hanging out at their engagement session. It was a fairly cold morning (for them… not for me in my down jacket!) but they kept each other toasty warm.
We had the most beautiful light! I was all giddy the entire time.
I just love the way they interact. They are so connected and sweet. They are so comfortable and natural and warm together.
The sky made the perfect backdrop. Nothing else needed.
Gorgeous. Seriously!
Love the location. I’m so going back. My favorite shot of the day.
I can’t help it. I just love people laying in the grass. It makes them so comfortable and relaxed… I just love what happens.
January 9, 2010 at 11:10pm
January 8, 2010 at 11:48pm
A tilt-shift lens. SO fun! Here’s one shot:
Just in case you’re not a photography geek and are wondering what a tilt-shift lens is, it’s is one crazy wacky lens that can change the plane of focus. It’s really meant to straighten converging lines in architectural shots, but portrait photographers are having lots of fun making things go blurry in random places. See the top of this image? Blurrier that it would normally be. Maybe not the best example, but I plan to have a lot of fun with this in the future.
My models… some of the few people I know with my same last name! (Dave’s brother and his adorable family)
By the way, the previous two are not tilt-shifty images. Just regular ones. I had 15 minutes in the rain on the day after Christmas to grab these shots. Good times.
(What’s this? An image less than two weeks old? Not to fear, I’ll be back to the posting of old images tomorrow, ha ha.)
January 7, 2010 at 9:30pm
So, today I had my first session of the new year, a delightful sweet newborn. And while I wish I had same-day turnaround, I do not. Instead, I’ll post images of a newborn that, due to my former slacking in blogging, is no longer new, but probably on the verge of sitting up. They change so unbelievably quickly those first few months! So, as a reminder to sleep-deprived new mothers… they DO sleep sometimes. And isn’t it wonderful when they do? All passed out with milk breath? MMmmmm….
by shannon
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