2008: bring.it.on.

WELCOME 2008, originally uploaded by studio138.

Ready for a fresh start...

humble thanks

... to all my holiday 2007 families for a wild whirlwind of card creating craziness!!! I enjoyed working with each and every one of you! THANK YOU for your confidence and ALL THE BEST to you in the new year! Hooray for 2008!

I will be revamping the website and taking care of some behind-the-lens issues until late February but your galleries will remain for a few weeks in case you wanted to order additional prints/products from your sessions. Feel free to contact me at any time. I look forward to scheduling those who have already expressed interest in birthday invitations, realty postcards, other family sessions, etc.

xxcris

The Greatest Gift

Thanks to my friends of friends for a relaxing session. They were a wonderful family with a beautiful 7-day-old baby ~ just in time for Christmas...

wrightwood07

wrightwood07, originally uploaded by studio138.

Practicing with my new fancy-schmancy camera...

It's Beginning to Look Alot Like...

It's Beginning to Look Alot Like..., originally uploaded by studio138.

Christmas!!!

Thanks to all of my clients this year! I have had so much fun shooting all of you for your Christmas cards! I can't wait til next year, when I will start even earlier to be sure to get everyone in!

Now that I am finished with all but one shoot, I was able to spend some time away from the computer to decorate my home. I didn't put up my usual amount of holiday cheer but it is festive all the same. It may, however, stay up a bit longer than usual to make it worth the effort ~ lol ;)

Guess who scored a brand spanking new Nikon D300!??!?!?!?!?!? I'd been on the waiting list since August so this was an early but long awaited Christmas gift! Now to practice so that I can be worthy of it's awesome-ness...!!!

Sneek Peek!

I'm working on yours now, A! ;)

thanks, "J" family!

What a gorgeous day to be at the beach, wasn't it? Hope you had some fun!!! :) Stay tuned for your images...

Let's Meet Under the Mistletoe!

Hey! Wanted you to know I'm a-working away on your images! Here's a little peek of an outtake to thank you for your patience! :) And aren't you glad your session was LAST weekend and not this rainy, rainy weekend?!?! Yay for California, Boo-hoo for 2 other clients who wanted sessions in Laguna :(

Hey, Beaver Family!

Hey, Kel!
Just wanted to assure you I'm working on your images! Call it post-turkey day lag but I am swamped over here, working away to get your images in the gallery! Not too much longer!!!

Here are a few more outtakes for your viewing pleasure...

Aren't you glad that tounge-sticker-outer isn't YOUR son? Who's kid is that anyway?!??!?!?! [lol]

thank you, familia "D"

I hope you are feeling better, J! Between the fall on the bottom and the dizzy spell, I was a bit worried... Stay tuned for your photos! ;)

back@work

I hope everyone had a great Turkey Day with good food and loved ones. Here are just a few shots from our time in Las Vegas.

1) Old Guy in front of the Glitter Gulch; 2) A fleet of Shelby Cobras at the Carroll Shelby World HQ; 3) Our Shelby

where the boys are...

***SOME OUTTAKES FROM RECENT SHOOTS***
I'll be out of town (and away from my precious computer!!!) for the Thanksgiving holiday. Back to work on your images soon! Look for an email next week! Have a safe one! xoxo

hey, hey we're the...

*******CLICK FOR LARGER***********
I've been a little busy with Christmas cards these past few weeks so guess who decided to pull out their inner naughty?!?!?

say.hello.to.my.little.friend

*****CLICK PHOTO TO SEE LARGER*****
My BIL took these awesome shots of my girls and a new friend with his point-n-shoot. LOVE THEM! Thanks again, guys, for watching the kiddos while I had a session...

TGIF!

Just a little "booey" comin' yer way...

availability update

*vineyard dawg

I AM OFFICIALLY BOOKED UP for HOLIDAYS 2007 :)

If you haven't scheduled a date but still wanted a family portrait for the holidays, Calumet photographic stores in Los Angeles, San Diego, or Santa Ana are currently taking appointments for FREE! FAMILY PORTRAITS in store, including a FREE! 8x10 print!!! And for $5, they'll burn your image onto a CD so you can create your own cards and/or gifts thru the likes of Shutterfly, KodakGallery, or your favorite photo processor! If you missed out on my photographic services, call Calumet today! Can't beat FREE!!!

thanks a bunch, la familia "C"

WOW! What a workout we had today, huh?!?! I hope you guys had some fun in the vines ;) Stay tuned for your proofs!

availability update

It's NOT too late to schedule for your Holiday Card session IF you ACT FAST!!!! I have a few openings before this season is closed:

Saturday, November 17th

Saturday, December 1st

Sunday, December 2nd

Call me today! Email me! LMK asap! ho! ho! ho!

*ROSEANNE: If you are reading this, I'm waiting for you, girl! lol

all saints

Hope everyone had a safe and happy halloween! ;)

arachnid terpsichorean

arachnid terpsichorean, originally uploaded by studio138.

What fun I had photographing Lil E at her costume party ballet class today! The little one in the photo at top left was a chocolate dipped strawberry! Her mom made the costume herself... too cute!

invitation

[Royalty-free stock photos of baseball and field; design and photos of bday boy by me]

A+ Family

Thanks, C, L, & Lil S for a great day! I had alot of fun but I hope I didn't work you too hard!!!

oh! baby and other packages/products

So a few clients have inquired about services and products in addition to holiday cards, which is the only thing I have on my website thus far. The answer is: YES!!! I absolutely will be advertising my other services which include:


Birth Announcements

Birthday Invitations (and thank you cards!)

"We've Moved" cards

Senior portraits, including Senior Ad page design

Realtor Marketing design (postcards, newsletters, etc)

and, of course, almost any product you can think of to do with a photo, such as: storyboards, ready-to-hang canvas prints, hardbound books, photostamps, jewelry, and even purses!


Recently, a wonderful friend and client wanted to purchase a baby announcement package to give to a friend who is expecting a child. I suggested the "Oh! Baby Card&Photo Package", which will include a newborn session, a 5-10 image gallery of custom-proofed images, a Keepsake 8x10 print, and a set of custom designed cards*. The gift giver will recieve the little acrylic box below to present to her at the shower and the mother-to-be can schedule at her convenience after the little one arrives. She can even replace the 3.5x3.5 design cards with photos and use it to decorate the nursery! I think it turned out really cute, don't you?


So STAY TUNED! I am working on the other packages and such between holiday card shoots so I can rework my website to reflect these products and services after the holidays. But I will post any sneak peeks of my other projects until then right here on this blog...

*A choice of card sizes and numbers is similar to the holiday card offering now on imagesby138.com

Thanks for visiting!

Location Scout: Fullerton Arboretum

I scouted the Fullerton Arboretum today with the fam... They were (thankfully) quite the cooperative crew ;)

on my honor

on my honor, originally uploaded by studio138.

Since we took her out of private school this year, I feel compelled to be more on top of the moral character development if I hope to raise my children with proper manners and good taste. The Girl Scouts will hopefully be a good complement to what we do at home everyday. I just can't take how old she looks here! But so mature to feign a smile although definitely not happy about Mom behind the camera... again!

flower.girl

flower.girl, originally uploaded by studio138.

please pray that the fires will stay away! for now, i took advantage of something positive about them (the ONLY one!) - a strange morning sun that gave some beautiful photo-taking light...

indulge

Sees candy and Nikkor glass. nuthin' bettah... happy [belated] anniversary to me :)

boys don't make passes

at girls who wear glasses ;) happy wednesday!

sneak peek: belmont shore

THANK YOU to one of my top 3 most favorite families I have ever known for allowing me to photograph you today!!! My own family and I had a blast with you guys!!! xoxo

make it special with a photostamp

I often forget that not everyone shares my love of photography and is not necessarily up-to-date on the things you can do with the web and a photo...

A few years ago, I was one of the first to order real postage with my own photo printed right on it from a company called Photostamps.com. I uploaded a photo of my then 1-year-old daughter (digging into her cake as only 1-year-old can), used their simple online software to crop and choose my border style and color, paid, and in 1 week, had the stamps I used to send out the thank you cards from her birthday party. The cards were a HUGE HIT and everyone commented about the novelty of the stamp!

In this age where something special and personal in your mailbox is a rare treat, I thought I would offer my help in making such treats as special and personal as they can be. Anyone who completes a holiday card session with me will receive a free lo-res jpeg file that they can upload to the stamps.com website to make their own stamps for placement on their cards. Order a sheet of 20 to use on just the "most special" cards or as many as you need! At approx. $22 per sheet (incl. shipping), you are paying about $14 over the cost of a regular book of stamps to give that extra warm wish to your holiday card recipients.

My gift to you. Tis the season :)

PS I recieve absolutely no benefit from the Photostamps.com company. I really just think the product is cool and wanted to offer it to you for your consideration ;)

beauty by the bay

I scouted Belmont Shore yesterday for an upcoming family portrait session. I pretty much spent most of my summers there as a child but needed to put on my "photographer's eye" to see it as it will appear in photos :) The sailboats make for a nice backdrop, as well as the small pier. I also found a cool muraled dumpster and a kayak hut that would make for interesting spots.

forget all your troubles, forget all your cares...

and go downtown for your holiday card photo session! Riverside is chock full of wonderful coves and doorways and other such architectural beauty... Think about it!

don't be the one responsible for this

The family I was to photograph for holiday cards had to reschedule today. So what's a photographer to do when she has no one to photograph? Well, this. It ain't pretty but I AM proud of my budding assistant 4-year-old for taking it! ;)

just another day at the looney bin

"S" doing her best Michael Jackson"...

and Miss Maggie hangin' with her sisters.

availability update

Sunday afternoons are going fast! Sessions for afternoons on the following dates are NO LONGER AVAILABLE:

OCT 14

OCT 21

OCT 28

NOV 11

NOV 25

If Sunday afternoons are best for you, please contact me ASAP for one of the last 3 available dates of November 4th, November 18th, or December 2nd. Otherwise, I still have openings for all Saturdays - morning or evening - thru December 1st. Tis the season, my friends! :)

feeling a bit profound ;)

If beauty is in the details...

it's a bug's life.

Happy Wednesday :)

availability update

For the convenience of my client hopefuls, I will be posting some information about my schedule availability and other session related info on this blog. So if you are interested in booking a date for holiday cards, please check back here to help you plan.

We are now officially one week out from my first available date of October 6th:

October 6th OPEN am/pm

October 7th Booked for the afternoon in Fullerton

October 13 OPEN am/pm

October 14 Booked for the afternoon in Belmont Shore

October 20th OPEN am/pm
October 21st Booked for the afternoon in Temecula

November 24th (not available)

November 25th Booked for afternoon in Laguna Beach

NOTE of CAUTION: I have opened dialogue with a few families about booking in the coming weeks but will not list them as booked until the date is set for sure. If you know you want to book, don't wait too long! And if you do book , please be sure to cement it into your calendar so as to not deny another family a spot in these limited engagements!

You can call me, email me, or fill out my form under the contact section of my website. If you are interested but are having a hard time securing a date, I hope you let me help work something out so we can get you some great holiday cards this year :) Talk you you soon ~cris

born2ride

scenes from a lazy day

happy wednesday, everyone. ;)

do.u.c.what.eye.c?

aaahhhhhhh... generations.