happy sunday! holiday photos in san diego

we kicked off the holiday photo season early this year, with an end of september shoot that was so much fun.  this family is so amazing, full of love, goodness and friendship (plus, they are gorgeous!) --we've known them since before the little guy was born!  this was at tamarack beach in carlsbad, take a look at a few of our faves...

i mean seriously, does it get any more picture perfect than this? i'm waiting for the magazines to come calling...

happy holidays swensons!

holiday photos are coming to san diego

it's that time of year...
...when we pray that the kids will smile just once and at the same time
... when we hope that the weather will cooperate and not give us crazy hair
...when we hope that there won't be 500 other people with the same idea in the same place at the same time
...when we go shopping for the perfect outfit, coordinated, but not matchy, and what color is in style this year? 
...when we wonder when holiday photos got so competitive
...when we become those parents we never thought we would be just to get our kids to smile -- I'll buy you a candy, toy, puppy, _____! if you would just smile once

Yes, it is that time of year we all love, HOLIDAY PHOTO TIME!!!!

We are coming to San Diego a few times over the next couple months for holiday photos, so sign up now and pass along the info.

Oct 24-26
Nov 7-9
Thanksgiving Weekend

Cost is $125 for the mini session (15 minutes) and $200 for the 30 minute session.  Locations TBD.

Email us at daniphaneufphoto@gmail.com or find us on facebook and let us know what date / time works for you.

And to get you in the mood, here is one of my favorite photos from our shoot in october, at tamarack beach in carlsbad. imagine the envy all your east coast and midwest friends will have when you send them your holiday cards...

dec 18: a month of charitable giving -- princess project | sf bay area photographer

who doesn't remember pretty in pink? molly ringwald in all her 80s glory, desperate to go to prom, but didn't have the money for a dress. so she made one, a beautiful (in her mind) pink gown. well if she had known about the princess project, she might have been able to save herself some time.

the princess project is a cool organization that supports a girl's dream of being able to attend prom. through this organization, you can donate old dresses that they will in turn give to young girls so they can fulfill their dream of attending prom.  they also have opportunities to volunteer, both in san francisco area and in san diego, so there is plenty of opportunity for you to get involved. 

and today's post features an adorable little princess who was just about 3 months old for our shoot.  from engagement to wedding to maternity to newborn and now family photo shoots, we have loved getting to know lisa and tim and giving them the memories of a lifetime. 

 happy holidays,

dani + james

dec 17: a month of charitable giving -- alzheimers.org | sf bay area photographer

i can't imagine what it would be like to not remember things, basic things, memories of the good times, my husband's name.  but that is exactly what happens with alzheimers, it takes away your memory and interferes with your brain, making it difficult to even live.  according to the website, alzheimers is the 6th leading cause of death in the US.  with all the scientific advances and medical breakthroughs we read about every day, it would seem like a cure should be right around the corner, but the brain is a tricky beast and unfortunately, a cure still seems quite far away. 

alzheimers.org is an organization that helps both people suffering from the disease (or other forms of dementia) and their supporters and family.  we've been supporting this organization for the past couple of years, since one of my closest family members was diagnosed with dementia.  we see the daily struggles, see the difficulty in speaking and interacting and it breaks our hearts.  so we do the little that we can and donate to fund medical research, in the hopes that one day soon a cure will be found.

today we are sharing a family who we've know for so many years, we've watched their family grow and keep growing and its always so great to see their cute smiling faces.  this was taken under crystal pier, in san diego, on a perfect san diego winter day.

happy holidays!

dani + james

dec 16: a month of charitable giving -- jonathan collins org | sf bay area photographer

for the past few years, james and i have basically skipped christmas, only buying gifts for the kids in our life. we take the money we would have spent on gifts and donate to charities instead.  and this year, we took a percentage of each holiday photo shoot and donated to a charity that we like.  many of the charities we have been donating to for years, but we also find new ideas from friends, colleagues and from magazine articles like glamour's 31 days of giving.  this list has ideas that are easy to support, for just a few dollars. 

today we are featuring a charity (we found on glamour's list) that is so heartwarming and thoughtful, helping the children of deployed military parents.  the jonathan collins organization will send a cute teddy bear with a recorded message from the parent to the child when a parent deploys.  the program is called a message from the heart, and i can only imagine the surprise and delight when the child gets that cute little bear and hears mommy or daddy's voice.  for just $25 you can send a child a comfort bear and you can find out more on facebook. 

for today's holiday session, we're sharing one of our LA families, who we have known for many years. we first photographed them when there were only 4, and now they are an awesome family of 5, with amazing personalities and fabulousness to boot (check out those outfits).  the pictures were taken at a gorgeous park in beverly hills, will rogers memorial park. 

 happy holidays!

dani + james

dec 15: a month of charitable giving -- the sam fund | sf bay area photographer

 

i came across this charity recently, on the recommendation from a colleague.  after reading the stories of these young adults affected by cancer and how the sam fund helps them to move on with their lives, i was hooked.  i like the idea of being able to help people move forward with their lives, to win over this vicious and indiscriminate disease, to be able to have just a little comfort after a lot of pain.  you can find out more about the sam fund by checking out their website here or by following them on facebook.

today's holiday photo session is from one of our san diego families who we have been photographing for years.  we have seen these adorable little girls grow up and we look forward to seeing them every year.  this year's session was taken in del mar, right near l'auberge hotel, which is quite a spectacular property.

happy holidays!

dani + james

dec 14: a month of charitable giving -- american cancer society | sf bay area photographer

i'm not sure about you, but whenever i see one of those commercials about celebrating another birthday, i can't help but feel grateful for the american cancer society.  cancer is such a vicious disease,  it seems like it is everywhere i turn these days -- from family to friends to my favorite tv characters and fictional book heroines, i just can't escape it.  so i help in the little way i can, by donating to the american cancer society throughout the year. 

james and i met sandy and john at a cooking class years ago, and we love seeing them every year.   enjoy today's family holiday photo, taken at hotel del coronado. 

happy holidays!

dani + james