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 8-13: a month of charitable giving -- greater good | sf bay area photographer

no matter your preference, the greater good has a charity for you.  do you love animals? then you can donate to animal rescue organizations.  pets not your thing but instead want to make a difference in people's lives? then you can donate to fight hunger here, through operation sandwich.  or maybe you want to help our planet -- you can do that too, all through greater good. we like this organization because it simplifies giving, and they have donated over $30M to charitable causes over the past 7 years.  with a simple click, you can donate (sometimes for FREE) to organizations that really make an impact on peoples' lives around the world. 

for this holiday posting, we are sharing another one of our LA families, who we have known for years. they were one of our first wedding clients, and we have watched their family grow -- we love seeing them every year.  they just welcomed a new little boy and we were thrilled to meet the little guy.  this was taken at will rogers memorial park, in beverly hills.  love, love, love the navy and green, so fabulous.

happy holidays,

dani + james

family: rosie and horacio

we met rosie and horacio through leti, one of our brides we photographed earlier this year, and although we had already done a family photo session with them, they wanted to do another one to show off their newly worked-out bodies. this time, we met at polliwog park in manhattan beach, and had some fun running around the pond, climbing trees and chasing ducks. here are a few of our faves from the day...

wedding: leti and gilbert

we had a beautifully hot la afternoon in august to celebrate leti and gilbert's wedding, at st. mark's church in venice and then at the sheraton hotel near lax. i met leti in the hotel for a few of the fun getting ready pics...


her very cool engagement ring, a blue heart...

and pretty white bouquet, made by leti and her family...

the ceremony was traditional, though the mariachis were playing before the processional


after the ceremony, we headed over to leti's aunts house for some beautiful garden pics--you would have thought we were in a tropical jungle with all the foliage...



james got the guys looking very un-groomsman-like in the street...

while i got the girls sassin' it up...


the reception started with some very cool mariachis, james and i were tempted to break into a little dance but we restrained ourselves...

look at all the confetti...

we snuck outside for a quick dip in the pool, ok, not really, but at least a couple more shots of the happy couple...

back to the reception and a beautiful first dance...

and the traditional cake cutting...


leti and gilbert, we wish you a lifetime of happiness and lots of wonderful memories of your wedding day, thank you for letting us share in your joy.


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leticia and gilbert: engaged!

OK, so this is a bit late, but with the new website coming up, we have been a little behind in posting on our new blog. We met Leticia and Gilbert in early February out at the very funky Venice Beach, in Southern California. Wading through the performance artists and basketball players, we found some peaceful spots on the beach to capture their engagement photos. They looked so happy despite the sometimes foul smelling rocks and strange looking surroundings, we can't wait to shoot their wedding later this year.



Congratulations Leticia and Gilbert, thanks for being such great models and spending the afternoon with us.