Anjali. Our little angel.

Well, you saw the photos from the Marvin family gender reveal, which we shot at the incredible Heritage Museum of Orange County. But Miss Anjali had so many great shots on her own, that I figured this little performer deserved her own post. So here you go- Enjoy! (and I dare you to not smile while viewing.)

 
 

Surprise surprise.....

Shesha and Nikki have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of their second child. Anjali, their beautiful and vivacious firstborn, has been so patient in waiting to find out if she is going to have a little brother or a little sister. 

Of course they couldn't just send a text message or make a phone call. What would be the fun in that? So we decided to do a little stylized shoot to tell the world which gender the next Marvin would be. 

And today, ladies and gentlemen, the Marvin family is proud to announce.....

 
 

 
 

Thank you so much, Marvins, for letting me be a part of this big announcement- can't wait to meet the little man!!!

Just Like Mommy. {Lifestyle Portraits}

My mother was the making of me.
~ Thomas Alva Edison

The trouble with muses....

... is that they never stop inspiring you. 

Okay, I guess that's not necessarily trouble. 

I don't even have a title for this one.

I had a dream. Literally. And in that dream was this photo of Marilyn Monroe:

I wouldn't say I'm a HUGE Marilyn fan. I do love her, I do admire and adore so many of her photos and images. I enjoy her movies. But I don't know much about her, and I certainly don't spend much time thinking about her. That's why this dream was so curious. What was even more curious was that as soon as I woke, I had a flash in my mind of my friend, professional Lindy Hop dancer, Nikki Marvin, wearing her Lindy sneakers while posing as Marilyn. Weird, right? I know. What can I say? Sometimes creativity comes from weird places in the brain.

Lucky for me, Nikki was down for the cause. She threw together a vintage outfit (all purchased at local vintage shopping mecca, Elsewhere Vintage) and spent all day doing her own hair and makeup. Commitment, people. That's why I love this woman.

Here are just a few of our impromptu shoot. Nikki does such an incredible job of capturing not just the look, but the energy and essence of what I love about the original photo. She's casual, but elegant, and even though she spent hours in hair and makeup, she looks like she just rolled out of bed looking like a superstar. I couldn't be more ecstatic.

Thank you so much, Nikki. Love.