summer golden light + baby Peyton.

Happy Summer! My friend Nicole's baby Peyton is 9 months old! I can't believe it. I've been sure to do a shoot with her every 3 months so I have her first year for my photography portfolio (plus I can't help it- I see a cute baby & I have to photograph + snuggle it). I really love how these photos came out. The golden late summer day lighting + the field I recently found + some cute props + adorable baby Peyton= happy photographer Michelle :)

With every shoot I do, I feel more comfortable and confident, and I see my work getting better. My editing flow is coming more naturally (I only recently learned Lightroom), and every shoot is starting to look more like me. I'm happy with how my portfolio is coming along!

xo, Michelle

PS. If you're interested in a low-rate portfolio-building session for you and/or your kids in Orange County, CA, email me :)

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summer time endings.

While the weather is still fluctuating in extremes and most days I change from pants to shorts and back to pants several times, I'm surrounded by the feeling of the end of summer, a summer that passed so quickly I hardly remember it. It didn't feel the way summer usually feels this year, for some reason. That makes me feel some sadness and regret and nostalgia. I think I was just extremely focused on the business side that I'm having to learn to keep my art shop selling. But I'll try to focus on the things that were summer-y.....

I took a really beautiful and fun roadtrip up the CA coast with my younger sister. We'd never traveled just the two of us, and it was right before her first full time job began. It was one of those rite of passage trips I'll never forget. And the scenery was like a dream.

The 4th of July was actually fun this year, and we did some small home fireworks & sparklers for the first time!

We had a Tea Party to celebrate the Royal birth haha. I ate all gluten-free versions of things, but so yummy. I absolutely love having High Tea.

As a group of girls, we went to Lake Arrowhead for a weekend. I love being in the mountains, even though it wasn't quite June Lake.

Summer is the season for concerts! Went to about one each weekend in August. So many musicians that I love!

The OC Fair is crazy crowded, but it always feels like summer.

My older sister & I started this labor day weekend pool party every year that we call Poolfest. This year we had a ton of people there and we played with a waterproof camera!

Some other highlights:

Hope you all had a nice summer :) I'm so excited for sweater weather; I crave it year-round!

xo, Michelle