for lucy jane

Wow! What a lucky girl Lucy Jane is to have parents like Katie + Ryan. These two souls are the most positive, loving, happy-go-lucky peas-in-a-pod. I have never met a couple with greater connection and support for one another...and I just met them this one time!

Katie + Ryan wanted to have the memories of their pregnancy journey captured before the expected arrival of their first daughter, Lucy Jane, on May 22nd, so I quickly jumped to the occasion. They chose to romp around Bonny Doon Beach with me on a warm Thursday afternoon and I couldn't have been more excited. BEACH SESSIONS ARE MY FAVORITE! The sun, the sand, the waves, the wind...all the elements soothe you with a sense of zen. Visiting the ocean always gives me a sense of 'home,' so again, I was beyond stoked to spend time there with Katie + Ryan.

Funny story: we weren't alone at the beach. As we walked up to this beautiful rock structure Katie gasped. In terror I asked what was wrong. She made 'look that way' eyes at Ryan and I, we both looked in the direction and saw a nudie booty, haha. I tried my best to not make them look in the direction of the tanned booty in the sand, but it made for a great laugh the entire shoot.

Not only are Katie + Ryan the sweetest souls and are going to be the most fun parents, but the are SO GORGEOUS! Like look at these photos (see below), I never wanted this session to end. Katie has mermaid hair that the wind so effortlessly swirls around her face. Ahhh, I'm day dreaming of going back to that day.

The day before their shoot my dad sent me some old photos of him in his teens and I about cried. The thought that someone took this at a point in time and he saved them till today where his daughter can see what he looked like, what his passions were, and let her mind run wild with ideas of what it would have been like to know her father back then filled my heart. So throughout Katie + Ryan's session all that ran through my mind was 'someday when Lucy is older she will look at these photos of her parents and be filled with joy seeing their smiles, excitement of her arrival, the love that radiates the images and wraps her in a warm hug.'

I had so much fun taking these photos, spending time with Katie + Ryan, and working my magic in the editing room. All you beach bums please reach out, I want to spend a day at the beach with you!