Photography // Meadow Maternity Session

As you all probably know, photography is one of my biggest passions. It always makes me so happy when I can share it with others by capturing images of them that they can cherish forever. One of my very close friends, Ola, and her husband were expecting their first baby, so we decided to document this special time in their lives with a photo session. We shot these photos on Easter Sunday and good thing we did because baby girl was just born exactly a week later (4 days ago)!
I am so very happy with how these photos turned out, so I thought I would share some of my favorites with you all!

We found a lovely meadow to shoot in and it was glorious. This spot is actually just off a freeway exit and it was kind of funny to have cars honking and people waving at us while they were on the off-ramp haha. But nonetheless, it was a lovely place to shoot photos and I will definitely keep it in mind for future sessions! 
I'm only 22, but it is kind of crazy to be at an age where some of your friends begin getting married and having babies. I just can't believe it! Several of my blog friends have babies, like Abby, Britt, and Danica, but Ola is the first of my non-internet friends to have a baby and it is pretty wonderful getting to witness it all in person. I remember being shocked to hear that she was pregnant, just a month after she got married, and now here we are with an actual baby to hold! Last June we were celebrating her wedding and this April we are welcoming their baby!
While I am nowhere near ready for any babies of my own, I am so very happy for my sweet friend. It amazes me all that has happened and all that has changed in the three short years I have known her, yet it feels that I have always known her. And until I am ready for my own baby, I cannot wait to be an auntie to her little girl and shower her with so much love.
The lighting was quite perfect while we were shooting and I am so in love with the entire look of the photos. I think there is nothing better than a lovely natural setting and golden light. I don't think I could ever be a studio photographer!
On Monday evening I went to visit them in the hospital and I got to meet the little baby girl, Leticia. My goodness, she is just so precious and I already love her. They went home from the hospital today and I can't wait to visit them again soon!

Doing this photo session with them also really made me want to shoot more photos! I just need to find some people to photograph ;) Oh, by the way, I made a photography site back in January and you can check it out here if you want! If you or anyone you know lives in the Bay Area, send them my way! I am not opposed to traveling :)

My New Photography Site! It's Finally Here!

Guys, you cannot believe how very excited I am to be sharing this with you all! After dreaming of this, trying out several platforms, and putting it on the back burner, my photography site is finally here and I am ready to start taking on clients!

Aside from this blog, creating a small photography business on the side has been one of my passion projects. I have been so excited to start photographing people more often and growing in that passion of mine! Of course, it will be a nice way to make some extra money hopefully (which all college students could definitely use!), but I'm mostly just looking forward to being able to further develop my skills and meet new people while I'm at it.

I'd love it if you checked out my site, Jessica Noel Photography, and even passed it along to your SF Bay Area friends if you are feeling nice :) And of course, if any of you readers are in the Bay Area and want to set up a photo session, I'd be sure to give you a great deal, so please do reach out :)

Since we are on the topic of photography, I thought this would be the perfect time to share some of my favorite shots from a session I did just the other day with my best friend, Nayeli, and her boyfriend, Greg. We made a day of it and grabbed brunch before heading to Golden Gate Park in San Francisco to shoot these photos!
Golden Gate Park is such a huge place and I wasn't quite sure what I was looking for in the perfect spot, but we lucked out and found several great settings for photos. This is easily one of my most very favorite portrait sessions I have ever done and I am so happy with how they turned out :) Enjoy!
Nayeli and Greg are such a cute couple and are definitely our favorite couple to hang out with. From pumpkin carving, to softball games, to cookie decorating, to dinner dates, and nights out bar hopping, we always have so much fun with them and are constantly laughing!

I have been friends with Nayeli since our freshman year of high school when we met playing on the softball team, and though we did lose touch for a while in between that time, I can honestly say that she is one of my closest, funniest, kindest, and faithful friends. We reconnected just last spring after not talking much for a few years and easily picked up right where we left off, and are closer than we have ever been. I think that's how you know you have found a true, lifetime friend :)

Well, enough gushing about friendship for now (although I do plan to write an entire post on it soon)! I hope you enjoyed these recent photos and my new site! Like I said before, I am just so very excited to see where this adventure takes me!

Thank you for all of your support :)

Photography // Furry Family Photos

Remember when I mentioned the wedding we recently went to? Well, here are a few photos from a little shoot I did with the happy couple and their fur babies a couple months before the big day! I was really excited to get together with my cousin (Kathryn) and her fiancé (Brian), and of course to have the opportunity to photograph some pups. My favorite!
We drove to a meadow that I knew of right on a cliff above the beach over in Half Moon Bay for this little shoot, a place that I have gone to for several photo sessions now. I think the setting really suited them well, especially since doggies were involved.
 When we first arrived to do these photos it was sunny and golden, but as time progressed, the clouds rolled in. I think that I prefer the softness and gentleness of the photos taken in overcast light, but it does kind of bother me that half the photos are sunny and half are overcast. Oh well, I guess some variety is good, right? ;)
Over all, I'm pretty happy with how these photos turned out and it was a fun adding some furry friends into the mix! My cousin used these photos as part of the decor around their wedding and I loved seeing them printed and displayed so nicely :) I'm also working on a (belated, yet thoughtful!) wedding gift using one of these photos, which I will be sharing in a DIY post next week, so keep your eyes peeled for that!

I have realized that photography is one of my greatest passions, yet lately I haven't really been spending the time practicing and learning to be better. I definitely want to change that (especially since my plan is to have photography as part of my career)! I need to go on more photo adventures and simply carry my camera with me wherever I go. I would also love to keep photographing people, since I have come to the realization that they are my favorite subjects!

If anyone lives in the area and wants some photos taken for fun, I'm your gal :)

Photography // A Growing Boy

Hi there! See that beautiful boy up there? He's my little nephew that you may remember from previous posts, like my sisters maternity photos, and another photo session when he was a lot littler (Part 1 + Part 2). He is getting so big now! These photos were taken a little over a month ago now and I had been wanting to share them, but I forgot! Thought I would share them now before he gets much bigger and they are out of date!

Photo sessions with him and my sister & brother-in-law are such fun shoots. He is always camera ready and his smiles put one on my own face. Can't wait until we shoot his 1-year photos next. Although, I really can because I don't want him to get any bigger!!

Even though this past month or so has thrown me for a loop, I'm excited to plan some new photo sessions with others. I only have one on the agenda for now, but hopefully some things will come together soon! I would also love to shoot another wedding or engagement photos in the near future.

Around December, I put together a little site for my photography. You may have noticed the little 'photography' tab up at the top of my blog. That's what that is for! If you haven't checked out my separate site, you can visit it here! I still want to buy my own domain for it, but for now it is a nice online portfolio to have!

Anyway, I hope your week is off to a great start! I'm on spring break, but unfortunately it has been raining pretty hard here today so I've had to stay inside. I'm looking forward to a nice dinner out with my family tonight though and a week of blog-worthy fun :)

Catching Up with Myself

Hello all! I unplugged from the blogging world these past week and I think that was the best thing for me. Things have been tough, but I have really cherished all of your kind comments, emails, tweets, and thoughts concerning my aunt (you can find those posts here & here). Really, they were all so overwhelmingly wonderful.

Spending this past weekend in Washington DC was truly the best thing I could have done. There was definitely a melancholy undertone to the weekend, but I think my family was more grateful to be together during this time than anything else. I spent Saturday arriving in DC at 6am, having a gourmet breakfast at a wonderfully generous neighbor's home, having an impromptu baby photo session, getting girl-time mani/pedis with my two cousins, having a big family dinner (20+ people!) at a restaurant, having a few good cries, editing baby photos, and crashing very hard that night from this busy day. Waking up on Sunday morning, we all knew that a tough day was ahead of us, but things went as well as they could and we celebrated her 70th birthday, as well as the memory of her life.

This is my aunt's two-month old-granddaughter, Arianna. She got to spend a short amount of time with her, but let me tell you, she lived for this girl before she was even thought of. Having only one child of her own, she looked forward to the day her daughter would have a child so that she could pour as much love into a grandchild as she has her daughter.

It really is all bittersweet in some sort of strange way and Arianna has been the greatest distraction and blessing out of this mess. My aunt got to meet her granddaughter, see her daughter as a mother, and take pride in all of it with her husband. I think that is all anyone can really ask.

While I was visiting, I brought up the idea of having a little photo shoot with the baby. My cousin was thrilled and we immediately went upstairs to the nursery for our impromptu session, while around 15 people hung out downstairs. I thought I'd share a little look at them with you! I must say, I love how my cousin looks so naturally beautiful without a drop of makeup.





I love how simple and natural these are. There was nothing fancy going on here, but yet they are just sweet. I am really happy to have been able to shoot these during my short visit, as it was a way for me to do something meaningful for my cousin during this time. I really hope to see more of this part of my family again soon, and even do some sightseeing in DC while I'm at it.

This little break was good for me, but I'll be back tomorrow and next week to resume things as originally planned. Yesterday was the first day in a few weeks that I looked at my blog planning pages and actually felt inspired. Things have been rough and I am just starting to catch up with myself.

Though I was undecided about making the trip out to DC, I am so glad that I went. This whole situation has been crazy and I keep thinking that it all must be a dream. While sad, seeing my family helped me wrap my head around everything a bit better and come to terms with what has happened. I can feel her absence, but I know that she will always be with me.

You are all wonderful. Have I told you that lately?