Another year, another photoshoot! Ok, so technically I’m 6 months late on this years “birthday” shoot but to be honest, I’m just glad it happened at all. Let me just tell you, this was a completely unplanned on a whim kinda shoot that lasted about 20 minutes until the last teeny bit of light was left. We went at max 5 minutes from my house and I just prayed she wouldn’t be over it in less than the 20 minutes of light we had left. I think after 9 years of me photographing her, she’s officially over it.

Av had just finished her homework and looked super cute from her day at school. I said, “Hey, let’s jump in the car and take a few pics around the neighborhood for your 11 year birthday session, super easy.” She agreed and we ran over to the tiny Livermore vineyard on Portola. I’ve lived in Livermore for 4 years now and never once tried photographing here but it’s an absolute gem! Although she was a bit cold, she was actually excited for the shoot and even came up with ideas for how to photograph her. In fact, the portraits shooting through the grapevines were her idea! I’m obsessed with how those turned out! Afterwards, we headed over to a cute pathway and empty street near her old acrobatics gym. We had so much fun playing around with different jumps and dance poses; it was so good seeing her finally excited again about being in front of the camera!

This shoot might’ve taken 7 months to happen BUT I’m actually really glad it didn’t happen until today. She just started 6th grade about a month ago and in that time, I’m already seeing a new her emerge; a more mature her. Looking at these portraits, I see exactly who she is today at the start of a new journey and I’m so happy I was able to capture this time in her life.

These pictures of her genuine smile and laughter are this mama’s everything. That’s a wrap ya’ll!!