Hello, blog. Long time no see. But, that's how I roll. 

I'm back here to share with you more from this session because I realized something! It bums me out having to pick just one or two images to share from the sessions that I do. Especially ones like this cause, well, just look. How cute is this little mer-baby!?

This bebe happened to LOVE her cake which you'd kind of expect. But actually, more often than not, babies don't get all that jazzed about getting their hands covered in thick, sticky frosting. For this reason, I get super lit up over seeing a tiny tot just LOVING diving in and getting messy. 

I hope you enjoy seeing a little more from this ONE year session and for those of you who like a little drama, I've included a little cake story for ya below. ;)

Happy Birthday bebe!!

A little Cinderella story about this cake:
I always order my smash cakes super simple and embellish them myself. This way I can have control over color and theme. This time I branched out after some encouragement from the cashier that they could handle my order. I was kind of excited to go pick up the cake all ready to go. Instead, what happened was me being handed a cake that looked hilariously UN-like the photo I'd left with my order. I mean, the colors weren't anywhere close. At least not to someone like me who pays a whole lot of attention to color. The silver lining: the cake ended up being free. BUT, I still had a session that evening with no matching cake. I rushed home, looked at my arsenal of cake decorating supplies and wondered how in the world this was going to work. The hot pink, purple, blue and white stripes on the cake were able to be blended into this pale purple and thanks to the 6 yr old celebrity cake baker I live with (and her tremendously tall order of a unicorn cake the week before)  I had lots of fancy gold embellishments to use in my cake makeover. Just in time I boxed the cake back up and headed out the door to meet this bebe and her parents at the beach. Lesson learned, simple is ALWAYS best. Really, the fact that she LOVED the cake and really went all in, made the whole debacle worth it. 

I can't help think of the disaster that would have been the hot pink stained baby face. Smh

And because no mermaid session is done without a little magic....

From the moment I met these two I was touched deep down to the core by the immense amount of love that they share. Beyond that, the love that they pour outwardly into the world and onto those who they share their lives with.

Sophia and Elizabeth are a beautiful example of two souls loving each other uncontrollably. Not because they chose to, though there will be days they'll need to make that choice to love through the trials, but because Sophia is the yin to Elizabeth's yang and Elizabeth the grey to Sophia's black and white. They together create balance that is necessary to their individual selves.

The theme to their wedding was "All you need is love". This means different things to different people. Throughout their wedding day I was honored to learn a little about what it means to Sophia and Elizabeth. You could feel it in the air, quite literally. Although some of you weren't their to feel it, I hope that it radiates through these images. ​​

Flowers | CMS Floral Design
Venue | Jardin Del Sol
DJ Services | Dance Out Loud DJ Productions​
Videography | Emerald Media Services


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"We loved with a love that was more than love"
-Edgar Allan Poe​

I was lucky enough to enjoy the last bit of the summer flowers with this lovely couple and come spring we'll be celebrating their wedding with the first blooms of the season. What a wonderful time to begin their journey as husband and wife.

We split our time between a few different spots and It made for a wonderful day playing in the sun. And what better way to end it than with milkshakes, whipped cream and sprinkles.
Could they be any cuter!?

     These days the breeze has become slightly more crisp, the skies a little quieter, distant laughter more distinct. We feel the unpredictability of what each day will bring during the summer months transition in to the comfort and familiarity of autumn - guiding us back to our rhythms, bringing us closer to each other and our warm homes and drawing us deep within ourselves. This time of year is like a second spring - the shedding of extroversion and chaos for the simplicity and predictability of the cooler months and shortened days. We are born in to a new sense of self. Even children, it seems, can sense this change and embrace the slower pace, slightly more eager to crawl in to their beds at nightfall.

     We found ourselves arriving just before dusk for a shoot that had taken an entire day prepping for and one that had been in talks for weeks. Barreling from our cars to the dirt paths that led us to the fields, the cadence of four small sets of stark feet running wild past us and stirring up clouds of dust to leave in their trails, were cradled by the comfort of Earth’s promise to catch every bounding stride. As the sun began to soften her gaze, slowly retreating to her bed and setting the sky ablaze, a cacophonous chorus of birds began to fill the heavens with excited chatter of the day’s end. Nature, yet again, was working in perfect harmony, coming alive, working in unison, and begging for all her bounty to be captured. 

It was awe-inspiring to watch the girls really embrace their element in this shoot - to embody the role they were playing as though those energies were who they actually were. With children there are no limits, no self-consciousness; they don’t care who is watching and judgement is not a word they have included in their vocabulary. The believe in themselves, support one another, and incorporate fun in to everything they do - it is a beautiful thing to behold when you stop and take notice.

We had talked about the idea of this shoot for some time and it seemed to fall in to place quite naturally - the “role” of each girl finding them, rather than us having to create it for them. Perhaps this is just another way in which the universe works its mystery. I am a firm believer that energies attract like energies and this shoot was no exception. 

Dylan. Her big, bright blue eyes are like oceans themselves and the degree in which she takes all in with them appears to be vast and endless. She is introspective, with only a single degree of her emotions showing on the surface of her brow at a time. The energy she exudes is a reflection of the energy of those around her. She is pure and calm and mutable.

Emily is consistent and solid - nurturing and incredibly self aware, considering everything and everyone. She is the constant in every storm - the logic in every scenario and should you be so fortunate as to find yourself in a conversation with her, will find yourself swept up in her insight and perspective. With a sense of humor that can, and does cause a room full of adults to burst in to simultaneous belly laughter, Emily is wise beyond her years - a true mother earth.

Elsie is, quite literally, a spitfire. A leader. She is always the one spearheading the direction of the activity at hand and will be the first to challenge the rules. Vivacious, witty, and brimming with emotion, her laugh is the loudest in the room while her gaze is the one piercing you across from it should you upset her. Whatever Elsie feels or thinks or does, her energy spreads like wildfire, engulfing everything and everyone in her path. 

Jovie, with her big, bright doe eyes that always seem to be smiling moves with delicate grace at all times - she sees beauty, understands beauty and creates beauty all around with her ever-changing ideas. In a moments notice she will transition from flitting silently from one place to the next to then softening her gaze and becoming serene, soft and motionless. Floating from one place to the next, she seems to only touch the earth for but a moment before she is swept back up in to the clouds to her next destination.

As we packed our things up, the girls grasping every last ounce of light seeping deep in to their beautiful little souls, I was reminded that the turning of the seasons is not just for the earth herself, but for us who dwell with her - a snapshot of a moment, a time, designed with the intention to make us remember. For now when the next fall greets us, and so many more after, I will remember this moment of when my child was young and free. I will remember that crisp breeze, her distant cries of joy, the sight of her running through the fields with her childhood friends on her heels while the sun basked in their laughter, and I will smile at the return of autumn.

What a lovely day it was to spend with this girl.
She's a lovely girl who's poise is the first thing you notice, but beyond her brow lies her need for adventure and her courage to seek it.
 
The sun couldn't have been shining brighter as we fought through overgrown grass. When I was scouting this location the week before the landscape was much more tame but an abundance of rain over the week brought much growth. 
I suppose the tangled briar was fitting.

Our story was a little different than you may remember of Aurora. 
Rather than an evil spell, it was the prick of a thorn that left our girl in a deep sleep. 
Instead of the kiss of a prince, it was a butterfly kiss that woke her. 

I hope you enjoy our take on this classic story.

Shot & Styled by Jolie Mae Photography

THE END.

These two are both so wonderful and smart.
 I had such a great time during this session and laughed a ton! 
I couldn't post this blog without including some of the most hilariously adorable "outtakes".
Enjoy.

And they lived happily ever after...until the sugar crash. ;)

I hope you enjoyed another very fun Dream With Me session, Hansel and Gretel style.

I realized recently how much I really enjoy photographing Seniors. It's such a pivotal time in their lives and they are just coming into their own and have this wonderful energy about them. I'm sure the energy has much to do with the limited number of days they will be known as highschoolers. Whatever the cause, I truly love it. 

When Kelsey and I were chatting about her ideas for her session she said "I'm not interested in taking any serious pictures." I know why now, she has a gorgeous smile that is infectious to those lucky enough to see it. It would be a waste to not make her beautiful smile the focus. After all it's part of what makes her, her and that in itself is beautiful. 

I hope you enjoy...

What a sweet and beautiful family!

One of my favorite parts of my job is winning over the kiddos who show up to their session bashful and unsure of me. :) We ended up having SO much fun during our session together looking for "baby jaguars" and playing with Stew, the porcelain horse. See if you can spot Stew in the photos. ;)

These littles happen to be the flower girl and ring bearer in the wedding of an equally amazing couple I will be photographing later this year. Lucky me!

Enjoy.