Happy Holidays!

Here's just a quick post to tell everyone that I hope y'all have a fantastic Holiday season filled with good food and great fun!

Here are some of the presents under our tree this year. Besides the gift bags I ordered from the fab Cactus and Quail (on the right in the first image), I decided to use what I had around the house to wrap the rest of our gifts. Namely, ribbon and lace that my grandmother had given me from her stash, paper shopping bags, and a snowflake stamp I had. I think it all came out quite nicely, don't you?? ;)

Stay warm and enjoy the season! See you next year! :)

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Lauren and Frank are married!

Well, I'm not really sure why it took me so long to blog about this gorgeous, October wedding! Aimee Westcott invited me to join her to capture Lauren and Frank's special day at Balboa Park. We started off at the intimate Saint Francis Chapel across from the Museum of Man. I had never been inside that chapel before, but, wow! It was gorgeous!

But, get this! Besides the obvious same-name thing, Lauren and my wedding day had all sorts of similarities! We both lived in Washington, DC, at the time of our wedding, and planned it long-distance so we could get married in our hometowns. We both painted our toenails blue, our dresses were similar, and our cakes even looked alike! I was secretly re-living my wedding day all afternoon! So fun!!

 

We only had about 20 minutes to rock some portraits with Lauren and her ladies, but she was excited when Aimee suggested that we do them at the fabulous May S. Marcy Sculpture Court and Garden at the San Diego Museum of Art. So beautiful!

I just love all the contrast in the shot below!

Here are Lauren's last few moments as a single lady! :)

Frank's mom gave a blessing during the ceremony.

After the ceremony, the bridal party met up for photos at Alcazar Garden.

Lauren's brother was having a little too much fun while holding the Maid-of-Honor's bouquet!

 

See the blue toenails?!

Getting a little touch-up during the portrait taking.

The reception was at The Prado restaurant in Balboa Park. It was the perfect setting to end this wonderful night!

I love this image of Frank watching Lauren enjoy her father-daughter dance!

Congratulations, Lauren and Frank! I hope you are enjoying your first holiday season as husband and wife in the nation's capitol! 

p.s. Check out Aimee's shots here!

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The G Family

Check out this fun family!

Sonnia and I are volunteers for a Marine Spouse group at Camp Pendleton, and I bothered her for a few months to get out in front of my camera. An opportunity for us to get together sprang up over the weekend and I jumped at the chance to meet up with her, Brad, and their two handsome sons at the Oceanside Pier for a short session! Nevermind the 49ers jerseys they're wearing.. This family was a hoot to shoot!

 Isn't Sonnia just gorgeous?!?

"The pointing shot." Sonnia and Brad's older son kept throwing his fingers up, so I asked them all to do it for a shot. Check out little J! He had no idea he was the only one pointing in the opposite direction, and his expression is priceless!

I love it when a family has a little fun during their session!

Thank you, Sonnia and Brad, for (finally!) allowing me to capture you and your awesome kids!

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Help Portrait 2010

If you read my last post or if you've been following my tweets recently, you already know that I spent last Saturday with the awesome Help-Portrait San Diego crew. We rocked our portraits this year, and it was SO exciting to participate again!

We started out at St. Clare's Home in Escondido in the morning, where our fearless leader, Jamie, had this amazing spread set up for the families! Hello, delicious!

The fabulous Chriselda had collected all of these stuffed animals, and each child was able to pick one to take home! How awesome is that?!?

We then moved to Solutions for Change in Vista for our afternoon sessions. SFC is where I participated last year, so it was fun to see some familiar faces among the staff and families!

All in all, it was a GREAT day for all of us! Following are a couple shots of fellow volunteers from the SD crew. (We used each other to test our set-ups before the families came in.) 

Child prodigy, Graham:

and Chic-Fil-A rocker Ryan: 

Thanks again to all of the volunteers who made Help-Portrait 2010 a huge success! I can't wait until next year's event! I've already marked my calendar: 03 December 2011!

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T Family Session

Over the weekend, I had the pleasure of meeting up with Chriselda, Miguel, and their two adorable girls to snap some family portraits. The family drove up to Oceanside and we met on base at Camp Pendleton at a spot that reminds both Chriselda and me of our home state, Texas! 

I met this gorgeous family earlier this year when I spent Valentine's Day volunteering with with the San Diego Help-Portrait group to do a fundraiser for Haiti. Chriselda, who is also a photographer, and I had both participated in Help-Portrait last year, but at different locations. See her blog posts about the Haiti fundraiser here and here! This Saturday, she and I will be working together at two locations, and I can't wait! (To find out more about the Help-Portrait movement, please take a look here.)

For now, enjoy these fun photos!

Thanks again for allowing me to capture your growing family! :) See you soon!!

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W Family Session and a SPECIAL!

It's Thanksgiving already! Well, what better way to celebrate Thanksgiving than by sharing some photos of a recent session I did with the W Family? I met up with Fred, Jenna, and their adorable kids at their house, then we went to a nearby playground to grab a few shots. It was cold and cloudy that day, but they rocked it and we got some great shots before hurrying back inside for some delicious hot chocolate. :)

Many thanks to this lovely family for allowing me to capture a fun moment!

And now for the special...

It's BROWN THURSDAY! Do you know what that means?? Well, I don't really either.. In fact, I just made it up. (I think!) In any event, with all the craziness happening tomorrow, Black Friday, I'm happy to announce a special on family sessions booked this month!

Contact me by 7:00pm next Tuesday, November 30, and I'll be more than happy to book an hour-long family session with you and your loved ones before the end of the year for only $125! The price includes your time in front of the camera with me, editing of all images, an online viewing gallery you can share with your family and friends, and a disc of high-resolution files.

The fine print: This special is good for a one-hour photography session with Lauren Nygard at the location of your choice (within reason!) for up to five people. If you are a family (or group of friends) of 6 or more, the price increases by $25 per person. As always, military families receive additional discounts, so please contact me for more information. Sessions must be booked by 7:00pm (California time) on Tuesday, November 30 with payment due at the beginning of the session. Session is to take place by December 31, 2010.

Questions? Feel free to ask me! I can be reached at lauren(dot)nygard(at)gmail(dot)com.

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

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