Kristy & Bailey - Ojai, Ca

So sometimes you have people in your life that are like mashed potatoes. Comfort food. They are the ones you go to when you are having a terrible day. When you feel like crying. When you just need to come home, throw on your sweats, curl up on the couch and eat something that makes you feel like a kid again. Not all the veggies you stock your fridge up with for your every day eating. Well.. Kristy is my mashed potato! :)

I have been friends with her for 15 years, lived with her for a couple and watched her son Bailey grow right before my eyes. So when I got the chance to take some photos of her and her son, I was so excited! 

We went to Ojai, Ca where the nature is just ridiculous and ended up at the beach right before the sun disappeared for a few fun sunset shots! I had such a blast with them and hope they had just as much fun! Thank you Kristy for being such an amazing friend! Here are a few of my faves from the day!

Some Days You Gotta Dance...

I am sitting here tonight with a great cup of chai tea, watching Bill & Giuliana (don't judge they make me laugh) and editing photos from this weekend. And as I look back on my weekend I can't help but smile a gigantic smile and think of how blessed I am. I had such a great shoot with a best friend of mine and her son in Ojai, Ca. Then I got to hang out with my brother who was in from San Diego and his girlfriend who I love! We laughed, talked a whole lot, acted like kids again and enjoyed the beautiful sun! Sometimes when I realize just how much I still have ahead of me, it can be stressful. But days like these allow me to forget about all the hoopla, and focus on the love! And I sure love my friends and family! 

I will be posting the photos from our session soon, but for now I will leave you with maybe one of my favorite pictures of all time, with some of my favorite people of all time. This mother and sun are so incredibly loving with each other and are such a unit. A team. And I think this picture just screams the sunshine they bring to this world!

Let Them Eat Cake!!

I think that the last month I have had a big sign on me saying.. if your child is turning one, hire me!! ha ha I have just had such a blast with kids these past weeks, and this past weekend was no different. I went to to Carlsbad, Ca to shoot my beautiful cousin Danielle's baby boy Brando. He was turning a whopping one, and he absolutely melted my heart. They had the party at a gorgeous courtyard/clubhouse in their La Costa community, and the amount of natural light coming in made my heart skip a beat.

I just love when the light is open, and streaming through! The kids had a blast and Danielle and Enzo were the hosts with the most! It was so great seeing past clients whose families I shot previously, and meeting all the new friendly faces!

Although I love all the pictures from the day, I cant help but always loving the cake shots!! If I am taking pictures of your children for a one year old birthday in the future.... if there is a cake shot involved don't freak out if you see me act like a kid and jump up and down squealing! :)

Here are some of my favorites from the day. Enjoy!

Here is the birthday boy himself. In his very own chair, looking regal. ;)

Mom and Dad having a quiet moment with their guy, before the madness of the day begins. 

The yummy cake. Loved the colors!

Brothers, Brando and Diego before their friends arrived.

Cousins having girl time in the jumper

Some of the cutest guests ever...

Testing out the cake...

Oh yeah it is on cake!!!

Maybe this is too much?

Uh oh. Sugar Coma.

Just kidding.. I am good guys!

A little more jumping....

And let's call it a day.

New Website Is Launched!!!

I can hardly breathe I am so excited. Neigh. Yes I just said neigh. I am more then excited. I am ecstatic! My beautiful website is finally ready to share with the world! And I have a very, very special and talented man to thank! Thank you thank you Jake Perlingos! For those of you who don't already know of his amazing work, I will be featuring Jake on my blog very soon!

Check out the new home at www.nicolettaphotography.com 

My blog will still be my main line of communication with you all, and you can either take a second and drag the web address into your favorites bar! Or you can access my blog from my website. Either way, I am not going anywhere so don't fear! Because I know you were having a panic attach about it. :)

This year is a huge year for me, and having this beautiful new website is just the start! Thanks Jake and enjoy peeps! I will be on cloud 9 for the next year or so! :)

Oh and here is a sneak peek of my newest shoot!

Calling Out To All Past Clients!!

Hi there! So........ I kind of have a favor to ask! ;) Believe me.. I feel weird asking any one of my peeps to go out of there way to help me out with something, but I don't know how else to reach everyone at once! 

I am launching my brand spanking new website VERY soon, and I decided that I would have a spot with my clients comments about me. I have a few already and they are so great I thought I would throw it out there on the new site. So I was thinking, that if any of you feel up to it and wanted to write something about our time together, that would be super fantastic! ha ha!

If you happen to be super rad and write something, please send it to my email.. nicolekandrews@gmail.com Thank you so much to all my clients, I am seriously sooo lucky to have met such amazing people and wether or not you write anything, just know that you have helped make me who I am today and I could never thank YOU enough for that! 

Stay warm in this rain! Oh and here is a sneak peak pic at my last session! More to come soon! xoxo

Meet Jake Wood

I don't know where to start this blog. All I know is that I am awestruck with the man I am about to introduce you to. His name is Jake Wood. And he is my hero right now. I have touched on the part of me who is always dying to help others, and my wanting to join the peace corp, and my deep knowing that there is just soo much more out there that we can do. But we don't. None of us really do what we could be doing to help. Except Jake Wood.

I saw a quick glimpse on the news today, about some people in Haiti helping out. I saw this man on the screen and it said briefly that he was at home when the earthquake in Haiti hit, and he instantly got up and went out there. He called some people and was helping there within a couple days. He is doing amazing work, helping people medically. Giving people hope. Giving them back some health. 

They need money to continue their stay, so if you are someone who wants to donate to something tangible, real, where you can see and read about what your money is doing.. I suggest donating to this hero.

Click here to see more of Jake's story and to donate! http://badgerjake.blogspot.com/

I couldn't find a bigger picture of him so I apologize about the size.

New Wedding Albums!!!

Black, tan, leather, matted, flush, photo plate, raised frame, full bleed, bind, hingeless. And this continues on and on and on. I was picking out my album that will be included in my new packages. The album of my dreams. However, when I entered the world of wedding albums, I had no idea just how intense that world was! I had so many options that my head spun. But after 2 hours of looking, viewing and choosing. I have found the album of my dreams!

This album really represents what I am all about and what I think love should represent. It is classic, timeless, clean, sleek, simple and sexy. Yes, an album is all of those things. Who knew!? :)

Here are some examples of the album! 

The customized page layouts! I will customize your photos and the layout to tell your story in a timeless way!

These albums are made so fantastically and on such ageless paper, that your grandkids CHILDREN will be able to look at your album as if it were today!

I want to take a moment to say a big fat THANK YOU to Ira from Leather Craftsmen. He took an overwhelmed semi freaked out client (me) and spent 2 hours with me. Really going through every single detail until we found the perfect album for my clients and myself. He is a wonderful professional who has been doing this for 26 years, so he knows his stuff. But he was also able to be enthusiastic, excited and really listen to what it was I needed. Thank you so much Ira!! I am so excited for the many years to come working together on albums!