Who's Got the Last Laugh Now?

Growing up, my dad would often pack a Vietnamese baguette with some Laughing Cow Cheese. See, here's the thing you need to know about my dad - when he loves something, he's absolutely faithful to it until the end. This is a great quality in a husband and a father, but I disliked it in his relationship to food. It was somewhat difficult for him to try new things on his own.

For a while, I never even bothered trying Laughing Cow Cheese because it stubbornly reminded me of how much he always had some around. And even now, I'm always over-eager to try new things, sometimes to my demise. And then I came full-circle back to Laughing Cow Cheese. I'll suck it up and admit it: that stuff is delicious!

And finally, they've provided a compromise between the two of us: same basic great taste but in a lot of different flavors.

I love some of this stuff on a slice of toast with a little bit of marmalade on top (I'm obsessed with marmalade as of late!). Yum! Maybe dad was onto something.... (:

Help me raise $1,000!

I'm trying to raise $1,000 in the month of September for the following organizations:

• PAWS | Donate to PAWS! | PAWS helps to foster the animal-human bond by helping the disabled, sick, or elderly to maintain their pets. I'm an active volunteer with the organization and truly appreciate the good work that they do.
• Muttville | Donate to Muttville! | You can teach an old dog new tricks. Just because a dog is 7, 8, or 12 years old doesn't mean that she doesn't deserve a chance to find a loving home, right?
• Berkeley East Bay Humane Society | Donate to Berkeley East Bay Humane Society! | They had a terrible fire this year and can really use all the help they can get to rebuild. Please help!
• Humane Society of Silicon Valley | Donate to HSSV! | A wonderful facility that I volunteered with so I can attest to their amazing work and kind hearts. (Fiona Orange, my 11-year-old terrier mix was adopted from HSSV 2 years ago.) These folks really care about their animals and can use your financial assistance to continue and expand their efforts.

Are you interested in helping out your community with a generous donation?

• Donate $75 and get a quick 15-minute portrait session (San Francisco only).
• Donate $200 and get a standard portrait session.
• Donate $500 and get the portrait session plus a DVD with all the high-resolution files!
• Donate $800 and get all that plus $300 in print credits to spend on your online gallery!

To participate, please make a donation and then let me know via email. Forward me your donation receipt and we'll proceed from there!

Please click here to understand how my standard portrait sessions work. All prints and products will be available for purchase as well.

Why should you do this?
Altruism. You're helping out those who can't really help themselves. Seriously. You should feel really good about that. Unfortunately, this also holds some self-serving benefits like tax deductions and, did I mention the portraits? I'm sure you won't mind that these benefits take away from the true definition of "altruism."

Some final notes. Yes, I know it's hard to pick a place to contribute to so feel free to disperse your funds amongst the different organizations listed here if you like. Be sure to collect your donation receipt(s). Please try and spread the word about this so that we get more people to donate donate donate!

My goal is to raise $1,000. I'll aim low so I won't be disappointed. :-D This offer runs through 9/30/2010 so get on it! You have up until the end of 2010 to book your portrait session with me.

Any questions? Just get in touch! Otherwise, I hope to be able to report back with some wonderful news about hitting my goal (hopefully!).

These photos were taken during my volunteer stint at HSSV. Hope you like 'em!

And P.S. - Even if you're unavailable for a portrait session, please consider donating and letting me know you donated because of this drive. It'll make me smile. :-D

Charlie's Christening | 2010.08.15

Family and friends to celebrate a big milestone in Baby Charlie's life - always a good time! Enjoy the pictures:

The baptism took place at St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Los Gatos.

He didn't cry or anything!

Incredibly adorable kids. And so sweet, too. They love the babies and were so gentle with them.

Congratulations, Charlie!

Goof ball smile at its best.

We had a very delicious lunch! With cake!

Charlie's grandfathers walked him around on the stroller and managed to put him down for his nap. It's been a long day for the little fella.

#4 - Tangerine + Cherries

I absolutely love this design. Polka-dots? Buttons? TANGERINE-YELLOW-ORANGE COLORS? Too cute for words! And I wish I wore ties. I think they're a wonderful accessory. I suppose I'll just have to stick with my scarves.

My friends and I went cherry-picking earlier in the summer and man is it hard work. (No, I'm not cut out for actual manual labor at all and I'm OK with it.) The bountiful harvest was so sweet and delicious. We must do it again next year!

Portrait Sessions | Pricing + Q&A

How a Portrait Session with Me Works, Going Forward

1. Contact me and schedule your session.
2. Before your portrait session, we will have a consultation session via phone or email (or in-person if that's preferred and convenient; I'm in San Francisco), wherein I will ask probing questions like, "Who am I photographing?" "What are your plans for the images?" "What are some of your ideas for the session?" Oh, and I will also answer any questions you have as well.
3. We have the portrait session and you get photographed! Yay!
4. About two weeks after the session, I'll schedule a sit-down review session with you to show you the images. I'll show you some sample products and give suggestions based on the images we created.
5. You receive your products and display 'em proudly in your home!

The Nitty-Gritty Details

The session/creative fee is $200 and includes:

• consultation session, 60 to 90-minute on-location portrait session, and review session
• between 30 to 50 edited images to pick from
• online gallery for print ordering after the review session
• PLUS watermarked, web-sized (600-pixels) images for facebooking and sharing

Fantastic lustre (matte) prints start at $20. I also have couple of other products to offer including Your Very Own Coffee Table Book and a Session Album that's timeless ($200). Plus, if you're so inclined, you can buy a DVD with all high-resolution images for archival purposes ($300). We'll go over all the available products at your review session.

PQ&PA (Possible-Questions-and-Preemptive-Answers)

What do I get with the session fee?

The $200 session fee is for photography time as well as image editing. I've seen it described as a "creative fee" and I think that's a fairly accurate description.

What kind of payment types are accepted? When is the session fee due?

Half of the session fee is due at the time of booking to secure your date. The other half is due on your session date. I accept payment via check or credit card (through Paypal).

Are digital files included?

With every portrait session, I will provide you with about 10 to 20 web-sized images. They will include my URL. Check out the photo included in this blog post to see exactly what I mean. They're super convenient for sharing and facebook tagging and bragging digitally. So easy!

Do you photograph kids? Adults? Dogs? Guinea pigs? Couples?

For a while, I wanted to specialize in just one thing and one thing only. But it's been a while now and I still don't know what that thing is. I think I am simply a "family photographer." But of course "family" has a lot of different components to it, and isn't as nuclear as it once was. A family portrait, to me, could include a man with his best friend (four-legged or otherwise). Or maybe this family is a couple who's about to embark on building a life together. So, yes, I photograph families, but I'll let you decide what a family comprises of.

How do I book a session?

Contact me! Be sure to have your calendar handy.

What happens during the initial consultation?

The consultation is basically just a get-together (via phone, email, or in-person in San Francisco). I would like to know what your photography needs are, who'll be participating in the portrait session, and we'll discuss timing and locale in detail. I'll also be available to answer any questions you may have about the whole process.

What happens during the portrait session?

We show up at the predetermined time and place. I photograph you. We laugh. We go home and eat because laughing builds up quite an appetite!

What happens at the review session? Are you gonna hard-sell me? Pressure me to buy stuff I don't need?

OK, if there's anything I hate more than anything else it is needless stuff. (I moved residences 10+ times in the past 9 years, so things need to have some real meaning for me to hang onto.) For a while, I just photographed people, edited the images, and plopped them onto a CD and that's that. No prints, no albums, no lovin'. I've come to realize now that there's no real value in that enterprise - not for me, and not really for my clients. I mean, what really is a value of an image on a file that you may stumble across every now and then, and that's it? So, no, I don't want to sell you on useless stuff but I do want to provide you with options for displaying the images we create together. After all, I'm proud of my work and since they're photos of you and loved ones, you should be really proud of the images. And P.S., I don't have a hard-sell bone in my body so, don't feel any pressure at all. Read on....

Is there a minimum order requirement?

Nope! I set up the session fee so that my time would be compensated for if we sat down at the review session and you were fully satiated with just seeing the images without buying a single print for your home. My hope is that we'll be able to find a great way to create some amazing items (prints to hang, books to share), but if you're not feeling it, I'm definitely not the type to push.

Can I get glossy prints?
No, sorry. :-D

What if I'm not satisfied with the images you've delivered after our portrait session?

If this is truly the case, ouch. But I have two courses of actions: (1) we can have a re-do session at our convenience and go from there and hopefully you're satisfied with the second go-around; or (2) I will refund your session fee and apologize profusely for wasting your time. Having worked for years in customer support, I understand the value of keeping my clients happy and I will do what it takes to ensure you're well taken care of.

What if I'm not satisfied with the prints and albums I receive?

Due to the custom nature of the products I offer, it is not feasible for me to offer a refund for these products that I create just for you. (Apparently other clients have no interest in getting prints of your family, despite how adorable it turned out. Weird, huh?) But if a print just doesn't look right to you, I don't want you to have to keep it and will work to make sure you're satisfied with the final result. Since this topic varies, please do not hesitate to contact me immediately. Seriously.

Finally, why should I pick you to be my photographer?

If you're looking for a type-A personality who'll direct your every strand of hair in its place and insist on matchy-matchy outfits down to the socks, you won't want to pick me. As a person, I am laid-back and relaxed. And incredibly patient. If you want photos of you genuinely having fun and looking happy - bubbly, even - then I might be your gal. If you like images utilizing natural light, on-location settings, with a focus on contrast and colors, then I might be your gal. My natural photography style and carefree personality won't suit everyone, but for those who see me and my work for what it is, I hope you'll contact me so we can start making some amazing images together. Thank you for reading. (: