Inspiration Contest: Nominate away!

As a photographer, I am fortunate to meet so many different families - families who let me into their lives for a brief moment to capture special memories. Every family has a story. Every picture captures an emotion. Do you know a special family that deserves to have their story told? Nominate a friend, family, colleague - whoever has inspired you and JMP will be giving away one free portrait session.

Details:
-Email me at janet@jmpmoments.com or comment on this post nominating someone who has truly been an inspiration to you by Feb 7, 2011.
-Winner will receive 1 free portrait session and CD of your 10 favorite images.

A winner will be selected at random and announced Feb 9, 2011.

The rainbow in the picture? That was taken almost 5 years ago in my back yard. It holds extra special meaning to me as it was the day I returned home from a 5 day stay in the hospital. I was 5 months pregnant and rushed to the ER with a kidney stone that I had to have removed via laparoscopy surgery.  I felt like God placed that rainbow right there in my back yard as a reminder of His love and promise and He made sure that my baby (little K!) was safe and sound throughout the whole surgery. I haven't looked at this picture in years and it's the first picture that came to mind for this "Inspiration Contest."

Perfect pair of shoes

My little K has inherited her love of shoes from me. Ever since she could walk, she would look for the shoe dept and had so much fun trying on different pairs of shoes. K would rather play with shoes than with toys. She is a total girly girl and loves anything with sparkles, glitter, and jewels. She has a lot of hand me downs from her sister but I've succumbed to buying her shoes she doesn't need because, let's face it...who can resist shoes? And to see the happiness in her face when she brings home a new pair of shoes is priceless. This makes mornings really difficult as she sorts through all her shoes trying to pick a pair that suits her mood. I'm always telling her to just wear any thing but inside I totally understand her. :)

Last year, K spotted the most pinkest, sparkliest, princess shoes ever and instantly fell in love. She would not let go of the box and of course, it came home with us. She wore those shoes every single day and the mornings went so smoothly. As her feet grew and as the front of the shoes wore out, I begged her to wear other shoes but she always went back to these. They are retired now and I haven't had the heart to throw them out yet. Of course, she has replaced these with a new pair that are covered in multi-colored glitter. :)

I made the mistake of leaving these shoes in the house after I photographed them. After dinner, K saw them and proceeded to put them on and yell, "They're perfect!" I guess you can't come in between a girl and the perfect pair of shoes.

California livin'

Had a great day at the park enjoying the sunny weather with the family. It was almost 70 degrees today and the kids had so much fun running around the park. We were there until the sun started setting and the light was absolutely beautiful. I was so sad that I didn't have my baby with me (yes, I'm talking about my Canon 5D).  But I never leave home without my little Canon S95 point and shoot.  Isn't the sky gorgeous? No photoshopping there - just a bit of sharpening.

See- 2 posts in 3 days! I told ya I was going to be better at blogging!

First post of 2011- I'm back!

A demonstrating how her skirt twirls.

 A always has flyaway hair all over her face and it drives me crazy but she doesn't even seem to notice it. 

A told me she had a great pose that she wanted to show me. Then a car passed by and she got distracted (SQUIRREL!!)

Hello 2011! I took a loooong break and am finally back. The end of 2010 was crazy busy and I have all of you to thank! I am really excited to see what this new year will bring. I promise to be better about blogging this year. Really. I will also be updating my pricing guide and refreshing my website as well.

Can't post without pictures, so here's a few of A that I took yesterday. The weather has been so nice (finally!!) and I was itching to take some pictures outside. Of course, when I asked A if I could take some shots of her, her response was, "Can I get a prize?" She knows that all my clients' kids get a prize/goody bag after a session. Of course, like any strong mom...I totally gave in and let her choose a prize from the prize box. :)

Merry Christmas 2010!

*iphone users touch here

To our dear friends and family,

We've created our third annual digital Christmas card to share with all of you. 2010 has been an incredibly busy year and our three girls have filled our home with lots of laughter and cheer. It is never quiet at the Moon Clan household. :)

Audrey (6) is in first grade and has discovered her passion for video games. Danny is so proud! 

Kaylee (4 1/2) is in pre-k and loves being a big sister. She is currently teaching Ellie how to walk (she does this by walking in front of her over and over again.)  

Ellie (13 months) is growing so fast and has recently begun to take some steps. Her first word was, "daddy" and she loves to wave and give kisses.

Merry Christmas and here's to another great year!

With love,

*The Moon Clan*

Danny, Janet, Audrey, Kaylee, Ellie

2009 Slideshow

2008 Slideshow 

The rush is over

First time with pigtails!  

Pretending to eat. She puts the toy fork in her mouth and makes chewing noises. 

E loves the iPhone. 

Love those little fingers.

My princess. 

The past month has been such a blur. It's been non stop sessions (thank you to all my holiday families!) and editing until the wee hours of the night but with my last order of holiday cards in to the lab, I'm finally coming up for air.

Ellie turned 1 last month and because it was right in the middle of my busiest season, I really didn't have much time to focus on her. While her big sisters were in school, I took some shots of her just playing so I could capture exactly who she is at this stage. The last picture of her in the hanbok was taken last week at home because I couldn't take one of her at the dol.  She is developing so quickly (too quickly!) and I'm realizing that my baby is gone. Ellie is turning into a toddler who finally has hair long enough for pigtails (they look more like little horns, but I'll take it!), prefers meat over fruits and breads, kisses all her stuffed animals, and puts her little hands together in prayer as soon as she sits in her high chair. My sweet baby. Yes, she'll always be my baby.

Sneak Peek for Lee Family {San Ramon Baby Photographer}

Looking so regal!

Wonder what S is thinking...

Little Baby S is the same age as Ellie. Well, technically Ellie is a whole 10 days older! It's so cute seeing them develop and watching them interact with each other (mostly S touching E and E staring at her with the "Just you wait..." look!). S celebrated her big day last week and I'm so honored to be able to capture her 12 month portraits. As the baby of the family, she's constantly showered with love from her brothers and sisters. I'm sure there is never a dull moment. For this session, mom brought just S and all attention was on her. She was completely at ease in the studio and gave me these model looks with those big eyes!

1 year sessions are so special - it's such a big milestone when they reach that toddler stage. There's excitement in all that is to come soon, like walking and talking. Maybe I'm just getting sentimental but I wish they could just stay little for a bit longer.