This lifestyle family shoot started in aaaadorable Aptos Village, then we walked on the railroad tracks and danced in the redwoods! We had different backdrops, completely different temperatures, and very different light -- all in the same shoot.

The spirit of reflecting is an activity one should do periodically because it is almost always accompanied by optimism and hope. It is a time to say au revoir to the things that don't serve us well, and make more space for the things that lift us. My last Lifestyle Family Shoot for 2025 was of Carol's beautiful family in the South Bay. Carol's shoot had it all -- sweet tender moments to falling over silliness -- all wonderful slices of time I was honored to capture.

It is my favorite time of year, even with the tumultuous happenings in the World as well as the bumpy path that life brings me sometimes. However, peace can simply be loving your family, as Mother Teresa said -- whether they are the family you are bonded to by blood or the family you choose!