Tonya Joy Photography bio picture
  • Thanks for visiting my blog. I am Tonya Joy...a southern california natural light photographer...
    when i pick up my camera...my ultimate goal is to create an emotional and tangible piece of someone's life...to capture a feeling, create a mood, hold a moment in time...and to always remind how incredibly beautiful this life is. I have a passion for mentoring and helping others, I am a mother...it defines me and has taught me to see and recognize the joy and magic in everyday moments; it makes me freshly aware of how important are the moments with family and loved ones.

    this is my life. my kids. my love. my photos. my joy...

Jaime & babes…a family shoot

This last saturday, I shot a momma and her two adorable little ones…

we headed to a beautiful orchard, enjoyed the warm springtime sun, and i fell in love with these beautiful little people…

little mr. Jack and Sweet miss Ella…

so much fun playing with them and getting them comfortable in front of my camera..

how could they not be beautiful with such a stunning mother…

i bet this little guy has sure stolen momma’s heart…

cuz it only took a few mins for him to steal mine;)

nothing like the innocence of our children…

this wall is a new favorite…LOVED it!


there was a mariachi band playing in the neighborhood, so i told the kids to show me some of their dance moves…

 

 

Thank you Jaime!!! i loved meeting you and your beautiful babes!

enjoy a sweet slideshow below!

xoxo

Tonya Joy

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san francisco tonya joy stylized shoot: the presidio of san francisco

A week ago, I made a spur of the moment trip up to visit my sister in san francisco.  I have been wanting to go for months, but there was morning sickness, then softball games, and sick kiddos that kept my trip delayed.  So, I decided to take this last chance before baby is due and go see this amazing city.  The main purpose was a visit, a little shopping that needed to be done with Gena for my next workshop, and I decided to host a stylized shoot as well!  I can’t believe that we actually pulled it together in a matter of days, but Gena had an amazing model, I had a dress, i was so lucky to find a makeup artist…and it all just came together.  I am so so so glad too, because it has been way too long since I have gotten to shoot with Gena….AND HELLO…the presidio is one of the most beautiful places on the planet!  It was a WIN WIN!

Shoot Location: The presidio of San Francisco

Models: Brad and Danielle

Makeup: Fresh Face Makeup (thank you Elissya)

Hair: Cary Carter Hairstylist

Styling: Tonya Joy

Florals: Tonya Joy (that was a fun little project!!!)

Wardobe: Shop Ruche and Anthropologie via Danielle’s closet!

I think one of the things I loved most about this shoot was how darn cute this couple was!  Danielle literally glows…she is such a happy, vibrant, and good person.  You can totally get that vibe from the moment you meet her…I was so happy that she and gena are friends and that she and brad were willing to spend the day with us!

the second thing I loved was the locations!  We hopped around to like 7 different spots and i LOVED every single one…

the light in the bay was amazing this day…no fog which is pretty common in the afternoons!

I made these little kites as a spin of ruche’s lookbook shoot…I thought fabric kites would be darling and it was so fun to put them together with some fabric I have had sitting in boxes for years now…

Danielle was pretty adorable with them…

this bush was calling my name…so so so pretty with the light peeking thru…

you are seriously stunning girl…

yes…i am addicted to lace and french netting…i need a support group…

we drove down to shoot in front of these great brick houses…but gena spotted the light coming through these random trees and tall grass…and it was a good call…i think these are some of my favorite images from the shoot…

we only shot here for a few minutes…but the light filtered through the backdrop so pretty…

The forests in the presidio are AMAZING!!! full of posion ivy…but really really breathtaking…

we hiked through until we found some nice light filtering through…

ok…seriously…san fran is amazing!

after the forest we headed to baker beach..couldn’t resist the beautiful golden gate bridge…

and then my sister shared one of her amazing spots with us…thank you gena!!

my mom, adam and I went to the san fran flower mart the morning of the shoot.  I have never been to a flower market before and I am seriously in love.  The vendors I bought from were so kind and I was in heaven being surrounded by so many gorgeous flowers.  So much fun putting this bouquet together!  Dont ask me what the names of the flowers are…haha…but the colors are pretty!! lol

and the last moments of sunset were soaked up on the beach…

thank you thank you thank you to all my sweet friends who shared the shoot with me, to danielle and brad for sharing your beauty and love with us, and to my sweet sis for showing me around and inspiring this shoot!

enjoy a beautiful slideshow below!!!

xoxo

Tonya Joy

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vintage romance…a tonya joy stylized shoot

last week I hosted a stylized shoot for some of my photographer friends…

A couple of weeks ago, I was scoping google for vintage homes in the corona area for my coming may 19th workshop. I found this old house that I immediately recognized from a friend of mine shooting there. I was super excited because I knew the owners allowed you to rent it for shoots and I was so curious to see how it looked outside the concept I had seen it used in. So, I made an appt to preview and when I was booking it for the workshop shoot, the owner told me she made a error and it was already booked the day I wanted it. HUGE SAD FACE!!!

Well, I couldn’t get it out of my head and decided that I wanted to shoot there…and SOON. Lately, my motto is that if you want something to happen, you gotta make it happen.

So i did just that.

I decided to come up with a shoot. The home had a very anthro feel so it but I also wanted to shoot something really beautiful and earthy there.  I dolled up a pettiskirt I found at goodwill (score 10 bucks) with some ivory french tulle and found a dress at forever 21 to remake as a top…grabbed some clothes from my closet that looked kinda funky anthro vintage, and we played dress up with the beautiful Kelly and Garreth! I was so excited to shoot her and her hubs again…I loved our first shoot together!

Anyways, despite the fact it was HOT and HUMID, Kelly looked absolutely stunning (HUGE SHOUT OUT to Leslie for Hair and Makeup…exactly how I envisioned it!!!). We are also treated to an incredible bouquet that really made a huge impact on this shoot. I just feel so blessed to be able to leave my kiddos at home to play with daddy and collaborate with so many amazing people to bring something beautiful to life. My photography is soooo good for me as a mother…I am thankful for everything I get to shoot!
So here is our “vintage romance” shoot…

Models: Kelly & Garreth
Hair/Makeup: Leslie Cordero
Styling/Shoot Concept: Tonya Joy
Amazing florals: Oak and Owl Floral and Interior Design


I wanted to do two looks, so this first was my take on romantic anthro…all compliments of my closet…originally purchased from forever 21…kinda sad…i never have worn any of it, but kelly sure rocked it!

this one may be one of my favs…love the colors, texture, and light…so pretty

like many of my models…kelly is a crossfit girl..after this baby I think I may have to give it a whirl…

the second look had me swooning..the light…the location…wardrobe…the florals…all so amazing…

this gorgeous bouquet got some serious well deserved attention!

is it not just lovely?

and yes..i decoupaged a chair with music sheets…in my spare time right…actually mia and ella helped me…:)

and this room is the room that had me fall in love…

such gorgeous light…

rawr…you are amazing kelly…

i found out when i was having a fitting with kelly that she and her husband and did not receive any of their wedding images for unfortunate reasons…I felt so happy knowing we could shoot them in this element knowing that (but you need to seriously get that dress out and come play with me kelly to replace at least some of your wedding day images!)



love this one…

it was seriously 100% with 100% humidity in this house…so we were all breathing a sigh of relief to get outside and shoot in this amazing light…

i die…love this one below…

an underexposed shot but I love the feel of it…something timeless here…




thanks again you two…we loved shooting you!

Please enjoy a slideshow below!!!

xoxo

Tonya

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french inspired stylized family shoot…Teresa and Family

Two weeks ago I held my first stylized family shoot for hire! It was so fun working with this family and I loved how my client knew exactly what she wanted. I was so inspired by her pinterest inspiration board for me that I could hardly stand it! I am so happy how they turned out and love the significance this shoot means to this family with all these personal touches! Definitely a labor of love, but so beautiful!!!
Teresa and brian requested downtown riverside for their shoot…and I love the feel it gave to this french inspired photo shoot. You can never go wrong with gorgeous architecture like this!




teresa was stunning…she is an avid collector of beautiful hats and when I saw this one in her beautiful home I knew we needed it for the shoot!

beautiful hair and makeup by Katrina of Kitsch by Kat…adore her!!!

teresa’s first look was found at Ruche…I had so much fun dressing her up!  This dress was a perfect find for her!


meet their little one…Miss Emma Rose…

she is a doll baby!



the second part of the shoot we really wanted to incorporate props that gave the shoot a french feel.  Since both Teresa and Brian are both accomplished pianists…and spent time living in paris…I wanted to fuse together both those things into the props for the shoot…

i painted some furniture up in annie sloan’s paris grey chalk paint…a color i am since obsessed with…and grabbed some pillows from her darling home and we played house out in a field in riverside!

(dont worry I had a friend come help me carry and hang chandelier…thank you heather!!!)



we also wanted to highlight the sweet birthday girl in this shoot….

beautiful miss emma rose!

we soaked up the last minutes of sun for these last series of photos…



I am so please with how this session came together!  Your sweet little family is so blessed!  Such an honor to meet you!

enjoy the slideshow below!!!

xoxo

Tonya

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lolly…my gorgeous lil sis and her family…

a couple weeks ago my sister, Alana, and her family came to california for a visit. Alana has always been one of my best friends and since she lives in Colorado, every time I get to see her family it is such a treat…

well the day before she and her fam had to hop a flight back to colorado, I hooked her up with my girl katrina, and we headed to downtown riverside for some family photos…

i helped her with a little guidance for the what to wear for family photos…and her gorgeous family took care of the rest…

if you follow my personal facebook page…you know “mark Crowley” very well…the guy is hilarious and i am so thankful he and alana found each other!

they are a perfect pair…

and very very very cute together!!!

meet their adorable family…

oldest conner…

the youngest sweet calleigh

and the beautiful middle child…cameron…


love these kids so much!!!

i was so excited to get to take these pictures…my sister alana is seriously stunning…she is my fitness idol!  the girl is a machine!!! and looks incredible!!!

after a bit of time at this church, we headed out to a field where the light never disappoints!!!

love this next little series…you guys are so stinkin gorgeous…



love this one….



love you all sooooooo much…we miss you and can’t wait to see you again!

enjoy a sweet slideshow below!!!

xoxo tonya

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