i’ll start of this post with a few of nathan…i didn’t torture him with too much time in front of my camera…but here are a couple of my favs…

good looking guy…huh
I had so much fun with Kim too…She brought a couple of outfit options and I brought goodies from my jewelry box and we paired em up and I loved the way it worked out! She rocked it…

Hard to narrow down my favs of her…but here are some of my favs…

love it when the mustard seed is in full bloom!!! so gorgeous for pics…

even prettier with a beautiful girl standing in the middle of them….

Looking through the images…I can only dream of where their lives will take them…all that is in store for them…so many good things in the future!

good luck you two!  have fun and can’t wait to see where your lives lead you!

xoxo

Tonya

you see…these two are at a really neat place in their lives…they have been friends  for a long time…and are each embarking on a new season…in their personal lives and relationship…

Eden has chosen to devote and dedicate the next two years of his life to his church while he serves a full-time 2 year commitment as a missionary. This means, he has chosen to put everything else in his life on hold (among other things…he is an amazing college football player) while he is away in Panama.  I am admire him greatly for that choice…what an adventure!

it also means he will be away from his family, friends, and loved ones for two years…

which it a hard choice to make…one that requires great faith and sacrifice…(it is awesome & unmatched opportunity too!)

his girlfriend candace will be a great support to him while he is away…

(i know it is a little ok really hard to say goodbye for that long…i was once in your shoes but how the next two years will change the both of you for the better!)

so excited for you to step out into a new chapter of your life too…

follow your dreams beautiful girl…

you are so blessed to be where you are in your life right now…so many good things to look forward to!

(good luck Elder Mahina!)

xoxo

Tonya

and it was slightly so much fun to spend a few minutes shooting this ridiculously gorgeous couple…




more to come!
xoxo
Tonya
(p.s. thanks kamee for introducing me to your friends!!! Fun to shoot with you again!)

it is…and will always be…what is inside you that matters most…

how you treat others…what you do for them…how you find ways to give rather than receive…the way you make others know how beautiful they truly are…

meet my friend tegyn…

i am completely confident that she is an up and coming star…

but more than that…i know she is…

a very beautiful soul…

what is inside her shines…

(you are a beautiful girl tegyn!)

tegyn came out to one of my one on one mentoring sessions and modeled for me and my client…

such a pleasure to shoot and be around…

a shout out to kitsch by kat for gorgeous hair/makeup

thanks for coming out to the shoot tegyn!

can’t wait to see all that lies ahead for you!

xoxo

Tonya

i believe in primping at leasure and wearing lipstick.

i believe in pink. i believe that loving is the best calorie burners.

i believe in kissing.

i believe that happiest girls are the prettiest girls.

i believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles.”

audrey hepburn

august 7th was a good day…

no…let me re-phrase that…

august 7th was a really really really good day!

(all these details were shot by the amazing gena susan)…

this time around…no nerves…no house full of sick kiddos…just a beautiful day for…

making photographs…

…a huge shout out to Kristina Kendig and her husband CHRIS kendig for letting me steal away his wife for the day…which also happened to be his birthday…oops…I owe you big.

Kristina used her creative talents and multitasking abilities to provide all the food and goodies for the workshop, she came up with the most darling favors, and even sewed dresses and clutches for my shoots.

She is just that incredible…and makes it look easy while doing it.  A million thanks Kristina…i appreciate you so much!

my theme for this workshop was about telling a story with your images…that beautiful images are not just taken…but made…and that if you look to see the beauty in the things around you…you can skillfully capture that forever in your camera…

and to everyone who came:

Sara Macha Photography

Wendy Bristol

Kym Vitar

Rachelle Crowder

Gena Susan

Lisa Walker

JAR photography and design

KH Photography

Valerie Waters

Erin Slack

…i loved every moment of this day with you…i am so humbled by everyone who flew in from out of state, drove in from outta town, left your babies for the day, and gave me a day to share my love for this with you all…

after some discussion we headed out to our first shoot…

familes and various lighting situations…we quickly cover just about ever lighting there is…

and got to take pics of just about one of the most beautiful families while doing it…

I spent most of this shoot walking around checkin in on the attendees…making sure they were getting their metering, adjusting their camera’s properly in manual mode, and answering questions…

but I did snag a couple cute shots…

sheri…you have the most beautiful hair…ever. end of statement.

you are gorgeous and ummm…slightly worked it!

(thanks Dan for letting my attendees borrow your family for the afternoon…i appreciate your time)

after having to pry ourselves away from this rad location and cute family… we headed back for some more discussion and post-processing

i covered just about everything I do on the post-processing end, as well as share all my tips to managing workflow and still having a life with 4 babies!!!

all while this waited upstairs for some magic at the hands of this amazing artist…

katrina thank you so much for bringing my inspiration to reality with your beautiful hair and makeup styling!  You are incredible at what you do and did these models up perfect for this shoot! (thank you so much for also finding the perfect broach last min for her hair…it completed the look so well!)

oh, and uh, tegyn…would you please kiss your momma and daddy for me…for creating such a beautiful girl…inside and out!

you, my darling, worked it!!!  There would have been nobody to pull off this like you and Darren

you see I had spent weeks dreaming up this shoot…found the perfect dress…the right accessories…a rad chandelier off craigslist…the perfect tiffany blue paint to give it a new life …drove around way too many afternoons looking for the right location…knocked on this house door 3 different days to ask for permission to shoot here…

I was so so so thankful when this evening came…

the light was incredible…i knew this shoot was where my attendees would learn that yummy backlighting…and we soaked up every last drop of it…

so, I told katrina to channel edward for darren…are you kidding me kat?  i wanted to kiss you he looked so good!

everyone was asking me if this was a “real couple”…yes…these are not professional models…although I think they could be…Tegyn came out to my last workshop and when she told me she wanted to come again…I invited her out to model…

so I found a theme that worked for them…young…fresh…romantic…glamourous…

breakfast at tiffany’s with a twist…

i loved it!

we played in open shade until the light was just right…

then…katrina did some quick touch ups…

and we shot in the buttery beautiful light…

it was so hard to pull myself away from shooting you guys all to myself…

I am so excited at all the incredible images I have seen by my attendees…i am so impressed by all your talent!

Kristen of the treasured petal treated me with this incredible head peice for a second look for tegyn…

her store is full of some seriously beautiful stuff…head on over here to see more…

and i will end with 2 of my favs…

Thank you again for all who came out, Kristina, Katrina,( Gena, Erin, Rachelle for your helping hands during the day)…and the BIGGEST shout out goes humbly to my husband Jason…

everyone always asks me how I do it…how I can handle it all…and in reality…he is the reason how.

Jason, I am thankful for your support and for your amazing love for our family…our children love you…thank you for all you do for all of us!

all my love,

Tonya

and this morning was greeted with much excitement…

1st grade was lucky enough to have Ella…

and kindergarten was oh so lucky to gain this little rockstar…

we had our “mommy Ella” and “mommy Ava” dates to go find the perfect academic attire…

found out classroom numbers and teachers names…

filled backpacks and lunch bags…

and worked on some signature “rockstar-ness” in prep for the BIG day!

(the girls opted to go see grandma rather than have our big photo shoot the other night…and that is ok…I just want to remember these times…how they looked…the excitement in their faces…and these images are perfect to me)

perfectly sassy…

and completely ava…

(adam is already giving me the “ok…cheese…take my darn pic mom and let me play”… face.  He has got dirt to eat,  retaining walls to climb, and bikes to push around like wrecking vehicles )

I was just so excited for this one to come out of her shell and be so ready for school…we all were so happy to see her thrive…

no words for the rest…the images tell the story…

i love you girls…

so proud of my school girls!

xoxo

momma

is also an incredible photographer…

this last week, byron booked me for one of my one-on-one mentoring sessions and I had a total blast!

(I am currently offering a 4 hour mentoring option that includes one on one tutoring, a full shoot, post-processing, business discussion, and q/a about anything you wanna ask (no secrets here).  Pricing starts at $525.00 depending on mentoring location. Contact me if you would like to talk more about it!)

Byron already had some models in mind, and I was not complaining…he brought along the amazing R family…

(aren’t they a stunning couple?)

Angelique is slightly…well a totally…gorgeous momma…

and I was dying over this little sweetie…she was just about the happiest 10 month old i have ever met…it was a little windy and chilly here…you can totally see it on her face…but she was all smiles and so happy the whole time…

adorable…

this session we specifically focused on backlighting…byron was nailing everything i was teaching him…it was so awesome to see it click!

(thanks for letting us borrow your beautiful family)

Head on over to Byron’s Facebook Page…I am so impressed on his raw skills and creative abilities…he is one to watch!

You rocked it Byron!!!  Thanks for letting me share my love for this art with you!

xoxo

Tonya

“well…it looks like a little boy”… 

cross the ultrasound room when I went to find out what baby number four was going to be.  

 I told the tech, “I know we are having another girl…I love my little girls, and we just seem to be a girl factory.”  

When Jason and I decided to bring another baby into the world, it was to bring another child into our home…we didn’t keep going and going because we were trying for a boy.  We just knew our family was not complete.   

what we got…was just a HUGE bonus!   

I went to the ultrasound appt by myself…Jason wanted to be suprised this time, so I suprised him by going a few weeks earlier than he expected and found out baby’s gender.  I remember later that afternoon, I headed out “grocery shopping” by myself, only to really be filling his car with blue balloons as an unexpected announcement.  I came in with a few bags, and told him I was so tired and asked him to please carry in the remainder.  I will never forget the look on his face when he came back in the house with a dozen blue balloons in hand.  He was floored!   

From there…you have all witnessed me,  jason, and our little girls, fall head over heels deeply in love with this little man…   

our little BIG guy…who today is celebrating his first birthday!   

seems impossible to think that a year has snuck by…what joy I feel in my heart knowing that I have enjoyed every second of it!  It has been a tough one…I have had my hands full, but looking back I am so grateful for all that the year has brought…   

esp. one year ago when Adam joined our family…   

a quick peek of the year in photos…   

so last night on the eve of his birthday…we celebrated with a little photo shoot…  

I will be honest…my heart felt a little heavy last night…  

knowing my baby was turning one was a little hard…part of me wants to hold on forever…  

but I do cherish the here and now and the true blessing of watching my little ones grow…  

the other night Jason and I talked in depth about goals and our passions and dreams…  

sometimes I need a moment…a rare quiet one…to recognize that  dreams are rarely made up of a single event that materializes them…  

rather…dreams like this one…  

of being a mother…  

are made up of lots of little moments coming together… 

and we are truly blessed if we are wise enough to gather them up and treasure them! 

happy birthday son! 

we love you more than words can begin to express… 

xoxo 

Mommy…

 we took a few vintage finds i dug up on ebay, some flowers in her (and my) favorite hue of blue, and I brought my camera along to give Ava some time in the spot light…

I love that my children grow together…i am thankful for the virtues they learn as siblings close in age…

how to share & play together…how to love and rely upon each other…how to look up to and support each other…

they fight…yup…like little girls do, but they also know that they are family…and one thing I always hope to give to them is the knowledge that there is nothing like family…

…the world can be an empty place without cherishing the ones you love that live in it…

so ava and I went for a few minutes alone…that girl…she is such a unique and individual little soul…and I have been having a tricky time figuiring out how I can be the mother that SHE needs…so I thought a little time together was much overdue…

Ava is so much like her mom…so much, it is like looking in the mirror at times…

if I dug up some old childhood pics you would totally agree…i love that…

she is vibrant, complicated at times, honest, so incredibly tender and vulnerable, extremely “creative” (if you followed my facebook fiascos you would be laughing at that notion for sure)…and she is so sensitive it hurts me sometimes…

she is beautiful, healthy, so strong, and can be so sweet you cry yourself to sleep thinking about how such a tender soul was placed in your care…

she styled this shoot along with momma…which meant…

she picked my shirt to wear as a dress…

told me where to put the flower I wanted to put in her hair…

wore boots that were 3 sizes too large…

and insisted on my pink blush she always begs to wear…

she picked her own poses…

and left me with a few smiles that remind me that there are literal parts of each of us in each of our children…

I am reminded to be patient with her…to respect and guide her individuality…

to strive to inspire joy in her little heart…and teach her the world is a good place…and that there is nothing that can damper our spirit unless we allow it to…

be curious little one…the only limits are truly the only ones we set for our selves…

there is no spirit in life quite like the ones that live within their little bodies…

I am reminded to embrace that…to try to find the remnants of it that live in me…

every day a gift…even the really frustrating and hard ones…

(thanks kristina for this fabric banner…i loved using it )

this is definitely the marathon time of my life…some days I feel like I am running non-stop…we all do I am sure…

that is why…for me…it is so important to showcase the good things…the beauty…the joy…in the balance of life…we must cherish those parts…

(ava you look exactly like your momma did when she was your age!)

I cherish you little one…

stop and enjoy your little ones today…

I know I am coming off some hard days…so I am so thankful to remember how blessed I am to be a mother…

xoxo

Tonya

they may not always start out magical (nap time was interrupted by our little outting )

but after a few moments of play and discovery…

in a sun kissed citrus orchard…

the magic begins…

simple things…like hide and seek with mom and dad…

with the love, encouragement, play  and help of a photographer named (“guys”…i like my new name kate )

…bring out the beauty, spirit, and love of a little girl named…kate…

oh, our sweet kate…

some fun little props that made their way from new york flea markets to our citrus grove…helped to add a little charm (and a place to keep this little one contained )…to our little afternoon outing…

evidence of the babe still transitioning into this little girl…

two years already…

two years of a life that i am sure brett and tammy wouldn’t trade the world for…

 a little wardrobe change…

a game of catch…

some silly noises compliments of daddy to inspire some giggles…

daddy always knows how to make the little ones smile…

and our afternoon was blessed and so much fun!

oh…she is bursting with joy

kate,

 I…we…your mom and dad…grandma’s and grandpa’s…everyone who knows you…

we love you

keep growing little one…we will be here to watch it and love you more and more…

xoxo

“guys”

a.k.a

ms. tonya joy