Arden's 1st Birthday. Seesaw SF. San Francisco, CA.

Few things are more precious than a baby's first birthday, and Arden's mommy, Reichel Broussard of Copycat Chic, a popular interior design blog for those with great taste but a tight budget, made sure no detail went unnoticed. From her jelly jar mini cup gift giveaways, mini strawberry plants, mini grilled cheese sandwhiches, mini burgers, mini pink ballons, mini pink beach balls, mini donuts… even Arden's pint size guests…. you name it…. it was mini, and it was simply adorable. The party was held at Seesaw SF in San Francisco's Hayes Valley. If you haven't checked our their website or venue, it's a must see. Seesaw provides creative education, workshops, story times in various languages as well as an on staff child psychologist who is available to parents and children for ongoing support.

Here's a little peek at Arden's special day. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed photographing it, and have a wonderful weekend!

Spring Forth

The sweet delicate blossoms of the cherry tree revel in the morning sun while I bite into chocolate covered strawberries and begin another week full of new beginnings. 

One of the sweetest things Alessandro has ever said to me is, "I want to live through the seasons with you." We had just reconciled after a brief break up and while we were apart, it had dawned on him that for the first time we had been experiencing a "winter season." After more than two years of pure romance and bliss our love was becoming comfortable, expected and maybe even boring.  

I was forced to step away because he courageously admitted he was having second thoughts about marriage. We were living together, and I needed to let him figure things out. When he called and asked to see each other and spoke those words to me, I knew my lost soul mate had returned for good. 

I am blessed to have someone by my side who can recognize that there are seasons in life that we must endure. And when we are patient, grace has time to refill our hearts with delight over and over again despite all the many chilly winds that may blow.

I feel the same way about my work. Regardless of all the many mistakes and veering off course, there will always be opportunity for renewal and new beginnings. 

My Favorite Gift

To this day, the best gift I ever received was on my sixteenth birthday. My Aunt Linda presented me with a book about two and a half inches thick with a portrait of Georgia O'Keeffe taken by the grandfather of photography, Alfred Steiglitz. The title was "Georgia O'Keeffe A Life". I must have mentioned my new fascination with the icon and she must have been listening which is partly why the gift was so meaningful. She was tuned in and that made me feel good. I finished the book in fifteen days. For me, that was a record and a testament to how the book shaped my idea of the type of woman I wanted to become. 

Truthfully, Georgia O'Keeffe's paintings didn't intrigue me as much as her personality. I had seen a documentary on her in Mrs. Mooz's art class my sophomore year of high school and it was her zest, spunk and scratchy personality that made me want to learn more. It was the way she responded to the interviewer asking her if living in the dessert was terribly hot, the way she scoffed at the stupidity of the question, her open annoyance that pulled me in. I felt like I knew her, like she was the type of woman I wanted to be - open - honest - real. 

One of the many and most important things I learned about this extraordinary yet simple woman and also what I have failed to remember many times over is that a woman must always be her own person. That sounds quick and easy, but attaining and maintaining one's identity can be a struggle - at least it has been for me - especially creatively.

Juxtaposed to that memory is the one of the time I won a CADC (Connecticut Art Directors Club) award for my business card design in my early twenties. It never occurred to me that putting a naked woman, Venus in this case, on the front of my business card was distasteful - but had you seen my father's reaction you would have thought he learned I was turning tricks for a living. Venus is the goddess of love, afterall, not necessarily sex. And what fascinates me is that love has been my motivation for all things that I do. And when I work from that motivation, so much abundance springs from it.

It all reminds me that regardless of outside opinion, what lives in me - is me - and who I am is innately good, pure and simple. Over the years, I have floundered swaying back and forth between who I think I should be and who I truly am (for all the good and the bad, thank you, please.) 

Reminding myself to be "me exactly as I am" feels so good, like slipping-into-clean-crisp-bed-sheets-after-a-long-day good. I hope my memory doesn't fail me again, because I am convinced that knowing my truth, owning it, and living it out loud lay the foundation for my inner peace and happiness.

Amen. : )

What's NEW at Sandra Fazzino Photography? {Menlo Park, CA Photographer}

My tummy is filled with fluttering butterflies, because I'm sitting here at my desk working on a whole slew of yummy delicious improvements at Sandra Fazzino Photography. Yes, everything relates to food and that's why these changes taste so good, like bolognese lasagna oozing with besciamella straight-from-Emilia-Romagna-good. 

So, the first and most exciting update is SFP will now be offering new luxurious albums with select wedding and portrait packages. I can't think of a better way to archive your memories than by creating one of these luscious albums (see below). I know, decadent, right? I scoured the vendor show room at WPPI a couple weeks ago hunting for the products that best represent my style and the style of my beautiful clients. Below, are a range of albums with everything from velvet to linen to leather to photo paper covers. The print and binding quality is as good as it gets and there's something here to fit every budget. 

The second major change at SFP will be Order Appointments. Based on personal experience, I have decided to best serve my clients by scheduling an appointment to meet soon after your session to review your images together and be there with you to sip tea, have a glass of wine and munch on some homemade snacks while you place your order. I'm taking this extra step for two reasons. One, my husband and I married four and a half years ago, and we only purchased the CD of our images, and guess what. They're still sitting in the dark abyss of that polycarbonate plastic disc called a CD. Yes, I've looked at our photos many times on the computer, but I want something in our living area for our family and friends to see when they visit, and I want that something to be archival and gorgeous - as gorgeous as our wedding day. It's a little more romantic to sit on the couch and reminisce turning pages in an album than it is to hover over my computer screen together, don't ya think? I thought so! So, the Order Appointment will help my clients SEE and TOUCH the albums as well as print types and sizes and judge for themselves which options best suit them. Second, several of my clients this year had a hard time choosing sizes and understanding the proportions of print sizes. In order to better serve you, I'll be here to work through all of those kinks. For long distance clients, you're lucky - we will get to Skype!

I am looking forward to sharing the album samples once they arrive later this spring. Until then, please feel free to tell me what you think about these products and whether or not you feel I've hit your mark. 

All this talk of food may make me go for an early lunch, but that is nothing new. ; ) 

First Year at WPPI Vegas

Dear Lungs, 

Please forgive me for dragging you through smoky casinos seven days in a row, several times a day. I promise I asked for a non-smoking floor at the Luxor, and had no idea it was impossible to escape out of the ash tray which felt like the size of the Grand Canyon. I promise, it's you and me and fresh air from now on since we're finally home.

I would say our first time at WPPI was successful despite being suffocated. Taking two two-day workshops, a shoot out and five platform classes plus walking the exhibitor floor three days in a row searching for the perfect albums and camera gear has definitely exhausted me. And yet, I don't feel the least bit overwhelmed. I feel motivated. Motivated because everything I learned in these last seven days has been invaluable. Words can not begin to describe what this week has (hopefully) done for my business and artistic approach. Gratitude. That's all I have for the amazing teams that hosted each workshop I took (posted below) and the speakers I saw: Jose Villa, Elizabeth Messina, Dawn Shields, Jeff Medford, Ross Hockrow, Jim Garner, and everyone who worked so hard to make this convention a fruitful experience for me as well as 16,000 other attendees. 

Here's a quick visual recap of the week and what turned out to be an extraordinary experience.

Pix from my two-day workshop with Salvatore Cincotta, Shoot to Sell, with our lovely and talented models/musical duo, Brett & Susan. 

Then, it was off for some fireworks with T&T Dynamite's The Art of Directing, Tanja Lippert and her partner in crime, Tia Reagan with gorgeous models, Ryan, Paris and David.

Lastly, a 6am shoot out with the awesome team from CT, Justin & Mary. Unfortunately, I was SO not awake yet, I honestly can not remember our models' names for the life of me. Which shows you, I am already a bad bad photographer - that's such an important element to connecting with your clients! Update: Our models' names were Elizabeth and Ryan!! Thanks so much for leaving a note, you guys!!! So happy to hear from you! Whatever gorgeous pill you take to look this good & happy at 6am, please share!! 

Now, off to prepare for a big Bridges of Promise presentation this weekend and hopefully find a few minutes to turn myself into someone my husband would like to be seen with in public. We're off to a NIAF event this evening. Let's see if I can stay out past 9pm!?

Trish & Chip. Ritz Carlton Half Moon Bay. Destination Wedding.

Valentine's Day seemed like the perfect day to post a few photos of Trish and Chip's Ritz Carlton Half Moon Bay destination wedding. Very few details distract from what was most important to the bride - marrying her prince charming. Trish chose to keep the focus on her forty closest friends and family who all flew from Arkansas along with the bride and groom to celebrate their union on New Year's Eve.

I had such a lovely time (not only because I photographed an amazing couple but I also spent time with my dear friend, Rowena and her husband, John, who kindly referred me to this couple.)

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! May it be sticky sweet and full of love and hugs.

Gaining Perspective, Feeling Crowded & Joy.

Dear Visitor, 

If you've popped by only to find that the blog hasn't been updated in a while, I apologize for boring you and letting you down. I've been busy. But more than busy, I've been thinking. And thinking. I'll be very honest and say that I'm reevaluating myself and my work. January turned out to be a much busier month than anticipated which left very little time to re-new, incubate, and assess 2011's successes and failures and determine the direction for 2012. 

Now, we're already more than a week into February, print orders are flying in, and all I can think about is my first time attending WPPI Vegas. A whole week in Vegas…. with 16,000 photographers!! 

The thing is, I've made so many mistakes over the last twelve months that I have so many ways in which I plan to improve my work and business practices that I can't imagine what returning from WPPI will feel like. The good news is, learning never ends. The bad news is, learning never ends!

My goals in Vegas are to 1. Have a good time, especially with my pal and roomie, Gorete Ferreira. 2. Make at least one new friend 3. Try not to look like a zombie for the dawn shoot out with Justin & Mary on Tuesday, the 21st, and 4. Learn as much as possible about how to improve my business protocols in terms of a. marketing and b. selling. - and that's why I'm taking the two day workshop with Sal Cincotta - Shoot to Sell.  Addendum: I'm also signed up for T&T's Dynomite Art of Directing. I've been aching to take this workshop since I started my biz. Can't wait!!

In the meantime, here's a photo of beautiful Joy, a new model with Exalt Model and Talent Agency.

Wish me luck, because I'm AWFUL when it comes to crowds!!!