Blog of Orange County photographer, Tara Whitney. Features client sneak peeks and sessions, the "check it" section (where Tara shares her favorite things found online), and personal stories from her life as a woman and mother of four.
Karissa (in flannel) is my youngest sister, who, in April reached two major life milestones. She turned 21 and moved out of our parent’s house and into her own place with her girlfriend Megan. We celebrated with some photos.
The last two photos are so, so them – Megan’s laugh and Karissa’s “what happened, what did I miss?” face…
I love them together.
xo
Tara
- Holy JEEZ I love these! My fave is the last B&W. Love the love here. :)
- So awesome! :)
- Gorgeous!!! Love these.
- Such happy, beautiful photos of these lovely young women! I love them :)
- Love love LOVE the expressions in the last b/w one!! fabulous series of photos.
- LOVE this shoot - so great! Love the last b&w also!
- really pretty photos love the laughs and softness of them!
- Gorgeous photos as always. Just looking at that field makes me feel like sneezing, though. :)
- Love them!!
- The last two are my FAVS : )
- Wow. Wow. Wow. These are pure spectacular love. Your sis has that cute arch eyebrow look thingy you do. Love that...
- These are beautiful! The captures of them holding hands in the field of yellow flowers, kissing with the cut out heart above their heads, and the black and white one at the very end are my very favorites, but they're all so good. You are so, so, so, good at capturing special moments. Lucky girls to have these!
- They have got to be one of the cutest couples ever! I heart this. A LOT. :)
- so light and full of joy! beautiful!
- OMG! I LOVE THEM!! Your sis totally has that cute eyebrow thingy you do!! I can FEEL the love! Ahhh! LOVE!!
- I have been waiting for these! I don't even know them and I love them! So crazy beautiful honey...love at its purest. xo
- LOVE! Wonderful images, as per usual! Love the pink heart shot! :-)
- Let me tell you Tara...you never fail to make me teary-eyed. I did not know this was going to be your sister, but throughout I thought to myself "Wow...she looks so much like Tara!" (Duh!) I was so very much moved by these. Two beautiful beautiful girls. Thanks to all three of you for sharing something we just don't see often enough :)
- beautiful, Tara!!
- Feeling the love. You and your sis have the same sweet eyes. Nice shoot!
- Beautiful, and I love their style!
- Tara.. im crying.. i love this<3 you're so sweet and so amazing im so glad to be like a part of your family <3
- Her girlfriend is so beautiful! Great images Tara!
- she looks so much like you! soulful eyes :)
- Love all the pictures-thank you for sharing. The pink heart one really stands out and is stop my heart gorgeous.
- The one on the bottom left is my favorite. They are a beautiful couple!
- You are such a rockin' awesome big sister -- these are ridiculously sweet!!!
- Wow, Tara, these pictures are incredibly moving. You are such an inspiration - thank you for sharing your work with us!
- These are so fantastically beautiful! They are so perfectly cute.
- Love the picture of them in the field with the heart - so adorable! :-D
- Love every single thing about these. Awesome.
- Beautiful! I love the mixture of fun, playfullness, sillyness, and tenderness.
- Wow..your sister has grown up so much. I absolutely love these. That second to last black and white is so moving. Beautiful work as always..
- I knew Karissa had to be related to you as soon as I saw that last B&W - you have the same beautiful eyes. Tara, I always feel like I somehow come to "know" and fall in love with all the people you photograph. It's just such a beautiful and amazing thing you do... :o)
- wow! enough said =)
- awesome.
- love that pink heart!
- love the heart lifted overhead... such sweet pics <3
- such a gorgeous collection of photos. and what a fabulous pair!
- Coming to terms with my daughter coming out this week - these beautiful images say so much to me.
- These are just absolutely STUNNING
- Awww....your love for your sweet sister shines through - every picture made me smile :)
- thank you once again for sharing your beautiful soul with us through these pictures. Thank you once again for making me feel seen. The fact that this is your sister just makes it all the more beautiful. J.
- so sweet, tara. you and your sister really favor one another.
- Precious. Just absolutely precious. What a wonderful way to capture this moment in their lives!
- they're so stinkin' cute! i just wanna hug on 'em!! lovely photos of 2 beautiful ladies!
- I have to say my favorite photo is in the field with the heart. Leave it to you to think outside the box. Love them all....you are a wonderful big sis!
- Goosebumps...it is a result of this pure evidence of love.
- What I love is the naturalness of it. Sure, it's posed, but it's natural.
- so sweet! what a darling couple!!!
- holy moly (who says that these days...I think it should come back)...the one of them in the field of yellow gazing at the sun...such a great shot! Big milestones...and only a full beautiful life ahead! Congrats to them!
- these melted my heart. what beautiful women!
- gorgeous gorgeous. just stunning. i am sure they are both so very much proud to have these.
- I just join the crowd over here. I love these pictures and everything about them.
- oh my gosh you and your sister and Anna all look so alike-beautiful!
- I agree with the other commenters who said that your images convey such emotion and attachment for the viewer. Of course, I don't know either Karissa or Meg but these photos give me such a strong sense of them. You are so talented to be able to evoke such thoughts and feelings both from your subjects and viewers. I love them.
- :)
- Really, really lovely :).
- They are freaking adorable! We love your shots of "family" (in the LGBT sense) and the fact that this is part of your family (in the biological sense) makes them even better. Thanks for sharing - from this lesbian and my lesbian daughter!
- gorgeous!
- Lovely set of photos & lovely young love! They and you shine!!
- Simply gorgeous. Your sister and you look a lot alike. You're both beautiful!
- I love them all, but the black and whites are my favorites from this session. Especially the last one. So. Much. Emotion. Excellent!!!
- As always, your photos never disappoint! You can always capture the love and carefree ways of those you photograph and I love that! These are fabulous!
- Absolutely fantastic! <3 <3
- wonderful! :)
- These are amazing .. so beautifully captured..
- Those are very touching photos of a lovely couple.
- What a love... Awesome.
- The love these two share make the world a better place. Thank you for sharing, Tara.
- That last B&W steals my heart. I hope they get a big ol' print to put up in the apartment! Love the love, it's so apparent and beautiful.
- absolutely, stunningly beautiful. is it possible that these photos somehow convey a true, genuine love more than any photos of couples you've ever shared before? It kinda feels like it, and it's amazing.
- Beautiful, T. You have such a gift. What blessing. Thank you for sharing. Love you.
- I love the one where Meg has the heart high above her head in that beautiful yellow field. You can feel the love!
- 1. the light in the one next to the text is sparkley and juicy. 2. the typeface you chose to write their names is perfect. 3. lovely lovely job.
- absolutely BEAUTIFUL!!
- I see so much of Anna in Karissa! What beautiful images of a couple in love. These are amazing!
- So wonderful. Thank you for sharing love in all of it's forms, Tara.
- beautiful series, but I absolutely love the one in the field, the kiss and the cardboard heart
- Wonderful couple and beautiful photos. The second to last is my fav. Congrats!
- I was going to say how much Karissa looks like you but then I guess being your SISTER explains it!! How terrific! Beautiful photos, Tara. I love all of them (and really love both their styles) but I especially love the last B&W. Oh random question: are those lips on Meg's neck a tattoo? If so, CUTE.
- What a beautiful couple. I love these photos, you can feel their love for each other. How awesome for your sister! Wonderful job, Tara.
- so lovely :)
- Can't believe how much your sister looks like you. Pretty sure your family must have captured the good eyebrow genes of the world! Fabulous photos...
- Gorgeous, honey. Really and truly. I adore the last b&w too..that needs to be printed ENORMOUS. xxoo
- I know I already got a preview of the pictures......But to see them on your blog displayed for the world to see gives me such joy. Thank you Tara for this special gift to your sister.This is a gift far beyond the images themselves.I am so proud of my family.Through the good and the bad,the tears and the laughter. All of you so different, so unique but still entwined with so much love.Tara,thank you for capturing the essence of who they are which in return captures the essence of you.ox
- SO beautiful! I don't know if they planned it but I love that your sister's flannel match her girlfriends hair and nails :) Way too precious!
- Beautiful. Incredible. I love seeing sessions like these.
- ...LOVE!
- what an absolutely gorgeous couple. pics are fab!
- I love everything about these!!! Gorgeous!!
- I really really love these... for so many reasons.
- oh my god they're so beautiful together.
- you know, I was looking at these photos and knew immediately that the girl in flannel was a relation to you. You have the spit of each other's eyes. Im glad I was right when I read it at the end. BEAUTS photos. **PS: Anna has the look of Karissa in some of those photos**
- What beauty!! LOVE the set of four where you are peeking through the bushes. And that last black and white is SO adorable. Happy times :)
- mmmm...love it all :)
- The first thing I noticed as I scrolled down through these was how much obvious comfort and trust there was between this super cute couple and you, which is pretty typical of your sessions, but then after reading the backstory made even MORE sense! Ha! Your sister totally does that same lifted eyebrow thing that you do! Love that! They are absolutely adorable together! Gotta love LOVE. :)
- ok now i'm crying....i just read your mama's comment. so sweet. there is so much love, in the pictures, the special gift you have as a photographer and the connection you see immediately between these two gorgeous girls. just amazing.....
- Ahhhh love, glorious! *sigh*
- LOVE!!!!
- Freaking gorgeous photos! Congrats to your sister!
- Perfect ♥
- love sweet love. congrats to them
- Your sister looks like you! Beautiful pics - beautiful girls.
- These are so AwESome!!!! Love them!! what a super cute couple!! I'm always so jealous of your awesome locations, and I never feel weird asking you where you shoot at:) I did send you an email, but just in case you don't receive it, where the heck did you shoot these at? I'm searching for the perfect grassy, open field for an upcoming maternity session. This location is sooooooo... perfect
- Gorgeous & emotive! Every single one is a work of art. & shazam cause my youngest brother is 21 & just moved out into the big world too.... that is if you can call heading miles away to Byron Bay with nothing but a tent, moving out ;)
- Perfect! Loved every single one! ♥
- Beautiful photos - what a stunning couple! You & your sister look soooo much alike x
- Just beautiful!! Their love shines through!
- I KNEW Karissa had to be related to you! I saw the resemblence right away:) Beautiful photos!
- The black and white close up is amazing! Wow!
- Wow! These are gorgeous, and the bond you captured is incredible. They look so happy, so self-assured, and so much more PRESENT than any 21-year-olds I've seen...
- They are both gorgeous!! Sooooo beautiful!!!
- As a lesbian, and a hobbyist photographer, rarely do I come across these photo blogs and find a woman + woman or a man + man photo shoot. I loved seeing this. It made my heart happy. And they are so cute together. Thanks for capturing the beauty.
- beautiful. congratulations to them. ummm....a wee bit choked up reading your mom's comment. such sweetness.
- So incredibly beautiful.
- this could be the most favourite shoot i've ever seen of yours. so much goodness!!!
- They are adorable! I long to be 21 and so in love again. Well done capturing it.
by Tara Whitney
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