Orange County photographer | Tara Whitney - Orange County's Leading Photographer. Family, Pregnancy, Maternity, infant, Newborn, Baby, engagement photography in Orange County, Los Angeles, San Diego » Teen Photographer

you only live once – the photographs of Hannah

Tara Whitney — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 20:13:19 +0000

Hannah is in her first year of college, living in Portland, out on her own for the first time. Her Mom, Natalie (pictured with her here) hired me to photograph her. After getting to know Hannah during our session, I really feel that Natalie couldn’t have picked a more perfect time to have her daughter photographed. Your first independent years are so thrilling, so full of exploration and learning. It was entirely different than if she had done this for her high school senior photos. We captured her at the beginning of her new life, rather than at the end of an old one.

Hannah was unsure of the process and admittedly very shy. I understand that feeling, and so my main goal was to put her at ease and help her to feel confident in her beauty. When we met I was struck by her quiet, strong presence. I was drawn to her instantly, and would have wanted to photograph her had I seen her walking by me on the street, so I felt very lucky that she was before me so willingly.

I loved how quiet and careful she was in front of the camera. I felt honored to watch her move across the field, completely unaware of how stunning and special that she is. Natalie wiped away quiet tears as she watched us. I was often on the verge of tears myself, and I can’t quite put my finger on why. This was just one of those sessions where something special happens. I left feeling that the person I photographed gave me more than I could ever possibly give them.

Tara

summertime, and the livin’s easy…

Tara Whitney — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 05:39:31 +0000

mckenna didnt quite have the motor skills to figure out how to throw her body head first on her stomach down a slippery piece of finite plastic that caused “plastic burn” on the stomachs and shins of her siblings.

or maybe she did and thought everyone else was crazy.

knowing mckenna, i can see either being true.

• the word joy is in their last name, i think it fits •

Tara Whitney — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 16:48:47 +0000

i had the loveliest of times with the mountjoy family, who radiated love and joy for each other, and who took me out to lunch at joe’s crabshack when we were finished.

the goswick girls

Tara — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 21:06:59 +0000

these beautiful women live on a working ranch, and on a college tour of california, stopped off in newport beach to meet me.mothers and daughters are so inspiring for me to work with, probably because of the amazing relationship i have with my own mom. it really does seem like only a week ago that i was 16 years old and she was still trying to cuddle me on her lap…these girls were super fun to work with, loved my ideas, (or pretended to) and most importantly, loved each other very much. it was plain to see.as this guy came into my peripheral vision as i was shooting her in this spot, i thought-keep on coming, keep on coming…i LOVE capturing surfers in the background at the beach.bikini shopping:

Bentley’s family

Tara — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 17:11:44 +0000

about a year ago, or so, i got an email from a photographer from NYC. her name was bentley waters and we hit it off over email pretty nicely. she helped me out with location and dinner ideas while i was in NYC, but the day we were supposed to meet up, i woke up with a nasty stomach bug.

i still so badly wanted to meet her, so i was so happy when she asked me to photograph her family while she was here in CA. she was even more lovely in person-and so was her family.

her brothers were in town also, so we dragged them into a few photos…

somebody’s trying to get away…

this next series of just the two of them are some of my favorites from the session…

the kid was undeniably adorable.