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

Sarah and Arron, hailing all the way from the United Kingdom. They were roaming California on holiday, celebrating their 7th anniversary.

I love:

that we got to hang out
that they rented a convertible – so iconic
her hair blowing in the wind
their shoes
her freckles
his crooked smile
their comfortable hug in front of grafitti
her blue nails
their beach outfit change (I literally could not take my eyes off her with that bathing suit and headband and pink hoodie – she was radiant!)
how they forgot I was there a lot of the time
her headband – she made it!
that she brought out her camera
their request for photographs by the lifeguard stand, and how they turned out
(doesn’t the vertical shot on the lifeguard stand seem like it could have been their grandparents?)
a girl who is willing to wear a bathing suit on camera

What you may not be able to see is that these two were a bit shy and a bit unsure of how to “act” for the camera, but they let go and trusted me. And I am thankful to them for that. Soon their shy smiles turned authentic and free. It was really lovely bringing them out of their shell.

xo
Tara

Amy is a friend of mine. We met in LA, but became close while in Thailand together. She was asked to be a part of this book: Signature Styles by Jenny Doh. The book features several stylish women, sharing their style at home, work, and play. I drove up to her adorable little apartment in Venice and we spent the morning playing dress up and walking around Abbot Kinney. This shoot took place way back in 2010 and I can finally share now that the book is out!

Here is the book cover and Amy’s section:

And here are some of the images they used in the spread … and some they didn’t.

Amy is the owner of Amy Tangerine t-shirts and also has a new line of scrapbooking products with American Crafts. You can also find her blog here. She always has something fun and stylish up her sleeve. Doing this for her was a no brainer. Love this fun chick.

xo
Tara

Shannon Leith is a photographer and friend of mine, who wanted updated images of herself for her websites.

Her requests:  simple, show her quiet side, against a white wall, focus on her eyes.

I took her around the corner from my house, behind a Big Lots, and spent about an hour talking to her and pushing the shutter. The light was freaky – sun going in and out of the clouds. It was …. um, noon. We both laughed that I was a photographer shooting another photographer in the worst light of the day.

I hadn’t met Shannon prior to photographing her, but she gave herself to me completely. She talked and I listened.

I was mesmerized.

This session has brought up the topic of “seeing” between Shannon and I.

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I operate under the belief that people really just want to be seen. If you can truly see someone, you give them a gift.

I use this philosophy in my work and as a mother. I don’t think I can do anything more important for my children than to truly see them.

Same for my clients. I take in everything that I could possibly think, and stop thinking.

And just see.

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Shannon shared this on her twitter feed today, and I wanted to post it along with her photos:

“One of the deepest longings of the human soul is to be seen.” – John O’Donohue

xo

Tara