San Diego Blog Stories
Within this blog you will find everything from Funeral planning for Veterans to Newborn photography. While we capture many events and share as much information as possible, our main goal is to serve others. We currently do that by providing information and curating things that are needed, primarily for our Military community in Southern California.
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Why you need to hire a photographer at least once in your Military Journey
Why you need to hire a photographer at least once in your Military Journey.
Investing in photography is something we all consider a couple times a year but rarely follow through. Sometimes there is a budget concern, other important events around the corner, and so much more. As a photographer, even I have missed the past TWO YEARS of family photos…. And I do regret it. What I do not regret is getting a post deployment photographer for my husbands last pier side homecoming where I announced the gender of our baby.
Bonus Note about How Special Airport Homecomings are.
Honoring Pablo Cosme Guerrero | 22 Year Navy Veteran
Pablo Cosme Guerrero
AUGUST 17, 1927 – AUGUST 3, 2022 KOREA | VIETNAM | US NAVY, SNPablo Cosme Guerrero, age 94, passed away on Wednesday, August 3, 2022. Pablo is survived by his wife, Ludivina, and his children Frank, Pablo Guerrero Jr, Maya, Alex, Bernadette, and Marie, as well as his 27 grandchildren, 41 great-grandchildren and 7 great-great-grandchildren.
Pablo was born in Cavite, Philippines, on August 17, 1927. He enrolled into the US military in 1945 and enlisted in the US Navy in 1948 where he was stationed in San Diego. In total, Pablo dutifully served our country for over 22 years. During his time of service, he was involved in nuclear testing on the island of Saipan and he also received an Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for service during the Vietnam War. Following his time in the US Navy, Pablo served in Merchant Marines out of San Francisco and then spent over 20 years as a postal clerk for the United States Post Office before his retirement.
Ensure You Honor Your Veteran At Their Funeral
How to Honor your Veteran After They Pass Away | Miramar National Cemetery San Diego, CA
When a loved one passes away, we want to honor their life and what they stood for. When a Veteran dies, we honor their commitment to offering up their own life to protect and serve others and ensure we celebrate the life they have lived. With a commitment this all-encompassing, we want to fully recognize their service to our country and to those who cannot protect themselves.
One way that you can honor your veteran is by making sure that they receive military honors at their funeral. A trumpeter playing Taps, a folded flag, gun salute, and a fly over come to mind. Your funeral director can help with these types of arrangements.
We will talk about Veteran’s Burial Allowance, requesting a “Military Funeral and Honor Guard” & Presidential Memorial Certificate, National Cemetery Burial information, and the importance of Continue to Honor Their Life.
4th Birthday Portraits | East County San Diego, CA
Annual Birthday Portraits | Novalee | East County San Diego, CA
Last week we went down the way from our home and decided to take a few quick photos of our little lady to remember her last week as a three-ager. I am so glad we did. She was starting to feel better from sickness so we only stayed for about 10 min and it was so worth it! hope you enjoy this quick mini photo session.
Grandma Carol found this beautiful dress at a thrift store and Nova fell in love!
Fresh 48 Photography - Dealing with Dark & Small Hospitals | Balboa Naval Hospital
Fresh 48 Newborn Boy Session | Balboa Naval Hospital | San Diego, CA
Lets talk about the 4 most important things to remember when going into a dark and small hospital room for Fresh-48 Newborn photo session.
1. Make the Most of the Natural Light…First. I stay far away from flash when working with newborns in a lifestyle fresh 48 type of session. Not that there is anything horrible about it, I just don’t prefer it's disruption.
2. Focus on Details & Emotions Versus Perfection. We’re not here to worry about perfection. Fresh 48 or birth space sessions tend to trend towards the documentary photography end of the spectrum. This means that they are more true-to-life, less styled, and more “real”.
3. Black & Whites Can Improve the Emotional Value of an Image. Sometimes you can just embrace the grain or go with black and white. Honestly, black and white images are really iconic!
4. Utilize High Key Lighting & Silhouettes. In addition to black and white imagery, shooting towards the window allows for highlighting of details like peach fuzzy baby faces, and more.
First Reservist Marine to EVER Hold This Title
First Reservist Marine to EVER Hold This Title
Drill Master DI Ribbon Hat Ceremony | MCRD San Diego, CA
Staff Sgt Andrew Brand has been stationed at Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego with Golf Company for some time. He started off as a regular Drill Instructor, and finished off his time as Drill Master September of 2022.
This was no easy feat; Staff Sgt needed to extend his orders as a reservist and promise his time -far- beyond what was originally expected.
Reenlistment of Drill Instructor | MCRD San Diego, CA | 2020
Just sharing some images from a Marine Reenlistment while he was stationed at MCRD San Diego, CA. How many people do you know who reenlisted while a drill instructor?!
Military Headshots | NJROTC Temecula Cadet Matheson | San Diego, CA
In 8 years of military service, my only "headshot" was during boot camp - my silly self never purchased it! Why is that? Especially in a military-heavy city like San Diego, why don't more photographers offer posed studio portraits with flags in the background? How does a service member get ahold of new portraits, anyways? PAO? Fleet and Family? MCCS? MWR?
I am on a mission to make these more common and to -eventually- get my uniform back on for one last official photo. In the meantime, let's normalize these portraiture opportunities to capture your military career before it's only a memory and you want to grow a retirement beard.
In honor of my mission, I am sharing some images that Cadet Matheson picked out from his recent portrait session. This Junior at Chaparral High School NJROTC in Temecula is on his way to a fantastic career in the Navy.
Naval Retirement of CDR George Newton | Balboa Naval Hospital San Diego, CA
Naval Retirement of CDR George Newton | San Diego, CA Balboa Naval Hospital
In 2018, he arrived to his final assignment at Naval Medical Center San Diego. Here he served as the Vice-Chairman for the Department of Anesthesia and most notably, served as the surgical services subject matter expert for all COVID-19 related processes and procedures. He is still fondly referred to as the Covid King.
Photographers-Child Syndrome
I was on the brink of recovering from some icky sickness and felt creative. Asked my daughter to put on an outfit I made (thrifted crochet tree skirt turned into skirt and crocheted top by me). Needless to say, it was funnier to be sassy and play than listen to mom. I am going to miss these days, I am sure. Enjoy!
Here are a few photos that show the start of my vision of shooting through plants in a boho style. Next time, taller ladder, and bribery for good smiles, lol. Not perfect photos or super fine tuned just quick edits to show off this goofy girl!
Lt. Kristen Boye has earned the qualification of U.S. Naval Helicopter Aircraft Commander
Lt. Kristen Boye, part of a multigenerational military legacy, knew in seventh grade she wanted to fly planes.
“I grew up meeting my grandpa’s fellow wingmen during reunions and going to airshows with my dad,” Boye said. “I know I don’t want a regular desk job. I want to fly.” (Kentwired.com)
Boye applied for AOCS, like her father, and hopes to get into the program. She aspires to one day fly an off-carrier so she can contribute to her country like her other family members.
“I’m very excited to see what the future holds,” Boye said in her 2015 interview.
Fast forward to 2022, stationed in San Diego, CA, achieving her dreams! After years of dedication and hard work, Boye is holds an impressive track record of qualifications and is commercialy-rated in both fixed wing and rotary wing. She is qualified to fly search and rescue, special operations support, surface warfare, anti-surface warfare, electronic warfare, torpedo employment, missile employment, rocket employment, night vision goggles and combat formation.
76th Annual 4th of July Celebration | Crest, CA
Yesterday, my family joined in on Crest, CA’s 76th annual 4th of July parade and park festival! Our first “public” event since we moved here was last year during their 75th and it was rather small due to the pandemic. Of course, this one was very ‘Merica and Novalee had a blast!
Very Patriotic - Red White and Blue!
It was so cool to see Bad Rabbit preform and the National Anthem sung. EVERYONE stopped to render honors. One of the hot dog vendors actually started crying. I over heard her say it was just so neat to see that there are people who still love our country. The veteran population up here in our area is huge, so no lack of patriotism was left at home. Candy and water guns. The sights and sounds of Crest’s 76th gala July 4th event never disappoints. Thanks to all those that worked so hard. All your efforts show. I hope everyone realizes all the effort it takes to make this unique down-home event so much fun.
First Marine to ever hold these two titles!!
When a Marine needs to pick their “B” Billet, they usually pick between Drill Instructor and Recruiter Duty. Of course, there are pros and cons to both… Few pick BOTH. That’s the case for Gunnery Sergeant Jose Flores. He has served as both a recruiter on the east coast and Drill Instructor on the west coast. Where the real anomaly lies is he has received BOTH Recruiter of the Year (2014) AND Drill Instructor of the Year (2021).
Jose Flores enlisted at the age of 17 in 2008 and has had an incredible career. He is currently service as the the Recruit Training Regiment drill master, (prior Fox Company DI) and also received his Doctorate Degree from Grand Canyon University in Organizational Leadership.
How to prep your home for an in-home newborn lifestyle session
Part of why I love in-home newborn sessions is that everyone can be more relaxed and comfortable. Shooting these sessions in the comfort of your home allows for parents to have all the normal resources, making everyone (including baby!) feel more comfortable and relaxed.
I love newborn lifestyle sessions because they allow me to be a fly on the wall for all of the tender interactions between a new family unit.
Here are the 3 most important things to do to prep for your in home session:
Five reasons why you need to schedule an extended family photo session
As we all know, life moves quickly. It's time to get the family together.
We’re busy keeping up with work, family and other commitments. But it’s not just the pace of life that is increasing—it’s also the distance between us as families.
Perhaps none is more important than preserving your family albums full of photos of loved ones and getting to spend time together. As a mother myself, I can’t encourage you enough to prioritize extended family portraits. Years from now you will be so very grateful that you took the time to get everyone together for a large family session. It's more than worth the effort and I guarantee you'll love every minute of it!
Here are five reasons you need to schedule an extended family photo session.
5 Reasons why you should get an airport homecoming photographer
Do you feel robbed of a typical post deployment homecoming experience because your spouse or significant other was selected to fly off the ship early?? Did you have a difficult birth or high risk pregnancy and need your SO home? Perhaps they were injured or came home due to unfortunate circumstances? Don’t worry! You, too, can have a beautiful homecoming experience that can be even more special than meeting on the flight line or deck of the ship.
Here are 5 reasons you should consider hiring a photographer for your airport homecoming.
Four reasons why courthouse weddings are underrated | San Diego, CA | Elopement Photographer
Why the courthouse? If you are planning to ditch the big wedding for now, and go for something more intimate, a San Diego Courthouse Civil marriage deserves huge consideration!
Here are 4 reasons why you should consider an elopement and Civil Ceremony at the Courthouse when wanting to join your partner in marriage in San Diego County (or anywhere really!)
Blog about the Marriage Hut Downtown San Diego Courthouse
HMH-466 | Marine Homecoming | MCAS Miramar | Lopez Family
Long Awaited Return for Repeat Client
I photographed Lopez’ graduation from bootcamp at MCRD San Diego 2 years ago so I felt privileged to photograph his first ever deployment homecoming with HMH-466 at MCAS Miramar.
The Squadron Lopez is a part of is the Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 466 (HMH-466), the “Wolfpack.” It is a United States Marine Corps helicopter squadron consisting of CH-53E Super Stallion transport helicopters. It is based out of Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California, and falls under the command of Marine Aircraft Group 16 (MAG-16) and the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (3rd MAW).
Self Portraits in Boulder Colorado
How I take self-portraits I love my Canon R5 and the Canon Camera Connect App!
I connect my phone via Wifi or Bluetooth and can use my phone to nail focus, set timers, and change settings like ISO, shutter speed, and more.
The Canon Camera Connect is a free app for download on Android and iOS devices. To get started, head to the Play Store or the App Store and hit Install. It can work with many types of cameras including the PowerShot series and mirrorless series.
I start by taking a few test shots and seeing if I like my settings. I do a few different poses and then try to move my camera to a new position for some variance, we don’t need a million photos in the same pose.
After I get the shots I like, I then make sure I get some without me in them so I can overlay them or use them as a double exposure style in photoshop. This helps make sure I have a variety of images instead of the same framing and the same posing. (like the cover photo for this blog post!).
Child Portraits San Diego
Ms Novalee here, gets her photo taken quite often and absolutely loves to model. Modeling is so much fun AND she gets to try on new client outfits or dresses like these Balticborn gowns for toddlers.