Angela Valerie PhotographySouthern Calfornia Story Telling Photography – The Nelke Family
Posted on March 25, 2013
This blog post is LONG overdue. I was so booked up last fall that when I shot this session of my sister and her family, I told her that she would have to wait to get the images and that she would just have to pick from un-edited pictures to have me edit quickly and email to her for her Christmas card. Well, things didn’t start slowing down until about now! Better late than never, though. 🙂 I loved this shoot even on such a gloomy day. We just had fun at the beach and marina. Anywhere where kids can run and play is fun, really (although there was no running at the marina. That wouldn’t be safe). Poor baby Camille was coming down with a fever and through all of the smiles, some cranky and sad came out, but not much. She was a trooper especially since we didn’t know she was feverish until after the shoot.
When our shoot started, there was another family photo shoot going on. To my surprise, they happened to know my sister and her husband. It was a totally different type of photo shoot and I posted a small view of what it was like for the other photographer. It’s the last image in this post.
And then there they are. The large family all dressed in white shirts and blue jeans. They seemed like a totally awesome family and they probably got fantastic photos that they LOVE.  I just want you to know that this is NOT what I do. I need to tell a story even if there are some posed family pictures during the shoot, the majority of the shoot is documentary. I will document your time because that is what I feel is important in family photography. That’s all. The end. 🙂
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Rachel + Paul
Posted on March 13, 2013
This couple was awesome! They have been together 8 years and engaged for 2. On Valentines day, they decided to have a court wedding and finally tie the knot. Instead of taking pictures at the court, they wanted a natural outdoors setting. I chose this location in Calabasas and it turned out great. Usually there is a gorgeous rose garden, but we weren’t so lucky with the time of year for that. But, it was still gorgeous. I am not usually so great posing people so this shoot was a challenge (in a good way) and thankfully they were all so comfortable in front of the camera. Rachel is so cool, she hadn’t even gotten married yet and she wanted to sit in the dirt in her beautiful dress. It was her idea and it was awesome! They were so laid back. Rachel’s smile was always genuine. Then when I thought we could try the cool, serious expression picture, she honestly couldn’t do it. Her smile just kept creeping in. She is a happy person and it shows and she has a beautiful smile, so it’s definitely working for her. So thankful for this shoot. It was a lot of fun and it has re-sparked my interest in wedding photography. Congratulations Rachel and Paul! =)
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Moorpark Newborn Photographer – Happy Baby Grayson
Posted on March 7, 2013
This handsome little guy is Grayson. He was in this belly just a couple of weeks before I got to meet him. For this newborn session, we did two shoots. The first shoot went very well, but he was VERY hungry. He only wanted to eat and we couldn’t get the perfect sleeping picture. I wanted to come back and try again a couple days later and I am so glad I did. He was having the happiest dreams and I was able to capture some big smiles. I get to document his first year and I couldn’t be more excited. By the next shoot, I am hoping to get some awake smiles. I will be documenting his baptism, and I don’t think most babies smile about those, but I will certainly try to get a smile out of him. His parents are so great and it was such a joy to see them fall into the roles of mom and dad so well. Before Grayson, they were just the parents of two very adorable boxer dogs. I had to include a shot of them. They weren’t sure about me, and I don’t blame them. They have a precious baby to protect. I hope some of our future shoots will include them, how cute will that be? Stay tuned for next month’s 3 month old shoot/baptism. So excited!
I have started filming little videos at each session (so far just the two) and I plan to take more video up until his last session. I am quite the amateur, but I fully intend on including a short film in the baby’s first year packages to give at the end of the year. I hope that by the end of Grayson’s first year, I will be a much better filmmaker. If I get good enough, I will include it in some other packages too.  The video is at the bottom of this post and please feel free to leave a comment with your opinion and/or if you have any suggestions. Thank you!!! 🙂
Grayson 2 weeks old from Angie Wheeler on Vimeo.
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I Heart Faces Photo Challenge – Framed
Posted on March 6, 2013
In the midst of my marathon laundry day, I noticed how peaceful the day had been. My girls were playing nice. Squabble free for HOURS! I had a choice: continue doing laundry since I was on a roll, or stop to take a moment to document their play time. I am so glad I chose the latter. I wish I could convince myself to slow down more often. They are growing so fast and before I know it they will be grown and I will wish I could turn back time. Who am I kidding, I wish that already! 😦
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Los Angeles Maternity Photographer – UCLA Maternity Session
Posted on March 4, 2013
That is one lucky little baby girl in there. Her parents are fun, cool, and obviously have so much love to give. They are high school sweethearts and I know that they are going to be such great parents. When you know and love someone for so long, I think it should make the transition to parenthood easy. I know because I married my high school sweetheart. 😉
This was my first shoot at UCLA and it was a BLAST! I can’t wait to go back! Such a cool location and I am so glad they chose it. We almost got rained out, but luckily the storm passed and it was perfect. Mama brought a few outfits and it was awesome. I haven’t had many shoots with so much variety. LOVE IT! Both of them were very natural in front of the camera which was great. Sometimes when clients are so easy, I forget to try and get those in between moments. Those moments are always my favorite. So, I did get a few belly shots when they were walking and I also got a shot that ended up being one of my favorites. It wasn’t an in between moment, it was my “hold on, I’m just going to do a test shot” shot. It’s the moody looking one of Mama alone on the stairs. And sometimes I say some pretty lame things when I don’t know what I am trying to get from a shot. I see the light, location and I have my subjects but then what? So, when you scroll down and see the one of Dad pointing at Mama’s belly and laughing, ya…that was my suggestion. It made for a fun image, but what a weird suggestion. Good thing they thought it was funny. HAHA!
These two are having so many changes in their lives. A move to the bay area, new  jobs, and a new baby. So exciting. I wish them all the luck and happiness in the world.
Angela Valerie Photography 