Welcome! I'm Shawna, an on-location natural light photographer from Kent, WA serving the greater Seattle and South Sound area. My passion is for birth photography! In birth or family sessions, I strive to capture details and the spontaneous moments that truly reflect the beauty in your life, and that you will treasure for ever. Sit back with a cup of coffee and enjoy my musings, or better yet - pop me an email and introduce yourself. I love meeting new people!

On experience and permanence

Soft Mt. Rainier sunset in enumclaw.
(The view from my parents' street - processed by my dad.)

My dad and I were walking up his driveway after running down the street to catch the last bit of a beautiful sunset. The driver of the Fed-Ex truck that was backing out stopped to say with relief, Oh, thank goodness someone's got their camera! What a beautiful sunset!  And it occurred to me then, what strange things technology has done to us.  We panic at the thought of losing a memory forever. Even if it's the grainiest phone snapshot and we never again look at it, just the fact that it exists is enough. Someone somewhere has the memory permanently stored, and with that knowledge, we can go back to enjoying our view. Or even turn away from it.

Our winters here are so long. Not the harsh, beating coldness of most northern winters. It's dark, dull, unrelenting gloom.  When we have crisp, clear days, they are treasures that inspire us to make it through the strings of dreary weeks.  I can certainly identify with that overwhelming pull to capture them forever. Some days I long for proof that the sun ever graced my views.

golden seattle sunset.
(Taken with my phone, as I stuck my knee in a pile of leafy muddy guck.)

Earlier this week, I ran up and down a few blocks in Seattle trying to get a better vantage point of this amazing sunset.  I wanted to shout, Look! Don't you see it? to every person on the street. Wild eyed and running around, I was snapping phone shots left and right. After I acknowledged my own ridiculousness, and decided to hop in my car and just enjoy it, I passed the Pike Place Market sign, illuminated from behind by these same stunning golden clouds. That was the view I had imagined in my head all along.

In the 1.5 second glimpse I had of the amazing view, all I could think was, "Thank God there are tourists here. Someone will have taken a picture."






P.S. You can bet I was thrilled to see a private plane soaring across the view above. Surely that was their best flight ever.

P.P.S. Who's getting up to see the lunar eclipse in the morning? I'll be waking up my 3 year old to watch with me if the skies stay clear!

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SWEET!

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(cupcakes by: Trophy Cupcakes (omgsogood), decorative wrappers by: Bella Cupcake Couture)

Tomorrow I will be joining the live audience at the CreativeLIVE studio for a holiday cupcake and cookie decorating class. I couldn't be more excited! If you haven't heard of CreativeLIVE, run -do not walk- to their website. They offer amazing courses (most often about photography, but creativity has no limits!) that are FREE when viewed live, and are offered at an amazing price as downloads. It's a world wide classroom at its finest.

german chocolate cake

So you can imagine how stoked I am to get to learn about delicious decorations in this amazing manner! I love baking, but let's just say I lean towards unfinished cookies and cakes with messy toppings, because I can never get icing just right. I cannot wait to learn!

I hope you'll join me in the morning by tuning in LIVE, and if you can't make it, I'm sure the class will be more than worth purchasing the download.

P.S. If you know me even a little, you will know just how bad my sweet tooth can be! Don't get your hopes up that any finished delicacies will actually make it out of my kitchen, unless it's to pose for a portrait!

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Reflecting

One thing I love about photography is that it may be cold outside and ready to snow, but I can lose myself in an image and just like that, it's summer again. For a moment, Bella is newly three, the sun is bright, laughter is everywhere, and the air smells of grass and dandelions.



And then, back to my hot chocolate and dark cozy windows and I trudge nostalgically through a year of family photos. :O)

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Feeling like fall



Who else has been up to their elbows in pumpkins lately? Perhaps even a few pumpkin lattes?

(Not up to your elbows, of course.)

I hope everyone had a happy Halloween! Well, and a happy October for that matter!

For me, autumn is all about the leaves! We've been having such a wonderfully dry autumn here, and it's the first year that Bella has really gotten to play in the leaves! Last year, Lillia couldn't stand the sound of leaves so piles of them were OUT! This year has been so much better.

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It reminds me of being back in New England. We even had frost-coated leaves this morning, and I ran Bella out of the house to show her. Yes, I love fall that much.

These images of Bella playing in the leaves sum it all up for me. Happiness, anticipation, wonder, and freedom. All in one big pile. :O)

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I would love to hear how you're celebrating this fall!

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Golden

Boy, do I have a great sneak peek for you tonight!

This was a session thrice rescheduled, and we were so lucky to catch one of the last days of beautiful evening sunlight. My favorites are below - I couldn't help but share a few more than usual!

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What a family! Ashwin is the perfect mixture of sweet, goofy, and energetic. He was all over the place exploring the park.


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Such a gorgeous evening, and such a delightful time spent with friends! We also did a few head shots during this session for Tara's business, Startup Recroot, so there's more to come!

P.S. My parents moved cross country to join us here and my schedule gets busier every day! I'm working on posts left and right and can't wait to share some of this year's favorite client slideshows with you soon.  :O)

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On photographs and time

How many years will it be until no one remembers who you are?



I just watched this brief documentary on school portraits, those images dreaded by all students and loved by (almost) all parents. They show nothing but a shell of the vibrant person inside, give no indication of our actual selves, and serve only to document the passing of time. And that last reason is why so many people cannot resist them.

At the end of the documentary, the narrator observes that time is relentless and no amount of photographs will keep us from disappearing from memory. I'd like to hope that it's not true, but time will go on forever, I suppose. Still, I hope dearly that my girls and their children will see our endless flood of photos and someday piece together who I was and am to them. Maybe in that respect, the legacy will continue and there will always be a bit of me (and them) trickling down through time.

A few years ago, Vivian Maier became posthumously famous after a historian came across hundreds of thousands of undeveloped images she had taken in her lifetime. Amongst them are millions of people frozen in time, and I wonder how many are already forgotten. We can imagine so much about them from Vivian's very candid images. I can only imagine how much more would be lost to time if she had sat each person down and asked them to smile. There is so much to be gained in documenting more than just the shell.

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A bit on hair

I'm not really big on doing hair. Bella didn't need a hair cut until she was two, and I started trimming it mostly to keep it from tangling and hanging in her eyes. After her third birthday I gave her bangs, which I trimmed again this week (but they seem so plain). I think next time I will try to go for this look again, which she had in April. It is the perfect shape.

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And don't mind Bella. She was burning up with 103 degree fever this day, but thoroughly enjoying a movie in her new birthday dress.

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April

One I found of Bella from April.  I'm chipping away at our family photos, little by little.

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I also have some great sessions to share. Time to get blogging!

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Out with a bang

Oh, the last day of August Break! I did it!

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I took this for a mini project I'm working on and I like how it came out. I so rarely use a small enough aperture to make starbursts with my flare, and I think it fits just right. :O)

P.S. Everyone hates the tree behind Bella, but it's my favorite.

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Almost there!

I've almost made it through August Break. Yippee!

Here's a few from a day in March, since I was catching up on my family editing. Every year I think I'm going to get an awesome, creative cherry blossom shot, but I never do. This was one of my favorites and it's just on my point and shoot.   ...and Bella?  She's diving into a pile of yarn.  It's a time honored tradition in this house.

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Sweet evening

 Tonight I had a wonderful evening out on the town with several other photographers ... cupcakes and great company! What a winning combination! This was our view as the sun set lower and lower over the Olympics.

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The sound

A visit to the sound. Such a beautiful day, and well worth the drive. The clouds lifted and the Olymics came out to enjoy the sunlight. I wish we could have stayed til sunset.

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Flying High

Sommmmebody turned two last week!

Here's her sneak peek. She gets more and more beautiful every time I see her!

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Can't wait to share the highlights of her birthday party! TWO cupcakes for one adorable two-year-old. :O)

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Evidence

Evidence that the day was full and wonderful, and that yes, those bubbles were actually blue.

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Ocean Fog

I can't get over the beauty of our foggy day at the ocean. There's so much peace in a colorless land.








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Two images today, since I forgot yesterday (an ALMOST perfect August Break). Incidentally, we were at the beach and I didn't even get out my camera this time.



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An oldie

An oldie but goodie. Lillia was three days old.



Today was a day full of disappointments and toe stubbing and missed naps and all sorts of rain clouds (even real ones that pour rain).  In the end it all worked out, but in the thick of it that's when I need an image like this on every wall of the house. Because they really are that wonderful, and Bella still dotes on Lia as she has from day one. Lia couldn't have picked a better big sister.

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Oh my!



I completely forgot to put up a post tonight. Insomnia saved my posting streak for august break. Whew! Close one!  Of course, I cleared out my phone yesterday and this is the only picture left on it. Good thing it's a cute one!

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A very good morning

Oh my goodness, there is so much I could say about what an amazing time I had with this family last week.  They invited me into their home on a very special day and fully embraced capturing the beautiful, everyday moments. I love this image so much!

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Pancake mornings are a favorite tradition of ours, too, and this moment is exactly why.  More soon!

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One more

I fell in love with this image the first moment I saw it.

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I've finally finished this session, so no more swing portraits for a bit... unless you want to invite me over to your swing set!

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In sync and care free

(Even the grown up - and really, when do grown ups ever relax?)

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Apparently I have a slight fascination with swings. (What, this swinger and this dreamer didn't prove it already? You just wait, I have more.) If I could take swinging portraits all day long, I think I'd be in heaven. I mean, swings can be both magical and cathartic. Adventurous and relaxing. It's all there in the air.

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Clown

We went to an outdoor concert long after Lia's bedtime. It took her a whole hour to warm up to the loud noise and crowd, but by the end she was dancing and goofing (and screaming) and had the entire row of grandparents behind us charmed.


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And may I just add, there's something special about people casually dancing about in public. I think it doesn't happen nearly enough. :O)

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Daydream

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My cousin's beautiful daughter. Of this entire session, this was the only one I needed to have in black and white. Some stories are just stronger that way.

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Swing!

Working on this charmer's session tonight! It's long overdue and bringing back the memories of this hot (hot!) July day at the park in Washington, D.C.

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(Okay, so not as hot as the following week... But I sure could have used a swing to cool down.)

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Even Princessess

 Even princesses have to take a moment to eat. And when they do, they feast on fresh picked blackberries, of course.


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We're home. Back to our regularly scheduled days of library visits, parks, and editing late into the night. I wish Bella could spend every day like this - if only we could just squish Portland and Seattle a bit closer together. (Alas, I think they would just get on one another's nerves. Even sister cities need some space.)

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Evening stroll


A quick walk during the last evening light. Blackberries in every direction, a little reminder of the sweetness that nature offers if we just pause for a moment.

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An evening drive


Sun setting on the right, moon rising on the left. Mountains, water, skylines and pink clouds filling our view. We crossed into Portland during the grand finale of an outstanding sunset display. In the morning I have a session with an energetic family of five. I can't wait!

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Peace like an ocean

There's something to be said for relaxing on a misty, colorless shore.

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I can breathe in this image, close my eyes, and breathe out peace of mind.


for whatever we lose
(like a you or a me)
it's always ourselves
we find in the sea
- e.e. cummings

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Memory Lane

Whoops! I remembered to post just in the nick of time. How bout one from two years ago? Bella is just about to turn one in this picture.

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My mind has been swirling with thoughts, dreams, ideas, plans, worries, gratitude, and all those great things that bonk together in the brain and make it nearly impossible to complete a simple thought. Guess it's time to get my brain in order.

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Family walk

Everyone's included when we go on a walk.

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Boston sunset

A beautiful July evening in Boston:



And my best friend, Bella's godmother.

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I'm feeling a tad homesick tonight.

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Hurry up and relax!

If you didn't notice (Seattle residents may very well have not), Summer is here at last!


And in case you forgot,


Summer is the BEST time to get your family portraits done!

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Why do it now?

1.) We get great weather all through September
2.) Everyone in the family still has that rosy look and it's not from a head cold!
3.) By the time the holidays are here, you'll already have your specially designed cards up and ready to go - which leaves more time to enjoy pumpkin pie!
4.) Who doesn't love a framed photo, and that's one less trip out into the holiday shopping crowds (see also: pie benefits, above).


There are a few spots left this summer and you won't want to miss out!

Sign up for any full session before August 21st and you will get two free mini albums (woot, two gifts off your holiday list!) and 25% off holiday cards! What's not to love about that?

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All dressed up

Bella joined her older cousins for an afternoon of play - we had an evening of princesses.

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We are so very lucky to have friends and family around every corner here.

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