This session is from this weekend. Miriam, Ivette & Eunice were fun to work with. They were having so much fun themselves ! At certain times they would chat away in Spanish & giggle & I told them I hope aren't making fun of me ! :) I can't believe I couldn't remember their names & it was funny I kept confusing their names & I kept asking one of the girls what the other girl's name was.. ! But towards the end of the session I had all their names memorized..

They are now getting ready to go to college & I wish them the very best & here are some of my favorite pictures ! First up Miriam, then Ivette & then Eunice..

The day before the session I had driven around to see the places where I wanted to take pictures, we werent able to use all the places I had initially hoped for but I had an awesome time in this session as we were trying out a new location & Stephanie & Brenda were so adorable & completely easy to work with

Here are some of my favorites & I hope you like them! First up Stephanie & then Brenda..

When Ivan first called me to have an indoor maternity session for his wife I was trying to explain to him how an outdoor session would work great so we can get really creative. However he wanted an indoor session and he wasn't able to explain to me what he wanted but he knew he wanted an indoor session.. A few days later it struck me that maybe he wanted a glamour maternity session so I sent him some examples & he said Yes !  thats exactly what he was looking for ! :)

I was thrilled as I hadn't done an indoor couples glamour maternity session so here is my attempt.. Ivan & Claudia were open to ideas & really easy to work with & we had an awesome time ! Baby is due in 3 weeks I wish them the very best as they embark on a new phase of their lives & here are my favorite pictures !

Spring is just such a wonderful season & everytime I'd pass by this field of yellow mustard flowers right next to my office, I'd feel like photographing our daughter there. Finally this weekend we decided to take the pictures. Given our excellent time management skills, we reached just before sunset & only had about 20 mins before it was impossible to get any more pictures

Once we got there, I scouted the location so our daughter was right in the middle of the beautiful flowers & I'm not sure why but she kept laughing & at that moment, I didn't care much about the yellow mustard flowers & instead just decided to photograph her instead! Oh well, we need to make another trip to photograph her AND the the flowers.. however I absolutely loved these pictures & I hope you like them too :)

You might remember I had done a maternity session earlier this year. Quynh & Paul were blessed with 2 beautiful babies ! This is my first time photographing 1 boy & 1 girl & I was excited!

At 1 month old, the babies were a little on the older side but they did so well that I was really surprised. Zander was a little fussy at times & Lila was sleepy most of the time. We also had a LOT of help from Quynh's Dad & it helped tremendously!

We used a lot of props brought in by the Mom for example the green & the orange blankets were made by the Mom.. how creative!

Here are some of my favorite pictures.. !

Baby Jolie at 14 days was just a darling.. She gave an adorable smile & I am so thrilled we caught that on camera! Mom wanted the session to look girly so we used cute headbows, purple tutu, vibrant colors & a little bed.. Since Dad was on international travel we weren't able to have him in the session but I really liked capturing pictures of Jolie & Mom..

Here are my favorite pictures.. !

This weekend I had a session with 2 adorable girls, Jazmin & Bianca.. both from high school class of 2013. They were so easy to work with & we had loads of fun.. !! We had a lot of company with us, quite a few other photographers were at this location & we were also stalked by a cat! At one point the cat ran so fast past Jazmin & me that we got totally spooked & decided to move to another location.. After all we were in the cat's den! Here are some of my favorite pictures.. First Jazmin & then Bianca.. enjoy !

Oh my, to say baby Daniel was thrilled to smash his cake is an understatement! Check out the below pictures to see for yourself. I was able to get a lot of awesome pictures & he still wasn't done ! He wanted to play with his cake more, which rarely happens.. This is definitely one of my favorite cake smash sessions !

Here are of my favorite pictures.. & I'm sure they will bring a smile to your face.. enjoy ! :)

Baby Grayson at 16 days was only about 6 pounds but he was a pretty alert baby, He did get sleepy & co-operated so we were able to get some awesome shots. Mom & Dad had some really good ideas & I always love trying new ideas & poses so I was quite excited about the photoshoot !

Mom sent me some pictures ahead of time where wanted a picture of Grayson lying on Dad's back which I loved! Dad loves shoes..so we incorporated his brand new shoes into the photo-shoot. I realized later that the Dad has the shoe logo tattooed on his back.. how cool is that ! :) We also incorporated a heart which they've used for many previous photo sessions. Overall I had an awesome time & here are some of my favorite pictures !

The second senior I photographed this weekend is Elisha. When I first saw Elisha, I noticed her smile instantly. She has a beautiful smile that can light up a room! When I was editing the pictures I also noticed that she has great glowy skin & beautiiful eyes! Elisha & Julia are best friends so I am happy I could photograph both them together. Wish you all the best girls !

Here is the mini-accordion book for Elisha

This weekend I had an awesome session with 2 wonderful ladies.. First up, Miss Julia.. She wants to be a model & was a natural in front of the camera ! We liked a lot of her 'serious look' pictures but I think she looked quite adorable with smiling pictures too as she got those cute dimples on her cheecks when she smiled. Here are some of my favorite pictures & I hope she is able to use them for her modeling portfolio!

Cake smash sessions are a hit or miss. Either babies absolutely enjoy it or they completely get scared when they look at the cake. With Baby Kabir it was definitely the former! He has such an adorable & friendly personality. I saw him bending & looking at me with curious eyes & he quickly warmed up to me which made the entire process really smooth. He also absolutely enjoyed smashing his cake & it was a joy to watch! Mom, Dad, grandmom, I & Kabir ofcourse had a great time ! Happy Birthday dear Kabir & I wish you all the best for the future!

Baby Elle was born early & had to spend sometime in the NICU so we weren't able to do the newborn session when she was younger. We were finally able to schedule the session when Elle was 3 months old but Mom still wanted a 'newborn experience'. Dad, Mom & Grandmom really worked hard at getting Elle to sleep & we were able to get some really nice pictures.. I loved this session as we were able to achieve the newborn kind of session even though Elle was 3-months old... Here are my favorite pictures !

Here are some super-cute pictures of Cora at day 7. She was just so adorable & perfect ! She was fast asleep & I started photographing her immediately. She woke up a little bit to eat but then she went right back to sleep, thats a photographers dream ! :) She also gave me so many cute/soft smiles, I was surprised & happy to see I had so many of those pictures! :) Mom was a great helper so thank you very much for the help & here are some of my favorite pictures, let me caution you, its going to be an overload of cuteness ;)

Remember I had a maternity session & we were a little worried the twins were going to come early?... & they did ! We weren't able to do the 2nd half of our maternity session with the family so we did 2nd half of the session after the babies were born. Here are some of my favorite pictures from the family as well as from the newborn session.. Enjoy!

This was one of the easiest Cake Smash sessions ! Baby Tytus came in, patiently waited while we got set up, smashed his cake, ate it, had loads of fun & we were done! We also took some family shots out-side & they turned out great! Oh btw, he is also friends with Baby Greysen who was a breeze to work with as well :)

Have a great birthday party this weekend Baby Tytus. I wish you all the best & here are some of my favorite pictures..

Here is a session I did over the past weekend. AT 33 weeks, Quynh was glowing & looking beautiful.. I usually do maternity sessions around week 34-35 as thats when the belly is big but not too big but with twins I didnt want to wait too long...you never know how early they may arrive! & they are having one boy & one girl.. how adorobale is that! Quynh & Paul were very easy to work with & I really enjoyed the session.. I look forward to meeting the twins soon. Here's wishing the couple all the best & here are my favorite pictures..

I had done a family session with the 'B' family when Baby Veer was only 6 months old & now this young man is alreay a year old! We did an indoor/outdoor family session, some solo pictures of Veer & then the cake smash session.. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to photograph your wonderful family again.. Here are some of my favorite pictures.. enjoy!

Its amazing how I only photographed 1 set of twins in my first year & just as I got into my second year started, I got to photograph 2 set of twins & I will be photographing 1 more soon... all girls!

Photographing twins is hard work! But for this session we had great help from Mommy & also Mommy sister's & it helped a ton! So Mommy was busy feeding 1 baby, I had the sister to help me with the other baby & so we were able to get creative & even try some hand in chin poses for both the babies at the same time!.. Baby 'G' & Baby 'V' were relatively easy to work with though. Baby 'G' had just come from the NICU the day before our session..

I am amazed how 1 twin will be crying loudly while the other twin would be sleeping peacefully & then vice versa. I guess they just find comfort knowing the other one is around (though crying!). Wish you all the best Baby 'G' & Baby 'V' & you girls are so lucky to have instant sisters & best friend !

Baby Vedant is my 2012 newborn baby. I wasn't able to work on his pictures since we were on vacation. At 18 days, I think Mom was a little concerned that he was on the older side but I assured her that newborn boys are a breeze as compared to older newborn girls. All you have to do is give them milk & they get 'milk drunk' :)

I loved this session as Vedant was one of the easiest babies I have worked with. Mom & Dad wanted me to take some pictures of Vedant's eyes & we had to tickle him, talk loudly & he still would'nt wake up !  that is a newborn photographers dream :) however we did want him to wake up & finally he did & we were able to capture some pictures of his eyes

Mom & Dad also wanted me to capture some of his facial expressions. Newborns make the cutest & funniest faces & I loved those pictures as well.. Mom & Dad had some great ideas so overall we had a fun, relaxed & very creative session & here are some of my favorite pictures!

Baby Isabelle was only 10 days when we took her pictures but she was very alert during the session. Maybe she was having a growth spurt? as she was sticking her tongue out like she wanted to have more milk. I was able to capture a few good shots of her doing that & below is one of those :)

We also had a short family session before we started the newborn session right behind my home where there is a small patch of grass.. I didn't notice this when I taking pictures but later on when I looked at the pictures I noticed that everyone in the family has such pretty blue/gray eyes! here are some of my favorite pictures..

We just came back from a fabulous trip to Seattle & Portland. Seattle had a small downtown. It took us about 2 days to do most of the 'touristy' things. With a little/hyperactive toddler its difficult to cram in a lot of activities but we were able to go to many museums & have some out-door fun. Here are some of my favorites from the trip..

I have a lot of pictures of 'Chihuly Garden & Glass'. I am not sure how many people visit it but I absolutely loved it & on my 'must-do' list incase you travel to Seattle. All the artifacts are made from blown glass. I was so impressed with the colors & lights that I kept telling my husband I am blown away :) He reminded me that I should be 'blown away', after all, all the artifcats are made from blown glass (no pun intended) ;)

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One of the out-door glass displays

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Some beautiful light display at Seattle's space needle..

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This is the Original Starbucks at Pike Place Market. I loved the way the singer is dressed, his clothes fit in so well with Starbucks cafe look

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Pike Place Market

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Next stop.. Acquarium.. My daughter loved it!

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Experience Music Project Museum. By this time my daughter was absolutely exhausted so we werent able to fully see the museum but the 3rd floor interactive music rooms for kids which is a lot of fun! They can play drums, piano, or make music in one of the 'jamming' rooms

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Downtown View from 'The Great Wheel' which is a new attraction at Seattle

Here is a fun session with Sanju & Abhishek. Both from high school class of 2012. Initially I had only planned to photograph Sanju but when she mentioned she also wanted to have Abhishek in the session, I was thrilled as in addition to High school senior photography, I also want to do some couple/engagement sessions next year & this was a good experience

We first went to a train station, then a beautiful park which had a tunnel (which is a hip place for high-school senior photography) & finally we went to Dawson creek. I wish Sanju & Abhishek all the very best & here are some of my favorite pictures.. Enjoy!

On our recent trip to Portland, I got to photograph the very special Mahesh family, they are our very good friends & we've known them for many years so I was really excited to photograph them. The location was awesome & we got some really nice pictures...Here are some of my favorites & I'm sure they will treasure these pictures many years to come !

Happy New Year to everyone! I am really looking forward to 2013, my goal for next year is to do fewer sessions but I am also trying to diversify my portfolio & try new things. The top on my list for 2013 is high-school senior portraits. I recently got the opportunity to photograph Sanju who finished her high-school in 2012. We also did a couples out-door photoshoot with her boyfriend Abhishek a few days later & I can't wait to post those pictures but it will be later today..

I had done a newborn session a few weeks back and Mom & I had been talking about the family session for weeks & it was getting difficult to co-ordinate with the schedules & the bay area weather! Finally we were able to do it, it was really cold but it was a nice bright day. Here are some of my favorite pictures.. Enjoy & happy holidays to the Byun family!

Here is my last maternity session of the year. The little one is due in 3 weeks, what a great way to start the year for this lovely family. To-be Mom looked really pretty & camera shy to-be Dad was a great sport & we were able to get some wonderful pictures. Here are some of my favorites.. wish you all the best & look forward to seeing the little one!

I love pets, especially dogs! so when Mommy asked if they can bring their pet along, I was thrilled! One of the things I have in mind for next year is pet photography so this session gave me a head start into that! :) Like toddlers, I guess pet photography is going to be quite a challenge. With Winnie the word 'treat' really worked to get her to look at me.. I had an awesome time with the 'A' family, Winnie & the little one were extremly patient & we were able to get some really nice shots. Here are some my favorite pictures...Enjoy!

Mommy Carol & I had been talking to each other last few months about maternity/newborn/milestone sessions & finally at 33 weeks we were able to do the maternity session. We didn't want to wait too long as Carol is having not one but 2 little girls, how adorable is that :) and we know that twins are always more eager to see the world..

The fact that she is having girls is obvious with all the beauty radiating around her :) I've heard that when Mommy's are having girls they look even more beautiful...Here are some of my favorite pictures!

Here are some pictures from this weekend session with the 'B' family. At ages 9 & 6, the kids were slightly older than my usualy subjects. My usual tricks to make the pictures look natural like 'hey, can you give your bro a kiss' were vehemently declined.. it just works so wonderfully with toddlers :) Instead the kids were excited to pose like Selina Gomez, show me how 'peace' is done in sign language & jump from the rustic stool... it was a fun session & I had a great time ! :)

Here are some of my favorite pictures..

Julia came into the studio 9 days old & fast asleep & all set for the photoshoot, we started immediately & she was a pleasure to work with! She only woke up once for a feed & we were back in business! Mom was a great assistant and eager to help :) She also took pictures of me taking pictures of Julia which was sweet & I might post some pictures when I have more time at my hand.. Also Mom liked the color purple so we used some purple in the photoshoot & I used that picture for the birth announcement !

For now here are some of my favorite pictures of baby Julia..

Here are some pictures of 2 week  old baby Anika. Anika is one of the alert babies I have photographed. Mom & I tried relentlessly to put her to sleep but as all babies/toddlers, they have a mind of their own :) ! Nevertheless we got some really nice sleepy baby & some awake shots too!

Falls leaves from my patio seem to be a hit, as 3 Moms requested I use it & I love natural elements into my photography!

Welcome baby Anika & wish you the very best for your future..Here are some of my favorite pictures!

After newborns, toddler sessions are the most difficult as they have a mind of their own ! A toddler would never do what you want them to do! However 20 month old Baby Quinn was very different, he would run around & then stop & pose & smile :) He is one of the happiest babies I have met & am so glad we were able to get some really good shots. Keep smiling Baby Quinn :)

Here are some pictures from the session I did last weekend. Evelyn (the little 2 year old girl) kept saying cheese, that was so adorable :)  & the boys loved climbing trees. I loved how everyone wore red & it looks so festive!

This is my 3rd time photographing the Morris Family, it means a lot to me that they like my work & thats the best appreciation I can get as an artist (or as I call myself photo-artist) thank you !  :) I wanted to do something special so I made this collage Christmas Card..

I loved the way the pictures turned out & here are some of my favorite pictures

EW Couture September 2010 Free Download file

At 6 days, Katelyn is the youngest baby I have photographed till date & she was such a breeze to work with! She only woke up once for a feed, diaper change & we were back in business! In the white fur pictures, Katelyn crossed her legs effortlessly! Mom mentioned it might be because she was a breach baby, it worked great for the pictures. I took a picture of her belly button & it looked so amazing that I had to include it on my blog, I also made a collage of Katelyn/Mommy & the belly button as thats such an important connection in the womb. Sometimes Moms ask me if they should bring in the baby after the cord falls off as it looks gross, & I say absolutely No! I think the cord looks fabulous as it shows their newborn-ness (if there is such a word ;)).

Here are some of my favorite pictures (& overload of some pink cuteness ;)

Here is another awesome session with the 'A' family from this weekend. We were considering postponing the session but I am glad we didn't as we got some really good lighting that day. I love the vibrant colors from the trees & Dad's red sweater added a nice holiday feel to the entire session. Mom looked so pretty with that beautiful smile & the traditional/modern black dress & the little one was just so adorable!

Here are some of my favorite pictures!

As I get into my 2nd year of photography, I want to add a varied portfolio. I have been thinking of doing some pet photography & also engagement photography. A good friend recently asked me if I wanted to do an engagement session for her friend which I might potentially do..

In the meanwhile I did this family session with a collegue from work & it was really cold & the 6 month-old was nicely bundled up, I guess she was so comfortable that she decided to nap in between the session! Oh well, on the brighter side, we took a lot of pictures of the Mom & Dad, oh & guess what? the Mom had got some flowers, the unsuspecting Dad thought it was just something she was going to hold in her hand, little did Dad know that he had get down on his knees & give the flowers to the Mom (I asked the Mom if it was her intent all along ;).. that was so much fun! I almost felt I was doing an engagement session! :)

here are some of my favorite images...

Olivia is just such a sweet adorable girl, she made bubbles with her pouty lips, we were ooing & ahhing during the session! This was the first time I had a Dad take off his shirt in my studio so I was thrilled & there is something so special about photographing some skin-to-skin contact with the newborn. Mom likes warm, earthy tones we brought in a lot of browns/yellows/grays, textured baskets & I had collected some fallen leaves from my patio & am so glad, I was able to finally use that during the session! Welcome baby Olivia & here are some of my favorite pictures!

The first newborns I photographed were twins, & a year later I get to photograph a set of these adorable twins again! I got to know later that my Doula who helped me with my daughters birth took care of the twins for the first 6 weeks, its such a small world! I knew photographing babies at 6 weeks wasn't easy & that too twins! but they did really well & for a brief period they both slept at the same time & we were able to capture some amazing moments. Towards the end they started crying at the same time & I thought they looked so adorable so I started to take lots of pictures & told the Mom that I would give her the most adorable crying picture :)

Here are some of my favorite pictures!

Some of my favorite shots with Grace & her family. It was so nice to take these family shots just a few days before the grandparents were scheduled to travel back to their native countries!

This weekend I got to photograph a beautiful family. Mom mentioned that the last session they had was during their wedding so it meant a lot to them to have a family session. I am so glad I got the opportunity to photograph them! Having 2 toddlers & 1 newborn wasn't easy, you will notice them with their toys, Mom bribed them with candy's/lollipops! & Dad was doing the robot dance..Wow, all the things we need to do to get the kids sit for a photo-session! But we all had a great time! & Here are some of my favorite pictures. 

I had a great Mommy & me session with my good friend Hadeel. I loved some of the candid shots & picked those for my blog. Here are some of my favorite pictures from the session.

Here is a fun cake smash session with Baby Ritvik, I loved the vibrant colors we used for this session & they go perfectly with the beautiful fall colors we see around us now a days.. Mom did a great job in color coordinating the dress & the cake..! enjoy the pictures!

Mom wanted to have a newborn session but we weren't able to do it so we finally were able to do a session when Vihaan was 2 months old! I did try to do it the newborn session way & towards the end he was really co-operative so also got the hand under the chin pose (almost!!). The blue textured blanket is from Mom's best friend & I always like to personalize my sessions with items brought by the parents :)

Here are some of my favorite images of baby Vihaan...

I had a fun session this weekend photographing a friend whom I had been wanting to photograph for a while now (precisely a year!) I also got try a new location which was a lot of fun.. I am glad we were finally able to do this session, have loads of fun & get some beautiful pictures...!

Here are some of my favorite images 

Its amazing how I get to do the maternity session & then I actually get to see the newborns & take their pictures as well! I was really looking forward to this session as I had taken their pictures when Ryan wasn't even born.. This was also a special session as Ryan is my last newborn before Tia photography enters in its second year and I will be seeing these pictures as a reference point to see how I have grown as a photographer!

I wish Ryan all the best ! & here are some of my favorite pictures of Ryan & the family...

I met a very cute family this weekend who has an adorable 9 month old baby, her Mom told me that it was her dream to have her daughters photoshoot. I hope I made the dream come true ! :) Here are some of my favorite pictures of Baby Anagha.. Enjoy!

Free Session

I want to offer a free session to a deserving family for Thanksgiving & also for celebrating completion of my first year as a photographer! I do plan to do 2 such sessions on a yearly basis. I had done a similar free photography session for Mothers Day & I got so many wonderful stories from deserving Moms

You can either nominate yourself or someone you know. Please send me your (or their) story and I will announce the winner on my facebook page on October 19 so do 'like me' to stay tuned as well to get the update on the winner and also to keep in touch with me & see my photography work.. http://www.facebook.com/tiaphotography.net

The session will be on October 28th in Santa Clara so you have the pictures ahead of time to get printed for holidays!

Tia Photography First year journey!

I can't believe I reached this milestone :) I recently took pictures of a 9 month old whose Mom told me it was her dream to do a photosession for her daughter. I was so touched and perhaps that is why I feel so passionate about Children's photography. I am able to provide pictures that families will cherish forever. I want to thank all the wonderful Families for letting me photograph your children for giving me the love, support & encouragement. I am really touched & humbled...

How did it all start?

Photography started off as a hobby last year, my 1st year goal was to set up a portfolio of beautiful newborn images. I did that & much more than I ever imagined! I had families contact me for Childrens photography, Family sessions, Maternity, Cake Smash and I ended up having a portfolio in all these areas.. .I just couldn't refuse a single family & I just kept going, literally burning the mid-night oil & waking up early mornings finishing up my photo edits & spending my weekends on photo-sessions. With a full-time job and an active toddler, it was really tough but I enjoyed every minute of it!

Next year goals?

I am still trying to figure out my 2nd year goals but one thing I do know is that I'd like to take it a little slow and not do as many sessions as I did in the first year, I do want to do a lot more of nature photography which I absolutely love !! and I also want to do more volunteering photography for children or for families who probably cannot afford to hire professionals, I don't know how to go about doing it but that is one of my goals..

Here are some of my favorite pictures of newborn Baby 'A'. I loved her mop of hair, I absolutely had to take pictures of that! Her umbilical cord fell off during the session so she was pretty uncomfortable but nevertheless we were able to capture some really nice images! In the end, we wrapped her in a blue wrap & she gave some really cute expressions & I made a collage out of that..

Welcome Baby A & wish you all the best!

Here are some of my favorite pictures of Baby Anvika, I was lucky enough to capture some soft smiles which is so rare to capture in newborns as its so hard to tell when they will smile! Mommy crocheted the purple hat & its always nice to use props of personal importance. Thank you 'B' family for letting me take your adorable daughter's newborn pictures!

I was really looking forward to this cake smash party as it was going to be my first outdoor cake smash session. I had some concerns that Lucas would be a little cold but Mom assured me that he is tough & handles cold well & he did! Lucas did so well & he had a blast.. ! Mom planned a Moroccan theme so the colors are vibrant yellow & turquoise. It was nice of Daddy to lend his tie & Mom made a baby tie out of it for Lucas. I love it when Moms do such creative things! :)

We had a regular portrait session in the beginning & then the cake smash began..!

I wish Lucas a very happy birthday & the very best for his future!

Here are some pictures of Baby K's cake smash party. She didn't need any warming up & went straight for the cake ! It was fun see her have a complete blast & Mom, Dad & I... we all absolutely enjoyed as well. Happy Birthday dear Baby K & here's wishing you a very happy birthday & the very best for the future.. !

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I had done a maternity session with the Kampa family a couple months back & now I got to photograph 9 days old Baby Lukas. Big Sister joined in a few shots as well. I had been wanting to take some sibling poses on the fur & with the wrap for a while & am so glad I finally got to do it! I like this one a lot as it seems like Lukas is looking up to his big sister as I'm sure he will someday!

Once again thank you Kampa family for letting me capture these 2 beautiful events of your life! 

Alexander was only 7 days old when I took his pictures. I wasn't expecting to see him till early Oct but he was eager to see the world & was born 3 weeks early!. He was super co-operative & we were able to get some amazing pictures. Wish you the best best for your future Alexander!

Here are some of my favorite pictures from Theodora's newborn session. I usually plan newborn sessions a few weeks in advance but this time I got the call unexpectedly from Mommy as her original photographer couldn't make it & I just couldn't say no as she was already 19 days I didn't want to miss the window of opportunity as they are this little only for a short period of time..! I had a great time & we got some beautiful pictures.. Welcome Theodora & wish you all the best!

I had done a maternity session a few months back & I was eagerly looking forward to the newborn. Mom sent me an email but it went in the spam folder & I never checked the email! What a bummer..!! But I am so happy I was able to take pictures of Otto who is now 3 months & quite a handsome  fellow! :) Big sister joined in the session as well & both Otto & Maysn have one of the prettiest eyes I have ever seen!

Here are some of my favorite pictures.. 

Here is a session I did this weekend for 100 days old Baby Samantha. I found out during my session that 100 days is of significance in Chinese culture. It was windy but baby she was very patient, we had a wonderful photo session and we got some excellent pictures. Wish you a very happy 100 days Baby Samantha..!!!

Here are some pictures of 5 week old newborn baby Ryan. Ryan is not a typical 5 week old baby, he was born at 31 weeks so he was actually only 36 weeks old when I took his pictures.. Isn't is amazing that he was posing so wonderfully while he should have still been inside Mommy!! reminded me so much of my daughters story who was also born at 31 weeks

Welcome baby Ryan & wish you all the best for the future!

I wanted to share a very special cake smash session of the twins who were my first little newborn clients. They are already 1 & how time flies!

Big sister joined in the fun as well & I am so lucky to have captured these beautiful pictures just as the family is ready to move to another state. Thank you Mommy Hope for this opportunity & I wish the very best to the beautiful girls for their future!

Here some pictures of almost 6 weeks old newborn baby Olivia. She was excited, looking around & absolutely didn't want to sleep, yet we were able to get beautiful pictures. Here are some of my favorites

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How do you measure a successful cake smash? I'd say you don't recognize the cake..!! Baby S's cake smash was truely successful & he had so much fun!. Here are some of my favorite pictures along with the unrecognizable cake!

We just came back from a wonderful 5 day trip to St Johns Virgin Islands. Its located south of Miami. Getting to the island was not a lot of fun with a 2 year old toddler but it was quite an adventure!

We flew from... San Francisco to Miami (5 1/2 hrs), waiting time at Miami (2 1/2 hours)

Miami  to St Thomas, Virgin Islands (2 1/2 hours)

30 minute car ride from the airport to the dock & 12 minute ferry ride from St Thomas to St Johns

However the fact that St Johns is secluded & hard to reach makes the island pristine & pure! The island is very small.. 7 miles long & 3 miles wide but you can spend a week exploring the various beaches, snorkeling & hiking around the island

Most of the island (almost 90%) is a national park & the 2 resorts we stayed in, both were part of the 'Virgin Islands National Park'

The pictures are taken with Nikon D3100 & underwater pictures are taken with Canon point & shoot SD500 used with an underwater case

Here are some pictures & I hope you enjoy them...

St Johns is part of the US Virgin Islands, located near Puerto Rico

Beautiful small Islands on the way to St Johns

Initially we stayed at the Caneel Bay resort, here is the view from our room

Beautiful beaches of St Johns

View of the mountains

Not much snorkeling at Caneel Bay but the water was blue & awesome!

On one of the days we went sailing, leaving Caneel bay behind

Shimmering water while sailing

We did some snorkeling at Honeymoon bay, we found a reef right near the beach, beautiful corals & fish below. This time I couldn't venture into deeper waters as we had to take turns taking care of our toddler! The daredevil within me had to contain myself..!! & oh btw, I dont know how to swim but I have always trusted my life jacket!

As mentioned above, the pictures are taken with point & shoot SD500 used with an underwater case

Sunset at Turtle beach

Driving on windy roads of St Johns, they only rent 4 wheel drive cars/jeeps as the roads are extremely windy & the speed limit on most of the island is only 20 miles an hr!

After leaving the luxurious Caneel Bay resort we decided to 'rough it out' at Maho Bay Camps. The steep stairs took us to our room nestled in the woods! I must admit, Caneel Bay was convenient but Maho Bay was awesome & very special as it was teaming with wildlife & we felt like being in nature!

Our room was on Iguana Alley, very aptly named as we saw a lot of Iguanas!

we saw them on Trees, on the ground

& also on our front patio!

We saw a variety of different lizards

& also birds & hermit crabs!

Some pictures of the flora

& the view from our room was to die for!

One of the things we couldn't do was hike around the island, Reef Bay Trail is highly recommended & its a ranger-lead hike so make sure to book in advance. By the time I called it was full.. Also do get a book called 'St. John Off The Beaten Track' which has good information about the island.. Enjoy!

When I see a newborn, I try to notice what features I can highlight as part of the photoshoot. With Baby Brayden, I immediately knew it was his long fingers. I must say, I was pretty amazed they weren't chubby with baby fat as I have seen with a lot of newborns. All the best baby Brayden & who knows maybe someday you might be a world famous artist, painter or photographer & I'll be able to proudly say, 'I did that guys newborn photoshoot!' :)

Its said that life is not measured by the breaths we take but by the moments that take our breaths away. I feel that way when I travel & see beautiful sights but I must admit I felt that way while editing Baby Hannah's pictures..

I absolutely loved her adorable features, gorgeous milky skin, pureness from the pink & white colors.. welcome to this world Hannah! :)

The moment I saw baby Greysen, I knew the cake smash was going to be a complete success! I absolutely loved his friendly personality, curious eyes, enthusiasm & 'I wanna smash that cake' attitude. Wish you a very Happy Birthday Greysen, always keep smiling & laughing! :)

Every now & then I get the opportunity to photograph families whose stories really touch my heart. Here is John & Michael's journey to parenthood http://ourgeminidragons.emaginations.com/wp/?page_id=2

Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity photograph your adorable son! I wish Ethan the very best & I know he will always be cherished & loved :)

I love my website and have put countless hours enhancing it over the past many months. The greatest appreciation I can get as a photo-artist is being recognized for my work! I am so excited to announce that Zenfolio has featured my website on their 'Beautiful Galleries' section. Follow this link http://www.zenfolio.com/zf/examples.aspx#!gallery go to second last line, middle picture

For people who don't know what Zenfolio is... Zenfolio & Smugmug are 2 'THE' companies photographers go with to host their websites. After much research, I  choose Zenfolio & I must say I am so happy! I am a loyal Zennie & would recommend Zenfolio to any photographer.. 

If you like my work, please 'like me' on facebook to get updates on my work...http://www.facebook.com/tiaphotography.net

Here is a cake smash party of baby Aria.. Mommy baked & decorated the cake. Flowers on the cake made from marsh mellow fondant, wow so creative! and I think that made the cake smash party very special.. we had an awesome time! :)

I had a maternity session a few weeks back and I was really looking forward to photographing the newborn baby boy. Here are some pictures of Baby Rayansh on Day 13. Isn't he just adorable.. enjoy!

I had photographed the Morris family a few weeks back. I got the opportunity to photograph the kids & this time their cousins as well.. it was such a joy! Here are some of my favorite pictures.. 

Cake Smash is just the cutest idea for a 1 year old..! Its that age when they begin to understand things & they are curious. Parents, you must let your one year old's get messy & have fun! Give it a try..Here's baby Aaryan, we had a great time with him and were so happy to have made this part of his one year memory!

Here are some pictures of the Morris Family. We were going to have a family photoshoot but one of the kids wasn't feeling well so it was just the 2 kids & Mommy. Here are some of my favorite pictures.. Enjoy!

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Baby 'A' is 9 months old. What is most fun about this age is the fact that babies love to laugh.. When my daughter was the same age I remember asking my parents if all babies laugh so much? Now I know!! :)

Here is my latest newborn Baby 'J'. He was 11 days old when we had the session. Since he was so little, he slept well so we were able to get a lot of creative poses. Here are some of his pictures

We had a great day trip to Uvas Cayon today and I thought, instead of just posting pictures.. it will be so nice to relate what I saw with how I see it in my Mommy & as I'm sure you all do as well.. so here's my intepretation of it.. Enjoy!

Here's beautiful Baby Aria.. She was an older newborn model (about 4 weeks) but she did wonderfully.. Here are some of her pictures.. 

I had advertised a few weeks back about giving a free session to a deserving Mom. I got a lot of wonderful stories from many Moms & Moms thank you so much!! I finally decided to go with Divya whose story really touched my heart

Divya had a very complicated pregnancy due to which she had to deliver her babies prematurely at 32 weeks, her babies were incredibly small, weighing in at 2 lbs 4 oz (baby girl) and 2 lbs (baby boy). They spent 5 weeks in the NICU and each day was such a struggle

I am really lucky to have hundreds (if not thousands) of pictures of my daughter but not everyone is that fortunate

Tia Photography is offering 1 free 'Mommy & Me' session to a deserving Mommy. I can have the session on either May 5th or May 6th so the pictures are ready by May 13th, Mothers Day!

Also, since I wont be able to travel, the Mommy should be able to come to one of the parks in Santa Clara. Please do share the deserving Mommy's story with me so I can choose 1 Mommy..

I look forward to hearing from you!

Also, Mommies, its gonna be our day.. get ready to take the day off, pamper yourselves and get into the..

"Cooking.....what?
Cleaning.....are you kidding me!!
Baby.....who??" phase..

Come on Moms, 1 out of 366 days, you can do it! :) have a blast!

Why 'extra special'? read on...you'll know :)

Natural childbirth (i.e.without epidural) needs both physical and mental preparation. You have to eat well, exercise to make your body stronger and most importantly mentally prepare yourself to go thru' labor. Average labor time is around 14 hours, that's approx 14 hours of non-stop intense discomfort that you can't stop even you want to!

Natural childbirth is painful, so painful that you will feel helpless, you will cry for mercy & at times even ask God for death (trust me, I am not being dramatic, this is true!). But in the end when its all over, I'm sure any Mom would do it all over again the exact same way & wouldn't change a thing!

All Mom's are special as neither pregnancy nor childbirth is easy but when a Mom chooses to forgo taking an epidural and decides to go thru' the painful experience, I think it makes her 'extra special':)

Baby Delilah's Mommy not only had a natural childbirth but she gave birth to Baby Delilah at home with minimal medical intervention, under water in a bath tub with the help of a doula & a mid-wife. Kudos to Mommy for such an amazing feat, for this you truly are extra special :) !
 

I recently started going over our old travel pictures. The pictures are pre-DSLR days (except the baby & Mommy pictures in between), I wanted to partly see how I used to be as a photographer and partly to re-live the experience!:)

Its been on my mind to showcase some of my favorite pictures however there is no way I could've done justice by selecting only a few pictures for Alaska as our experience was nothing short of magical, so I have an entire blogpost dedicated for it

Also, this gel'ed well with the upcoming Earthday on April 22nd. The song I choose for this post is 'Heal the World' by one of the greatest artists of all times, click here to see the video. To the people who might not like him for various reasons, I can only say that focus on his music, his words, his message and not on the messenger!
 

This picture was taken at Havelock Island (one of the Andaman/Nicobar Islands). During low tide the roots were completely exposed. I was in complete awe of them, I don't know how old the trees were or if they are still around. With the rising & receding tides, it almost felt like they were supporting each other thru' thick & thin!

I used to listen to 'Return to Innocence' by Engima when I was in school/college & I can't describe it but this song has a very primitive/tribal kinda feel which used to remind me of something/someplace grand & majestic that's hard to fathom. Little did I know that in a few short years, I will get to experience a place exactly like that, Alaska!

All the pictures were taken pre-DSLR days when I didn't know much about photography but these pictures will always be special as they will remind me of our time in Alaska

With so much beauty all around, at times, our experience was surreal almost zen-like and that's exactly how this song makes me feel. I hope you enjoy this video as much as I enjoyed making it!

Below are some of my memorable pictures...
 

I love this picture as it shows the scale of the glacier. Can you see the kayakers?

Glaciers are much like rivers, just slow moving. Here one glacier is meeting another and then flowing together

Bore Tide @ Cook Inlet
Its a very unique phenomenon that happens only in 2-3 places in US. At Cook Inlet, it happens everyday so do check the tide schedule. The tide brings with it a lot of dead food from the ocean. In the 2nd picture, the birds are flying over bore tide to catch dead fish & other sea food. These tides can be as high as 6 feet and locals ride them on surfboards & kayaks. We were driving alongside the tide on turnagain arm (the road which borders Cook Inlet) and we stopped at 3 different locations to appreciate it more!

Here I was trying to time the shot & voila, got it after a few tries!

I have shyed away from event photography as I'm not comfortable around too many people I don't know(especially species with the xy chromosome:)), so when someone at work sent an email re: volunteering for events at the Women in Technology forum, I quickly signed up for it. And I must say, I had a blast!

I photographed an event called 'Speed Mentoring' where each mentor got 12 minutes at a table before hopping to another table and mentoring another group. I could see the mentors were in their element, they were really passionate about what they were doing. I saw a lot of laughter, a few tears as well but everybody was having a lot of fun which made my job a lot easier and enjoyable and I loved capturing their passion on camera

I had to make sure I don't spook the audience & disturb the group dynamic so I stood at a distance, out came my zoom lens and I waited for the moment! Below are some of my favorite pictures
 

Rarely do 1 year old's enjoy their Birthday party as the party is mostly for the parents to share their bundle of joy with friends & family
 
Cake Smash is such a wonderful way to enjoy a 1 year old's Birthday. Its their party, they can do whatever they want and they will do what they do best, make a MESS!!
  Here's Makenzie's Cake Smash party. She had so much fun. We mommies, Melody, Karen & myself can't believe, how much fun we had too!!

here is the video I created for the cake smash. Its a very happy song,  'Smile' by Uncle Kracker. I choose this song because don't kids make you smile :)

Cake was provided by Debbie from 'Not Just Cheecakes'
 

I am excited to announce that Tia photography is offering a new service starting May 2012. In addition to Pictures, Collages & Birth announcement, I will also offer a slideshow with a song of your choice. If you don't have a favorite song, I can choose one for you. I will be updating my FAQ's page with additional details soon

Here is the latest video of Baby rock star Arjun, Enjoy!