It's been a while since I posted a Totally Rad Recipe on this blog, so I thought today was as good a day as any!  One thing that I really focus on in my post-processing is consistency, and trying to use the Actions to create a unified look and recognizable style.  So I often process everything from a particular shoot in the same way, using just a handful of TRA goodness to bring out the best on my photos.

It seems I am always trying to balance Mommy time and Photographer time, so what better way to demonstrate than with some photos of Maxfield playing in the yard last week?

This sweet little family from Indiana spends a few weeks in Laguna Beach each year.  This year, Jamie and Simon added adorable Jude to the mix and asked me to photograph his first trip to California.  I truly enjoyed shooting these laid-back and totally authentic portraits of Jamie, Simon and Jude.

Bear with me, readers, as I hijack the blog for a few moments and satiate the grandparents' need for more Max photos.  If you can believe it, he is 13 months old and growing like a weed.  I thought this beautiful Spring weather was as good an excuse as any to take some portraits of my sweet Maxfield and his daddy.

I received an email from Valerie, who met with me in 2005 when her and Bobby were getting married. She explained that, although she didn't hire Boutwell Studio for their wedding, she has never forgotten how much she enjoyed my photography.  So what better way to celebrate their anniversary, than a portrait session with their new doggie? I was thrilled to oblige!

Last Sunday, I had the unique opportunity of styling and photographing a shoot for 16 lovely women!  The ladies at Details, Details are top-notch when it comes to design and service, so I really wanted to knock it out of the park for them. 

The inspiration for my shoot was a sort of Parisian Flea Market, with a little touch of whimsy and an homage to my love of all things hills, grass and green.  Jeannie was kind enough to give me carte blanche with the look and feel of the session and scoured flea markets for weeks looking for awesome props.  Ultimately, it took her flea-market finds, half of the furniture from my studio, some borrowed trunks from a friend, and some actual pieces from my own home to make this happen. 

Having never done anything on this scale before, I was a little taken aback at how many people it takes to make something like this happen!  We had 3 men moving furniture, a hair and makeup team working their magic and, of course, the models and myself. 

After a ton of worrying about the light, when it finally came time to shoot, the sun peeked behind the clouds and created the most perfect light a girl could ask for.  Here are a couple favorites from the shoot -