Two months ago we added a new member to our family. Roxy is 2 year old yellow lab that we found at the shelter. I really didn’t know that I was ready for a dog again until just before we found Roxy. We had our other dogs, Max and Aspen, for 15 years. This is a previous post about Max the wonder dog from last year. They were around for such a large portion of our lives that the idea of replacing them was a bit foreign. Now that we’ve had Roxy for 2 months, I can’t imagine our family without her. While bringing a dog (or 3) adds a bit of uncertainty to a photo session, they can also add that final piece to complete the family photograph. Since Julia and I love dogs so much, we welcome them on the family sessions.
It was clear with Mari and Dave that their dogs too, are a part of the family. Here’s a sneak peek of our family session.
The day after Thanksgiving, we met the Addario family down by the pier in Imperial Beach. Getting out to the beach was just what we needed to wake us up from the post Thanksgiving food coma. The morning was spent running, jumping, smiling and laughing. With a high surf advisory, we were careful not to let them get washed away, but there was a close call.
The children had a chance to explore and enjoyed their time at the beach.
Great parents and a beautiful couple both inside and out.
By the way, if you EVER need any dental work, go see Nick at Sunbow Family Dentistry. His entire staff is wonderful. They make going to the dentist less painful that having your photo taken. 
I’ve mentioned it before, but we just love when we get to photograph families several times over the years. We photographed this family a few times several years ago when there were only 2 children. Last week we were able to visit them again in their home and get a few shots of the kids. Here’s a small sneak peak.
Giving is Awesome
In our email that went out earlier this week, I mentioned that I would tell you how you can help give family portraits to another family. Last year over 500 photographers participated in the Giving is Awesome project and donated over a half million dollars in donated portraits. This year Schafer Photography gets to participate as well. Please read below to see how you can help and what you get.
You know someone. You know someone who’s experienced a tragedy, is struggling to stay afloat, is raising kids while holding down more than one job, or is volunteering selflessly despite extenuating personal circumstances. You know someone who can’t afford custom photography, but who would cherish it this holiday season. You know someone who deserves a year-round reminder of their family’s spirit, love, and beauty.
You know someone. I guarantee it.
We want to know who they are, and we want to give them the chance to experience complimentary custom photography — $1000 worth, to be exact. It’s in your power to give them the artwork they deserve this holiday season. The winner will receive
• full photo session
• complete gallery of full size images on CD
• five 5×7 prints
• three 8×10 prints
• one 11×14 print
• one 16×20 print mounted on foam board
Oh, and the best part? The person who nominates the winner receives a $100 print credit. What better reason to show some love could there possibly be?
The rules:
* You cannot nominate yourself, and the person nominated must sincerely be unable to purchase our services. (Being unable to make mortgage payments for a two-million-dollar-vacation-home in Paris does not qualify as sincere financial need.)
* The nominee must reside in San Diego County. Tell us who you know, what they’re experiencing, and why they deserve a professional family portrait session. Please include a way to contact both your nominee and yourself as well.
* You must e-mail us the full story : info@schaferphotography.net
Please send this info to your friends, family, and co-workers. We hope to receive a ton of entries, but we need your help to spread the word. The winner will be announced on Christmas Day — get nominating! We can’t wait to read all of your entries!
Open your heart to someone this holiday season — and thanks for giving us the opportunity to open ours.
Sincerely,
Jason and Julia Schafer
Last weekend we took a stroll down by SeaPort Village to shoot a few family shots and get some headshots for the kids’ portfolio. We were a bit surprised how busy SeaPort village can be, even on a Sunday evening….even during the last quarter of the Charger game. (Don’t worry, Matt kept us updated on the score regularly thanks to the iphone.) He’re’s a quick sneak-peak of just few that we captured that night.
This first one is one of my new favorites. These arcs created an awesome prop for a family shot. What you can’t see is the white-knuckled grip of their hands that was required to keep from sliding down to the bottom of the arc.
These two were so easy to work with. They have their photos taken pretty regularly, so they had the poses and smiles down.
This past weekend we went over to Montevalle park in Chula Vista for a family session with the Luna’s. They wanted some photos of the family, including their dog, Mike. We had a great time wandering around the park . With Rick home now, and the boys growing fast, this was a wonderful chance to capture this time in their life. We hear everyone recovered from some of the stunts that Julia has some people perform during a session. We hope Mike the dog will let us do another session some day again too.
This is one of my favorite shots of Kelly and the boys. There is a closeness between them that is hard to explain. I think we captured it here though. The boys just relaxed and leaned on Mom.
Here’s one of all the men.
and finally, a few of the boys…
Last week we stopped over at Torrey Pines State Beach in La Jolla for a family photo session with this wonderful family. We’ve talked about it before, but one of the things we enjoy about this job is getting to meet new people. It’s always such a pleasure watch and record a family as they hang out together. It was clear from the moment we met them that they are a very close family. They easily and comfortably interacted with each other. It was so neat to see the entire family hugging, jumping, and laughing. It made is easy for us to just sit back and capture their interactions.
While we were visiting Santa Rosa this weekend, we got a chance to do a shoot with beautiful baby Mackenzie. Now many of you know just how much we love to do baby shots, so you can imagine how excited we were to get the call. Here’s a sneak-peak of the session. More to come soon…..
She slept for much of the session, but gave us a few moments to see her gorgeous eyes.
Believe it or not, the Holidays are approaching. We’ve decided to offer some holiday mini sessions in October. This is a great chance for a family, kids, or baby session for your holiday card. Let us know right away if you are interested. These sessions tend to fill up fast. If you can’t make these dates, or are interested in a full session, give us a call. We only have a limited number of sessions available before the holidays. 
Here are some holiday cards to choose from. They can be easily adapted to fit your needs. Run your mouse over the image below and press the play arrow at the bottom to see cards.
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