ABOUT ME

I remember when I was 11 years old, on a field trip to Alcatraz in San Francisco and I took about 300 photos using my old Kodak film camera. After waiting to get the photos developed, I showed them to my photographer Dad who said,

“These are really great! You have an eye! You know how to frame things so well!”

That moment has stuck with me to this day. It motivated me to keep doing something I was, hopefully, naturally good at. We aren’t all lucky enough to find our true passion in life; something that we love to do, have fun doing, something creative, something we can leave our mark on this word with, and something that makes us happy.

From then on, I was always the “picture taker,” the person who took all the photos at parties, events, family functions, you name it. And I was also the person responsible for making sure everyone got the photos afterwards. It just became my thing and then everyone started expecting it and I continued to put more pressure on myself to make sure the photos I was taking for everyone else were good photos.

I also always made it a point to have lots of photos on my wall. My college dorm room looked like a wall collage and my first apartment had no wall space left with picture frames of all shapes and sizes carefully positioned in just the right design.

This habit began for me because of my grandparents’ house. They had a long skinny hallway filled with large picture frames that held multiple photos each. I would stare at those photos for hours every time I visited them. The same sort of thing existed in my own home. The long skinny hallway with lots of photos to look at. And my Dad started this tradition where we would take a family Christmas card picture every year and then add it to our hallway memoriam.

I know it might seem common to take family Christmas card photos every year now, but over 30 years ago it was somewhat rare. We still haven’t missed a year and I’m keeping the tradition alive and strong with my own growing family.

I mentioned my Dad is a photographer. He photographs landscapes, nature, buildings, cities, and some events, but in his own artistic way. Some of his photographs actually look like paintings. He is also a forensic photographer and I’ve been training to become one as well. While studying to become a forensic photographer, I started to take family portraits for friends since I had all the nice equipment and then I thought, “why not try to make this a business?”

After shooting more and more of my friends and their families, I found a love for professional photography and capturing beautiful moments that others can hang on their walls and enjoy forever.

I’m still studying towards forensic photography, because, well, I continue to challenge myself and put my hand in a variety of different things.

For example, I have a talent agent and model in commercials and print ads. I have published two children’s books. I have written an e-book called Nutrition with a Mission. I have created a 4-week Workout Program in strength training. I have a YouTube channel documenting my IVF journey. And I am a Clinical Exercise Physiologist and Certified Personal Trainer.

I like to think of myself as a mixture of science and art and I try to keep that mixture as balanced as I can because that is what truly makes me feel happy and complete in life.

I’m also a wife, a mom to two girls, an animal lover, a sci-fi watcher, a crochet-er, a classical pianist, a dancer, a showtunes lover, and a fashionista (well, I try.)

Thank you for reading all of these personal things about me and my life. I hope to make an impact in your life and I look forward to working with you and knowing you.

Family Photographer | Bay Area Family Photography