I love when my wedding couples opt to do a bridal session together before their big day!  It makes the wedding day so much less stressful, since there’s more time to visit with friends and family, rather than spending tons of time posing for pictures… We’re able to get in some extra locations and do the session close to sunset, when the light is soft and beautiful.  Jocelyne and Paul were married last month and their bridal session was so much fun to photograph!  The light was unbelievable that afternoon!  I had a fun time getting to know the two of them before their wedding and we had a chance to get some great shots.  I had a really hard time choosing which pictures to post on here… there were SO many good ones.  Aren’t they just the cutest couple?!  I adore photographing people so in love!

Engagement photography is SO much fun!  Especially when the couple brings props that show their personality and interests.  I was super excited when Brad contacted me about doing a session in Carmel and asked if they could bring their cruiser bikes and their dog.  Helloooooo!  YES!!!  We went to one of my favorite spots in Carmel for the bike shots, which turned out to work perfectly, and then drove down to Big Sur for some beach pictures.  Brad and Julie are getting married in Hawaii this year and I am totally jealous of their photographer!  They were a blast to work with and I know that their wedding is going to be absolutely gorgeous.  Anyway, here are a whole bunch of my favorite images from the session…   

I love doing maternity sessions!  There’s just something about a gorgeous, glowing mama-to-be that gets me every time.  I’ve worked with this sweet family twice before and was so happy to hear that they were willing to drive from Sacramento to Carmel to do their session with me.  Big sister was super cooperative right at the beginning of the session, so we were able to get some fun family shots and then as she wore out, we were able to focus more on glowing mother.  Seriously, isn’t she gorgeous?!  They welcomed their baby girl right before Christmas and I am SO happy for them!  Here are a handful of my favorites from the session…

I’ve wanted to do a photo shoot at the Point Pinos lighthouse for quite some time.  So when my sister and her cute family came out to Monterey for Thanksgiving (with a request for some family pictures!) I suggested we try out the new location.  It was just as beautiful as I thought it would be!  The weather was a little crazy that week… it had been quite rainy, so on Thanksgiving morning, when it was cloudy with no rain in the morning forecast, we headed up to the lighthouse.  I rarely do photo shoots in the morning, but we were worried we wouldn’t have good weather for the rest of their visit and we decided to take what we could get.  Of course, it ended up raining about half an hour into the shoot and then was totally gorgeous that evening (figures!!).  What can ya do, right?  We were still able to capture some great pictures!  Here are my faves… 

I love making New Year’s resolutions!  There’s something about starting fresh on January 1st that makes me feel excited about the upcoming year and all its possibilities.  Let’s face it… I’ve failed miserably at blogging this past year.  By looking at my blog, you’d never know that I did so many fun sessions and weddings in 2011!  I shared quite a bit on my Susanne Ashby Photography Facebook page, and left the blog sorely neglected.  Well, it’s time to start fresh!  Here’s to more pictures in the New Year!

First up are a few more from little T.’s session.  I adore his sweet family and was happy to travel over to Sacramento for his newborn pictures!   Here are my favorites… 

My younger sister and her hubby came out to Monterey to spend Christmas with us, and when Kim asked if I would do pictures for her and Rob, I couldn’t resist!  They are so great in front of the camera and so in love.  We had a fun time shooting in downtown Carmel and then drove to Big Sur for beach shots.  We got to the beach just as the sun had gone down over the ocean, but that didn’t mean that we weren’t still going to shoot for a good twenty minutes!  The light was pretty anyway!  Here are a whole bunch of favorites…

I photographed baby T.’s big brother last year (20 months ago, to be exact!) and I was thrilled to hear that my clients were expecting another boy.  You know how I ADORE photographing newborns, so I made a special little trip over to Sacramento this week for T.’s newborn session.  Isn’t he so darling?!  Here’s just a tiny sneak peek… more to come later!

From the time that we moved back to the Monterey area, I’ve been dying to do a photo shoot at the Santa Cruz boardwalk.  So I was delighted when my good friends, Nate & Becky, came out to visit this week and told me they were hoping to have their family pictures taken in Santa Cruz.  Wahoo!  It turned out to be such a fun, colorful location!!  I can hardly wait to do another session there in the future.  And I would LOVE to have our own family pictures done there!!  Any photogs interested in trading next year?