Little Grayden has a special place in my heart. In a heart-opening demonstration of the circle of life, I photographed his birth less than 24 hours after I received the news that my father had passed away. Clearly it’s an emotional experience I will never forget and I will always feel a connection to this family as a result. Since then, sadly, Grayden’s parents have separated. Dad, Tom, works in Redding and doesn’t get to spend as much time with Grayden as he could if his job was closer and so he asked me to capture them together recently, during…

We uncorked a bottle of Pinot Noir and chatted between shots. I learned that they have been together for 20 years, that they are adventurous, love to travel and are in fact heading off to Portugal for three weeks this month. By the time we were done it had felt more like a girl’s happy hour than a photo session, although we had more than enough gorgeous shots of them together.

You may remember the Orlino family from their newest addition, Eloise’s, birth back in August. It was my first time meeting Rebecca and Elmo and I only managed to capture a glimpse of their 4 year old twins, Sam and Oliver, via Skype. So I was excited to capture everyone together during a recent family session at Sly Park Lake up here in Pollock Pines. Sam and Oliver are typical 4 year old boys who can’t stand in one place for longer than a few seconds. They walked up “mountains” of rock beside the lake and down the mountains of…

Melanie and Mark were married at St. Joseph Marello Catholic Church in Granite Bay on a beautiful Friday afternoon, with a reception at Flower Farm Inn in Loomis.

Late summer in the middle of a four year drought and Elaina and Henry’s wedding day was blessed with summer rain, just as my own had been. The difference for Elaina and Henry was the fabulous undercover arches that David Girard Vineyards has and that provided the perfect plan-B ceremony site. That and the cloud cover that came to filter the sun and create beautiful light that we more-than took advantage of during out time together. I loved Elaina’s father’s speech during the reception which was superbly delivered and very moving. Another beautiful touch was that her dad orchestrated a…

  Kyle is graduating El Dorado High School next year. His mom, Tess, saw my Senior session with our mutual friend’s daughter, Megan, on my blog a few weeks ago, and decided to book a session for Kyle. That’s how things go down in this neck of the woods. Forget 6 degrees of separation, it’s more like 2! We started the session photographing Kyle with his bike and truck.  He’s into motocross and that gave us the perfect opportunity to whip out the flash and grab some dramatic, editorial-type shots of him on the back of his truck, the evening sky…

Ah, I love this family. I don’t even think I have space to list all the wonderful opportunities I’ve had to share in and capture their story but I know I’m blessed to be able to have done so.  And so, after weddings and births and an exciting new house purchase, we’re already at baby Nyron turning 8 months old. Which means crawling and moving and nibbling on anything he can get his chubby little hands on. We started our session at the family’s new home in Cameron Park and moved on to Cameron Park lake for some outdoor shots.…

Phyllis is the mom of my friend and long-term client, Jessica. Jessica and her family have been in front of my lens countless times in the last decade. But this time it was her mom’s turn as she reached the milestone age of 80. A former dancer, Phyllis knew she was having a party but didn’t know where, so she was not only surprised but thrilled when her celebration brought her to Arthur Murray dancing school in Folsom.  There was a dance exhibition and lessons available for those brave enough to step out onto the floor and an amazing spread…

Ohhh the cuteness! Little Freya, daughter of my long-time clients Tiffany and Keith, has made it to the one year mark. I got to photograph her, her parents, and older brother, 3 year old Finn, on some walking trails in Orangevale recently – the last in our baby package sessions. It’s hard to believe that it’s a year ago that I was there at her birth! Sometimes I forget what it was like to have two young children, the constant attention needed, the energy to chase them down and entertain them but sessions like this always remind me. Tiffany and…

Megan is in her final year at El Dorado High, her two brothers, Ryan and Dylan, preceding her. Which leaves her the last to fly the coup from her lovely and emotional mom, Trisa, who has accompanied all her kids to their senior sessions with me. Like her brothers and her mom, Megan has the most amazing, infectious smile. In fact, there was a moment when I asked Trisa to step into the picture, that I saw that their smiles are not only incredibly similar but that they crept up onto their faces in almost exactly the same manner. Including…

Eva and Stanton were already married in a civil ceremony in San Francisco earlier this year and so the pressure was off for all-but fun for their celebration with family and friends at the Triton Museum in Santa Clara. Their ceremony was held outdoors, behind the museum, in a grassy, wooded area but we also got to explore the inside of the museum for their couples photos. It’s such a different environment, dealing with modern lines and architectural details of a museum, and I love the change and challenge from my usual Sierra haunts. Eva is German and her sweet…

Several weeks ago I sent out an email requesting your support in voting for me in the Style Magazine Reader’s Choice Awards. And now I’m getting back in touch to show my appreciation because… Lisa Richmond Photography was voted #1 Favorite Wedding Photographer and #2 Family Photographer for 2015! Thank you, thank you, thank you, for taking the time out of your busy schedule and the litany of to-dos, to click through the online ballot and register your vote. I am so fortunate to be able to do something I love every day and knowing that it is appreciated by…