Tim Wheaton Photography | Southern California Natural Light Photographer » maternity

2011: A Photographical Year In Review | Orange County Wedding, Senior, Maternity, Concert Photographer

Tim — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 22:05:37 +0000

every year i have wanted to do one of these and i just never set aside the time. well this year i have done it! this year was extremely different from previous years for me as a photographer. i shot a few more weddings than i had previously, including some for very close friends, which is always a lovely compliment to be hired by friends for such a big day. i even got to go as far as the bahamas for a location wedding this year! i was finally able to attend the wppi convention for photographers in las vegas this year. that was extremely educational for me with some of the business side of things and also a great opportunity for me to meet up with some of my long distance photographer friends of years, and even meet some new friends. my concert work really started to take off towards the end of 2010 and it took another huge, odd leap this year as i was hired to shoot the Caravan Festivals on behalf of dave matthews band. so instead of going to a bunch of shows like last year, most of my concert work this year was in 3 day festival, multiple-band territory. which is basically like shooting two weddings a day for three days in a row. no joke. i got to photograph some returning clients this year, always nice to have people like you and your work enough to ask you back for more.

there was just no way for me to narrow down shoots to “just one favorite” from them… so sit back and enjoy this. and this is set to complete random mode for your further enjoyment and to keep your eyes on their toes. or your toes on their eyes. or something…

i went into 2011 completely unsure of what was to come. i come out of it completely surprised. i go into 2012 with a couple of new tricks up my sleeve, a couple of definite goals and open arms for even more of what 2011 brought.

here’s to a fantastic year for all of you, whatever it may bring… may it be good! happy new year, and thanks for everything y’all have done for me.

tera | maternity photography

Tim — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 20:48:36 +0000

tera was a bridesmaid in a wedding i photographed last year and she is one of those people that is connected to more than just one of my circles of friends. it seems like the past two years have been a huge reminder of how small the world can be, when it comes to people knowing people. (anyone for a quick round of six degrees of kevin bacon? no? okay…) waiting for tera to get to a good time for her maternity photos was well worth it, let me tell you. well no… instead… let me show you….

i love this necklace tera has… it is her little girl’s name and was such a cute way to have her name involved in her photos.

this next shot was actually “a happy accident”. i was messing with figuring out the light as i was changing some things around and this was a quick test photo. a good reminder to always shoot something other than a person’s foot while testing light :) especially since this is one of my faves from the hands on belly photos from the day.

i kinda love it when people are not afraid to get creative with wardrobe and accessories…

after shooting indoors, we had the mad dash to the beach to catch some sun outside. we had to scrap our first and second choices and got down to beach number three just as the sun was setting. phew!

tera, i wish you nothing but the best with your new life with your little girl. thank you so much for trusting me with documenting this all-important time in your life. i hope you love the photos now and i hope they stand the test of time when you are going through them someday with your little girl and saying: “that was you in there!!” :)

the lantings | laguna beach | family photography

Tim — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 07:12:34 +0000

oh, the lantings. they have patiently waited for these photos and here they are. this little shoot was held shortly before the birth of their second child. their little boy rocked the “big brother” shirt proudly and they were as fun as they normally are for their photos. look below… you’ll see what i mean…

and the coup de grace of holy grail photos from the day:

elle | maternity photography

Tim — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 17:01:39 +0000

elle is about 2 months from her due date of her second baby boy. we talked a lot about photos and the meaning / importance of them during this time of a woman’s life. i hope these photos convey this to some of you out there, who may be on the fence. and i am not telling you that you need to hire me for your photos (it would be nice, of course)… but this falls into my most basic drive behind the way i take photos. it could almost be my mission statement.

as a man in my 30′s (do you really want the exact number? no? good), i wish that i had more photos of my youth to look back on. not only for myself, but all the more now, to share with my child. i don’t really have much in the way of a “maternity” session of my mom, either. i know it was a different era back then and photos are more commonplace now. and this is why people should be thinking of this. there is a good reason that photographs have always been on the top 3 of everyone’s “what would you grab from your house if there was a fire” list. and just because photos are digital now, doesn’t change that. photos are the record of our history. this is how and a good amount of “why” i photograph people.

too much typing already… back to elle. she did not take any photos during her first pregnancy and said that she really wanted to document it this time around. she wanted to also feel like she can still think of herself as attractive in her mama stage. so we set out to do just that.

let us know if you think we accomplished her goals. :)

another fun session and a lovely mama. wishing her nothing but a smooth final trimester and an amazing birth experience… thanks, elle!

wheaton family: two plus two plus one

Tim — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 04:24:14 +0000

i have actually been trying to get together with these busy-bodies for so long. it became almost urgent to finally work it out so we could get some photos done before their newest family member is born. which could be any day now. for those of you who do not know, this is my brother’s family… he is 18 months older than me and we have been best friends, through thick and thin, for all the days of my life.

we met up at what seems to be the epicenter of my family shooting this season for some reason: the montage resort in laguna beach.

the sun was setting and spreading its beautiful orange glow all over the grassy area while we were there. i just kind of went with it and allowed it to wrap its warm arms around their little family…

after the sneak peek storyboard of my niece letting her twirly dress do its thing… i decided to do another from the day. this one shows one of the other things that we forget as adults.. one of the things i most adore about kids… them just being goofy: laughing, making silly faces and cracking themselves up:

this shoot was not really aimed at being a “belly shoot”… or we had not really discussed that. but how can you not involve the miracle of that little life in there?

kids and their special stuffed animals. this one does not have the most original name ever… but it is loved with a full heart.

and we were all blessed by yet another jaw-droppingly gorgeous laguna sunset:

and every time the sun sets right now, i am wondering if i will be getting a call or a text saying that “it’s happening! it’s time!!!” when we had our little girl, it was a dinner with my brother and his wife that possibly set things into motion for my wife’s labor. maybe we need to have some thai food together, you guys! ;)

kristen: a belly out and about

Tim — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 05:59:41 +0000

when my wife told me that her friend wanted to have me take pictures of her shortly before her due date, i was thrilled for the honor and the opportunity. i got into “meeting of the minds” mode with kristen to find out what direction she wanted to go with the photos. when she said “outside, in nature” the thrill i felt before was multiplied exponentially (word of the day and triple letter score on that one!). a location i had been eyeballing for nearly two years was finally going to be claimed, by me, like Aldrin and Armstrong… flag in hand. won’t you go there with us now? let’s….

the sun was at just the perfect spot. isn’t nature awesome that way?

if you really want to get cheesy with me, you can call that SONflare for now.

as the sun got closer to going behind the hills, we packed it up and made a dash for the beach. we didn’t need to wait for long, as the sun began setting and illuminating everything in that perfect way…

along came mister seagull, clearly intending to co-star in a shot or two. if not for kristen and the beautiful sunset, i would almost be one to say he stole the scene here. almost.

it was almost as if we were on some far-off tropical island somewhere. just gorgeous to the umpteenth degree!

kristen and her husband are now parents of quite the cute little boy. these were taken quite some time ago this year, but it is still fun to look back at these.

thanks again kristen for putting yourself in my trust that day. i had a blast shooting and could not imagine a better mama-to-be for such a beautiful day!!