Jett James.

With a name like his-you just know this little guy is bound for stardom!  This handsome {almost famous} young man completes the trifecta of adorable redheads that Mom and Dad have placed all their bets on!

As always I am honored and consider it a an extra special duty to be able to capture the first fleeting days of a newborn’s place in this world.  I couldn’t have been more willing to make this family smile even more-so about their sweet addition.

I present to you the handsome, the darling… Mr. Jett James!  (isn’t is fun just to say!?)

enjoy xo

Summer 2010 family vacation:  Manhattan Beach, CA.

We stayed at the elegant and sophisticated Belamar Hotel ::sigh:: this place was heaven in a beach town!  A stylish, chic.boutique hotel, with it’s modern-retro décor.  The Belamar poses a touch of LA glam with a modest, funky vibe.  Each day at 5pm the hotel staff would set out a pedestal of foil wrapped-goodness, these were an ultra popular treat with the guests, including us, who could not get enough! Yes, Hostess ding-dongs, one of the perks of staying at the five-star Belamar.

Too bad that I thoroughly enjoyed the four walls of our fabulous room for an entire day, sick as a dog, I lay cooped up in bed all day that Sunday!

I was not going to let that stop me from enjoying the beach the next day AND thankfully I was feeling myself again after about 24 hours.

The overcast skies and golden sand between my toes, the view from the pier, retro beach cruisers, the colorful lifeguard towers, the list goes on…

(*confession time* I LOVE to photograph surfers!!)

I am not sure when or what it was exactly that began my love of photographing surfers.  Capturing a group of surfers patiently awaiting for the perfect wave, the hustling motion of heading into the great waters, a moment in the midst of an intense gaze into the ocean, a restful moment at shore atop the mighty surf board…

OR my absolute fav-a handsome group of surfers appeasing me with a playful pose, all of these said moments have ROCKED my photography mojo!

(following photo taken in Pismo Beach April 2010)

SO, without further adieu, I present bits and pieces from our recent trip to Manhattan Beach…

**collage above is due to arrive this week as a fabulous 18×18 gallery wrapped canvas!!!  SUPER excited!

As a photographer, I have always been blessed with beautiful.sleepy and happy newborns!  This will normally weigh true for newborns who are within a week or so old.

*babes on board reminder* if you are pregnant and looking to have newborn photos done, be sure to contact me in advance, that way I can know when (abouts) to expect to schedule your session.  I get booked months in advance for general sessions and weddings, but I always leave time and space to accommodate my newborn clients.  Either way, don’t delay.. let me know soon!  I absolutely love looking forward to babes in the studio!!

This little mister was sound asleep for just about the entire session.  When I say entire, I mean all but like 10 minutes at the very end!!  For that I say-WUHUHI5 buddy!!

I absolutely LOVE this wide-eyed image of him, have to call it one of my fav’s!!

Beaming with a very proud smile and protective nature, big sister  is completely in love with the little guy!  Super precious… thanks for allowing me the opportunity to capture this special time in all of your lives!

(me—->sounds like: broken record… can’t help myself-I LOVE my job!)

Congrats and enjoy! xo

I had the pleasure of meeting two of the sweetest little gentlemen and their lovely mama at this amazing, outdoor country-haven!

The evening light here is so delicious, and the proof is in the preview!!

Newborn sessions differ quite a bit from your average photo session-working to get a sleepy, snuggly baby can take a bit of time, patience and even some genius.  Both boys made my job a breeze, but an extra special hands down to big brother, who was not only a super-trooper through it all, but a huge help to me during the session!!

Of course could not pick just a couple favorites, so with that I leave you with a handful from their gallery.

Enjoy! xo

I am pretty convinced that I have a serious case of ADD, I am always one step toward the next project, even when those hanging in the balance are not complete.  I have discovered that this also weighs true for housework ::sigh::

So while I did have about a zillion things to do, I  just couldn’t resit making the most of my Tuesday afternoon.  This particular story goes a little something like this:

Got up.  Fed kiddos.  Checked email.  Browsed Blogs… interest awakened… creativity flowing… complete and utter INSPIRATION was in full force!!!

Get ready, get set, GO!… kids, props, clothes, snacks & friends in tow, we were out the door!

It’s so fun to answer the call of creativity at a moments notice!  It just happened to come flooding in the other morning prompting the quick thinking and departure as described above!

So glad to have indulged in such a whim…

fun.fun afternoon!!!  xo

Hello and welcome to the first edition of what I am calling “iphone imagery.”

*disclaimer:  not all of the photos featured have been taken with an iphone, but since all of mine have and i like the way it sounds, we’ll go with it!*

I am excited that so many of our fans participated when I put the call out there to send us your mobile phone images, the images I received are FANTASTIC and fun!!!

I hope to do this from time to time, so keep snapping away with those phones.  It doesn’t have to be something spectacular, thought out or technically correct either.  I love to shoot pretty much everything… go figure?!  In fact, I recently had a momentary thought to ditch my Canon and go exclusively iphone!!  Whatcha think about that?

Without further adieu, I present the following collection of images from the clients, friends and associates of Jill Paddack Photography:

Image credits (from left to right):

Row 1.  Alycia Moreno, JP (me), Alycia Moreno, Suzanne Guimont

Row 2.  JP, Erin Monroe, Frank Alvarado, Alycia Moreno

Row 3.  JP, JP, Alycia Moreno, Frank Alvarado

Row 4.  Frank Alvarado, Jessica Vaughan, Suzanne Guimont, JP

Row 5.  Alicia Rich, JP, JP, Traig Smith

Row 6.  Brad Hall, JP, Frank Alvarado, Denise Newell

Row 7.  Traig Smith, JP, JP, Brad Hall

Besides being so short of time these days, I find that occasionally I’ll put-off a blog post until the 11th hour for lack of something fabulous to say OR being able to have just the right words.

Since these are some of my favorite images to date, I’ll let them speak for themselves and keep it short and sweet!

Meet Chelsee, graduating class of 2010.  This session is a perfect reminder of why I love doing what I do!  This girl came ready to rock and roll, she is an absolute doll, and gorgeous to boot!

Congrats girl, wishing you a happy and brilliant future!  The sky is the limit…  xo

Meet sweet-beautiful Kara!

College Bound:  California State University Northridge

Favorite color:  Hot pink

LOVES a good Taco salad

Never without:  favorite pair of jeans

I absolutely loved every bit of this session!  Kara was so easy going, fun and can you believe a bit on the shy side??!  I swear!  All that AND she totally rocked the camera!

Wishing you a carefree summer and the best of luck as you head down south for school in the fall!

OK so I lied, I was planning to post my latest senior session, until I remembered I haven’t had a chance to share with you all this gorgeous trio, soon to be FOUR!!  With baby due in about 50 days or so… if I am keeping track right?!  Mom (who is also my adorable-sweet friend Jaclyn) wanted a special way to document her pregnancy, to include her daughter and to capture some family moments.  I thought this was brilliant and offered up something a bit more unique than the traditional maternity session!  I LOVED her outfit, how crazy.beautiful is this hot mama!  [Oh yeah, speaking of clothing... I'm still feeling bad about the paint on Dustin's shirt!]

These three were up for whatever I had in mind and cant tell you how much that means-to be given full creative license!  My absolute favorite image from the gallery is where I captured Jaclyn in the midst of a lighthearted belly laugh, the image is SO real and simply makes me smile, what is better than that!?

Thanks for the smiles and the adventure!

Enjoy  xo

ps. hot mama session information coming soon as well as the iphone imagery deal I have going on, I love the response so far.  If you haven’t done so, please consider submitting an image from your cell phone/mobile device.  I will be including submissions in a collage to be posted here at the blog very soon!  Thanks!

The beauty and allure of the Yosemite Valley is second-to-none.  If you are an avid rock climber, chances are you have dreamt of scaling Half dome or gripping the spectacular face of El Capitan…

This passion for nature and immense love of rock climbing brought me to this majestic locale to capture Adam and Michelle.  With their September nuptials approaching, they felt Yosemite would be a great place to celebrate and preserve the memories of their engagement.

While the scenery in Yosemite is always perfect, the journey [this particular day] was less than so.

This only made apparent just how fit-to-be this amazing couple is no matter how windy the road traveled might be…

The Yosemite Valley, a truly amazing sight!  I was enamored at even the most simple glimpses of the beauty which surrounded me, oh how I look forward to my return.  Until then I leave you with this…

Cheers Adam and Michelle!!

xo