Lerissa & Kurt are the winners from my “Love Story” contest back in feb. They had been so busy with their wedding and now with all of that done, we finally had an opportunity to shoot their maternity session! Lerissa & Kurt were from two different sides of southern Cali and fate brought them together at the wee age of 15 & 16 years old, when they met at a church youth organization. They made this long distance relationship work and 11 years later they are married and have a bun in the oven! You know when you meet a couple that just meshes so well together… well this is them! Its nice to see that after 11 years they still make each other giggle and blush! Lerissa & Kurt thank you soo much for participating in one of my first contests, I appreciate all of your support! You both are going to make awesome parents!!! I luuuuvvvv that they brought these cute props to play with!!!
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“Mommy, we got you a necklace”, lil Jack excitedly whispered in my ear on mother’s day morning. I laughed and told him not to tell me, I wanted it to be a surprise! His face got completely serious as if he just remembered that his daddy told him not to tell me. He whispered “Please don’t tell Daddy!!!” Three year olds clearly can not keep secrets! He came back in my room with a huge gift bag. It was filled with tissue and a black box… I opened it and low and behold it sure was a necklace!!! The fanciest necklace I’ve ever seen!! Jack and lil man created my very first homemade noodle necklace!! Or in lil Jack’s words “its a macaroni n cheese & pasta necklace! “ Just the thought of my husband and son spending the time creating this necklace tugs at my heart! I love them sooo doggone much!!! It seems like only yesterday that I was in elementary school making my mom one of these necklaces hoping that she’d rock it! And you better believe that I wore it all day long! The family got together at a park to BBQ & play volleyball. I had fun even though I totally suck at volleyball & every other sport for that matter! I definitely lack the coordination but I sure do love to play! Hope you all had great weekends too!!!
Back to business… Ok you probably know by now that I have OCD when it comes to changing up my website and logo! Just when i think i have the right one that represents who i am... I want to change it! I dont know if i just get bored easily or if I’m constantly changing who i am lol! I'd like to think of it as growing! I’ve never really had a favorite color, movie, music or anything for that matter… I love too many to just pick one! I consider myself pretty open minded so Im constantly finding new things that I like! For example I used to say I like all types of music except for country and wat do ya know now I love country!!! Im still not a fan of a “BBQ stain on my white tshirt” but there are other types of country songs that have great stories!!! And to add the cherry on top I am probably the most indecisiveness person you’ve ever met!! That was definitely something that put a little damper on my relationship when Jack and I first started dating! He was pretty indecisive too so we were like those vultures from the jungle book when it came to making plans!!! “So wat do you want to do?” “I don’t know what do you want to do?” and so on…! We both had to make some changes to get out of that little funk! I figure Ill keep growing as a photographer and I’ll find my style and eventually invest in some professional branding! But until then you will see some random designs up in here :) So here it is my new logo… for now! Im so loving this mustardy yellow color this season! As if this post wasnt long enough I thought that i'd add some photos that my tia Diane took of me & my lil man hanging out! Its soo important to fit in some play time with our little ones! My tia has been into photography since lil Jack was a baby so It’s been really fun to have someone in the family who enjoys photography as much as i do! Now I can talk photography lingo with someone who knows what the heck I’m talking about! When I start mentioning aperture and shutter speeds to Jack, he looks at me like I’m speaking a foreign language! But its cute because he tries to follow along. Have a great safe weekend guys! Enjoy your mamas!!! I’m finally getting to shoot a maternity session for my “Love Story Contest winners” from here! I’m so excited!!! Peace out Yall!!! Doesnt everyone make this weird monkey mouth when their shooting! I love this lil turkey butt sooooooooooooooooooooo much!!!
There’s a special love that is shared between a grandmother and her granddaughters… and I was lucky to be able to capture it with Nana Linda and her beautiful girls! They had all kinds of fun props to play with! Each one of the girls has a big personality, so needless to say it was an entertaining session! Enjoy… Here is Linda and her beautiful daughter Victoria having a nice mother-daughter moment! Peek a boo! Bubble time!!! What’s fun without hula hoops!!! Dress up time!!! In this session we used both the Mark ii and the T3i... can you tell which is which? :)
Sasha and Eddie were ecstatic to find out that they were adding a baby girl to their cozy nest! When Sasha told me about her cute pregnancy announcement idea, I was thrilled to be adding some diversity to my portfolio! I totally love the fact that she personalized the shoot by adding her own creative theme to the mix. I know that many photographers prefer to shoot before sunset because it adds a soft creamy light to your photos, so this was my first session right before sunset and I have to say I love the soft glow!! We literally shot until sundown! I had such a fun time with this cute little family! Thank so much Sasha & Eddie for letting me be a part of this big announcement!!! Congrats again!!! It all started with an egg... Lex cant wait until her baby sister arrives!!! Then some fun family photos... True love!!!
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I'M JANELLE MARINA
Wife, Mama Shark, + Photographer. Most days, you'll find me in mismatched socks and a top knot, working behind my computer with a smile on my face, listening to Zac Brown Band and R&B --or, dancing in the kitchen with my 3 littles and hunka husband, seeing who could come up with the coolest dance moves. I'm a wedding photographer, West Elm lover, aspiring advocate for our buddies with special needs, and a Certified Dreamer since 1986. We live in a cozy city in Southern California and are always up for a good adventure. I enjoy telling stories with my camera, grubbing on spicy food, and solving the latest Dateline case.
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December 2019
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