Gayla Elizabeth Photography » children http://www.gaylaelizabeth.com/blog Portraits, Weddings & Event Photographer in Los Angeles Wed, 10 Feb 2010 11:11:58 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 en hourly 1 Kayla – Children Photography http://www.gaylaelizabeth.com/blog/2009/11/04/kayla-children-photography/ http://www.gaylaelizabeth.com/blog/2009/11/04/kayla-children-photography/#comments Thu, 05 Nov 2009 06:49:58 +0000 gayla http://www.gaylaelizabeth.com/blog/?p=761 I met Masaki and Dyana a little over a year ago when I shot their 2 month old baby boy, Kan. You can view those pictures by clicking here.  A couple of months ago I got an email from Dyana saying she had a new addition to the family and wanted to get some shots of her daughter, Kayla too!  When I first saw her, she had the biggest smile and eyes that sparkled . We did some family pictures as well, but I wanted to post some individual shots of Kayla, since she was the new addition to this gorgeous family.  Stay tuned for the family shots that will be posted soon.

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]]> http://www.gaylaelizabeth.com/blog/2009/11/04/kayla-children-photography/feed/ 2 Sunday session – all day http://www.gaylaelizabeth.com/blog/2009/10/25/sunday-session-all-day/ http://www.gaylaelizabeth.com/blog/2009/10/25/sunday-session-all-day/#comments Mon, 26 Oct 2009 06:42:33 +0000 gayla http://www.gaylaelizabeth.com/blog/?p=657 I just got back from today’s session which started at 10:30am and finished around 7ish at the beach with a wonderful family. Yes, a full day session! Here are some quick facts: it consisted of 4 generations, 16 people (including the little ones), good times and lots of laughs. I will post more details later, but I just wanted to share what a great day it was. I had so much fun and was so happy to be amongst  such warm and loving people… although it makes me miss my family even more. [aloha to all my loved ones back on the islands...muah].

I will be posting images of the session soon, but as I was backing up the images, this shot caught my eye and I just had to post it as the teaser. Just look at her face… it says it all. Simply adorable.

Hope everyone had a great weekend and here is to a great Halloween week!

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]]> http://www.gaylaelizabeth.com/blog/2009/10/25/sunday-session-all-day/feed/ 5 Motherhood http://www.gaylaelizabeth.com/blog/2009/10/24/motherhood/ http://www.gaylaelizabeth.com/blog/2009/10/24/motherhood/#comments Sat, 24 Oct 2009 18:32:27 +0000 gayla http://www.gaylaelizabeth.com/blog/?p=614 As many of you know, I am a family girl and am in love with my family, even though they can drive me crazy at times! And, I do mean CRAZY, haha. The family values I have were started when I was growing up in beautiful Hawaii.  Family gatherings, functions, dinners, parties; whatever you want to call them, my life was filled with them. In Hawaii, family ties are tight…it is a way of life. It’s about the 3F’s;  Family, Food and Fun.   While I only have 2 brothers, my family is pretty large. Upon my grandmother’s passing a few years ago, we calculated her branches she housed.  My grandmother had 4 children and those 4 children gave her 16  grandchildren, 43 great grandchildren and 23 great great grandchildren. [chuckle] That means my little grandmother, who was all of 5 feet tall was responsible for 86 human beings. Now, these are all my blood relatives on my mother’s side only. If you factor in my father’s family tree, that is a whole different ball of wax. Since this post is about mothers, I will leave my father’s “branches” off for this post. I wanted to establish how big of a family  I have and how important the family life is to me. Now that I have done that, let me write a little about motherhood.

I always believed and still do believe that children are gifts, a true miracle. When a woman conceives and creates life within herself, it is nothing shy of a miracle. Yet, this miracle is often overshadowed by poor motherhood and it often upsets me to see innocent children brought into a world without the right nurturing parent. I often joke that you should have to take a test to become a mother, because while making them can be challenging for some,  it is not the hardest part to being a mother and I’ve seen my fair share of mothers who could use some help on  how to be a better parent. Becoming a mother is a life changing event. Mothers must guide, teach, nurture, sacrifice and mold children to become striving successful adults. It doesn’t stop when they are potty trained, when they can walk, when they become 18 or when they move out on their own. It never stops.  I really do think there should be a class that every mother should take BEFORE having children to learn how to sacrifice, understand how to motivate, how to discipline and correct and most importantly how to love them.  Loving a child is not just saying you love them or buying them a new toy or the latest cool gadget. Loving them often means sacrifice and pain. Yes, I did say pain because there are times when a mother must do things that hurt them, BUT serve in the best interest in the child. Words are cheap, anyone can say “I love you”, but it’s when the love is shown and expressed that really counts. Remember the old cliche; “actions speak louder than words”.

At this day and age, where divorce is very common, children are often and frequently left to be raised by a single parent. It is not nearly uncommon like it was years and years ago, during the Leave it to Beaver days. If a child is raised in a home filled with love, guidance, support and structure, you are golden. I am in awe of some of the most amazing single mothers out there in this world. One in particular that I have high regards for is Debbie Phelps, single mother of Olympian Michael Phelps, who broke an Olympic record by winning 8 Gold Medals in Bejing during the 2008 summer olympics. She had a rough divorce and 3 children to raise on her own, one with ADHD. She threw that little ADHD child in the swimming pool at the age of 6 and he became the Olympian now admired by millions. She did it on her own and she succeeded.  There were no excuses, just solid parenting. Tiki Barber was raised with his twin brother in a low income housing project by his single mother, who worked THREE jobs and sacrificed a lot to ensure her two sons would get the most out of life. Tiki graduated valedictorian and both he and his brother had successful careers in the NFL. Both playing in the Superbowl. He wrote a book called, Tiki: My life in the game and beyond.   There are many other great stories of single mothers who raised successful children on their own. I applaud and praise them for making society a better place and not using being fatherless as an excuse. Everyone of those women have my utmost respect. It goes to show you what a great mother can do for her child and that it CAN be done without a man.

This isn’t to take anything away from those women who are married and have the support of a husband and father. Not at all. Kudos to all the great married mothers too!  While no mother is perfect and many have flaws, including mine [still love you mom!], it is important to do your best to raise  your children to succeed in life and nurture them not just through childhood, but through life.  The foundation you lay for your offsprings will determine the type of life they live and values they posses. Teach them how to have respect, how to give, how to share and how to love.
Teach them how to be positive, how to create good things in life.  Motherhood is tough, it is a challenge and a sacrifice; but it is most rewarding when you know you raised a well balanced and successful child that will have a very fulfilled life with some sort of structure and balance. Plus it makes for great Thanksgiving dinners! :-)  I think Oprah said it best when she said “being a mother is the toughest job out there…if done right!”

I thought I would end this post from a session I did of the Katz family. Here is one of my favorites, it is Dori and her son Maguire. I think you can feel the love and emotions through this image. It’s timeless. I will post that session soon, but for now, enjoy this image of motherhood.

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]]> http://www.gaylaelizabeth.com/blog/2009/10/24/motherhood/feed/ 1 Rock on! http://www.gaylaelizabeth.com/blog/2009/10/21/rock-on/ http://www.gaylaelizabeth.com/blog/2009/10/21/rock-on/#comments Thu, 22 Oct 2009 05:55:06 +0000 gayla http://www.gaylaelizabeth.com/blog/?p=601 Last night was my first night back to the gym. [applause]. I did what I do with everything else. I put it in my iCal.  For all of you mac users out there, you know what I’m talking about. iCal is my savior, my director, my coordinator…my everything. I think I would be completely lost without iCal. Since I feel 24 hours is just not enough time in a day, it is important that I plan each waking minute very carefully. With that said, I religiously put things in my iCal so I do not forget to do them. EVERYTHING goes in there. If it doesn’t, there is a good chance it gets overlooked. iCal keeps me in check and reminds me of all my tasks that I must accomplish during the day and even sends me a little email reminder if I need it to. It’s just marvelous.

I put GYM in my iCal and made it an appointment. And, guess where I was last night? Okay, it may have been morning since I strolled into 24hour fitness at 1:15am, BUT, the point is I made it there. Because it’s been over a month since my last workout, it was a little shaky in the beginning, but it’s lke riding a bike. After 20 minutes, I was in the zone. It felt great to get the heart pumping and the muscles working. With it’s proven effectiveness, I made sure I entered my GYM appointments in for the next 4 weeks.  This means, I WILL be there. No excuses. Thank you iCal!

I had to post a pic, so here is my best “rock on” shot. It’s little Sammy…

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]]> http://www.gaylaelizabeth.com/blog/2009/10/21/rock-on/feed/ 1 Walker Levi Katz…The Bris – Event http://www.gaylaelizabeth.com/blog/2009/10/20/walker-levi-katz-the-bris-event/ http://www.gaylaelizabeth.com/blog/2009/10/20/walker-levi-katz-the-bris-event/#comments Tue, 20 Oct 2009 18:49:01 +0000 gayla http://www.gaylaelizabeth.com/blog/?p=571 A few weeks back, I had the privilege of shooting a Bris on the holiest day…Yom Kippur. According to jewish law, although the human soul exists before birth, human life begins at birth, that is, at the time when the child is more than halfway emerged from the mother’s body. Bris Milah joins the forces of body and soul together in serving G-d.

I stood amongst many family, friends and many loved ones as little Walker Levi Katz made his grand entrance with the help of his Aunt and Uncle. As the Rabbi spoke to the room full of onlookers, Walker performed perfectly, rarely making a noise and often showing a smile.  You could see the joy and love in the eyes of proud parents Austin and Alli from afar. I stood back and grabbed some great images of this special day and absolutely love the shots of Walker and his Grandfathers. It was so great to participate in such a special and amazing day.

I had a newborn photography session with Walker a week later, which I will post soon. For now, enjoy these photos from the Bris.

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]]> http://www.gaylaelizabeth.com/blog/2009/10/20/walker-levi-katz-the-bris-event/feed/ 2 The Johnson Family http://www.gaylaelizabeth.com/blog/2009/08/04/the-johnson-family/ http://www.gaylaelizabeth.com/blog/2009/08/04/the-johnson-family/#comments Tue, 04 Aug 2009 19:30:56 +0000 gayla http://www.gaylaelizabeth.com/blog/?p=362 Meet Jamie, Jesse, Lilly and Violet.  This family of four decided to go with a home/park session, which means fun, fun, fun!  We started out shooting at the house, where the girls got to relax and have some fun and get used to the whole camera thing! :-)  After playing… and shooting for a little, we headed up to the park, where we had the best weather with a warm summer breeze. As the sun began to set over the Hollywood Hills, we were blessed with an incredible sunset and amazing clouds that filled the sky on this warm July afternoon. Baby sister Violet was the highlight of the shoot, as she kept me on  the ball running after her! It was fun. Enjoy!

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]]> http://www.gaylaelizabeth.com/blog/2009/08/04/the-johnson-family/feed/ 39 Jeremy & Oliver turn 3 http://www.gaylaelizabeth.com/blog/2009/05/17/jeremy-oliver-turn-3/ http://www.gaylaelizabeth.com/blog/2009/05/17/jeremy-oliver-turn-3/#comments Sun, 17 May 2009 20:11:00 +0000 gayla http://www.gaylaelizabeth.com/blog/?p=97 Meet Jeremy & Oliver, the youngest set of twins. Yes, I did say younger set, because Camilla and Raffi have TWO sets of twin boys. These two little fellows just celebrated their 3rd birthday yesterday with friends and family. Lots of kiddies, lots of sugar, a big bouncy house and even an appearance by BATMAN himself. :-) Older twin brothers Julian and Sebastian were right there in the celebration having fun like everyone else. These are four cute little guys!

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look at this little stud, drawing the ladies in with his spiderman lollipop!
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yes, those blue little hands in the back is frosting from the cake. LOL!
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as if cake wasn’t enough, a big bowl of endless M&M’s will hit that sweet spot. :-)
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]]> http://www.gaylaelizabeth.com/blog/2009/05/17/jeremy-oliver-turn-3/feed/ 0 Maile’s turns 2… http://www.gaylaelizabeth.com/blog/2009/05/03/mailes-turns-2/ http://www.gaylaelizabeth.com/blog/2009/05/03/mailes-turns-2/#comments Sun, 03 May 2009 11:30:00 +0000 gayla http://www.gaylaelizabeth.com/blog/?p=91 You know the saying, terrible two’s. Well, here comes Maile. This little one is a chocoholic, so I came prepared with the biggest chocolate cupcake I could find. She was all smiles and repeatedly said, “cake, cake”; When it came time to eat it, she wasn’t sure just how to go about doing so. She had a hard time holding it, let alone eating it. Her older sister was happy to join in the celebration of cupcakes too!

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Here is the shirt her mommy bought her…. BABY CRAP. LOL
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]]> http://www.gaylaelizabeth.com/blog/2009/05/03/mailes-turns-2/feed/ 0 Masaki, Dyana & Kan http://www.gaylaelizabeth.com/blog/2009/04/30/masaki-dyana-kan/ http://www.gaylaelizabeth.com/blog/2009/04/30/masaki-dyana-kan/#comments Thu, 30 Apr 2009 07:49:00 +0000 gayla http://www.gaylaelizabeth.com/blog/?p=90 Here is my first post regarding shots to go in the new gallery in Sherman Oaks, CA. These images are from a shoot I did last spring. We got some great shots and this little one is just too adorable to not have in the gallery. Little Kan was only 2 months old at the time and such a cute little baby. Boy, this is one good looking family! I started the shoot with some shots of Kan while he was still sleeping, worked our way into some family shots and then we got some great shots of just mommy and daddy. I’ll save those for another post. For now, here is little Kan and his parents. Not sure which ones I’ll go with just yet, but here are some of my favorites.

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One of my favorite sequence shots. This is definitely going in the gallery. :-)
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]]> http://www.gaylaelizabeth.com/blog/2009/04/30/masaki-dyana-kan/feed/ 0 Maile’s 1st birthday http://www.gaylaelizabeth.com/blog/2008/05/02/mailes-1st-birthday/ http://www.gaylaelizabeth.com/blog/2008/05/02/mailes-1st-birthday/#comments Fri, 02 May 2008 20:22:00 +0000 gayla http://www.gaylaelizabeth.com/blog/?p=70 Last Saturday, I drove to San Diego for my niece, Maile’s 1st birthday picnic at Ski Beach, by Mission Bay. It was quite the drive, with crazy traffic, but worth every second to see my family. It was great to see my brother David, his wife Irene and the 3 kids; Christopher, Malia and Maile. I gave Maile the big pink pony and boy, was it a hit with the girls.






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