The Best of 2007 - Bang Wedding

I had the opportunity to be a part of so many great weddings over the year and want to share some of the love stories. Over the next couple of weeks I will be doing a "Best of" blast of all my favorites. Enjoy!


First up is Merren and Christopher Bang. They were married in Carmel, CA at a beautiful vineyard and spa. I shot this wedding with Carol Niles - an amazing Humbdoldt County photographer. The weather was perfect for photos and they both looked so beautiful! Click here to see my favorites.

Oh What Fun!!!

The Crave party was an absolute blast! Thank you so much to Julie and Crystal who manned my booth so that I could go and shoot! You girls are the greatest!

There were so many great vendors. Here are just a few shots of those that were there. If you didn't make it to this one...be sure to make the next Crave Party!

Tarte - Boutique

The Melting Pot. I can vouch for it's yummy goodness!!!

Barbara Hennelly of Kidaround. Lifestyle Mag for Modern Moms

Brown Bag Botanicals

Barby K Boutique 23rd and K st. - Midtown Sac

After the show was over I took the models from Britt Steele around the beautiful Masonic Temple for some fun shots. This is my new favorite building in Sacramento - it's absolutely breathtaking! Here are my favorite shots with Kelsy, Brittney and Jennifer. Thanks girls!

You're invited to Sacramento's winter CRAVE party!

Hello Ladies!!! I am photographing a great event this Thursday evening called a CRAVE party. This is a great "girl's night out" event for you and your friends. There will be boutiques, local websites, local magazines, spa, massage and facial services, unique vendors from Sacramento and San Francisco selling one of kind items, local restaurants: Paragary's, The Melting Pot, wineries, live entertainment: belly dancers, fashion shows, dress for success workshop and so much more. This is the best time to buy all those gifts for your well deserving gal pals. And the best part is that a percentage of the proceeds benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Tickets to the event are $20 and you'll receive a great little gift bag with lots of fashionable goodies and coupons from the great vendors you'll see at the show. If you can make it, please stop by my booth to say Hi! Tickets are available in advance or at the door, please click on the invitation below to purchase now. Crave Party Sacramento, Thursday Dec. 13th from 5:30-9:30pm at The Masonic Temple, 1123 J Street.

Hope to see you there!

a BIG thank you to all my Simple Heroes!

I can't begin to express how grateful and overwhelmed I am by the outpour of support from everyone that read my entry about the Simple Heroes organization. Nick has been overwhelmed with emails, calls and donations - and I am happy to report that he has already fulfilled half the goal with your support alone. We also received a request from Kristen Samoes from Channel 10's Sacramento & Co. program to come on air to talk about the organization! Watch Nick and I this Wednesday from 9-10am to hear more about the program and to put a face to the amazing person behind this whole organization. Again, thank you all so very much for your care and support!

Simple Heroes in Sac

Sometimes in life you are fortunate to have amazing people walk into your life and completely revive your faith in the human race and our ability to help each other. My friend Nick is one such person. A few months ago he told me about a non-profit he was starting to help meet the needs of foster youth in our area. He first started Generation Fate, which helped fund the counseling needs of foster children. That project then led to the creation of Simple Heroes. The goal of this organization is to meet the daily needs of foster children in this area. They have Simple Wishes (shoes, clothes, school supplies, etc...) that can be met by Simple Heroes like you. Nick had shirts designed for the launch of the organization and I was very fortunate to be able to help photograph the campaign for him. Here are a few of the shots from our shoot this weekend. I want to thank all of our friends who gave their time to help us with this shoot. If you are interested in being a Simple Heroe for a foster youth, please check the website to find a Simple Wish you can fulfill. Simple Heroes
Also, Simple Heroes will be making their official launch of the site next week and are looking to receive support from our Community. If anyone has contacts with local press or publications (i.e. SacTown, SacMag, Bee, SNR, etc..) that may be interested in covering a community story, please contact Nick Cunningham at nick@generationfate.org. I hope as a community we can raise enough support and awareness to help Nick meet all the Simple Wishes of the children.
Thank you all - Carmen

P.S. - Sharing is caring...spread the word

Gray Family Highlights

I had the pleasure of shooting the Gray Family in my studio over the holiday. What a sweet family they are...and each of the girls are such dolls. I think little Aliyah stole the show though! She has such attitude for only being 1! Here are my faves from the shoot.

Fall Family Photos!

It's hard to believe - but Christmas is just around the corner. Fortunately, I have had the opportunity to photograph some amazing families just in time for the holidays. I am posting some of my favorites from recent sessions. If your sitting there thinking you wish you had scheduled your families' shoot - it's not too late - email me to schedule your appointment.

The Brodrozic Family shoot was much fun. We had amazing weather while at Ancil Hoffman Park and while setting up for this shoot I sat and watched wild turkeys play "tag" on the golf course while people played in the distance. It was actually quite amusing! Even more amusing were the little family antics in between the shots!



The Akins Family recently moved into a new home and received a Family Session as a gift from their Realtor, Parmis, of Parmis Properties. We went to the Rock Garden behind Fairytale Town and captured some great images of their family and their daughter. Unfortunately, I picked the busiest day in the year to do photos near Fairytale Town - who knew "Free Kids Day" would draw such a crowd! Aside from the 20 minute hunt for a parking spot...our session was fabulous!







This shot is one of my favorites from Kiana and Pete's session. They are just the cutest and sweetest kids too - which makes them even more adorable.



This last session I am a little partial to. This is actually my family! I have been blessed with an amazing mother and 2 adorable siblings. Well, sometimes they're adorable and then other times they are just not! And of course...don't forget the dogs...they might as well be kids with the pampering they receive.



Hope you enjoyed the photos! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday!

FashionSAC shoot for SacTown Mag

FashionSAC is back for it's December issue. Julie, Nicole and I had lots of fun shooting the layout for the December issue of SacTown Mag. And yes, we lit every single candle in the photo! Nicole was an absolute doll of a model...as always. Look for her in this month's ad for FashionSAC in Sacramento Magazine. Ladies...be sure to check out the FashionSAC website to win the dress from this shoot and other cute boutique offerings.

Kiana and Little Pete - too cute for words!!!!

I don't think I could have asked for cuter kids to photograph! For a couple years I have been wanting to photograph these 2 little ones and never really got around to doing it. I finally said..."let's put it on the calendar...that's the only way it'll happen." I am so glad we did because we got some great images today. Kiana and Little Pete were just the best little models and such great kids. And to top it all off...we celebrated our awesome session with dinner at La Fiesta! Yum!!

Trash the Dress in Dixon with Ed Pingol

I was able to attend a great lighting workshop this past Sunday with Ed Pingol and his wife, Monica. They shared their lighting and shooting techniques for weddings and brought a few of their past clients as models. We had a great time shooting around old downtown Dixon. Here are a few of my favorites from the shoot. If any couples out their are interested in getting back into their wedding gear and having fun in front of the camera...contact me.
Have a great day!