d a n i e l l e

The sensory soap experience of my DREAMS. ✨🫧 @dojocare understood the assignment. The lather? Fluffy. The colors? Immaculate. The vibes? Pure inner-child joy with a splash of “Hook food fight scene” satisfaction. #howyoudojo

There were many signs that hinted our days with Maddox were limited, and I tried to slowly prepare myself early on for the impending feeling of loss and the gaping hole it would leave in my heart, along with the square footage of literal space he wouldn’t take up on our bed anymore. But it turns out no amount of preparing will make it suck any less to lose your first pet, especially when they very much felt like your first child. When I went full-time with my photography business 13 years ago, I was surprised to feel outrageously lonely and isolated in my new work-from-wherever role, and after two years in, I pleaded my case to David for why a dog would cure me. I showed him the most pathetic, mange-infested picture of baby Maddox on an adoption website, and he was miraculously all in “but only if we got that dog”. The un-romanticized version of this story is that after bringing Maddox home, we quickly realized he could not be left alone. Not for 30 minutes. Not for 10. Not even for five. So we crate trained him. And he chewed through the first one, and then five more after that. And once we couldn’t bear the destruction and self-harm that would occur in the crate, we tried gating off just one room, but he’d find a way to brute-force his way through it, then destroy the door frame in an attempt to escape, presumably to find me. It was these mass-destruction experiences that made me succumb to the fact that, very much against my will, I was just going to commit to bringing my dog everywhere. And that mind-shift (for better or worse) is how he went from “another companion in our house” to “my dog is my co-pilot.” [CONT. IN COMMENTS]

Our local Mommy and Me Valentines Dance made me cry. Growing up, my dad used to take me to these dances at our local community center and even though he was already such a present, loving dad, he went ALL OUT on these Daddy + Daughter events with/for me. I just remember that we never left the dance floor and he was not afraid of the limbo and we left as two sweaty pigs. I smiled out the window the whole way home, and then acted liked my legs didn’t work so he’d carry me in. My kids can’t possibly understand how special last night was for me, but one day, they’ll be the sweaty parent on the gym dance floor, watching themselves through their kids eyes. (Also: proud parent for who they are on a dance floor)

Every year, we like to make every parent’s worst nightmare for Valentine’s Day: SLIME!!! They’re so good at making it on their own now (with some light + anxious supervision), and I’m convinced our recipe is FOOLPROOF (and we’ve tried them all). Recipe (if you dare): *clear, non-toxic glue *fine glitter *heart shaped glitter *pigment powder *borax powder detergent *two mixing bowls + spoons Instructions: Fill two bowls with 1/2 cup of water each. Add 1/2 cup of the clear glue to one bowl. Mix well and then stir in the fine glitter, heart glitter, and a bit of the pigment powder. Add 1/2 teaspoon of Borax to the other bowl and mix together. Slowly stir the Borax mixture into the bowl with the glittered glue. It will start to get “goopy” immediately. Mix until all the liquid is dissolved (I doubled recipe for this project). Enjoy!

Every year around this time, I abandon my inbox and laptop altogether, and do the one thing I crave all year long and that drives my family absolutely NUTS: I craft my face off. Sometimes they turn into Christmas presents and sometimes they go directly in the garbage, but it’s always the screen detox I need and the best introverted time when I spend so much of the year being an extrovert. I got weird with some pie magnets and obsessed over the perfect presentation of them, hand embroidered my first sweatshirt for my mom (took me 1000 hours and I only stabbed myself 254 times), and zoned the eff out on some dried floral candles featuring my two new favorite mediums: wax metallic paint and a mini craft iron (so. Freaking. Satisfying. To. Use.) None of it has to be perfect or productive or even keepable, it just has to pull me out of my head and into my hands for a little while. I’ll be back to inbox-tending next week and with a blank+clear brain, and also scheming next year’s magnet theme. #diy #christmasdiy #craft #christmascraft

Always 1% battery life left at this time of the year with very little bandwidth to execute our own family photos, but @jessmiriamphoto and I have the absolute best arrangement where we trade family sessions and edit our own photos and even get to choose our own locations. EVERY year, the chosen location gets closer and closer to our physical homes because our mental stamina wont allow for any additional planning or brain power, so it was no surprise that at the very last minute, I told Jess to meet us behind our house because it was the best we could do with the day we were having. When I think about specific things I’m thankful beyond the health and sweetness of the people in my life, it’s honestly this open nature space behind our house. We walk this path bi-weekly, and collectively get our wiggles out as a family before we head back to routines and chores and the general disarray that is our life. We’re only three years into our life in El Dorado Hills, but this open nature space feels like it holds so many memories and always looks like Jurassic Park, and so far, zero snake (or Velociraptor) sightings. 📷: @jessmiriamphoto dress: @folk_saint

My favorite thing about being a wedding + lifestyle photographer is getting to be along for the ride from the beginning of a couple’s love story, and showing up for all the sweet and monumental milestones that happen along the way. It’s never lost on me how many times in someone’s life a client chooses me to document their highest highs, and I think that’s why I ache over their photos and love on their babies in the ways that I do. I can always count on @banvilleerin and @barrycrider to dive in (literally), and let me create freely whenever we collaborate on a session together, and the team vibe is always crazy-strong with them. They didn’t even second-guess my vision for this family session when I said we were going in the water or that I wanted to test out the semi-stable swing, and definitely not when I promised, “we’re going to get REALLY dirty.” There was not a single eye-bat or “but what about my dress?”, and their always-chill energy made this shoot match the exact vision I had put together on a mood board weeks prior. Special thanks to the sister of all sisters, @melisburgoon , for gifting her sister with this shoot, and trusting me endlessly time and time again, and for believing in what I do as much as I do. 💕 #lifestylephotographer #fineartphotography #rosevillefamilyphotographer #sacramentoweddingphotographer

Elana and Zach’s Point Reyes engagement session is why I don’t cancel/reschedule sessions when the forecast looks questionable. Unless there is an undeniable, “this will suck for everyone” type of torrential storm, I commit to the date we set because what clients might not realize is that we could have a unique opportunity to use the weather to our advantage. Storm clouds rolled in and out during our session with rays of soft light peeking through that I could place directly on them, and it made this barn location feel like a true destination. All three of us approached this session like an adventure: Elana and Zach flew in from LA, I drove from Sacramento, and it felt like an adult playdate with two friends who I have never met before. We just kept collectively freaking out about how wild the weather was, and how much fun we were having together, and I could have stayed there and photographed them being so blissfully in love for hours. (Real talk: I was still very much stressed out about the forecast during this entire drive) Cheers to my new BFFs, @elanawolpa and @zsmitty4 . Can’t wait to be the third wheel at your wedding next year! #engagement #engagementphotography #pointreyes #californiaengagementphotographer

I cannot keep up with even my own expectations of posting every wedding I shoot, but any wedding that I get to shoot at @triplesranchnapa , one of my very favorite venues, deserves a spot on the feed. From the second I arrived, Chantal and Sam treated me like family. Anyone who remotely knows them would all agree: they are true ‘salt of the earth’ humans who prioritize kindness and who make everyone around them feel seen and cared for. Without doing it on purpose, I know I deliver my best work when I feel a connection to my clients, and I felt this at every moment of this day. It was just pure love and good energy all day long from the friends and the family, and it felt effortless to capture the essence of their day. Planning: @chloealiseevents

As a total surprise to myself, I’m taking my mini sessions to LA this Fall! I’ll be in town for two special days of minis and would love to see you. Families, couples, pups, your new Raya crush- I am HERE (there?) for it. 📅 LA Mini Session Dates: ▪️ 11/8 & 11/9 – Griffith Park Details: Mini Sessions are $385 and include the following: • 30 minutes of coverage • 10 digital files via download link • Online gallery Additional info: • Payment due in full at booking • Perfect for family, maternity, or headshots • Cancellations are non-refundable ✨ Ways to Save: • Refer a new family and get $50 off your session! These go fast every year—grab your spot through the booking link in my profile. Can’t wait to see you all (and please help me plan my LA food tour). 💛

Summer 2025 recap: 36,385 pieces of fruit chopped, 46 types of fruit salad, library fines that could fund a small country, alarms permanently retired, 3 day old outfits, ‘leave by 10’ turning into ‘leave by 1,’ playdate paradoxes, K Pop Demon Hunters as our forever soundtrack, sibling tantrums, mom tantrums, and zero co-sleeping… until this summer. 10/10, would chaos again. ✌🏻 Best Summer ever + I am DONE.

Hi friends! It’s almost that magical time of year again: MINI SESSIONS! I’m so excited to open up my calendar and hopefully see your smiling faces (human or furry) in front of my lens again. This year, I’m offering four dates across three beautiful Bay Area and Sacramento locations. Here’s what I’ve got lined up: ▪️10/18 & 10/19: Fair Oaks (Sacramento county) ▪️10/25: Presidio forest, San Francisco ▪️10/26: Fort Point, San Francisco Details:  Mini Sessions are $385 and include the following:     •    30 Minutes Coverage     •    10 Digital Files Via Download Link     •    Online Gallery Additional Details:     •    Payment is due in full at time of booking     •    Can be used for family/maternity/headshots     •    Cancellations are non-refundable Ways to Save:     •    Get a new family to sign up and receive $50 off your session!  Don’t see a date that works? Shoot me a DM and I can *potentially* offer an additional date or two depending on availability. Booking links in profile. Can’t wait to to see/meet/hug all of you and talk like a caveman from the rapid fire-ness of these marathons. 💕 #bayareaminisessions #sfminisessions #presidio #fortpointsf #sacminisession #fairoaksminisessions #fallminisessions