San Francisco Photographer – Bay Area Portrait Photography

Today is my baby boy’s birthday.  Sweet little Nico.  This past first year (and then some) has been a wild ride with a tricky pregnancy (gestational diabetes, pre-term labor and bed-rest the last trimester), and a dramatic birth (birth story here) but I feel more alive than ever.  I’m so thankful for the opportunity to be a mother, have a thriving family and be a photographer.  I feel like I’m at a place where my family experiences inform my photography and my photography informs the way I want to live and live in my family.  I’m growing and learning everyday.  I hasn’t all been sunshine and kisses but it has been deep, fulfilling, trying and filled with gratitude.

Below is a photo I took of my little kiddos about to blow out  the candle of Nico’s 1st birthday cake.  Well, Gemma did the blowing, Nico did the smiling.  We had great hopes for this homemade cake but it ended up being a hilariously blobby half-baked one that would put any quarter-decent cook or baker to shame.  But you know what?  We made the best of it.  And our perfectly imperfect cake was still loved on, blown on, photographed and enjoyed. For me it was a super great analogy of this past year and some.  I had so many plans & hopes for my pregnancy and birth and it just didn’t turn out that way.  But we are still here, we are still laughing, still learning, still stumbling, still growing and still loving our perfectly imperfect life.   And I wish for you all the same.  Happy birthday my sweet baby Nico!

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Now for something totally different!

I usually don’t do the studio style portraits.  I prefer the lifestyle outdoors portrait sessions where we have lots of space and freedom to go where ever we want.  But this holiday season I found myself with a big need for a family portrait and no one to take it.  It was important to me because I had made a commitment this year (and from here on out) to document my little family more with ME in the photographs.

So I decided to take on the challenge myself.  Since I do not like the cold and it is hard to wrangle my children I decided to do it indoors. And then I thought, “I bet other families are in the same boat and need a last-minute photo too!”  And I knew my set-up would end up being super neat and I wanted to share.  And THEN I thought, “How about if I donate my time and ask folks to donate to my favorite musical non-profit, Living Jazz?”  It would be a WIN-WIN!  From there all sorts of crazy last-minute preparations and text messages/fb messages happened.  And folks, it HAPPENED!

A HUGE thank you to my friends Manoj Patel and Chelsy Sutton for helping me make this happen.  And another HUGE thank you goes to my loving and patient husband who let me turn the house inside out on his day off without his NFL.

Below are some of my favorites:  First up, our wonderful Gemma!  I love her so!

Am I a horrible mama?  This photo cracks me us so.  Nico is usually really really happy but he was not having it during portrait time.

And finally, our family holiday photo!  Whew!  🙂

I’m doing it again this Sunday December 16th in Fremont.  Please private message me if you are interested in signing up for a slot.

10 minute shoot per family.

$40 per image selected – you get a high resolution file, a low resolution file, and an 5×7 print.  Cash or checks made out to LIVING JAZZ.

1pm -5pm.  Fun is unlimited but space is not!

 CONTACT ROSAURA to shoot your wedding FIND ROSAURA on Facebook FOLLOW ROSAURA on Twitter!

Hello everyone!

Hope you are enjoying your summer so far!  🙂

I’ll be out of the studio from June 22 – July 4th for my yearly musical adventure to Jazz Camp West and then recuperating from it.  LOL!   I will return all communications starting July 5th.

I know now angels walk the earth.  I know because 3 months ago when my little family expanded from 3 to 4 in a very dramatic fashion, these angels sprung into action.  It has taken me a while to write about it because it was such a big deal I couldn’t really get my head around it – especially being in survival mode with our new little baby boy, Nico.  Things have settled down quite a bit – my new-mommy haze has cleared enough and I’m able to talk about it without totally crying my eyes out.  I will always get emotional talking or thinking about it just as I am writing this, but at least I can face it better now.

The morning of week 38, my water broke.  🙂  I thought “Here we go!” and posted a quick message out to FB as my hubby was still sleeping.  Literally just as I told him the news he said “I need you to call 911” _for him_.  Scott has Crohn’s Disease and something bad, really bad was happening.  We gave each other a look and nervous smile like “Can this really be happening to us NOW?  AT. THE. SAME. TIME?”   I took a deep breath and called 911.  There was little time to think.

Enter angel #1.  My friend Jennifer.  
She had been by the house not even an hour before to pick up Gemma for a play date to give me and Scott a break – we were already exhausted from a 3 am 911 call for Scott the night before.  I called her back.  Her play date Sunday turned into “Can you help me birth my baby?”  She didn’t hesitate and said she’d be right over to pick me up and take me to the hospital.

I ran around gathering things for Scott and next thing you know the Fremont First Response team was at the door.  Literally there in less than 5 minutes.  WOW.  As you can imagine, I was quite a mess…exhausted, shocked, a million questions in my head, worried about my husband and leaking baby fluid.  They were so great.  They came in and took care of Scott and calmed me down.  It took every ounce of mental energy to not totally lose it when they rolled him away.  Scott kept saying “I’m sorry” and I kept on saying “It’s ok, I’ll be fine.  I’ve done this before.”  He left.  Gulp.  The First Response Team stayed with me in our living room chatting, joking and keeping me company while I waited for Jennifer.  They joked me through my first contractions.  More angels.

Things start getting really fuzzy at this point.  I remember trying to act like everything was ok and normal.  It clearly wasn’t.  I didn’t call all the folks I should have called, not my family, not my best friend, not my photographer.  I feel so silly but I didn’t want them to worry about me and I didn’t want them to doubly worry about what was happening to Scott.  I think I was in denial about how huge this all was for me.  This was the time I needed them the most but I knew if I talked to them that I would totally and utterly lose it.  I think I thought I had to stay strong for the baby.  And for Scott.  I wish I would have called but I reverted to my children-of-alcholism isolation…  “I have to do this alone.  I don’t want to bother people.  I don’t want to ask for help.  I don’t want to be disappointed.”

Enter angel #2.  My best friend Max.  I don’t know how she found out.  Did Jennifer call her?  Did Jennifer pick up my phone when she saw her calling?  I retrospect I’m glad I took 20 seconds to post on FB about my water breaking, Max must have seen it and called.  ***UPDATE:  She just told me that she called because she wanted to tell me that a room full of parents and her had just prayed for me and Nico – she knew I would appreciate that.  Wow!  God works in amazing ways.  I’m so grateful for those prayers and grateful she called.  Apparently I picked up the phone as we were on the Dumbarton bridge on the way to the hospital.  I don’t even remember that happening but I’m thankful to God that it did. *** Well folks, this is the time when you understand true friendship, true angels.  When she heard what was happening, without me asking or knowing, she quickly arranged for her husband to take care of her 2 young kids and got on a flight from OC to be with me and help.  When Jennifer told me Max was on her way, I lost it.  It was what I wanted but I couldn’t somehow ask for it.  Not only that, she called her sister Marisa, one of our closest friends as well, to drive down from SF to be with Scott and keep him company.  Angel #3. This made me totally lose it too.  I felt like I didn’t have to pretend I was strong, Scott and I were being taken care of by our 3 heart-of-gold angels.  I felt totally supported and loved and ready to have Nico.  I could breath.

The birth happened really quickly.  We got to the hospital and 3 hours later he was born.  100% natural.  The good news about a short labor is that it is exactly that, short.  The bad news about it is that for me the contractions were coming so quickly near the end that I didn’t get a break.  It was like being pummeled by waves on the beach, you can barely breath.  Jennifer was there rubbing my back, counting the contractions down with me and calming me with her soft sweet voice.  I’m so incredibly grateful for her kindness, open heart and soft kiss on my forehead when I needed it the most.  I gave birth to Nico on my knees in a prayer position.  They caught him and handed him to me between my legs like a football but with an umbilical cord still attached.  I remember smiling through my happy tears.  I got to cut the umbilical cord.  He was 7 lbs, 4 oz of slimy crying perfection.

We had 10 minutes of bliss together before it all went crazy.

My placenta came out but somehow my body thought it was still in there.  I would not stop bleeding.  It was pretty incredible and horrible to see all the blood gush out of me.  We are talking bad b-movie kinds of gushing.   Quickly my doctor, the amazing Gary Hoff, realized I was having a major hemorrhage.   And just like that, they took Nico away and my room was filled with nurses and other doctors.  On one side I had a nurse trying to put in an IV (I hadn’t had one for the birth as I wanted to be 100% natural and mobile).  On the other side I had the anesthesiologist talking to me.  It was all a blur.  I needed an emergency operation to stop he bleeding.  At that point I had lost over 1/3 of my blood and was still losing it quickly.

The folks at Redwood City Sequoia Hospital were amazing.  I’m grateful for their excellent care and attention to me and Nico.  More angels.  Funny note:  right before I went into surgery, or was it when I was waking up from it, is when Max arrived.  I remember because I heard a nurse day, “Her lesbian partner just arrived.”  I know my eyes were closed but I cracked up inside.  I had only women with me so the nurses just assumed…  🙂

The bleeding stopped but I was still weak.  They didn’t let me get out of bed for fear that I would faint.  I had to wear these compression boots on my legs to help prevent blood clots.  Talk about being uncomfortable.  Ugh.  At the same time, at Washington Hospital in Fremont, Scott was going through his own trauma and he ended up needing a blood transfusion.  He didn’t get to meet Nico until the 3rd day.  It is so crazy for me to think about both me and Scott hemorrhaging at the same time in different hospitals in different cities.  I do not take life for granted and am grateful to God and everyone who helped us.  When I think that in one day little Nico and Gemma could have been orphans, my heart sinks.  Having this experience has made me even more grateful for everything and everyone I have in my life.  I feel more alive than ever and am so grateful to my little family.

Over that last 3 months we’ve had so many amazing angels help us get through and we are so grateful and indebted to them all.

Once a year wedding and portrait photographers from all over the world descend upon Las Vegas for the biggest industry convention of the year.  Last year WPPI attracted over 16,000 participants and this year it is expected to be even bigger.

Well, tonight is opening night of WPPI with Photographer’s Ignite opening the show.  Last year I had the great privilege and honor to be chosen to be one of the 15 speakers at Photographer’s Ignite 2011.

What is Photographer’s Ignite?  15 speakers.  Any topic.  5 minutes each.   20 slides each.  Each slide displayed for exactly 15 seconds and advanced automatically.  At the end of the 5 minutes, no matter what, the presentation is over.  It is a wild and fun exercise in being informative, entertaining and under pressure all in front of a jam-packed room full of industry hotshots and colleagues cheering you on.

The pressure and nerves before going on stage for me were crazy.  Ok, I’ll admit it, the morning of the show, I cried, felt nauseous and wondered why I had even thought I could do something like this.  But the programs were printed and I had to just go for it.  And I’m super glad I did.  It was FUN!  I finished with my slides and didn’t fall on my face.

Right now I’m wishing all the Ignite speakers the best of luck as they get on stage. I’m excited for you, especially my friend Kirsten Lewis whom I convinced to try out for it last year and we both ended up presenting.  Rock the house, Kirsten!  For those interested, here’s my presentation from last year:

Hello all my awesome friends & family!  It has been way too long since I blogged and reached out to you guys so before January is over, I thought I’d post something.

This past year has been an incredible journey.  I’ve meet and photographed so many amazing brides & grooms, families and individuals  and have been so grateful for each one of those experiences.  And with each time I go out and shoot I learn something about my subject, myself and human nature.  Photography is incredible that way!  I’ve learned a lot and have learned I have so much more to learn – I’m excited of what more is to come!

I feel so grateful for it all:  the hard work, the stress, the joy when my clients see their photos, the little sleep, the new friends I’ve made… everything.  And this new year, just one month in, has already started off rocking my world.

The first thing I want to share with you all is my time in Los Angeles with the incredible Jerry Ghionis.

Not only did I learn so much about photography, business and marketing but I made some incredible life-long friends from that week.  There is just so much to say about my experience there it really deserves a whole post for itself, well, more like 10.  But for now I’ll say that if anyone is at all looking to make photography into a business you NEED to go see Jerry Ghionis.  Not only is he incredible on all levels but all the money raised at his workshops goes toward building an orphanage in Cambodia under his Soul Society non-profit.  This guy is the real deal with a real big open heart!  Cannot say enough great things about Jerry, Melissa (his amazing wonderful awesome gorgeous talented partner and new wife) and all the amazing new friends.  Love you guys!

So here’s my first big news.  I’ll be changing the name of my business very soon.  Inspired by Jerry and many conversations, I’ll be changing my business name to something that is more user-friendly and easy to spell and say.  Ironically, when people say it with the new spelling they end up saying my real name the correct way.  Any guesses? So you might start seeing new spelling for my name soon.  I’m also working with a designer to do my re-branding.  So excited!

Next big news!  I have the incredible honor to have been chosen to speak at WPPI’s Photographers Ignite.  WPPI is the biggest wedding and portrait photography convention held annual in Las Vegas.  Last year over 12,000 photographer attended. Gulp!

Yes, I’ll be speaking in front a mountain full of my peers and mentors.  Excited, nervous, humbled and a little freaking out.  LOL!  Riding high from Jerry’s workshop, I decided on a whim to submit a proposal.  I actually didn’t think I’d get it, yes, I hoped for it but that is something different.  Amongst all the proposals they picked 15 people and I am one of them!  Each of us will speak for 5 minutes.  Exactly 5 minutes.  20 slides, 15 seconds a slide, automatically changing.  So it will be a huge challenge for me and I’ll need to practice, practice, practice,but I’m looking forward to it.  My topic “How to sing like Jerry Ghionis” (yes!  he’s a fabulous singer as well) – Wish me luck!

Another awesome bit of good news is that I was recently informed that I won Wedding Wire‘s Bride’s Choice Awards for 2011.  That means that my studio is ranked in the top 5% of wedding photographers in the nation.  Wow!  I’m excited and honored.  Thank you to my awesome couples for allowing me to capture your awesome memories on your special day.  So grateful!  Gracias!

And if 2011 wasn’t already awesome enough, I’m just about to embark on a whole new amazing journey with the badass photojournalists of Foundation Workshop the people who run Fearless Photographers.  I literally have been waiting for this workshop the entire year.  It sells out every year and I signed up right away when registration opened.  Now I can’t believe it is time to go!  Starting 2 days from now, I’ll be spending a week with pulitzer prize winning photojournalists whose goal is to make wedding photographers better story tellers.  How awesome is that? It will be an intense week of learning, critiques, shooting, no-sleeping, more critiques and growing.  I expect to be broken down and rebuilt stronger, wiser and more creative.  After recovering, I’m excited to use all my new -found knowledge with my clients this year.  Yeah! Can’t wait!

Thank you all for your keeping tabs on me, leaving comments, and following my photography happenings.  I really love and need the support.  Looking forward to a super incredible (bet you thought I was gonna say ‘awesome’) 2011.  Love, Light and many Blessings to you all!

 CONTACT ROSAURA to shoot your wedding FIND ROSAURA on Facebook FOLLOW ROSAURA on Twitter!