meet valerie

 I am a 9th generation Santa Barbara resident, a wife and mother of a 10 year old daughter and love what I do! I specialize in maternity, children, family and newborn photography. After 20+ years in sports medicine, I realized I was missing the moments, the time and the details in my young family’s life and redirected my path to capture these moments not only for me but for others. I would say I am a portrait photographer, but what I am proud to be is the person that notices and captures the quirks, the personalities and the details that make someone in a family special to those close to them. Although you might want a photo of everyone looking, the best moments come when you are relaxed and are interacting and having fun with each other.  That is the window into someone’s personality and is the image that means the most to those around them. When the families I photograph come back to see their images, the comment that I hear most and is what makes my job worth everything is “I can’t believe you caught that look!!” “That is him!” I believe that photography is important because I am capturing the everyday moments that in our hectic lives we often overlook, not just saving photography for the momentous events that speckle a lifetime.  Creating memories of the details of those around us that make our days joyous and special. When you look back at the images I captured for you, I want you to say “Remember when she use to be that shy” or “Remember when he use to wear different bright colored socks” “Wow! I haven’t seen that stuffed animal in years!” These quirks make a family session unique, having parents present in their their session no matter how “put together” they feel that day is a gift to their children when they are able to sit and hold their family album and be grateful their parents were in the image- with that smile that made them feel safe or that sparkle in the eye that they were planning something silly to make them laugh. I am grateful to all the families that come to me, let me play with them and bring out their personalities. When you come to me, I want you remembering the fun experience you had, the memories you made and excited to see what I captured for you. It is a gift that you let me see who you are and save these moments forever.