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imagesbyvalerie

📷 Kids, Animals & Those Who Love Them
Capturing connection, personality & today's priceless moments
👇🏼 Choose to Be You

There are some photographs that mean a little more

There are some photographs that mean a little more than others. 🤍🐾

I had the sweetest opportunity to see a repeat client opening her framed artwork—and I got a little emotional watching her take it all in.

These portraits are of her pups, some with her, and together they tell a story of the family she has loved through the years. One of those sweet faces is no longer with us, and her most recent session welcomed a new addition: a senior pup she adopted and brought into her family.

That’s the part of photography I never want to take for granted.

Our families change. Our kids grow. We add new four-legged family members. We say goodbye to some of the ones who were here before. And through it all, photographs hold onto the pieces of those seasons that we never want to forget.

I don’t often get to see my clients after they open and receive their artwork, so getting to witness this moment was such a gift.

And now I can’t wait to see these join the portraits from all of their past sessions on their new portrait wall. 🥹

This is why I love what I do.

Not just pretty pictures.

Your people. Your pets. Your memories. Your story.

And yes… I really, really love my clients. ❤️🐾

#SantaBarbaraPhotographer #SantaBarbaraPhotography #SantaBarbaraPets #SantaBarbaraDogs #DogMom PetPortraits PetPhotography FamilyPhotography FamilyPortraits PrintedPhotographs PortraitArt WallArt PhotographsThatMatter LifeInPhotographs DogsAreFamily SeniorDog RescueDog AdoptDontShop SantaBarbaraMoms ImagesByValerie

Motivation Monday ✨ Be the reason someone smiles

Motivation Monday ✨

Be the reason someone smiles today.

Not because you have everything figured out.
Not because your day is going perfectly.
And definitely not because you have extra time. 😂

Just because you noticed someone.

Send the text.
Give the compliment.
Hold the door.
Ask how she’s really doing.
Tell someone you’re proud of them.
Smile at the stranger in the grocery store.

We’re all carrying things other people can’t see. And sometimes the smallest moment of kindness can change the whole direction of someone’s day.

So today, let’s make a little more room for kindness.
A little more grace.
A little more “I see you.”

You never know whose day you might change. 💛

#MotivationMonday #BeTheReason #ChooseKindness #MomLife #WomenSupportingWomen KindnessMatters YouAreSeen

Some traditions don’t just last a lifetime—they sp

Some traditions don’t just last a lifetime—they span generations. ❤️

Opening Night of Santa Barbara Old Spanish Days Fiesta has been part of my life since I was a baby. As a descendant of some of Santa Barbara’s earliest families, this celebration has always felt like coming home.

Our family’s connection to Fiesta runs deep. One of my cousins had the honor of serving as Spirit of Fiesta, and today continues to give back as a member of the Old Spanish Days Board. Seeing that dedication to preserving our community’s traditions makes me so proud.

Tonight, I get to experience Fiesta through my daughter’s eyes as she and her friends sell confetti eggs that we spent the past year making from eggs laid by our backyard chickens. 🥚🎉

Watching the next generation laugh, celebrate, and create memories in a place that has meant so much to our family is something I never take for granted.

Fiesta reminds me that traditions aren’t just about looking back—they’re about preserving our history, celebrating our community, and passing these moments on to the next generation.

Here’s to another unforgettable Fiesta filled with music, dancing, laughter, and memories that will last a lifetime.

¡Viva la Fiesta! 🌺❤️

#VivaLaFiesta #OldSpanishDays #SantaBarbara #SantaBarbaraTraditions #Cascarones FamilyTraditions Community SantaBarbaraLife ImagesByValerie

This quote by Toni Morrison stopped me today. How

This quote by Toni Morrison stopped me today.

How often do we let the world define who we are, what we’re capable of or what our story means?

This week, I’m choosing to remember: we get to define our own legacy.

What word are you choosing for yourself this week?

#MotivationMonday #Legacy #PortraitPhotography #FamilyStory #MeaningfulMonday

It’s Friday, and I’m spending the next few days we

It’s Friday, and I’m spending the next few days wearing one of my other hats, Certified Athletic Trainer, covering girls lacrosse camps through the weekend.

And today, I found myself so inspired watching these athletes.

Their strength.
Their confidence.
Their focus.
Their willingness to learn, work, push, grow and keep showing up for themselves.

There is something powerful about watching young women step into what they are capable of, not because someone handed it to them, but because they are building it, one skill, one practice and one brave moment at a time.

And honestly, that is one of the things I love most, whether I’m on the field or behind the camera.

I love encouraging women to see themselves clearly.
To recognize their strength.
To own their beauty.
To stand in the woman they are becoming, the woman they already are and the woman their friends and family already see.

That’s why I’m so excited for my upcoming Parachute Gown Sessions.

I’m looking for 3 women who are ready to experience something bold, beautiful and empowering.

This is for the woman who is ready to see herself as strong.
As worthy.
As accomplished.
As powerful.
As soft and fierce.
As the woman she has worked so hard to become.

Maybe you need to be reminded of your strength.
Maybe you’re celebrating a new chapter.
Maybe you’re ready to finally see yourself the way the people who love you already do.

Let’s do this.

I have space for 3 women for these upcoming Parachute Gown Sessions. If this is speaking to you, send me a message. I would love to create something unforgettable with you.

#ParachuteGownSession #EmpoweredWomen #WomensPortraits #SantaBarbaraPhotographer #PortraitExperience WomenSupportingWomen StrengthAndBeauty ConfidenceSession CelebrateYourself YouArePowerful

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