Teri Genovese Photography Blog » Los Angeles Baby, Child, and Family Photographer

Have you seen Where the Wild Things Are? I loved it. I saw it about a month ago and it keeps coming back to my mind. I loved the emotion, the symbolism, the imagery, and most of all, I loved when the wild things would jump into their pile and fall asleep. It is such an endearing story.

These adorable sisters recently moved here from Michigan, so their mom wanted a very stylized LA urban session, as well as some beach scenes for their holiday photographs. Ironically, the day after I saw the movie (and fell in love), I went location scouting for this shoot and stumbled upon the most perfect mural for an urban kids shoot. I was so inspired by it all, I created a unique “Wild Things” inspired tri-fold holiday card for them that I can’t wait to see in print. Here’s some of my personal favorites from our shoot:

This little one makes me smile ear to ear everytime i see her. This first image is from our photo session last year when she was just 6 1/2 months old. I was so happy to see miss della still had this incredible face scrunching giggle one year later. How adorable is she? I must add, she also happens to have the nicest parents ever!

then:

now:

Her mom wanted to capture one of her newest skills and it was just too cute for words:

i’ve met and photographed so many unique families lately and this one was no exception. in fact, i’ve wanted to meet this family since they first emailed me in the fall of 2007! i was so excited when they wrote again a few weeks ago to see about documenting this special time. not only are they expecting a little boy, but they are also in the process of adopting their second daughter from China, which i think is so wonderful. even though we didn’t get a typical sunny california beach day, the light was soft and still so beautiful in its own way. i had such a great time with this little one for sure. at 3, she has such a big girl voice and made me smile the whole time through.

i can’t wait to meet the little one who is due the first week of July! thanks again for braving the unusually chilly ocean air; it was worth it for sure!

this is a very special family that i really miss seeing on a regular basis.  we use to see each other a few times a week at santa monica gymnastics, where i use to teach.  you can catch a glimpse of miss A.’s reminiscences of the gym in one of the photos below. once you’re a gymnast, it’s so hard to stop.  i can completely relate, and my heart melted when i caught her doing an L hold on the edge of the table before she hopped off.  she is also an awesome artist! i was so impressed with her work and so happy to bring home a handful of her drawings!  

and then there’s little miss N. pictured below who just turned the big ONE! i don’t have any words for this amount of cuteness..   

and this is miss C..  the sweetest little girl you could ever meet. she was born with Cornelia de Lange Syndrome and is such an inspiration.  i love these quiet moments..

last sunday was a very special day for this little girl and i was so happy that i was asked to be a part of it! i met this great kid about 2 1/2 years ago when i was her gymnastics teacher. it’s always hard to move on from seeing the same kids week after week, so it’s wonderful when photography allows me to stay in touch with people i miss.

what i know for sure is that she was so very proud and just loved being in the spotlight for the day! here’s a few of my favorite photographs taken after the service..

i loved meeting this family.. so much. it’s people like them who make my work so enjoyable and carefree, it’s ridiculous! i was greeted at the door by 2 big brothers wearing the biggest grins i have ever seen. i can’t say we needed any time to “warm up,” and i can hardly explain how much love exploded from these boys for their little 1 year old sister. this family is truly unique and so in love with their miracle baby. the sense of peace and calm i felt in their presence and in their home was profound. i feel so very grateful to have the opportunity to record such special every day moments, that in the big scheme of things, mean everything in the world.