First we had storytime with mom to set the mood.

The little one, got a little upset so I got to spend extra time with her big brother to create this lovely little boy meets a dragon photographic illustration below. Especially since we were photographing on location next to a forest, we found a lovely mossy tree to take a few more images off the trail.

Photographing kids on-location is the best way to capture a true and authentic fairytale moment. No fake trees or pretend logs or mushroom, this was living moss and sunlight filtering through growing trees complete with some mud. 

Finally, the birthday girl began to smile again and I was able to capture this lovely portrait of her, butterflies added in later per request. 

A final image created of the two siblings together sitting on a bench that we found in the park. 

  Gina (the Mom) photographed, decided to design & sew her own dresses for their photoshoot. The mom is wearing the purple dress by HolyClothing, which matches the enchanted fairies theme perfectly. 

They sat on the roots of a giant redwood tree out in the forest at one of my favorite parks.  

We got the group photograph, as well as a bunch of single photographs of her children.

The girls amused themselves by reading from one of my fairytale storybooks, which makes for a wonderful photo prop. Its always fun for me to add magical sparkles, as though enchantment is coming out of the storybook making it a magical book to read... 

The littlest girl got to hold my Sparkle Diamond prop, which is a large glass diamond shaped object, essentially a paperweight. 

Of course we had to play, PET THE INVISIBLE UNICORN games so I could get the perfect pose to drop in a digital artist photoshopped Unicorn to make the perfect magical scene filled with whimsy. 

Iredescent wings completed the outfits to make the little girls feel magical, enchanted as though they were in a true authemtic fairytale!

With all these lovely photographs, for a Mom, Sister sibling memory, a Golden Fairytale Album (which is a small book) was created as a way to enjoy these photographs. Each little girl got one to keep in her bedroom so they will have this memory forever of the time they dressed up as Faeries with their mom in the forest and pranced around under the trees. 

We were at a really unique location which lent itself perfectly to artwork added in later as well!

This one, there was a request from Mom to add in mystical full moon Fairy artwork...   You can see how I took the daylight image and with some digital artistry editing was able to complete the artwork on the left! 

This location had lots of beautiful moss covered stone staircases! 

Standing on the stone staircase with flowers.... (above)

This location has a stone wall with a real window that you can sit in! You just dont get this level of make-believe in a Studio. We were able to pretend she was in a lost castle far away in a magical place (all a short hike away from the parking lot!) 

This location is one of my absolute favorite spots for Fairytale Sessions because the real stone from an old property that is now a state park really lends itself to mysterious and fantasy magic styled photography shoots. 

Now this set of photographs on this Mossy wall were very mysterious, but when I started editing to create a magical full moon scenic background it combined perfectly with the real mossy wall I had used to photograph this little girl. 

Here is the finished full moon enchanted fairy artwork created from the Above Photograph.... 

I made a few matching full moon magical images to go with this series... I love this image because it shows mom helping her daughter to climb and capture such a tender look between them. 

Creating enchanted fairy images which appear as though you are in a moonlit fairytale dream is quite fun to do as an artist and gives each client an original piece of artwork unique to their photo session and location.

  Using on-location lighting which lets me explore so many fun places off the beaten path to capture the most unique images, which are different than studio images. Its much more fun for children to experience a fairytale photo session out in the woods at a unique spot because they can believe and experience fantasy play in a much deeper sense and also create fond memories of playing make-believe with their parents or siblings. 

Book your own fairytale Session on the west coast, either in Aptos, California near Monterey Bay, Mermaids in Lake Tahoe or near Seattle up by Puget Sound, near Bremerton, Gig Harbor, Tacoma or further north near Edmonds or Mercer Island.  Just fill out one of the forms on my fairytale contact page!  I will also be doing Fairytale Portraits the summer of 2022 near Roanoke, VA 24020 to bring Roanoke Fairies into reality on the east coast. 

At one point they were dancing around in a circle together... 

Than we played, who can see the INVISIBLE Unicorn games, which meant the Unicorn could be photoshopped into the image later.... 

This game can sometimes involve Mom making funny unicorn Noises to elicit laughter....

We grabbed some sister poses together... 

We did have to trade Fairy Wings for individual photographs of each sister as a Fairy too. 

This particular Session was photographed in the Forest of Nisene Marks, in Aptos, California near Monterey Bay.  We had redwoods trees and lots of oaks and a pretty creek to walk around on this sunlit morning.

So much fun! 

This mermaid is wearing a Tail designed by Mertailor in Caribbean Blue, the top was handmade by a friend of a friend with real seashells for this Mermaid.

Photographing at the beach rather than a studio is so much more authentic feeling, except for the sand that can sometimes get on my on-location lighting tripod and the fact I sometimes get soaked and so does the Mermaid photo model. 

This Mermaid Photo below had some Mermaid Artwork so it looked like she had part of the tail underwater. Shooting at a beach location is really enjoyable, however it really still lends itself to adding in photographic artwork enhancements for the full dreamy effect.

and of course, the best part of Mermaid Photography is that I can also create fun artwork from the Session with enhanced digital painting techniques. I'm really interested in catching my shot with perfect lighting in an authentic location and the best camera equipment, but, honestly I was a visual artist BEFORE I ever got so deep into photography & learned how to do digital painting and retouching within Photoshop a very long time ago. I loved editing and digital painting so much that I actually earned 2 degrees in Digital Arts New Media / Multimedia & in Visual Design. 

Here is an image from the above Mermaid Photoshoot with some of my added in, limited edition Realm of Neptune Artwork.   (Now I don't sell these backgrounds anywhere or to any other photographers, so you are guaranteed an original and personalized edition of this Mermaid Artwork complete with your photograph from my Studio . 

so many memories to capture for this growing young family, with a portrait session it was all captured by me, the photographer...

We waited for the sunset hour, I used an off-camera flash (on-location lighting) to make these faces light up yet still capture the background lighting for a light and fun portrait.

Classic Family Photo Sessions are available in 2021, 2022  Washington, Puget Sound area, Gig Harbor & Tacoma. I also photograph sessions for families near Monterey Bay, in Aptos where I lived for many years.  Get in touch today so we can plan your session & we can set a date to document your family memories! 

Standing on the edges of a local river with a small waterfall made for a serene and peaceful location to have a family photo session. 

Now Offering Classic Family Photo Sessions in Gig Harbor, Washington as well as in Aptos, California , the South Puget Sound Area of Washington and parts of Northern California near Monterey Bay. - Send me a message for info on when I am shooting in these locations so that you can book your Sessions Today. 

Decided to edit a fairytale creature such as a fox into this adorable image of the little girl. 

When photographing really small children, I always love to give them little props to play with such as colorful storybooks.... 

I love photographing children while they are tree climbing! So much fun for the kids and makes for some interesting angles. 

We tried some images up in a tree!  (don't worry dad was holding them from behind & was photoshopped out of the image) - See below.. 

I hope when the little girl and her brother grow up that they will treasure this memory of them from when they were so little!  Kids grow up so quickly, I'm thankful I had a bunch of photographs  taken of my own children, before mine grew to big!!

This image was photographed on-location near the ruins of this unusual stone wall in the mountains above Watsonville on Mount Madonna. The artwork to edit in the full moon was added in to create the final image. 

This image below is one of my favorite images of a mother & her child. they were trying to climb this wall that was at the location so it really made for a lovely metaphor related to motherhood, where you help your child climb and learn in life. My favorite pose along with the blue tones to create the finished artwork with the moon shining in the background. 

(below) This particular image, the girl climbed up into a tree for our photo session. It was quite natural to later add in the moon for Photoshop Artwork and then collage in the extra butterflies and sparkles for the final composition. 

Another magical image created to show the bond between a big sister and a new baby. This image always evokes the sibling bond for me, combined with the costuming and artwork to create a lovely memory for these sisters throughout their lives. 

This image (below) was photographed in a redwood grove, though it was late afternoon. The artwork was added in later to create the moon and night time feeling along with enchanted butterflies to give it a magical feeling. 
erika_johnson_Emily-2015B-Edit

Another sister fairy portrait for memories! (below) 

Due to COVID, I literally had to set up my backdrop in a PARKING LOT with my outdoor on-location light. Each gymnast had to wear a mask and remove it just prior to their pictures. I used my favorite light for location work, a GODOX with a beauty dish. I was able to capture them jumping, leaping and then assemble all of the portrait together for a lovely team memory. 2020 was quite a year, which is why I am just now, getting on to posting this project onto the blog. 

Here is how it started, this is a behind the scenes shot of my set-up. 

Here is the finished image of the same gymnast.

Here's a few other shots of these amazing gymnasts from the CRUZ scGym, Santa Cruz Gymnastics team. (This is the Excel team photographs in the black leos)

Here is the composite for the Excel Team Photograph that was taken during 2020 to give the girls a memory!

Now there are several Excel Teams... Here are the other ones of these talented gymnastic girls!

Then there are the JO gymanstics team photographs, also taken ONE AT A TIME and then all the images put together!! Its a good thing I adore photographing leaps, jumps and fun gymnastics dance style poses with high speed flash to freeze the jumping motions. 

Now I didn't do alot of Sessions during COVID but I am super happy that I was able to capture these gymnasts because it was a quite a year in California, with wildfires & a pandemic happening in the background of life!

Here's a fun photo of life pre-covid when I got to capture the gymnastics team on the beach at sunset..... (when noone was worried about masks or social distancing for group photographs!) 

and we could be outside, free as a bird! 

Team photo from 2019 (pre-covid) 

so fun!! 

Can't wait to photograph more gymanstic team portraits in the future when things are  "back to normal"! 

We photographed these outside in the woods in Washington state, near a place called Sammamish. Photographs in the trees make for a natural background with some moody colors to fit the time of year. The little one wanted to hold her pet rabbit stuffie, which is always recommended in a photo session in order to get natural expressions and for a child to feel comfortable. 

I just loved the gowns by Joy Folie. I keep collecting them for my client closet / studio wardrobe. Best dreses for a classic family photo session to get heirloom results are to use timeless dresses with simple beauty. 

Of course, the dog ran out to be a part of the Photo Session, making for a cute memory! 

Here is some of the winter magic. I should say, this was quite cold to photograph! 

I should point out that these images were not Photoshopped, beyond basic lighting/exposure adjustments and that all the snow you see in these photographs is real!  (I love to Photoshop, but its quite fun to have the actual scene in real life be full of actual snow instead of having to use faux or a backdrop like I have done in the past for Winter Portraits!) 

This set of images was created when the local ballet, the International Academy of Dance decided to put on a show with Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz as the theme.

I decided to photograph the ballerina over a simple white backdrop so that it would be simple to complete the artwork around the dancer.  The magic was done in Photoshop later. The ballerina was photographed with a real dog.

These are the original photographs, a very simple setup with a portable white backdrop and backdrop stand. I used one light, a simple Yongnuo 685 Speedlight on a light stand, about 45 degrees off camera (OCF), with a fast shutter to catch the movement of her dress.

  Mermaid Ginger is wearing a tail created by The Mertailor. 

A mermaid who can hike with her land legs!

Anna (from FirePixie entertainment) pulled together this outfit to become little red. My littlest daughter loved it so much, she put together her own little red riding hood outfit as well... 

Sharing a few of my favorites, will add more photos in a bit!

Blond mermaids on the sand..

Mama mermaids with their little ones, holding a seashell during our Mermaid Photo Shoot. a little wet from the chilly Pacific Ocean for this photograph.. 

Smiling baby mermiads who were content with just sitting on the sand in her baby mermaid tail, made by The Mertailor... 

Mama Mermaid looking beautiful in a Plumeria tail by FinFolk Productions. I cant wait until I can get some more Finfolk productions Mermaid Tails in front of my lens,

Here is Mama and baby mermaid posing for their photograph on the rocks in Capitola, a little bit of mermaid magic coloring artwork happening on this image below.  The underwater view where you can see the fishes swimming is part of the artwork created from a Mermaid Photo Session. 

This mermaid was willing to get completely soaked by the ocean, as the sunset was sparkling gorgeous pink...

The moon shining in the sky as she sat on a rock. The mysterious moon and Mermaid Artwork go hand in hand. I love it when the photo sessions allow for the addition of Mermaid Artwork to enhance an image. Having been an artist my entire life, my photographs are rarely straight off the camera. I usually take some time to enhance, paint and draw on top of my photographs until I reach the completed artistic result... 

I always envision that Mermaids can make magic and sparkles appear from their enchanted abilities.. This artwork below has some sparkle, enchanted, mermaid magic created with the assistance of Photoshop on top of my original Mermaid Photograph. 

If you had a Shell-Phone into the deep sea, who would you call? My father was a deep sea diver, so if I had a Magic Mermaid Phone to the deep sea on the other side, it would likely be calling him.... 

Mermaid Eyes are filled with dreams...  This image, make-up artist Sarah Donovan had a moment of creativity making the most expressive mermaid eyes.. Below is photography, without so much post-production artwork, more simple in composition. 

Mama Mermaid with her little mermaids lay on the sand for their photo session. Younger Mermaids rarely lay in the waves. 

Last Spring I was asked by Agape Ballet to create an image for their upcoming Ballet Production of Sleeping Beauty. Always one to love anything to do with fairytales I began to gather ideas. Schedules were very tight with the ballerinas, and also my own schedule was leaving few openings, so we were quite dismayed to discover RAIN in the forecast the day the shoot was planned. Since scheduling was so challenging we decided to go ahead with it anyways. We used plastic, ballet tutu dress bags for the dancer to lay on the grass and I photographed in between little rainstorms, in my boots carefully stepping around piles of mud to get the perfect shot. 

We had Corrinne lay in grass (which was wet) though it was covered with the clear plastic dress bags so that would later look like reflected dew drops..

We picked fresh flowers from a few locations. I live in a forest, so I clipped a bunch of pretty yellow flowers from an overflowing tree in my yard, then I grabbed fresh cut ivy which was also overflowing near my house in the Forest of Nisene Marks. The rest of the flowers, were actually silk flowers mixed in along with the fresh ones. Though I hope to re-create another Sleeping Beauty Bridal Shoot with fresh flowers in the near future. The silk ones seemed to work having had less than 2 weeks to plan for the shoot due to time constraints. 

She lay in the grass, feeling rather cold I imagine as the air was quite moist.  We were worried that mud from the rain would get on her beautiful tutu and pointe shoes. 

Finding the pose to make it appear you are totally sleeping and dreaming in an enchanted slumber is quite challenging when you are awake and its slightly misty and cold, so we changed positions quite a few times. This meant all the vines, leaves, and flowers had to be moved, while keeping the plastic liner undeneath her from filling with water and getting her soaked... 

When editing, I decided an enchanted reflection pond was truly what we needed to add a final touch of magic.

Halfway through, it began to actually RAIN on us. The sleeping ballerina immediately jumped up, and luckily Melanie (the owner of Agape Dance) was there with her umbrella.... 

We decided that we were done....  (Except the Lavender Fairy was due to arrive) It rained for about ten more minutes, leaving lots of MUD everywhere and I had to place clear ziplock baggies over top my on-location lighting.

Finally the Rain stopped, The Sleeping Beauty got to put on a nice warm coat and we reconvened during another break between the sprinkles. A note about rain, while it makes for cold, shivering models, the clouds create the most amazing, soft, filtered light and dreamy coloring. Shooting with fog lighting after the rain, while the fresh smell of the earth fills your sense of smell is quite decadent. Meanwhile, the rain stopped and I set up another area for the next Ballerina.

Though, We quickly discovered it was very difficult to go on POINTE in soft green grass, where it could be muddy and STILL manage to see the Ballet Shoes....

How does a Ballerina POSE and DANCE in the grass wet with rain without getting her POINTE Shoes ruined & what sort of dance moves to do?

Luckily, Melanie had some good ideas.

It proved quite challenging to get the correct positioning, so it ended up that we decided to put the Ballerina in a nearby tree...

This worked much to my delight, as we could quite clearly see her pointe shoes, and didn't have to worry about mud. Besides, since she was wearing Fairy Wings, it seemed quite fitting for her to be in a tree, as if truly a magical enchanted lavender Fairy....

I'm not sure exactly what happened to the Pointe shoes.... My little daughters loved the Show...

Pink RainHummingbird with pink flowers, dewdrops and bubbles, fantasy styling, garden florals

We walked to a peaceful spot by the river in Aptos for this photo shoot. The little girl was quite excited to put on my fairy wings and play "make believe I'm a fairy". 

She sat on a log next to the river. Grandma was holding her hand and mom was behind me smiling in order to make her feel more comfortable. She got to hold one of my magical fairytale props (a large glass jewel) which is easy to add in sparkles later in editing. The sunlight sparkled onto the iridescent wings.

Grandma had decided to have a fairy photo shoot of her granddaughter, but when I realized I had mom and daughter together, couldnt resist a few mother daughter images for grandma and mom to have. As moms, we dont always end up in that many photographs and having photographs taken of you and your daughter when they are young is such a precious memory to look back on once they are older.   (Ive got 2 little daughters, and make it a point to have a professional photographer other than myself capture us at least once a year) ..  mother daughter portraits are classic. This next year I am looking into some matching gowns for mothers and daughter to wear together. I had matching mother daughter mermaid tails last summer and it was so much fun for the little girls to see their moms dressed up as mermaids, I think it would be just as beautiful to have mother daughter faeries! 

A toddler dressed up as a Fairy is the perfect & fun way to remember those blurry first two years of life. 

a baby girl all dolled up in the cupcake dress, with fairy wings and a pink crown was the sweetest little child to photograph outside in a grassy area with wildflowers. She clapped her hands for her mom and her smile sparkled in the way that communicated pure joy to the adults around her.  Sometimes little children will cry or protest when they have a flower crown on, or try to rip it off. Not this little girl though.

One year old baby photos are such a tradition for new parents and they are only this little once time ever! Before they turn into walking talking, sassy, negotiating children. (Ive got 3 kids myself) . Its fun to have the memory of them, and oftentime in that blurry new mom first year phase of life you arent sleeping that great and dont always remember your baby so little because you are soooooo tired. This is where I come in, and when parents book a photo shoot with me they know that they will have a set of images to remember the little smiles, the tiny feet, the tiny hands and the joyous expressions of innocence.... (before your child discovers all the things in life they will find, which may or may not drive you slightly crazy and filled with longing of the good old days, when the sound of your voice and smile healed everything in the world and stopped the slightest whimper.)

Toddlers make really funny hand gestures and funny expressions sometimes. One of the things that makes me laugh is when a child waves their hands around for no reason, it means I can put cute, creative elements into the photographs later, such as flying butterflies, sparkles and all sorts of magical AlixArtPhotography things.. I like to call them Fairy Magic touches.  

You will also find me sometimes adding in my magical fairy reflection ponds into my favorite poses and sometimes a few extra flowers will magically appear when I'm editing. 

2018 was a crazy year for me. It started off slow and sleepy as all Januarys do. I got a comical idea of hiring a Pony dressed a Unicorn last winter. I put on my first Unicorn Photo day, which included pony rides for all the children while I photographed them. Technically, it was challenging as the pony wanted to walk really fast once the children were on. This pony went to birthday parties alot and was use to walking fast for all the birthday party children. It gave my amazing assistant some comedy exercise as she had to walk run very fast while holding my professional lighting gear . Keeping up with a pony, while using professional on location lighting equipment was fun, and more challenging then following a bride down the aisle with a camera!! Seriously!   Also, there was a gigantic rainstorm threatening the area the weekend that my Unicorn Day was scheduled! Thankfully, the location had a large grove of redwood trees, which we were able to photograph inside of, and the trees acted like gigantic umbrellas!   Unicorn day was completely delightful and fun. This year, I'm looking around for a pony who might be willing to stand still for photographs.

In reality, Unicorn Day was more technically challenging to photograph then the weddings I have photographed! Why? you might be wondering.. Well a moving pony, a forest, little girls around age 5 and a rainstorm all together meant fast action, crouching under trees and logs and trying to get small children, as well as a pony to behave.   This meant on a technical level, that my assistant was carrying my off-camera flash in constant motion, leeping it at a 45 degree angle for flattering portrait light, as the horse was moving.  My regular camera settings, I usually prefer a wide aperture for that beautiful, soft bokeh in the background. I normally use my favorite portrait lens 85mm, but with the pony in action, I quickly switched to my heavier 70-200 Nikon telephoto lens. 2.8 still leaves room for some bokeh (background blur for you non-technical readers) and a faster shutter speed so that the pony would be captured on the go.

The pony was happiest when we set up flowers and strategically placed hay for him to eat. The little girls got to choose from my collection of dresses, which we brought to the location.

I had an awesome make-up artist there, sarah. designsbydonovan.  She did adorable, natural beauty make-up on all the little girls before they chose their dresses and geared up for their Unicorn ride.

Some of the girls opted to dress as royal Princesses, while some decided to dress as Fairy Princesses.   When I discovered a gigantic rainstorm was heading our direction, my daughter and I went to the fabric store I and sewed "unicorn capes" - made of faux fur and flannel, specifically to keep the little girls warm when riding the Unicorn. Cold children, I have learned from experience do not photograph as well as a warm, snuggled child. Keeping your kids warm during a photo session is definitely a key ingredient. Having learned this the hard way, over the years, it is always an important consideration. 

Some of the mothers decided they would like to be captured WITH their daughter riding a unicorn, making for a treasured memory that will now have for the rest of their lives. The mothers showed up in their own amazing fairytale gowns and perfect make-up, surprising me as there is nothing more precious then a mother daughter classic portrait photograph, especially when adding in fairytale elements such as wings, a unicorn, fancy dresses, and wildflowers. 

What a fun memory to have with your daughter! 

Mother Daughter portraits an an absolute favorite of mine because I have two little girls of my own. My own little girls begged and begged to be able to come back and ride the unicorn after the Unicorn day Photo Shoot was over. The older one offered to run aroudn the meadow picking up all the props we had strategically placed in the meadow just so she could have one more ride with the pony... 

My oldest daughter is my artistic muse. Playing Dress up is one of her favorite pastimes, when paired with an artist photographer for a mother I am looking forward to a lifetime of artistic, creative endeavors with her. She was thrilled last year when I began planning on having a actual pony dressed as a unicorn for a photo session. She immediately volunteered to be a model. Given the lighting requirements needed for a moving pony, and the sports camera settings, it was a fabulous idea to do a test pony ride. 

My collection of ballerina and princess dresses began to quickly grow last year at the beginning of 2018. My younger daughter was in her first ever ballet performance and I had been asked to photograph many little ballerinas for the Nutcracker. I was thrilled to photograph little ballerinas, and the bonus was that I was able to collect a few of the extra tutus for my Photography Studio Wardrobe collection.

I have been collecting princess dresses, since BEFORE my daughters were born. The dress collection did start to take over my Studio last year though.

The field at our location was perfect for a moving pony. 

I initially wanted to have the girls barefoot while riding the unicorn. Dont you know, all fairies are barefoot in my imagination, however I have no decided that cowgirl boots are the way to go. I dont think I would want anybody to get stepped on by a horse. Pink cowgirl boots are my first choice. 

Cowgirl boots recommended, but I couldn't resist the look of tied princess shoes / ballerina style.  

Some of the Unicorn images, I added some of my one of a kind, fine art editing to the final images.

Sisters riding a unicorn together.

blue river fairy blowing bubbles next to enchanted stream

Lots of Giggles when it was time to throw leaves in the air!

Now when babies are tricky and refuse to look at your camera, there are some fun, art editing tricks to still make the picture happen...

and eventually all three girls sat down in a pile of leaves next to the creek as the sun was shining through the trees behind them.

Fall Fairy Sessions this year are happening in the forest near a creek!   Find out more:    http://alixartphotography.com/fallfairy2018

I like to believe all things Disney, originally had their root in much older Fairytales. Probably much darker stories than the light, filtered for innocent eyes stuff we see portrayed in Pop-Culture. The varieties of the Snow-Queen story exist, along with tales of Jack Frost.  I've even recently seen a photoshoot depicting Frozen Queen Elsa, together with her "lover" Jack Frost a Japanese photographer. 

Here's a fairytale image from last year created from a photo of a newborn baby. "Fairy Child" bespeaks of a child left from the faeries or for the faeries on a soft bed of moss in the morning twilight. 

This image was originally shot with the baby wrapped in green, "moss colored" blankets and using Photoshop I was able to digitally place the baby onto the sleeping log.