The Quinceanera was beautifully done and the entire day was fun and emotional as the entire family celebrated together.  Krystal treated her guests with the traditional waltz that ended with a spiced up tribute to Michael Jackson.  Later in the evening she performed another modern dance routine with a couple of her court members.  It was Krystal’s day, she made it hers, and she enjoyed every minute of it.

Krystal’s family and friends went through a lot of planning and hard work to make this day happen. In keeping in contact with Krystal’s mom, Lorena I could tell how much they love her and wanted to make this day extra special.  Watching Krystal get emotional during the slideshow and while dancing with her father and grandfathers it was easy to see that she appreciated everything that has brought her to this moment.

Cheers to you Krystal and the bright beautiful future ahead of you!

Special thanks to Lorena and the rest of the family for being so great.  Extra special thanks to the two awesome photogs, Kris Hinh and Aurora Gutierrez for helping out and making the day even more fun.

Don’t forget to check out Krystal’s Portrait Session and her custom Event Website, which will be updated soon with pictures and a slideshow from the Quinceanera.

Now, normally I don’t go to the same location for back-to-back shoots, but I love this spot and with Spring in full effect it was too good not to go back.  To be honest, with Summer around the corner I doubt I’ll shoot here again until next year.  With little shade it gets hot quickly.

As all teens should be, Krystal was fun and full of life. I could tell from her uber proud mom that Krystal is a great person and deserves an awesome celebration. I’m looking forward to being part of her big day!

I’ll be honest, I swore she was just 12 like a couple of years ago. How time flies. Seeing her blog posts (www.meekmade.blogspot.com) and her progression as a Graphic Design student at Cal Sate Fullerton I quickly realized that my little cousin was now a grown gifted young adult. She called me up wanting to shy away from the traditional senior portraits offered by the school. So off we went. It was a bit of a hike, there was pollen everywhere, and it was the hottest day of the month. That being said, it was still a beautiful Southern Cali day. But what made it even better… I got to hangout with my cousin.

Congrats Meek! We’re all so proud of you!

Big thanks to our reflector assistant Leslie!

Thank you Mercedes for sharing your extraordinary talent with us.

Special thanks to all who made this event possible and  allowing  me this great opportunity:  Jason Lee, Merry Karnowsky, Ellen Thompson and the gallery staff, and Katherine Manabat.

The artist, Mercedes Helnwein

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Mercedes Helnwein and Jason Lee

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The always beautiful Erika Christensen.

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Alexandra Breckenridge looking lovely.

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Tarina Tarantino, Mercedes Helnwein, Merry Karnowsky, Jason Lee, and Alfonso Campos

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I’ll be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect for this one.  As it was an evening event with various degrees of store lighting,  I worried about how my flash would react with all the different wall angles.  The event was essentially to draw in customers so there was still foot traffic throughout.  People walking around in the background didn’t help very much.  But after a while I got my footing, made adjustments, and dealt with all the variables.  I tried to incorporate some “catalog” styled shots but for the most part I just went with the flow.  Below are some of my favorites and I’ve posted more on my Facebook Fan page.

Thank you so much Rachel and Mark for making this happen! And a standing ‘O’ to all the models who looked great in their BR outfits.

So go to Banana today, get some new threads, and look amazing for all your holiday parties.

Banana Republic – Crystal Cove, CA
Hosted by Rachel Amara and Mark Laribee
Hair & Makeup by Kacee Geoffroy
Models: Mark Laribee, Rachel-Amara, Karin Larson, Wes Akers, Crystal Leland, Megan Bibbo, Doug Franco, Kaylie Wilson, Delphia Ann Weissert, Joel Stanton