Up, Up, And Away!

December 20, 2011 | Filed Under life | 2 Comments 

Little Bee Pops: local pops with a side of awesome

Dear friends,

The time has come for me to make a big big BIG announcement…it is one that makes me very happy and very sad at the same time…the happy part is that I’m starting a project that makes me just deliciously giddy to think about, and the sad part is that my need to give energy to that project necessitates that I step back from this business for the indefinite future (I know!).

Here’s the dealio: my bff, Liz, and I are starting an artisan local food biz we’re calling Little Bee Pops. You can get the whole story on our Kickstarter page (and fund us! you know you want to fund us!! :-), but the elevator pitch is that we’re going to be making some awesome ice pops (aka popsicles) from all local fruits and raw honey, and selling them from a cart at local parks and outside the Mountain View farmers market and any other groovy locations we are inspired to descend upon.

The project combines our passions for localization, sustainable food, and creating joy, in one super-fun, affordable (and compostable) package! :-)  We’ve got 800 commercial pop molds, a sweet little ice cream cart, and superhero capes with pops on them (because, really, who doesn’t love a pop-girl in a superhero cape?!), and a lead on a fully-equipped ice cream kitchen with a blast freezer that will let us freeze our pops in 15 minutes instead of 24 hours,  which is why we’re doing Kickstarter (we need to buy that puppy!).

I’m dreaming of seeing hundreds of kids (and grownups) with sticky faces and big smiles, eating our pops on long summer afternoons….and amazing sustainable farmers and beekeepers being supported by our giant CSA orders for their yummy fruit (and veggies) and honey.

I may return to photography at some point, but I know myself well enough to know that I can’t split my energies and do justice to the needs of both endeavors…and so baybmoon photography is going to take a break.

If you are here because you need an amazing photographer in Silicon Valley or the greater SF bay area, here are (in no particular order) some that I can recommend with my whole heart – they do beautiful, amazing work, and I would have them do *my* family pictures in a heartbeat :

Alpana Aras at Storybox Art

Nancy Nguyen-Wong at Bug and Bean

Calvina Nguyen at Calvina Photography (no relation to Nancy ;-)

and one photographer who is not local (she’s in Portland), but travels to the Bay Area periodically to do sessions and is completely amazing:

Jen Downer at She Saw Things

I am beyond grateful for the gifts and amazing people this business has brought into my life, and will miss witnessing your love and connections through my lens, but this change just feels right.

Blessings and love to you!

xoxo,
Lilia

p.s. Please do check out our Kickstarter page and give us a push if you can – we’ve got some *seriously* funny videos for you to watch.

p.p.s. Did I mention there’s swag?  You know you want a lunchbox with “I Want To Believe,”  felt Mulder and Scully pops, and a tinfoil UFO.  All the cool kids will have one. ;-)



Just in case you were wondering…

September 14, 2011 | Filed Under sneak peeks | Leave a Comment 

…this is what joy looks like:

Mountain View family portrait

Just a teaser from the session I’m currently editing. Love is awesome. :-)

xoxo,
Lilia



7000 words

August 4, 2011 | Filed Under sneak peeks | 1 Comment 

Silicon Valley toddler portrait

Silicon Valley kid portrait

Silicon Valley sibling portrait

Silicon Valley sibling portrait

Silicon Valley toddler portrait

Silicon Valley sibling portrait

Silicon Valley child portrait

What I loved about this session:

The moment when real smiles broke through the “cheese”
Home-made yogurt pops (for me too! ;-)
The lightbox “play-studio” we made on the porch.
Mama’s mad sewing skills (she made the toddler jumper!)
Nursing pictures (not shared, but ooooh, they were awesome! :-)
Darth Vader.

xoxo
Lilia

p.s. ::::clicking heels together three times:::: I am going to be better about blogging. I am going to be better about blogging. I am going to be better about blogging.



Ch-ch-changes…

March 21, 2011 | Filed Under news | Leave a Comment 

As I am sure you’ve noticed, it’s been very very VERY quiet around here! I’ve been making some changes in my universe, and will have some more info (and a bunch of backlogged session sharing) for you later, but for now, I will just give you the new text from the info section of my website:

As of January 2011, I have decided to restructure my business to allow me to return to school part-time and expand my focus to fine art. I will be accepting a limited number of portrait commissions each month, and priority will go to existing clients. If you are a new client and would like to be waitlisted, please fill out my contact form and include the month that you would like to book for, and I will send you an email when I open booking to new clients for that month.

And now, the exciting part: my session fees will now be all-inclusive! When you book a mini-session, full session, or adventure session (more on what those are in a bit), you will pay a flat fee and get a CD of full resolution images, with permission to reprint for personal use at UNLIMITED sizes!!

The following paragraphs cover some basic questions about my sessions, and after you book, my welcome packet will provide guidance on how to prepare (including everyone’s favorite question: “what do we wear?!”).

mini sessions :: $365

Mini-sessions are a great option when you want a few fantastic family images, plus amazing images of individual kids or pets. They last up to 30 minutes at one location, and include a CD with a minimum of 15 full resolution images. I will be offering a mini-session date once a month, with up to 4 time slots available. Please note that mini-sessions do not guarantee dyad coverage – if you want all the possible family combinations, we’ll need to schedule a full session or an adventure session. While I do not book newborns for mini-sessions (you’ll need a full session for curly baby pictures) mini-sessions *are* a great option for maternity images – especially for first time moms (and they make great shower gifts!).

full sessions :: $975

Full sessions last up to 2 hours, and can take place at up to two locations – usually your home and a favorite park, natural area, or downtown. I have also done sessions at bookstores, cafes, and libraries…even in parking garages!  These sessions include coverage for all dyads, subgroupings, and individuals, as well as the whole group. The session fee includes up to 5 immediate family members – please plan to add $100 for each additional family member.  With the session fee, you will receive a CD containing at least 40 images with permission to reprint for personal use. Please note that a full session is the one to pick if you want curly, naked, and/or sleeping images of your newborn baby up to two weeks of age. I am offering no more than two full sessions per month.  If you are booking a newborn session and want maternity images as well, you will be able to add on a maternity mini-session at a 25% discount at the time of booking only.

adventure sessions :: $1475

Adventure sessions are a special family treat – I reserve my entire day for you, and we plan an amazing adventure! Previous adventure session themes: 9 hours exploring San Francisco including lots of yummy food (Bi-Rite Ice Cream, anyone?), cable car rides, and park time; a day exploring highway 92, Half Moon Bay, and San Gregorio; a morning at home, a trip to the park and farmers market, then meeting up again at sunset to chase ducks and watch small planes landing. Adventure sessions are the only sessions that include a physical product with the CD image archive: I will do a 10×10 session album of your images. Your adventure session CD will contain at least 70 images. I will be offering just one adventure session a month, so please plan ahead!

booking

Your session fee is due at the time of booking. Should you decide to cancel for any reason, $150 of the fee will be retained as a non-refundable deposit, however, your full session fee is transferable to a future date should you need to reschedule for any reason. I do offer interest-free payment plans for clients who would like to spread out their investment over time without incurring credit card debt – please let me know if you are interested. I accept checks, cash, and paypal via credit card.

Sales tax will be added to all session fees.

location location location

I serve clients throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. A $50 travel fee may apply for sessions located more than 30 miles from Mountain View.  I am also available to travel worldwide, so if you’d like me to come to your city, please fill out my travel session interest form.  Travel locations are planned based on interest (I usually require a minimum of 4 mini-session or 2 full/adventure session bookings per city), so if you want me to come visit you, speak up, and tell your friends too! :-)

Any questions?

xoxo,
Lilia



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