And one of the best things about Southern California are the palm trees that grace our neighborhoods and campuses. Orange County is covered in this iconic tree.

One of the best spots for CSUF grad photos is at the very large TITANS logo in the middle of the Fullerton campus. It’s larger than life, unless you use forced perspective to get your subject larger than it!

And here is the California State University Fullerton Seal in a graduation photo.

Here is the main entrance on the south side of the Fullerton campus, framed with iconic palm trees.

And we LOVE this awesome grad photo of the CSUF gate and our soon-to-be grad framing it perfectly!

Our grad is a product of the visual arts program at CSUF, so it was only fitting to get a few images after dusk in front of the visual arts building.

The post {E} CSUF Graduation Photography | Cal State Fullerton appeared first on Dreams + Darlings.

There is this amazing spot for graduation photography at UC Irvine, where there are the arches covered in green, leafy vines. It creates an awesome frame to any grad photo, and has a disappearing point due to the many linear arches. When given the chance, we love to squeeze in extra photos with family members. Here is one of our soon-to-be graduate with his parents, and then individual photos with the mom and dad.

And of course we have to get our UCI grad walking it out underneath the arches.

Here is a closeup of the UCI stole for the year of 2025, along with the cap and gown.

And we LOVE using flowers and greenery to add to a photo. In this case, some star jasmine was blooming and made a great foreground. The background has some of the many scenic trees on the Irvine campus.

Here is a really cool grad photo of the Samueli Science and Engineering building. We love how the glass reflects some of the blue in the sky.

And more UCI graduation photography in front of the engineering building.

And you can’t represent UC Irvine without any anteaters. They do make the cutest plushies in any UC gift store.

And of course we found even more mustard yellow flowers, which grace the rolling hills of Irvine in the springtime.

And if there is a swing, there is an obligation to take a grad photo on it!

We do many photography portrait sessions in the city of Irvine, which you can find on our blog. The university campus for UCI is yet another beautiful place and perfect for a recent or soon-to-be graduate.

The post {L} UCI Graduation Photography | UC Irvine Grad Photos appeared first on Dreams + Darlings.

When we see good light, we have an obligation to play with it to create dramatic and artistic graduation photography.

That also includes playing with black and white grad photos, bringing a classic and traditional feel.

CPP is short for Cal Poly Pomona (or California Polytechnic University, Pomona). It’s a gem hidden in a valley between freeways.

This is a CPP graduation photography portrait session. Cal Poly Pomona is a polytechnic university located in Pomona, Southern California, on the eastern edge of Los Angeles County.

The post {E} CPP Grad Photos (Cal Poly Pomona College of Science) appeared first on Dreams + Darlings.

The post {N} Scripps College Graduation Photos | Claremont Colleges appeared first on Dreams + Darlings.

Starting with some Trees and a Grass Field

Yellow Flower Field Maternity Photography

One thing to always keep in mind is that a field filled with flowers has wild animals in it, including rattlesnakes. We ALWAYS make sure that every spot we take photos in is clear and safe before our couple steps there. That being said, isn’t this large field of yellow flowers just stunning?! That’s the great thing about being local to San Dimas, is that we know all the hidden spots.

We love how the yellow flowers engulf and frame our pregnant couple.

San Dimas Family Photos and more

We love our hometown of San Dimas, in Los Angeles County and we know a bunch of hidden and secret spots for maternity and family photography. We also do wedding and engagement photography in San Dimas, which that session is a great example of using yellow flower fields in our portraits. So make sure to choose an experienced family photographer that can capture your family and growing family.

The post {D} Flower Field Maternity Photography in San Dimas appeared first on Dreams + Darlings.

Starting with family photos under the Manhattan Beach Pier

We started with family photos under the Manhattan Beach Pier, with the daughter holding some flowers. Look at that laugh!

Using a Tent in Family Photos

Here is a tent that they made for the family photo session, for their cute little baby boy.

A most unique Manhattan Beach sunset

Here is the instagram post that day of Judy shooting this family:

That post is taken with her cellphone, so you can see what we had to start with. Oh and Judy was super duper pregnant with Hayden at that time.

We had them walk it out along the beach waterline.

And how cute are these mommy daughter family photos!?

More Manhattan Beach Family Photos

As the sun set under the clouds and smoke in the background, we got more remotely lit family photos with sun fading away.

And here are some super cute daddy daughter photos.

We went back to our little picnic setup with the blanket, tent, and stuffed animal toys.

And more family photos of everyone all together before wrapping up the shoot.

Family Photos – Manhattan Beach

Here is a great example of Manhattan Beach family photography in Los Angeles County, but also a great example of how a good photographer can take advantage of a unique situation. The sunset that day was very unique due to the huge wildfire happening in Orange County that day. The smoke drifted out over the ocean, giving a soft haze that the sun would diffract through. We saw other family photographers that day that didn’t use any light to take advantage of that unique scenario. This leads to images with a white background (like the ones seen above of the family walking along the beach), which has a place and makes for good photos. But the difference between a good photographer and a great photographer is in that ability to adapt and capture that moment and setting.

Make sure to look around our blog for more examples of Manhattan Beach family photos, along with family photography with sunsets.

The post {T} Family Photos Manhattan Beach appeared first on Dreams + Darlings.

Maternity Photos with a Field of Yellow Flowers

We started the session with pregnancy photography in a large open field of yellow flowers that were blooming at this time of year in the San Gabriel Valley.

We should mention that you need to be VERY CAREFUL doing maternity photos in any field in southern California, since we have rattlesnakes. Gavin grew up around them in Temecula, so he kept our couple safe and cleared any spots that we were shooting at using a metal light stand. Snakebites happen when snakes are surprised and people are stupid, so we didn’t allow either.

Just how beautiful is this large open field of flowers? The dominant yellow wildflowers with purple flower accents is just amazing.

Alphabet A to Z Maternity Photos

So our couple decided to take props that relate to the baby in some way, but did the ENTIRE ALPHABET FROM A TO Z! That’s a pretty cool idea for a maternity photo session. So for example, A is for Apple:

B is for Bubbles:

C is for Cards:

D is for Diapers:

E is for Earphones:

F is for Flowers:

G is for Grapes and H is for Hat:

I is for Iphone:

J is for Jump:

K is for Koala:

L is for Lollipops:

M is for Marshmellows:

N is for Nursery Rhymes:

O is for Onesie:

P is for Piglet (or Pink) and Q is for Queen:

R is for Rabbit:

S is for Smile and T is for Teeth:

U is for Umbrella:

V is for Kpop gang signs:

W is for Wine:

X is for Hugs:

Y is for Yo-yo:

Z is for the sleep they will hardly get:

Schabarum Park Maternity Photography

This is a Rowland Heights maternity photography session at Schabarum Regional County Park. It’s a place known for it’s cherry blossom festival, but we were there for the large yellow flower fields that were in bloom at that time. Our pregnant couple chose to do an alphabet or A to Z prop theme, with 26 different props, poses, or ideas for the pregnancy photography portrait session. They had foam alphabet mats with the foam pop-out letters for each pose. This session took place in Rowland Heights, which is right next to Walnut, Diamond Bar, Hacienda Heights, Monterey Park, and City of Industry.

We have lots of examples of different types of family and maternity photography portrait sessions. From family photos at the beach to downtown Los Angeles to wide open fields of flowers, we have laid them out for you to see and help you decide if you’l like to book Judy for a portrait session.

The post Schabarum Park Maternity Photography, Rowland Heights | The {H} Family appeared first on Dreams + Darlings.

Pregnancy Photos in a Park in San Dimas

We started the pregnancy photos in a park in San Dimas that we have been to dozens of times. It’s one of our local favorites.

Isn’t this just the cutest laugh and smile!?

And these are those little moments between a mother and her lovely daughter.

Getting the Family Together

We then got the whole family together for family photos.

And here’s the father tossing his little girl up into the air, making for a fun family photo.

Family Photography on a Trail in San Dimas

We then walked over to a dirt trail to get more family photography with trees surrounding our pregnant mother.

Pregnancy Photos in San Dimas

This is a pregnancy photography and family photography session joined together, where the pregnant mother has a toddler daughter in the family photos. This maternity session was done in San Dimas at the Walnut Creek Park and Trail, bordering the cities of Glendora, Walnut, and Covina. It’s a park filled with hiking trails and trees and even a stream running through it. It has wooden fences that are great for framing family photos.

Take a look to see more maternity and pregnancy photography in San Dimas. Judy has a gentle touch and talented eye, making the sessions comfortable and fun.

The post Pregnancy Photos San Dimas | The {C} Family appeared first on Dreams + Darlings.