Studio Z » Kids

Santa Cruz Portrait Photographer | Taylor and Bailey

Michelle Zuniga — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 21:50:47 +0000

Back in November when the kids and I were up Santa Cruz for Thanksgiving I decided to photograph Taylor and Bailey. My boyfriend lives in a great neighborhood that is minutes from the beach, with beautiful trees and amazing light. The kids and I ventured out one afternoon and we did a little photo shoot for our 2011 holiday cards.~Michelle

Santa Cruz Portrait Photographer | The Miller Boys

Michelle Zuniga — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 19:09:50 +0000

“In the eyes of a child…there is joy, there is laughter…there is hope, there is trust, a chance to shape the future..”

Meet the adorable Miller boys, Scottie and Ryan, and their cousins, Kailey and Kiara. Our backdrop was beautiful, a private road, beautiful trees and the perfect light. Scottie and Ryan are so cute, their big brown eyes and those adorable smiles. It was really sweet to see the boys with their cousins, so sweet and loving. Amy and Ken you have two precious boys and I cannot wait to photograph them again. ~Michelle

Carlsbad Portrait Photographer | Tis’ The Season For Holiday Family Photos

Michelle Zuniga — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 06:51:15 +0000

Here it is the 2nd part to our 2011 Studio Z Holiday family sessions. We have The Barrazza Family, The Salsibury Family, and The Greene Family. Happy Holidays! ~Michelle

Carlsbad Portrait Photographer | The O’Malley Family

Michelle Zuniga — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 20:14:55 +0000

I love when my couples call me to capture their new beginnings. I photographed Mike and Gina’s wedding three years ago and their engagement session, almost four years ago. Here we are now, with baby Shane. Shane is simply adorable and so cuddly. The way he toddled around, so cute. His curious mind, picking up everything. Those eyes, if only we could see through them. Mike and Gina, it was so good to see you again and to meet your precious little angel.~Michelle

Long Beach Portrait Photographer | The Yates Family

Michelle Zuniga — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 07:00:40 +0000

Meet the adorable Yates family, Belinda and I met them up in Long Beach at this great park that sat right above the beautiful Pacific Ocean. The twins had the best personalities and just continued to make me laugh during the entire session. ~Michelle

San Diego Portrait Photographer | The Adorable Bain Family

Michelle Zuniga — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 23:20:20 +0000

I just love my clients and more than anything, I love when I photograph there wedding and then a few years later I am capturing the start of their new family. A couple of years ago, I photographed the Bain family when Curren was almost one and now we have Tavin. Abbe and Sean have the cutest little boys and I had so much fun capturing them today. I cannot wait for two years down the road when we get to meet again.~Michelle

San Diego Portrait Photographer | The Van Dyke Family Welcomes Baby Flynn

Michelle Zuniga — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 08:41:40 +0000

I have just a little bit of history with The Van Dyke family. Which, really starts with my son, Taylor and his elementary & middle school best friend Alex Bayme. That is just the beginning too, because Bailey became friends with Emily Bayme (Alex’s little sister). They danced together, we carpooled and we carpooled, back & forth and back & forth. Jen (A.K.A. Jennifer) is Alex and Emily’s older sister. I had met Jen and talked to her occasionally, but I never really got to know her. I remember her standing at the door watching her little sister, Emily run to my car for dance. I can remember Janine, (Jen,Alex’s & Emily’s mom) always talking about Jen and “Phillip”. I remember ODA, when we had our competition’s in Los Angeles and Jen would be there to support her baby sister, so proud and such a huge smile. A very proud big sister…..

Here we are now, just a few years later, Jennifer Bayme, married to the love of her life; Phillip, only to welcome baby Flynn. I arrived to the beautiful Bayme house on a Saturday morning and it was just like when my kids were young. Everyone, running around with Janine taking care of everything. The only difference was, Alex was running out to go get a burrito with friends and Emily was, well, Emily (the baby) was all grown-up. Just a Junior in high school, but, please, someone tell me, where does the time go? That being said, I was so honored to be asked to photograph Jen’s firstborn. It meant so much to me to be able to capture Flynn as a newborn, so tiny and just so precious. To be able to snatch these cherished minutes, through my vision and my passion.

I will forever hold in my mind the way that Phillip looks at Jen, with such adoration, respect, and so very grateful for what he has at this moment. Embracing life….

Janine walked me to my car and I turned to her an said, “You are a lucky mom. I saw the way Phillip looks at Jen, he truly loves her. It must feel good to know that “your baby” is loved like that.” As a parent, in the end, that is all you can ask for.

Jen and Phillip, Flynn is precious. Soak up every lasting moment, even the ones at 2:30 a.m. for those do not last forever.

Thank you so very much for giving me this opportunity to capture this most precious time of your life. Never, take any moment for granted.~Michelle

Ashley and Sydney Sister’s Shoot in Down Town Carlsbad!

Michelle Zuniga — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 06:00:16 +0000

A few weeks back, Michelle’s cousins were visiting San Diego from Tennessee. While they were here, I did a siblings shoot in one of my favorite areas for these types of portraits, down town Carlsbad.

We did the path I like to take throughout downtown and as luck would have it, the weather was overcast; perfect for photos.

To say Ashley (blond) is camera shy would be a complete lie. On the contrary, she is quite the ham in front of the lens and needed little to no direction at all. With every click of the shutter, she re-adjusted her body, smile and pose. Someone has been watching too much Americas Next Top Model!!!

So we got some fun photos around town and quickly headed over to the beach where is was super gray and cold! Even the weather couldn’t bring down the spirits of the two. They were just super excited to be in (June Gloom) So-Cal!

-Bill

San Diego Portrait Photography | Bailey and Her Besties

Michelle Zuniga — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 10:00:42 +0000

Sometimes, I just have to take a step back and do things for myself, something different. It was my daughter, Bailey’s, 15th birthday and she was having her party/sleepover. We were just going to swim, eat pizza, girl talk, watch movies and of course, Facebook. (Thank goodness Facebook wasn’t around in my day;just saying.) The morning of her party my head starts spinning with ideas, next thing you know, the studio lights & backdrop stand are going up and I get to use my new backdrop that I got at the WPPI Trade show. I was so excited and the girls were even more excited. They were in my room, doing their hair, makeup and wardrobe for over two hours. (You should of seen my room, closet and bathroom-Oh Boy!). Some of you might even recognize the “pink” Betsey Johnson dress, the one that we used for a Studio Z photo shoot in Las Vegas. I just love it, when I get my monies worth out of those “materialistic” things. So, without further ado, here they are, these cute, adorable, energetic, carefree, beautiful girls. ~Michelle

“A friend is one of the nicest things you can have, and one of the best things you can be.”
~Douglas Pagels

The Miller Sisters

Michelle Zuniga — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 19:50:44 +0000

This post is extra special to me, these three beautiful girls are my boyfriend Bill’s daughters. Back in May I was up in Santa Cruz for my engagement session in San Francisco and Bill was on the road. So, I thought to myself, this is the perfect opportunity to grab Emily, Maggie and Caroline for a photo shoot. I have been wanting to capture the three of them and their unique personalities, but, most of all the relationship with one another. They might not realize it now, but the sister bond and friendship is simply priceless, it will be cherished for a lifetime. ~Michelle