Bisharat Photography Blog - 916.974.0664 » Family Portraits

Down to the Wire {Sacramento Area Children’s Photographer}

Brenda — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 07:07:06 +0000

It is now 11:45 PM and I am down to the wire to make this weeks Favorite Photo Friday’s post actually be on Friday. What a great week I had this week the weather was so nice and I had so many wonderful sessions.

Here are some of the past weeks happenings: a beautiful wedding last Friday evening, a wonderful concert at the Ironstone Winery (Steve Miller Band), 10 or 12 sessions including a family who is near and dear to me and are moving away to Idaho and wanted one last photograph by the Folsom Bridge to remember their home, a photo session of my little niece and sister in law today in celebration her first birthday and lastly an amazing going away to college party tonight which is why I’m posting so late.

I can hardly believe that it has been a year since my little niece Brynn was born. I just love her personality and I really love her name….hee hee! When I was young my nickname was “Bryn” so I have to say that I was more than ecstatic when I heard my brother and sister in law were going to name their baby “Brynn”

My favorite photo this week is of “Little Miss Brynn”. Happy Birthday Brynnie….we love you so much!

Favorite Photo Friday….. {My Family}

Brenda — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 03:55:04 +0000

This is going to be quick, because I’m borderline going to fall asleep. I have done my workout at 5:00 AM 5 days in a row this week, not to mention I have had a few late nights working (don’t tell my husband, hee hee). Anyway, I have tried to do some extra working out this week because we had such a wonderful vacation last week and I’m sure I gained a few extra pounds that I could work on shedding. We had so much fun that I can hardly say enough about what a wonderful and relaxing time we had and it meant so much to me to be together. I have many more photos to share, but the first one here is my favorite for obvious reasons, this is my family! Although we had intentions of having a lovely, planned and organized family portrait done, we just never could make the time. I guess that is what happens when you have a large group. I’m grateful that we all managed to be together and truly family is really the most important thing to me.

Top Left to Right:

Thomas 22mths, Aja 28 (my oldest daughter), Mackenzie 18, Me (really old but what can you do?) Pat 31 (Aja’s handsome husband),

Charlie (my most amazing husband of 24 years), Karson 15, holding Hunter 5mths and last but not least Beau, Beau (13)…..

Boardwalk fun….

And more fun at the aquarium

FROM THE FAMILY I-PHONES

FAVORITE photo FRIDAY {Sacramento Outdoor Family Portraits}

Brenda — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 06:47:15 +0000

Thanks for checking in. We are excited about our new blogging venture here on Fridays. We have decided to work on doing a regular post every Friday.

“FAVORITE photo FRIDAY” is born.

Our idea is that every Friday either Kristene or myself will pick a favorite photo from the week and make a brief (well not so much this one :0) post about why that photograph was picked. Our hope is that we will be able to show an array of fun, beautiful and sometimes funny images with a little personal story behind each favorite. We hope you enjoy our FAVORITE photo FRIDAY postings and will visit often to see a bit of why we love what we do so much!

Let us know what you think by commenting at the end of the post and thanks again for your visit!

I had big plans for this new Friday Fun….and I’m coming in with this first favorite image a little late, however I think you will still love reading about and meeting my friends the beautiful and amazingly strong, “Drennan Family”.

This is a bit of a long story although I’m going to shorten it quite a bit; I would have to write a book to tell you the complete story of the Drennan family’s journey thus far. If you are reading this post you probably know that over several years now I have been involved with and area coordinate for NILMDTS organization. Sometimes, we get calls from hospitals, sometimes from nurses and sometimes from friends. The call to do some volunteer photography for this family came to me from a friend…

Caitlyn Dona Drennan was born August 25, 2010 at 8:51am at Barton Hospital in South Lake Tahoe, California. Caitlyn was immediately flown to Sutter Memorial Hospital NICU in Sacramento, California after Doctors discovered some abnormalities in her abdomen. Caitlyn (Mom-Jen is holding her) was diagnosed with stage 4 Neuroblastoma, which is the most common type of cancer in newborns. Caitlyn had a tumor in her abdomen that was affecting her liver, spleen, spine, and other abdominal organs. As I said I can’t begin to tell you their story and the journey they have been on since Caitlyn’s birth, I can however tell you that as of the day after this photograph was taken:

Then Drennan family was happy to make this post on their CaringBridge site:

Today was the best day, though. Caitlyn had her Broviac catheter removed from her chest!! It is literally the first time in her life that she doesn’t have something hanging off or coming out of her. It feels amazing and wonderful to pick her up and squeeze her and not worry about the catheter. Both days and both procedures went very well and as usual, Caitlyn was a rock star. Yesterday, in the ACU(Ambulatory Care Unit) where we check in and wait for her procedure, the nurses were so excited to see her and couldn’t believe how big she had gotten and how happy and silly she was. She has been there many times before for many of her scans and all of her ABR’s so they have seen her grow and thrive. The Child Life team had her crib all set up with tons of toys and distractions and Caitlyn was on fire!! She was full of giggles, smiles, squeals, and growls. She had the whole unit wrapped around her little finger. And today, on the 5th floor where they do outpatient procedures, it was the same thing. Caitlyn has had many a transfusion on that floor so again, the nurses were excited to see her and they realized full well why she was there. End of therapy Broviac removal because she is CANCER-FREE!!! They were just beside themselves with joy and happiness for Caitlyn and our family. There were many hugs and a few happy tears by the time we left.

I have been very blessed to be called by this family on a few occasions to come and photograph their little Caitlyn. There was no possibility of doing that without including her brother {Caitlyn’s favorite person ever} Cameron. What a special friendship I was able to develop with them and I am so grateful to have them in my life.

Here is the reason I chose the above photograph for my very first absolute “Favorite photo Friday” image: When I had my first experience with the Drennan Family, Cameron was shy and apprehensive, totally held back in the smiling department and barely engaged with me. I have to admit I really feel I have a talent when it comes to engaging with children so it was a little alarming to me that I couldn’t win him over. This week I was excited to meet up with the Drennan family for Caitlyn’s 9 month photographs at a park here in Sacramento before the family moved back to Lake Tahoe. I could not get enough of little Cameron this session and I’m happy to say he could not get enough of me! In the above photo he literally is running to me to give me a big hug. It is unusual for me to take a photograph where I am involved in the emotion of the photograph. Usually, I am capturing the emotion of the people over there. When I look at this photograph I can feel the emotion of Cameron and I hugging. It will literally be in my heart forever!

There are so many other amazing things about that day that I would love to share, however I will limit my sharing to more photographs that I took of this wonderful family!

We already have a plan for Caitlyn’s 1 year…..looks like I will be going to Tahoe! YEEPEEE!

Stay@Home Dad’s {Sacramento Children Photographer}

Brenda — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 21:39:23 +0000

As I was photographing “little Dane” the other day, I thought to myself what a lucky little boy he is. Not only does Dane have three older brothers, but he has a stay @home Dad that takes care of him. I’m not sure what the proper term is for Dad’s that stay home, maybe “househusbands”? Whatever the term may be, Brian, their “Dad,” is one amazing parent.

Not only is Brian staying home with Dane the youngest of their four boys, he has also stayed home with Dane’s older brothers, Marshall (5) and the twins Reed and Corbin (2). That’s right Brian is the househusband for 4 boys under 5. This is a WOW to me every time I see him with those little guys in tow. The other day I asked Brian if he would be going back to construction after Dane was in school, his answer to that was “I plan on retiring after Dane is in school” HA! So deserving of that! Here are a few additional things about Brian that amaze me: 1)he has brought all 4 kids in for photographs every month (always on time, never missed or messed up an appt date) 2)he does not use disposable diapers (how does he always stay prepared with cloth diapers?) 3)the boys are all very well behaved (not sure how he manages this, but they are never a nuisance, loud or disruptive) 4)the boys are always looking dapper (I think Mom Amy has a lot to do with this…sorry Bri)

Father’s Day is a perfect time to honor Dad’s and all they do for our families….

Family Portraits {Sacramento Family Portrait Photographer}

Brenda — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 04:22:02 +0000

I truly feel blessed in my life. I’m so grateful for my health, having a job I’m passionate about, the abundance of friends and my wonderful loving family. For

many reasons lately I have been feeling like the circle of life is moving pretty quickly. It occurs to me that I blink my eyes and wow there goes another year

and so many changes in my kids and family have happened. This brings me to the topic of family portraits and why I personally feel like hiring a professional

photographer, such as Bisharat Photography to document your family at any stage of life is invaluable!

I recently came across this 4×6 of my family. We have the very large canvass of it hanging over our fireplace in our home.

It is simply priceless to me!

In the short time since we took this photo, I have gained, a son in law and two grandsons, graduated a child on to college, moved one to high school and one to Jr high! For this reason, I am ecstatic about our upcoming trip to Santa Cruz where we will be updating our family portrait.

I am frequently told that family photos are the one thing my clients would save if their home was on fire. However, the thought of trying to organize a family portrait can seem overwhelming. To encourage people to get the pictures they want without the stress we have developed our “SPRING MINI SESSION” for families or children. You may have heard of some family members or friends that took advantage of this type of session this past fall.

Sessions to be held:

March 16…Early evening (it is daylight savings then) Some appointments still available

March 23…..A few appointments on this date still available

March 25….We have some bookings this date…however Friday’s tend to book quickly

Your session runs $99.00 and includes 1-5x7 and 4-wallets (from one pose)
The locations for these sessions will vary depending on which date works best for your family.
The sessions are $99.00 prepaid to hold your time and will be 30 minutes in length.
Just enough time to wear out the children “AND” husband.
We did these sessions during the fall as well and they were so popular we had several weeks booked.
If you received a  special gift certificate in the mail, you will definitely want to book your appointment quickly.
And if you have a special location you would like to share for these sessions,feel free to let us know...

Click here to view other upcoming specials....

Pietra’s Celebration of Life

Brenda — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 05:25:35 +0000

I wasn’t going to post about today, but I was just so moved it only seemed appropriate to say a few words. My day started as usual, up at 4:30AM to the gym and home getting the family breakfast/lunch before making my way to my office. I’m so fortunate that all I need to do is walk out the back a 100 yards or so and am there. Feeling solemn and a little sad about Pietra’s 1:00 memorial service, something kept reminding me that Pietra such a happy and positive person would have wanted me to celebrate her. Driving to meet my good friends Angela and Bob and their girls Lauren and Kendall I was looking forward to seeing all of Pietra’s Village of Hope Friends, Families and Community. Ruby Roxanne (Pietra’s BFF) did an amazing job reflecting on what a wonderful mother, friend, daughter and wife Pietra was. The Green Valley Community Church was decorated so beautifully and the volunteers there were more than generous, having Kleenex on the chairs, helping people be seated, ushering in and out and providing lots of wonderful food for all.

There were many highlights of the day, here are a few that really moved me….

Lauren, (Trevor’s sister) really wanted to get up and speak. She walked up on stage and talked in front of everyone about how Pietra inspired her to like art. Pietra taught art after school and Lauren loved having art with her. She then said in a very quite voice Pietra can you give my brother Trevor a kiss up there in heaven? Wow…..out of the mouth of babes!

After the service friends and families were invited to write a message on a balloon and then all were invited out to the front in the soft drizzle of rain to release their balloons. It was an amazing sight to watch everyone send their own message up to the heavens for Peetie.

Ruby spoke about the trip that their families took to Tahoe around New Years. She mentioned that Pietra enjoyed the trip SO VERY much. She said it was as if Pietra was seeing the snow for the very first time and as they hiked they had to stop at every little tree branch, every little icicle and make snow angels.

It was amazing to see it snowing like crazy right there in Placerville today when we were leaving her celebration, having said our goodbyes.

I can’t help but think that was a little bit of Peetie’s doing!

So many moments that took my breath away, I’m honored to have been a little part of such a wonderful persons life!

Prayers for the Duffy Family {Volunteer Photography}

Brenda — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 00:18:42 +0000

I received a call from my very good friend Angela {Trevor’s Mom} about a year ago. She asked if I would do her a favor, which is sort of funny because she knows that I would do anything for her. My response was just that. She said her good friend Pietra had just been diagnosed with Lung Cancer {Pietra did not smoke} and she would really like to offer her some family portraits done by me. Of course I said I would be more than happy to do so and we arranged a day and a location to get together. I have to say I was not expecting such a fun afternoon. We met in Folsom at the Power House, Angela brought {Spencer’s favorite lunch} Chipotle and we all chowed down before getting on to the playful business of taking photographs. We hiked around the grounds for a couple of hours enjoying that fresh winter afternoon and I was in amazement how happy and full of love the whole family was. We concluded the session at the ice cream parlor, as a special treat and I felt blessed that I was invited to stay and share this intimate, special time together with the Duffy Family.

Click here to view a short version of the portrait session we had that day.

When I called Pietra to let her know her session was ready for viewing, I will never forget what she said to me. I had a bit of a cold when we had done the session and was a bit concerned about getting to close to her since she was going to be starting her treatments. I knew it would not be good for her to get sick. Anyway, when I spoke to her, she went on and on about how concerned she was about me and if I was OK and was my cold OK? That is the person Pietra was, always concerned for others and so generous with her love and positive attitude.

Friends gathered around Pietra and the Duffy family immediately to help and organized an amazing Spaghetti Dinner Fund Raiser. I was honored to attend the evening and document some very fun moments brought together by such a loving community of people. The generous raffle donations from family, friends and the community were literally never ending and I think all the children were asleep by the time the raffle ended.

Recently, on a visit to the hospital Ruby, Pietra’s best friend took an Annie and Isabel gown to her. It doesn’t surprise me that Pietra remained steadfast in the mind set that she was going to be able to kick this cancer and still had a big smile on her face while snuggling with Ruby and taking this photograph.

Sadly, Pietra lost her battle to cancer a few days ago and she is dearly missed by her family and her many, many friends. My heart is very heavy however somehow I feel lucky to have been one of the many to have been touched by Pietra a very special angel. Please keep the Duffy family, Shawn, Spencer, Savannah and Heidi {their dog, who Pietra adored} in your prayers. On behalf of the Duffy family Angela kindly set up a donation page on her blog to collect funds for the Duffy family. If you would like to contribute to the Duffy family you can visit this link.

more valentine gift ideas {Sacramento Child Photographer}

Brenda — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 05:47:20 +0000

February is almost here and we have some more great gift ideas! Here at BISHARAT PHOTOGRAPHY we understand there may not be a lot of shopping time in your lives, so we try to think “Simple”. Although there is still time to book your MINI PORTRAIT SPECIAL or BOUDOIR SESSION….We thought we might give you some other Valentines Day Gift ideas as well.

First off we are offering our annual 2 for 1 portrait enlargement special! This is an amazing offer! You can buy an 11×14 , 10×20, 12×24, 16×16 or 16×20 from a session we have previously done for you, from a print you have previously purchased and we will gift you the second photograph of the same image, same size for free. That’s right you will receive the duplicate print at no additional cost. This can also apply to a previously purchased storyboard as well. And to top it off mounting is included. Act quickly on this offer, because this is once a year offer!

Secondly, of course we have the easiest idea ever and that is a GIFT CERTIFICATE. Especially for the pregnant gals, who’s husbands really, really, really want to make them really happy right now….she really wants great photographs of her newborn baby…get her that GIFT CERTIFICATE and see her really light up!

And don’t forget we have a large selection of some very adorable Valentines Day Cards….still time for that too!

Fall is Here {Sacramento Family Portrait Photographer}

Brenda — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 06:36:15 +0000

Quite often around this time of year, we get calls from people requesting fall family portraits. When we receive these calls we often look at our calendar and try to figure out exactly when fall will officially be here. Color in the trees and colorful leaves on the ground, we love the feel of fall in our portraits. Planning for fall family portraits can be a bit difficult to predict since fall comes at a slightly different time each year. Recently in our area, we have had several rains, (many of which have occurred on Saturdays and Sundays I might add) and as these cold rainy days have arrived, I just knew it was only a few days away from the leaves changing colors and falling to the ground. Last weekend I was happy when I arrived at the park for my sessions that the park was full of leaves and boy did we have a great time celebrating that. I’m looking forward to our many portrait sessions this weekend with the trees full of color and lots of leaves! That being said, I believe it is going to be close to 80 tomorrow???? W-H-A-T? But then rain on Sunday…..

Fall is For Family {Sacramento Family Portraits}

Brenda — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 23:24:24 +0000

Bisharat Photography has really been enjoying fall approaching and all the family portraits we have been taking. Fall really is for family and reflecting on the importance of how wonderful it is to share meals, activities and family gatherings. In September we decided to run our annual Fall Family Portrait special and remind families to join us out at our local parks and have their portraits taken to share on holiday cards or give as holiday gifts. We were so pleased and pleasantly surprised by the overwhelming response we received by families to come and document their beautiful families. As daylight savings is coming upon us in the next few weeks we are not slowing down and we hope that you will remember the importance of family and documenting all the walks of being together. What is important to me, is just being with them (except when they are arguing HA!) and soaking in every little moment, knowing how fast time goes and how much they change, how could you not just breath and enjoy. I’m so blessed to hold a camera and have these opportunities to be a part of your lives. Thank you!

Would love to hear what is important for you and your family…….

Family fun in the park