Cynthia Spivack Photography Blog » Families

simply sweet | los angeles baby photography

Cynthia — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 01:00:32 +0000

Simply put… these photographs make me smile. Pure. Simple. Soft. And, oh! that yummy yummy light. But what I love most about these photos is all their love for this sweet baby girl that comes shining through!

After nearly a month away caring for family, and a whirl-wind of a month of non-stop shooting… looking at these images reminds me to slow down, enjoy life’s simple little pleasures, and to cherish the truly important things in life: Love. Family. Simplicity.

** Leave these guys some Love! 20+ comments will get this couple a special gift!** (no double entries please)

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beautiful in malibu | malibu family photography

Cynthia — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 20:28:22 +0000

Forgive me for being short on words today. There’s quite a bit going on. But I just had to share these adorable images. K Family you are gorgeous both inside and out! Your love for one another comes shining through in these photographs! I love that grandma was able to make a “special cameo” too! I hope you are loving your photos as much as I do. I can’t wait to see you guys again and see how much your little one has grown!

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brand new | los angeles baby photography

Cynthia — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 21:00:51 +0000

It’s 2011. A new year. A new beginning. It’s a chance to start fresh. To take things that you’ve been doing and revamp them. Improve upon them. To challenge yourself. Take a leap of faith. Learn from your successes. And your failures. A new year is like that first sunny day after a week long storm. It feels good. Feels alive. It feels inspiring.

2011 brings with it some new additions, big changes, and lots of goals for CSP! Here are just a few of those goals and changes I hope to accomplish this year:

1. Update the website. I’ve been putting this off for a while now, but it’s time to give the site a facelift.

2. Blog more often!! I’ll admit it… I’m a terrible blogger. There. I said it.

3. Make the blog more personal. I have struggled with wether or not to do this for some time now, but I’ve decided to give it a try. After all, choosing a photographer to welcome into your home and to get to know and photograph your family is a very important decision. You need to connect with not only my photography… but it’s important to connect with me. As a person AND as an artist. I think by making the blog a little more personal it will allow you to not only get to know my work, but to get to know me as well!

Now, I have to be honest… my life really isn’t that exciting. Occasionally, I might have a few stories here and there that could be worth sharing. They’ll most likely be about my cat. Or the last clumsy thing I just did. But they might make you laugh. I’d also like to get to know my readers better! Send me your thoughts. Share your ideas!

4. Give back! In 2009 I organized several food drives/raffles with local schools and Feeding America. The food drives were such a success! It taught kids about the importance of community, raised food to help feed thousands of families in Los Angeles, and gave parents the chance to win a free goodies from CSP! Organizing these food drives was incredible. There is no better feeling then giving back! I can’t wait to to do more!

Now, before I make good on my promise of blogging more… I want to take this opportunity to say a big THANK YOU to all of our clients, readers, friends, and family. CSP wouldn’t be here without you. I am so grateful to have all of you in my life and part of the CSP family!

And finally, onto some photos…

What a joy he was to photograph!

Mom first contacted me when she was still in her second trimester [the perfect time to schedule!] and I could hear her excitement through her sweet and gentle voice. She was going to be a Mom for the very first time. She was doing everything she could to plan and prepare. She was, truth be told, a little nervous. When the day finally arrived for me to photograph baby ‘C’, I knew I wanted to make Mom feel at ease and give her great shots so she would always remember her first few days with her baby boy. Her first few days as “Mom”.

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smiling on the inside | santa monica family photography

Cynthia — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 00:19:02 +0000

This past Saturday I headed to the Santa Monica Pier with my hubby, Armando, for a late afternoon get together/photo shoot with friends of ours and their adorable little daughter! I had been looking forward to this shoot for a few weeks now… dreaming of all the yummy light that I could play with as we captured some photos. But as we got closer and closer to the beach, the skies got gray-er and gray-er [is that even a word?!]. My heart sank… but just for a little bit. The skies actually reminded me of my last session down at the Pier that had some very similar weather. So I smiled. On the inside. And then I realized I never blogged that session! In fact, I haven’t blogged many sessions!

While the photos from this past Saturday are not quite ready, I am glad to finally be posting these… The photos from the session that made me smile. relax. and realize that a gray, sunless, fogged filled afternoon shoot at the beach can be just as beautiful!

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Simply Sweet | Malibu Family Photoghraphy

Cynthia — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 01:05:03 +0000

It’s been quite a year for me both professionally and personally- there have been ups and downs [thankfully many more ups!], lots of shoots, and a bunch of traveling! One thing I’ve really come to understand this year is that life is a journey and through every experience we are able to grow, conquer fears, plow through obstacles, and knock down hurtles that may have once stood in our way. This past month alone has been an incredibly difficult one… I feel like have ridden that “super scary, faster than light, 50-foot drop” emotional roller-coaster one too many times… but, yet, every time I get off I am surrounded by hope and love. I am truly amazed by the strength of the human spirit and how love, above all else, has the power to heal.

Every day is a gift. It’s not easy to remember. It’s not easy to live each day in this mindset. But it’s something I strive to embrace.

These photos were taken back in March at a beautiful spot tucked away in Malibu, and every time I look at them they remind me of the huge amount of love this family has for one another- and that makes me smile. Inside and out.

‘H’ Family you are such a beautiful family to know and work with! I hope you are enjoying your photos- and I can’t wait until we shoot again!

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Dad | Father’s Day 2010

Cynthia — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 17:44:36 +0000

He uses words like “iota” and “m.o.” [and then proceeds to explain that m.o. is actually "modus operandi", approximately translated into "method of operation"]. He calls on a daily a basis just to say hello. He leaves funny voicemail messages with silly questions that really have no answer…. like “If a word was misspelled in the dictionary…how would we know?” He has always been there for me and always will be. He is my friend and my father. And, although I can’t be with him this Father’s Day, he knows that I love him and that my heart and my thoughts are with him today as they are every day.

this photo seriously makes me smile! it’s such a great shot of my dad and it was taken at my wedding last september! thanks eric for this photo!

And to celebrate all of the wonderful Father’s out there- enjoy this day as we recognize you for all of your love, support, hard work, and devotion that you give each and every day! Some of my favorite “dad shots” from 2010:

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From Across the Pond | Los Angeles Family Photographer

Cynthia — Sat, 22 May 2010 21:13:44 +0000

This family was so much fun to meet and photograph! Little “N” is as adorable as can be, super sweet, and has tons of energy [perhaps it has something to do with that gorgeous red hair!]. I was super excited to meet this family because I love photographing new clients, but really it was because I just couldn’t wait to talk with them more! Mom is from England and Dad, from South Africa and they have the most amazing accents- EVER- and I have what I like to call “accent envy”. I have had it for as long as I can remember. It started way back in junior high when I visited Europe with my family, and it grew even deeper, most likely, because some of my very best friends throughout junior high and high school were from across the pond. My “accent envy” goes so deep, that for about a year and a half of high school my friends and I spoke with horribly fake English accents. We were young, and silly, and well… let’s just leave it at that!

So, when Mom and I spoke on the phone for the first time, hearing her accent brought back so many wonderful memories and happy feelings. And, yes you guess it, it brought back my accent envy. BIG TIME. I couldn’t wait to meet and chat and soak up all of their accent-glorious-ness [how's that for a fun made-up word!?] Needless to say, we ended up chatting for quite a long time. And, then when we met up again to create their gorgeous album, we chatted even more. Even longer. They are so sweet and so funny- I think I was laughing our entire time together.

I just love when I am able to connect like this with the families I photograph! Their photographs truly show who they are inside and the deep connection among them as a family! Here are just a few of my favorite shots from our session that took place in between our chatting!

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Leaves and Lemons | Los Angeles Child and Family Photography

Cynthia — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 07:01:48 +0000

Lately it seems as though I have had many “Sibling Sessions”- which I TOTALLY love! As an only child, I love to photograph siblings and see the love, playful competition, and complete adoration they have for one another. It’s like getting to be with your best friend all the time!

I got the chance to photograph this brother and sister team back in early January and they were such a joy to photograph! We played in the leaves, laughed a lot, and Mom even sent me home with a big bag full of home-grown meyer lemons [which later made a delicious lemon tart!]- how great it that!?

Here are a few of my favorites from our time together….

Thanks again, Mom, for the yummy lemons! I can’t wait to see what your adorable kiddos are up to again soon.

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Sweet Siblings | Los Angeles Baby Photography

Cynthia — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 01:55:19 +0000

Way back in November of 2009 I photographed these two little cuties! [I know...I know.... I am a bad blogger...] In fact, Mom had first contacted me in May but due to a cold, the weather, a few more colds, and coordinating several peoples schedules we just couldn’t get our session in until November! Well, needless to say when we finally did meet we had an absolute blast! Sweet little “A” has the most adorable, fun, and energetic personality and her baby brother “J” is about as cool and calm as any baby could be!

Jumping on the bed and lots of bribery… umm, I mean candy… kept this session playful and allowed for some super images!

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Holiday Happiness | Los Angeles

Cynthia — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 12:00:02 +0000

These two siblings were so much fun to photograph… They are so full of life and they absolutely love to be silly! We actually combined their session with their good friends, whom I have been photographing for three years now [thanks R Family for the referral!], so it really was more like a “play date” than a photo session- which is really what made it so much fun! I’ll post a few of the R Family in a later post, but for now here are few of my favorites from my time with these adorable kiddos… the first one is the prefect example of just how silly these two can be!

these next two are the rare moments caught in between all the silliness and I completely love them!

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