Happy Birthday { to our twins } Marin, Napa, Sonoma County Photographer....Shelley Hohe

Today we celebrated our son and daughters 12th birthday.  We had such a fun day starting out with a nice breakfast at home with dad taking the morning off, followed by lunch with grandma and a trip to the mall for some shopping.  I am so blessed to be their mom and to have watched them grow over the last 12 years.  I love looking back at all the photos I have captured of them and to see that my love of photography started way before 3 years ago.  I might not have been the best photographer, but the passion and desire to capture our kids at different stages in their life was there.  They are a huge reason behind Shelley Dee Photography.  Thank you Thomas and Katelyn for inspiring me to continue capturing you with my camera.  Happy Birthday....I love you both so much!!!

These 2 photos were taken over 10 years ago with my little point & shoot

 This last year with my dslr

Lifestyle, Portrait & Wedding Photographer serving Marin, Sonoma & Napa Counties

415.827.9646 ~ www.shelleydeephotography.com

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Happy Fathers Day {My Dad} Marin, Napa, Sonoma County Photographer...Shelley Hohe

Happy Fathers Day to my dad who I love and miss so very much!  The reason I miss him is because he lives on the other side of the United States. There is quite a bit of mileage separating us, but not enough to hinder the love I have for my dad.  If anything it just makes my heart love and miss him even more!


Even though my dad lives on the other side of the U.S. we still talk often on the phone which I love!  He is still that dad who loves me no matter what, who gives me strength, who encourages me and who I can go to for some very important answers.  I love the fact that I know he will always have my back, he will always be there for me in my time of need.


Just recently my dad had heart bypass surgery, it was so hard to know he was going through this difficult time in his life and I could not be there for him.  All I could do was pray to God to give him strength, to comfort him and to heal his body.  So far God has done that and I am so thankful.  He has had a little bit of a tough time with his recovery,  but I know God is faithful, each and every day is a new day of restoration!


I love my dad so much and there is nothing worse than to know your parent is not feeling well.  You always know your dad to be the strong one, your hero, but sometimes even our dads need a hero too.  So today being Fathers Day I pray that my dad will know that the love I feel from him is just a glimpse of the love our Father God has for my dad.  Gods love is perfect love and I thank God for loving me so much that He blessed me with such a loving, strong and encouraging dad!!


Happy Fathers Day Dad!!  I love you with all my heart!!!

This is how God showed His love for us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loves us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. {1 John 4:9-10}

Lifestyle, Portrait & Wedding Photographer serving Marin, Sonoma & Napa Counties

415.827.9646 ~ www.shelleydeephotography.com

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Harvest Christian School Auction/Dinner {Events} Marin, Napa and Sonoma County Photographer...Shelley Hohe

It was just a month ago I had the honor of witnessing some very talented men and women throughout the Petaluma community come together to decorate for this amazing event.  This is Harvest Christian School's annual auction and dinner where all proceeds go towards their educational programs.  I was amazed at how hard people worked at planning and putting together this event.  There were so many wonderful items that were donated from different businesses in the community.  This year I was not able to attend the event but I had the honor of donating a photography session and capturing the beautiful outcome of the hard work everyone put in to make this one amazing night!

Lifestyle, Portrait & Wedding Photographer serving Marin, Sonoma & Napa Counties

415.827.9646 ~ www.shelleydeephotography.com

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For my Mom {Happy Mothers Day} by.....Shelley Hohe

Happy Mothers day to my mom who has done so much for me in my life!  How do I begin to be able to show her how much I love and appreciate her!  She is the one who raised me, the one who rubbed my back when I was sick, held my hand when I was scared, comforted me when I was sad, encouraged me to be my best and loved me no matter what.


My mom is the most loving, compassionate, patient, understanding, giving and selfless woman I know.  I am not just saying this because she is my mom, this is just who she is!  I remember when I was pregnant with our twins it was Mothers Day and her birthday within a week from each other, due to the fact I was on bed rest I felt so bad that I wasn't able to get out to find her a gift that she so well deserved.  All I could do was get creative by gathering things I already had laying around the house.....a pretty jar, colorful note paper and some ribbon to decorate.  I decided to make her a memory jar by writing down special memories I had of my beautiful mother growing up through the years.  I had so many wonderful memories that I could have sat there writing for days, weeks and months stuffing folded up pieces of colorful paper in that jar.  Back then I thought this wasn't enough, I felt so bad that I couldn't get out and  purchase a special gift for my mom.  Now 12 years later, I am so glad I made her that memory jar because to this day she tells me that every once in a while she'll go grab a piece of paper out of that jar and be reminded of a special memory I wrote down.  I couldn't have put this memory jar together without her and everything she has done for me in my life!


This Mothers Day is extra special to me, especially for the fact this will be the first Mothers Day in the last 10 years that we get to spend together.  It has been so nice living close to my mom again.  Living in Oregon was always hard during the holidays, especially Mothers Day.  Now that we are back in California, I look forward to spending many Mothers Days with my Mom celebrating the most amazing woman I know....my mom....my friend!!

Happy Mothers Day Mom!  I love you so very much!!

I am so blessed to have you as my Mom and I thank God for you!!!

Thursdays Thanksgiving {Locks of Love} Marin, Napa, Sonoma County Photographer...Shelley Hohe

Today I am thinking of how thankful to God I am for our children and their health.  It always saddens me when I hear about anyone who is suffering because of some disease like cancer, especially when I hear of a child who is battling with it.  Cancer is a serious disease to where we are all hoping and praying that a cure will be found.


In the meantime there is a wonderful community out there full of support from St. Jude, American Cancer Society, Lance Armstrong Foundation, Lalya Grace Children's Cancer Research Foundation even Locks of Love.  Even with all the support out there , I can't even fathom the thought of having a child go through this.   That is why I am so thankful, blessed and moved by our daughter wanting to donate her hair last November!


Out daughter Katelyn decided over 3 years ago that she wanted to grow her hair out just so she can get it cut and donate it to provide hair for a little girl who might have lost all of hers due to treatments.  It all started when we used to watch Extreme Home Makeover and Katelyn was always so touched and grateful that after every episode seeing a child sick with cancer, she would express how she wished she could help out in some way.  Then we watched a movie called "Letters to God" which is a heartfelt tale of inspiration, hope and redemption for a young boy who is fighting cancer. It was at that point she told me she wanted to donate her hair.  Every time we used to get her haircut she would always be so close to the length it needed to be to donate until the last time which was in November, all because she made it her goal to do this.


Today I am not only thankful for our healthy children, but I am thankful for the supportive community out there doing all they can to fight his terrible disease.  If it weren't for these foundations, Extreme Home Makeover or movies who share about what is going on, our daughter might have not known the impact this disease has on kids like her.  I am just so thankful that we as a family do know and that even if it's just our daughter donating her hair, (who I believe has such a loving, compassionate heart that is filled with Jesus)  it's a start and it's giving something to someone in need!


Below is Katelyn getting her hair cut and to make this even more special, we were so blessed to have her Aunt Debbie cut her hair.  BTW she is AMAZING with hair and you can find her at Avante Hair Salon in San Rafael!

Our beautiful loving and compassionate daughter....Katelyn

Lifestyle, Portrait & Wedding Photographer serving Marin, Sonoma & Napa Counties

415.827.9646 ~ www.shelleydeephotography.com

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Wedding Workshop { with Jasmine Star } Marin, Napa, Sonoma County Lifestyle & Wedding Photographer...Shelley Hohe

This past weekend I attended a "LIVE" online wedding workshop given by the one and only Jasmine Star over at creativeLIVE.  Jasmine Star is an international award winning wedding photographer who is not only gifted at documenting couples on their wedding day with her camera, but she is a gifted teacher and speaker to so many new and upcoming photographers in the industry.  If you are a photographer, creativeLIVE is the place to be for live online workshops. Whether it's weddings, newborns, family photography or if you just want to learn about off camera flash, I highly recommend you head over to their site and check out their different online courses.

When you combine creativeLIVE with Jasmine Star, you couldn't ask for a better weekend full of learning and confidence building. Besides learning, I also had such a fun time!  As you watch creativeLIVE with the instructor, the crew at cL and the 5 students that were chosen to be on the show, there is also a live chat where you can chat with other photographers and also ask questions for the instructors.  Jasmine is so sweet, funny, encouraging and humble, she has such a passion for what she does and is so great at answering everyones questions! Jasmine really poured her heart out for all of us this weekend!!


Jasmine's Weekend Wedding Workshop was packed with tips for photographers wanting to learn more about the wedding industry.  Besides learning about marketing your brand, publishing your work and photographing a high end wedding,  there was also a beautiful wedding set up with a bride, groom, bridal party and stunning decor.  Jasmine walked us through a live demonstration on how to photograph an editorial wedding by teaching us techniques, posing the bridal party and capturing all the wedding details.


It really was an amazing weekend and I am so thankful for how much I learned.  In 3 days I took over 20 pages of notes.  I am so excited to put everything I learned into practice now. To top all of this off creativeLIVE was giving away prizes a few times each day.  All you had to do is tweet a tip or quote that Jasmine spoke about earlier in the day and you'll never believe who won a fabulous prize.....ME!!!! I won  a $260 credit to Photographer's Edit.  "Photographer's Edit specializes in a clean, classic style of post-processing for the wedding photographer."


How can I thank you enough Jasmine Star, creativeLIVE and Photographer's Edit.  I am so blessed and appreciate everything you taught and shared more than you will ever know!


God bless!
Xoxo
Shelley

Click on the website links below to find out more about 

Jasmine Star, creativeLIVE and Photographer's Edit

Lifestyle, Portrait & Wedding Photographer serving Marin, Sonoma & Napa Counties

415.827.9646 ~ www.shelleydeephotography.com

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Monday's Must-have's { Kelly Moore Bag } Marin, Sonoma, Napa County Photographer...Shelley Hohe

Monday's Must-have's  will be an on going post which I will do my absolute best to share about some of my favorite things that either help me in my business or my personal life.  Todays post I am featuring Kelly Moore Bag.  Kelly Moore Bag started out as Kelly Moore Photography (read to find out more about Kelly Moore) who is an amazing photographer who began another business designing camera bags of all different sizes, styles and colors for both women and men.  The reason these bags are "THE PERFECT" camera bag is because so much thought and detail went into each and every bag.  Being that Kelly is also a photographer she knew exactly what photographers wanted and needed in a bag.


In the last few years I received two Kelly Moore Bags....one as a birthday gift and another as an anniversary gift.  The first one I received is called is called the B-Hobo Bag which is perfect to carry during a photo shoot or an all day event like a wedding.  It's not to big or bulky and has room for the items that are a must to carry on you at all times...like an extra lens or two, a flash, extra batteries and memory cards.  The second one I received is called the JuJu Bag.  This bag is AWESOME!  It holds ALL of my camera gear, it is sturdy and very protective.  I love this bag because it is perfect for storing all your gear including an extra camera body.  I bring this bag everywhere and I call it my go to bag....because when going on a photo-shoot I can either grab what I need out of this or transfer the things I need to my smaller B-Hobo Bag.  With all of Kelly Moore Bags there are pockets everywhere which I love for storing my keys, iphone, lip gloss :) and business cards.  Each bag also has protective dividers inside and comfortable adjustable shoulder straps for easy carrying.

To hear videos without music, scroll down page and click pause on playlist on right hand side of page.

My Kelly Moore Bags....

I just love how these match my business colors too!  

Kelly Moore Bags really are the BEST!  They are full of FUNCTION and full of FUN!  These bags really are a must-have for every photographer.  When you purchase one believe me you won't be disappointed!  Kelly Moore Bag has the best customer service ever, if you ever have a problem with a bag they are right on it to fix the problem.  Besides all this I love the lady behind all this...she is so inspiring and has such a big heart.  As a matter of fact she posted this video on her facebook page months ago about her family and her new daughter she adopted.  You will have to grab some kleenex because you won't be able to get through this video with out it.



For more information, to view styles, colors, specs and interior photos of inside of bags...go to kellymoorebag.com 

Lifestyle, Portrait & Wedding Photographer serving Marin, Sonoma & Napa Counties

415.827.9646 ~ www.shelleydeephotography.com

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