This little sweetie Melanie turned one! I took her newborn photos last year and the next thing I know she needs another photo shoot! I think these photos speak for themselves. We had a lot of fun setting up this adorable tee-pee and boho floral setting just for the special first birthday girl. I think mom did a spectacular job picking out all of these items, it just turned out so cute. Enjoy!
We had to take some photos at home also, such an adorable watermelon first birthday party theme!
I’m here to tell you there is such a thing as a stress free photo shoot. It might be full of silly faces and funny noises….and you might need a nap afterwards…but please make a vow to let your next kid’s photo shoot be worry and stress free! I have a few tips that make things easier with little ones.
I’m a Sacramento family photographer. Click HERE to contact me about Fall 2021 mini session dates and times.
xoxox,
Julie
Beautiful outdoor maternity photography in the Sacramento and surrounding areas. Call or email to book.
Jewel Photography 916-213-8384
4jewelphotography@gmail.com
Elisa and Truman were heading into the valley from San Francisco. I was looking forward to meeting up with them at Soul Food Farm, just 40 minutes west of Sacramento. I was eager to check out this spot, with reservations available on hipcamp (aka: glamping), antiques, chickens, farm fresh eggs, an olive grove, and flower gardens galore. Just being surrounded by the golden hills covered in oak trees sounds like a good time to me, but now I know there is a lot more to this little farm than meets the eye. I will share more from Elisa and Truman’s photo session later, but for now I am going to give you guys a little glimpse of what it was like to explore the grounds of Soul Food Farm.
First off, I was greeted by the owner Alexis, and I wish I had watched this YouTube video of her Ted Talk before I went! This is a wonderful story about her dream to be a farmer. If you have ever farmed, or grew up on a farm, it is definitely something that lives in your soul. And now I know why it is so aptly named Soul Food Farm. Their story, The dirt beneath my feet, can be read about here.
I’m pretty sure these photos speak for themselves, but one of the first things I noticed was the truck “garden” bed. Have an old truck laying around? Put it to use! Now i’m thinking I need to turn every available spot into a garden. They have the prettiest lavender growing and an amazing field of flowers, which they sell for bouquets and flower arrangements. I will definitely need to remember to stop here when i’m in the neighborhood to get some farm fresh eggs.
We had such a relaxing little adventure, I don’t think Elisa and Truman minded their picture being taken at all! Congrats to this beautiful couple and thanks for choosing me to take your photos and see Soul Food Farm!
xoxoxox~ Julie
Check out my website for more photos and testimonials!
There’s probably nothing more comfortable than your home. And these two made me feel right at home as soon as I showed up to take their photos. Nicholas and Breeanne’s engagement photos are special because they take place where the wedding will be held in Loomis, CA. This is the property of the bride’s parents, and also where they were married long ago. I think it is so sweet to get married in the same place your parents were, and take formal photos where they did as well. What a special tribute to love!
This property is so beautiful, and at this time of year full of wildflowers and lush greenery. We decided to go off to some remote areas that we will probably not be able to get to during the wedding. This was fun and I can see why these two are a couple, they have great chemistry and are constantly smiling at each other. I’m so excited for the wedding!
The property was full of huge boulders…who wouldn’t want hiking in their own backyard!
A meadow of purple wildflowers? Yes please!
Of course we had to take photos on the rusty old tractor! My family actually had one of these on our little farm growing up.
This wedding is going to be so beautiful…I can’t wait!
Want to see more of my photos? Check them out HERE 🙂
Until next time! xoxoxox~Julie
This spring has kept me busy! From engagements, to high school senior portraits…this beautiful weather and rain have made for some colorful photos. I love finding new spots around the American River, there are so many great paths to take. Here are a few shots of wildflowers I grabbed during recent escapades. So far I have managed to avoid ticks, mosquitos, and snakes. Knock on wood! I won’t be leaving my bug spray home quite yet. I am really thankful for my clients that trust me to take them out on little mini adventures. I can’t wait to blog about more photo shoots and weddings (past, present, and future!)…stay tuned!
This is a path at the Effie Yeaw nature center. What a great place, I highly recommend visiting this state park, especially with kiddos, there is so much wildlife to see!
I wish I could identify some of these wildflowers! If only I wasn’t so busy being a photographer, I could go back to my botany roots and try to remember some of these flower names, or at least bring a California native book along with me!
Sometimes I get to bring a little helper along too. Which is kinda nice 🙂 These photos are taken along the American River near Sacramento State University, where I just happened to graduate from. It was such a fun place for the family to run around and for us to get some great senior portraits. This senior happens to be Argia’s cousin. Alyssa is off to UCSB…exciting!
This photo was taken on the way up to Foresthill, CA. I was shooting an engagement session at the Forest House Lodge and had to stop several times because the drive was so beautiful and they had convenient little turn outs. (You can see those engagement photos here.) Anyway, at this elevation the lupine looks a bit different, so once again, I needed my CA native plant book with me! Silver tip bush lupine? Maybe…
If you have any fun spots you would like to take photos at, let me know! I love new locations (and hunting for wildflowers)!
Check out my BLOG and more of my work HERE
Or just contact me at jewelphotographysacramento@gmail.com!
xoxoxox~Julie
Not too long ago, I drove up to the beautiful town of Foresthill to meet up with Staci and Shane. They thought it would be fun to come up to their wedding cite, the Grand Sierra Pointe at Forest House Lodge to take some engagement photos, and I loved the idea. We got to do a lot more exploring than we will be able to on the wedding day, so it was nice to take a look at the area surrounding the ceremony location. This place has the most awesome views!
The drive up was so nice…on the way back, I just had to stop at the viewpoints to snap some photos of wildflowers that I caught a glimpse of on the way up.
I am excited to see these two again at their Forest House wedding! It will be here before we know it!
Till next time…check out my website HERE!
Feel free to follow me on Instagram! And Twitter! And Facebook!
xoxoxo~ Julie
I admit it, I am a little behind in blogging weddings! It is not summer, it is winter. But you know, a girl gets busy and blogging gets put to the bottom of the to-do list. So here is a summer wedding to warm you up, since it is cold and rainy here in Northern California. And yay for rain and snow! Keep it coming, we don’t like this horrible drought.
There is not much I love more than the mountains, so this wedding was in the perfect foothill location in Camino, CA…right in our very own Apple Hill. Most people know this area for it’s apple pies, like mama Vicky makes at Apple Pantry Farm, which we passed on the way there. The wedding was at a private residence, which was surrounded by wooded areas and amazing greenery. When your neighbor has a Christmas tree farm, you can consider yourself pretty lucky!
This wedding was a group of friends that we had already photographed weddings for, so it was nice to see familiar people and catch up since we last saw them. I had trouble picking photos for this blog…the people were awesome and the scenery was pretty great too.
Instead of regular seating for the ceremony, they gathered a bunch of quilts and spread them over the grassy hill. It made the ceremony very casual and unique.
It was a beautiful and emotional wedding ceremony and I could see that afterwards, everyone was ready to party celebrate! 😉
This wedding was one where the toasts stood out to me. You didn’t need to be an insider to see how strong these friendships are…they all had me tearing up!
Here’s to many more years of celebrating for these friends and families. I wish them the best.
To see more of this and other weddings, please visit my website…HERE!
On Valentine’s day, our little family decided to go up to the snow for the day. I had a few spots in mind for taking photos. One of them was Donner Summit Tunnel…except we played a little too hard the first half of the day and our 5 year old fell asleep before we could get to the tunnel. I wanted to set up a tripod and take a romantic little photo of me and my husband in the snow for V-day, but we didn’t quite get to that part! I did take some other photos that I thought everyone would enjoy. We love our little family road trips and feel very lucky to live in such a beautiful place as Northern California.
To see more of my photos, click here.
To schedule a snow session, click here!
xoxo
Julie 🙂
Jewel Photography is growing and changing! I’ve been really busy lately and now I’m going to be a whole lot busier! I’m changing my business name to “Julie Apichino Photography!”
Recently, I was contacted by another photographer in Tennessee who goes by “Jewels Photography.” A year ago she obtained the federal trademark on that name (without notifying other businesses already operating with that name). These other businesses (mine included) have been busy building great reputations for many years and she’d like to reap the benefits by expanding into our geographical regions. At least one of these businesses has a good chance to have this Tennessee photographer’s trademark overturned–turn around is fair play, right?!!!
Well, I decided, “Why get bogged down in this mess, even if I’ve got a regional claim to the name?” Besides, I’d much rather spend time with my clients!
So, with your love and support, I will be changing my business name to “Julie Apichino Photography,”
Truly,
Julie 🙂
UPDATE: I am still operating my business as Jewel Photography. I have worked hard to gain SEO in my area and I have put a lot of time and effort into my business so I will keep running it to the best of my ability. This means put time into taking care of my clients instead of worrying about changing my business name!
Jewel Photography 