Esther is, among other interesting things, my sister. She lives in Seattle, and I don’t get to see her very often. So of course I pursued her with my camera during her week in California this month. Fortunately for me, Esther is beautiful, fascinating, and willing to pose.

We did two shoots in one weekend, which made life quite hectic; after all, that weekend coincided with our parents’ first ever visit to Santa Cruz. It was worth the effort, though. The first shoot was at the Red Bats’ favorite beach, about half an hour north of Santa Cruz. Esther jumped into the ocean wearing a sparkly blue prom dress she’d bought at the Goodwill earlier that day. The second shoot was in our studio, and incorporated furry animal ears, a note found scrawled on a napkin, a mustache, and Esther’s awesome camera.

The final product from these shoots will be exciting, for sure. Until that’s ready to show, here are some photos from both shoots and from Esther’s visit. Check back later for more.

Last week I had the pleasure of shooting my former boss. And I got away with it! Okay, that was pretty lame. My fellow Red Bat, he of the horrible puns, is a bad influence on me. For the record, I wasn’t looking to harm my former supervisor in any way. On the contrary, I wanted to give her some great photos of herself. I felt I owed her something in return for the organizational skills she taught me, skills which have already been invaluable in the photography business. Plus, we needed to celebrate having both moved on to newer, more interesting jobs.

Karen came to the Red Bat studio with bags of snacks for the photographers (thanks, Karen!) and a playful attitude. She was willing to pose with cupcakes, party hats, bubbles, and noisemakers. (And no, we’re not obsessed with cake and other party accessories, we just bought an excess of those things at Too Much Fun a while back. If you ever get your portrait taken by Red Bat Photography, keep in mind that horse party hats are always an option. At no extra cost.)

Here are some of our favorites from Karen’s shoot: