photography by merrilee

Baby Leonard, we can’t wait to meet you!

merrilee — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 19:38:45 +0000

Katie & Ed – what can I say? We are all so, so excited for you guys! I had so much fun looking back at all your pictures and seeing the joy and excitement on your faces. It is easy to see that Baby Leonard is so blessed to have you both as parents. You are going to do a phenomenal job! Enjoy your sneak peek and I’ll have the rest ready for you at our next Settlers date

More Minis!

merrilee — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 04:49:35 +0000

Okay, I’m warning you that this post is image heavy, but I couldn’t help it…not with these super cute little ones and their families Last weekend I went up to the historic Los Rios district in San Juan Capistrano and met up with some families to do another round of mini sessions. We wandered around and took advantage of the great colors and textures and even got some shots as the train came through. If anyone is interested in booking a round of mini sessions, all the details are here. I’d love to hear from you! Here is a peek at what we got last weekend…enjoy!

Baby Ashlyn

merrilee — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 00:01:07 +0000

Not too long ago, I took maternity pictures for Amy and her family and we were talking about what it would be like for the three of them to become four…well, they are doing an amazing job! Little Ashlyn arrived and she is absolutely precious. Amy and Jenelle and Nathan are thrilled to welcome her into their family and I’m honored that I was able to capture such a special time for them. Congratulations to the four of you…such a beautiful family!

Oliver is one!

merrilee — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 00:30:55 +0000

I can’t even begin to say how much fun I had at this session with some of my best friends in the world! I chased Oliver around as he showed off his crawling skills, his walking skills, his reading skills, his guitar skills, his nunchuck skills…okay maybe not his nunchuck skills, but you get the idea. He had just turned one and we celebrated with lots and lots of pictures Chris and Ruby, congratulations on making it through the first year. You two are doing a phenomenal job and O is one lucky little dude! Thanks for letting me photograph you guys. It was an honor!

I’m booking weddings!

merrilee — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 05:43:31 +0000

So a couple weeks ago, I was very, very fortunate to have the opportunity to tag along with Rachel and Rico from Studio Castillero as they photographed a wedding at the San Diego Botanic Gardens in Encinitas. I was able to get a few images of my own too…see below. The bride and groom were a blast and the setting was gorgeous! I’m excited to share these, but I am even more excited to announce that I am officially booking weddings now The first three weddings that I book will be half price and more details can be found on my website under pricing. If you or anyone you know is interested, have them email me right away!

Paxton’s Birthday Party

merrilee — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 20:49:40 +0000

Yes, it was actually three months ago, but the pictures are still just as good Here is some of the fun that we had celebrating Pax turning one with our family and friends!

Paxton’s cousin, Brandon, made balloon animals for the occasion. He also made swords and hats that were a huge hit.

This has to be one of my favorite images of the day. We were able to get all of Pax’s cousins together with him for a brief moment. I just love the wiggling babies held by the big kids and Paxton trying to slither away. It just sums up everything

Paxton had the best birthday cake ever made by the awesome folks at Twiggs. They made him his own special planet Earth cake to go along with the big rocket cake and the cupcake stars. He may look uncertain at first, but scroll down and you can tell that he was a fan!

Here’s a few of some of the family and friends that joined us. We love you guys!

Mini Sessions!

merrilee — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 21:57:45 +0000

I did something different last week and held some mini sessions at Windansea Beach in La Jolla. I normally shoot full sessions in clients’ homes or at their favorite spots, but this time everyone came to me. My sister-in-law, Natalie, actually coordinated the logistics and helped make it happen. She got together some of her friends who were really wanting to get pictures of their little ones for Father’s Day. We set up a morning when each family would be able to meet me at the beach for a 20 minute time slot. It really is amazing what you can do in 20 minutes! In some cases, I got pictures of just the kids, some were of the moms and babies, others were dads and babies, and another groups was a little bigger. Everyone ordered prints and I brought them to Natalie who then coordinated the final delivery to the families. I had so much fun meeting everyone and this format worked out so well, I have decided to offer this to anyone who can bring at least five families together. I think this will be a great option for families who would really like to get some treasured images of their children or families, but aren’t able to book a full lifestyle session.

If you’re interested in something like this and you think you can round up some friends who are too, get in touch with me about setting up some minis. If you do the coordinating, your session is free!

Here are the details:

You need at least 5 families including your own to sign up.
We can work together to come up with the perfect location.
You need to all be able to come on the same morning or afternoon.
Each session is $50, 20 minutes long, and includes one 5×7 print.
The coordinator gets their session for free.

For fun, here are some images from last week’s minis…

Something special for those expecting…

merrilee — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 06:41:51 +0000

Some of you might remember that awhile back I took some pictures for brother and sister team, Joel and Katie, who own Post Box Press and custom design amazing announcements and invitations. Evidence of their awesomeness can be found in my logo They created it for me and it couldn’t have been more perfect. So I mention them now because Katie and her husband, Ed, are having a baby! We are all so excited and can’t wait to celebrate Baby Leonard’s arrival. In honor of the little one, we have joined forces to offer a special deal to all of those expecting folks. Katie and Joel are offering $100 off baby announcements and I’m offering $100 off maternity and newborn sessions from now until September 1st! They were super sweet and posted an interview with me on their blog. You can read it here. More evidence of Katie and Joel’s skills can be seen below in the birth announcement they did for Paxton. They are the best!

Go Team Hutch!

merrilee — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 06:39:59 +0000

Last night Brad and I did an engagement session for Lindsay and Paul who will be getting married this October and we cannot begin to express how excited we are to be shooting their wedding. They won our hearts when they told us they would be getting married at Stone Brewery and that the time of the ceremony was selected so that the light would be perfect for pictures. *LOVE* We had a blast hanging out with them last night and recreating their first date We started at the bar at the La Valencia in La Jolla and then wandered around the Cove just like they did…well, minus the two of us with our cameras paparazzi style. Other than that, it was exactly like their first date. To make the evening complete, we finished with dinner at Ritual Tavern in North Park (again just like their first date…yes, we have a theme going) which is one of their favorite hangouts and the site of their rehearsal dinner. When Lindsay showed me her wedding plan app on the iPhone, I decided that we had to complete the shoot with a little geekery Lindsay and Paul, we can’t wait for your wedding! You guys are so perfect together and we are looking forward to celebrating your day with you. Go Team Hutch!

Goodbye Fergie, we’ll miss you!

merrilee — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 05:20:47 +0000

This last weekend we said goodbye to our beloved bulldog, Fergie. She was 12 1/2 years old which is quite a feat for for a bully so we were very lucky to have her around as long as we did. She joined our family 11 years ago and quickly became a Willoughby…traveling, going to the beach, eating out at restaurants, etc… She joined us on a number of trips and even a few airplane rides. She LOVED riding in the car and “dancing” for her treats. As our friends and family all know, Fergie was a sweetheart and many will remember her signature paw in the air when she wanted some love. She joined us in Julian with the Boykins last weekend and passed away peacefully in her sleep on Saturday night. We thought it fitting to celebrate her life with a few photos. Fergs, Fergalicious, Fergstress, Fergles, Fergolina, Miss Fergie…we will miss you lots and we’re so glad you were a part of our lives. We were better for it. We love you!

Picture taken by Carey Schumacher of Barefoot Memories