Dawn Tacker

The fastest four years of my life, but the best years too! Our little man is four years old. Here are a few from a special session for my muse.

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For anyone wondering… we’re still in Carlsbad, tucked inside while we keep an eye on the news of the firestorms. So far so good… my heart goes out to those evacuating. Please stay safe, everyone.
Here is a session I photographed yesterday evening at Cardiff. The air was thick with smoke, but made for some amazing […]

Two sisters, two adorable dresses, and a whole lot of sand. Here’s how Hannah and Zoe spent their Saturday afternoon.

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Here is a sneak peek for Sacha’s family. She is a very active girl, always on the move and exploring her universe. I was constantly wondering what her thoughts were; even at eleven months old, you can tell she has a unique view of the world. Many thanks to her parents for the very fun […]

What do you do with two brothers having a “wild thing” sort of day? Bring them to the park and run them ragged! Here are some more of my favorites from Jamie and Will’s session. They climbed trees, swung from the bleachers, and literally ran circles around each other. Their mom thought about postponing this […]

Tempus fugit… time flies, my friends. Evidence below. Do not put off your children’s portraits any longer! “Baby” Charlie is now one year old, toddling all over and well on his way to becoming a Big Boy. Just a sneak peek for their mom tonight, more to follow.
Before:

After:

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Here’s Marley. She’ll be a senior in high school this year, then it’s off to college to study nursing. I’ll let the images say the rest… but I can’t help but add that she’s got a little Mona Lisa about her, doesn’t she? Thanks for indulging me, Marley. It was great spending time with you.

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We had a pretty special weekend up north. Once a year, the staff and volunteers at Hearst Castle can invite guests with them to swim in the Neptune Pool. Dave’s dad works as a guide at the castle, and his mom is a volunteer docent there - so the whole family was able to go. […]

This was a very fun session from our DC trip. Donald and Donavon are brothers who reminded me how fun and relatively easy it is to photograph older kids! They were just the antidote for difficult subjects. Patient, polite, funny, and loads of brotherly affection - all the best ingredients for a successful session. Thank […]

More from our DC trip! I can still remember holding Naki on the day she was born. We moved away from Washington almost a year after that, so our visits have been way too few in between. One of the highlights of our trip was getting to know her again. Here are a few images […]

I had the pleasure of photographing baby Berlin and her family yesterday. My favorite families are those who are completely comfortable in front of the camera. It’s easy to get the emotional images that I strive for when families just act naturally. Berlin was so much fun to photograph; she has huge chocolate eyes, and […]

I hope that all the dads out there are enjoying their day! Now that I won’t be ruining any surprises, here are some of my favorites from the Father’s Day Portrait Session at Magical Child in Encinitas. And if you haven’t visited lately, my website has a special opening slideshow in honor of dads; it […]

Finally catching up on some personal work in the midst of the chaos… I hope that lots of you got to see the Flower Fields in Carlsbad in all of their glory a few weeks ago. Andrew’s favorite part: the tractor ride, of course.

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Sometimes the planets and stars all line up, and I have the most amazing session. I could not have asked for more cooperative subjects; the hardest part about this session is editing down the number of images! I was absolutely tickled by three year-old Katherine’s enthusiasm; I love talking to kids at this age, they […]

When people meet me and learn that I’m a photographer, then they meet Andrew, they usually remark on how I must have thousands of good pictures of my son. Sadly it’s more of a case of the cobbler’s children going shoeless. I have a few images - OK OK, more than a few - but […]

For their mommy Kristin, who begged me for another sneak peek and is having a hard time waiting for their viewing session this Sunday! It will all be worth it, I promise.

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Andrew’s first whale watching trip came up short… not that he cared! The whales were being shy, apparently it’s very unusual not to see any this time of year. We spotted plenty of other wildlife, and Andrew ran circles around the lower deck with a posse of other tots. It was a gorgeous day, and […]

I love this family - so I don’t even pretend to be unbiased, but seriously I loved this shoot. Parents Kristin and Kevin trusted me entirely to do the kind of shoot that I thought would give them the images they wanted - thank you both for that! I think this is some of my […]

You might recognize the super cute Wesley and Molly from their family’s beach session. This time we focused on just the two siblings, on “moving day” at their new home! I loved exploring the relationship between these two, they are quite the pair. I hope that Wesley will always be able to make Molly laugh […]

If you haven’t been to Quail Botanical Gardens in Encinitas, CA you should! It is one of our happy places. Andrew is content to explore there for hours. Our favorite part is the bamboo garden. They have a terrific children’s garden with weekly activities, and tons of other places to get away. It’s a peaceful, […]