skin issues:

rosanna had a zit on her face the other day*.
on her chin, bottom right.
that tiny little dot.
you might not see it.

thats okay, because it was there, and it HURT.

* i have her full permission to share this story. in fact, she asked "are you going to post that photo of me on your blog?"

me ages 2-4.

digging through family photos is always fun for me. i'm sentimental and nostalgic. i never really knew i had a hanging-out-in-the-bathtub theme in my life though.

i was reading a Kids Bible.
probably called Bible 4 Kidz!

little shannon in florida.

first day of preschool
...decorated with my mom's clip-on earrings and bow,

my mom sewed me this outfit, including the headband. (and i think she sewed that cat too)

don't blackmail me,
especially since my hair didn't grow until age 4.
shannon

the Leith family photos

i'm going to start with the first Leith family photo.
all the way from November 1986, with me and my parents:

then came Ryan a year and a half later,

I couldn't find one with just me, Ryan, and Jason (oops! middle-child syndrome strikes again)

here's when Carson arrived:

and then finally came a sister, Heather!
thanks for color-coordinating us Mom. specifically note jason's yellow socks which bring out the yellow in the girls' dresses, and carson's green converse, which i bet she bought specially for the photo.

now, THIS is our last professionally taken photo. on the beach in Washington. the glowing sun rising over the hill. entirely denim. jason whispering sweet jokes into heather's ear. me playing with a stick. carson holding a basket. mmmmmmmmmmmm.

and then fast forward to our totally fun family photoshoot we did in Old Town Orange with Kurt Hilmerson! It was sure weird being on the opposite side of the camera for once, but I had fun!

I now know what it's like to stress over WHAT TO WEAR FOR THE PHOTOSHOOT. ahh! ha, I always tell my clients: "just wear whatever you want! wear what you love. wear something that feels totally YOU." well-- my little philosophy left me confused when it was actually my turn to be photographed. is brown too plain? do i look good in v-neck? will my mom like it? will my friends like it? do i like it? ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

i told my mom that no one was allowed to tell each other what they were wearing. the ultimate solution so that we didn't end up with everyone in 100% jean.

if we ever start a band?

if we ever get asked to do a gap commercial:

if we ever get our own reality tv show:
hi! we're just normal people! sitting on a curb

this one's cute!

my brothers, in age order:

ryan jason carson

oh, the girls.
we're much more fun.

okay, we pulled the melodramatic card too.

i need to explain these next two.
my family has teams. the brownies and the blondies. each team shares specific quirks and tendencies and personality traits.

the brownies. my dad, me, and carson.
we pride ourselves in being the more... normal ones.

the blondies are more...weird?
(they were all blonde when they were younger. promise.)
my team rolled our eyes at them the whole time this shenanigans was happening.

kurt wanted us to be a rap group, so here we are:

aww my parents :)
are cute :)

hi mom and dad!

and here's our ending series. taken in the middle of the street while the police told us to GET OFF THE STREET via loudspeaker.

a big big thank you to Kurt for taking these.

and to mom dad ryan jason carson and heather,
thanks for being so much fun.
we kind of overtook old town orange for the afternoon, didn't we?
love you,
love shan.

and hi grandma and grandpa! i'll send you prints!

Annie and Drew's Engagement Session

heres a little addition!
my faves, the polaroids.

Annie and Drew, you are absolutely stunning in this photo.

Annie and I have been emailing each other about her wedding for a few months, and she hired me without ever meeting in person! I was so excited when she told me her fiance was Drew: because he was my boss when I was sixteen!! It's a small world, and I love photographing weddings of people I know. Annie also admitted to being a long-time blog stalker of mine. Since before she even MET Drew! She's wanted me to shoot her wedding from before there was ever a boyfriend on the scene (so girls: there's hope! now she's found her man!)

Old Town Orange is the best backdrop for photos! We walked around town for an hour or so and found cool little spots, like this one:

Most people get worried about looking awkward in their photos. It's a common fear. I always tell people to just relax, because I guarantee they'll look natural, beautiful, glowing, and happy:

there's this alleyway we found that acted like a windtunnel--

could it get any more perfect looking?this couple is going to be such a blast to hang out with on their wedding day!

i love how Drew's looking at her here,

i told him Drew, be the MAN

this one is so happy! I love it.

hi, we're models.

and a fun close one to finish us off!

Annie...Drew...
you guys were SO great and I can't wait to see you again soon for the big day!
Shannon

Festim made us pizza. MADE!

We invited our friend Festim over for dinner the second we found out he knew how to throw pizza dough. We'll provide the ingredients and the kitchen and the cute dishes, you provide the culinary expertise. per,fect :)

Anticipating an epic meal, Rosanna and I also invited our friends Charity and Ellen. Dinner party!

there wasn't a dress code, i promise you,Ro and I take polaroids of our houseguests for our fridge.
Pizza throwing? Dude, you're in.

Charity brought us brownies! With Andes mint on top!

Charity, those brownies ruled. Thank you!!just fulfilling the what i ate for dinner part of my blog header...

with love,
shannon

glimmering beside our window...

a few days ago i was mesmerized when i saw my vase of weeds.

--------------------------------------------

enjoy enjoy enjoy your day,
shannon leith!

sos
piri
sos
piri
sos
piri
sos
piri

we've bought some birds for our apartment.

FYI: I now live in a new apartment.
Sadly, the adventures with Hollie and Ellen have come to a close, and I now live with Rosanna, Kerry, and Lauren! Hollie is taking the semester off to get MARRIED (I'm the maid of honor! woo!) and El will be living with two amazing girls: Danika and Madison. Rooming is crazy in college, and the logistics worked better for me to switch apartments, so now I live across the way from my old place. BUT DON'T WORRY. I'm still in the ever-so-teal Tropicana!

In an attempt to fill our blank walls, Rosanna and I drove to LA to buy a birdcage. We saw the perfect one hanging in a window at a vintage shop on Fairfax one night and just had to go back and get it. I do all the cooking at our place, and Ro handles the projects like: birdcage hanging.

She became insta-friends with our little feathery guys.

Odysseus and Penelope. These two are lovers. Like all people in love, their eyes are only on each other, throwing anything unnecessary to the wind: blinking, eating, bathing... who needs those things when you've got each other? Anastasia (ah-nah-stahs-ia) III is the Queen of the cage. She makes all the rules. She gets the nest 100% of the time and never shares. She's pretty stuck up. And pretty beautiful.

They came all the way from Michael's, since real birdies aren't allowed.

and i need to go put a towel over the cage before i go to bed.
we wouldn't want them blinded by the morning light.

when they say you cant have pets just buy fake ones,
shan

blythe hill, looking smashing

blythe is an exotically beautiful girl.
she is just so unique.
don't you think?

her and i have recently become disney annual passholders.
so, we went to disneyland on monday morning. MORNING! so fun!!

here is my totally radical friend, loving her life on the bumblebees in California Adventure.heeeeere we are. little besties. (since 10th grade!)she has had this amazingly orange orange coat for a year, and hasn't ever worn it. she told me that she FORCED herself to wear it so that it wasn't wasting closet space. FORCE? you had to FORCE yourself to wear that beauty??
shining, as per usual with herthis is our documentation of her detesting her coat.
i made her smile a little though.

disneyland is just making me so happy.
and the people i go there with.

with love,
shannon

Jamie and Mikey at the Fullerton Arboretum

Jamie and Mikey have been dating for about 6 or 7 YEARS! I've known them both since high school, and I couldn't be more thrilled for their wedding coming up in June.

They were so much fun to photograph, partly because I know them so well, and partly because they made it so easy for me. We had a blast.

I want to start with my absolute favorite image of all time,

and next, i love this one because to me it shows their friendship. Mikey and Jamie are best friends!

and how perfect is this moment?the Fullerton Arboretum was beautiful...they were totally fun
:)!heres a nice smiley oneand a shining glowing one!they, are, so in love.i think we called this a Lord of the Rings moment.i really want to write ahh! so cute! for each one of these photos. i loved photographing these two.ahh! so cute!

this one's fun :)

i love how Mikey rocks the side-part.

I was in love with Jamie's dress, so-- I had to use it for a polaroid background---

and along with all the others, i love this one too. :)

Juli and John's engagement session

I've known Juli for almost 3 years-- and I couldn't be more excited about her recent engagement. John is perfect for her, and it was fun to get to know the guy she's been talking about for the past year!

We kept it simple, and did their engagement session at a local park in La Mirada. It was rainy, muddy, and I was surprised (and relieved) that none of us fell down...

I love that Juli and John are such good friends

they are so perfectly gorgeous in this photo.
i love john's vest. he got it at a thrift shop for $5.
now that's a man that i appreciate.

this one gives me an epic feeling

:) they were fun.

okay, this is a possible favorite. i love it.

the leaves! the people!

glowing,

this is one of my new favorite angles. so cute.

ooooooooooo

its fun to me that the tree wraps around them.
and even more fun, is the way that juli glows around john.

i'm so glad they're getting married :)
look at them!

to the two J's.
you are truly beautiful people.
- shan

Sun From Shadow

a long time ago Donny, my sister, MaryKate, and I went to my brothers' concert. that's brothers', plural. two of my brothers are in a band! here's their myspace.

Let me tell you about my musical self.
I like Norah Jones, Regina Spektor, the Weepies...
essentially, quiet...girls.

When it comes to rock I'm not the one to ask,
but I hear from other people that my brothers' band is legitimately good.

I mean, of course iiiiiiiiii think they're good, but they're my brothers.
So I want to let you know, the general public has declared Sun from Shadow a great band. They're this epic group because they're all still in high school.

So young! So good!

the lighting at the Vault was awful.
Just want to let you know why he looks like a skeleton.

Carson is the main guy.
He sings and plays guitar

Jason plays the keys. and ohhh does he ever play the keys.rock, star

jason likes to turn his head to the right.

one of the most fun parts was bringing MaryKate Reynolds to the show! She's a Sun from Shadow fan :) Here she is with Carson.

and all the guys! woo!

and here I am with my three brothers. i really like that I have three little brothers, and its weird that they're not so little anymore. i'm in denial that they're now taller than me.

nighty,
shan

me in a new context: babysitter!

I will only babysit my friend Megan's kids.

#1, my life is currently occupied by school and photography,
and #2, they've completely biased my view on children, because I haven't come across any as brilliant as Jack and Parker. When I meet other kids I wonder why they don't voluntarily vaccuum, prefer soy milk over soda, and ask me "how was your day, shannon? how are you feeling?"

Meet Jack.
an adventuresome four year old, i'd say...

here's his two year old brother, Parker.

i think i learned more from watching Parker delight in the leaves than i learned in an entire semester in school.

you might predict that i'd say this, but,
sweet thing.

we went on wagon rides with the neighbor, Josh, and pretended the wagon was thunder mountain at disneyland -

kids, are, SO CUTE!
(jackkkk. your sly little look.)

i dressed Parker myself.jack 'taking a little rest' on his skateboard ramp
(- shannon can i take a little rest? - YEAH MAN!)

my curious little Parker exploring the trees and the skywant to see how much they've grown? : here's the last time i babysat, and their family photos from a while ago

insta-fort

insta-babyGap model

we had fun. :)
i am thoroughly in awe of mothers who do this everyday.

the best, cutest part was when Jack wanted to mail his mom a paper airplane with a note on the wing telling her "mom I hope you have a great time on your trip and i really love you" as a special surprise for when she came home.

we walked over to the mailbox and MAILed that airplane. a homemade envelope and everything, because we couldn't find one big enough.

love, your neighborhood babysitter who feeds the kids lots of brownies and gummy bears,
- shannon

New Year's Eve at disneyland--

This is the 6th year that Blythe and I have spent New Year's together. New Year's at disneyland ruled. we loved it.

Blythe was a bit sick, so she was precious and brought soup in a thermos in a backpack.

her vest and her curls and those lights in the background? ah!

it turns out Donny and Blythe bring harmonicas everywhere they go

my friend Caleb.

Matt, and Lindsey, and Justin, and blurry Caleb

blurry Justin with the BEST CONSTELLATION CEILING EVER!

my friend, again
with her hand-knitted hatahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

......hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!...ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

. (one of my favorites.)

a ska band, suburban legends, played they were fun. they even have choreographed trumpet player routines.

happy!

donny hoover brought us in to 2008 via harmonica,/////////////////////////////////////////////////

14 times? is that enough?

blythe gave me this yellow jacket, and its called a lumberjacket

my head flew forward onto the seat in front of me in Indiana Jones while I was tickling my neighbors, pretending to be spiders crawling up their necks.

i got a bloody nose.
it was dramatic, to say the least.

rock on!
2008!
why is this underlined!
- shan.

Shelley and Mark's Christmas Wedding

They were married on December 21st.
They've been on their Yosemite honeymoon already, celebrating their first Christmas together: just the two of them.

This is one of the sweetest couples. Their wedding was at Grace EV Free church in La Mirada, and it was so fun to see a bunch of friends there!

a winter wedding.
genius, in my opinion.

Shelley got ready in the church's nursery, so I grabbed a children's book as a background for the rings. I have a picture of these things on every page. I'm going to give them their own blog post.

oh, just getting ready in parallel universes.

Shelley, you are stunning

so much fun!right before the ceremony.
Shelley and her dad--

and here she is!

seeing her for the first time,

!!

I have the best second-shooter ever. Blythe comes with me on most of my weddings, and she got this rad shot of them exiting the church! She's so good.

:)

signing the license!

this image says a lot to me.
i like it

now THIS was one of the sweetest moments I've seen. This is Mark's grandma telling him how lucky he is to have such a beautiful bride. It's sometimes hard to take photos while simultaneously getting teary-eyed and emotional...

Their reception was at Neff Park-- which also happened to be the place for their lots of their dates, their first kiss, their engagement... and now their reception! I loved taking photos here-- they showed me around to all their favorite meaningful spots. this is in their gazebo. THEIR.

these four are great friends, i hear

oooo the light

i love this one of them coming into their reception!

throw, that, garter.

whaddya know. carri javier and mark makin were the lucky-catchers! everyone thought it was rigged. apparently it wasn't? call me when you guys get engaged!

and this is Blythe (i like to call her Blx.)
my second shooter
my best friend
and a harmonica player.

and for even more of this beauty of a wedding, check out their jam-packed slideshow! its a long one. and its to their first-dance song by Jill Phillips. wait a few minutes for it to load.