leannnealphotography.com

The Benoit Family {Seal Beach}

Leann Neal Photography — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 20:08:20 +0000

Let me start by saying this is an amazing family. I was blown away when I met them. Jolie will be 2 next month. By the way she spoke I would guess she was close to 4! She is one of the smartest kiddos I know. I had a blast during the shoot. It was so great to be able to communicate with her We spent some time looking for “Little Bunny Foo Foo”. She was so funny. I posted just a few of my favorites from our shoot below. Hope you enjoy. Happy Monday!

Mini Session Special!!!

Leann Neal Photography — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 19:36:14 +0000

Announcing upcoming Mini Session dates!!

Mini sessions are a great way to get a quick, affordable session for your child. I offer them a few times a year, but since they have been so popular and I get so many requests, I am opening 2 mini session days in September! That means there are 10 spots available… so sign up soon! They do sell out very quickly!

Your mini session will last 20-30 minutes and the location is super secret and will be announced to you before the session.

Mini sessions are $45 and include a 5×7

Can’t wait to meet you and your family soon, and capture some great memories for you. Have a great day!

I

Leann Neal Photography — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 23:07:56 +0000

I took a walk around downtown San Diego with a friend a few weeks ago. I think I fell in love. I’ve been contemplating a move for a while now. I’ve always lived in a 20 mile radius from where I was born. I have a yearning to see what else is out there. I know San Diego isn’t that far but it’s far enough to be fresh and new, but close enough to still be able to see friends and family when I’m having a bad day. Maybe San Diego could be a stepping stone… I’d love to live in Austin, TX or maybe somewhere in the country some day. Anyhow, here are a few shots I took while enjoying the awesomeness that is SD. Enjoy.

My Baby Bro Graduated!!!!!

Leann Neal Photography — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 04:55:21 +0000

Holy mole I am so proud. A couple weeks ago I drove to AZ to watch my baby brother DJ graduate from high school. Mind you, he told me his graduation was on Friday, the monday before. I had no time to plan and plane tickets were like $450 so a little road trip was in store for me. It was so great to spend some time with him. We went flexing (new term I learned which means driving ur 4 wheel drive truck up rocks and stuff like that). Pretty scary. DJ decided to take the doors off his jeep. So there I was doorless and the jeep was on its side. A few times I thought we were going to roll over. All I could think about was how I was going to wrap myself around the seat belt and brace my legs against the dash board so I didn’t fall out and get squashed! DJ got a kick out of how terrified I was. As the weekend went on I got used to the danger and started to enjoy it

His graduation was so amazing. My heart was filled with admiration for him. My little bro did it!!!!! I am so glad I got to be there. DJ has this ability to always make me laugh. He is a funny, witty little smart butt. At the graduation they talked a little about each student. They had asked them questions before hand and shared their answers. One of DJ’s questions was, where do you see yourself in 5 years. I wasn’t surprised by his response, “Where ever a full tank of gas will get me.”

DJ I love you so much and I am so proud of the amazing man you have grown into!

Here are a couple snap shots of that weekend

Driving around with no doors

His fish hook… He wears one on all of his hats :-/

So handsome!

Right after he got his diploma

Little Bro with Big Sissy

I love this picture!

DJ with his Grandpa and Grandma

DJ with his favorite little guy, Anthony

Wednesday Recipe!

Leann Neal Photography — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 01:49:54 +0000

I felt like being a little creative in the kitchen today I made a meatloaf and it actually came out pretty awesome. My neighbor Paul will vouch for that. He is alway my taste tester. So since today’s project was a sucess I decided to share!

This meatloaf can be made with ground turkey or beef (your choice)

First things first… What you will need:

1 1/2 lbs of ground beef or turkey

a small diced yellow onion

2 diced sticks of celery

one egg

2 pieces of bread crumbled in small pieces

1 cup of milk

1 packed cup of shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 teaspoon of salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder

1/2 cup of ketchup

1/2 cup of brown sugar

1 teaspoon yellow mustard

OK, lets get started!

Pre heat the oven to 350 degrees

In a large bowl crumble the meat

Add onion, celery, milk, egg, milk and bread crumbles

Next sprinkle salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder

Now, time to get dirty!

With your hands mix together all the contents of the bowl throughly and form in the shape of a loaf of bread

In a lightly greased baking pan place the meatloaf

Next we will prepare the sauce….

In a small bowl mix together brown sugar, ketchup and mustard

Cover the meatloaf completely with the sauce

Now its time to bake!

Place the meatloaf in the oven for an hour then check the meat temperature. Meat temp should be 160 degrees. Turkey seems to cook fasted than ground beef. Beef may take 15-20 minutes longer.

Let the meatloaf sit for 10 minutes then slice and serve!

Give’r a try and let me know what you think!

Jackson and Reagan 10 Months!

Leann Neal Photography — Mon, 09 May 2011 22:37:42 +0000

Time flies!! I can’t believe how big these babies have gotten. I adore them We went to the park by Beth’s house to get some of the little ones playing around. Jackson was up for the adventure. Reagan on the other hand just wanted to be held. We were jumping around like monkeys trying to entertain them. The neighbors probably thought we were crazy. Here are just a couple from the shoot.

We had a little breakdown at the end. I still think they look precious so I had to include these two.

The Huemoller Family

Leann Neal Photography — Mon, 02 May 2011 00:36:00 +0000

Here is a little sneak peek from my session yesterday with the Huemoller family. More to follow later this week!

Rockstar in the making :-)

Leann Neal Photography — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 15:56:57 +0000

Ahhhh the days of being a kid on spring break. Back when I was in school I used to look forward to spring break, that was until I remembered I had nothing to do all day but sit and watch the boob tube or play with my imaginary friends (they weren’t very fun… I didn’t have much of an imagination).

My cousin Jonathan came over to spend sometime with me while he was on spring break last week. He’s 15 and ordinarily he’s to cool to hang out with his (slightly) older cousin. Last week was different. He jump at the chance to get out of the house and come hang with me by the beach. We decided to do a little mini photo session. It had been a while since he had his picture taken….. his facebook profile was a picture of elvis.

One of his favorite things to do is play his guitar. I love it cause he plays a lot of classic rock. He doesn’t drive me crazy with Justin Beiber like his sister Shy. Here are some images of my favorite rockstar in the making

Jackson and Reagan

Leann Neal Photography — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 22:43:14 +0000

I just realized I’m a little behind in blogging…. Here are Jackson and Reagan’s 8 month pictures I took their 10 month pictures yesterday. I figure its time to post them. I can’t believe how big they have gotten. They both just started to sit up on their own. Jackson mastered it first but reagan was shortly behind. I love being a part of documenting their growth and miles stones.

Big bad scary blog :-/

Leann Neal Photography — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 19:42:58 +0000

I don’t know why I’ve been dreading blogging. I was scared to log in, afraid my computer would become a huge giant monster and eat me alive or the keyboard would turn to acid and burn my fingers off. I know, I know… excuses. Well, here I am, facing the big bad scary blog.

So much has gone on in the last few months. Ive been doing a bit of traveling. In February I spent a week in Montana where I attended the Big Sky Photo Summit workshop. I learned from Dane Sanders, Tamara Lackey and Mike Colon. I got to do a bit of snow boarding, got a concussion and made some amazing friends. Before leaving Montana Tracy Moore and I taught another successful Bella Foto Photography Workshop. In March I spent a week in Las Vegas. Boy, a week in Vegas feels like an eternity. I attended WPPI. WPPI is a convention where photographers from around the world come to learn from each other and buy some new photo toys Good times and great memories. After Vegas I flew to Texas to second shoot a wedding with Brittany Dawson. I got home from Tx and two days later hurricane Tracy Thompson came to town for a week. I love me some Tracy time but we tend to have to much fun together. Now its time to get back to business.

Since my blog and I are reacquainted I have tons of sessions to post this week, I have an interview for a new intern, a wedding, a senior portrait campaign to launch and a to-do list two pages long. Wish me luck.

Xoxo!

My dearest blog please forgive me. I will never leave you alone that long again!