Right before school started up again, my two girls had a unique opportunity to work with Bay Area photographer Brianna Gamble at her studio in Vacaville, CA. I didn’t know a lot about Brianna or her photography approach before we visited but came away with a huge appreciation for the care and time she took with my daughters and the incredible enthusiasm that came from her and her studio towards them. We got these images back a week ago and I was overjoyed when I saw how beautifully they turned out!

Brianna has a project through her studio called “Who I Am” that focuses on girls age 9-13. Everyone knows that these ages (and indeed ALL of the preteen and teen years) can be fraught with uncertainty, awkwardness and are just plain hard. Through the Who I Am project, Brianna tries to instill confidence in these girls through their photo session by putting them in environments that both appeal to them and bring out the best in them. She says this about her hope for the sessions: “The main goal of this campaign is to make tweens look and feel beautiful and be confident in who they are. I want to not only give them the opportunity to see the beauty in themselves that their loved ones see, but to help them understand that they are important, unique and loved”. Perfect, right?!

We decided to shoot the girls together and Brianna was able to capture the incredible bond these two girls have in a way no one else has been able to capture yet. Sadie basically reveres her older sister and Sophie is the best big sister ever so it is literally a match made in heaven with these two. Through the miracle of adoption, these two get to be sisters. Born five years and a world apart they are sewn together and I LOVE seeing their bond through these photos.

The whole shoot was over in about 40 minutes and both girls were beaming when they were finished. Sophie told me that even without seeing the photos yet, she knew she was going to love them because of how she had FELT while the photos were being taken. This is HUGELY important, ESPECIALLY with children and teenagers.

Brianna and her studio staff have developed something special in Vacaville and I was overjoyed when I got the images back. The Who I Am project is only a small part of what Brianna focuses on. If you need or are interested in Senior Portraits, she does incredible work with these as well! The studio is also such an oasis of fun and comfort; you can’t help but feel creative and beautiful when you walk in the door.

Brianna Gamble Photography is located in Vacaville, California about one hour from San Francisco and 40 minutes from Sacramento. Please visit her website for more information. Thanks Brianna and everyone at the studio for these beautiful memories for my daughters and I; we really appreciate it!

*Our photo session was complimentary but my opinions on our experience are all my own. I would never recommend a photographer unless I was REALLY happy with their work and Brianna has a big thumbs up from me ;).