Hoffman Headshots

Summer is here and the time is right for updating that outdated headshot! Whether formal or casual, for business or for family....or just for fun, let me capture your best side!

Juliette, thank you for being such a perfect little photographer's subject. I appreciate you inviting
me into your little 2 1/2 year old world for the afternoon. I hope mommy got you a nice, big treat when you left for home..wink wink! Oh, and come back soon to play my piano again...and don't forget to bring your little brother. James is as handsome as you are pretty!

Caught Being Cute

"I take photographs with love, so I try to make them art objects.
But I make them for myself first and foremost.
That is important."    ~Jacques Henri Lartigue


Just sharing a sneak peak from a session with this adorable young man and his mom and dad.
Since he was a pretty active little guy, we spent our time photographing in one of my
favorite locations - San Dieguito Park in Solana Beach, with long stretches of lawn to run on
and work off some of that little-boy energy! He was so alert, and had such mesmerizing
blue eyes.

BEST OF 2011 - VINTAGE, PIN UP, GLAMOUR PHOTOGRAPHY

Vintage Lens by Leslie's Greatest Hits of 2011!  In this collection you'll see photos of fabulous women combined with creative editing, resulting in works of art that a camera alone can't achieve. Some are playfully feminine, some are femme fatales, but all are inspired by aesthetics of the past.


"If you obey all the rules, you'll  miss all the fun."  ~Kathryn Hepburn

BEST OF 2011 - VINTAGE, PINUP, GLAMOUR

BEST OF 2011 - Children

I think it will be a lifetime of learning for me. We all strive for harmony and balance in our lives, yet after each children's portrait session, I'm reminded that they can achieve that balance with little or no effort. The more I simply let them be, the more my camera can capture how precious and pure they are. It may sound silly, but I often feel home-schooled by the children I photograph.

BEST OF 2011 ~ TEENS

"Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still."  ~Dorothea Lange

I've got a son who's not quite a teen yet, but you wouldn't know it by spending time with him. He gets feistier and scrappier by the day. I realize that soon I'll be entering alien territory. Like all moms of teens that came before me, I'll struggle with wanting to help him grow up and be independent, while wanting to hug him and rock him in my arms. Who can resist that natural dichotomy?

2011 was the year that I fell in love with photographing teens. They'd invariably come to the session with their sibs and try to trick the photographer by something I learned was called "photo-bombing". This is when someone jumps into the background of what was supposed to have been a great picture. Now, for someone who's always enjoyed a certain amount of control in her photo sessions, I had to seriously rethink how I work. In the end, I just had to let them do it until they tired of the trick and maybe, just maybe, something unique would come out of it. 

One reason I love shooting teens is that I'm always finding moments through my lens that I could never have imagined otherwise. They have a magical way of removing me from my world and catapulting me into theirs. It's a pretty sweet ride, to tell the truth.  Another reason is the instant gratification I get by helping to make a teen feel really good about him or herself through photography. Could anything top that?

Thanks to all you fabulous teens and your moms for helping to contribute to this week's blog.