WS
san clemente • cajulie irene
Photography
Photography
for the family watching them change daily
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The first year is constant change in the best possible way. Every few weeks something shifts — a new sound, a new face, a new way of looking at the world. You are watching a person arrive in real time, and it happens so fast that by the time you think to photograph it, you're already onto the next thing.
Milestone sessions exist to stop the clock on each of those chapters. The round-cheeked, barely-sitting six-month-old. The cake-fisted, one-candle birthday baby. These are the portraits that will make you laugh and cry in equal measure thirty years from now.
Each session at Julie Irene Photography is designed specifically around where your baby is developmentally — so what you get isn't a generic baby photo, but a real portrait of who your baby is right now, at this exact moment in their first year.
About four months, your baby’s personality begins to shine through in the sweetest ways. Tummy time adds so much variety to this stage — bright eyes, little smiles, and sweet expressions. It’s a beautiful age to document before they’re sitting, crawling, and onto the next stage. This session is exclusively available as part of the Three-Session Baby Club.
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The sitter session is timed to one specific window: when your baby can sit unsupported for at least ten seconds. They are alert, expressive, and full of personality — and not yet mobile enough to make the session feel like a chase. This is the golden age. Available as a single session, or as part of the Two-Session Baby Club.
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A first birthday is one of an occasion that only happens once. This session celebrates who your baby has become at one year — their personality, their expressions, the version of them that arrived at the end of the most remarkable twelve months of your life. We celebrate the baby, whatever that looks like on the day.
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Some families want to document every milestone. Others want to capture just a few meaningful moments. Both are exactly right. The Baby Club is designed for families who want to preserve multiple stages throughout the first year with everything planned in advance. Many families choose to join after their newborn session, often during their ordering appointment. Baby Club pricing covers the session fees, while artwork and images are selected separately after each session.
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• san clemente, ca •
Every parent believes they could never forget the details. The particular way their baby's cheeks looked at six months. The sound of the first laugh. The expression when they figured out how to clap. And then a year later, you're looking at a photo from that time and realizing you had already started to forget.
That is not failure. That is just what happens when you are fully present in a life that keeps moving forward at an astonishing pace.
Milestone portraits exist precisely for this. Not so you can post them. Not so you have something to show people. So that thirty years from now, you can sit down with the person your baby became and show them who they were — in every detail, at every stage of that first extraordinary year.
The portraits that end up on the wall are the ones that get looked at every single day. The ones still in the phone camera roll, waiting to be printed, are the ones that eventually get lost.
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TUMMY TIME - Around 4 months. When baby can lift and hold their head up during tummy time. Three-Session Baby Club only
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SITTER - 6 to 7.5 months. When baby sits unsupported for at least 10 seconds. Booked as a single session or in Two-Session Baby Club.
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FIRST BIRTHDAY - At about 12 months. A celebration session of their first year. Booked as a single session or in the two or three-session Baby Club
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LOCATION - San Clemente luxury portrait studio. Serving all of Orange County and South OC.
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SIBLINGS & FAMILY - Siblings and parents welcome in a portion of any milestone session. Mention it when booking.
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INVESTMENT - Single session from $395. Two-Session Baby Club $695. Three-Session Baby Club $895. Images purchased separately at each ordering appointment.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
"Sooooo much talent. This was such an amazing experience and we got some unbelievable photos that we will cherish forever."
brittany • carlsbad, CA
Everything parents ask before booking - from timing to the Baby Club to whether to bring siblings. If something isn't answered here, reach out.
The Baby Club is a way to secure multiple milestone sessions upfront, before your baby arrives. The Two-Session Club ($695) covers the sitter session at 6½ to 7½ months and the first birthday session at 12 months. The Three-Session Club ($895) adds the tummy time session at around 4 months. The club fee covers the session retainers. Images are selected and purchased separately at the ordering appointment after each session — just like any other session at the studio.
A sitter session is timed to one specific developmental window: when your baby can sit independently for at least ten seconds without support. This typically happens between 6 and 7½ months, though every baby develops at their own pace. At this stage, babies are alert, expressive, and full of personality — and not yet mobile enough to make the session feel like a chase. It is one of the most rewarding ages to photograph, and one of the most common sessions families look back on and say they're most grateful they did.
Book as early as possible or around 4 to 5 months, with the session planned for when your baby is ready — not a fixed date. We'll time the session to your baby's development, not the calendar. Reaching out early just ensures availability when that window opens.
The tummy time session is available exclusively as part of the Three-Session Baby Club. It's timed to around 4 months — when your baby is doing tummy time and can push up through their arms to lift and hold their head. It's a stage most parents almost miss because it feels so brief, and these portraits capture a version of your baby that disappears quickly. If you want this session, it needs to be part of the Three-Session Club booked before or just after baby arrives.
Not necessarily. The first birthday session is a portrait session celebrating who your baby has become at one year — their personality, their expressions, the person who arrived over the course of the most remarkable twelve months of your life. Cake is available if you'd like it, but most babies have never tasted cake before, and touching frosting for the first time can go either way. We celebrate the baby, whatever that looks like on the day. If you want cake, we'll make it beautiful. If your baby takes one look at it and refuses, we'll make something else beautiful instead.
Booking athe Baby Club locks in all your session spots upfront at a combined rate — $695 for two sessions versus $790 individually, and $895 for three sessions versus $1,185 individually. More importantly, it means availability is secured before your baby arrives. Studio milestone spots fill up, and the windows for these sessions are short. The Baby Club is the easiest way to make sure you don't miss any of them.
Yes, and these moments often produce some of the most meaningful images of the session. Siblings and parents are welcome in a portion of any milestone session. The first birthday in particular is a family celebration, and having everyone in a few frames at that session makes sense. Just mention it when you book so we can build time into the session for it.
Every parent worries about this, and communication is key. If your baby is sick, teething, unusually fussy, or simply not feeling like themselves, I always appreciate knowing as soon as possible — even a few days ahead of time if you suspect something is off. The goal of these sessions is to capture your baby as they truly are during this stage, and sometimes the best thing we can do is reschedule for a better day. I would much rather wait a little longer and create images that feel joyful, comfortable, and genuinely representative of your baby at this age.
Not unless you’d like to. The studio is fully stocked with a large collection of carefully curated baby outfits, wraps, headbands, bonnets, and props for every stage throughout the first year. Before your session, we’ll talk through colors, styling, and the overall look you love so everything feels cohesive with your taste and home. Of course, if there’s a special outfit or meaningful item you’d love incorporated, you’re always welcome to bring it along.
The studio is based in San Clemente, California, and serves new families throughout Orange County — including Dana Point, San Juan Capistrano, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Beach, Mission Viejo, Aliso Viejo, and surrounding communities. Many families make the drive from throughout greater Orange County, San Diego County and the Los Angeles area for studio newborn sessions.
Book before baby arrives and save. The chapter before this one is worth preserving too.
Let your baby grown up seeing themselves surrounded by love in the portraits hanging throughout your home.
See the full range of Growing Families portrait sessions available at the studio
Julie Irene Photography, a luxury portrait studio in San Clemente, California. Newborn, family, maternity, headshots and personal branding for Orange County
san clemente, ca
Two summer weekends left available on my calendar. If this is the summer your family is all together, reach out. It doesn`t happen as often as we think it will
#orangecountyphotographer #extendedfamilyphotos #ocfamilyphotographer #sanclementephotographer #legacyportraits
Dr. Christina Jenkins is a board-certified colorectal surgeon who also runs an aesthetic medicine clinic in Irvine. She built both practices around one idea: that patients deserve to feel heard, safe, and genuinely cared for.
She came in a little camera-shy. She left with these.
That`s the job.
She Means Business sessions booking now. Link in bio.
@NuVieMD
#shemeansbusiness #sanclementephotographer #brandingphotographer #ocwomenentrepreneurs #orangecountyphotographer
This is what an extended family session actually looks like before you see the final images.
Two strobes on the beach are a must with this many people if you plan on getting that gorgeous sunset perfect. Twenty-some people in eucalyptus trees requires hauling some stools.
Then you have me trying to get everyone to look the same direction at the same time, which never happens.... but good thing I know how to head swap!
Swipe to the last slide.
That`s the part they actually hang on the wall.
#extendedFamilyPhotography #SanClemente #OrangeCountyPhotographer #familyportraits #southOC
Yesterday I took a mental break. I’ve been dealing with some perimenopause symptoms for the last few years and the worst part of it all has been my sleep.
2am. Wide awake. Again.
my mind goes from thing to thing – nothing important, not one clear thought I could actually grab onto. I’m laying there doing breathing exercises, hoping that will help but sometimes that just makes me more aware that I’m still awake. My heart’s going a little faster than it should be. I’ve read enough about cortisol at this point to understand why, but understanding something and being able to fix it are two different things.
I have been doing everything. Functional medicine appointments, every few months, bloodwork, daily workouts because they’re supposed to help, supplements I could fill a small cabinet with. I just received a cooling mattress pad last week in hopes that will help as well. I cut off all caffeine after 10 AM. Even warm showers at night. Next step I’m gonna consider acupuncture.
Some months are great. Then all of a sudden weeks will go by without one good night sleep.
The thing that nobody told me about Perry menopause is that it’s different for everybody. Nobody hands you and manual, and most of the advice you get doesn’t actually apply to you.
I’m figuring it out. Slowly. Some nights are better than others.
If you’re in the same place, I generally love to know what’s helping you. I’m sharing this for another reason then I know I’m not the only one lying awake at 2 AM doing math and how many hours of sleep I can still get.
The women who book She Means Business sessions are usually the ones who have been doing kick ass things for years and still don`t have images that show for it.
They`ve got speaking gigs, writing books, and clients who trust them — and a headshot from 2016 they`re quietly embarrassed by every time they have to use it.
The session is a full day at my San Clemente studio. Hair and makeup. Multiple looks. Behind-the-scenes footage they can use for their businesses. A feature in the She Means Business Orange County magazine at the end of the campaign. As well as an invitation to the campaign-end Gallery Exhibition.
We still have space for 17 more amazing women. If you`ve been meaning to do this, this is the one for you!
Link in bio to start the conversation.
