Sessions: Meagan + Hideyo waterfall maternity shoot

Dec 15, 2019 | Photography

This is one of my favorite maternity sessions thus far, with our friends Meagan and Hideyo.

If you know Meagan and Hideyo, you’ll know that they are easy-going, hilarious, and all around just lovely people. They wanted to do an off-the-beaten-path session so they took me and Ian to this beautiful hidden waterfall in their village. Meagan was about 7 months preggo during this shoot and was moving around with such grace and ease through the dense tropical rainforest, one might have confused her with a (pregnant) woodland fairy!

We managed 3 outfit changes within about an hour for this shoot, and that’s impressive not because of me (Ian helped a lot too, and made skirts fly hahah) but because of how easy and cooperative Meagan and Hideyo were to work with. They just ran with whatever I asked them to do, and had a lot of fun doing it. They mostly did their own thing too, hugging and talking and goofing around with each other, which was fun for me and made the session so much more genuine. I can’t help but think that maternity photos are just a tiny bit cheesy (but in the best way possible), and I’m pretty sure Meagan and Hideyo would agree… you can tell because of how much fun we had with this shoot!

They’re keeping the gender a secret, like they don’t even know what the gender is yet, so it’s going to be a great big surprise on bebe’s birthday! I can’t wait to meet their little one soon!

Sessions: Kelley’s Maternity + Family

Dec 10, 2019 | Photography

Another maternity session with Kelley and her baby bump, Alden, and this time with little J-Ro in tow.

Oh, and their dog Avey joined too!

For this shoot, Kelley chose the off-the-beaten-path location in our backyard lagoon.

Altogether, we took 3 paddle boards, 1 kayak, 4 adults, 2 dogs, 1 toddler, and of course, Kelley’s 9-month baby bump!

Ian came with me and was super helpful in making her maternity dress look like it was blowing in the wind,

when in fact it was so hot and muggy, and we were all sweating bullets when we got to the location even before we started the shoot.

Luckily we got in the water for most of the shoot, and made some mama-magic!

The last time I took photos of Kelley was her first maternity shoot back in 2017.

It’s always so neat to follow a specific family’s growth over the years.

Check out my first maternity photo shoot from with Kelley that we did in her front yard here,

and another session we had done when she got her ‘preggo dress’ here.

Sessions: Mareike (island style) – Part 2

Sep 30, 2019 | Photography

Part 2 of the sunrise session with Mareike.

This beautiful woman is a scientist. Her love for the ocean has taken her all over the world, drifting to American Samoa about 5 years ago. She is art–she embraces the ink of the islands etched on her skin to tell her story. Since we’ve met, we’ve gone on many adventures, shared many conversations, and laughed and danced together more times than I can even remember. She has become a neighbor and a friend, and I’m stoked to capture her essence on this beautiful morning just as the sun kisses the ocean and we thrive on another beautiful day in the islands.

There were SO MANY shots that I absolutely loved from this session, so here’s a good chunk of it.

Even more photos!

PART 1: Georgia + Mareike at sunrise | PART 2: Mareike (island style) | PART 3: Mareike [ moana/azul ]

Sessions: Georgia and Mareike at sunrise

Sep 29, 2019 | Photography

Part 1 of a sunrise session with these two beautiful women, flat mates, and friends

Georgia and Mareike

This shoot was actually on Mareike’s last month in American Samoa. We woke up super early, before the sunrise, and met up by the beach in front of our houses. It didn’t seem like it was going to be a good sunrise at first, but we shot anyways, and something like an hour later, the sun shone magnificently, sending light flickering on the ocean’s ripples. I had Georgia and Mareike take turns doing portraits and shot them together too, so here’s just a few of them. I love all of these!

SESSIONS: The Trautz Are Expecting!

Sep 6, 2018 | Photography

An impromptu mini session with
Ko’olina & Randy Trautz (+1)

This good looking duo came back to American Samoa for 2 weeks to celebrate their one year together as Mr. & Mrs. They showed up unannounced at my office last week, which made me scream with joy, and Ko’olina pointed down at her belly for an even bigger surprise – her darling little baby bump! This will be Ko’olina and Randy’s first lil’ baby mango, and I am so thrilled for them both. I’ve known Ko’olina pretty much my whole life since she and my older sister met at kindergarten and we all basically grew up together. Now she’ll have a kid of her own and I already know he/she is gonna be so so so cute, and that Ko’olina and Randy are going to be awesome parents.

SESSIONS: Suli Sataua Slays Prom 2017

Jun 9, 2017 | Photography

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JUNE, 2017

I walked up the steps to Moana O Sina, where we agreed to meet for the shoot, and I am immediately stunned by this tall tanned teen in towering heels! Her sister and cousin are attending to her hair with bobby pins and fastening her gold choker necklace. She’s laughing about something her cousin says, and she oozes cool confidence.

Suli is wearing a long majestic purple couture gown with a sexy leg slit and with gold lace adorning her chest and neck.

Her senior prom theme: Fire and Ice.

But no doubt, when she mixes the two, she is FIERCE.

Location: Moana O Sina, American Samoa
Dress: Island Image Creations
Hair and Makeup: Cherry’s Salon

Suli Sataua slayed in her prom dress!

“I was truly overwhelmed by the amazing photos taken of me in my prom dress. It was my first time and I ws very nervous. I am not usually photogenic, but thanks to you, the shoot was loads of fun and I was very confident. I felt very comfortable and at ease and the results are absolutely breathtaking. I loved each and every photo! It was like seeing my own fairytale. You are such a talented photographer! Thank you so much Nerelle for capturing each photo in such an aesthetic way. The attention you gave my dress was mesmerizing! It wasn’t just a photo shoot, it was a memorable experience. Thank you for being so sweet and patient with me.“

– Suli Sataua

SESSIONS: Kelley & Alden (+1)

May 2, 2017 | Photography

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May

2017

At 7 months pregnant, Kelley is still a bombshell in a lavalava. This hot mama and her handsome husband of 7 years are expecting a tama o le motu in June.

We spent an afternoon on her home beach attempting to do some underwater photos but after some technical difficulties we played little mermaid turned human by love. And then a few days later we headed over to Moana O Sina for photos just before dark and listened to the waves crash against the lava rocks at dinner.

Both Kelley and Alden are marine scientists, living loving and working to promote earth friendly solutions in American Samoa. I was really excited when Kelley asked me to take their photos and had a lot of fun hanging out with this duo.

She is a mermaid. A steward of the sea.

Nerelle is an incredibly kind and caring person, and that love for people really shines when she’s shooting. She’s able to make everyone feel comfortable while getting shot, even photographers who are notorious for disliking being on the other side of the lens. In addition to her great personality and people skills, Rellie has some great camera skills too! She’s very creative and knows how to use the local environment to her advantage, and while I don’t know enough to speak to the technical parts of editing, I can say the photos sure look even better when she’s done editing than they did before!

– Kelley Anderson Tagarino

Baby on Board

Mar 8, 2016 | Photography

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MARCH 2016

BABY ON BOARD – A shoot with my dear friend Carolyn and her husband Jameson, to announce that they are expecting!

Ironically, this was completely unexpected for them. Carolyn is actually moving back to San Diego after a 2 year stint in American Samoa, and with only one month left to go before her big move, she’s got more baggage! A little one is on its way, and Carolyn and Jameson are very excited to welcome the biggest change in their lives yet.

We’ve been talking about ideas for photos to announce their baby, and everything seemed so cheesy. There’s just no way around it! I forfeited any hope that the photos wouldn’t turn out tacky and instead went along and made fun of it. Cheesy pregnancy idioms? Bring it on!

And it turned out perfect.

Jameson is quite frankly, the best surfer in American Samoa. And Carolyn is our resident “it” girl. It seemed only appropriate to glamorize these two defining traits, and make what we could of it. Carolyn brought the tiniest flip flops she could find, Jameson brought his surfboard, and we played around on the beach at Fatumafuti and Alega.

Thanks so much to Gabby for helping me out with this shoot!