Viewing entries tagged
bay area family photography
Not every family shoot involves little kiddos, sometimes the kids are all grown up! But that’s no guarantee there won’t be tantrums… I met this client at the top of the stairs of Shadowbrook restaurant in Capitola and we made our way down the winding path, taking photos along the way. We were in-between storms so the light was naturally soft from the overcast sky.
The toughest shot to get is always the one with the “most eyeballs.” So when we have multiple families coming together, I try to get that most difficult photo done as early as possible in the session. Especially if there are little ones that may end up in tears or just not having it – at some point during the shoot. I met this family near The Oval on the Stanford campus – a great location as it is photographer-friendly and has lots of interesting architectural elements / settings to use. When you have a group this big, though, you aren’t exploring a bunch of different settings all over the place. You pick one central location you can do most of the photos at, and have nearby locations within easy walking distance for when you break the shoot down to the individual families. It’s also hard with these large shoots to include a bunch of candid photos since there’s so many permutations of different groups we want to accomplish – but I still managed to get a few in-the-moment shots in-between the more formal posed groups.
Sometimes a client just needs a couple formal Christmas Card photos taken in their living room. The challenge is the space needs to be clutter free without any elements that will distract from the portrait itself. Luckily my client’s kids are grown so the house was pretty clutter-free. We went outside to get a few photos from the back yard as well. Also, even though our goal was the xmas card photos, I always try to take individual photos for potential headshot or otherwise professional (or personal) use.
I love this family, I’ve had the opportunity to photograph them many times, since before there were kids – I feel a photography relationship often starts with the engagement/wedding, and if we can keep in touch, it just grows over the years. Kaelin is a successful real estate agent in the Santa Cruz area, and I have really enjoyed seeing her grow professionally along with the creation and growth of their family. Here’s a few of my favorite photos from their most recent family portrait session at Capitola Beach:
Usually when I have photo shoots at Lover’s Point Park, it’s an engagement or couples session of some kind. This young family was staying in town and wanted photos near their hotel, so I suggested the location. It was a sunny, but chilly morning, and my primary focus was their toddler son. Little kids can be tough as they’re constantly on a roller-coaster ride of emotions in-between bouts of falling down and getting hurt. So I know that my time is often limited, so I have to be quick – both metaphorically and literally, as I’m running around with my camera held low to the ground for the most interesting vantage point of a 2 year old. Anyways, here’s a few good ones from their family portrait session…
I know it’s a gloomy, rainy day today in the Bay Area, but as soon as that sun comes out it’s picture time! I used to live and work in Morgan Hill, but I’d never actually shot a session at Anderson Lake County Park. My client’s dad has limited mobility, so we mostly picked a few different locations that would make for interesting backdrops. I used off-camera flash for most of these to control the light. Enjoy a few of my faves below!
I’ll be honest, I fully expected this family to cancel their photo shoot. They are multiple generations, coming together at a rental house in Pajaro Dunes to celebrate Mom/Grandma’s 70th, so it was a special occasion for everyone. However. Something happened with the weather that day in the early afternoon. A light breeze turned into steadily increasing winds. The marine layer came in and blotted out the sun, rendering the environment in flat, gray tones. And it was cold, more so as the wind picked up. Not the ingredients you want when you have a bunch of people to capture at their best. But I showed up, they showed up – and were like, “we’re dressed, we’re here, let’s do this!” I immediately perked up and saw that there was opportunity here. I stressed that if they were expecting perfect hair and a California sunset, that they would be disappointed – but if they wanted someone (me) to capture some fun, authentic moments in the face of 40mph winds, well I’M YOUR GUY!
So we did it, we did the shoot, it was great and we managed to get a few keepers along the way. It just goes to show that attitude beats the weather any day! Enjoy a few of my faves below:
Okay, so most newborn sessions happen at home, but lately I’ve been doing newborn(ish) family sessions on-location, in a redwood forest, or in this case, on the beach! Working with little kids means I don’t go into a session with a preset idea of exactly where it’s going to go. I may have some loose ideas, but it’s all about interacting with my subjects and deciding on the fly the best path to take at that moment. Maybe kids are in a “pay attention” mode and I’ll take advantage with some posed (directed), well-lit shots. Maybe that falls apart quickly and we transition to fun, candid playtime. Flexibility and a good attitude is essential to a successful portrait session with kids! The gallery below is the perfect example of the pace and random nature of a typical family session. For the baby, I made sure the parents brought along a blanket, and I was able to find a shaded spot behind a large piece of driftwood; dad held my light-source low so I could control the light for those shots (thanks dad!). Anyways, enough words, enjoy the pics:
This adorable central-California family rented a house near Seascape in Aptos, CA to celebrate their mom’s 70th birthday, and even though it was windy, chilly, and occasionally very rainy, they wanted to capture this special 3-generation get-together with some professional photos. I knew we had some little ones in the mix, so I made sure I worked quick and with all my skills on hand to make it a fun experience for everyone. Here’s a few of my faves from the session…
This little darling just turned one, and of course she deserved to have her very own photo shoot to commemorate the occasion! I love this whole family, they made it really easy to get a bunch of keepers in a short amount of time. We had our family portrait session on a Saturday morning in Vasona Park, Los Gatos – and being the dead of winter and all, we pretty much had the place to ourselves. Enjoy my faves below:
I've had the pleasure of seeing these boys grow up over the years and take a few photos along the way. Their personalities really come out in this beach photo shoot in Capitola. I love getting people to come out of their shell a little so I can capture their true essence. Here's a few of my faves from their beach family portrait session below!
Shooting multi-generational families can definitely be a challenge – the grandparents may have limited mobility, and the youngest grandkids, well they have limited attention spans! But you know what? I always embrace the challenge. If a few families come together to make this happen (and believe me, it can be stressful getting everyone going and keeping them clean), then it's my duty to kick ass on their behalf and get the shots they want and then some. Sue is the matriarch of this extended family, and we got some great shots of the whole clan, the individual families as well as lots of candids and other fun groupings. Enjoy my faves below :)
It's been a while since I've shot at Four Mile Beach in Santa Cruz. It's a total surfer's beach, I rarely see any casual beachgoers there, which honestly makes it a great location for family photos. Tons of privacy, easy access, and being relatively unknown makes it a great choice. This family has kids going off to college, so this was the last pre-empty-nest-opportunity to get some family pics. They were lovely to get to know, and we had some great light to work with at sunset! Here's some of my favorite photos from their portrait session:
In the summertime in Aptos, you really never know if it's gonna be 75 and sunny, or 58 and overcast. It's a roll of the dice, and I tell my clients that no matter what, we'll get awesome pics (and this is true!). But it is always nice to get a real sunset, and we were treated with just that for this Sacramento-based family. I'm not sure if this is technically Rio Del Mar Beach or Seacliff Beach in Aptos, but either way it's a cool spot with lots of driftwood, a bridge, and expansive beaches that are rarely crowded. Enjoy some of my favorite pics from this family portrait session below:
Sometimes kids are shy, sometimes they're sad, and sometimes they're CHOCK FULL OF ENERGY and PERSONALITY! I had a blast capturing these guys in the morning on Capitola Beach. We had the whole place to ourselves... except when about 100 Junior Guards kids ran up and down the beach. But, you'd never know it because creative cropping and timing is everything in this business. Enjoy some of my favorites from their family session below:
Family portrait sessions with multiple generations of families can be super challenging – I mean, that's a lot of eyeballs to make sure are all paying attention to you! Add the fact there's usually a few toddlers and I really have my work cut out for me. Good thing I can dance around and be goofy to make those little ones smile. I'll admit I had a little help from an iPhone and Elmo during this shoot – I can't claim full credit for all the smiles :)
Here's a quick family session taken in Santa Cruz right after Christmas. We started at Lighthouse Field to get a few photos with some greenery, then headed our way to Dog Beach (aka Its Beach) to get a few shots there. It was amazingly beautiful out for late December, and we had fun playing around at the end. Enjoy a few of my favorites from this family's portrait session below:
I just photographed Lara and Wesley's wedding, and when we chatted a few weeks later, we realized I never got ring photos (it happens). I suggested we meet up in Felton for a quick mini-session, and they could bring their family (including adorable Boston Terrier Ori. We got a great mix of classic posed shots and some really fun candids, all in a super quick session. Check out the results!
These three brothers came together to get some formal and fun portraits at Capitola Beach for their mom. It was cold, it was early, but these guys were great and I had fun taking their portraits. We focused mostly on the group shots, both under the pier and out in the open, but I took a few individual shots as well. Check it!
So this was supposed to be a big family photo shoot at the park, but nature decided she wanted to rain. Rain hard. Since we're often relying on a bunch of peoples' crazy schedules (and the stars) to align, rescheduling was simply not an option. So we did this entire shoot under the roof art the entryway of a private residence. We had a cool blue wall to work with, and everyone was dressed in bold, vibrant colors. To make things interesting, we also had four dogs of various size and age – that's 11 pairs of eyes to sync up, but I embrace the challenge!! We weren't planning on it, but I took shots of each dog at the end of the session, so cute!!
