I was thrilled when Amy, who is the owner of Mama Lounge in San Francisco asked me to display my work in her office. Mama Lounge San Francisco clinic in Laurel Village specialties are natural medicine for Fertility, Prenatal and Postpartum. Since my specialties are Maternity Photography and Newborn photography, it is a perfect location to display my work!
There was a great article in last Sundays Chronicle of my clients Frank, Sonny and their daughter Ava about their costume skills, especially for Halloween. To see the article Click Here
I had the privilege to photograph them and their spectacular outfits for the last several years. Each outfit is hand made! Each photograph was designed to look and feel like original poster or photograph from the movies.
Elizabeth Taylor, Lisa Minnelli, Rita Hayworth, Ava Gabor, Cher, etc... It does not matter. Ava can play the part of all of them.
Here is a compilation of my favorite photographs from our portrait photography sessions:
How lucky can you get? I am photographing my client Anette for her website. As usual, my question to my clients before every executive photo session was: When someone sees your executive headshot on the web, what or how do you want them to feel about you? Her response was: She wants to look professional businesswoman, confident and approachable. For this portrait we chose downtown San Francisco for her executive portrait. My assistant, my client and I dodging passing cars while photographing when all of a sudden several police cars started blocking California street 20 feet from where we work. At first I thought that I did something wrong: after all we were photographing on the streets of San Francisco during green lights for pedestrians but then realized that they are blocking street to film a car commercial. I was very grateful that we did not have to dodge cars anymore. On top of that, we exceeded all of my clients expectations! :)
My client Michelle asked me to take portraits for her baby’s first birthday. I have a product especially designed for this type of occasion, where I place a birthday cake in front of the child and we watch the fun unfold. I love being able to photograph a kid tearing through their first birthday cake, especially when I can do it through the lens of a camera, capturing every step of the way. From these photos, we create a memory book as a keepsake for that family to enjoy for the years to come.
I always like a challenge, so in this particular photo session, I decided to ask Michelle if she and her family had any pets. Upon discovering that they had a cat and a parrot, I asked if I could photograph their pets in front of a green screen so that I could Photoshop them into their baby’s first cake portraits.
When they brought in their pets, I had their child pose with one of them, so we could capture an authentic interaction between the baby and their pets. Of course, having a cat and a bird in the same place might not end up so well, we went with just their parrot, and the photos turned out beautifully. Who could resist capturing the dynamics available between pets and their human companions?
Using green screen technology, I was able to composite images of their pet cat and parrot next to their child, cake and all. Creating a portrait with both their child and their pets brought out a side of their family that was playful and whimsical. Most importantly of all, my clients loved it.
But of course, we couldn’t forget about the big kids in the family: Mom and Dad! I had them both pose with their child, together and individually. I loved how their daughter’s magenta dress stood out against the muted tones that her parents picked out. Wearing neutral tones works best in family photography. Of course, children tend to look great in whatever they’re wearing, especially if they’re the center of attention.
We took a few more photos of the birthday girl, even adding in their pet parrot for good measure. This time, we didn’t use a green screen, since we wouldn’t have to have both pets in the same place.
I keep a smattering of stuffed animals, toys, tricycles, tiny chairs, and other accoutrements for children and even parents to play with. I have a child-sized bench in my lobby, and their daughter immediately took a liking to it. We brought it into the studio, and it was an immediate win for everybody involved. It even acted as a perch for their pet parrot!
Taking family portraits is always a rewarding experience. Taking photos of children, babies, parents, families, and even their pets together brings me a sense of joy, and brings the families themselves closer together. As a photographer, my job is more than just taking pictures. I create memories for people to cherish for years and generations to come.
The most important thing to remember when you’re getting ready for your family portrait session is that we want you to feel confident, comfortable and absolutely in love with what you are wearing! You don’t want to look at your photo ten years down the road and say: “What was I thinking?" Wear clothing that’s timeless. Feel free to bring a few changes of clothing to your family portrait session for yourself and your children so we can experiment with different looks. Stick to clothing that will look good on you no matter when you’re looking at it. Instead of wearing whatever’s in style at the time for a portrait, wear something that flatters your personality and individuality. Kids tend to look great no matter what they’re wearing, but if you’re taking a family portrait, wear something simple so you don’t take attention away from your child.
Make sure that your clothing fits well. Instead of choosing clothing that stands out, wear clothing that functions as a backdrop to your natural beauty. Stay away from stripes, patterns, bright or highly contrasting colors in your portrait session. These will distract from you as the subject. Keep your colors simple. There is no need to dress your family in all the same color, unless if that's what you're going for. However, do wear colors that compliment each other. For example, reds with browns tend to clash, while red and green screams out “Christmas.” For your family photo session, think “Banana Republic.” Darker, rich, bold, or muted tones work best. Dark colors tend to be slimming, while lighter colors can have the opposite effect.
Avoid short sleeves and tank tops, especially in executive headshots and individual portraits. Long sleeves will draw attention away from your arms and helps bring the focus back to your face. Scoops or v-necks flatter shorter necks and full faces. Turtlenecks or high-necked garments flatter longer necks and slender faces. Make sure that if you’re taking a family photo that adults have coordinated styles. If you’re wearing formal clothing, and another family member is wearing a t-shirt and shorts, your family portraits will look odd.
Also, wear location appropriate clothing. If we’re taking family photos in the studio, formal or nicer clothing works great. If we’re going to a park or the beach, casual clothing looks better, with the exception of wedding and engagement photography. For beach photography, always bring towels and a dry change of clothes. More likely than not you will end up with wet clothing, especially if you have children with you.
Ultimately, you have the final say in what you wear or how you prepare for your family photo session. Everything I’ve written here is my professional opinion, but if you know exactly what you want to wear, and it doesn’t match what I’ve said, then by all means, do what feels right to you.
After a photo session with a client in Alamo Square that ended at 7, I waited until 8 to take this gorgeous panorama. It was worth the wait! The photo, of the famous Painted Ladies Victorian houses, has downtown San Francisco in the background. The final panorama image is compiled out of eight separate images.
My client Paul is a speaker and an insurance agent, and he needed to update his image for online professional websites, and speaking tours. To do this, we had a photo session to produce professional headshots in our San Francisco portrait studio, as well as more casual portraits. Paul, after seeing the photographs, said: “The photos are amazing, I really like the way I look.”
It was a pleasure to photograph clients Ann and Paul at their recent wedding. Taking place at San Francisco City Hall, there were two rooms where the wedding took place- the signing ceremony was in supervisor Scott Wiener’s chamber, and the actual wedding ceremony was in the Supervisors Chamber. City Hall weddings are very popular right now, and while there, I saw at least 15 other wedding parties!
My client Marica hired me to photograph her whole family. In our San Francisco portrait studio, I had the opportunity to take family portraits of her family, her brother’s family, and her parents. She told me it was the first time in her life that she had a formal photograph taken with her father. The family photos included pictures of the grandparents with their granddaughters, the two cousins playing together, and photos of the entire family together. It was a great opportunity to take these very special photographs for my client.
Recently, I was able to take a series of black and white portraits of my client Michelle’s youngest son. We wanted to show his silly and unique personality in the portraits, and I think we succeeded in capturing the charisma of this young boy- a new model superstar is born! Michelle brought in her two older sons as well, and I photographed all three of them together for a family portrait with lots of love between the siblings.
In a studio session with client Carolyne, her husband, and their daughter, I photographed both family portraits and individual shots of this unique family. The husband is a professional boxer, so the family wanted actions shots of him. While the little girl was changing, I got the chance to take portraits of her father as a boxer, plus family portraits as well.
My longtime client Gitta, and her son Ari, flew in from Australia for a mother-son photo session in our portrait studio. To add some interest to the family portraits, we used green screen technology to put Gitta and Ari in different places around the world. It was a very popular game on Facebook to name the places where photographs were taken, and the backgrounds include such places as the pyramids of Egypt, to the Eiffel Tower in France, and, of course, the Sydney Opera House in Australia.
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This fundraiser is a cooperation of Fima Photography and Animal Company: http://www.theanimalcompany.net/
Having an appreciate for pop music, we paid honor to legends in the 60s and 70s in this family photography session. Sonny and Cher were icons forging the way as husband wife team. I photographed these timeless portraits capturing the heart of this father and daughter and to the memory of Sonny and Cher.
Reminiscing on the past, this portrait photography session continued along the path of a tribute to the famous stars of the 40s. There needed to be a change that happened in my studio in order to capture the essence of Rita Hayworth. Adding some color and a costume change we got back to photographing and capturing unique family portraits.
Rita Hayworth and her loyal companion. Everyone made it into this photography session even the dog. He was on his best behavior and right by Rita's side!
At this photography session the family wanted to capture the essence of the 40s and some of that era's legends. I captured this family's' portraits as they would have back in the day at my portrait studio in Noe Valley. Everything was working the wardrobe, make-up and posses. It is as if Ava Gardner and Frank Sinatra came back in 2013.
Flashback to the 40's with leading actress, Ava Gardner! Once a classic always a classic
This father daughter portrait was a tribute to the classy 40s era and of course the leading couple Ava Gardner and Frank Sinatra. Black and white photos, pearls and tuxedos you cant get any better than that!
Frank Sinatra at his best, sitting back and enjoying life!
I had the pleasure of having this lovely family in my portrait studio with their newborn baby girl for a family photo session. She was only 8 days old when we had this newborn session.
Yulia owns Flowers of the Valley on 24th street and she asked me to photograph her family. We of course had to have flowers in this photo session at my portrait studio. I photographed her children together and then captured the entire family for their family portrait under the mistletoe!
