Family Photography: Baby's First Cake

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.

Family Photography

Crystal and her family have been clients of mine for several years.  Much like many of my other clients, when I ask them what they want for their family portrait session, they can't decide on whether they want indoor studio photography or outdoor photography.  Luckily, we can make both of those happen in 1 1/2 hours or less, and all for the same price.  We have many parks nearby.  40 minutes in a park, 40 minutes in the studio, and we can make everything that you want for their family photos a possibility.

What Should I Wear?

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.

Professional Portraits

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.”

San Francisco City Hall Wedding

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!

San Francisco Studio Family Photography

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.

Portraits with Personality

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.

San Francisco police officer Photography

Patrick protecting San Francisco. http://blog.fimaphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/MG_0025-Edit.jpg

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Sonny and Cher

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.

Rita Hayworth

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!

Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner

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!

Newborn Studio Photo Session

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.

Family Photography in My Portrait Studio

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!

Not Your Usual Family Photos

My friend Keri who is also a professional photographer asked me to photograph her family. We took this photo session outdoors in San Francisco. I suggested they bring a couch to this portrait session.  When I heard her husband was a gymnast, I decided to change things up and add a little spice to the family portrait.

Destination Family Photography

I took this family out of my portrait studio and to Glenn Park for their family photo session. We photographed some precious family moments and took some great portraits of their daughter.

Photographing Newborn

I like the challenge of not only photographing unpredictable moments of children, but throwing in the extended members of families, pets. Pet photography is another challenge in capturing great images but all worked out today we got the family dog winking at the camera.

Every time you take a diaper off during a newborn photo session the child ends up peeing. It just so happened that I caught this newborn at the right time and captured this great shot in my portrait studio. It took me over 3 years to get this exact image.

Family Photosession at our Professional Photography Studio in Noe Valley and at a Park in San Francisco

Two sisters sharing precious moments in our professional photography studio in Noe Valley, San Francisco. We also got a photograph of the entire family for their mantel. After capturing those images we moved over to a park in San Francisco and got some loving images of the father with his daughter.