Rachel and her family met Michael and myself at the park for a family portrait session to document Rachel's growing belly. Little Cammie was a bit shy, but we managed to get this great shot of her and her sister-to-be and I think it is so sweet.

Rachel thank you so much for a great afternoon. I look forward to meeting your new kiddo!

I had so much fun with the Steverson family a few weeks ago and I am thrilled to share the images that they selected from our session together. The session was for Jerry's 50th birthday, so a big Happy Birthday to Jerry! I think the images came out great. We spent the morning out at Garin Regional Park, just across the Dumbarton Bridge from Menlo Park.Tracy said to me that when she visualized our portrait session together what was most important for her was to show how much I enjoys who each of her family members are, and to show how much she loves them. Mission accomplished.

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How cute is little Tess? Yesterday afternoon I got together with Ganya and her family to photograph them at Pier 7 in San Francisco (just down the Embarcadero from the Ferry Building). We had a great time and we got some great shots for their Mom. Don't forget Mothers Day is this Sunday!

Ganya, thank you so much for a great session. I can't wait to show you the rest of your images!
 

What is better than doing what I love {photography}? It is doing what I love while documenting someone else doing what they love. If you can recall my gushing Samantha's Music and how beautiful that was, this shoot had much of the same feeling. Photographing Cassandra while she executed some of the most amazing dance moves just blew me away. Have I mentioned that I love my job?

Cassandra, thank you so much for sharing your talent with me. You are such a beautiful, interesting and fun young woman.

When is the best time to shoot? I always tell my clients that the best time to shoot is early in the morning or in the afternoon about an hour before sunset. The worst time to shoot is when the sun is directly over head creating harsh light and deep dark shadows and squinty eyes.

But, sometimes you just don't have the option of shooting in the perfect light. Sometimes you have to go with the flow and know how to find the good light. Both of these images were taken at about 11:00am. Read: the worst possible time to shoot. But what are you supposed to do when trying to schedule around nap times and all the other things that life throws in the way? One great option: find shade. That is what we did with the image on the right (also note the drool on the chin. This is way too cute for photoshop). There was a tree just behind this bench providing nice shade while the pavement around the bench bounced the light up to fill in the shadows resulting in a beautifully lit image. The image on the left is another way to get a good shot in difficult  light. Granted, I was a bit lucky with this one, our kiddo stood right where I wanted without any direction and I just happened to grab the shot in the 1 second that he stood still with that awesome expression on his face. We basically said go play and I shot when the opportunity presented itself. But this does demonstrate what to look for. The sun is behind him and camera right, and I am below him creating longer shadows. Now shooting from below isn't the most flattering angle, but when you step back it isn't a problem . I LOVE both of these shots.

Amanda thank you for a great session! I can't wait to show you the rest of the images!