Family Portrait Sneak Peek| Oakland Marine Shoreline Park & Tilden Park

What can I say about my super fun day with the amazing Coakley family. My sides hurt more from laughing than from carrying gear. We met at a location that I had heard great things about but had never visited - The Middle Harbor Shoreline Park. The park is nestled between the berths at the Oakland Port, on the south side of the Oakland Bay Bridge. It’s the coolest spot. There’s a grassy area for running about, benches for relaxing and taking in the beautiful San Francisco skyline and an observation tower with telescopes for free. Since the park neighbors the port, you can clearly understand how the ginormous port cranes inspired George Lucas to create the AT-ATs of Star Wars.

We started our adventure off by wandering over to the water’s edge having the kids run down the shoreline and then race back. High fives were served up followed by giggles and lots of silliness. I snapped portraits of the kids allowing them to pick thier pose and then put the dynamic duo together for a few frames.

They are the cutest most loving brother and sister twins, to date. Lots of hugs, smiles and genuine good times to be had between them including building a sand castle.

We moved from the beach to the observation tower, which dad was uber excited to show me. The family had visited the park the day before and scouted out a few places they wanted me to know about. The tower was at the top of the ‘must-incoporate-into-our-session’ list. The kids played with the telescopes while I photographed their parents and learned that these two love birds met in high school but it was not love at first site. I guess Heinz’s slogan: “The best things come to those who wait,” applies here.

We headed into the hills to Tilden park to finish off our session and incorporate the furry family member, Lobo. The young German Shepard was in a mellow mood but was willing to jump and sit to get treats.

Thank you guys for a wonderful afternoon. It was such a pleasure to capture your family.