Feb 16 2012

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

Posted inChildren Photography,Family Photography

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.

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Aaron - February 17, 2012 - 5:31 am

Nice shots of my peep!?

Rachael - February 24, 2012 - 7:15 pm

This was the best set of family pictures and experience we have had. There are no words for the life long memories.

Shelly - February 25, 2012 - 5:57 pm

This is the sweetest, kindest and most special complement to date. Thank you so much. I have enjoyed every minute with you and your family. I can’t wait to see the final images hung in your home.

Feb 14 2012

You’re the right kind of dreamer | Happy Valentine’s Day!

Posted inChildren Photography,Everyday

The idea for this Valentine’s day inspired shoot came from Shannon Sewell’s recent blog post. It is simple, a bit crafty and yet so much fun. So I thought I’d put a Valentine’s day spin on it.

Since we were spending a few days in LA with my brother and his family, my niece made the perfect muse.

While the little model was sleeping, I cut out hearts of various sizes, had my trusted assistant (my husband) help me color the shapes and attach them to the strings. Then taped the strings to the ceiling using blue painter’s tape. When our little model woke up, we coached her into the set to play and explore. She examined the hearts and stuck a few of the extra hearts on the back wall. I think her favorite part was pulling down the strings and asking J to “fix it”. Hope your Valentine’s day is heartwarming and full of smiles.

Valentine

 

Valentine

 

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ajira - February 14, 2012 - 6:37 pm

So adorable! Especially that last shot! That little pout! So munchable! :D Yeah, I’m sitting here making those baby noises. May have to go wake my toddler up just to cuddle him. Ha!

Feb 08 2012

Business Juice: Drink Up! | Learning Opportunties Available at Your Fingertips for FREE

Posted inBusiness,Education,For Photographers

I mentioned in my first Business Juice article about keeping costs in check when running a business. However, to stay on top of current trends, learn about new techniques and stay fresh and inspired as an artist can be expensive. There are tons of contests to enter, classes to take, conventions to attend, places to visit and workshops to go to. But what if your budget doesn’t stretch that far?

Don’t fret, there’s good news. There are a plethora of free options to learn, be inspired and grow. If you have an online place you like that’s not on the list please share it in the comments.

Creative Live - The powerhouse of free education on all creative things. Coming up in Friday-Sunday is a three-day course on boudoir photography with Christa Meola, then later in the month baby photographer Sandy Puc will be teaching her how to’s, and the first week in March Sue Bryce, Australia’s Portrait Photographer of the year for 2011 will be focusing on glamour photography. So check out the calendar, sign up for the newsletter and register of a free course today.

Joy of Marketing Webinars - Sign up for Sarah Petty’s newsletter to stay in the loop for the free webinars. They are packed with great information.

[SLR] Lounge - [SLR] Lounge is a resource for photography tutorials, photo news, camera reviews and more.

Storbist - this is a blog full of lighting inspiration and how-tos.

Digital Photography School – Discover how to use your digital camera with their Digital Photography Tips. It is a community of photographers of all experience levels who come together to learn, share and grow in our understanding of photography.

Jules Cafe - a great places to find articles on business, photography and more.

Kelbytv.com - brings together Adobe Photoshop Killer Tips, DTOWN - the show for the DSLR shooter, Photoshop User TV with Scott Kelby and the Photoshop guys plus The Grid with Scott Kelby & Matt Kloskowski. It is a live talk-show about photography, Photoshop & other industry-related topics. Each week features a different guest (in-studio or online) and viewers are encouraged to chime in on the Liveblog or via Twitter by adding #TheGridLive to their tweets.

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Feb 06 2012

Let’s Play | Lifestyle Photography

Posted inChildren Photography,Everyday,Friends

Do you ever want to just go and play? Well, a friend of mine from high school and his daughter drove from Las Vegas to San Francisco… so you can probably imagine how badly his little girl wanted to just run around. After grabbing a bite at Pluto’s, one of my favorite eateries on Irving, we headed to Children’s Playground in Golden Gate Park. Once the park was in sight, the little miss couldn’t decide what to do first. There was things to be climbed, swings to be swung, slides to be slid and so much more to discover. Be sure to scroll to the end of the post to view the slideshow (it’s rocks!).

Little Girl Running on Path in Golden Gate Park

While she played we caught up, shared stories and played too. Next time you’re in the neighborhood, you have to check out the zip line, it’s too cool.

The sun sank lower in the sky and it was time to head to the iconic Golden Gate Bridge for family pictures and a walk to the first tower while enjoying the sunset.

Sunset looking West from Golden Gate Bridge, Silhouetted Bikers

 

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Jan 31 2012

Mountain Biking at Grizzly Peak | Lifestyle Photography

Posted inPhotography Sessions,Sport Photography

What a treat it was for me to capture Zach doing something that he loves. He rides with his friends and family on trails throughout the bay area. This past summer he came up with an idea to create a pseudo mountain biking camp for him and his friends. They picked different trails to ride and then coordinated transportation to the various spots that they couldn’t bike to. It was seven days of exploration, friendship building and pure teenage fun. I asked Zach a few questions after our session together about mountain biking:

How did you get into mountain biking?
I got into mountain biking through my dad. He sort of forced me to go out and bike with him. (Note that now they enjoy riding together.)

What about it do you like?
I like the adrenaline rush I get when riding.

What’s your favorite local (bay area) trail?
My favorite trail is in Joaquin Miller park. I’m not sure what the actual name is but my friends and I call it Cinderella, to make it seem less intimidating. When really it is the complete opposite.

If you could pick anywhere to ride – where would it be and why?
I would pick Tahoe because I love being up in the mountains. It is so peaceful and nice and there isn’t any fog like in the bay.

What should someone look for in a bike if they want to get into mountain biking?
I would look for a full suspension, 29 inch wheel, cross-country bike.

What’s your favorite piece of bike gear?
My favorite part of the bike are the shocks because it is just so fun to play with!

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ajira - February 3, 2012 - 1:25 pm

I LOVE lifestyle shoots! So fun to see people doing what they love! And getting such fabulous images of it is just gravy!! Also really enjoyed the Q&A with Zach!

Shelly - February 7, 2012 - 11:49 am

Me too! I love shooting people doing the things they love, even if it’s reading a book on a blanket under a tree. Thanks for checking in on the blog.