San Mateo Maternity Photographer: A second baby bump
Beautiful S is going to have a baby in the next few weeks. Given how long it’s been taking me to post my previous family portrait sessions, I’m bumping her to the top of the queue of posts. Now you’ll get a chance to meet the Bump before we snuggle it in baby form.
I photographed S’ first baby bump not all that long ago
I’m so excited for these guys. I photographed S’ first baby bump not all that long ago. It’s pretty great to see they’re gearing up to meet this little one.
Bringing help
Their little dude, E is one serious customer. I mean literally serious. He had two modes. One, caring only for the passing cars. A second, looking intently at me. S and M anticipated this and brought their nanny to help. Knowing E as well as she does, she sang him all his favorite tunes and got this kid to crack up. It was awesome! Moms and dad’s take note: family and friends that can help us make our session run smoother are ALWAYS welcome. Plus, then, I get a chance to capture some lovely portraits of just the adults without worry that little feet will run off to undesired places. If you don’t have access to this help, it’s all good — of course we make it work, but it’s just a small layer of help and stress relief which is always appreciated.
San Francisco Family Photographer: At the Spire
While I spend most of my waking hours working in San Francisco, I don’t get a chance to photograph in the city often. When my husband and I lived there, we also stayed pretty faithful to our neighborhood, and thus stayed within a comfortable walking distance to SOMA. In summary, while I have a large catalog of locations to offer up on the Peninsula, my recommended spots for family portrait photography in San Francisco are…. let’s say, quite lacking.
This is where friends come in. Seriously! I am beyond grateful to be part of a supportive and vibrant community of women photographers. When these guys asked for a spot in the Presidio, my friends obliged with a few recommendations including this jewel.
I’ve mentioned before that shooting “blind” at a spot I haven’t scoped out previously makes me very nervous. Yet, that’s what happened! We agreed on a spot on Friday and met for family photos on Saturday. However, when I get recommendations from other photographers, I feel more at ease, because we get the criteria: good light, easy to get to with kids, not crazy crowded…
My only worry was wind. Let’s be honest: while we can catch some gorgeous sunsets, those rays are usually accompanied by wind that seems to get it’s kicks off of bad hair days. No mom enjoys a back-lit photo even in the best of light, when the wind gives her a fro. We got lucky, though, and while it was chilly, and a bit windy, we got just what we needed.
Thank you friends for an amazing recommendation, and ** family for a great evening! And an extra special thanx to A, who let me put his kids in charge and he had to do everything his son told him to. I might have to do this more often. Because if nothing else, the laughter watching them was worth it!
Foster City Child Photographer: There are squirrels!
Pssst! There are squirrels around here! Really! And if you’re really, really quiet, and offer up a pine-cone, they might come out.
Let’s see, as a child photographer I’ve sought out bears, bribed squirrels and have jumped around like a bunny (among probably many others), but this is probably the first time that my “pretend goal” actually realized. It turns out that Leo J Ryan Park, in Foster City, is not only a great spot for a family shoot, but also a great place to make friends with the little fur-tailed critters. Q and E had a blast trying to cojole them from trees with pine-cones. I also enjoyed getting Q to make silly faces for me showing me how squirrels hide food in their cheeks. Win, win, right?
Watching these two grow has been a real treat for me. I see them about every six months now, and watching their personalities evolve is a fabulous perk to being their family photographer.
I’m trying to make 2016 the year where I seek out new locations for family photo shoots, and revisit sites I haven’t been to in awhile. Leo J Ryan is one of those places. I loved morning the light as the sun rose over the trees, and it definitely didn’t disappoint. When working with families of small kiddos I like having a good repertoire of spots good for mornings. Hey — if the kids are going to be up at 6am anyway, why not do your family photos first thing in the day? They’re cheerful and in a good mood, and the cosmetics industry has already solved for the puffy, sleep-deprived look ;p
Bay Area Photographer: Mini Session Announcements
Yep, it’s barely summer and kids JUST got out of school, so WHY in the world should you be thinking about mini sessions right now? Well, because fall is only 12 weeks away, and my signups will be going up sooner than you think. I don’t want you to miss out, and here’s how you can stay in the loop: sign-up for my announcements list.
You can do that by simply entering your email address in the little form right here. That’s all! Don’t worry — I don’t spam you (you’ll maybe get 2-3 announcement emails a year), and I don’t give your email information to anyone else.
Coincidentally, this form is available on EVERY page of my website, down in the footer, with the “Subscribe To Announcements” header.
Also, please follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ZemyaPhotography. In case you’re wondering when to check your email, I give some hints there :).
Hope to see your smiling faces soon!
San Carlos Family Portrait: Photo Gifts
I love fulfilling photo gifts! G and D bought D’s mom a gift certificate for a family portrait session with me for Christmas. Grandma loved the photos of the kids from the previous fall and was pretty excited to take her own turn. The only trick was aligning the time, because Grandma L lives all the way in beautiful Santa Barbara! As D and G each had business trips to go to last month, Grandma L came up to help with the boys and it was perfect!
With the sun setting later in the day, as summer approaches, we met on a Monday evening, after dinner. It was a quick shoot, super close to home. I was actually worried about the wind since with the summer months the winds pick up a ton, but L must have had some excellent family photo shoot karma, because everything died down just in time for our session. It was a lovely evening, and I got to revisit a favorite San Carlos spot in a season where the grass is still green.
We had a bunch of fun! I don’t often expect adults to get really into the silly action, but L didn’t miss a beat! The smiles you see on their faces were frozen on mine as I was editing through their photos: I love reliving these moments! I love even more that L has these photos that are just herd of her grand-kids and her.
I seriously need to do this for my parents… This might come as a surprise, but my parents are probably the most robbed of photos with their grandkids: consider it one of those ‘shoemakers children’ kind of situations. I need to remedy this next time they are up for a visit. How about you? When’s the last time your parents got photos with their grandkids? Not sure? Give me a holler 🙂
