Modern Fine Art Portraits in the San Francisco Bay Area - Anna Myers Photography Blog

Find our NEW BLOG - annamyersblog.com

This blog has been great  - but we have moved to a new domain for 2011 with bigger pics and new features! So please join us at the new blog:

www.annamyersblog.com

 

 

Bay Area Baby Photographer : One Year Old Twin Portraits

One year Portraits are one of my favorite subjects to photograph - and when it is with twins it is double fun!  I photographed Jaya and Phillip for their maternity and also for their newborn, so I was so eager to see them again at their one year old milestone.  These twins love to dance and take turns being smiley or cranky - as most twins do. So there is always someone in a good mood to capture.  And these two were always on the move!  Here are some of my favorites from the twin one year portraits in the san francisco bay area

 

Bay Area Baby Photographer - Modern One Year Portraits: Birthday Cake & Baby Boudoir?

Babies should not really be considered boudoir subjects as that sounds rather creepy, but when Alexis' Mom brought baby lace leggings for her professional one year portraits in studio and we added some fake pearls and gerber daisies, I cant help but wonder if we have created a new style where baby boudoir is adorable, fresh and fun! see for yourself

 Then to celebrate her first birthday, we included a scrumptious, organic baby birthday cake (which was made by none other than my fabulous assistant Nicole Campion - did you know she is a pastry chef and can make the best cakes you have ever tasted for your next celebration?). Now, this was the first time that Alexis had ever tasted cake - and it is clear that she is a foodie at heart as she was all business!

 

Alameda Baby Photographer - Katie's One Year Portraits in Studio

Yay! Katie turned one year old and we had a busy session in the studio to capture this milestone!  I have been photographing Katie since she was 4 months old - this is our third session together. Since she is not walking yet, the studio was still a great place for the session.{Once babies are active walkers I recommend outdoors or home studies with natural light for more room to roam.} But we also had another mission to accomplish for Katie's one year portrait. Katie's mom Heather had three generations of one year portraits (Heather, her mom, and her grandmother) in a frame and wanted to add Katie to this tradition and have her dressed similarly and holding Heather's teddy bear to match some of the previous photos.  I loved being part of this - so we consulted before the session to make sure we would have the right ingredients - and voila! Here is our one year portrait of Katie holding her mother's teddy bear that will be framed with the other three generations of portraits...

Then we changed it up and put on some colorful clothes for our modern one year professional portraits and here are some of my favorites from those pics...

 

One Year Portrait Session in the Rose Garden

Once babies are just starting to walk - usually around one year - natural light photography sessions outdoor are a great choice. For little girls you can't beat a lovely garden for a beautiful background. In the Bay Area we have several great choices for Photography Sessions in Rose gardens including the Berkeley Rose Garden, the Oakland Rose Garden and several in San Jose.

I met Avena to photograph her in Oakland for her first portrait session! Avena is a clever, funny, charming little girl with a heart winning smile.  Here are some of my favorites from the session.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vineyard Grape Fairy - one year portrait session

One of my recent favorites from a one year session at the family vineyard in Livermore - tutus and grape vines were a great inspiration to create this vineyard grape fairy shot. Adding a vintage feel in post-processing worked well.

We also hauled a couch out to the vineyard (thanks Jim!) and had some fun family portraits with the couch outdoors as well.  Here is one from the front of their holiday card...

Laya's got the blues - 9 month baby portraits

Another great session with Laya - she is such a ham!  She is 9 1/2 months and a member of our Oh Baby! Club, so I get to photograph her every few months in her first year to capture all of her stages.   This little girl really loves the camera!  This image really captured my heart today...

Abigail and the Blowing Flower - Location Portraits with 2 year olds

I love location sessions with toddlers!  Not only is natural light photography of children a fantastic way to capture their spirit, it also allows for movement, play and exploration.  I recently had a very fun toddler photography session with Abigail at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco.  We played in the ferns and found some blowing flowers along the way - here are some of my favorites of Abigail and the blowing flower...

Toddler Portrait Session in the Rose Garden

I have been so busy with family sessions this fall, I have fallen behind on my blogging!  This session was at a lovely fall location at the Berkeley Rose Garden. Madeline is 15 months old and *loves* her stuff animals - can you find the stuffed animal friend in the pictures below?  She is a multi-faceted charming toddler who was a treat to document with her family for some great bay area family portraits .
Here are some of my favorites...

Best Ages for Professional Baby and Infant Photography

This is an article I wrote recently on baby photography and the best ages in the first year...

Photography is an important tool for documenting the milestones in a baby's development.  Many families choose professional photography for these times to create artistic images as professional archival prints that will last for generations.  Knowing the importance of this task, many parents wonder, what is the best time for baby photography?   Here is a guide for what you can expect at the different stages of the first year or so related to professional infant and baby photography.

Newborn -  Newborn photography session should ideally be done in the first three weeks - particularly the first 10 days. In the first 10 days, the babies are easier to work with as they are less fussy and they will not have their baby acne yet which usually sets in around day 16.  Beautiful images of naked newborns laying down or in their families arms are an incredible beginning to documenting a person's life, and should not be missed.


2 to 3 months - This time is still considered newborn, but the babies can be harder to work with at this age as they tend to be very fussy at this age.  They will have better head control than in the first month, and they usually can smile at this point, but do not count on getting a smiling portrait at this age.  Most posing will involve the baby laying down on back or stomach, being propped up, and being held in arms. If you missed the newborn window of 5 to 10 days, you can still get great newborn photos at this age, it just take patience.  Oh! they also tend to be much plumper by this age than 5 to 10 days.

 

4 to 5 months - Most infants are quite chubby by this time, and are much better at smiling and making faces.  These babies are still not able to sit up, but they are more able to interact with people and toys. This is a perfect time for infant portraits of capture chubby arms and legs, and bare bottoms - and you may even be able to get them to smile on camera.

6 to 7 months - Around this age the infant is able to sit up, and there are many more options for photography posing. Outdoor sessions are now possible for six month old portraits, but remember that babies at this age love to put everything in their mouth, so choose the outdoor location carefully. This is a great age for portraits with pets, and siblings as the infant is usually not mobile yet - just able to sit up, laugh and smile!

8 to 10 months - Often by this age, the baby is crawling and the sessions get very active! Consider a white background session in studio for a clean, classic look - but be ready to bring toys to distract the baby to stay in the area of light and continually reset the baby to the right spot. For very active babies a better choice for professional baby photography may be at the home if these is plenty of natural light so that the baby can roam and the photographer can follow.

11 to 14 months - Pulling up, standing and then walking - these all are typical of these ages and should be documented as a major milestone in the infants development.  Now the baby is really able to move in their environment which would make it a great time for a location session, including other family members as well.

So given these ages for professional baby photography, which ones are the best?  As a photographer and a parent, I would recommend having the baby professionally photographed as a newborn (around 5 to 10  days old), then at 4  months (chubby baby bottoms), followed by 6 or 7 months (sitting), 9 months (crawling), then 12 to 13 months (standing).  If you can only do three - make sure to get newborn, 6 to 7 month portraits, and the One Year milestone. When purchasing prints, order professional archival prints that will last for generations, as these photos should be around for this babies great grand-babies.

This is the gift of professional photography.

About the Author
Anna Myers is a modern lifestyle  Portrait Photographer in San Francisco who specializes in artistic baby photography.