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

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San Francisco Bay Area Family Photographer : Portraits of Two Brothers

Aneesh contacted me because he wanted to have some modern professional portraits in the Bay Area done with his brother AJ before AJ left for the Air Force Academy.  He and his brother are very close, as is his whole family. He not only wanted the portraits for himself, but also as a gift for his parents and grand parents.  Wow, was I impressed with this young guy who intuitively understood the value of professional portraits.  So we set out to capture the two brothers both in a more traditional format as well as a more edgey, cool format to document the brothers, their relationship and meet the needs of all of the intended audience.  Aneesh and AJ were fantastic to work with - they are both huge soccer players so we had lots to talk about - and we got quite a range of images in one short, sweet hour. We started out in studio, then hit the streets near the studio for the urban look. Here are a few from the session...

 

Two Year Portrait Session - toddler boys and trucks and trains

Over the Holiday Break, I had the extreme pleasure of photographing my step-daughter and her son - aka my grandson - Kingston, who is two and a half years old.  They do not live in the Bay Area, so it is not often that we get to see them. Like many toddler boys his age, Kingston loves cars, trucks and trains - so our photography session was an urban portrait session at the old (abandoned) train tracks.  Along for the ride was his miniature car "McQueen" and Thomas the train, who appear in many of the portraits as well. I approach portrait sessions with toddlers like an adventure - if we make it fun and playful we are guaranteed to get great shots that really capture the essence of the child and the relationship with the parent. For these sessions the parents are an active part of the adventure who sometimes are in focus, sometimes not - but parents are such a big part of the toddlers world that they often are not themselves unless the parents are very close to them.  Using a lifestyle photography approach, it is a very busy session where the parent and child are actively engaged in playing together.   I like to make albums out of the sessions each year with my children and grandchildren, so of course I shot quite a bit of footage.   Here are some of my favorites of this little character Kingston - hopefully I am not too biased!

 

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...

Holiday Cut Off is November 13th!

The Holidays are Coming Fast!

It is that time of year again - when everything gets a little crazy at the studio with the holiday rush. We are actively shooting holiday family portraits sessions. Our official cut off this year is November 14th for sessions that are intended for holiday cards and holiday gifts - which will give us plenty of time to create our custom design cards and beautiful fine art prints and deliver them to you in time for you to get them out for the holidays. If you have not scheduled your fall family portrait session - we still have some openings, but they are going fast - so call the studio 510-748-8959 to  schedule.

More announcements to come for our Annual Toys for Tots Studio Day! Stay Tuned...

Newborn Black & White Portraits - Miles

Christina and Zach brought Miles in for his newborn photography session when he was about 20 days old.  We chose the black background in studio to match some of their favorite maternity portraits that we had done with Christina.  Big sister Hannah came to the session too. Here are some fun family pics from the session...

Yes I am a newborn charmer and can capture newborns smiling when the stars are all aligned!

 Love these with Miles and Mom!

Some nice individuals of Miles

And we even had some time while Miles was taking a break to do some fun quick shots of Hannah which we turned into this cool little photo panel...

 

Holidays in July - 25% off Session fees for 2008 Family Portraits booked before 8/15/08!

Ready for this one? Mention the promotion below and get 25% off of your session fee with Anna Myers for your 2008 Family Portraits if you book your session by August 15, 2008 (actual session can be as far out as Oct 19, 2008) ! Please note - a retainer of $100 is due at time of booking to hold your spot on calendar and counts towards your session fee.  Also  - if you book by August 1, receive 25 complementary slimline holiday cards from your session.  Click on image of ad to view larger ;D

Sibling Photography turned into Wall Art

I had a wonderful sibling session with Sandra and her two kids Matteo and Catalina this spring. We did part of the family photography in studio and part outdoors to accommodate the needs of one very busy toddler boy and his infant baby sister who was not yet standing.  Sandra and I met at Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco for the first part of the session, and then she brought the kids to the studio for a quick baby session on a different morning.  Sandra purchased a collection of prints which she then framed herself and put up on the wall - she sent me a picture of her wall and I think the result looks great! 

Here it is...