My name is Annie Tao. I am a photographer based in the San Francisco Bay Area. I specialize in lifestyle photography where you get to play, hang out, and be yourself. I capture the moments, real emotions and stories that occur during our time together. Check here often or subscribe to my blog (RSS feed) to see what I am up to or get creative inspiration. Thanks for visiting! 
I scoured through thousands of my client photos and pondered my philosophy on photographing people. What I realized was that my philosophy was incredibly simple.
Looking at all these gorgeous faces and families, my heart melts a little. I hope you’ll enjoy it. ~annie
Want to see more? Yippeee… here’s a video on why you should choose Lifestyle Photography.
{Diwali: A holiday known as the Festival of Lights to celebrate victory of light over darkness, good over evil, knowledge over ignorance.}
From planning this shoot with Renuka a year ago, I’ve learned so much about Diwali; and the more I learned, the more emotional I became. This holiday spans beyond ethnicity, religion, or culture. It’s about human kindness, community, our connection to one another, and standing together for what is right.
Photographing Renuka and Sandeep’s Diwali celebration was nourishing to my soul. It’s something I will never forget.
I could feel the boundless energy as guests arrived. Throughout the evening, one by one, candles were lit on the diyas, rangolis, and alter. They provided a feeling of peace and hopefulness for our future and the future of our children. ❤️
Sure, some things I may ask you to do during your shoot may feel strange or even downright goofy. To some. Maaaaaybe. 
That’s where trust comes into play because I promise, there’s a reason for all of that. During a photoshoot, images pop into my head based on what I see in front of me — the quality of light, patterns and textures in the environment, and the people I am photographing. The best “directing” is when they feel more like spontaneous ideas between friends than directions.
Plus, it helps to know I am right there with you. Through it all. Laughing… being silly… being serious.
All of it. ❤️
We loved last year’s pink unicorns, rainbow light, sounds of waves crashing against the shore, overly friendly bees, and the hot sun. But this year, we threw caution to the wind and went for the opposite…
We hung out in a garden surrounded by a concrete jungle, thick fog, nagging gnats (ooh that is fun to say), sounds of people protesting in the streets, and the cold brisk air.
From beach to city, we embraced the Bay. Olivia and Emma had smiles that made strangers take note and wave hello. Emma climbed everything and had the ability to leap into the clouds — or so it felt. And Olivia with her sweet face that turns silly at any given moment still makes me laugh. ❤️
