This morning’s lifestyle baby photography session was of the beeeeeaaaauuuuutiful Lilah whom I had last seen when she was just a few days old! [Click here to see some of her newborn photos.]
Like all 7 month old urban babies, Lilah packed her morning full of activities. Lilah began her morning with milk and giggles, and then it was off to do some baby modeling…
A Diva Outfit
After a little creative redecorating at the K’s home, Lilah had some solo shots in her diva outfit: her birthday suit and a hairclip! 
I wanted a shot of her little baby bum and thought this perspective would be more interesting!
It highlights the contrasting textures of her soft skin with the rough carpet.
Lilah’s furry brother, Ramsey, liked to check on her once in awhile. He is such a good big brother!
Musical Talents
Then she played a little riff on the piano with her dad.
Then there was some play time before heading out…
Flying, Blowing and Kissing
I love the light and the natural expressions of the K family playing together in this shot.
[Photography Tip: This photo is also a great example of how coordinating outfits can tie the image together. They have just the right amount of coordination of pinks, browns and beige...even down to the wall and furniture. Because of this, the photo acts similar to a monochromatic image where you focus on the expressions because the colors aren't distracting.]
Discoveries
The beauty of simple discoveries — like how a flower looks when the wind blows and the feel of your father’s face — are precious.
Around the Neighborhood
The sun disappeared just before we headed out and I am so thankful for that, otherwise this sweet family shot would’ve been drenched in harsh shadows.
I love this family photo because everyone looks happy and, heck, the colors are just so darn pretty.
After this action-packed morning, Lilah was ready for her nap, which, by the way, did NOT involve rocking, soothing, feeding, reading, white noise machines, singing or anything. We arrived back at the house and they just put her in her crib. Done.
My jaw was on the floor. Can Lilah be any more amazing?!!
Lilah is on my Baby’s First Year plan, so I get the pleasure of seeing her and her charming parents again in a few months. I can’t wait!
In the first 10 years of my adult life, I made a point in devoting myself to helping the community — namely, children — while I “drove in Automatic” in my career. I would work 9 to 5 (okay, more like 8 to 6 or 8 to 8, sometimes longer) and then volunteer on the weekends, such as being a Big Sister or volunteering in the Pediatric department of a hospital. That was how I kept things in balance.
Once I left the Corporate World, I was a teacher for a few years. My desire was to teach in a public school in an economically challenged urban area. I viewed my role as a Teacher to be far more than just infusing academia into the lives of my students. I made it my goal to use my time with them as a special opportunity to help them in their lives. Whether it was to help them navigate through a particular hardship, teach them to make good decisions, or believe in themselves.
It is similar to how I find parenting to be now: you do what you can to give them life tools, but then you let them go… and pray they learned something!
The Barbie Project
When I taught Middle School Math, my spin on my lesson plans was relating Math to the “real world”, so students could see how math could be applied in different jobs as well as life concepts — beyond simple arithmetic.
For my older students, I focused on business and had a project on the stock market. For my younger students, we had a project on scale, ratio and measurement, called The Barbie Project.
Yep, I subjected all my students to working with Barbie dolls for a couple weeks! They had to measure them and draw them (with the same proportions), but scaled to a real life size. The results were astonishing, and the students were just as puzzled as the adults when they saw the results with their own eyes.
What people interpreted as a gorgeous representation of an American beauty — Barbie — turned out to be something of an Amazonian freak of nature! I can’t remember the exact measurements because this was ages ago, but she was something like 6 feet tall with a 10.5″ waist, 44″ chest, child-size head and child-size feet!
REALLY?!!
My students and I enjoyed discussing what Barbie would be like if she were real. Hmmmm….she’d probably be in a wheel chair because she wouldn’t be able to stand up or even hold her head up. We all agreed that Real Life Barbie would be highly UNattractive!
We talked about the definition of “beauty” and how it shouldn’t be defined by the media or even the people around us. We talked about how there are many different definitions of beauty. And the most important definition is our own.
[Please note: This blog is not to frown upon Mattel or any other toy manufacturer, but I used this Barbie project as a segway to discussing how the media influences our perception of beauty. How can our little girls (and boys) grow up to feel beautiful when they see images, drawings and dolls that have unrealistic traits and measurements that they can never live up to?]
Better Than Barbie
Now, let’s fast-forward: I stopped teaching after 3 years, got married, moved and had a baby.
Fast-forward to yesterday: One of my former students volunteered to be my model for a photoshoot. I haven’t seen her for about 10 years! I first met her when she was ELEVEN!
There are so many things that was cool about seeing her yesterday. For one, I got to see how she turned out as an adult! She is bright, charming, independent, thoughtful and creative. I don’t even need to mention that she is beautiful. Just look at her photos below!
What blew me away is what she told me at the end of her shoot…
She said that she thinks about my Barbie lesson during the times she doesn’t feel good about herself. And that makes her feel better!
She said that the lesson is something she will remember for the rest of her life. And she thanked me.
I am incredibly humbled and touched.
I think the most gratifying feeling in the World is to know that you’ve made a difference in someone’s life.
Looks like the results are in for the Most Delicious Light of 2011 and Funniest Photos of 2011. Thank you to those who voted on Facebook!
Though the number of votes may vary over time since voting is open, the favorites were abundantly clear… though some were a surprise.
(If you haven’t seen all my favorites that made it into the albums or you want to cast your vote, go to my Facebook business page.)
BEST OF 2011: THE MOST DELICIOUS LIGHT
#1
#2
#3
Tied for #4
Since I love to laugh, it is imperative to show my favorite FUNNY photos of the year.
The image that received the most number of votes was astonishing!
WHAT THE?!!! It’s the shot of my own kids?!!
BEST OF 2011: FUNNIEST PHOTOS
#1
#2
3-Way Tie for #3
Capturing a moment means the image wouldn’t have the same appeal it if was taken a second later or a second earlier.
It could also capture an emotion or the essence of a relationship. Or tell a page of a story.
Below are the Best Moments of 2011, based on viewers’ votes in Facebook (as of today*).
If you’d like to cast your vote or wanted to see ALL of my favorite moments of 2011, go to my Facebook page!
*Votes can be added any time, so the Best Of images may change. The voting process is open to all and with no deadline. This is just a way for me to see what people liked! For all those who participated, thank you!!!
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
Triple Tie for #10
I will be posting more “Best Of” albums on Facebook, so make sure you “Like” my page to stay in touch. I wanna know YOUR favorites!
I really do.
After taking photos of my 3 monkeys in their jammies on New Year’s Day (that’s my new family tradition), I decided to shoot a couple minutes for fun. I say “for fun” because trying to get a shot of all 3 of my kids in the same frame where I can see everyone’s faces — and no one is crying, grimacing or leaking something icky from their face — is HARD WORK! Really. I need an entire crew to wipe drool, re-center Baby Ava, make sure no one gets injured, keep Ian focused and get Mia’s attention.
The benefit of this is it gives me big photography muscles for when I shoot other people’s kids!
So after the tiring mini-shoot of my monkeys in jammies, I turned off the lights, launched a kids game on an iPad, placed the iPad in the middle of my bed, and let the big kids have at it! They didn’t even notice I was taking photos of them.
By shooting my kids in a dark room with one small light source, the focus was entirely on their faces. And the images are “moody” because the color of the light depends on what is presented on their screen at the time of the shot.
The First
I don’t know if this happens to you, but sometimes, my favorite is the first. My first bite, my first shot, my first time hearing a song.
This first shot is my favorite. It’s the softness of the light, the color of light, the kids’ hand positioning and their expressions.
[Specs: Nikon 24-70mm/2.8 lens, ISO 400, 24mm, f/2.8, 1/40 sec, shot in manual, handheld.]
Room Size
Here’s the shot right afterwards. By panning out, you get a sense of the room size and the relative grandness to the kids.
[Photography Tip: When shooting lifestyle portraits or events, it's nice to get close-up shots of the people and the details, but it's also important to get a shot of the area to give perspective to the event or the lifestyle shoot. Do this no matter what the lighting situation is. Even in a very dark room with fast-moving subjects, like a dance floor, keep your camera steady, drag your shutter a bit and you can get a shot of people dancing with some cool motion blur.]
[Specs: Nikon 24-70/2.8 lens, ISO 400, 24mm, f/2.8, 1/25 sec, shot in Manual, handheld.]
Attention
I love their seriousness and attentiveness. Now, if only they’d pay attention like this when I talk to them! 
[Specs: Nikon 24-70/2.8 lens, ISO 400, 24mm, f/2.8, 1/20 sec, shot in Manual, handheld.]
Photography Notes & Challenge
My thought process: I knew I wanted to shoot at ISO 400, which allows for some motion and isn’t very grainy. I also knew I wanted to shoot it wide open, at f/2.8, so I’d get the full amount of light from the monitor and any details in the background would get blurred out. I only played with the focal length (though the 3 images I chose here happened to all be at 24mm) and the shutter speed.
Since I always shoot in natural light, I thought it would be a fun challenge to shoot with only artificial light that I could not control.
If you haven’t already, try this out! You can use anything: a flashlight, a cell phone, a candle, a desk lamp. It doesn’t have to be an iPad. Just find a willing participant and turn off the lights!
Whatever you shoot, always have fun!
xo,
annie
I have such a soft spot for dads who are emotionally connected to their kids. Seriously…it melts my heart.
There was a lot of melting going on in my San Francisco Bay Area family photography session with The S Family yesterday!
Nothing but love.
Sometimes it’s in the way they talk to their kids — without even uttering the words “I love you”.
You can see True Love by the way people have physical contact… like the way they lean into each other.
Sometimes I see love in the way they hold hands…
Or the way a child grabs hold of their father like they won’t ever let go.
It’s All In The Face
I love children’s faces. Kids never fake their emotions.
Cuteness
Watching Over You
I had the pleasure of seeing The W’s this morning for their family photography session in San Francisco.
All my clients are special, but The W’s are special in a different way. When I had their first shoot in 2009, Lisa (the mommy) and I were both pregnant. AND GET THIS…
We went into labor about the same time and were at the same hospital, even though our due dates were weeks apart and we lived in different counties! (It was with the beauty of social media that we learned we were at the same hospital.)
I, of course, had my camera with me, so I waddled to their hospital room to take a few photos of their new baby boy! How cool is that?!!
Shooting Details
Wedding photographers know to capture detail images of the events they’re covering, but what about for family photography?
[Photography Tip: It's on a smaller scale than weddings and other life events, but for on-location family photography, there is still a lot of planning that goes into it! The location, the outfits, the shoes, etc. So next time you're on a family shoot, notice the details that your clients put thought into and capture those. A good time to do that is in the beginning of the shoot when clients are warming up.]
For this morning’s shoot, I had a lot of time to capture the location. It was a peaceful and quiet morning with beautiful dusty fog.
In my last couple sneak peeks I’ve had shots of shadows, so I found this one to be a HOOT and had to share!
Mr Pigeon trotted around this cold, early morning in search of a blueberry scone….or so he said!
(And if you’re wondering, the answer is: Yes, I do find myself funny. I’m cracking myself up right now!)
“A Sneaky Peek”
That’s what I’m calling a true sneak peek where I don’t reveal much.
Alright, I can’t do it. Here are a couple of my faves of the kids!
Ian
His hair is one of the coolest I’ve seen. It had natural highlights and lowlights, and some strands had various colors…like reddish tips to this blonde hair!
I’d show you a photo of Ian in color, so you can see what I mean…but then it wouldn’t be a “Sneaky Peek”!
Sophie
It was great to see her after 2 years….and she still looked the same, just a lot bigger!
It was 32F degrees when I left this morning for my San Francisco family photography session with the B Family. Sure it was chilly, but we all quickly forgot about it once the shoot started!
The B family will soon leave the Bay Area, so this shoot is to capture one of their last days here!
Snuggling with Mom
The sunlight, the expressions, the very moment of contact… mooah! I am in love with this image and can look at this all day!
Like A Bird
With dad’s super human strength, Cameron was able to fly like a bird in front of the Bay Bridge!
“You Wanna See My Teeth?”
This little guy was not shy AT ALL. He was social, smart and charming.
Right from the start of the shoot, Cameron told me about his life, his favorite things, his baby sister and his teeth — just to name a few.
At one point, we talked what we have in common, like how we both love our iPads! Wait a minute…is he really only 4?!!!
At The Ferry Building
I can’t remember what happened in the below right photo to cause such great expressions, but I find this shot priceless.
Their Family Shadow
I really do love shadows. I love how you can gather so much information just by looking at one’s shadow — or, in this case, a group’s shadow.
You can tell who is in the family (a mom, a dad, a baby and a little boy). You can tell how they are walking (the mom is holding the baby on one side, the dad is walking behind everyone). And you also know it is either early morning or late afternoon because the sun is low. (Either that or everyone has giraffe legs!)
At The Bookstore
Picking Out Juice
Look at how the very bright florescent light shows off Isla’s innocent face.
I also loved the fridge for its pattern of colors and shapes for a shot of Isla’s hair. (I love her perfect swirl and tiny baby curls.)
A Breakfast For Champions
ICE CREAM!!!
The ice cream store wasn’t even open yet, but the store employees saw how Isla and Cameron’s faces lit up when they arrived and unlocked their door. So they couldn’t resist giving the kids a scoop!
This shot of Cameron feeding his little sister a bite of ice cream is very Norman Rockwell. Thus, I had to post-process it as such!
To The B Family:
The Bay Area will miss you! Have a safe journey to your new home.
And Cameron, you tell your mommy and daddy to email me whenever you come to visit the Bay Area so I can play with you again, okay Buddy?
xo,
annie
You say grandparents from different parts of the World accidentally scheduled a visit to San Francisco for the same time?!!
There are no coincidences. This family reunion was meant to be!
And I was happy to be there to capture it all!
Where You Start Isn’t Necessarily Where You End
I can be quite the Philosopher! heh heh
Alright, so Crissy Field, Fort Point, The Warming Hut… they have incredible views, but in the Winter, they are just too cold and windy for a shoot!
In the time it took to walk around and capture these shots (about 5 minutes), I couldn’t feel my ears and my fingers. And I was wearing gloves!
After my clients arrived, we were only able to stick around for 15 or so minutes before we had to change locations!
The remainder of my Sneak Peek images were taken at our 2nd location, and they’re divided into sections because I couldn’t narrow down the images! So sit back and get comfortable.
**LOVE IS IN THE AIR**
Stealing A Kiss
After I captured this shot, my new favorite combination is: flare + shadows!
All Smiles
Now I know why Priti has such an amazing smile and radiates warmth. Just look at her parents!
**MAYA AND HER GRANDPARENTS**
Clinging To Mom
Handpuppets
Talking Ben and Grandpa
This was taken at the end of the shoot. Grandpa took out his iPad to keep Maya happy while I chatted with Rachad and Priti.
I love this shot because you can see that Maya was more entertained by her grandpa than “Talking Ben” (the App where a cartoon dog repeats what you say)!
Grandma’s Sunglasses
“It goes IN my ear, right?!!”
“No, no… I remember. It’s UNDER my ears!”
**THE GRANDPARENTS**
These three people have redefined the term “grandparent”! They were youthful, vibrant, energetic and glamorous.
All I can say is: w-o-w!
**THE ENTIRE GROUP**
Vanity Fair
I love that the Y Family’s gallery will contain a variety of candid shots (some bordering on silly) and semi-posed shots.
This one below is my favorite semi-posed shot…reminds me of Vanity Fair in how they’re standing together, but relaxed.
Kissing Maya
Ommmm…
**MAYA**
Breaking and Entering
I’ve recently captured some shots of kids in cars, but this one is different.
This was a random car parked on the side of the street! It was pretty funny.
THE Bow
Simple Pleasures: High-Fives
**FATHER AND DAUGHTER**
After agreeing to some shots with his adult daughter, Priti’s dad hugged her and said, “She is my Maya!”
If you can even feel 1/1000th of the love this family have for little Maya in my photos, you will know that his comment meant more than saying Priti is his daughter!
*tear*
To the C and Y Families,
I hope the rest of your stay in SF will be fun and festive! And I wish you safe travels back home. It was such a pleasure to meet you all.
And thank you, Priti and Rachad, for thinking of me for this shoot. I had a great time seeing you guys, as always.
xo,
annie
This evening’s Bay Area family photography session was a “full circle” with the T. Family. Their first session with me 2 years ago was at Stanford University (Three Bears at Stanford) and today, we shot at the UC Berkeley campus! Go Bears!
[For those who have no idea what I'm talking about, Stanford and Cal are rival schools in California, yet all of us adults at the shoot -- myself included -- went to UC Berkeley.]
It was so nice to be back shooting here. There are so many little nooks and crannies here that I can shoot here every weekend and get entirely different images! Yep, UC Berkeley is like an english muffin. Who knew?!!
Gorgeous Family, Gorgeous Light
What else could I ask for?!!
This Year’s Holiday Card
heh heh heh….
Sibling Love
In the first 5 minutes of the shoot, these siblings refused to take photos with each other because, allegedly, they didn’t like each other. HA!
I felt nothing, but love from them, for them, and between them.
Laying on the Cement
Nicolas is a natural model. I mean, really! How many people can look THIS good when laying on the hard, cold cement?!!
All Smiles
Jackie has such a great attitude and gentle nature. I found her laughing a lot, which made me laugh too!
Muscles
I love this boy!
Leonora and Min
Min is keeping a straight face here, but he was actually cracking jokes during this time!
So Berkeley!
One of the things I miss about being on the Berkeley campus is how I never feel apart from the rest of the World when I’m here. (Some campuses make me feel like I’m in an altogether different World, sheltered from it all.)
Here, there is always some kind of activity — rallies, protests, strikes, movements — that makes me think about my rights and my freedom. Today was no different.
This week, it’s Occupy Cal.
When (you think) No One Is Watching!
At the end of the shoot, Jackie and Nicolas sat at Sproul Hall and watched the skateboarders and bikers do tricks. We were here for awhile, so they forgot I had my cameras – heh heh.
I definitely made sure I captured some semi-set up shots of the kids and the entire family, but I love capturing images that are unexpected.
When Jackie is sitting quietly, she plays with her face…
And Nicolas wiggles his tooth!
Father and Son Hands
[Photography Tip: Hands can tell quite a story! Not only how they look and what you do with them, but how you place them.]
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