san francisco bay area maternity, child and family photographer » FAMILIES

if wishes were fishes…

alpana — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 15:06:18 +0000

…I could photograph this little guy all day long. Besides being adorable, he is such a happy little guy. I loved every minute of being with him and his gorgeous mama. This is our third photo session together at almost two years old. I met him and his gorgeous family as a wee little newborn and have loved documenting him since. Mommy brought along some fabulous props including the gorgeous vintage high chair that used to hers as a child. Here is a sneak peek for the B family!

baby boy blue, a gorgeous family and their vw bus | marin family photographer

alpana — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 23:19:01 +0000

For this session, I trekked out to the Marin Headlands to capture this family in some of their favorite spots. I fell in love with this gorgeous family and spent a wonderful evening documenting their time together. Our original session was intended for little William’s one year photos though we ended up doing them around fifteen months due to a home remodel/move. He was a busy little explorer with a love for rocks. You can even see some of the rocks from his collection in the picture below. Amidst, the exploring I got moments of pause here and there and a gaze into his blue eyes. Nine year old Jack was such a sweetheart as well playing his role as a protective big brother keeping a watchful eye on baby W and keeping him entertained.

In honor of Father’s day I put together this storyboard of pictures that celebrate this beautiful family…

then and now | san francisco baby photographer

alpana — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 20:52:40 +0000

For a long time there were only your footprints & laughter in our dreams & even from such small things, we knew we could not wait to love you forever.
~ Storypeople

Love this Storypeople quote so much. Baby J was a long awaited princess that has brought so much joy to her family. To me she has been a special baby to document as well having watched her grow over the past two years. I had to have a post to share my journey documenting her and also my growth as a photographer (I hope!). I am behind blogging this session as I had to dig up some of her early photos that you might recognize if you have been a blog follower. Isn’t she just adorable? I feel so fortunate to have had this opportunity to document her over time and am thankful to her lovely mama for trusting me to create these beautiful memories. And hard not to get attached to a little person that I have watched grow from a wee little one to a little person full of personality.

I photographed baby J at three months, six months, ten months, one year and now at two years old. I am often asked what the best age is to photograph babies? Three months is a difficult age since they are sort of in-between but every milestone captures that moment in time. You can see for yourself how quickly she has grown specially over the first year!

then…

and now… little Miss Independent. I love this storyboard of an attempted picture of mommy holding her as it is such a testament of this busy age. Nope, she didn’t want to be held. But maybe she thought about it for half a second. Nah, decided she just had so much exploring to do and took off.

Little Miss Claire Bear | San Francisco Family Photographer

alpana — Sat, 29 May 2010 23:06:52 +0000

The most important thing you leave behind is the stuff that turns into treasures when children find it.
~Storypeople

I adore this Storypeople quote. It made me think of sweet memories we created for baby C’s family and how they will cherish them forever. When baby C grows up to be a beautiful young lady she will likely not remember her cute chubb days. But I hope that these pictures will be her treasures to have and hold on to.

We had a wonderful session with baby C’s family at their home in Noe Valley in San Francisco. Mommy had ordered some cute clothes I recommended from the Gap, Baby Legs and not to forget Anthropologie for herself. Seven months. Such a wonderful age. It is my favorite age to photograph little people when they are able to sit up. And also when they can’t get away from me too easily (though she was just starting to crawl and is likely a different baby today). Enjoy your sneak peek!

In the many faces on baby C, do you have a favorite? Post your favorite in the comments section using the numbering system below. I will share which one mine is too once the voting is over. Top Row with two pics- Use no. 1 for left and no. 2 for right. In the middle row with three pics- use no. 3 for left, no. 4 for middle and no. 5 for right. For a total of 25+ comments (don’t have to be for one image), I will make a complimentary 5 x 7 print for the family. So vote away!!!

Check out the teeny skinny jeans on baby C. I wonder if they will be still a fad when she grows up?

someone special

alpana — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 04:13:11 +0000

This K family was visiting San Francisco from the east coast last week so their family portrait session came about rather quickly! Mom and Dad went to law school with a wonderful client that referred them to me. They wanted to craft their story in the city that they love so much and move back to some day. We visited some of their favorite spots and also took some pictures in their family home in Laurel Heights. Amazingly, in the course of the shoot five month old baby Sophie’s great-grandma stopped by. How amazing is that? She is such a sweet heart and I was thrilled to capture some photos of the wee one with great-grandma. Hope you enjoyed the rest of your stay, K family!

just another day in san francisco…

alpana — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 05:01:34 +0000

where we ended up with unexpectedly sunny weather on a supposedly cloudy day for a family photography session for the C family. Not so unusual for San Francisco, eh? Made for an interesting shoot aka shooting in full sun on the beach. But hey, after the streak of wet weather and reschedules it has been nice to have a spot of sun in the bay area. After our fun in the sun we headed to Bi-rite, the ice cream shop in Noe Valley for a few more pictures that I haven’t gotten to yet. Meanwhile, here is a sneak peek for the C family. Check out the gorgeous girlie that just couldn’t stop smiling!

wrapped with love | oakland family photographer

alpana — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 05:59:15 +0000

On Sunday afternoon, I spent a couple of hours with this dad and his two boys around their Montclair home capturing their special bond. In the photo below, I love that I snapped the moment when they were all wrapped around each other as the boys clowned around while getting into a “pose.” Most often, my favorite photos are real moments like these that happen between the posed photos.

Seven month old and family visiting San Francisco | San Francisco Family Photographer

alpana — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 20:10:44 +0000

I have been lax about updating my blog lately. I am still catching up with our move, trying to sell our old home and juggling home and work. I wanted to share some images from a family portrait session last weekend. This was a special family session which was purchased as a gift by the little one’s aunty. What a cool aunty!

We hung out in the Pacific Heights area of San Francisco. It is always an adventure going to new locations and it was an extended morning of fun scouting spots near by, shopping to add to little A’s wardrobe, napping for one of us, and then some fabulous photos. The funny thing was the park we ended up at had two other photographers shooting family sessions. It must be that time of the year!

Going down the steps, I loved the light so we had to get a few photo. How I love it! And check out the cute little fashionista…

Tween twins | San Francisco Family Photographer

alpana — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 19:22:24 +0000

Typically, I chase much younger kids but this session was about active twelve year old fraternal twin boys. Soccer was their thing so they came armed with their balls and spent a good deal of time kicking the balls around. Mom wanted natural photos of the boys being themselves. “Not too natural” she said, as this seems to be the age where teen angst sets in As a blip of their radar, I didn’t really get to experience any of it but got some wonderful moments as they arm-wrestled, laughed and goofed off in the course of our mini-session. Hope you like the pictures of your sweet boys, Nanci! I had a great time hanging out and we might just pop in to watch them playing soccer.

being close to each other (as in hugging) was out of question…though i love how this turned out with Peter sort of doing his own thing popping into the frame as I was shooting his brother.

One plus one | Pleasanton family photographer

alpana — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 05:50:38 +0000

Equals two cute little boys. Two brothers- 1.5 and 4 years old. And their rocking parents. It turned out to be another crazy bay area foggy, cold day but we managed to conquer it and come out shinning!

Just wanted to post a quick sneak peek for the family. Thanks for being so flexible in working out the session date to work with my crazy moving schedule. Hope you enjoy your peek…

can you see how proud little guy looks to be pulling big bro?