san francisco bay area maternity, child and family photographer » San Francisco Bay Area childrens photographer

nick and his momma

alpana — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:18:05 +0000

These images in this blog post are a mix of film and digital. I photographed this funny and handsome eight year old dude and his mom last year and have been wanting to share some of the images from their session. I asked Rhonda if she could guest blog a post and she agreed. I thought might be fun for readers to see it how the day rolls and any random thoughts through a client’s perspective. I love that my client’s are able to put their faith in me and go along with my crazy ideas! Read on to see what this mom’s experience was like…

Two years ago, I was fortunate enough to meet Alpana of Storybox Art and after she took Nicholas’ photos at 6 ½ years I knew that I had found the person to document him all the way through his teen years and into young adulthood provided of course, that Alpana doesn’t have other plans for the next ten to twelve years and that Nicholas remains cooperative. Alpana has a gift for not only capturing his joyous smiles and silliness but also his other expressions and looks that are so meaningful to me – even the ones that sometimes drive me nuts. She has an incredible way of literally photographing one’s whole personality.

This particular set of photos was done precisely at 8 ½ years of age because I wanted to make sure I had photographs of Nicholas’ gappy smile and still-to-be-grown-into front teeth. I actually regret not having photos done at around 7 ½ years of age when his front teeth were missing but I’m thrilled that I will have these photos to remember this phase in which all of those teeth that we walked the floor over and cried copious tears of angst over as they were coming in eight years ago — are now falling out. I have a feeling that the next set of photos at age 10 or so will be even more telling in terms of the little man who is morphing into a not-so-little man.

Wondering what a photo session with Alpana is like? Here’s a summary of what to expect based on our recent experience. First, you’ll agree on a date, time and place. Pretty simple stuff. The day of the photo session you’ll race the kid home from school and quickly get him bathed and styled. He should still look like himself – just cleaner and with pants that don’t have holes in the knees. You will probably also want to skip cartoon graphic t-shirts and loud stripes or distracting colors. Alpana will give you advice on what to wear. Listen to her. She really knows this stuff.

And then Alpana will ring you up and casually drop a bomb: She would like YOU to be in the pictures, too. WHAT? Can I lose 20 lbs, get my hair done and find some anti-aging miracle crème that works in say, two hours? You try to say no. NO. GOD, NO! But Alpana just has this quiet determined way of getting what she wants. So, once you have yourself and the kiddo ready to go you head over to the “cool old house” that Alpana has been raving about and wants to use as the backdrop for the photos.

You’re imagining “cool old house” to be a quaint but abandoned gingerbread cottage with ivy growing amongst its eaves. You pull up and the kid says, “Where are we? This place is WEIRD!” You see the cool old (circa 1985), house that has been ravaged by vandals instead of ivy sitting up on a hill behind a chain link fence with most of its broken windows boarded up with plywood. “Surely this isn’t it?” you think but then there is Alpana pulling up right behind you with a big excited smile on her face. “Isn’t this place great?!” she exclaims. Weakly, you nod in agreement. “And the lighting is gorgeous at this time of day!” she says. And you have to agree – it’s approximately 5:30 p.m. on an early fall afternoon and the place, although creepy looking, is lit up in a beautiful, soft golden light.

You head up the hill after Alpana where she will spend a few minutes scouting out the best location and then it’s time to get to work. You’re told several times to please walk away and stand somewhere by yourself and out of your kid’s line of vision because the two of you cannot stop cracking up. You stand near the fence and see several people in the neighborhood walk by and look at you with raised eyebrows. You hope you’re not trespassing but before you can give it much more thought you realize the sun has nearly set and Alpana calls it a wrap.

You drive home chatting happily about how much fun you had and wasn’t that house weird and spooky? Then, a couple of weeks later, Alpana will send you an email with a link to your gallery of proofs. You’ll be excited and will open the link only to immediately tear up – it’s amazing –she’s captured his entire personality, his beautiful smile, his joy, his goofiness, his tentativeness and all of that growing up that you suspected was happening. You’ll also be thrilled that you finally gave in and had a few pictures taken with your kid. Alpana was absolutely right on that point. And what do you know? That “cool old house” really does look cool.

~ Rhonda

cheers!

alpana — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 16:29:58 +0000

Are you a princess? I said & she said I’m much more than a princess, but you don’t have a name for it yet here on earth. ~the Storypeople

A peek from a recent session with this beautiful and incredibly bright four year old. When she picked up her glass of “wine” she said to me, “Put down your camera and sit on the chair. We can talk.”

laughter

alpana — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 00:00:33 +0000



It's that time again for this month's blog carousel which is a collaboration with talented photographers all around the globe. The theme for this month is laughter. I pulled an old favorite from the archives and re-edited it. You can see my previous edit on canvas here. It made me dig through a bit more to find the pictures of my silly little guy laughing/posing in front of the canvas at our old home. Gotta treasure the old memories!
Up next in the blog carousel is Atlanta's Baby and Child Photographer, the talented Corey Sewell. Also, you can view last month's entries here. 
If you would like to keep in touch via Facebook to check out sneak peek's and other news please like the Storybox Art page.



wheeeee!
alpana — Sat, 07 May 2011 21:04:46 +0000


She softened gradually, melting in the light of the sun, all the while thinking, O, this is what it’s like to be a planet & suddenly it was over & the universe expanded by one.

~ The Storypeople



Timeless Treasures
alpana — Mon, 02 May 2011 12:00:49 +0000



This post is a creative collaboration with some talented photographers around the US and Canada. The theme for this post is “Monochrome” which describes images in a single color. My inspiration for this post came from my friend Olga’s box of old photos that we browsed through over a cup of tea.
Interestingly, they bear a striking resemblance to my own box of old photos. There is just something magical about sifting through the photos of yesteryears. I asked Olga if I could borrow them for this post. Every image is so powerful that it tells its own story. Although, I am not a studio photographer I find these images very inspiring. The subjects took care to dress and accessorize for their portraits. Most often, they were seated with somber expressions. You might wonder what was going to through their minds. Since my father was a regular patron of studios, I asked him about the phenomenon of the somber expression. He said the photographer would get the shot ready and then cover his head and the rear of the camera with a dark cloth and shout, “Don’t move!!” That did it!   Most likely the subjects just froze in fear while the image was exposed.
In the olden days, patrons would purchase prints from the studio. A print that would live through posterity. For additional prints, they would go back to the studio or at times purchase the film negative as well. If all they had were negatives, the prints would have likely not seen the light of day.
The following was written in collaboration with St. Louis Photographer Lauri Baker. This brings to light some important points relevant to your portraits today. When potential clients want digital files, today’s equivalent of those old negatives, there are several considerations to keep in mind:
1. When you hire a professional for his/her vision, its best to acquire a finished piece of art from the photographer rather than being a do-it-yourself-er. Cropping and finishing of an image is an art as well, and a professional photographer will be able to complete the photography job to ensure you receive a high quality professional print.
2. Digital files can be valuable to own, or worthless. The files allow the flexibility to print several copies that you might want to gift to all your relatives and archive them for the future. If your artist charges a premium for the files, this is one reason for it. Another reason is that those files contain all of your photographer’s vision, which is where most of the value lies when buying images in any media format…print or digital. But they can also be a useless purchase. 90% of clients interviewed say they never get the images printed because they don’t know how, don’t have time, or don’t ever decide what to print because they have the ‘luxury’ of deciding later. In the meantime, they spent money hiring a photographer and they have no portraits. That’s not luxury. That’s self-serve.
3. Finally, consider your children and grandchildren, and the importance of these portraits to them later in their lives. If you hire a photographer to create portraits for you, then portraiture has some importance in your life. That respect for family history is something your children will most likely inherit from you. So please keep in mind that digital media isn’t always reliable. The media they are on can fail or even get obsolete in just a few short years. And your precious photos would be gone.
To see the next wonderful interpretation of the theme “Monochrome” please check out Grand Rapids newborn, child and family photographer, Marybeth 



twenty-five reasons…
alpana — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 04:32:53 +0000
…and more to preserve the fleeting moments of those wonder years. You might recognize this little guy from here. Each time I see him, he has grown a bit more. And I love that I get to see the adorable little guy and document these milestones. 
I have been asked what a typical session looks like. Well, there is really no such thing as a typical session since session is unique:-) Every story-telling session is session is customized for clients to make it that much more special. With input and help from them of course! And after a custom session, a gallery of twenty-five images is presented in a private gallery. Usually more. I thought I would share what this session looked like. If you are looking for twenty-five reasons to book a custom session with Storybox Art here they are…
P.S. Am booked through the end of 2010. Please inquire for 2011




fly away with me | san francisco family photographer
alpana — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 07:05:23 +0000
This little guy was super duper sleepy through the first half of the session. A short little nap was all he needed to freshen up after which he was full of laughter and giggles. His mommy commissioned me to capture portraits of him at about a year as well as family portraits. I feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to capture this beautiful family of three. Here is a teeny sneak peek for the D family.
On an official note, I will be out of the office next week from 16-22nd August and only available on a limited basis via email. Sessions will be scheduled upon my return.





three little monkeys
alpana — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 16:59:10 +0000
and well-behaved ones too! A fun afternoon with these three siblings and their mama, the fabulous Rosa of Level 5 salon. 






old and new
alpana — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 15:35:39 +0000

my updated twitter screen with some old and new photos. 



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.