Dear Friends Blog readers, as I am packing for another (short, this time) trip to Italy, I wanted to leave you with a sweet set of images that will keep you company until I return in about 10 days. This romantic maternity portrait is set in Half Moon Bay, California, on a very cloudy (and drizzly at times) summer day. Protagonists the adorable Eunice and her family, that will be welcoming another child into their lives next October. I photographed Eunice and Shawn’s wedding a few years back and also just before the Holidays last year. It’s always fun to work with them. Eunice was one of my enthusiastic students at my recent workshop Through Your Eyes, the Workshop for Moms and Dads with cameras. The gloomy weather inspired me to create a desaturated and contrasty atmosphere.

This ‘kiss’ shot  is one of my favorite, Isabella had her own agenda but the trick Eunice used to have her close was to say: Familia. That’s the code word for a big group kiss! Loved it!

Change of clothes (loved this blue one!), change of filters…

I thought this was the perfect occasion to play around with my LensBaby…

Look forward to photograph Eunice’s newborn in October and also to see her progress as an amateur photographer!

I was really looking forward to challenge myself teaching a photography class this past weekend. Let me say the whole experience surpassed my expectations. It was so incredibly fun. I can’t wait to do another class next October! My students where MOMS and DADS with cameras, looking to improve their photography skills technically and artistically. I have to say they showed extreme patience and commitment learning about the many technical aspects one needs to be aware of when shooting… my crowd didn’t discourage and was eager to test on the field what they had learned.  So off we went to the park, after all those ‘f-stops’  and ’shutter speed’  notions, to play with our cameras. I gave a few assignments, so my students could learn the differences and challenges of working with direct sun light, shadow, contrasty light and one of my favorites, backlight! Here’s a great back lit shot taken by my student Kelly while I was posing with her daughter and shouting ‘overexpose’!!!!!

And here’s a gallery of some of my students masterpieces! Kelly also created this whimsical image working in difficult patchy light with the help of a little Lightroom filter, while we were reviewing the images on Sunday.

Looking for an interesting composition, Kelly found this awesome fence that provides an clean, non distracting background and posed her daughter on the side, trying out the ‘rules of thirds’.

Another of my students had great composition eye, and in a pretty challenging situation I must say. This is a backlit, action shot! Great job Eunice!

Definitely a contrasty lighting situation the one above, but luckily Isabella’s face was in the shade completely and the exposure on her face is just perfect! The harsh light in the background is spread out equally on both sides so it balances the scene.

Deanna did a great crop on this photograph, her angle is dynamic and the background simple drawing our attention to the wondering toddler. Xina placed her child in the shade and worked with her portrait lens to achieve a shallow depth of field, the grass is way blurry and it makes her son pop up in our frame, awesome!

Tracey also tested harsh and backlight in this action shot, it is not easy to freeze the moment and keeping an eye on all these difficult lighting aspects. But she did it!!

This portrait of Ben, shows Tracey working with reflected light, the sun light reflected from foliage from a tree, it gives such a nice soft lighting.

Michael did a great job in this action shot and capturing a sweet candid moment between his son and his wife. I thought it was important for my students to exercise with familiar subjects.. they already had too many new notions to keep in mind, so establishing a connection with their subject while concentrating on their technical challenges was going to be too much, so I had their families join us to the park.

Another beautifully back lit portrait…

Michael was also the winner of the Grand Prize ” 1 hour 101 Hands On Camera Mentoring” tutoring session with yours truly. Another Grand Prize was offered by our amazing Sponsor BAYPHOTO, Tracey was the winner of a 20×30 Metallic Frame! Thank you Bayphoto for being so generous!

Stay tuned for the October dates of “Through Your Eyes” Photograph your Kids like a Pro! I can’t wait to do this again!

It is such a thrill for me to discover new places for my Family Portrait Photography. A client on mine introduced me to Foothill Park, accessible to Palo Alto residents only. And on a weekday morning it was practically all mine! It was great to see the adorable Cohen’s family again. After a tough year in their lives due to an almost fatal accident, it was such a blessing to see them all doing well and being so happy.. the kids have such a special bond, you can really tell they have so much fun with each other…

About 700 children registered for 2010 Ryan’s Ride! As every year we were blessed with a splendid sunny day, I imagine Ryan smiling, looking down at us as we honor his memory… Year after year I see all these kids coming back again, it’s such an emotion to see them grow, mature. It’s fun to watch all their bike gear, or their concentration… they are so committed! Ryan’s brother Matthew was so excited to be riding in the category with the 9 years old for the first time this year! And at the end of the finish line there is ice-cream and entertainment waiting.. it’s really the kids day! I collected my favorites in this slideshow, which I dedicate it to Michele, John and Matthew Phua with all my love,  for their friendship and continuous inspiration.  The Pictures from Ryan’s Ride can be purchased at the following link (register and you will be notify when photos will be available) www.pictage.com/863350.

As I am preparing for my upcoming workshop Through Your Eyes,  I will share a couple of tips on posing families today. Graduation time is also often time to reunite with family members who live long distance, it’s a great occasion to consider a big family portrait. What a precious photograph to look at year after year, grandma, sons and nephews all together. It’s a bit more formal then my usual style but turned to be fun once my models got more relaxed and started playing with each other.

Once the kids started to goof around with each other, the energy changed and the seriousness was gone, everyone looked relaxed and had a good time. In these candid poses, the heads of my subjects are close, the hands and arms entertained. When posing, and in candids, I think hands play a major role, they can express so much.. unity, love, care. I always tell my subject to entertain their hands, show the love!

Grandma was the focal point of our shoot, she flew all the way from China! We used a chair to make her feel comfortable, and this way also helpful to pose everyone around her, some standing, some leaning or kneeling on her side.

When posing couples, I like heads to be as close as possible and posing the subject a bit more on the side of my frame, makes it more interesting to me, gives the shot more energy.

Let’s not forget the goofy shots, you do it for fun but sometimes they are just irresistible!

But in the end, it’s all about the ladies…

Settling in my new studio in Mountain View.. I am so happy about this new location and I look forward to post a few pictures of the place in a couple of weeks when it’ll be completely finished. Yesterday it worked just fine though for capturing these happy Irish eyes… Landon came to inaugurate my new studio with mom and grandma to cheer him up, you can see him cracking up in mom’s arms right below!

To soften the skin rash I chose to apply a grainy filter, it also adds a more romantic feeling to the images.

A little nudity.. excuse us!! But this is too cute! Mom was holding his back but I carefully removed her arm and Landon magically sits on his own

We know how babies love to be naked, but Landon seemed to have a lot of fun trying out different textiles that I had around, velvet, wool and laces. I look forward to shoot more baby pictures here at my new studio in Mountain View,  come see me soon!

I have photographed Alyce and Ben family from Los Gatos for a number of years.. I started with their wedding actually and it has been such a thrill to follow them as they’re growing a family.. now they have welcomed their second baby girl and I went to visit them at their home to capture this special moment in their lives…

Sweet and quiet Maya Rose was a bit serious the morning of our session but nonetheless beautiful and intense!

Here’s Maya Rose taking a short nap before we started our photo session, later posing with mom, dad, and her sister Sierra.

We even had time for a little adventure outdoors in the Los Gatos wilderness!

And after all this perfect posing let’s end with a funny “outtake”, this one below is actually one of my favorites of the day!

I am using a Cool Vintage filter for a very Cool Family! This is a lovely Italian-American family that I have photographed for years… now it’s time for them to visit grandma in Italy and bring some photos as a gift! Beautiful Isabella had fun posing…

Relaxing with mama, but always daddy’s girl

And here’s Alex, loving the little creek by where we started our session at Bol Park in Palo Alto. I think they’ll make Grandma very happy this year!

What can be more cherished then a photo with your children?
Photographs have always been a great idea for gifts, no matter what occasion it is.
With Father’s Day coming up, here’s an excellent idea to stay within budget and give daddy the best of gifts.
Mini Sessions are aprox 30 minutes long and will be available in the Palo Alto area, in an outdoor location, unless you prefer your home if  you have a newborn for example…
RSVP via email and let me know if you have any questions, this offer is good from June 14th through the 18th.

Another super gift for daddy can be signing him up for my August workshop Through your Eyes, the workshop dedicated to parents who want to learn how to
photograph their children like a pro!

It was great to see one of my favorite families again, who took advantage of this years Mother’s Day Mini Sessions, and it was quite a successful 30 minutes shoot. It was plenty of time for Dylan and Ania to put on their charm.

Dylan picked up photography as an hobby and won a couple of awards already at his school, I am so proud of him!

Mom Kelly will be one of the attendees at my August workshop for moms, I am so looking forward to it!