San Francisco Bay Area Photographer

“S” Family Photos in San Francisco Bay Area

Fall Family Photos in the San Francisco Bay Area

These beautiful family photos were taken in the early Fall, celebrating this lovely family of four and their two sweet little girls. We chose one of my favorite locations in the South Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area for their annual family photos. This photography location has a fair amount of walking up a hill, so it’s suitable for adventurous families who don’t mind a tiny hike at sunset during their photos.

Remember, Fall is the busiest time of year for family photographers, so if you’re planning to book annual family photos, be sure to get in touch in the Summer to make sure you can claim a date with your photographer!

In the Fall, some parks also get crowded with other photographers too, which is another incentive to consider booking on a weekday evening when most parks will be calm and parking will be easier.

Tips for photographing family photos with two young kids

As you can see, this family has a little girl and also baby. I always encourage my families to eat dinner or at least a snack before the photoshoot. Many moms are busy getting everyone dressed beforehand and forget to feed their kids, and/or they don’t want their kids to make a mess of their clothes, so they wait to eat dinner until after the photoshoot. But sometimes that results in kids or babies (or husbands!) that are fussy because they want to eat. So my first tip is to feed your kids before the photos, or bring a non-messy snack like pretzels or cheerios or goldfish for them to munch on to keep everybody’s energy up!

My second most important tip for photographing kids and babies in this age range is to keep them entertained. Smiling and looking at my camera is not very entertaining when you’re 2! That is why it’s so important for parents to play with their kids. Give them little tickles, quick kisses, nuzzles, talk in a silly voice, bounce them lightly, etc. These strategies for engagement help me photograph real moments, and keep kids engaged in the photography process. And remember, it’s okay if the whole family isn’t even looking at my camera, that’s perfectly fine! This family did a fantastic job keeping their two girls entertained by loving on them naturally and authentically during their photosh

Styling Tips

I recently came across a thread online where lots of photographers were chatting about which clothing colors they found the most difficult to edit. I was really surprised to read that many, many photographers named both red and white as being challenging colors for photos, from an editing perspective.

To me personally, I LOVE these two colors! In my opinion, white is a timeless neutral that’s easy for dads and kids to wear, and a pop of vibrance from warm colors like red, burgundy, sienna, or mustard make for colorful, rich photos. I always encourage my gentlemen to wear neutrals and my ladies to wear a dash of color.

Because my edits are bold and colorful, these colors work great with my editing style. But I completely understand how a photographer who shoots dark & moody might struggle to edit a bright white shirt, or a photographer shooting light & airy might not want a rich, deep red.

(**Remember, no style is better than the other, it’s always about personal aesthetic preference!**)

It was another interesting reminder of how styling plays a major role in achieving the overall vibe. This is why it’s important for photographers to be consistent in our editing style, and families to be intentional in their wardrobe choices. That way the final gallery comes out as expected.

I love dark & moody. I love light & airy. But for me, bring me alllll the pretty rich colors in your family wardrobe. I live for tones and vibrance like this. Doesn’t this family look absolutely amazing??

Tech Specs

These photos were photographed on a Canon 5D Mark IV with an 85mm 1.4 lens and a Sigma 35mm lens. All photos were edited in Lightroom first and then Photoshop. I do not use any actions or presets when editing, all work is done individually by hand.