Maya Pugatch Gallery | Creative Brand Photography in the San Francisco Bay Area

If you were to ask me, “What does an ideal brand session look like?”, I would share everything about this shoot I did with a young, local artist. Maya reached out to me last Fall, looking for environmental portraits and someone to capture her making her art. From the get-go our conversations were collaborative and curious, and Maya wasn’t afraid to suggest or say yes to weird ideas.

Maya’s art encompasses landscape and nature photography along with watercolor renderings of the natural scenes she captures with her camera. We knew that we wanted to do part of the session in the studio and part outdoors, surrounded by nature’s beauty. We got close-up shots showing her creative process and sweeping vista shots showcasing her inspiration. I loved that I got to photograph Maya as a painter, as a photographer, and as a nature-loving dreamer.

Thank you, Maya, for trusting me, having such good ideas, and embracing my offbeat ones. 😉

If you’re a creative in the Bay Area and this idea excites you, consider investing in your brand's visual identity. We can work together to create stunning imagery that speaks to your audience and elevates your presence in the artistic community. Get in touch!

Checkout my new FREE guide! | Photography Education

I’m so excited to offer my new guide, made especially for people who don’t have much or any photography experience. I made this guide mainly for parents who want to move beyond having a million so-so photos on their phone to having a curated and up-leveled collection of photos that they can feel proud of and that they can say really mean something to them.

The guide covers three foundations that will teach you how to take better and more meaningful photos - photos that make you feel something. You don’t need any fancy equipment or even a “nice camera”. Any camera will do (even a phone camera 😉).

Best of all? The guide is FREE. It’s chalk full of info and example images and can be downloaded for you to keep forever. You can get the guide by clicking the button below.

D Family | Family Photography in Marin

I always find it amusing that the behaviors that many parents fear most when hiring a professional family photographer - that their kids will act like wild animals, that their kids will have meltdowns, that their kids will wipeout in their nice clothing - are the very things that make sessions “edge of your seat” interesting. I’d argue they’re the behaviors that create the magic of family sessions. Can you tell I like a little tension in my creative practice? 😂

All jokes aside, I get it. I’ve been on the other side of the lens plenty of times and my kids have always thrown curve balls that I don’t anticipate. One year my kid refused to take off his costume biker helmet. Another year my other kid refused to leave my arms without screaming. At the time, it was stressful. But when I look at those photos, it is so completely endearing to me. Like, I’m grateful those family sessions went the way they did. I’m grateful to have a memories of the little idiosyncracies that would have been lost in the sieve that is my mom brain. Because that’s what these family photography sessions really are. Beyond the pretty photos you have to mark the year or season, the images we make at sessions are memory keepsakes. They’re heirlooms - both visually and narratively. They tell a story that you’d otherwise forget.

A huge shotout to this beautiful family that I photograph year after year. The kids are little fireballs and the parents do their best to keep up. Just the way I like it. 😜

Artist Spotlight: Jacqueline Norrise Design | Brand Photography San Francisco Bay Area

This session is hot off the press and I couldn’t wait to share it. I’ve said many, many, many, many, many times about how much I love photographing other artists. It always feels like a true creative collaboration to make the images. Plus I love being in another artist’s space, observing their process and seeing the things they make. It’s so good for inspiration!

This session was with interior designer Jacqueline Norrise, who designs gorgeous, muted palette rooms filled with natural materials and heirloom pieces. Her style is impeccable and tightly curated and she works with her clients to help them create stunning yet livable rooms and refine their own eye for interior design. She was so delightful to photograph and I’m not complaining that she is also model-level beautiful. ;)

Thanks for making my job easy, Jackie!

This Is You At Eleven | Documentary Family Photography in San Francisco Bay Area

This is you at eleven. You love rollerblading and bouldering and that concludes the list of anything sporty you’re willing to participate in. You make moody keyboard compositions with strong influences of Phillip Glass. One of your favorite ways to chill is to rock in the hammock in our backyard, sometimes with a book but mostly with an iPad. The new Legend of Zelda (TOTK if you’re in the know) has been your game obsession of the year. You are growing into a true Virgo with high standards, a strong moral compass, and a keen discernment for when others are doing it wrong. You love all animals and call our pets your emotional support animals. You’ll still hold my hand when we walk sometimes, but you prefer that I don’t kiss and hug you at school drop off. You have long skinny legs like those of an anime character. Speaking of anime, it’s your hot new thing. You’re on episode 302 of One Piece and equally enthusiastic about Demonslayer. You think most creative projects I make are cringe, specifically the birthday films I’ve made for you in previous years. Unsurprisingly, I did not make you one this year. These (cringey) words will have to do. I love you beyond all reason, Sebastian. Happy Birthday!

W Family | Maternity Photography in San Francisco Bay Area

Oh, how I love a maternity session with couples expecting their first baby. It’s a breeze compared to maternity sessions with wild toddler(s) running amok. Plus the parents-to-be are so fresh-faced and full of excitement. I feel like it’s such an important time to document and of which to have photographic memories. When I look at photos taken of me before I had my first baby, it brings up so many feelings. :)

When this sweet couple suggested meeting at Muir Beach (a place that is special to them), I was stoked. I LOVE this location. Add in the summer morning coastal fog (with a bright a sky threatening to peek out) and you have a perfect setting to make photos.

Thank you Sara and Mark for trusting me to capture you during this sacred time. I can’t wait to meet your new boo later this Fall!

What Should We Bring to Our Outdoor Family Session? | Family Lifestyle Photography in San Francisco Bay Area

After 12 years in business and well over 1000 family sessions, I am shocked to realize that I have never made a blog post dedicated to addressing this question - ha! I guess I’ve preferred to tell families individually? At any rate, I’m putting these pearls of wisdom here so that I can reference it later AND to give you a sense of what the outdoor photo session scene looks like.

Rule #1: Keep it minimal.

In other words, the less we have to schlep around, the more we lend ourselves to organically and spontaneously moving around in an environment. Before bringing something, ask yourself if it’s essential for the next hour. I’m aways happy to carry phones, wallets, and car keys in my backpack for you.

Rule #2: Bring snacks, bottles, baby wipes for the baby and toddler set.

Maybe this should be a caveat for rule #1? If you have a 3 year-old and/or a younger one, pack a slim bag with essentials that you might need. You are the expert on what is essential for your little one.

Rule #3: Make sure your clothing and shoes fit the environment and allow for movement.

Highly structured or overly tailored clothing and fussy shoes are not a great fit for a family session. We tend to move around a lot at sessions and everyone should be comfortable in their clothing. It’s also good to consider the environment we’re shooting in. Will there be a lot of sand? Wear sandals you can remove. Will there be moss-covered logs to sit on? Don’t wear a white dress.

Rule #4: Leave things at home that you don’t want in photos.

While the inclination to bring lovies and toys to a shoot is understandable, I recommend resisting that urge. Your kiddos will quickly figure out what you have in a bag and trying to convince them to give up or delay gratification of snuggling said item(s) is an unnecessary battle. You don’t need to bring anything to entertain your kid. And for the love of god, don’t give your kid a screen just before our session. ;)

Rule #5: Bring layers.

This one is a given for all my families living in San Francisco, but it can be easy to forget when you’re in sunny Marin or the East Bay. No matter what the weather is like at home when you’re leaving, prepare for different weather at our shoot location (especially if we’re shooting at the beach!).

Summer Travels in Bali | Documentary Family Photography in San Francisco Bay Area

In June, my family and I traveled to the beautiful island of Bali for two weeks of R&R. While it wasn’t quite R&R (is it ever when you’re traveling with kids?), it was an adventure and one in which we made some core family memories.

A highlight for me included the lovely Balinese culture - with it’s twice daily offerings to the gods (cigarettes and candy to the evil spirits in the morning, rice and flowers and coins to the merciful spirits in the evenings) and the rituals imbued in everyday life. For my kiddos, it was the animals: monkeys, sacred cows, wild cats, giant koi, baby chickens, bunnies, and the occasional snake and water monitor.

We sweat our body weight many times over and consumed it all back in coconut milk and fruit smoothies. We escaped with only a few welted mosquito bites and no serious sunburns. Three out of the four of us got the stomach flu, but thankfully mine hit once we got home. ;)

Family Adventure Session T-F Family | Family Photography in San Francisco

Earlier this year, when talking with some other photographers about what a dream family photography session looks like, I was able to articulate that I love photographing families when they are doing something they love. After some reflection and some dreaming, Family Adventure Sessions were born!

Family Adventure Sessions are activity-based photography sessions that are a bit longer than my standard family sessions - 2 hours vs 1 hour. They leave plenty of time to capture connected portraits, dynamic action shots on-the-go, and the candid, spontaneous, and often hilarious things that happen along the way. In these sessions, I aim to capture the essence of your family's silliness, uniqueness, and adventurous spirit.

Adventure Sessions can happen anywhere around the Bay Area and can include both your home and an outdoor location. Does your family hike, skate, browse markets, fly kites, or play games? Do you love to museum hop, cafe stroll, or dine with gusto? Does your family garden, surf, bird watch, or make music together? I want to document you doing these things!!

Below are some images from a recent Family Adventure Session with a crew that likes to play mini-golf and saunter through outdoor food markets. We met up at Spark Social and Stagecoach Greens on a sunny Saturday and braved the crowds coming off the Giants game. Many laughs were shared, some tasty-looking noodles were gobbled, and a very cute dog was cuddled, kissed, and chased. Thank you, T-F family!!

What Happens When It's Foggy?! | Family Photography in San Francisco Bay Area

One question I often get asked this time of year: what happens if the fog comes in? The quick answer is that we resign ourselves to nature’s whims (and I do a secret little dance of happiness). Sorry to all of those families that have a hard time believing that fog can be a good thing. Let me explain…

We’ve all seen those big, white soft boxes depicting a studio photo shoot in movies or TV shows. That big white box is called a diffuser and it softens the light coming from the flash. Fog (or any kind of cloud, really) does the same thing to the sun. It softens its harshness and evens out areas of brightness and shadow. It can create mood and dimension. And it definitely reduces the chance of anyone needing to squint.

Now this isn’t to say that sunny days don’t offer their gifts as well. There is plenty to love about bright light, intense color saturation, and backlit flare. I think I’ll do a post dedicated to the joys of shooting in bright light at some point. It’s just not the only weather option to pine for when thinking about your next outdoor family session.

But enough of my yapping, I’m posting below some example photos that I think show the beauty of shooting outdoors on a foggy day. Would you want to have your photos taken in light like this?

Leah Kern Portrait Shoot | Brand Photography in Oakland

It’s not a secret that I love photographing fellow artists and creatives. What might be a secret is that when I meet people who do work that is at the intersection of art and science, I get especially buzzy. You see, I was a scientist in my first career and I have soft spot for my fellow scientists. While I can riff about creativity for days, listening to someone talk about their research or clinical work lights up my curiosity about things that have been lying dormant for long stretches of time.

Leah Kern might not self-identify as working at the intersection of art and science but that is what I experience when she shares about her work. She is a registered dietician nutritionist and works with people all over the country who are on a journey of embodied healing and intuitive eating. She treats people individually, offers courses, and even has a podcast.

For our session, Leah and I planned to meet at her home in the Oakland hills and make images that felt relaxed, cozy, and real - all feelings she wants her clients to feel as well. We chatted, made tea, looked at her library of reference books, journaled, laughed some more, and then put on shoes to grab some shots outside. Leah happens to live 5 minutes away from some beautiful east bay hiking trails (with wildflowers!) and towering redwood groves. Sometimes making beautiful and true images with someone is that easy. Thank you, Leah!!

Artist Spotlight: Scott Jennings Ceramics | Brand Photography San Francisco

Have I mentioned how much I L-O-V-E photographing artists? Like in the studio, with all the raw ingredients and the half-finished projects and the dirty smock aprons and the dust and the sharp tools and the ancient windows and allllll the wabi-sabi? It’s currently my favorite place to shoot and I recently had the pleasure of photographing ceramicist Scott Jennings in his Mission studio in San Francisco.

Scott’s work has taken such an interesting journey. After many years of making functional hand-built pottery, he pivoted during the pandemic to explore more sculptural forms in his work. Departing from the traditional vessel form, his recent pieces have an abstract modernist feel to them. These angular, conceptual sculptures are so damn intriguing and I love knowing a little bit about the creative person behind them.

Not only is Scott an incredible ceramics artist, he’s one of my favorite pottery teachers. After taking wheel-throwing classes with several different teachers at the Berkeley Potters’ Studio, I decided to give hand-building a try and I feel grateful I landed with Scott. He has been my hand-building teacher for close a year now and while my hand-building skills are still in that elementary-school-art-class-phase, it’s no reflection of his wise and supportive teaching. ;)

Thank you, Scott, for the creative collaboration. Your work (and your studio!) are a dream.

P-A Family | Family Photography Home Session in Berkeley

Okay, okay, I know that I’m often proselytizing on the joys of doing family photography sessions at home. They're comfortable, they’re convenient (we can shoot them any time of day), and they offer a chance to memorialize not only your family right now but your family home right now. Our kids grow fast and our homes change over the years. Some of my favorite photos from my own childhood are favorites because I see a glimpse of the rooms I used to live in.

Many families wonder if their homes are “photo-worthy”. I say yes to any home that has at least a few windows. Your house can be spotless and tastefully designed or it can be well-loved and covered in signs of children living there. All homes tell a story and all those stories are “photo-worthy”.

That being said… the family featured below have a sweet house in the Berkeley Hills that contains one dreamy room after another. I found myself wanting to make sure we shot in each room, like the rooms all had a place in the family. Enjoy the eye candy and know that your home does not need to be this stunning to be lovely.

Artist Spotlight: Toni Toscano Photography | Brand Photography in San Francisco

A favorite thing of mine to photograph is other artists and creatives. When I started offering brand photography sessions a couple years ago, it was with the idealized hope that I could fill my calendar with shoots featuring all kinds of creative movers and shakers. While I still have a ways to go (and so many more creatives to meet), this past year offered me plenty of opportunities to photograph some beautiful and interesting folks.

Toni Toscano is a San Francisco-based photographer who describes her work as impresssionistic photography. I think that’s a perfect description and I love how her photographs create a sense of longing and nostalgia. They have a tangible feel of thrumming vibration, yet they also feel crisp and clean. They’re both muted and vibrant. I love the push and pull of them!

When we met we wanted to create images that reflected not only Toni’s true self, but also incorporated the feelings that come up in her photography. We met at a little cafe near the beach and felt like we instantly knew one another. After some lattes we headed out to Baker Beach and another secret spot in the Presidio and were able to make so many true images in a short period of time. Thank you, Toni!

B Family | Family Photography Home Session in Lafayette, California

Coming back at you with another share from the fall 2022 season. This one was a very fun home session during Friday evening happy hour. The tween and teen kids were giddy with excitement for the weekend and the grown-ups were enjoying their end-of-the-workweek cocktails. It felt a little bit like a party!

I love doing home sessions and I never seem to do enough of them. Don’t get me wrong, the Bay Area has so many gorgeous places for outdoor family photography and I love visiting these vistas. But there’s something so special about doing home sessions. Home is a place where everyone feels comfortable, a place where you don’t have worry about crowds or people noticing you being photographed, and a place where your family story is imbued everywhere.

This particular family home session happened mostly in their backyard. We found sunset light for portraits, played some tetherball and volleyball on the lawn, chased the puppy around, and the kids showed off some new dance moves. Thank you for sharing your home with me, B family!!

B-N Family | Family Photography in Marin Headlands

Gosh, it feels like so long since I sat down to do some sharing of family sessions! Last fall season, I photographed just over 50 families. While each and every one of them felt special to me, I hardly had much time to sift through galleries and pick favorite images before I was blasting off to the next group of sessions.

January is my reset month and I think it might be the reset month for many creative professionals. It’s the time where we reflect on best practices of the previous year, set new goals for each quarter, and make time for some of that work we’ve been putting off. I know for me, one of the things I’m not very good at (or at least I tend to procrastinate) is sharing recent work. So consider this post my first attempt to make up for that.

I met this sweet family on a gorgeous and unseasonably warm morning at Rodeo Beach in the Marin Headlands. We frolicked along the water’s edge and captured some fun and beautiful moments. Being a fellow mother to two boys, I’m always a softie with families that have two boys.

I’m also a softie to this particular location. I used to work in the Marin Headlands at Fort Cronkite (back when I was a biologist) and I would often walk Rodeo Beach during lunch breaks. Now, twenty-something years later, I love coming back here any chance I get.

K Family | Outdoor Family Photography in San Francisco Bay Area

I have a soft spot for photographing families with two little boys. You can say it’s like a dose of sweet nostalgia and a reminder or recognition that my boys are fully tweens now. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE parenting tweens. People like the knock this age but it’s my favorite so far. And yet, I do sometimes miss the chubby fingers and ridiculous conversations.

I started photographing this sweet family when their youngest was a newborn and he’s now running at full speed and speaking in full sentences. It all goes by so damn fast… Sigh.

Also, I wanted to say a few words about this lovely location so that I can reference this post in the future. Gamble Gardens in Palo Alto is so beautiful and lovingly tended. The gardens change seasonally and I was so pleasantly surprised when I met this family to see the massive stands of autumn dahlias and bountiful bushes of Japanese Anenomes. It felt like a magical fairyland!

Dating By Blaine Portrait Shoot | Brand Photography in San Francisco

What a perfect morning! What lovely ladies! What a fun shoot!

I recently met up with Blaine Anderson, a dating coach extraordinaire for men who runs Dating by Blaine. Blaine has a massive following on Instagram and other socials and offers regular gems to men wanting to build confidence in the dating world. I ended up watching a bunch of her videos and felt like her tips were applicable in all sorts of social situations. Blaine is currently expanding her beloved services and adding a San Francisco-based coach, Tara.

I so much enjoy these kinds of portrait sessions where I get to know such interesting people doing interesting things in the world. Blaine brings her knowledge of academic psychology, her life experience, and her natural charm to help men foster the kinds of relationships they really want. I love that!

P Family | Family Photography in Marin

Ahhh, it’s been so long since I shared a family session! I’m knee-deep in the Fall busy season and while I’m not in headless-chicken mode yet, I definitely feel the topsy-turvey daze of having one too many balls in the air. But also, I kinda find that feeling to be thrilling. ;)

But back to this beautiful family… I’ve been photographing them since the kiddos were tiny and watching them grow (one of them becoming a teenager!) and meeting their new doggie family member (Oliver is a good boy!) has been a sweet thread of continuity. We used to be neighbors and our kids went to the same school. So seeing them now, each year when the weather gets chilly, is a fun way to feel like I still have my finger on the pulse of our old neighborhood.

Thank you, P Family, for bringing the laughs and good stories and always looking so damn chic.