bay area senior portrait session
Posted on April 6, 2022
I have an impulse control problem. Everyone around me knows it. It’s part of my charm. When Will smacks Chris, I want to talk about it. When I read a good book, I want to recommend it (The Birds by Tarjei Vesaas!). When I take good images, I want to share them. Years ago, when I started photography, I never thought I’d photograph teens or graduating seniors. It just came about. Recently, this young lady’s mom reached out to me. She shared a bunch of standard senior portraits with a word of caution. “My daughter hates all of these images.” “She wants to do something different,” the mom added. I like different—a lot. So she had my attention. We spoke on the phone, all three of us. We devised a choreography to explore the subject’s interests. I’m delighted with the results. Below are my current top ten images from the set. I eagerly await the next creative, non-standard senior portrait session to come my way.
Contact me for kids, teens, couples, family, portrait, and corporate photography in the Bay Area.
Bay Area Senior Portraits
Posted on March 28, 2022
From Danville and Pleasanton, through San Jose and Los Gatos, to Cupertino, and beyond, I’m photographing high school seniors, as they prepare to journey from home. A typical senior portrait collection has too many good-to-great images to share in a blog. But here’s a subset that definitely caught my eye, in the field and during post production. Hope you enjoy!
Contact me for kids, teens, couples, family, portrait, and corporate photography in the Bay Area.
Free-Range Child
Posted on March 23, 2022
Every good image has a subjective dimension. It’s not entirely subjective, of course, because some images are crap no matter what a person might think about it.
This image isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. I totally get it. But I love this image something fierce.
This kiddo, who has captured my heart, was running full tilt down the sidewalk when she face planted in front of me. She got up, wailed briefly, then in a surge of defiance, shook it off and returned to the important task of exploring the world.
I honor the gravel in her gut and the spit in her eye.
I want 3/4’s of her pluck in my advancing age.
Shit, I’ll take half.
Contact me for kids, teens, couples, family, portrait, and corporate photography in the Bay Area.
Portraits: Six-in-one, 3/21
Posted on March 21, 2022
Portrait photography in the San Francisco Bay Area is an embarrassment of riches. I meet young business owners, realtors, IT executives, founders, venture capitalists, students—and beyond. Most subjects identify with a core value or attribute. It might be candor or kindness, competence or trustworthiness, or something else entire. Whatever it is, the awkwardness of portraiture often prevents the value from shining through, as a photographer stares down the barrel of an 85 mm lens. When that happens, subjects rely on stale expressions and routine personas. That’s why I absolutely delight in knocking subjects off script and out of their comfort zones with all sorts of tactics. If you can navigate discomfort together, you can find the real thing that matters, which is pretty damn amazing.
Postcard. March 21, 2022
Full-size images below
Contact me for kids, teens, couples, family, portrait, and corporate photography in the Bay Area.
Portraits: Six-in-One
Posted on March 14, 2022
As I land more business—excellent!—and make more photos—outstanding!—I’m falling behind on sharing work. The six-in-one concept, I hope, will help me address that challenge. Today it’s portrait photography, but next week, it could be family or landscape photography or even a photo essay. Really, it can be anything, but it’s got to be six-in-one, and I want it to be a weekly affair. Fingers crossed!
Postcard. March, 14, 2022
Full-size images below
Contact me for kids, teens, couples, family, portrait, and corporate photography in the Bay Area.
Kevin Neilson Photography 