Kevin Neilson Photography
Professional headshot and family photographer in the San Francisco 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.
Tien, 2021
Posted on August 10, 2021
She’s a mother to four or five
I’ve lost count
She’s sitting on a bucket in front of a brown fence
Light is good
Wait, it’s great
So I’m experimenting:
The image is a panoramic
It’s actually a composite of three images
One on the left
One in the middle
And one on the right
A shoulder, a face, and another shoulder
This technique enables me to capture insane amount of detail
In the face, skin, and eyes—always eyes
Contact me for kids, teens, couples, family, and corporate photography in the Bay Area.
Him to Her
Posted on August 13, 2019
WINTER, SUMMER—I traveled up and down the San Francisco peninsula photographing corporate business professionals. I’d like to share a few of them.
Adobe
The only thing better than a corporate shoot at Adobe is a corporate shoot at Adobe on a balcony overlooking the City. With a cityscape like that, your eyes would pop, too.
CyCognito
Members of the CyCognito leadership team needed new headshots to match an existing look and feel. Although it departs from my customary style and aesthetic, I thoroughly enjoyed working with a white background and two off-camera strobes.
Procurant
When you provide solutions for the global food supply chain, it’s smart branding to photograph your leaders outdoors where trees and hedgerows provide a splash of color.
Fenwick & West marketing pro
This aspiring marketing leader at a legendary law firm wanted to blend the venerability of law with the approachability of marketing. Done and done.
Oh, did I say Adobe?
If so, no harm in repetition 🙂
Contact me for kids, teens, family, and corporate photography in the Bay Area.
Healoha Is Waiting
Posted on June 11, 2019
Meet Brigitte Mouchet.
She’s a wellness entrepreneur in the Bay Area.
She’s the founder and CEO of Healoha, a marketplace for wellness services that helps both clients and practitioners. Healoha is available in the U.S. and French-speaking countries in Europe.
Inspired by waves and ocean air, Brigitte hired me for a day of corporate photography on the coast in Half Moon Bay, one of her favorite places in the world.
We captured images for use on the company’s digital and social media channels, images ranging from corporate headshots like these two images…
…to environmental portraits like this…
…and this…
…to social and active shots like these…
…and even to landscape photography, which required a jaunt to Santa Cruz, where the mist lifted at last and Walton Lighthouse winked at the purpling sky.
I hope you enjoyed your visit. Thank you.
Contact me for kids, teens, family, and corporate photography in the Bay Area.
Smart Start
Posted on June 4, 2019
Let’s get one thing straight: Teachers are the best.
In the back-asswards Hierarchy of the Underappreciated, they’re perched on a mountaintop of nurses and EMTs, janitors and sanitation workers, freelance writers, line cooks, and UN interpreters.
So when Smart Start preschool hired me for staff photography, I jumped at the opportunity and threw myself into the assignment as though it were Teacher Appreciation Day.
Actually, days. I hope my effort shows.
Day 1—Newark, CA
Day 2—Livermore, CA
To the staff at Smart Start—and teachers everywhere—thank you. Thank you.
Contact me for kids, teens, family, and corporate photography in the Bay Area.
