Balboa Park San Diego Family Photoshoot
Being a photographer located in Hawaii I absolutely swoon over our gorgeous beaches but with having been born/raised in sunny Southern California I will always happily jump at the opportunity to capture families in my beautiful home state.
I grew up in Orange County where if you are a fellow Californian you then know that one tends to stick to the bubble of the area they live in unless going on a family road trip. It’s funny how I have spent more time in San Diego now as an adult moved out of the state than I did when I lived only an hour and a half drive away from the San Diego area. I have to say young me was missing out on what SD has to offer but adult me is having a field day with the incredible number of stunning locations San Diego is home to when it comes to photography. One of my favorites being Balboa Park. The fact such a large park exists right in a downtown area and has so many unique sections to it blows my mind upon every visit. Each time I photograph a family or couple within the park I add new sections of it into my portfolio where honestly I cannot tell you a favorite spot with how much character each little section of the park has to offer. Same goes for pin pointing a favorite time of day to photograph within the park due to that California lighting being a dream to work with from sun up to sun down. As a film photographer sunlight is KEY and Balboa Park offers a variety of wonderful lighting situations to work with.
A big perk about living in Hawaii is that I am fortunate to have clients from all over the world where I was introduced to this beautiful family of three - bonus furry family member making it four - from some dear wedding clients I had first photographed on Maui then flew to photograph their wedding in San Diego . One thing us photographers could sing from the mountain tops is that word of mouth referrals mean the world to us ! It’s one of the main ways we are introduced to our clients so forever and always as a photographer a big big thank you to those of you who pass on names and share kind words.
With this session having a little one this sweet family and I decided it was best to work around nap time so that everyone could show up best versions of themselves ready to have some photos snapped. This meant not jumping into a super early morning session yet wrapping up by lunchtime which worked out perfectly.
At the beginning of my career I would always come up with a game plan for photoshoots on what poses to do and what areas to photograph at. Now being 10 years into this profession I find it’s helpful to have some prompts and poses to go to sprinkled throughout the session BUT it’s even better to give gentle direction while going with the flow. This is especially helpful when it comes to sessions with little ones. Working around their mood and personality not only keeps them happy campers but takes away stress from mom and dad. Those cute gummy smiles do not occur from a photographer saying, “ Cheeeeeseeee”, that magic happens when you make their favorite funny sound or act like yourselves. If you have combed through my site before reaching this point I may come across as a broken record but my goal for every session is to keep our time together very laid back. Let’s be honest for a minute - not many families or couples jump into a photoshoot with outfits all set to go or the happiest moods from every family member. Getting your family ready for a photoshoot can be stressful ! I try with my booking process to give as many tools as possible with my What to Expect Guide and shared email tips to help ease any strain from the photoshoot prep but that doesn’t mean everything flows in a laid back manner from corralling the family day of to meeting me at the session location. This is why once we say hello I like to break any tension by making it clear I am here to help direct and my client’s only jobs are to “just be”. Cheesy sounding ? Maybe. Effective on helping everyone relax, enjoy the photoshoot, AND get those beautiful photos - 100%. Though I’ll let you be the judge of that statement as you comb through this post and take a little glimpse at the magic made with this adorable family for a Balboa Park photoshoot.
