I felt very lucky to have arrived in California with a few friends from back in the east coast. Through my friend, Richard, I had worked at a Kaplan Test Prep Center in Stamford, CT. While at that job, I befriended a sweet and hilarious young lady named, Vera. Vera is originally from California, and after having spent some time in New York she decided to move back to Southern California.

 Naturally, I announced my relocation from Connecticut to Los Angeles on Facebook. Within the first few weeks of being in Los Angeles, I received a text from Vera asking if I would be willing to photograph some family portraits for her friend. I was wowed and thankful. I did not expect any photo work for a while.

I spoke with Vera’s friend, Courtney and we worked out all of the details for the session.  We decided to meet up on Ocean Ave. near the Santa Monica Pier. There is a great green path along the street that provided enough space for some portraits.  

I’m not including the entire set in this site because frankly the images were just okay (Not at the fault of the family. They were great. Lighting was tricky for not having any diffusing equipment with me.) but hopefully the family enjoyed/used them as necessary. I could have used some neutral density filters to tone down some of the harsh sunlight in the space.

But what is included below was a sweet moment that happened at the end of the session. I have found with many portrait sessions and weddings that very often, as in, every single time, little children will steal the show. After being held and posed with by a few of her family members, Courtney’s young niece was placed back to the ground then spotted and fled to her mother: