I have new branding for my business — one that encompasses my style of artwork and the way I do business.  The branding is clean, natural, emotive, modern and sophisticated.

I worked hard with my graphic designer on an icon for my logo.  I will explain my icon further in a future blog, but for now, I’ll tell you that it is very meaningful to me!

I also merged my website and blog into ONE!  You can now visit my main site, www.annietaophotography.com, to get information AND read my blog!  This site will no longer be maintained.

So please, HOP ON OVER to www.annietaophotography.com from now on!

Leave me a comment on my new blogsite and tell me what you think!

xo,

annie

Though the number of votes may vary over time since voting is open, the favorites were abundantly clear… though some were a surprise. 

(If you haven’t seen all my favorites that made it into the albums or you want to cast your vote, go to my Facebook business page.)

BEST OF 2011:  THE MOST DELICIOUS LIGHT

#1

#2

#3

Tied for #4

Since I love to laugh, it is imperative to show my favorite FUNNY photos of the year.

The image that received the most number of votes was astonishing! 

WHAT THE?!!!  It’s the shot of my own kids?!!

BEST OF 2011:  FUNNIEST PHOTOS

#1

#2

3-Way Tie for #3

It could also capture an emotion or the essence of a relationship.  Or tell a page of a story.

Below are the Best Moments of 2011, based on viewers’ votes in Facebook (as of today*).

If you’d like to cast your vote or wanted to see ALL of my favorite moments of 2011, go to my Facebook page!

*Votes can be added any time, so the Best Of images may change.  The voting process is open to all and with no deadline.  This is just a way for me to see what people liked!  For all those who participated, thank you!!!

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

#6

#7

#8

#9

Triple Tie for #10

I will be posting more “Best Of” albums on Facebook, so make sure you “Like” my page to stay in touch.  I wanna know YOUR favorites!

I really do.

The benefit of this is it gives me big photography muscles for when I shoot other people’s kids!  

So after the tiring mini-shoot of my monkeys in jammies, I turned off the lights, launched a kids game on an iPad, placed the iPad in the middle of my bed, and let the big kids have at it!  They didn’t even notice I was taking photos of them.

By shooting my kids in a dark room with one small light source, the focus was entirely on their faces.  And the images are “moody” because the color of the light depends on what is presented on their screen at the time of the shot.

The First

I don’t know if this happens to you, but sometimes, my favorite is the first.  My first bite, my first shot, my first time hearing a song.

This first shot is my favorite.  It’s the softness of the light, the color of light, the kids’ hand positioning and their expressions.

[Specs:  Nikon 24-70mm/2.8 lens, ISO 400, 24mm, f/2.8, 1/40 sec, shot in manual, handheld.]

Room Size

Here’s the shot right afterwards.  By panning out, you get a sense of the room size and the relative grandness to the kids.

[Photography Tip:  When shooting lifestyle portraits or events, it's nice to get close-up shots of the people and the details, but it's also important to get a shot of the area to give perspective to the event or the lifestyle shoot.  Do this no matter what the lighting situation is.  Even in a very dark room with fast-moving subjects, like a dance floor, keep your camera steady, drag your shutter a bit and you can get a shot of people dancing with some cool motion blur.]

[Specs:  Nikon 24-70/2.8 lens, ISO 400, 24mm, f/2.8, 1/25 sec, shot in Manual, handheld.]

Attention

I love their seriousness and attentiveness.  Now, if only they’d pay attention like this when I talk to them! 

[Specs:  Nikon 24-70/2.8 lens, ISO 400, 24mm, f/2.8, 1/20 sec, shot in Manual, handheld.]

Photography Notes & Challenge

My thought process:  I knew I wanted to shoot at ISO 400, which allows for some motion and isn’t very grainy.  I also knew I wanted to shoot it wide open, at f/2.8, so I’d get the full amount of light from the monitor and any details in the background would get blurred out.  I only played with the focal length (though the 3 images I chose here happened to all be at 24mm) and the shutter speed.

Since I always shoot in natural light, I thought it would be a fun challenge to shoot with only artificial light that I could not control.

If you haven’t already, try this out!  You can use anything:  a flashlight, a cell phone, a candle, a desk lamp.  It doesn’t have to be an iPad.  Just find a willing participant and turn off the lights!

Whatever you shoot, always have fun!

xo,

annie

Bunny Sophia

According to the Chinese Zodiac, Sophia is born in the Year of the Rabbit.

The Details

I love how gently newborns close their eyes… I guess it’s because they’re dreaming about warm milk and cuddles!

I also love baby shoulders and all their beautiful peach fuzz.

This baby feet shot is especially sweet because Sophia was stretching at the time, so it is a very active shot.

I framed the shot to include the side of the chair, but from the top-down view, it looks like she is leaping off the floor!

One Proud Papa

Laying Awake in Bed

Should we get her a magazine?  Tee hee.

This shot is a great example of challenging your own vision.  I envisioned this bed in front of the beautiful island in my client’s kitchen.  Due to the angle I needed to take the shot and positioning of the window (aka, our light source), the shot wasn’t what I wanted, so I changed it up.

Jessica (the bunny’s mom) and I carefully moved the bed, so the light blanketed the front of Sophia and the shadow from the headboard was no longer on her face.  Since she was not aligned with the kitchen’s island anymore, I shot from above.  Oooh, mama like!

From this viewpoint, you can see the contrast of the soft bed and pudgy baby (look at those cheeks!!!!!) against the dark, hardwood floor.

THE BEST Christmas Present Ever

Holding On

A Grandma’s Touch

Just like the astrology dictates, babies born in the Year of the Rabbit are surrounded by friends and family.

Sophia would barely murmur and her Grandma would swiftly appear and soothe Sophia to sleep in a mere minute.  (Where can I get one of these Grandmas with magic hands?!)

The combination of how Grandma is attentive to Sophia, Sophia’s obvious contentment, and the gorgeous window light make this shot especially serene.

Line Patterns

I love the line pattern on Grandma’s shirt and Sophia’s hair.  I balanced the composition with a hint of mom looking over at her baby bunny.

Today’s San Francisco Bay Area Event Photography was for a birthday party of a sweet little girl whom I met this Spring.

(Click here to see photos of “Little Pineapple Bun”.)

Tasty Treats

Meet Martha…I mean Emily! 

Jules Coloring

Bedroom Fun

Who is having the most fun here?   Tee hee.

The Cousins

Did you do a double-take on his eyes, like I did?!!  They are fantastic!

Happy Birthday, Jules!

The Birthday Cake

Here is Jules with her first birthday cake.

Minute 1…. “What am I supposed to do with this cake?”

Minute 4… poke poke.

Minute 7…  mmmmm.

Minute 15…

The Aftermath…

Happy VERY FIRST birthday, Jules!

May your year be filled with cool adventures, incredible growth, good health, and lots and lots of love and kisses!

I hope to see you in 2012,

Your very own paparazzi – Annie

So today’s Commercial Photography at SuperFranks started off as a single room shot of their new Holiday Tea Party in the Princess Room.

Holiday Tea Party Room

Specs:  Nikon 14mm ultra wide lens, f/11, 1/5 sec, ISO 800.  Shot in Manual.  I used a tripod, so I could drag the shutter, and used the timer, so there wouldn’t be movement from my pressing the shutter button.  (You can also use a remote shutter release.)

I timed the shoot, so the room would be dark enough to see the holiday lights, but there would be enough ambient light from the window to give context to the room.  (If you’ve been one of my clients, you know that I am very particular about when your shoot begins because good light is key!)

The Creative Process

To get that shot (above), we had to rearrange a couple pieces of furniture and I had a few creative decisions to make, such as which angle to shoot the room and what settings will best highlight the holiday lights.  It was pretty straight-forward.  20 minutes, done.

What you don’t know is what happened after I got the room shot.

Frank, the owner of SuperFranks, was there as well.  With two creative minds, there was an explosion of ideas.

Here is an example of our discussion:

*****

“Hey, should we get Santa in the shot?”

“Yeah!  Is Santa here???”

“Sure, I can get him.  Hold on.”

“How about he sits there… no, how about he drinks some milk?”

“It’s a tea party, he should sip tea!”

“Great idea!  And have a cookie on the plate!”

[I take a couple shots.]

“This Santa looks like he’s been on a diet.  Can we make him fatter?”

“What about his bag?  Maybe we should put more in there.”

“It looks like he doesn’t have many gifts to give the children!  Oh my gosh, it looks like he’s a thief!”

[I take a couple shots once Santa returned fatter and with a fuller bag.]

“Hmmm….something looks awkward.  How about he holds the cookie…. and takes a bite out of it.”

“A BIIIIG bite!”

*****

And it kept going from there!  It was so much fun.  We had 6 people in there at one point and we started getting a lot of attention, so I had to close the door!  (I didn’t want any kids to see Santa adjusting his belly or anything like that.)

At one point — no kidding — I was on my knees and slapping the floor from laughing so hard!  (Tim, you know what I’m talking about!)

A Few Shots from the Creative Explosion

This is Super Frankie, the mascot!

Isn’t that nice of Santa to take a break from his busy schedule to play catch with Frankie? 

What do you think:  Is Frankie on Santa’s Naughty or Nice List?

Nice, of course!

Whatever your holiday celebrations are and whomever they’ll be with, I hope you will all have periods of slap-the-floor-laughter as I had today!

xo,

annie

There was a lot of melting going on in my San Francisco Bay Area family photography session with The S Family yesterday!

Nothing but love.

Sometimes it’s in the way they talk to their kids — without even uttering the words “I love you”.

You can see True Love by the way people have physical contact… like the way they lean into each other.

Sometimes I see love in the way they hold hands…

Or the way a child grabs hold of their father like they won’t ever let go.

It’s All In The Face

I love children’s faces.  Kids never fake their emotions.

Cuteness

Watching Over You

Not just from the distinctive features themselves, but also in the way one holds a glance or closes one’s mouth.

This is true for furry faces too.

This week’s I Heart Faces theme is “Furry Faces”.  (I love furry faces!!!)

All my clients are special, but The W’s are special in a different way.  When I had their first shoot in 2009, Lisa (the mommy) and I were both pregnant.  AND GET THIS…

We went into labor about the same time and were at the same hospital, even though our due dates were weeks apart and we lived in different counties!  (It was with the beauty of social media that we learned we were at the same hospital.)

I, of course, had my camera with me, so I waddled to their hospital room to take a few photos of their new baby boy!  How cool is that?!!

Shooting Details

Wedding photographers know to capture detail images of the events they’re covering, but what about for family photography?

[Photography Tip: It's on a smaller scale than weddings and other life events, but for on-location family photography, there is still a lot of planning that goes into it!  The location, the outfits, the shoes, etc.  So next time you're on a family shoot, notice the details that your clients put thought into and capture those.  A good time to do that is in the beginning of the shoot when clients are warming up.]

For this morning’s shoot, I had a lot of time to capture the location.  It was a peaceful and quiet morning with beautiful dusty fog.

In my last couple sneak peeks I’ve had shots of shadows, so I found this one to be a HOOT and had to share!

Mr Pigeon trotted around this cold, early morning in search of a blueberry scone….or so he said!

(And if you’re wondering, the answer is:  Yes, I do find myself funny.  I’m cracking myself up right now!)

“A Sneaky Peek”

That’s what I’m calling a true sneak peek where I don’t reveal much.

Alright, I can’t do it.  Here are a couple of my faves of the kids!

Ian

His hair is one of the coolest I’ve seen.  It had natural highlights and lowlights, and some strands had various colors…like reddish tips to this blonde hair!

I’d show you a photo of Ian in color, so you can see what I mean…but then it wouldn’t be a “Sneaky Peek”!  

Sophie

It was great to see her after 2 years….and she still looked the same, just a lot bigger!