Anna Myers Photography Blog » Bay Area Modern Portrait Artist - Specializing in Photography of Maternity, Newborn, Baby, Children, Family & Teens

Category Archives: Newborn

Feb 26 2012

Natural Light Newborn Photographer – Bay Area Newborn Portraits in Home

When I go to a client home to photograph a newborn baby, I am always looking for details to incorporate into the session that will help describe the beginning of this babies life. And when I went to photograph baby Z for his natural light newborn portraits in San Francisco, I was delighted to find that the details in this home awaiting this beautiful baby boy were very heartfelt. His crib was originally his mothers when she was a baby, having been purchased by baby Z’s great grandmother in India. It was gorgeous! His sterling silver rattle had also belonged to his mother when she was a baby. The textiles in the home made for a colorful background for the session. Then we used the same blue polka dot sari fabric that we had photographed the mom in our maternity session 6 weeks earlier – but this time with her sleeping newborn son wrapped in it. And if that was not enough, I had two doting grand parents on site to photograph with their newborn grandson. It was a very colorful love fest for my camera :)

Posted in Home Study, Newborn Tags: indian newborn photographer, natural light newborn photographer, san francisco bay area newborn portraits

Jan 29 2012

New Year, New Props & New backgrounds for Newborns

As a San Francisco Bay Area Newborn Photographer, I am finding that sleeping newborn portraits in crazy cute poses while sometimes in a bucket or bowl has really come back in vogue! I personally like to photograph newborns both awake and asleep – naked in parents arms with black backgrounds to make stunning black & white newborn portraits, as well as solo on colorful backgrounds. I photograph so many newborns each month in my East Bay photography studio that I try to keep it interesting – which keeps me always on the look out for unique newborn photography props and fabrics. I have some cool new vintage treasures for baby boys including funky trunks and basins – as well as whimsical crocheted hats for the newborn boys. For the newborn girls – Ooo la la – so many choices! Headbands, bright colored fabrics in silks and taffetas, dazzling bobs for the head including peacock feathers or tiny flower headbands for the discreet diva. I photograph newborns both in my Alameda photography studio or in the client home using natural light. Either way, I have props on hand to match with the style of the parents while maintaining a high degree of fine art sensibility to create artistic images of that brand new family member that will be treasured for generations. Here are some recent photos using just a few of the new props and background sets in studio…

And then of course there is the non-prop approach – always a standing favorite of mine – naked newborn on mom or dad’s arms… a timeless classic

Posted in Home Study, Newborn, Studio Tags: artistic newborn portraits, bay area newborn photographer, black and white newborn photography, san francisco bay area newborn portraits

Jul 26 2011

San Francisco Bay Area Newborn Photographer : Newborn baby girl in studio

Ahh the wee ones – so precious, and so good at sleeping soundly while placed in a bucket with a fancy bob on their head! Tiffany was all of thirteen days old when she came to the studio for her debut session. Here she is with one of our newer vintage studio backgrounds along with one of our newborn head accessories…

sleeping newbron with vintage background and props

She shared the stage with her soon-to-be BFF Gizmo – who was the perfect studio dog and was eager to look in the camera at every opportunity. But even Gizmo could not compete with Tiffany’s big newborn grin while in the arms of her parents – I think she looks just like her momma here.

At our Bay Area studio newborn portrait sessions, I like to start with the black background with the portraits to include parents, as well as siblings and pets. These always look great as newborn sepia portraits with the contrast between the skin tones and the dark background. Then after we have photographed the newborn in arms, we put the baby to sleep to get some fine art newborn portraits in buckets, bowls and with flowers. Sometimes we only get to do one set as the newborn will not sleep through multiple, but I find the younger babies can often do more than one. Under 14 days is the key! Here are some of Tiffany’s sleeping shots that were used for her fine art birth announcements…

Posted in Newborn, Studio Tags: bay area newborn photographer, black and white newborn photography, san francisco newborn photography, vintage style portraits

Jul 19 2011

Newborn Bay Area Baby Boy Photographed at Home in Natural Light

For this newborn session, we went to a very cool loft in Oakland which provided awesome natural lighting for newborn portraits in the East Bay.

Along with wonderful window light, this loft featured stunning wood floors and aged brick walls. Needless to say, I was in heaven!

When we go to client’s homes to photograph their newborns, we do bring our own props – but whenever possible I love to utilize props found in the home like bowls, baskets and interesting furniture. For this session, I found an old, wooden bread making bowl that she had in the house, and combined that with some fur that was a throw in the living room. And Voila! A cushy set for a six day old boy!

We recently returned to the loft to take Ronan’s 6 month-old photos, and used the same vessel as the one pictured above. I love that the comparison is size and ability is quite obvious when comparing the different ages photographed in the same bowl, but it is also cool that this is a bowl (and fur) that Ronan will grow up around. He surely will not be able to fit in the bowl much longer at the rate he is growing! But back to his newborn portraits….

Newborn sessions taken at home are charming and convenient because they allow the parents and baby alike to relax into their familiar environment, without having to leave the house with a 6 day old baby.

Being photographed at home can make it easy to get the baby to sleep, which always produces really sweet newborn shots.

Look for photography of Ronan’s six-month-old session on the blog in the future. We certainly look forward to taking more pictures of this darling boy and his awesome parents!

Posted in Babies, Home Study, Locations, Newborn, Portraits Tags: bay area newborn photographer, black & white newborn photography, black and white newborn photography, Modern Baby Photography, modern baby portraits, modern family portraits, mom and baby portraits, Natural Light Baby Photography, Natural Light Photography, natural light portraits, newborn portraits, oh baby! club, san francisco baby photography

Jul 17 2011

San Francisco Bay Area Creative Artistic Photographer : New Backgrounds in the Alameda Photography Studio!

The background arsenal continues to grow here at Anna Myers San Francisco Bay Area Photography studio specializing in modern fine art portraits of Maternity, Newborn, Baby, Children and Teens. These new backdrops bring endless opportunities for creative and artistic pet, newborn, baby, infant, child, maternity, family and even high school senior portraits!

We’ve recently acquired some très chic backgrounds that bring to mind Cirque du Soleil and European architecture. These lovely backgrounds pared well with the fabulous miss Laya and her fancy red swimsuit. Laya is about to be 3, and her photo shoot will tie in with her birthday invitations and birthday party theme…just an idea for you artsy and creative Moms out there ;)

In another photo shoot, young Conrad sat in what we like to call the “Mad Men Chair” in a little button up shirt and Madras Shorts that further channeled that 1960′s look. The brick wall behind him was not really bricks at all, but another one of our cool new backgrounds. He also looked cool in blue with distressed wood backing him up. Backgrounds come in really handy when little ones and rainy days are paired up, as was the case on the drizzly day Conrad came into the studio. We set up the blue background up in an area where Conrad could roam around and play while still keeping dry and cozy indoors. Who knew backdrops could be so much fun?

Backdrops work so well with babies too. With some help from her parents, we got baby Lilit in a bucket and matched her headband to vintage lavender background. Artfully arranging a baby in a bucket is tougher than it might sound, but the results are always sweet, as well as unique thanks to the huge variety of backdrops at our disposal. We also got some darling shots of her in front a green vintage background. How sweet is that headband?

When Maya came into the studio, she had great energy and confidence in front of the camera. She was an awesome subject to photograph, and we got some shots of her with her favorite colors- bold greens and purples that really made her beautiful smile pop and complimented her funky and individual style.

Last but not least, we had lots of fun capturing Luca and his dog in the studio. The two hung out in front of out faux barn door, and we accomplished a real outdoorsy feel… without the hassle of actually going outdoors! The new, rugged vintage-looking backgrounds also worked well color-wise with Luca’s outfit without looking overly matchy-matchy.

All in all, fun is being had with the new backdrops. And we are only showing 10 of our over 20 new backdrops here. What’s your favorite background so far?