Mill Cottage Photography Love Stories » Family Portraits

San Francisco Hip Modern Family Portraits | the dynamic duo of delicious studios

millcottage — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 23:54:54 +0000

Just under a month ago my wonderful colleague, Alameda maternity, newborn and family photographer Anna Myers, and I launched a collaborative venture with delicious boudoir | intimate artisan portraits. It was received with such a warm welcome that we have decided to collaborate on some other areas of photography as well! Hence the birth of delicious studios | portraits that feed your soul. We have photographed several lovely families so far, and wanted to offer you a sneak peek into the kind of work we’re making together! If you are interested in an exciting, artistic portrait commission of your family, please contact us, and we can arrange for a consultation. The delicious experience is fun for everyone in the family, and our goal is to show your family as you truly are, not just what you look like! Choose a meaningful location that you will all remember together, bring along a couple of outfits for everyone, set aside some time to just be together. We will handle everything else… We shoot from multiple angles, take turns providing gentle feedback to enhance the look and feel of the portrait, and in the post-consultation, we show you a set of images that will completely amaze you. We’ll guide you through the creation of a completely unique work of art that you will be proud to showcase, and giddy to look at every day in your home! From maternity to newborn, and family portraits… delicious studios will feed your soul!

Modern San Francisco Family Portraits | Welcome Baby Liam!!

millcottage — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 00:02:10 +0000

sleepy little Liam

Seems like yesterday you saw Matika’s gorgeous baby bump in her San Francisco Urban Maternity Session, and newborn baby Liam came just a few days later… Oh, he’s a yummy little guy, and I am so glad I got to hold him, and get my baby fix… Here’s his first professional family portrait in his home… So wonderful to see you guys today, and can’t wait to show you all the images soon!

Family Portrait at home

San Francisco Maternity Photographer | Spring Blooms for Simply Bloom Owner!

millcottage — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 01:22:02 +0000

Mommy at the windmill

It’s never too late to schedule your maternity session… well, at least if you schedule it before the baby arrives… Matika & Mike, and their son Luke are expecting a new baby this Thursday!!! We headed out to Golden Gate Park to the Queen Wilhemina Tulip Garden on Sunday and it was a beautiful spring day!! Look at the glorious beautiful mama!! Good luck on Thursday you guys!! Can’t wait to get my lens on the new little babe!!

soccer practice

San Carlos Family Photographer | My parade of baby mini-sessions!

millcottage — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 00:57:08 +0000

I promised to show off each of my little subjects from our day of mini-sessions at my San Carlos kids portrait studio! First to arrive was the Carrico family, Joel & Pia, being fellow photographers, welcome the chance to get the family in a photo without having to resort to self-timers and photoshop of multiple exposures… Baby Ossi, just a tender newborn two weeks old, stole my heart, but his big brother, Noah, was quite a charmer himself!

Then 3 became 4!!

San Carlos Belmont Children’s Portraits | Mini Sessions for $95 for one week only!!

millcottage — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 23:34:47 +0000

Woodland Series Portraits on February 15, 2010

I am feeling the spring time, and am so pleased to offer a special portrait mini-session in and around my San Carlos children’s photography studio on Wednesday and Friday, February 10 and 12th, just in time for Valentine’s Day!!! Only $95, which is a savings of almost $200 from our regular session fee! Reserve your 30 minute studio or outdoor session today by calling 415.515.6370, or sending an email to inquiry@millcottagephoto.com. Sessions are available between 10AM and 4:30PM on those two days only!!! We also will be having a special Woodland Series portrait event on Monday, February 15, and are accepting only three clients for that day for an on location session in the Los Altos Hills. The times available are 11:30, 12:00 noon and 12:30, and sessions will be 20 minutes, 1-2 children only.

All new clients will receive a special $25 gift card with purchase of a session, and current clients will receive a complimentary 5×7 print of their favorite image from the session as well as a $25 gift card! Images will be shown in your own personal, password protected web gallery, and will be available for purchase on-line for 3 days after they have been posted, so alert the grandparents, friends and family to be ready! Reposting your gallery after those 3 days will incur a $100 fee, which will automatically be applied to your order!

Kids Birthday Party Photography | Amazing Entertainer for Parties | Jungle Joe

millcottage — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 20:44:28 +0000

Jungle Joe with his handmade puppets rock the house!

One of the things that makes a birthday party, and thus the birthday party ph0tography, so much fun is the activities provided for the children who attend! I know when I go about planning the next birthday party for MY son, Josh, the only website I will visit is California Puppets planning site for Bay Area kids birthday parties! Not only will you see puppet show ventriloquist extraordinaire, Jungle Joe, but there is a plethora of amazing tips and ideas for making your child’s event a huge success! It is a really great resource, especially for first time parents, who have no idea where to start and what to do! Mill Cottage Kids has a great bunch of party ideas, so make sure all your lovely party plans get the photographs they deserve so you and your tot can look back on the occasion for years to come!

San Francisco Newborn Photography – A Portrait of a (little) Lady!

millcottage — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 03:30:20 +0000

Sound the trumpets, strike up the band, in other words, “hit it!” Sydney is here, and she’s such a pretty little newborn baby. You forget how small they are when they are newborns… and how soft they are, and how cute and tiny their feet are, and those soft little birdie sounds they make… Ahhhhhh!!! I love to photograph newborn babies! (Nicole, yours are next, just say the word when they are ready!!)

Newborn portrait - Perfect Pink Princess

I am very proud to be Brooke and Todd’s family photographer… I love to go to their house and see images of them that I photographed over the years, their engagement, their wedding, them at friends’ weddings… Love them! Todd was one of the very first people I met when I moved to San Francisco through our mutual friend Dina, and fate would have it that he would meet and fall in love with the wonderful Brooke, who was friends with my friend Jamie, and the fabric of all of our lives was woven together from all different directions… Ok, so that’s the story of how eventually we would all be completely elated at the arrival of their beautiful daughter, and again me with my camera in tow (which is a great excuse to get in for visits with friends with newborns by the way… :^) gathered with the family to capture Miss Sydney’s new sweetness. I was tempted to sneak her out in my camera bag, and leave my 5DMark II in her place, but even though Brooke is a photographer, I don’t think she would be at all excited about the switcheroo…

Ok, Kim, quit your yapping and show us some pictures…

Newborn Sydney & Daddy Todd

Precious Family

Lifestyle Children’s Photography – Josh, Daddy and the airplane!!

millcottage — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 01:32:07 +0000

Smiling, Happy Boy!

Special thanks to “Uncle” Mitch for giving Josh his first flying machine today! Daddy and Josh took the plane out for a spin, and crashed a lot to Josh’s giggly delight! Daddy giggled too… :^)

Kim

Josh, Daddy & The Plane

San Carlos Children's and Family Portraits – Mr. A-dorable!!!

millcottage — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 00:57:00 +0000

Little Mister A and his family were one of the families who won a Mill Cottage Kids Studio Session at the Kidture Couture Portrait Event we had in San Francisco at the JCC! (Don’t worry, we still have a couple more winners to announce, so you’re still in the running if you’re checking back here!!)

This little guy was seriously one of the most happy smiley babies I have ever had the pleasure of photographing! Mommy & Daddy were great too! Here’s a couple of teasers for you! Enjoy!!

Kim

San Carlos Family Portraits – Welcome to the Shultz Family to the Studio!!

millcottage — Sat, 02 May 2009 02:15:00 +0000

What a wonderful morning we had in the studio today!! It was so great to meet the adorable Schultz Family, and play with their sweet little girls!! Here are some of my favorites! Can’t wait to share the rest with you guys! Thanks again for coming in!
Kim

Couture Portraits for Kids – San Francisco JCC

millcottage — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 17:51:00 +0000

More from the Appel & Frank Babes to Babies event yesterday in San Francisco! Next time we announce an event like this, make plans to be there, and reserve your mini Kidture session in advance with just a $25 investment! Our two photographers were on hand for 5 hours just to fit everyone in!!! We brought fashionable dress up clothes, and we photographed “kids” from newborn to over 30!! Great fun had by all! To all our new families, we’ll be processing all week to insure you will get your orders by mother’s day, as promised!! Great to meet you all!! Also, special thanks go out to Shannon Elder, Kristy Hardy, Martha Wood, and especially my associate photographer, Amy Shat of Oaks and Acorns Photography, who all made the day run smooth as silk, and I am very grateful!!! Hugs!! Kim

Doing Good Feels Good – Project Smile San Jose

millcottage — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 18:30:00 +0000

For the past two years I have been fortunate enough to be involved in an amazing transformative project founded by Rhee Bevere and supported by the Soroptomists called Project Smile. We work with women and their families at two South Bay housing communities for victims of battery and abuse. Many of these families escaped their abusers in the dead of night with only the clothes on their backs. They have survived heinous abuse, and through these programs, are beginning the long struggle back to life. They are used to being told they are ugly, fat, useless, bad wives, horrible mothers, and when immersed in this kind of abusive environment it is usually very difficult not to believe what they are told, and very difficult to muster the strength to leave the situation and protect themselves and their families. One of the many things they leave behind with their self esteem is any family photos they may have. Some have no family pictures, but they have their lives and their families are safe. Portraits, while valuable and desired, aren’t high on the priority list, and neither is a day of pampering and beauty. That’s where we come in… The amazing makeup and styling of Maria Chang, Monina Wright, and their staff of makeup and hair people give these ladies a lovely makeover, pampering them, and coaxing out their inner and outer beauty. We create beautiful portraits of them to remind them that they are strong, beautiful women. This is a new beginning. They deserve to be safe, happy and loved. We take portraits of their children, and of the family together. We laugh with them, cry with them, and by the end of the day we leave a wonderful stronger group of women who are beginning to realize their power and their worth. All of the amazing photographers who are a part of this are a joy to work with as well… Jennifer Skog, Angela Banchi, Rhee, and our amazing event coordinator, the lovely and talented Nicole Lisanne (formerly D’Ambra), who pulled it all together for us (great to finally meet you, feel like I’ve known you forever!), along with the Soroptomist and S-Club volunteers – Thanks for a great day! Since I can’t post any of the images of our ladies to protect their identies and their location, I will post two of the portraits I grabbed of Rhee… Isn’t she gorgeous?!

San Francisco Family Portraits – See, I believe in it too…

millcottage — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 22:08:00 +0000

The importance of family portraits is a topic I often discuss, and go on and on about… we don’t get these moments back, and we really need to celebrate our family’s love and document it with images! Today Josh, my mom, Karen, and I went to my good friend Tami Desellier’s studio and we did just that! Tami is an amazing photographer, and while I usually hate to be on the other side of the lens, she made it fun, and the images are fantastic!! I hardly have any images of Josh and me, though Ray does his best to make sure to grab a couple whenever we’re out with the camera… and the last time my mom and I had a portrait taken together was in the 80′s… (she looked great then and now, but I had some freaky hair extensions going on, and don’t look like myself at all…) Thanks so much to Tami and her staff! Here are a couple of my favorites! (All images in this post by Tami Desellier)

San Carlos Family Portrait Photography – At the Park

millcottage — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 05:53:00 +0000

I have been photographing the Kemsley-Bennett Family for many years, and was so glad to see them again this year. This time Bill’s mother, brother and sister-in-law, and their daughter joined us. We had a terrific time running around the park, and it was great to see how the kids have grown!! Here are some of my favorites for you guys!!

Holiday Family Studio Portraits – One of our Website Contest Winners!

millcottage — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 22:25:00 +0000

So excited to have this gorgeous family in the studio! Avid blog readers, they immediately knew the answer to the Partridge Family Trivia question and they earned their free session!!! Lucky we did the session that day, as daddy hurt himself doing yard work (that’s why I leave my yard like a jungle…) and had to go to the hospital. Luckily no major damage, and he’ll recover well! Healing thought go out to you, and here’s another custom card example too!

Santa Cruz Family Portrait Photography – Natural Bridges

millcottage — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 22:12:00 +0000

Has anyone ever truly surprised you? Yesterday was such a great day!!! It started out with Marc Benjamin and Mercury stopping by my office, and picking me up for a great lunch at Cafe Flore in the Castro. Mercury shared his awesome pix of the behind the scenes look at Alcatraz, which totally blew me away. When I got home, my door bell rang, and I got the best surprise!! My best buddy Jacki V who now lives in Minnesota was standing there. You should have seen my face… :^) Anyway, she was in town for a family portrait session, and so I went along with her. What a gorgeous family they are!! After studying with Mercury, I just saw things differently at this session, and here are some of my favorites. My style has been to shoot tighter, and I wanted to really show some of the whole picture so to speak… I am really pleased with the way it all turned out! Thanks to Jacki for such an amazing surprise – it was so great to see you, and to Mercury for making me “see” differently! Oh, and thanks to Shelley & Robert for having such a beautiful family! You guys were awesome!!!!

Family – Our Greatest Treasure

millcottage — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 02:06:00 +0000

We have just returned from a pretty amazing trip… My mother’s family just hosted their 100th family reunion in Hamlin, New York AND my father, who I haven’t seen in almost 15 years organized a smaller, but just as meaningful reunion of his side of the family. It felt so good to hug my daddy and grandpa and for Josh to meet this side of the family. My mom and my brother and his wonderful wife all being with us together was just the greatest! More pictures and the story will follow, but here is one of my boys in a field along the road in the beautiful sweet twilight. I feel complete right now. What is passed is passed, and the present is a gift! Hug your family today! I am sending hugs to mine!!

Schedule Summer Family Sessions Now!!

millcottage — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 05:45:00 +0000

It is hard to believe that this image was taken almost 3 years ago… They have changed so much since I saw them last, and I can’t wait to do their family session this year! Get ready for the holidays early this year (you know you always wish you had…) and book your holiday sessions now! Happy Summer Vacation!!!

Are you ready for a lot of images?

millcottage — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 01:05:00 +0000

Last Saturday instead of having a wedding, I had a great photo session with Connie, Blackie, Antionette, Brendan, Sinead & Ian at Stow Lake in Golden Gate Park!! Blackie loved the geese and ducks, and all the fun people watching him as he posed so regally! He’s a fourteen year old Black Labrador, and is the sweetest dog on the planet! He loves kids (Josh came along to the first part of the session, and got to meet him!) Connie loves kids too – she’s Ian and Sinead’s nanny, and the session was a gift from the family! I had not seen the kids in about 3 1/2 years. I think Ian was about Josh’s age. They look the same and different all at once… they grow so fast!

Well, the relatives in Ireland are in for a treat! I am posting lots of pictures since they don’t see the kids all that often either! Thanks for such a great time everyone, and the rest will be ready soon!!