East Bay Family Photography & Portraits Blog

Black Friday Family Photography Special Offers!

November 27, 2020

Happy Black Friday / Small Business Saturday weekend! If you’ve been thinking of scheduling an outdoor family photo session with me, now’s your chance to grab some extra special savings. BLACK FRIDAY SPECIAL OFFERS ON FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHY PACKAGES For new family photo sessions booked before midnight on December 2, 2020: Save an extra $50 off my Winter Family Special Package, which includes your 20-minute session, 10 high-res digitals, and an 8 x 10 premium luster print (details below). For sessions…

Fine art student portrait of brothers in the East Bay

2020 Fine Art Student Portraits Success!

November 4, 2020

Shelly Rivoli

Student Portraits

Fall Student Portraits in the East Bay — in the crazy year 2020? If there’s one thing we can agree on these days, it’s that 2020 has been a year of surprises. When I’d originally expected a fall filled with family photo sessions, along came news of a pandemic. Then shelter-in-place orders, a summer surge, a badly sprained elbow for me and return to remote learning for my 3 kids. And just when it looked like fall outdoor family photo…

What to Wear for a Headshot or Business Portrait

January 15, 2020

Shelly Rivoli

Headshots

Whether this is your first headshot or you’re a seasoned veteran of business portrait sessions, you’ll likely still find yourself staring into the closet at some point asking, “What should I wear?” If so, this post is for you. Your headshot is very similar to a billboard advertisement: With just a brief moment to be in front of your target market, you want to be memorable—but for the right reasons. Here are some tips to help as you consider what…

example what to wear for family photos in the East Bay

What to Wear for Your Family Photos

January 11, 2020

Shelly Rivoli

Family Photography

So your family photo session is booked — hooray! What’s next? If you’re like many parents, you may find yourself asking the age-old question, “What should we wear for our family photos?” My best answer for this is to wear what you feel good wearing! The photo shoot is about you and your people, not the clothing. If you feel best in a pair of hiking boots and a flannel shirt—or a faux leopard coat and red rubber boots, then…

Family Photography with a View of San Francisco Bay & Sunset Silhouettes

December 26, 2019

Shelly Rivoli

Family Photography

Family Photography with a view of San Francisco Bay When photographing a family in the golden hour, there are no guarantees what kind of show the sun may — or may not — put on as it slips into its final act. But sometimes, like this during this recent family photo shoot, you get lucky. I have a favorite location in the hills where I love to photograph families on days with interesting skies. In addition to a variety of…

red sunset over San Francisco Bay caused by wildfire smoke

Wine Country Wildfire Smoke Over San Francisco Bay Two Years Ago

October 9, 2019

Shelly Rivoli

Photojournalism

There is nothing like a pending PG&E power shutdown (she typed quickly) to bring back memories of this week two years ago, when those of us living “a good distance” from the wildfires ripping through Napa and Sonoma suddenly realized we are not. On October 12, 2017 — the date these photos were taken — the San Francisco Bay Area itself was engulfed in smoke as we had never seen before. Sadly we would see it again 13 months later,…

sea lions sleeping among my favorite animal photos

Favorite Animal Photos in Celebration of World Animal Day

October 4, 2019

Shelly Rivoli

Travel Photography

Happy World Animal Day to my animal-loving friends out there! I thought this was the perfect occasion to share some of my favorite WILD animal photos. Up first (above) are some snoozing California sea lions on the Central Coast at Morro Bay. (If you’d like to plan a trip to Morro Bay, don’t miss my vacation guide–it’s a favorite destination of my family.) However, I must also give a shout out to the most famous furry residents of Morro Bay:…

friends visit beside Triton and Mermaid sculpture on the Malecon

Puerto Vallarta Sculptures at Dusk – Moodlight on the Malecon

September 29, 2019

Shelly Rivoli

Travel Photography

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico – As I continued setting up the new photo galleries this week, I found myself spending extra time staring into these photos of the Puerto Vallarta sculptures on the Malecon. Not so much the sunny, colorful captures of the “boardwalk” (you can see them all here). But instead these moody almost monotone photos taken on a twilight stroll as the storm clouds gathered. It was an incredibly busy family trip (as usual), with full agendas each day–and…

child protestors holding sings at Climate Strike March San Francisco

2019 San Francisco Climate Strike March Photos

September 23, 2019

Shelly Rivoli

Photojournalism

As my new site comes together, I’m jumping in with a post of some of my most recent captures: photos from Friday’s Climate Strike March in San Francisco. (Full archive and downloads available here.) San Francisco Climate Strike March Photos – 20th September, 2019 According to The Mercury News, an estimated 8,000 people arrived at the Federal Building on 7th Street, where the march began at 10:00 a.m. on September 20th. After passing the offices of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi…