Professional portrait photography, Dr. Karen Peters of East Bay Naturopathic Clinic

 business photography, corporate photography, El Cerrito, headshots, photojournalistic, portrait  No Responses »
May 092012
 
Professional portrait session in the San Francisco Bay area. Headshots, portraits, corporate, business

I’ve been shooting a lot of portrait photography recently. I shoot for business people, actors, students, people who are doing online dating.

Here is a shot from last week of Dr. Karen Peters of East Bay Naturopathic Clinic. As you can see, she’s really beautiful. However, she was terminally camera shy. She hates having her photo taken. No problem! I’m generally a relaxed person. We chat, we shoot, we keep shooting we keep talking. Eventually people will either relax, or I catch them in-between moments. You can’t be stressed all the time, and I’m fast.

IMG 7761 retouch proof proof Professional portrait photography, Dr. Karen Peters of East Bay Naturopathic Clinic

Photo © Alex Schoenfeldt 2012. All rights reserved.
Alex Schoenfeldt Photography

You could not fake this moment for a million dollars. Candid wedding photography.

 candid, photojournalistic, wedding  No Responses »
Jan 212012
 
Northern california wedding photogaphy. Candid photojournalistic shot of the bride and groom laughing in the reception.

Portraits are great, don’t get me wrong. A god portrait can reflect back to someone just how beautiful they are. I love doing portraits. I love the collaborative process and the deliberate pace.

But my heart leaps at candid, photojournalistic and naturalistic photography. To capture a moment as it happens is such a thrill. Most people just are never going to fake an emotion right. Show me “overjoyed and in love” the best actors can pull that off, but for most of us, if you want a photographer to capture that moment, they have to be there, be quick, be unobtrusive (it can’t be about the photographer by definition) and be good. I love the moment when it all comes together. I am not thinking of my camera, I am not even thinking of myself. I am just caught up in the moment as it happens, and I capture it as it happens. This feeling, this is why I love wedding and event photography.

This picture below is an example of what I am talking about.

IMG 4895 crop 8x101 You could not fake this moment for a million dollars. Candid wedding photography.

Look at them! Happy, laughing, in love, in the moment. Real. I love that I captured that and can show it back to them.

Portraits of Children at the Campfire after school program

 African American, non-profit, oakland, photojournalism, photojournalistic, Photos, portrait, pro bono, street photography, Sunset, uplifting  4 Responses »
Jan 102012
 
Proud and happy young african american girl in Oakland California

Last year I volunteered regularly at the Campfire after school program in West Oakland. The program gives affordable and enriching education and care to a great group of kids in a low income part of Oakland. They do a really good job with the kids. They help them with their homework (and see that it gets done!), feed the kids healthy snacks, play games (kickball, FTW) and give them a supportive and accountable environment. I was proud to be a part of what they were doing.

One of my duties included portrait photography of the students. Here are some of my favorite portraits of the students.

This first shot, this girl (or teen, or young woman) she was a spunky kid. Strong willed, smart and tough. I love to see her so fiercely happy here.

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This last one is one of my favorites. I love how moody and unposed this is.

IMG 2862 1024x1024 Portraits of Children at the Campfire after school program

The human touch, father daughter.

 photojournalism, photojournalistic, wedding  1 Response »
Nov 102011
 
Father daughter dance, facebook grab, tear-sheet

I love my job. Photography is fun and all, but I get to really be a part of Such a beautiful moment in people’s lives, where for a few hours people are not afraid to express love. I’m there to capture it.

I took this picture years ago. I posted it on FB for the bride in 2009. She just made it her profile photo. Her comment “I love my dad.” What a great moment for her. I’m so happy I can do that for people, show them these wonderful moments in their lives.

Father Daughter1 The human touch, father daughter.

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