This photo was taken at a child’s birthday party. There was a tea party (back when that meant a party where you drink tea and not a political movement) and a treasure hunt and face painting.

The girl in the photo is obviously of Asian descent. I think her heritage is Korean, but I am not sure.

For me the thing that sells this photo is her unblinking intensity. She’s a pretty little girl, and she is staring into your soul, perhaps finding it wanting.

Photo © Alex Schoenfeldt 2007
Alex Schoenfeldt Photography
San Francisco Bay Area Event Photography

There are a few of my favorite shots from a recent Bar Mitzvah. The Bar Mitzvah ceremony itself happens on the Sabbath, so I am not allowed to photograph the ceremony at this Temple. During the rehearsal I had free reign, and after the rehearsal we got some shots in the temple and we wend down the street for some shots at a rose garden. Sometimes I do shoot the reception after the ceremony, but this time I did not.

I love all 4 of these photos, but I really love the last one. I find the poses and placement of the kids in the frame to be visually dynamic and exciting.

All photos © Alex Schoenfeldt 2012. All rights reserved.
San Francisco Bay Area Event Photography

In my theme this week about some of the other types of photography I do. I also do product photography.

In this case, “Art Photography” might be a better description, but not in the usual sense of the photo is a piece of art (it may be, but not the point) but in the sense that I am taking pictures of pieces of art. The photos below are Chinese antiquities.

The first one, above, is a ceramic sculpture. Forgive my ignorance about what I’m showing. I just know that the client said it was worth $4,000.

The second shot, above, is jade, which is notoriously hard to photograph.

The last two, above and below, might be the oldest human made object I’ve ever handled. He said from about 2,000 BCE. The second shot (below) is a detail shot of the pictographs under the handle.

all photos © Alex Schoenfeldt 2012. All rights reserved.
Alex Schoenfeldt Photography

Most of my photography has people in it. I do weddings, events, Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, family portraits, group portraits, headshots, and whatever else I am forgetting, but usually there is a person in the picture.

That does not mean that photos with people is all I do. In a few hours I am shooting product photography in San Francisco. If the product is visually appealing to me I’ll post some samples. I also shoot architectural interiors and exteriors. Here are some interiors I did for a talented architect last month.

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.

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

If I link my blog to my Facebook page, and my Facebook page links to my blog, and I twitter about it, will the world explode? Social media or no, I’m still one of the best photo-journalistic wedding and event photographers in the San Francisco Bay Area!

The home of Alex Schoenfeldt Photography on Facebook.

Last time I updated, the shot was a Facebook screen grab of a father and daughter during a wedding.

This week, it is a father and son. It was a family portrait session, and I saw this moment and grabbed it.

Photo © Alex Schoenfeldt 2011
San Francisco portrait Photography

I always love the chance to shoot a weeding at the Crystal Springs Golf Course in Burlingame, CA. They have a beautiful location for weddings. A wonderful gazebo on a lawn with spectacular views of Crystal Springs Reservoir.

This photo was from a ceremony there in 2009. As a photographer, I love catching moments like these where people are glowing with real happiness. Everything is beautiful and nothing is fake.

Photo © Alex Schoenfeldt 2009 All Rights Reserved
San Francisco Wedding Photographer

This photo speaks for itself.

We’ve had some wet weather this week. It reminded me of Amy and Aaron’s wedding, almost a year ago now. They got married on a rainy day in November in 2009. It worked for them though. It was not raining during their ceremony or formals but there was a rainbow, beautiful clouds, and wonderful light.

All photos © Alex Schoenfeldt 2009. All rights reserved.
San Francisco Photographer