Five Years of Manhattan Beach Family Portraits

Sunday we participated in the Thanksgiving weekend tradition of family portraits for the Krantz family. We started this when their daughter was just 1 years old--now she's 6. We look forward to keeping this going for at least another 12 years. We met at Manhattan Beach early on a Sunday morning, which was crawling with photographers taking family portraits. Get those cards crackin' folks!

Manhattan Beach Photographer | Family Photos by the sea

Another beautiful sunset evening in Manhattan Beach with the Brandmeyer family and Graham & Graham Photography. We were thrilled to take part in the beach photo session on a recent Sunday evening for family portrait time.
What an honor it is to be a Manhattan Beach photographer!

Manhattan Beach Family Portraits

We'll never forget Ruth and Shane. They were (are) one of our favorite couples of all time, and we had a ball and lots of laughs photographing their wedding in 2007.
So it was a huge thrill when Ruth called and asked us to shoot some family and pregnancy shots of her and the gang, as they prepare for baby #2.


We started the Manhattan Beach family portrait session at their home in the South Bay, before heading down to the Manhattan Beach Pier on a glorious, sunny Saturday morning.


We kept asking Max to give us a big smile--these aren't funny faces he was making at us, but the poor kid trying to do his best and give us a smile.

Finally--success!

Top 10 Manhattan Beach Family Portraits of 2010

We opened up this year beyond weddings and Bar/Bat Mitzvahs with headshots and Manhattan Beach family portraits. We're having a ball, and wanted to share ten of our favorite portrait images (in no particular order) from 2010.

Paul and Lynne had us over in July, and wanted to capture the entire family on their beautiful deck, which overlooks the Pacific ocean and the Manhattan Beach Pier. We pulled out our big Alien Bees lights to make sure we'd also bring in the blue skies in the background.

We left Manhattan Beach for the park in Beverly Hills for this great family shot of the Weisfeld family. Luckily, they were real troupers and agreed to get on the ground for us.

Victoria met us under the Manhattan Beach Pier right before sunset for a shoot for her sign-in board at the Manhattan Beach Quinceanera. The timing turned out perfectly, with that amazing glow behind her.

We photographed Scott and Yanna during their son's Long Beach Bar Mitzvah, while Blake was inside, practicing with the cantor. We pulled the newlyweds into an alley, which is where we were able to make use of the little green tree.

It was year 3 for our annual visit with the Krantz family, and their Christmas card photo. We met in Pacific Palisades at the amazing Temescal Canyon hiking facility.

Another Xmas card in Manhattan Beach with the Pola family.

After our holiday card session with the Stewart family in Manhattan Beach, we asked Maddy and Brett to run with the birds--and everything worded out just as we had hoped. Love this shot!

The Harris family of Hermosa Beach wanted a non-traditional family portrait--and so we put together the Harris family band--complete with our stand-up bass, Fender Telecaster and microphone. (They supplied the piano and acoustic guitar.)


The Harris family of Hermosa Beach did want a traditional family photo, for the grandparents. We met on a rainy Sunday afternoon, hauled in our lights and backdrop, and got amazing results.

Hermosa Beach Family Photographer | Manhattan Beach Photographer

We spent a wonderful Sunday afternoon with the Harris family on a wet, rainy day for a Hermosa Beach family photo session. We had hoped to step outside, but with the downpour, we made do with an instant studio set-up in the family living room instead.
We're thrilled with the results, and better yet, so is the family.
This is an amazing look group!

Beverly Hills family portraits by Graham and Graham

Beverly Hills, and a little patch of green on little Santa Monica Blvd. was the locale of choice for our family shoot here, and what a nice patch of green it is! The family isn't too bad either.
They got comfortable for us in the mini-park for our Beverly Hills family portrait session, and had lots of fun with each other. It was a pleasure being there for them. We look forward to daughter Ally's Bat Mitzvah at Temple Emanuel this weekend.

Manhattan Beach Family Portraits by Graham & Graham

It was our pleasure to meet with the Gross family on a beautiful Manhattan Beach afternoon, for a family portrait of the extended members of the family. We did the shot on their deck, which overlooks the beautiful Pacific Ocean, and used our Alien Bees lights, to illuminate the family, and be able to pick up the amazing blue sky. Thanks for having us over!

Manhattan Beach Family Portraits @ the Manhattan Beach PIer

A few weeks we happily donated our services to Manhattan Beach temple Congregation Tikvat Jacob for the annual silent auction, with a Manhattan Beach family portrait session.
There's nothing better than giving back, and then getting so much in return, as we did when the lively Davidson/Kushner family arrived to meet us at the beach recently for sunset shots, full of vigor, enthusiasm and willing to do just about anything. Well, the above picture says it all. We've known Tamah for years, and she's always been consistent--"Don't take my picture! I hate to be photographed."
Something about the beach when the sun is about to set....changes everyone's disposition. The next thing you know, they're jumping up in the air and waving their arms for the camera!