San Mateo Family Photography- Love At Home

by Lisa Damrosch Posted on August 3, 2011

I’ve been wanting to share this shoot for a while.  This was a “blind date” kind of shoot,  I knew I was meeting a family and that we were going to maybe shoot a little at home and then go for a walk, I had no other expectations.  This is pretty typical for my shoots, I  prefer not to make a lot of formal plans, I like to just show up and figure it out as I go.

This day when mom asked if it was ok to “just shoot at home”…I said of course, I love to shoot at home…and then she showed me the yard. I’m sure that my face betrayed me as I tried to act casual and professional. Talk about amazing, waterfront with beautiful decor and furniture for outdoor living everywhere that I turned. It took me a few moments to realize that there was also a dock (and I didn’t even know about the boat until later).

Add to the amazing location a beautiful couple, an active and adorable boy and a totally cool dog and I was pretty much in heaven.

I’m so grateful to have been invited into this home and into this family for the afternoon!

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on baseball and photography…San Francisco Giants

by Lisa Damrosch Posted on June 6, 2011

I almost didn’t bring my camera. Sometimes, when photography becomes a business, it is easy to think about leaving the camera at home on personal days. It can feel like a lot to carry around, and sadly, the joy of shooting just for shooting can easily get lost in the business shuffle. This is something I’ve noticed lately, and something that I am being conscious about. I’ve thought a lot lately about what and how I like to shoot and where my photography goes from here.

It turns out that this last minute adding of my camera to a Sunday tote bag was just the reminder I needed.

 

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We were at AT& T for the Giants vs the Rockies June 5, 2011. I did not put that camera down for a single inning…I shot everything…I completely lost myself in the afternoon, the game and my camera. I didn’t realize just how much I needed to do that…and just how much fun I would have.

Here is my boy trying to take advantage of our amazing close to the dugout seats to get some autographs….
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and some photos of that same boy (with a little help from dad)  getting a game ball…

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And as much fun as I had shooting, it was when I looked at the photos after I got home that it hit me. The reminder of how much I truly love baseball and the simple joy that is cheering for your home team…and more than that, the magic that it is to capture that joy in a photo. This is what baseball is about for me…this is what life is about for me….this is my joy…right here… these two…this moment.

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This is the best reminder of what my camera is for…yes it is my business…and yes it is a craft that requires honing, and all of that. But at the very heart of it, it is so much simpler than that.

Bottom line…it is a magical thing to be able to freeze a moment, a moment that can be looked at and remembered forever. I can look at these images and hear the cheering crowd, feel my boy jumping up and down…see him loving baseball like I do….see him loving sharing that with his dad (and me too).  This is the magic of why I started loving photography in the first place. These photos feel like a gift to me, a gift from a perfect Sunday.

This is my passion, right here…raw and simple and clear.

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This is why I love shooting…and this is why I originally started a business to give this feeling to other people. So grateful to have been reminded of that today.

I took a ton of photos…the whole album is here on Flikr.

 

PS: Go Giants!!

 

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Event Photography-MMA Weigh In

by Lisa Damrosch Posted on May 23, 2011

 

You know I love to be a fly on the wall, and I’m discovering all sorts of new places to do just that. I was recently invited to attend an MMA weigh in with some dear friends including Todd’s Jiu Jitsu instructors and my personal trainer. Two guys from “our school” fought in an amateur fight on 5/21 and both of them ended up doing quite well, beating their opponents easily. But these photos were taken the day before that. The day that is all about the pre-game hype….the check up, the weigh in and the all important face off and  sizing up of opponents. (I was sharing with the guys on the way home that photographers do that to each other too….kind of silly, but it happened to me while I was here, so you know it is true!). Anyway, I had a great time capturing these images, and was honored to be asked to do so. I couldn’t be more pleased that the fights went so well, or with the cool sponsorship opportunity…I love those shirts!

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Cry Babies- Children’s Photographer-Half Moon Bay

by Lisa Damrosch Posted on May 18, 2011

I was so excited after photographing this beautiful girl when she was a baby, that I was asked to come back and shoot her and her cute baby brother. If I were to tell you that this was an easy photo shoot, I’d be a big liar.  2 year olds and 6 month olds have minds of their own…and on occasion they are not on the same page as each other or as their Mommy or their photographer. Individually shooting them actually was quite easy, I mean look at them…they are gorgeous and wonderful. But together? They wanted no part of cooperating at the same time…and after 2 tries where Mom and I both broke a sweat and stood on our heads and literally danced like crazy people to Justin Beiber, I realized that it was ok. I am always harping that my photography is real and not posed and I do all that I can to create images that are true to the core reflections of the people I shoot. And these little people, were independent, opinionated, beautiful, and completely typical of their ages….a perfectly posed portrait would not have been true to me, or to them, and as I went through the shoot to edit I realized that even more. I love these images…and I hope that Mom and Dad do too.  So here they are, blue eyed  beauties…that mom and I joked were “cry babies”. I appreciate them putting up with my dance moves and bribe attempts, and I hope that I get the chance to photograph them as they grow and change and go through new phases.

Below they are set to music that mom selected….and as I watch the slide show I totally forget Justin Beiber and see only the moments with 2 little ones that will pass way too fast.

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Mine…

by Lisa Damrosch Posted on April 25, 2011

I thought that I would start sharing a few more personal photos over here as well. So here are a few quick ones from Easter.

 

Easter is not a big holiday around here. We enjoy a little egg coloring, the bunny brings some goods. We talk a little bit about Jesus and Heaven and Gratitude and we hang out with the people we love most. I know it is probably blasphemy, but my favorite part is the coloring eggs. It is our one little family tradition…the three of us making a mess and randomly colored eggs. I these photos of stained fingers that are no longer pudgy and small…goofy smiles that have gaps from teeth falling out instead of coming in. I love that we have this time and hope that even though Easter is a pretty mellow holiday and my boy is more big than small, that we can keep this one little tradition for many years to come.

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San Mateo Family Photography

by Lisa Damrosch Posted on March 3, 2011

I loved this photo shoot. I loved giggling with this mom…I loved seeing little Ms. K who was two years old and kissing Todd at his 2nd birthday party last time I saw her. I loved pretty much everything about it…until the end when we found out that someone took the kids jackets that we had left on a bench while we shot. Grrrrr. Otherwise, it was perfect day…and I couldn’t be happier with these photos.

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Family-Family Photography- Half Moon Bay

by Lisa Damrosch Posted on February 18, 2011

I was really honored to be asked to photograph Moriah’s sister and her family. We’ve known each other (obviously) for more than 20 years, but I’ve been so thankful to get to know Anna and her family better recently. I was a little nervous for this shoot, to be honest. Sometimes it is harder with people that you “know” and with 3 (well 4)  grown boys, I wasn’t sure how our day would go…especially since we got rained out the first time we tried to head out. But I didn’t need to worry, everyone was relaxed and we (at least I) had a really great time. These guys are a wonderful family, and I am glad that they are part of mine.

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Beautiful Family- Half Moon Bay Family Photography

by Lisa Damrosch Posted on December 22, 2010

I really am lucky…I love what I do. I get to meet so many cool new people, and I get to hang out and photograph the families of people I’ve known forever. This is one of those forever families…Dad and I met in Jr. High. I believe I may be responsible for some passing grades he received here and there over the years, but who’s counting? Anyway…I was lucky enough to photograph their beautiful baby girl back when she was a baby….and now I was stoked to be able to photograph the whole gang.

Thanks guys!!

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