I love it when I get to photograph a family with their extended family members (pets). Pets really are a part of a family and it can make for such a fun shoot with dogs, its always unpredictable but so fun and this shoot was great. It was great to explore around Vasona Park in Los Gatos with Greg and Rachael and their two really well behaved dogs. For having two dogs at a park (with ducks, birds, kids and lots of distractions) they did amazing. Master Chef the big guy was a totally lovable guy and the other one Cortana did great also. Here are just a few highlights of the shoot:

Check our more of our Lifestyle family portraits at http://www.stagiportraitlife.com

I am so stoked to have my 3rd iPad app in the app store! I started writing a few mini books awhile back to help educate photographers wanting to start shooting weddings or portraits. There are so many questions I get from people that normally are the same questions people have when getting into photography. I also see so many people starting out that lack a certain creative element in their photography. Normally some of the more advanced things like Lighting are missed by most people starting out. So over the past year I have been working on putting down on paper some of the many things in my head that I can share from my 11 years of shooting professionally and years of Art school before that.

Baby photography 101 is now available in the app store here! Baby Photography for iPad

You can also get it in an iPhone version here: Baby Photography for iPhone

I wanted to create some guides that were really easy to learn, easy to understand and covered the technical parts of photography but in a not so technical way. As a photographer I am visual, after college I would still keep up with my photo education and read books, attended seminars and workshops and usually was pretty uninspired by the way the information was presented. Normally it was so technical that it lost my attention after a few minutes and I put the book on the shelf never to be picked up again. So I set out to create some tools for people to learn and be inspired and also wanted to create them at a very good price, really a no brainer. When the iPad was released I was excited, it really is a perfect medium to learn on . You have a nice large screen as well as something that feels great in your hand like a book but can be so interactive. So far I have created a Portrait 101 and a Wedding Photography 101 guide that right now are only $1.99! I wanted to create some very useful guides to help people get more creative with their photography and also have them be so inexpensive anyone can buy them. These also are available as iPhone (or iPod touch) version and for those of you who don’t have an iPhone or iPad going to be available as eBooks coming out in the next few months.

I can’t believe it’s already been one month since our son was born. I know it seems time goes by faster the older you get but this last month really, really, really flew by quick. With 2 babies in the house things are just going by at the speed of light! I know I have been slacking on my daddy photographer duties, hopefully now that we are getting used to having 2 I will pick up the camera more and get some good footage of him to post. In the meantime here is a shot from a few weeks ago of him peacefully sleeping

With valentines day just passing, love is still in the air. When we first started Stagi Imagery 11 years ago and were trying to figure out what to do for a logo my wife and I decided to have a heart as the logo. It doesn’t have much to do with photography but at the same time has everything to do with OUR photography. When we started this business it was all about the heart, being passionate about what we were creating and putting everything we had into creating the best images in the world for our clients. We still have the same basic beliefs today, we want to create the most amazing images for you and capture a slice of your life. Years down the road when you are looking through your wedding album we want tears of joy to come back to you or if you are looking at photos of your newborn to feel that excitement you felt when holding them in your arms. Photography is such a powerful art form and we are so happy to be able to be a part of all our clients lives.

So this year for Valentines day we are going to do something crazy, we are going to share the love with all of you. Any portrait session from now until 3-15 we are discounting to just $50. This is a huge savings compared to our normal sesison fee’s and a great way to get an awesome portrait session. To see more of our portrait work visit our Bay Area Lifestyle Portrait site. If you don’t need a portrait session for yourself no problem, give one away to a friend. You can give away as many of these discounted sessions as you would like. The only restriction is the shoot must be scheduled before March 15th.

Here are a few more of our recent family portrait shoots. As a proud pappa of the cutest 15 month old it has really opened my eyes to how fast children grow and how important it is to capture good images of them at their different stages. Lifestyle family photography can tell a story of your family at a given point in time and in the future be such a precious thing to look back on. We still have some family portrait sessions available for this yet, so if you haven’t had a professional portrait taken recently let us know. Visit our lifestyle portrait site here: http://www.stagiportraitlife.com

– Mark
family portrait photographer