Posts tagged sanfranciscophotography

When Tiffany reached out to me saying that her and Greg are getting married in November but would love to get some pre-wedding photos done in their 3 favorite bars in the city, I said ..”tell me when. I’ll make it work!” Think about it! Most of engagement, pre-wedding photos are from parks, pretty locations, maybe with Golden Gate bridge behind the couple. And there absolutely nothing wrong with that. I enjoy those sessions and over the years have shot many of them.

Admit it.. bar hopping for engagement session is quite original. It’s even more special because Tiffany and Greg actually met at a bar in the Nob Hill area. They said that bar isn’t there anymore, but they really enjoy the idea of going out on the weekend and hitting some places walking distance from where they live. And I like the idea of not just imposing a photo session on a couple but using their real environment and build a session around that, not the other way around.

We met at the Peacekeeper and took it from there. Tiffany and Greg have so much of that natural chemistry and my goal was to ease them in front of the camera at first and then let the drinks do the rest :) In reality we just hit it off quickly chatting about life, people, places they like, their wedding plans, a bit about me and my family. It truly felt like old friends hanging out, having a few drinks and talking. I wanted to make sure I capture very candid, real photos but I also wanted to give them few artistic shots, include the mood, feel of the place and show my perspective on how I see them.

Each location was quite unique. The Peacekeeper has this modern, fresh look with a lot of natural light. Royale has a very cool 2nd floor. I love frames and it provided the perfect location for that. In few other shots I incorporated the location and general San Francisco vibe. Ace’s is where we spent the most time.

With around 200 photos, it was hard for me to select these photos as highlights.

Boris PolisskyMarch 6, 2022photography, weddingsf, engagement, barhopping, barengagement, sfengagement, sanfranciscophotographyComment

Audrey & Daniel

When you’re shooting at a beautiful place with lots of cool spots and backdrops it makes a photographer’s life easier. Locations like San Francisco City Hall with the Grand Stairwell, large balconies full of natural light and grandeur, look outstanding on the photos and allow us as photographers to get away with some imperfections of the moment. You have a couple walking down the stairwell, there’s no one else in the shot, it’s a clean look and the image looks outstanding. Well.. the backdrop is outstanding but many couples still need guidance as not everyone is a professional model or just appears naturally on camera.

This is where the photographers real abilities come in. You have an outstanding backdrop, now let’s bring out the emotions, make the couple feel comfortable and just be themselves in front of the camera. To me that can mean many things but I always think of movie director analogy. My couples are not professional actors but they are in love, and are enjoying their big day. So no acting is needed but they often times a simpler reminder to just enjoy it, have fun and don’t forget what this day really is, goes a long way. And it’s not about posing for cameras. It’s my job to capture the couples’ true relationship, their feelings and emotions as they go through the wedding day. I know I say emotions a lot in this post and others but to me it’s the key. Yes, light is very important. Yes, a nice location is definitely helpful. But without honest, true emotions it’s just nice light in a pretty place. It says nothing about the couple. And my goal is with the images to say just that. And if I have to be silly, a terrible comedian, bring out some moments from their past, make them talk, laugh or cry, I will do whatever I have to do to achieve that. During image post processing I want to look at these images and make sure I feel something. I often look at them and smile because it just feels right and I’m happy we were able to capture the joy and fun of the day the couple will remember for the rest of their lives.

With Audrey and Daniel I wanted to capture their feeling for each other, their care, tenderness but also goofiness and silliness which makes life fun. We started at Baker Beach on a cold, very foggy morning. Then we drove to San Francisco City Hall for the ceremony.

Boris PolisskySeptember 13, 2021sanfranciscowedding, sanfranscisco, bakerbeach, sanfranciscocityhallphotographer, sfcityhallweddingphotography, sfcityhallphotoraphy, sfcityhallphoto, sfcityhall, weddingsf, photography, sanfranciscophotographyComment

Graduation photoshoot

Graduation is a big deal. Think about it - someone spent a good portion of their life studying towards a career. It’s a bigger deal when it’s graduation from Law School.

When Victor reached out to me he wanted to take some photos after he graduated Golden Gate University. He originally wanted to do the photos inside of San Francisco City Hall, but since it’s closed due to Covid restrictions, I suggested we shoot outside of the CIty Hall instead.

Normally a busy location, we enjoyed a quiet Tuesday afternoon near the CIty Hall area. We took advantage of this quiteness to get some dramatic shots.

Many many years ago I was planning to become a laywer as well. I got my Bachelors degree, interned for several lawyers and was going to apply to Law School. I eventually decided against it to focus on more creative aspects of my life. So this session was personal to me and I wanted to approach it with a concept and have some ideas coming into the session. While they don’t always work and need to be adjusted I find that having concepts before the session is a must.

Victor was such a cool and easy guy to work with. He is aiming to work as a family and immigration lawyer. My goal was to capture the seriosness of someone who works in a law firm already, someone who deals with people who has issues and tries to help them. It’s a tough job because in family law dealing with people’s pain is part of the job and it’s hard to tune off when you go home. And i felt that Victor is very empathetic and caring. So being a family lawyer can definitely weight down on you.

I wanted to show many sides of him. More dramatic, serious and at the same time as a fun, easy going person. We spent 2 hours talking, walking around, running in some cases while taking various photos

Boris PolisskyApril 27, 2021SF City Hall Photosanfranscisco, sanfranciscoweddingphotography, sanfranciscocityhallphotographer, graduationphotography, sanfrancinscograduation, sfchphoto, sanfranciscobayarea, sanfranciscophotography, sfcityhallphoto, sfcityhallphotography, photography, portraitphoto, portraitphotography, graduationphoto, goldengateuniversitygraduationComment

Veena Studio Portrait

I was always interested in not just taking photos of people, but in creating a concept around what they like, what they enjoy and what is part of who they are. When Veena reached out to me that she wanted to do some portrait photos I didn’t just set the time, i asked questions. I wanted to know what she liked, what she couldn’t live without, what makes her happy, etc.. I wanted to get a feel for her as a person before she even stepped into the studio. So i wrote down some ideas I felt i should consider for our session. When she came in, I instantly threw half of them away and focused on the ones that felt right and fit the mood both of us were in. While Veena was nervous at first - which is quite natural - she relaxed shortly and her true self came out. The room filled up with peacefulness, harmony and a load of positivity.

My goal was not to force any concept or idea on her but to build the imagery around her personality and showcase Veena as she is and also to visualize her warmness and openness as a human being.