$1,000 says Ms. Keili can navigate the city of San Francisco better than you can. I’m kidding of course but this little lady has some serious “street-smarts”. She is hands down the most outgoing, affable, polite, and down right sophisticated little kids I’ve ever met. Yes, I’ve said it. I don’t always make such grandiose statements but little Keili is so very impressive!
We started our family session in her neighborhood first visiting her favorite French bakery, La Boulange. She gobbled down a delicious looking pastry not because she seemed hungry but she could tell it would make a good photo for me…a natural model! Then after saying hello to a few locals including their garbage man, we jumped on the N-Judah to head down to one of their favorite SF destinations (and one of mine too), the Ferry Building. Along the way Keili called out landmarks and instructed us on which stop to exit. Once we arrived downtown we enjoyed some Ciao Bella gelato, drank a glass of red wine (not Keili of course), and nibbled on some food from Taylors Automatic Refresher. Then we ended our shoot by running across the street to the park and blowing some bubbles. It was the best kind of shoot and Keili was the perfect storyteller!
A gigantic thank you to Susan, Joe and especially Ms. Keili for such a lovely morning. Enjoy some of my favs and let me know your thoughts (my comments below, including technical details for the photographers)!
MODERN KID: Keili + mom and dad
LOCATION: San Francisco >> Cole Valley >> N-Judah >> Ferry Building
Saying hello to the garbage man…he knew Keili by name!

Riding the train, Keili’s making sure we’re on the right track.
Making sure I’m not falling too far behind…


Does it get any cuter than this?

Heading straight to the gelato stand.
Mom and Dad enjoying a glass of wine and a quick kiss.
Bubbles are great fun for kids and make great images for photographers…they never get old.
Wrapping up our shoot with a mini fashion-model
Big smiles all around and a glimpse of the Bay Bridge
TECHNICAL DETAILS (for the photographers out there): Shot almost entirely in natural light with ISOs between 200-400 outdoors and up to 1600 in the subway. With Keili alone most f-stops were between 1.4-5.6, groups are almost entirely f4.0-f5.6 with my 35mm. I pulled out the 50mm for a few portraits toward the end. Minimal processing: aside from basic RAW processing I applied a few TRA actions at low opacity – been going more and more towards less processing. With a shoot like this make sure to tell the whole story, move around all the time, and take some time without the camera in your face to just watch the fun unfold. Enjoy!
To book a shoot with Sarah and Modern Kids Photography simple give us a shout. Email hello[at]modernkidsphoto[dot]come or call 415.846.0533. We would love to hear from you!












by Sarah
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