Fall Family Photo Session at Legion of Honor

GGMG Magazine Cover

Golden Gate Mothers magazine cover - “Beauty in Uncertainty”, referring to the ever changing 2020-2021 and the ways families support each other in these chaotic times.

Set in the lovely Arastradero Preserve in Palo Alto.

GGMG_Aug-Sep21, Katya Mizrahi Photography.jpg

Author Portrait Photoshoot

These photos are from a recent portrait photoshoot in Menlo Park. Emily is a professor of European history at Stanford University and is about to publish her second book called “Allies and Rivals: German-American Exchange and the Rise of the Modern Research University”.

Emily will be using one of these photos as an author photo for her book. I absolutely adore taking personal portraits and Emily was so fun to get to know. Can’t wait to see and read the book!




Portrait Photoshoot

These are some of my favorite photos from the Feb 2020 member profile photoshoot for the San Francisco based Golden Gate Mothers Magazine. Sarah is a Stanford’s Children’s Hospital pediatric chaplain, a political activist and a Mom of three.

What to wear for a family photoshoot?

Are you finding yourself asking what to wear for a family photoshoot?

The short advice would be, “Choose simple neutral clothes with no words, logos or characters. If you’d like, add pops of color, like red, navy, coral. These works well, especially for the kids.”

For more specific advice, please read ahead.

1.     Wear your favorite outfits: whatever makes you feel like yourself, be it casual, festive, eclectic,  etc.

2.     Avoid logos, characters, or writing on your clothes: unless it’s something very specific that you want to look at for years to come.

3.     Consider your surroundings: for example, do you want to stand out in the nature setting - in a  “wearing a glamorous gown by the ocean” kind of way? Or do you want to be part of it and wear something outdoorsy and active?

4.     Consider the goal of the photos: for example, if you are taking photos for a holiday card you might or might not want to include something “holiday/wintery” in the photo.

5.     Coordinating outfits: outfits in the same color family, particularly neutrals can read nicely in photos. It is a more staged look but can go over well for formal & holiday photos, etc.

6.     Matching outfits: If this is something you would like to do for fun, go for it! Match your outfits for the entertainment value, not because you think it’s a “photoshoot look” but it makes you uncomfortable.

7.     Color tips for kids:  If you would like for the kids to visually stand out in the photos, select neutral colors for the adults and bright colors or patterns for the kids.

Homeless Prenatal Program, San Francisco

The Homeless Prenatal Program, a San Francisco non-profit that provides prenatal and postnatal services to underserved and homeless women.

Homeless Prenatal Program's mission is to break the cycle of childhood poverty and provide services such as housing, prenatal and parenting support, family finances, domestic violence and substance abuse help, and emergency support of basic needs. The program truly makes a difference in the lives of the women, newborns and families it serves.

Newborn family photoshoot

This photoshoot was with a wonderful Turkish-American family whose son was born only two months ago. It was so lovely to see how much they enjoyed each other's company.