Rooftop San Jose Urban Family Session

Up on a parking garage rooftop in downtown San Jose, I met with Ricky and Leslie for another round of family photos. This rooftop urban family session was so much fun, and it was such a true representation of what I believe all family sessions should be like.

Family sessions have a tendency to be viewed as a stagnant bland event where everyone’s outfits have been matched to white shirts and jean perfection, and I couldn’t disagree with this more. Now, there is a time and place for matching shirts and straight faces to the cameras, but I believe family sessions are meant to show the family. They are to show silly and crazy smiles…and even pouting faces. I want to show the raw beauty of what makes your family YOUR FAMILY and that is exactly what I did with Ricky, Leslie, and their girls.

I have worked with Leslie and her family numerous times and we decided to do something totally different and out of the box for their yearly family photos with me. Leslie gave me complete creative control and I helped her plan out everything from the outfits, to the location, to the exact time of day we needed to meet for those golden hour shots. I also wanted to level up the feel of the photos so I brought along a backdrop with me which elevated everything!

The girls danced around and had such a fun time on the rooftop. Their big honest smiles say everything. There was a moment when Ricky said “How does Harleen come up with such fun ideas for our shoots?”, and Leslie responded “Well it’s Harleen! This is what she does!” Leslie and Ricky were so happy with how much fun the girls were having.

Truly, this is why I do what I do, the way I do it.

I love being able to get to know a family, spend time with them, and create an experience that they’ll enjoy and remember long after. I love being a part of the family, even for an hour, and documenting all of those little nuances that we as parents cherish…especially as the years go by. I try to think of what I myself as a mother would want and love, and then I fine-tune that for each and every family. It’s just the way I do things, and I love it. And with smiles like these, I think my families love it too.