There are a lot of reasons families choose to do a maternity session — documenting a last pregnancy, capturing time as a family of three or four before everything shifts, or simply wanting photos from a chapter that tends to go by faster than expected.

Baker Beach is a beautiful San Francisco location for maternity sessions. The Golden Gate Bridge in the background gives you a sense of place that’s specific to the Bay Area, and the open shoreline gives kids room to actually move — which matters when you’re photographing a family rather than just a couple. Evening light here can be stunning, especially when the fog holds off.

I worked with this family to document memories in their home in San Francisco before they moved to Marin. San Francisco still held a lot of meaning for them, so they chose Baker Beach — a place with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background and enough space for kids to actually move around. We met in the early evening around golden hour, explored the beach, played games, and splashed in the cold water. Not just documenting the pregnancy, but making new memories in the city where they first became a family. I was later honored to document their Fresh 48 when their baby arrived — one of my favorite parts of this work is following families from one chapter to the next.