Taken about forty seconds after somebody said “I don’t wanna.”
Hey, I’m Daniel Wesley.
Family photos that feel like your actual family.
I photograph families across Orange County, and I keep it easy, natural, and actually fun. Most parents leave saying “that was way easier than we expected.” That sentence is more or less the whole business plan.
48 five-star reviews on GooglePick your chapter.
The notes in the margin are me.
Family, maternity and newborn sessions all run as The Picture Book: one relaxed session, shaped around your people. Senior sessions have two options: The Main Character and The Origin Story.
The first fifteen minutes.
What a family session is actually like.
-
one
I say hi to the kids first.
Before anybody is asked to stand anywhere. Usually there’s a dinosaur question to settle.
-
two
You see a frame on the back of the camera.
A few shots in, I turn the screen around. It’s the fastest way to stop worrying about how you look.
-
three
Then we keep things moving.
I point you toward the light and give you something to do. We make the portrait, then catch the twenty seconds after it, and you’ll want both.
I give plenty of direction, so nobody is guessing. You’ll get the classic portrait, everyone in and everyone looking, the one for the wall. You’ll also get everything around it: the hugs, the chasing, the laughing at whatever Dad just said. Both are the point.
Two things I’ll actually say out loud:
- “Everybody look at whoever ate the last cookie.”
- “Give Mom the slowest hug in history. Slower.”
Somebody always cracks halfway through the slow one. That’s usually the photo.
Want to see how a whole session holds together?
Kind Words
He was incredible with our two energetic little ones and even managed to get our teenager to enthusiastically participate.
Kristina Mitchell
Daniel made taking pictures with a 4 month old and 3.5 year old a breeze.
Jessica Prenovost
About Daniel Wesley
My mom taught first grade, so kids have always felt like familiar territory. I leave room for the funny little things they do when nobody is trying to make them behave.
I studied film, which is probably why I’m always looking for the frame right before or right after the obvious one. That’s usually where your family actually lives.
The supporting cast:
-
Katie
My partner
-
Noodles
Editor in Chief
-
Samantha
from Accounting
This fall:
The Weekend Matinee
Six weekends of twenty-minute mini sessions, October 11 through December 5. $295 for twenty-five photos, or all 40 images for $370.
Ready when you are.
I reply within a day. Noodles remains unavailable for comment.
Tell me who’s coming, roughly when, and what your family is actually like. That’s enough to get us started.