Kevin Neilson Photography
Corporate and family photographer in the San Francisco Bay Area
A Team Called Trōv
Posted on February 6, 2019
People love their toys.
You know, cameras, lenses, and laptops.
Headphones, snowboards, and music equipment.
People also love the convenience that comes with 24/7 mobility.
In downtown Danville, there’s a small startup called Trōv with a big ambition.
They’re reinventing the way digital natives insure the toys they love.
Recently, I had an opportunity to meet the team at Trōv and photograph them.
I’m thrilled with the results and am delighted my client is too.
Please scroll or swipe, and enjoy!
Contact me for kids, teens, family, and corporate photography in the Bay Area.
Mothership
Posted on January 15, 2019
I cannot speak dispassionately about Adobe.
I’ve enthused about them before.
I love their products.
I respect and admire their culture.
And I jibe with their people.
Happily, I was invited back to the mothership
And had an opportunity to photograph more spokespeople.
How awesome is that!?
Exactly.
Scroll or swipe down.
I hope you enjoy.
Contact me for corporate and family photography in the Bay Area.
Cloud Atlas
Posted on December 20, 2018
Look.
Delicately fluted clouds
Spangled over Pescadero marsh
Just a stone’s throw from the coast.
The ocean may have been angry that day, my friends.
But the scudding clouds were something beautiful to behold.
Details:
31 mm | f/5.0 | 1/2500 | ISO 200
In other words, fast.
I made the image in a sliver of a second,
Which shows you just how cool the clouds were yesterday.
I hope you enjoy.
Contact me for corporate and family—and landscape (!)—photography in the Bay Area.
Youngblood
Posted on December 3, 2018
Call him Aaron.
He hails from the Midwest.
A young, ambitious IT professional,
He’s looking for a new kind of headshot.
We meet at Crema on The Alameda.
We talk about work and life.
There’s something different about him.
He’s polite in an old-fashioned way.
He tells me he’s not photogenic,
That he doesn’t like the way he looks in photographs.
Not only is he considerate, he’s likable, too.
Quiet and introspective,
He wants his portrait to have a cool-hip-creative vibe.
I tell him about an overpass with blue circles.
Something I’ve been eyeing for months.
He’s game.
We release the Birds
And fly through downtown San Jose.
As the sun reclines in the west,
The light is paradoxical under the overpass,
Both mottled and consistently even.
We don’t overthink it.
We hang out.
We shoot.
Contact me for corporate and family photography in the Bay Area.
Meta-portrait
Posted on November 27, 2018
Originality isn’t easy.
Case in point.
I’m on a corporate shoot with my client.
We’re having a blast.
Shooting like crazy.
Then this.
I want something different, she says.
You know, something unique.
Well, I like creative challenges, I say.
I pause, I ponder, I hatch a one-of-a-kind idea.
I ask for her mobile phone.
She gives it to me.
And I put it to good use.
Click.
Then I put my camera to good use.
Boom.
A woman,
A woman represented,
And a woman represented is represented again.
The mind would reel if the image weren’t so straightforward.
Right?
Look at it again.
Not bad, not bad at all.
Well, later that night, after I go home,
It takes one minute of sleuthing on the web to discover that my “original” idea has been done countless times before.
Oh, well.
At least I got heart.
And I’m in good company.
Contact me for Bay Area corporate and family photography.
Nighthawk
Posted on November 5, 2018
I’m a simple man.
I have few hopes and expectations.
I do my best to resist the temptation of prayer.
I’m resigned to a world that revolves around no one.
Still, I have moments of weakness.
When that happens, I bargain with fate.
I make promises in exchange for special consideration.
I vow to exercise more.
I vow to eat more vegetables,
To think more wholesome thoughts,
To treat people with kindness and respect, always.
All in the fervent hope that one day,
In my next or fourth or fifth life (I’m patient, you see),
I’ll return as a man who stands
In unshaven glory
Before a bar that’s loaded with bourbon.
Contact me for creative Bay Area corporate and candid family photography.
Mya in the City
Posted on November 1, 2018
Not long ago, I had the honor of photographing the staff and executive team at Mya, an SF-based company that helps recruiters optimize their workflow through AI.
Their office is located on Maiden Lane, one of the most picturesque streets in the City. Combine that with the team’s commitment to shooting outdoors, and you have the makings of a great photographic day.
One of my favorite shots is this portrait of a CEO as a young man. The hubbub of City life goes on round him, while he hovers confidently in space. Red accents glow in the background. If I were to retake the photo, I’d drop 2/3 of a stop below ambient and fire an off-camera flash. Pesky shadows under his eyes bother me now.
This particular shot was a lot of fun to make. Primarily because I enjoyed walking the Lane with this executive. We shot the breeze about science, medicine, and the National Geographic. I had good fun just getting to know him. Best of all, I fired my flash.
I love this next photo. It took a while to get it just right. But it was worth the effort. Plus, I like things in threes. See the bokeh frame left? See the bindi, nose ring, and earring?
How did I get this harried professional to relax? You know, the usual—we talked about our wives and family life. Trust me, if you’d been there, you would have smiled, too. Oh, one last thing. Check out the crop. You’re looking at 2.39×1, which isn’t your standard 5×7. I’m a big fan of 2.39×1 and 16×9 because they offer a cinematic lens on the environment, of which the subject is a part.
See the soft green tree-clouds in the background? I did then, and I do still. I tell you, threes are the best! Plus, I like the curbsides, faint and disappearing.
Ditto. Except in this shot, the light had changed dramatically from the prior one, requiring me to stop down from f/1.8 to f/4.5. Background is too sharp for my liking, but it was a trade-off I was willing to make to get the shot.
Happily, the executive team was thrilled with the process and results. One of their senior leaders even chimed in here.
Contact me for creative Bay Area corporate and candid family photography.
