Farewell, 2021. Thanks for everything. // Ventura County Family Photographer

Well, well, well. 2021 is over and it felt like the quickest year, EVER. Really though, what was that???

When December arrived, I found myself resentful that COVID had taken over yet another year of our lives and I was completely anxious to get to 2022 to start “anew.” But did COVID really take everything away, we did things, right? So I went through my 2021 film scans and looked through my little record of our year and what I finally remember, beyond the worries that dominated my head, was a year where we were healthy and happy. A year when our children returned to school with loving teachers after virtual learning for so long, where we had lots of adventures - good and bad..and lots of daily life moments that drove us crazy, brought joy, and hopefully taught us more about ourselves and how to love each other better. And a highlight of 2021, a moment I had been waiting for…our family were lucky enough to end the year with all of us fully vaccinated..a luxury that not every family has access to. Thank you, science!!! And because of that we got to see a little more of our friends and family than we did in 2020 and I’m so so grateful for that time together.

This global pandemic also made me extra extra thankful for the little moments from ordinary life that made me feel that spark of being alive - the light that shines through beautiful leaves on a sunny day, the smell of the ocean, little flowers that M likes to gather for me from his walks with his dad and sister, the cotton candy winter sunsets, all the conversations with my awesome friends that calms and inspires me, and all the new experiences that give me a tiny glimmer of hope (possibly false) that our world is becoming a better place.

So thanks again, 2021. And let’s do this, 2022.

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Let’s document your life - its chaos, mess, laughter, and the details that make our lives ours. I offer lifestyle and documentary style family portraits, newborn portraits in Ventura County, Santa Barbara County, and Los Angeles County.

I’d love to chat with you if you are interested in a session, contact me HERE!

Why Family Albums? A family session at El Capitan Canyon - Santa Barbara, CA // Ventura Family Photographer

Hi friends, how are you doing?? I can’t believe it is October! 2021 seems to be powering through on full speed.

I’ve been thinking about writing this post for a while now. One of the things friends and clients have all expressed to me is that they don’t have anything printed and their photographs are on their hard drives or on their iPhones. Some have an idea of how to tackle their 128GB of photographs but when I conducted a little survey, most people expressed that they really don’t know how to print their photographs, where to print them, how to back up their photographs (Ahh!) or know where to start in organizing their photographs and in the end, have no time. The crazy thing is that while we spend so much time busting out our cell phones to take these photographs, very few people are actually enjoying these memories on a day-to-day basis.

And to be honest, even as someone who advocates for printed photographs, I still have a big backlog of photos that I am working through to print because I’ve also spent most of my adulthood in the digital age. But let’s get back to the basics, why should we print? In an era where everything is digital, why should we make the time and money investment to print these photographs? Here’s my answer: Because we should enjoy these photographs…we really should. They shouldn’t just stay as jpegs hidden in a computer or on our phones, so that once a year, a few selected photographs may pop up as our “memory.” Our kids, who are the star of these photographs, should also enjoy them. Weirdly a few year ago, there were articles written up about a study that showed the benefits on kiddos when they see themselves in a family portrait…it’s about security and belonging to a unit. And another reason - hard drives can fail, iPhone accidental resets have happened to people I know rendering their trove of phone photographs gone.

So let’s say I convinced you to print. What to print? If I can only print one item for people, it’d be an album. A sturdy, beautifully printed album is the easiest way to keep all of your family portraits from a session in one place..it’s also the best way to tell a story about your session…a snippet of your life. In Ventura, where our homes are often not too big, with limited wall real estate, albums are the most space efficient too. My favorite part though is that kiddos can flip through these albums, laugh, ask their questions, see their younger selves…and feel how much their parents adore them through photographs.

I’m going to be writing a series of post on how to print your photographs soon, so stay tuned!!! I promise it’ll be useful. If you’re interested in a family portrait session in Ventura and its neighboring cities and having your memories printed, contact me here!

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Po Chi Fung is a Ventura Family Photographer who specializes in family portraits that capture your family the way it is. My little home studio is based in Ventura, California but I travel all over Ventura County, Santa Barbara County, and Los Angeles County to document families in their favorite spaces.

If you are interested, contact us here!

Happy Fall - Family Portraits & A Modern School Portrait event in Ventura, CA! | Ventura Family Portrait Photographer

I can't believe it is September already, can you? 

Hi! I hope you and your family have been well and healthy through this pandemic! I blinked and suddenly we are only three months from closing our books on 2021. If you've been looking to update portraits of your family or child(ren), then here's some information in this newsletter for you! I am also hosting a one day school portrait event on September 18 in my home studio, scroll down for more information.

Family Portraits - When was the last time you got into the frame with your family?

It is super easy to see how family portraits don't end up at the top of our to-dos...after all, there's always a little too much to do. I know I let a little too much time lapse between my own family's last family portrait session before finally getting in front of a lens myself. And yet, our kids keep growing like weeds...and so are my wrinkles. So let's not forget to document our lives - chaos and all. If you are interested in a family portrait session, contact me and let’s schedule a call. I would love to hear what you have in mind.

Friends, Prints Matter…they really really do - a quick story about losing precious photographs..

Since I have you here, here's a quick PSA. Please print your most precious photographs and backup your phone and computer! Despite how diligent I've been about backing up my photographs over the years and have spent days figuring out what I thought was a fool-proof system, I recently discovered that I am missing a chunk of my 2010 and to be honest, I have no clue how that happened. The only thing that gave me comfort is that I have a print of my favorite and what I consider to be the most important photograph from that year...which I quickly scanned, backed-up and most importantly, reprinted and framed so I will have it forever to enjoy.
Please enjoy your photographs and don't let your jpegs stay jpegs!

Modern School Portraits at my home studio (Ventura, CA). Saturday, September 18th. Sign up for a session HERE!

Let's celebrate the start of the school year with school portraits that celebrate your child the way they are. No awkwardness necessary! This is a one-day school portrait event in my home studio on Saturday, September 18th. 5-min session per child. Limited spots available, details and sign up for your child's session HERE!

Authentically Them - Studio Portraits for Kids // Ventura County Studio Portraits

Hi friends! How are you all doing? I can’t believe it’s May!

I am really excited to talk more about these studio portraits for children that I have been dreaming up for a long time. When we moved into our home in Ventura, we made my little dream of having a small studio to work and photograph in a reality. It isn’t a fancy studio but it is comfortable, cozy, functional, and mine, and I’m so thankful to have it. Since then I’ve taken many studio portraits of my own children (more than they’d like) and my favorite, of our friends and their children in adorable costumes on Halloween. I’ve taken the last year to really think about the type of studio portraits for children that I want to offer and ta-da!!

These sessions are all about creating portraits of our children that really reflect who they are. When you see these photographs, I would feel like I did my job if you said, “yup, that’s my kid!” My other goal is for these sessions to be stress-free for both you and your child. I allocate 45 minutes for these studio sessions, so that I can get to know your child and make sure he/she/they are comfortable in front of my camera. We spend the time talking, playing, and most of all, letting them be themselves.

These studio portraits are perfect for babies and their milestones, annual portraits, or just because you’d love an updated portrait of your child/children. Contact me HERE if you’d like more information about these sessions, I’d love to see you all :)

Our home studio is located in Ventura, California, an easy drive from Santa Barbara, Ojai, Camarillo, and Thousand Oaks. We serve Ventura County, Santa Barbara County, and Los Angeles County. We hope to see you here!

-Ventura Studio Photography - Santa Barbara Studio Photography

A lifestyle family photography session at the beach // Ventura Family Photographer

A confession: I have been missing photographing clients in their home BUT here in Ventura County, thank goodness for having the ocean as our backyard.

When COVID-19 hit, photographing clients in their homes was suddenly off the table but the truth is, our children continue to grow and a pandemic doesn’t mean we can’t get our family portraits done..it just means we have to take additional precautions to protect our families and our clients. When I started photographing more family sessions at the beach, my goal was the same as when I photographed clients in their homes - photographing families in a space that they love, doing things that they love doing. So for this lovely family with three boys, it is making funny faces, lots of laughing, and a lot of playing and splashing (and maybe pushing and chasing)…in November no less. Ventura weather is seriously unbeatable.

These clients chose a modern barn wood frame for one of my most favorite photographs from their session and I am in love. Here are some photographs from this super fun session. Hope you’re all are well.

Ventura County Family Photographer - Archival framed family portrait

let’s document your life

If you are interested in family portraits that document your life the way it is, then I’d love to chat with you. Reach out here!

- Ventura County Family Photographer -

A children portrait session in Carpinteria, California // Santa Barbara County Family Photographer

When we moved to Ventura, CA a few years ago, we stumbled upon the Carpinteria Bluffs Nature Preserve and it is one of my most favorite place to take a walk and to run some energy out of the kids. The Nature Preserve has also been this place where I love going whenever I needed to feel like I’m outside of Ventura County during this pandemic!

While my favorite place to photograph a family will always be inside their home, with COVID precautions, choosing an outdoor space where a family can do some of their favorite activities, is really the next best thing. These boys’ super loving mama gets their portraits done every year because she knows how fast the years goes by and I could see so clearly the way these parents embraced their energy and their distinctive personalities.

I was so glad to be able to capture their little slice of life and create an heirloom and archival album with their most favorite photographs. I care A LOT that these albums will continue to look amazing through generations and I imagine these two little boys over at their childhood home for holiday gatherings as adults and flipping over their family album from 2020..reliving their childhood for a short moment in time.

Archival

Album

Families’ favorite way to enjoy their favorite photographs from their family session.

Po Chi Fung is a Ventura County Lifestyle and Documentary Family and Newborn Photographer. Let’s document your life - its chaos, mess, laughter, and the details that make our lives ours. I’d love to chat with you if you are interested in a session, contact me HERE!

Day In The Life - Rounding out the year that is 2020 | Ventura Family Photographer

This is my third round in capturing my day in the life! This time, I decided on New Years Eve 2020 to round out the crazy year. I am going to apologize ahead of time for explicit language…but whenever I reflect on the year that is 2020, my first thought is, “What in the F*ck?” But my next thought is always that my family rocks and how lucky I am to have friends near and far who I can still talk to. On a day to day basis, it is absolutely true that family drives me crazy and there are (many) days where I shouted, “I JUST WANT TO BE ALONE,” but despite all the changes from the pandemic, there are amazing days and thankfully, tons of giggles that echo through our walls.

The truth is that some days, I don’t want to photograph for myself. The pandemic and the feeling that I am living the same day over and over again have sucked so much of my desire to create. But heck, even when I don’t want to photograph, the kids are still growing rapidly..and I know that the second I get out of my rut, I am going to regret not documenting such a strange time. And you know what, I have never ever regret choosing a date to document a day in my life even if I wake up that day not wanting to do it. Getting my film scans back ALWAYS reminds me to be grateful for all that I have and the pure process of making these images has made me more intentional in looking around for the little things that make my life mine.

Nerdy Specs:

Camera | Canon 1V

Film | Kodak TMax3200

Lab | The FIND Lab

Po Chi Fung is a Ventura County Family Photographer who specializes in lifestyle and documentary family sessions and children portraits in her little studio in Ventura, CA.

If you are interested in working with me, give us a shout here!

Kinshoppe Interiors // Ventura Commercial Photographer - Ventura County Branding Photography

I am so so late in sharing one of my most favorite commercial sessions that I shot for Tara at Kinshoppe Salon in Ventura, CA. I’ve shared photos from the session that focused on the interior of this amazing salon here and there but I wanted to write a little more about the collaborative process that takes place each time a client and I work together to create images of their brand and their work. Our shared ultimate goal for these sessions is to create visual content that tells the story they want to tell.

In a lot of ways, there are a lot of similarities between what I do with commercial and branding photography and family photography. Instead of asking, “what are your favorite things to do as a family and what do you want to remember most?” I am asking business owners, “what do you love most about your work and your process, what kind of story do you want to tell, and what will you be using the photographs for?” My favorite part of this process are all the conversations and coffee chats that take place with each client about what is it that they want to communicate and figure out the best way to present that, together. It truly isn’t easy to run a business and it is always so special to learn about someone’s passion in what they do, so I take my job really seriously and strive to do the work required to tell the story in the best way clients’ need me to do.

Well..enough of my babbling. I hope life is treating you well…until next time!

If you are interested in commercial or branding photography in Ventura County and Santa Barbara County, reach out here! I’d love to hear about your work and the story you’d like to share about it.