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San Francisco Photographer – Bay Area Portrait Photography bio picture

welcome to my blog and website!

I love what I do - I'm a mother to my 2 year-old baby girl named Gemma, wife to my amazing husband Scott, sister (youngest of 6) to my wonderful brothers and sisters, and daughter to my supportive and sweet mother and father (may he rest in peace).  I am also a photographer in the Bay Area with passion for people and telling stories.  

For 15 years I produced video games, focusing mainly on art, animation and story. Now I'm applying those artistic and story-telling skills to my photography and having so much fun!  

Thanks so much for stopping by and checking out my site. Drop me a comment and let me know what you think - I love hearing from folks!  :)

Enjoy life!  Enjoy my site!  Gracias!

Dan + Zita = Engaged

Dan and Zita are such a unique and awesome couple and we had a lot of fun shooting their engagement session.  Zita is a geologist and Dan creates video games as a programmer for a living.  They both love nature, love to travel and eat really yummy food.  In fact they met at a fancy dinner party.  I thought it was so adorable that Dan wore the exact outfit he wore when he first met Zita.  Isn’t that just too cute?

They both at one point worked near Crissy Field and they love that area so we thought it made sense to shoot there.  The SF weather was quite chilly and they both did such a great job hanging in there throughout the shoot, especially Zita.  We had a great time and I can’t wait to shoot their wedding next month.  Here are some of my favorites from our session:

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Jae - Dan got engaged! Congratulations for him! Wow! By the way, those are some incredible photographs. For some reason, they remind me of that really iconic image in times square with the sailor. I especially like the first three--there's just a lot of life to them. You did a great job in capturing the vibrancy of the moment!

Basking and Kelly Moore

One of my favorite photographers, Kelly Moore, posted a contest about direct sunlight.  She is asking us to embrace it and try to use it to our advantage.  She is a phenomenal photographer and I’m super excited to do a 1-day  1-one-1 workshop with her this month and learn more about how to use light better!  🙂

Anyway, I’m reposting a couple of pictures here so that I can enter.  April 13th she’ll pick her favorite photos.  Wish me luck!

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rosaura - My friend Erica Berger won the contest (actually tied with another person). Check out the link: http://kellymoorephotography.com/mooreblog/?p=4519

Marisa in the City

This weekend I had a great time hanging out with my friend Marisa. She is a Texas girl who recently moved to San Francisco so we thought we’d shoot her in her new city. 🙂

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She loves the Bay Bridge, it is her favorite bridge in SF, so we made a point to take lots of photos there:

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Gonzalo - Marisa is Beautiful & the locations stand out, Excellent composition, you Rock Big time ...Colors are popping ...I'm so happy for you Seesto! Love Always!

Sara - These are AMAZING! You are so talented!!!!! Way to go!!!

Monica - These are excellent shots!

Marisa - Rosi, I love the pictures!!! It was so much fun and you made it so easy and comfortable. Thank you!

Max - Rosi: You've made me see Marisa in an entirely new fresh beautiful way. You have a have a wonderful ability to see the beauty in people and bring it out in your photographs. I am happy that are you sharing your gift with the world. Love to you. - Max

free engagement sessions!

I’m looking for some great couples to shoot! I love working with couples that are crazy in love. And I love catching all those little fun, sweet, honest moments between you that make you you.

So I’m offering a fun opportunity to photograph you and your loved one at the location of your choice anywhere in the Bay Area. Most sessions will last about an hour in the late afternoon when the lighting is so nice. I will provide you with the digital negatives of the best images from the shoot. Contact me at rosaura@rosaurasandoval.com to further discuss your shoot and set up a time.

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Catie - Yay you posted it! :) Let me know how it goes!

Inspirations & Creations — Elizabeth Anne Designs: The Community - [...] to the News: http://www.rosaurasandoval.com/2009/03/29/free-engagement-sessions/Hello there [...]

my gear

So I’ve been building my arsenal of equipment and I wanted to share especially as folks have been recently asking me about it.  So here goes, as you can tell I’m a Canon girl for sure.  🙂

Camera Bodies

1 Canon 5D Mark ii  – such an amazing camera!

1 Canon 40D

1 Canon 20D

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Glass

Canon 85mm f/1.8

Canon 50mm f/1.4

primelenses

Canon 24mm f/1.4 – on order and coming soon!

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Canon 70-200mm IS f/2.8 – I call this my big fat mama lens70-200

Canon 16-35mm f/2.8ef16-35_28liiu_586x225

I have my eye on a macro lens too but I think I’ll rent that one for when I need it for now.

I also have 1 580 EX flash and access to other lighting equipment for an off-camera set-up.

Armored Saint!

Armored Saint is back!  My brothers are in the band (Gonzalo on drums and Phil on guitar) and it was soo much fun to see them perform and have fun. The band came together again to do an Australian tour and they kicked it off with an awesome show in Hollywood’s Key Club on the 6th of March.  The band started as friends and teenagers in my neighborhood and have accomplished so much and have traveled all over the world – it is super cool.   They sounded great and they did not disappoint the standing-room-only crowd.

Here’s G posing for me during sound check.  🙂

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I thought I would be able to get lots of really good pictures during sound check but what I didn’t realize is that they would also be programming the lighting.  Most of this time the lights were either off or super back lit.  I still managed to get a couple neat shots:

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John Bush’s son was turing 2 the next day when the guys would be flying out, so they decided to bring him along and do a little ‘Color Me Mine’ party during sound check.  Little Guiseppe is following in his father’s footsteps singing and rocking out to the drums.  Here they are during sound check (nice protective head gear!):

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I did manage to get a group shot before they all chilled out before the show (thanks, guys!):

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Sandovals in the house!  Even my mother came to show!  My father would have been here too.  And he was there in spirit.  During the show the band dedicated a song to my father, “Armored Saint’s #1 fan” and to my sister Maria for her birthday.   It was a family affair!  🙂

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The opening act was San Francisco-based, Death Angel.  They did a great job warming up the crowd.  Death Angel will also be traveling with Armored Saint to Australia – good combo!

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My mother waiting patiently for the show to begin.  I love the tag on this Armored Saint t-shirt, “Made in the USA” with the Mexican-American spin on it!  🙂

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And the the show BEGINS!   Oh my gosh, everyone was just cheering as the rumble of the music started!

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Jeff Duncan on guitar, Joey Vera on bass, Phil Sandoval on guitar and Gonzo on drums!  armoredsaint_blog_12

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And John Bush on vocals!  🙂armoredsaint_blog_16

I love how much everyone really gets into it and has fun, especially my brother Phil!armoredsaint_blog_14

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Everyone was on their game and John Bush really belted it out for us and also showed his range.armoredsaint_blog_20

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Check out the crowd!

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I came down from my protected balcony with the engineers and techs and decided to get up front.  I had to push my way to the front but it was worth it.  Plus I think it is easier when one is female.  😉

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Phil showing off for the fans!  They loved it!  🙂

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I love this last show of Phil with the red light behind him and the light coming out from under his arm.  So cool!

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These are some really happy Armored Saint fans right after the show.  The couple in front drove 500 miles from Arizona to see the show and the guys in back helped me get some good shots by hoisting me on their shoulders.  These heavy metals fans were so nice to me and I wanted to include them in the blog.  Long Live Armored Saint!  🙂

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mike correll - Cool pictures!

Roxanne - These are some seriously awesome photos, Rosie, and I love the story that you wove throughout them. I felt as if I were there. They should take you on tour with them as their official photographer! I am so proud of you and the wonderful ways you are using your talents. Keep it up.

rosaura - Wow! Thank you everyone for the wonderful comments! It was such an amazing experience to be at the concert with my family and watch the guys light up the place with their energy and awesome music! :) After the concert I too had 'March of the Saint' ringing in my ear and a smile on my face. :) Love, Light & Gratitude to everyone!

Gary Lister - How amazing!! I wish I could have been there! A fan since seeing Reign of Fire back in the day on the old Headbangers Ball. A.S. needs to come to St. Louis or Kansas City!

Roland Gundert - I saw Armored Saint in Sydney, Australia on March 12th. Was a great show. Got myself a tour shirt also. I have been playing the 'March Of The Saint' cd all week in my car and the week before the show was listening to 'Raising Fear' all week in the car. Of course I already knew most of the 'Symbol Of Salvation' cd which I have a signed copy and also the 'Revelation' cd. Cheers and thanks for putting on such a good show. Rol :)

Jodie - AWSOME!

Adrian Villanueva - Hi Rosie! WOW! Those are some great pics! You really know your stuff! Thanks for sharing. I was really proud of the guys. They really poured there heart out at that show and it showed! Adrian

Chris Brazell - Rosura, I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed the Armored Saint pictures. They are just fantastic. When I saw the pictures I felt as if I were there. I'm Facebook friends with Gonzo and saw the link posted on his wall. Thank you ma'am for posting them and have a beautiful day. Best wishes, Chris Brazell

ron - great pictures resaura. really enjoyed them! i grew up in east la and san gabriel valley. i've been a fan since 1982. i remember this place called flattop in in la, that was the first time i met them hanging out up there!

Saint Lisa - Sistah Sandoval!! These are GREAT pix!! WOW!! I'm VERY VERY impressed!!!! Glad you were able to get some great shotz!!! ;)

Tim - Great concert pics Rosaura. As a long time Saint fan and amateur photographer I really appreciate your effort!

Gonzo Sandoval - Thank you baby Seesto! Your excellence is inspiring. Your Photography is full of life and Color. Glad you had fun! I'm filled with feelings of Gratitude and Love... for you, your family & your Photography! just got home from Australia ...whew...time to take a nap...lol! Peace & love Always!

Maria Del Carmen - Rosie, Thank you for sharing these photos. I love the way you tell the story of the events. Everyone had a great time and Dad was definitely there in spirit. I know that it takes many shots to get the right shot. Thank you for coming down to LA to see us! Love Always, Carmel