Fingers in one ear, tongue sticking out, granola forgotten on the table and a blueberry that matches the color of her eyes, all while giving me a look that says she knows exactly what she's doing. Taunting me, as if to say, what are you going to do about my silliness?


Nobody on earth would pose like that even if I planned it. Nobody could teach it. She's maybe going to do that for another year and then it'll be gone, replaced by something else that's also wonderful and also going to disappear.


This is how I photograph kids in Orange County: a little provoked, mostly left alone, with plenty of room for whoever they are this year.


A Little Provoked, Mostly Left Alone

I don't direct kids. It doesn't work and I wouldn't want it to. I might make a noise or do something ridiculous. That's the provoked part, and it takes about ten seconds.


The rest is allowing kids to be kids and seeing what comes out. A boy fast asleep on his dad's shoulder, gone to the world. Another up on his dad's shoulders with his eyes squeezed shut and both hands on his dad's head. Another taking off down the sand, grinning, with his whole family running behind him.

A young child sleeps peacefully with his head resting on the shoulder of a man in a gray shirt against a soft blue sky.
A smiling young boy with eyes squeezed shut sits on a man's shoulders, hands resting on his head, at a bright beach.
Young child with short dark hair rests their head on an adult's shoulder, gazing off softly in warm, glowing sunlight.
Smiling man with a young boy sitting on his shoulders, the child's hands resting on his head, against a soft, hazy beach sunset.
Young child resting his head on a woman's shoulder while she gazes toward the sea in soft, golden sunset light on a beach.
A smiling boy in a gray outfit runs along the sandy beach while a woman in a flowing white dress and a man carrying a child follow behind.
A smiling man in a white linen shirt holds a laughing young boy in a gray outfit on a sunny beach with soft sand and ocean behind them.
A mother in a white dress holds her young son close on a sunny beach while another child stands blurred in the foreground.

What Comes Out

Laughs. Curiosity. A kind of innocence that grown-ups spend the rest of their lives trying to find again. A girl throws her arms around a blond boy and plants a kiss on his cheek, and he grins straight at me like he has no say in the matter. Then the two of them land on their mom from both sides at once.


Children haven't learned what their good side is. They don't have a face for the camera. Whatever they feel is just there, on the surface, and then it changes.

A smiling blond boy in a white t-shirt is hugged from behind by a girl with a ponytail who kisses his cheek outdoors among green leaves.
Two smiling children in a black and white photo, with a girl hugging a blond boy from behind outdoors.
Two laughing children hug outdoors in dappled sunlight, one with blond hair and the other with arms wrapped around from behind.
A smiling blond boy is hugged and kissed on the cheek by a girl with long hair in a sunny outdoor garden setting.
Two children kiss a smiling woman in a denim jacket on both cheeks while posing outdoors in front of green leafy foliage.
Two smiling children in white t-shirts sit close together in a black and white portrait, the girl laughing as she looks at the boy.

They Grow So Fast

Everyone tells you this, and you nod, and then you find a photo from two years ago and can't believe that was the same child.


The gap in the teeth, the way she said a word wrong. These moments all go away quickly, and they're usually the ones nobody has a photo of, because you were in them. You were busy holding the snack, or laughing, or wiping something.


A baby in a red sweater looks at me with big blue eyes and gives away nothing. Then two of them in matching red sweaters go up in the air over their parents' heads, and that's the end of the serious faces.

Smiling blonde woman holds a toddler in a red sweater while a bearded man kisses his cheek in a joyful outdoor family portrait.
Close-up portrait of a curious baby with blue eyes and dark wavy hair wearing a red knit sweater, held by a smiling adult in the background.
Blue-eyed toddler with wispy blond hair wearing a red sweater looks at the camera, with a blurred adult in a tan jacket behind.
A woman and a man tenderly kiss two young toddlers in matching rust-colored outfits during an outdoor family portrait among green trees.
A smiling woman and man hold two babies in matching red outfits during an outdoor family portrait with green foliage behind them.
Two toddlers with light hair and blue eyes in matching red sweaters pose closely together outdoors in front of dark green foliage.
Two parents lift their smiling twin toddlers in matching red sweaters into the air beneath sunlit green trees.
Black and white portrait of a wide-eyed toddler with light wispy hair wearing a dark long-sleeve shirt, with a softly blurred background.

Just the Best Ones

These are the creme de la creme, the handful I keep going back to. A frame like this is usually one the parents didn't see happening.

A laughing toddler with wispy hair smiles joyfully on a sunlit beach as a smiling parent reaches out near the ocean waves.
Toddler girl in a light dress holds hands with two women in flowing dresses while walking along a sunlit beach by the ocean waves.
Black and white photo of three girls in white dresses running barefoot along the wet sand of a rocky beach at sunset.
Mother in a floral dress reaches out toward her young daughter as they stand together on a sunlit beach beside the ocean waves.
Young girl in a white lace top and pink skirt holds an adult's hand while laughing on a sunny beach with gentle waves.
Black and white photo of a smiling girl riding piggyback on a man's back while laughing together on a beach with ocean waves behind them.
A smiling young girl rides piggyback on a man's back while they enjoy a sunny day at the beach with ocean waves behind them.
Mother and daughter in summer dresses dance and twirl hand in hand on a sunny beach with ocean waves behind them.
A smiling woman gently adjusts the shirt of a young child with light hair while standing together at the sunlit water's edge.
Young child holding an adult's hands while standing at the ocean shoreline, with golden sunlight and waves glowing in the background.

More of my family work is here. If you have a small person with a big personality, tell me about them.


A Few Questions Parents Ask

Do my kids have to pose?

No. I don't direct kids. I might make a noise or do something ridiculous for about ten seconds, and then I let them be kids.


What if they don't cooperate?

That's fine. Sessions are built around play, not perfect behavior. Whatever is actually happening is what I photograph.


Where do sessions happen, and what do they cost?

At the beach, at home or wherever they feel most themselves, anywhere in Orange County. Family sessions start at $495.


Mariano Alvarez Photography covers events, personal branding, couples and family sessions across Orange County, including Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, Dana Point, San Clemente, Huntington Beach and Irvine. I photograph kids the way they are, at the beach, at home or wherever they feel most themselves. More about me here.


Want these years on your wall? Let's talk about it.