Where I shoot

I'm based in San Pedro and I work the coast from Cabrillo up through Palos Verdes and out across the South Bay. Most sessions happen within about twenty-five minutes of the harbor.

If you're wondering whether I come to you - almost certainly yes. Here's the shape of it.

San Pedro and the harbor

Home. Point Fermin, Cabrillo Beach, Royal Palms, White Point, Averill Park, the Korean Friendship Bell, and the old brick and marquees downtown.

This stretch gives you the widest range of any part of the coast - lawns and palms, open sand, tide pools, a canyon park that looks nothing like the beach, and a working port. Most of my family sessions happen somewhere in here.

The Palos Verdes peninsula

Up the hill. Bluff Cove, Malaga Cove Plaza, Point Vicente, Abalone Cove.

Rockier, higher, and more dramatic than down in the harbor - flat shelves of rock, real surf, and the best westward sunset position in the South Bay. Some of it involves a steep walk down, so I'll tell you honestly which spots suit your group and which don't.

Parts of Rancho Palos Verdes sit in an active landslide area and access along Palos Verdes Drive South shifts with conditions. I check what's open before every session down there.

The South Bay beach towns

Torrance, Redondo, Hermosa, Manhattan Beach. Wide flat sand, piers, and long open horizons - a different look from the bluffs, and an easy drive if you're up that way.

Long Beach and the harbor cities

Long Beach, Wilmington, Harbor City, Lomita, Carson. Happy to travel here, and often the answer when a family wants something closer to home than the coast.

Your own place

The one I'd actually push hardest for.

Some of the best sessions I've shot happened in a kitchen on a Saturday morning, or in a backyard, or on the front steps of a house a family was about to move out of. If there's somewhere that means something to you, that beats a scenic overlook every time.

Travel

Anywhere in the list above is standard. Further out - Orange County, the Westside, further up the coast - is usually fine with enough notice. Just ask.

For a longer breakdown of the individual spots, with what each one is good for and when the light works, see the 10 best photo spots in San Pedro and Palos Verdes.

You can see how these places actually photograph in the portfolio - or just tell me about your people and we'll figure out where to meet.