Monica & Scott

Monica and Scott got married in San Jose City Hall. It was just the 2 of them formalizing their 7 year old relationship. But they wanted to take photos at San Francisco City Hall.

We started shooting a bit later at the City Hall so there wasn’t so many people. After that we continued to the area near Crissy Fields. Since they came just for the photoshoot it gave me more freedom to experiment and try something new. It’s not that I always shoot the same. I don’t. But remember there are no guests, there’s no ceremony… and that allows for more time to simply spend time with the couple, to get to know them and to play around with some new ideas. At the same time I knew they wanted to get the stairwell shots. At the end of the day the City Hall wasn’t crowded so we were able to get these nice wide shots of them walking down the stairwell.

At the end we got some classic, experimental and personal photos of 3 of them… oh yeah Olly joined us and was our only guests in those photos. She behaved very well

Boris PolisskyNovember 22, 2022sfcityhallphoto, sfcityhallweddingphotography, sfcityhallphotographer, sfcityhallphotoraphy, sfcityhall, goldengatebridge, crissyfields, sanfrancisco, sanfranciscocityhall, cityhallsf, cityhallComment

Kristen & Brennan

I mention this often but I get very lucky to work with some very cool couples. And I don’t mean in a sense that they are models who just look great on camera. I mean they are just good people. And as I work with them I’m thinking - I could see us being good friends. I don’t know if a like a word ‘client’. I don’t see many of my couples as clients. Yes, I get paid for the shoot, but then I’m not doing it because I’m interested in the money… Well ok… of course it’s a job, but my goal is to tell their story of their big day. And it’s a privilege if you think about it. A couple let’s a stranger in their life. And that stranger wants to get close to them in order to tell their story right and not through awkwardly posed images. When I have more time to spend with just the couple I want to know their story. I’m curious how they met, I want to understand the dynamic of their relationship. I really want to get to know them better in order to capture something of them in the shots.

While I enjoy creative, more artistic shots, there are times I would go for something simpler because it doesn’t fit with their story. And with Kristen and Brennan, the less felt better. Speaking of trying more creative shots. There’s a shot here where I used blue and red gels in a wide shot. I’ve done similar shot for other couples and wanted to try something a bit more unique. And to be honest I didn’t feel it completely worked for the couple. Something just wasn’t there. I’m posting it here so you can see for yourself.

Lately I’ve been watching interviews and listening to podcasts of several famous cinematographers including Roger Deakins. And it’s always about the same - how does your visual fit the story. While I can’t do storyboards and thinks of the shots in advance, that doesn’t change the fact that wedding photography is not about being a good documentarist, it’s about honesty, about having a good feel for your couples… and to me it’s about really giving your best to capture the day in its true color.

Why do I bring all this up with this San Francisco City Hall wedding followed by a session at Palace of Fine Arts? I feel that being a photographer and being invited into people’s lives is a big deal. It should be honored and I don’t look at it as a paycheck (while it is of course). If this world wasn’t revolved around money and needing to sustain yourself and your family, I know there are 2 things I would be doing - photography and music.

But back to Kristen and Brennan who was such an amazing couple. We ended up spending extra time and I didn’t want to leave them as I had more ideas and things I wanted to cover. But we were already over time and it just so happened that it was my son’s birthday. So I wanted to make sure I’m not late. It’s great to meet such genuinely good people who care about each other and also care about people around them. They were shy at first in front of the camera, but as we got to know each other better (i get a bit nosy with questions and comments :) they freed up and felt very comfortable. Here are some photos that we got. And again.. I went for their story as opposed to showcasing some artistic shot.

Priscilia & Derrick

This was by far the most unique and insane wedding sessions I’ve ever shot. Insane because San Francisco got covered with dark orange haze making a day look like a night time. We never saw the sun and there was barely any light when we started at 11.30 AM. It felt like we were on a different planet.

But that didn’t stop Priscilia and Derrick. They originally planned to get married on Bali this summer, but COVID changed these plans. They ended up booking a virtual ceremony at San Francisco City Hall followed a session with your truly. But another surprise happened on the day of their wedding. Wildfires burning in California and Oregon brought down a huge dark orange cloud covering San Francisco Bay Area, creating what some call a ‘nuclear winter’ feel.

How many times have i said I get very lucky with the couples i photograph? I really am! Priscilia and Derrick just went along with whatever the day brought them. I offered to reshoot some other day when there was light if they felt so. But they were dressed up, ready to go and willing to go with whatever the day brought them. And I’m so glad they did. We got some of the most unique wedding photos and the couple was really happy with the end results. The credit really goes to them for enjoying the day no matter what happens. It’s a lesson we can all learn

Maria & Jacob

How much can a photographer do when most of San Francisco City Hall is locked for in preparation for an events - the Rotunda is closed off to a point that the ceremonies are done in the private room, the Grand Stairwell is off limits, the 2nd floor is completely blocked off, the lights are being setup on the 3rd floor. In addition to that both North and South side of the 4th floor are reserved for private ceremonies. You get a little creative

Luckily Maria, Jacob and their family were so flexible, fun and easy to work. They completed trusted me and followed along with whatever we did. We spent about an hour plus to get all the shots we needed and we could under the circumstances. But i couldn’t have been happier. We did break a few rules but without causing any issues or endangering anyone in the process.

Maria and Jacob brought so much energy and emotions to every shot that I honestly could’ve gone the whole day with them if they didn’t have a dinner waiting for them.

Robyn & Mason

While i love shooting at San Francisco City Hall i often wish i had more time with my couples. Robyn’s mom booked me last minute and wanted to do some more photos at the Fairmont hotel. Unfortunately i was already booked. So we just had 1 hour session at the City Hall right before Christmas.

Robyn and Mason had tons of personality, emotions and passion. Being around couples like that energizes me and reminds me why i I do this.

Morghan & Bryan

When Morghan emailed saying i photographed her brother in law wedding 2 years ago and was wondering if I’m available to do the same for her and Bryan, I was flattered. I did indeed photograph Kelsey & Sam wedding and they were an awesome couple to work with - https://www.sfcityhallphoto.com/blog/2017/10/17/kelsey-sam

I obviously was flattered and was happy to see some familiar faces - Bryan’s family , and new faces all happy and excited because it was a special day for all of them.

After being together for 5 years Morghan & Bryan didn’t lose any of the playfulness, emotions, care and love for each other. It felt like they’ve been dating for just a few months. It felt fresh and new. Now i don’t mean to imply that many couples lose that after few years of living together. Not at all… but as human being we naturally get used to something rather quickly.

It was a real pleasure spending a bit of time with Morghan and Bryan. I learned that they both do video game design. So i figured i’ll convert the City Hall into something else playing around with color gels.

At the end of our session I felt that we not only captured the ceremony, family moments, but went through variety of emotions with them, had loads of fun and all that with San Francisco City Hall in the backdrop.

city hall wedding, sf weddings, sfportraitBoris PolisskyOctober 12, 2019SF City Hall Photosfcityhallweddingphotography, sfcityhallphoto, sfcityhallphotographer, sanfranciscowedding, sanfranciscocityhall, sanfrancisccityhallwedding, sanfranciscoweddingphotographer, cityhallsf, cityhallwedding, sfcityhallwedding, sanfranciscocityhallphotographerComment

Kaonta & Terry

Remember that old movie with Ben Affleck and Sandra Bullock - Forces of Nature, where they are both trying to make it home no matter what natural disasters stand on their way.

The difference with Kaonta and Terry is that they were heading to San Francisco from Houston when Hurricane Imelda threatened their plans. They were lucky to leave Houston area. George Bush Houston airport got shot down when they had their flight. So they drove to Austin to leave from there and that wasn’t a direct flight. So they arrived late night or more like 2 AM to their hotel room, barely got any sleep and started to prepare for the wedding at San Francisco City Hall. They were lucky to at least have made it to San Francisco. One of their guests got stuck in Houston and couldn’t leave. Kaonta’s family were lucky to make it from Houston and arrive on time to San Francisco. Return back home wasn’t without misfortunes either with emergency rooms and car flooding.

But for the evening of September 20 it wasn’t important. What mattered is 2 people got married in San Francisco City Hall in the presence of their close family. The officiant was local SF judge who happens to be Kaonta’s cousin. A small reception that followed in The Chambers (5 minute walk from the City Hall) was intimate, person and very tasty. I was treated as part of the family and dined with them.

Even though it was a long and tiring day for the bride and the groom, they held it together very well. At the end these are the images that will tell the story for them. All the disasters pass and life continuyes

city hall video, city hall wedding, sf weddingsBoris PolisskyOctober 5, 2019san francisco city hall, sanfranciscocityhallweddingphotography, sanfranciscoweddingphotography, sanfranciscocityhall, sanfrancisco, sfcityhallweddingphotography, sfcityhall, sfcityhallphotographer, sfcityhallphotography, sfcityhallwedding, cityhallsf, cityhallwedding, sanfranciscowedding, sanfranciscoweddingphotographerComment

Megan & Alex

When I talk to others about their job and what kind of work they do, i realize that i can’t even consider what i do as work. Of course there are some intense days, there are days when you emotionally and physically tired, but at the end I realize that I’m around happy people who are enjoying a very special day and my job is really to capture that day for them. I’m their guest with a camera. I’m their friend who knows how to take photos. And yes I really enjoy smaller wedding like this one where it was close family and closest friends, while Lucy stood for the groom’s best man.

As a result this San Francisco City Hall wedding was filled with intimate moments during and after the ceremony. How often do you get to photograph a cute dog inside the City Hall? Not very often.. so i took full advantage of that. Lucy played her part perfectly - posing, giving high fives and barking her congratulations to the newly wed

city hall wedding, sf weddings, sfcityhallvendors, guideBoris PolisskySeptember 16, 2019SF City Hall Photosanfranciscocityhallweddingphotography, san francisco city hall, sanfranciscocityhall, sfcityhallphotography, sfcityhallphoto, sfcityhallphotographer, cityhallsf, cityhallweddingComment

Portraits - my new obsession

Before i had my first “professional” photo shoot. Before i was even able to set exposure on my camera or focus correctly, I was attracted to people’s portraits…. actually i’ll say it differently. I was always interested in people - their emotions, passion… how it is reflected on the faces and body language.

While I enjoy shooting weddings - whether it’s a small San Francisco City Hall wedding or a larger weekend wedding - i always feel that I wish i had more time to spend with the people. Weddings are fast paced, adrenaline rushed, in the moment photography. While I always will set time aside for couples portraits, I don’t want to take over one of their biggest day in the lives, especially when the couple has family and friends attending.

My dream of having my own studio came true this summer when I built my own studio in Santa Clara. On weekly basis I work some amazing people, who trust my music choice and go along with my inquisitive and at times silly questions.

With portrait photos, especially studio, there’s no time pressure, no space pressure. To me it’s a sort of meditation. I have a chance to get to know the people and they have a chance to get comfortable and get to know me. I’m genuinely interested in each one of them. I want to understand their thinking, philosophy, personal experiences, what drives them.

I don’t want this to be a stare in the camera, I want the image to have a meaning. It’s about the mood, the true emotions, at times conflicted desires as we so often have. It’s about telling a story with a few images. A story about the person, their life, what they feel… That’s what i try to achieve every single time I do any kind of session, but more so when it’s a portrait session.

For more information on my packages I have created this page. The packages are very low priced for a reason as my goal is to attract more people who are interested in headshots and portrait photos.

https://www.sfcityhallphoto.com/portraits

sf weddings, city hall weddingBoris PolisskyAugust 22, 2019SF City Hall Photosfcityhallweddingphotography, sfcityhallwedding, sanfranciscocityhallweddingphotography, sanfranciscocityhall, sanfranciscocityhallwedding, sanfranciscoportrait, portraitphotography, cityhallsf, cityhallweddingComment

Indra & Derek

San Francisco City Hall is the place that attract couples from all over the world who want to get married. But of course some don’t have to travel too far to do their ceremony at the famous SF Courthouse.

Indra & Derek had a very intimate ceremony with just their family and few close friends attending. Since their wedding was on Tuesday afternoon, the City Hall wasn’t very crowded. So we had time to move around and take some nice shots in different areas of the City Hall. They also got lucky having their ceremony at the Mayor’s balcony.

city hall weddingBoris PolisskyAugust 1, 2019SF City Hall Photosfcityhallweddingphotography, sfcityhallphotography, sfcityhallphotographer, sanfra, sanfranciscoweddingphotography, sanfranciscoweddingphotographer, sanfranciscocityhall, sanfrancisco, cityhallsf, sfcityhallphoto, weddingguide, weddingpgotogaphy, weddingvideography, weddingphotographyComment

Melanie & Andrew SF City Hall Wedding

Mel and Drew lived , went to school next to each other without actually knowing it. They bumped into each other and were introduced at a few parties, but nothing more happened. They continued living their lives. They kept bumping into each other at friend’s parties or events. They kept talking and texting over some period of time and then on July 4th Drew asked Mel on a date. They had dim sum, went to City Lights Books, then walked throughout Chinatown and North Beach and along Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf. They went to Lou's Jazz Hall and listened to live music, then took a cab to the Mission District and enjoyed fireworks from the roof top of Lolinda El Techo (then known as Medjool's) and walked back together through a sea of illegal fireworks as police sirens echoed the Mission streets.

Then while on vacation in Paris Drew proposed to Mel.

Melanie and Andrew get hitched on the 71st wedding anniversary of Melanie's grandparents with friends and family.

Why and How to Hire a Videographer for your City Hall Wedding

I get it - you’re having a small SF City Hall wedding. Maybe it’s just the 2 of you or maybe you have only your close friends and family attending. If you’re looking at my page then you’re considering getting a photographer, but that’s about it.

As a photographer who shoots in San Francisco City Hall on weekly basis, I see so many opportunities to capture the moments on video. And i do my best to do this as a photographer and at times do short videos for the couples. But that’s not the same as having an actual video of your day. The videographer will have a lot more material to work with the more time you give him. But even with 1 hour that footage is priceless.

It’s no wonder MTV, then YouTube took off. While I love photography and try to capture the mood, the environment, people, video takes it to a new dimension. I believe it stands complimentary to photography. It doesn’t replace photography, Take a look at some videos shot at San Francisco City Hall by our favorite video company - IQVideography.

Which brings me to the point ..

How to find and hire a really good reasonably priced videographer for your SF City Hall Wedding.

General guidance:

(And of course this applies to non City Hall weddings).

Watch their work - does it feel right to you? We all watch lots of movies and music videos now. Does it evoke emotions in you, do you feel the joy of the moment, is it visually pleasing? I see a lot of videos that are impersonal. They are focusing more on the surroundings as if afraid of the couple. I’m sure couples want to capture the vibe and environment of the place. Or I see videos where i don’t know here the wedding is taking place. Could be parents’ backyard. I can’t tell. Good videographer captures it all.

Does the style of videography fit with what you have in mind? I know it’s all about the taste. Does the music go well with the visuals? Angles, compositions, color… they can be good, but it’s not what you envision a wedding video should look like
Quality - does it feel like the video could’ve been shot on an iphone by a friend? Is the video shaky? Now maybe it’s their style. But unless you want to get dizzy watching your wedding video I wouldn’t recommend it.
Ask around - i’m sure i’m not alone who feels that with all the technology we don’t talk to each other as much as we should. Ask your friend, co-worker, someone who recently got married for a recommendation. Ask your wedding planner or a photographer. Yes, you can ask me or any other photographer you’re considering for your wedding. Once you get a name, go to first 3 steps and review their work. At the end it’s your decision

I have to say that I’m extremely lucky to know and have worked on many occasions with IQVideography. They fit all 3 criteria I’ve described above. To prove my points see the videos below.

city hall wedding, guide, sf weddings, city hall videoBoris PolisskyJuly 11, 2019sfcityhallphoto, sfcityhall, sanfranciscocityhall, sfcityhallweddingvideo, weddingvideography, weddingvideo, sfcityhallceremony, cityhall, cityhallsf, sfcityhallwedindgComment

SF City Hall throughout the years

Taking photographs isn’t a new business. Getting married isn’t new either. Getting married in San Francisco, having a small SF City Hall wedding isn’t new. But it doesn’t make it less special when you are the ones getting married.

It’s a great privilege to not just be part of one of the biggest event in a people’s lives, but to be trusted as a photographer during their San Francisco courthouse wedding. I never take it for granted and every single wedding try to be the best i possibly can as a photographer. Through the years I met people from all over the world. Couples come from the UK, Canada, New Zealand and other US tates specifically to get married in beautiful San Francisco City Hall. Other people come from all over the world and meet in the US, then decide to get married in San Francisco Courthouse. Every story is unique and I have to admit I enjoy these stories. Maybe it’s the History major (and Bachelors degree) or maybe I’m very interested in people.. how they met, what they thought of each other, how they get along. And of course not everyone is a extrovert and will tell me their whole life story. That’s totally ok. It’s really none of my business you can say. At the same time it doesn’t only satisfy my interest, but it brings more in couples when we take photos. It brings fun memories of how they met, fun or maybe serious moments. And as we talk, we walk around the City Hall and take photos. Sometimes there’s more time, sometimes there’s less.

My path to being San Francisco City Hall wedding photographer was in some ways accidental, but then i don’t really believe in accidents. Neither do i believe in preordained destiny. I think it’s somewhere in between where we decide how our life goes. But I’m grateful that over the few years as an owner and photographer of SF City Hall Photo i met such amazing people, became part of their life (even if for a moment) and was able to leave them with some of the greatest memories they will have.

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Brittany & Dustin by SF City Hall Photo

We all know that City Hall gets busy and even when officiants try their best to be on time, things can run a bit late. But that wasn’t the case for Brittany & Dustin. Everything went smooth from the moment they checked in to the Clerk’s office. No wait time.

As we were coming up the Grand Stairwell for the ceremony, the stairwell was practically empty. I politely asked a few people to hide behind the columns so i can take a nice wide shot of the couple on the Grand Stairwell. I personally love clean stairwell shots, when the attention is drawn to the couple with the stairwell going up.

After the ceremony we headed to the 4th floor which was clear for us. Even though we can take group shots in various area, I really enjoy doing group shots on the 4th floor due to all that natural light that comes through the windows.

And of course as I always once we are done with the serious and fun shots I wanted to experiment a little - the couple had their own little pose/sign they wanted to do and I decided to take it next level.

guide, sf weddings, city hall weddingBoris PolisskyJune 26, 2019SF City Hall Photosf city hall photo, sf city hall, city hall, photography, photographer, wedding guide, weddingpgotogaphy, weddings, sanfranciscocityhall, sanfranciscoweddingphotographer, sanfranciscocityhallweddingphotographer, sanfranciscocityhallweddingphotographyComment

Irem & Berti by SF City Hall Photo

When your family is not in the same country when you decide to get married, you bring your close friends and Skype.

I have photographed large wedding, very large weddings. I do enjoy that, but a smaller wedding is more relaxing for bride and groom as well as their guests. Everyone gets time to talk to them, joke around, take photos and it ends up being more personal and emotional to capture.

That’s how it turned out when Irem & Berti got married. Once we shot the ceremony, group photos and most of Irem & Berti photos that i wanted to do, I did a few portrait solo photos. As you talk to your couple while shooting and behind the scenes, you learn a lot more. Like the fact that Berti was studying to be a photographer and does some great aerial photos - i checked out his instagram later on.

The best part about my job is that I get to meet people i normally wouldn’t meet. I get to hear stories, learn about their lives, what they like, what they do and at the same time be part of one of their most memorable day.