Emma & Jake

I’m not a big proponent of large weddings. I understand there are large families and it’s hard to invite only a few people. There are also lots of friends and if you invite one, someone else might get offended. So while I shoot larger weddings I enjoy smaller events at San Francisco City Hall even more now. Yes, they don’t last all the day. There are less people and it could feel less private just because it’s a City Hall. But to me these weddings are more personal, intimate with a closer connection between the couple, their guests and me. I heard one of my favorite photographers and people Fer Juaristi say once that he wants the couple to treat him as a friend with a fancy camera. It’s how I approach weddings. To get great photos there has to be an emotional connection. It’s impossible to put it to words because at the end it’s either there or it’s not. And I understand that not everyone is open to strangers and that’s ok as well. It’s not about how much we talk, but about how much we explore during our session: how much we explore our emotions, happiness, joy, our family. For that amount of time we create the images that weren’t there before and to me that’s exciting.

The moment I saw Emma’s dress I had a thought of some Shakespearian play. And it wasn’t just the dress. It was her personality, how softly she talked and how gentle she was that brought the person in me who loves history, historical fiction and anything that deals with time before I was born. So for some of the couple shots I wanted to create this sort of a dream atmosphere.

The result are some fun candid images, first look, couples’ photos and so much more. I picked a handful for this blog

city hall wedding, sf weddings, sfportraitBoris PolisskySeptember 11, 2023sfcityhallweddingphotography, sfcityhall, sfcityhallphotographer, sfcityhallphotoraphy, cityhallsf, sanfranciscowedding, sanfranciscoweddingphotography, sfcityhallphoto, sfcityhallweddingComment

Sarmaya & Ekin

Every time I enter the City Hall and meet my couple, I think ‘how lucky I am to be here! I get paid to be in one of the prettiest places in San Francisco, be part of a special day, spend time with happy people, be creative and capture the moments as they unfold.

Sarmaya and Ekin were such a couple. Their officiant allowed them to speak their vows (officiants don’t always allow because of time). The officiant only gave them 1 minute each but they wrote over 2 minutes of vows. So we continued them after the actual ceremony.

The Christmas Tree in the background perfectly dates the photos and adds some nice light to normally darker Rotunda area (especially in the afternoon).

I sometimes get asked if the photo session should start after the ceremony and not during it. And my response is always the same - I love the real emotions during the ceremony. While I can stage that later, it's just not the same unless you’re an experienced actor. Here is an examples of some real unstaged ceremony moments.

Boris PolisskyJanuary 10, 2023sfcityhallweddingphotography, sfcityhallstylist, sfcityhallphotography, sfcityhall, sfcityhallphotographer, sfweddingphotographer, cityhallsf, cityhallwedding, sanfranciscowedding, sanfranciscocityhallwedding, sanfranciscoweddingphotography, sanfranciscocityhallphotographerComment

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.

Graduation photoshoot

Graduation is a big deal. Think about it - someone spent a good portion of their life studying towards a career. It’s a bigger deal when it’s graduation from Law School.

When Victor reached out to me he wanted to take some photos after he graduated Golden Gate University. He originally wanted to do the photos inside of San Francisco City Hall, but since it’s closed due to Covid restrictions, I suggested we shoot outside of the CIty Hall instead.

Normally a busy location, we enjoyed a quiet Tuesday afternoon near the CIty Hall area. We took advantage of this quiteness to get some dramatic shots.

Many many years ago I was planning to become a laywer as well. I got my Bachelors degree, interned for several lawyers and was going to apply to Law School. I eventually decided against it to focus on more creative aspects of my life. So this session was personal to me and I wanted to approach it with a concept and have some ideas coming into the session. While they don’t always work and need to be adjusted I find that having concepts before the session is a must.

Victor was such a cool and easy guy to work with. He is aiming to work as a family and immigration lawyer. My goal was to capture the seriosness of someone who works in a law firm already, someone who deals with people who has issues and tries to help them. It’s a tough job because in family law dealing with people’s pain is part of the job and it’s hard to tune off when you go home. And i felt that Victor is very empathetic and caring. So being a family lawyer can definitely weight down on you.

I wanted to show many sides of him. More dramatic, serious and at the same time as a fun, easy going person. We spent 2 hours talking, walking around, running in some cases while taking various photos

Boris PolisskyApril 27, 2021SF City Hall Photosanfranscisco, sanfranciscoweddingphotography, sanfranciscocityhallphotographer, graduationphotography, sanfrancinscograduation, sfchphoto, sanfranciscobayarea, sanfranciscophotography, sfcityhallphoto, sfcityhallphotography, photography, portraitphoto, portraitphotography, graduationphoto, goldengateuniversitygraduationComment

Bridal Studio Session

Who says you can’t do a bridal photoshoot in the studio, not on your actual wedding day. Eli didn’t think so. If you like photos and really want perfection without worrying about what’s next on your wedding day agenda, studio photos on a different day are a great option. It’s just all about you and capturing the best images without all the wedding day stress. As a result we I want to bring out the beauty Eli possesses and not make it about the wedding dress only. Let’s just say the wedding dress was extra.

For a photographer who shoots a lot of weddings this was an opportunity to really take time, get perfect light, perfect poses, emotions without having people around, without time restrictions, location restrictions and all so many fun things weddings have. Within hour and half we were able to get lots of awesome shots. Here are some examples of what we were going for during our session.

Boris PolisskyDecember 1, 2020sfbayarea, san, sanfranciscowedding, sanfranscisco, studiophoto, studiophotography, bridalstudiophoto, bridalphotosanfrancisco, sanfranciscobridal, sfweddingphotography, sanfranciscoweddingphotograp, sanfranciscoweddingphotographyComment

Tala & Jad

On March 17 for the first time since reopening in 1999, San Francisco City Hall closed down for all wedding ceremonies. As counties in San Francisco Bay Area became the first in the US to mandate “shelter to place” order, all wedding ceremonies got cancelled through April 17..

While coronavirus was taking hold on Europe and various parts of the world, it was still relatively on a low radar in the US. The toilet paper panic hasn’t started. Beans, pasta and rice were still available on the shelves at the stores. But couples started cancelling their wedding as they were concerned already. All that changed in a few days when more and more cases of COVID 19 were being reported in the US, particularly in SF Bay Area.

Tala & Jad didn’t want to cancel. They were determined to get married. They didn’t have a large party. It was just them, Tala’s brother with his wife and daughter. And they were lots of fun! You could tell from the start when they are just “good fun people”. They laughed, joked … and then even danced extremely well.

While this was one of my last sessions at the City Hall before the lockdown, I have no doubt life will go back to normal. Engaged couples will once again walk into the City Hall and leave it happily married… with great memories and photos.

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.

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

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.

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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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Badhia & Zack by SF City Hall Photo

People meet in different places, under different circumstances. They come from different countries, cities, cultures. And then one day a few months later, few or even 10 years later they feel that getting married is the next logical or emotional step. And if one lives in San Francisco why look for another place to get married. People come from all over the world to tie the knot in beautiful San Francisco City Hall.

Badhia and Zack like many of us get shy in front of the camera and were not sure how the whole experience will go. But 15 minutes into our session they felt at ease and even started chatting about life while I was posing them. We spent some time in the City Hall and then headed to Crissy Fields and Palace of Fine arts to complete our photo collection. At the end we got a great fun, serious, silly series of images that they felt represent them.