What a session looks like.
Real San Francisco light, no posing you'll regret, and no two session types run the same. Here's the whole thing — booking to delivery, each shoot in detail, and what it costs.
The shape of it
Reserve online
Pick an open slot from the calendar, sign the session agreement electronically, and pay a 25% reservation fee by card. Three minutes, and the date is yours — it transfers free if you reschedule 48+ hours ahead.
We plan it together
Before the day: a short conversation about what you want the photos to feel like — location, wardrobe, any nerves. You'll never arrive guessing.
Shoot day
Each session type runs its own way — the details are below — but the constant is the temperature: unhurried, conversational, built around you rather than a shot list.
Your gallery, in days
Finished frames land in your own private gallery within 7–10 business days (film adds 3–4 weeks of lab time). High-resolution downloads included; the balance settles on or before the day.
Your session, as a film
Your gallery opens as a short cinematic scroll of your session — yours to keep and share. Favourite the frames you love; they shape everything after.
Each session, specifically
Headshot
- Who it's for
- You need one photograph that does a job: the profile, the press page, the deck, the apps. Individuals — actors, founders, engineers, anyone whose face precedes them.
- How it runs
- The most structured of the sessions. We pick two or three backdrops within a block or two of each other — a clean wall, an interesting doorway, open shade — and work several looks against each: jacket on, jacket off, closer, wider. You review frames on the back of the camera as we go, so nothing ships that you haven't already liked once.
- Time
- Your booking holds a full 90-minute window; a headshot typically uses 45–60 of it. The spare room means nobody rushes the last look — the difference between a decent headshot and the one you actually use.
- Where
- Outdoors in soft light or against architecture, anywhere in SF — or at the studio, a warm SoMa loft, for the classic controlled look.
- You get
- 5–10 finished, retouched finals in your private gallery within 7–10 business days. High-res + web-sized versions of each.
Portrait
- Who it's for
- The full session, for one person (or two). Something honest and unhurried — for yourself, your work, an occasion, or no reason at all.
- How it runs
- This is the walk-with-a-camera session. We choose a neighborhood that means something to you or fits the feeling you want, and we move through it — conversation first, camera second. The frames accumulate in the gaps between talking; the best ones are usually the ones you didn't notice being taken.
- Time
- The full 90 minutes, and it uses them — the first twenty are for forgetting the camera exists, and the session gets better from there.
- Where
- San Francisco neighborhoods and golden-hour spots, chosen together during prep. Mission murals, Richmond fog, downtown geometry — the city is the second subject. Prefer indoors? The studio makes a different kind of session: warm light, a good playlist, nobody watching.
- You get
- 15–25 finished finals, private gallery + your session as a film, 7–10 business days. Film (the analog kind) available as a hybrid add-on.
Family
- Who it's for
- Families — small and large, tidy and feral. Built for the reality that children have their own schedule and the best family photos are the in-between ones.
- How it runs
- Structured loosely on purpose: a short everyone-together block early (while patience is fresh), then play. Parks work; the beach works; your own street works. I photograph the pile-ups, the negotiations, the hand-holding — the group shot happens, but it's the least interesting thing we'll make.
- Time
- The 90-minute window, paced to the youngest person there. If we get everything in an hour because a nap is looming, we get everything in an hour.
- Where
- Parks, beaches, your neighborhood, or at home — wherever your family is most itself.
- You get
- 20–30 finished finals — the together ones and the candid ones — private gallery + session film, 7–10 business days.
Editorial
- Who it's for
- Commissioned and creative work: publications, brands, artists, projects with a concept. Anything where the photographs serve a story.
- How it runs
- Scoped in conversation before anything is booked — concept, references, shot list if the work wants one, locations scouted. On the day it runs like a production, but a small and human one.
- Time
- The calendar slot is the anchor, not the boundary — actual duration is agreed in the scope. Half-day and full-day rates exist for work that needs them.
- Where
- Wherever the story is. Location scouting is part of the scope, and the studio is available for controlled lighting work.
- You get
- 30+ finished finals minimum, licensing terms agreed up front, gallery delivery on the agreed timeline.
Event
- Who it's for
- Gatherings, launches, performances, ceremonies — anything where the point is that everyone was there and it felt like something.
- How it runs
- Documentary coverage: I arrive early, learn the room, and then stay out of the way of it. No lineup posing unless you want some; the aim is that the photographs feel like the evening did.
- Time
- Scoped by the event — coverage blocks are agreed in conversation, from a two-hour gathering to a full evening. The calendar booking is the reservation; the details are a conversation.
- Where
- Your venue, anywhere in the Bay.
- You get
- A generous edit of finished frames — count scoped with the coverage — delivered fast, because event photos age by the day.
The studio
Most sessions live outside — the city is half the picture, and honestly, it's where I'd rather be. But there's also the studio: a warm SoMa loft with atmospheric light, a good sound system, and no clock on the wall. It's the right call when the day calls for it — rain, a winter evening past golden hour, the classic controlled headshot, or simply wanting the door closed and nobody watching. Available with any headshot, portrait, or editorial session; just say so when we plan. The address is shared when you book.
Starting rates; final scope is a conversation, and film (medium-format, hybrid with digital) adds lab costs agreed before the day. A 25% reservation fee books your date — non-refundable, but it moves with you if you reschedule 48+ hours ahead. Balance due on or before the session.
Asked and answered
How much does a professional headshot cost in San Francisco?
In San Francisco in 2026, standard individual headshot sessions typically run $295–$550, with short "mini" sessions at $200–$300 and premium studios at $500–$900. Captured Maya headshot sessions start at $200 and include 5–10 finished, retouched images, a 90-minute booking window, and delivery in a private online gallery within 7–10 business days.
How much does a family photo session cost in San Francisco?
Most San Francisco family sessions land between $350 and $800; premium studios run to $2,500. Captured Maya family sessions start at $350 and include 20–30 finished images, a 90-minute session paced to your youngest child, and a private gallery with high-resolution downloads.
How long does a portrait session take?
A Captured Maya portrait session books a 90-minute window and typically uses all of it — the first twenty minutes are for getting comfortable, and the best frames come after that. Headshot sessions book the same window but usually need 45–60 minutes; events and editorial work are scoped separately.
What's the difference between a headshot session and a portrait session?
A headshot session is built around a deliverable — one great, current photograph of your face for professional use, shot against chosen backdrops with several looks (from $200, 5–10 finals). A portrait session is a fuller document of you: a 90-minute walk through a San Francisco neighborhood, more candid and varied (from $300, 15–25 finals).
How many edited photos should I get from a photography session?
From Captured Maya: headshots include 5–10 finished images, portraits 15–25, family sessions 20–30, and editorial work 30+. Those are minimums, and every frame you receive is fully edited and finished — ready to use the moment it lands in your gallery.
Do photographers require a deposit? How does booking work?
Most professional photographers secure dates with a retainer. Captured Maya uses a 25% reservation fee: pick a slot on the online calendar at capturedmaya.com, sign the session agreement electronically, and pay the fee by card — about three minutes in total. The fee is non-refundable but transfers to a new date free if you reschedule 48+ hours ahead. The balance is due on or before the session.
When will I get my photos back?
Digital sessions are delivered within 7–10 business days in a private online gallery with high-resolution downloads. Sessions that include analog film add 3–4 weeks for lab processing. Event coverage is delivered faster — event photos age by the day.
What is a session film?
A session film is how Captured Maya delivers photographs: your private gallery opens as a short cinematic scroll — your session's frames flowing full-screen, one after another, like a small film about you. You can switch to a classic grid, favourite frames, download everything in high resolution, and share the film with anyone you like.
Can I book a photographer for just 30 minutes?
Yes — absolutely ask. Short, focused shoots are welcome here: the headshot tier (from $200) already covers most quick needs, and anything smaller — a fast profile refresh, a couple of frames for an announcement, something with a tight budget — is a conversation, not a no. Write to ask@capturedmaya.com with what you need and it gets shaped to fit, time and budget included. Every session, short or long, gets the same finished editing and private gallery delivery.
Do you photograph events in San Francisco on weekends?
Yes — event coverage starts at $500, scoped to your gathering (from a two-hour party to a full evening), anywhere in the Bay Area. Weekend dates book earliest, so reserve ahead; the online calendar at capturedmaya.com shows real availability.
Do you have a photography studio in San Francisco?
Yes — a warm loft studio in SoMa, available with headshot, portrait, and editorial sessions by arrangement. It's not a white-box rental: warm atmospheric light, music, and no clock on the wall. It's also the answer to rain, and to winter evenings when the golden hour is long gone. The exact address is shared when you book.
Can I be photographed somewhere private, away from people?
Absolutely — and you're not alone in wanting that. Being photographed in public isn't for everyone, so sessions can run in quiet parks and calm corners of the city chosen for exactly that, or entirely indoors at the studio, where it's just you, the light, and the music. Say so when we plan and the whole session gets shaped around your comfort.
General practicalities — weather, wardrobe, consent choices — live on the main FAQ.