Why You Still Need a Human Behind the Camera (Even If Your Phone Is Amazing)

I'm a photographer who specializes in modern kids, families, and agency photography across Los Angeles, Encino, Woodland Hills, Calabasas, Hidden Hills, Westlake Village, Tarzana, Reseda, Sherman Oaks, and Studio City (plus Chicago, just not in the winter) - and I hear it all the time:

“My phone takes great photos. Do I really need a photographer?”

We live in a world where your phone can do almost everything, including taking pretty great pictures. You can tap Portrait Mode, throw on a filter, and suddenly your Tuesday afternoon latte looks like it belongs in a magazine.

So why on earth would you still need an actual photographer?

Short answer: because the magic isn’t in the camera. It’s in the connection.

As a kids, family, and commercial photographer in the Los Angeles area, I love technology (I use my phone camera too!). But there are some things a phone just can't give you, no matter how many megapixels it has.

Let’s talk about why having another human take your photos still matters.

You deserve to be in the story, not just documenting it.

If you scroll through your camera roll right now, how many photos are of your kids, your partner, your friends…and how many are actually of you with them?

Most families from Encino and Tarzana to Sherman Oaks and Studio City have one person who is always behind the camera. Hello. That might be you.

The problem with that? Years from now, your kids won’t just want photos of themselves. They’ll want proof that you were there. The way you laughed with them. The way you held them. The way you looked at them when you thought no one was watching. You might think I'm joking, especially if they're teenagers. I'm not.

A photographer puts you back in the frame. Not a rushed selfie with an outstretched arm, but real, honest moments where everyone is relaxed and fully present.

A phone can’t see your connection the way another human can.

Your phone is smart. But it doesn’t notice when your child’s shoulders relax because they finally feel comfortable. It doesn’t see the way your partner looks at you when you’re wrangling everyone and laughing anyway.

A photographer isn’t just pressing a button. We’re watching body language, energy, and emotion. Whether I’m working with a family in Calabasas, a couple in Hidden Hills, or a grown-up in Hollywood, I’m adjusting the session minute by minute so it feels good, not just looks good.

We’re noticing tiny moments you’d never see if you were busy propping up your phone, setting a timer, and hoping for the best.

The result? Photos that feel like you, not just posed versions of you.

Professional images are made to last, not disappear in the scroll

Phone photos are wonderful for everyday life: messy kitchens, carpool lanes, mid-week chaos in Reseda or Woodland Hills. But they tend to live (and die) on your screen. A professional session is different. We’re shooting with intentionality; thinking about light, composition, color, and how an image will feel as a large print on your wall or as a full spread in an album.

That means:

• No grainy, blown-out photos when you try to print them big.

• No weird orange skin tones from overhead kitchen lights.

• No “everyone looks fine, but something is off” photos.
  

Instead, you get images that hold up over time, both technically and emotionally. The kind your kids will fight over one day when they’re grown.

It’s a completely different experience (and your nervous system can tell).

Trying to DIY your own family photos is… a lot. You’re:

• Planning outfits

• Tracking the light

• Figuring out where to put the tripod or lean your phone without making your entire family look funky

• Setting the timer

• Running into the frame

• Hoping everyone looks okay and has their eyes open when you check the result.
  

Your nervous system is on high alert, and it shows in the photos.

When you work with a photographer, you get to hand all of that off. I’m holding the timeline, the lighting, the pacing, and the plan. Whether we’re shooting in a Studio City park, your backyard in Encino, or a favorite spot in Sherman Oaks, you'll get to actually enjoy your people, instead of managing them.

That ease shows up in the images: softer shoulders, real laughter, fewer forced smiles, and way less “everyone be good!” energy.

Kids (and adults) show up differently with someone they can trust.

Most kids won’t give you their true selves on command. Especially not on a 10-second timer. And especially not if they're feeling slightly embarrassed.

A good photographer knows how to meet people where they are: shy, wild, sensitive, silly, neuro spicy, or all of the above. We build trust, move at their pace, and create room for who they actually are - not who they “should” be in a photo.

The same is true for grown-ups. Most adults say, “We’re awkward in photos.” My job is to take that pressure off, give you simple prompts, and create movement and connection so you’re not standing there thinking, “What do I do with my hands?”

Whether I’m photographing a playful family session on the beach in Malibu or an in-home newborn session in Westlake Village, that trust changes everything.

You’re not just buying photos. You’re buying a future memory.

In the moment, a session can feel like an hour in your calendar.

But what you’re actually investing in is how it will feel to look back:

• When the baby curls of their hair have grown out.

• When their voice has changed.

• When the braces come off.

• When your kid is taller than you.

  
  

Your phone will keep capturing the little, everyday pieces of your life (and it should!). But every once in a while, it’s worth stepping fully into the frame and letting someone else hold the camera and the vision.

Ready to step out from behind your phone?

If you’ve been thinking, “I’m always the one taking the photos—there’s never any proof I was there,” consider this your invitation.