The Blog
Bay Area Photographer specializing in weddings and portraits.
I'm a Bay Area photographer specializing in portraits and weddings. I desire to showcase God's designs and use the creative skills that I've been given to bless others. When I have good pictures of myself with those that I love, I can look back and remember what we looked like and where we were, but also the emotions that we felt. The memories that come back with a good photo are irreplaceable, and I love being able to preserve them.
Meet Amber
Latest Posts
On the blog
October 31, 2022
Finally got to do a creek bed photo session! I’ve been wanting to use this location since last January, and this was the perfect night for it! Audrey and Kevin brought their family to meet up with me just before sunset so we got the golden yellows that went perfectly with their chosen green color […]
October 29, 2022
More photos with this fun family! I’m always grateful for return clients who like me and my photos enough to do annual photoshoots. 🙂 This time we did photos in Mountain House at the community park…it may be one of my favorites of theirs yet. Super pretty with all the trees, very fun for the […]
October 2, 2022
Jazze and Ken have been married a year! (Well, almost!) It’s officially anniversary month, and even though we technically took these photos at the very end of last month, I’m excited to share their one year anniversary session. One particularly special thing about these photos is that they remind me so much of Jazze and […]
August 16, 2022
The Gardens at Heather Farm have been a favorite for recent sessions, and for good reason. This was my second engagement session at the garden, and the roses and sunset did not disappoint! One of the best things about Heather Farm is the variety of spots in the garden to take photos. So many different […]
May 18, 2022
Jonathan and Amber finally had the wedding of their dreams! I was looking back through our messages from 2019 and 2020…we did their engagement session on January 4, 2020. The wedding was planned for May. In April, they postponed to September…then May 2021. We all know how those two years went! Finally at the end […]
May 11, 2022
I’m so excited to share Audree’s senior photos! Let’s talk about this garden. I had never been to Heather Park Garden before, but I will definitely be returning. This place is gorgeous, and it smells wonderful because of all the roses! Perfect sunset lighting, beautifully maintained landscapes. In her initial email, Audree told me, “I […]
April 27, 2022
I love doing photo sessions with this sweet family! I think this is the third or fourth time I’ve had the pleasure of taking photos for Jamie and Andrea and their two little ones, and I love seeing them every time. This time the occasion was to get some photos for their daughter’s fourth birthday. […]
April 21, 2022
More senior photos! I was so excited to do Hope’s senior session at this gorgeous sunset location…and when she showed up in this flowy white gown with hints of a blue tint, I thought “Oooh, this is gonna be good!” Indeed it was good, and the only disappointing part of the evening was the amount […]
April 6, 2022
I’ve known Colleen since we were in 6th grade…when we became friends and then months later she moved out of the Bay to the PNW, from the land of sunshine and happy into the land of rain and cloudiness. Despite living in separate states for the majority of our friendship, we’ve remained close! We’ve called, […]
April 5, 2022
Hailey and Oscar met during their senior year of high school. Oscar worked with one of Hailey’s friends, and Hailey worked across the street…so you can imagine how much time they spent in the same vicinity! They’ve been together for five years now, and I loved getting to know a little bit about them and […]
March 23, 2022
Meet Cory and Jon – I lived with one of them for four years and we didn’t kill each other! (Hint: Cory was my UCD college roommate…freshman year through graduation!) Although I don’t know Jon as well, I can definitely say that life with Cory is an adventure – complete with sarcastic comments and just […]
March 17, 2022
Megan and I have been good friends since 2007. Nothing like high school marching band to bring people together, right?! We’ve shared a lot of life experiences together…previously mentioned band trips, church retreats and missions, participating in each others’ weddings…and now she’s about to have her second son! I’m always thrilled when I get to […]
March 7, 2022
Here’s a secret about me: I don’t like trees. But that doesn’t mean I won’t use them for photography…and in this case, I actually really liked it! Andy chose the Wood Line at the Presidio for his senior photos, and we had so many great spots to choose from with the sun shining through the […]
March 4, 2022
Danielle and Timmy’s maternity photos! What a fun time this was! I never know what to expect when I’m meeting new clients for the first time, and it’s always a pleasant feeling when I leave the session thinking, “Oh, I liked them! They’re the kind of people I’d choose to be friends with!” We even […]
December 7, 2021
Maram contacted me about doing a Christmas photoshoot of her and her family at Creative Space Studios – but with a glam twist! She couldn’t make the Christmas mini date, so we set up a session for this month instead for her glam Christmas photos. I was very excited to be back at CSS to […]
November 12, 2021
I am in no way exaggerating when I say that I pretty much smiled the whole time I was editing this session! There are many locations to choose from for Livermore fall family photos, but sometimes going simple is best! I did Jamie and Tim’s beautiful family session at the library last week, and I […]
November 3, 2021
I love when clients come back for more family photos, it’s so fun seeing the kids and photographing people I have met before! Andrea wanted some fall barn family photos this year, and this is the perfect season for a visit to the farm! Andrea shares my Kyte Baby obsession, so you know I was […]
October 25, 2021
Cassidy and Kyle contacted me about getting some Holdener Park engagement photos done because Holdener Park has a very special meaning for them: they got engaged at a bench on the trails there! Of course we had to get some photos at the bench! 🙂 We both arrived a little early to Holdener – me […]
October 19, 2021
Jazze and Ken are married! Their Redwood Canyon wedding day in Castro Valley (at a Wedgewood facility!) was gorgeous. After taking their engagement photos nearly a year ago, I couldn’t wait to photograph their big day. Now, admittedly I’m not the biggest Star Wars fan out there (I HAVE seen a lot of the movies […]
October 4, 2021
Another beautiful family session in Livermore, this time early morning on a slightly (unexpectedly) overcast day! With everyone gathered together for a birthday celebration, this was the perfect time to update the family photos. It started out rather chilly, but I think we still got some great photos despite the lack of sun! And everyone […]
September 14, 2021
I’ve been trying for so long to get someone to do family photos at Alviso Adobe in Pleasanton. Enter Brian and Nicole, finally someone willing to give it a shot! Brian and Nicole were our first friends at church when we moved to Livermore. Another young couple, without kids yet, and they want to get […]
August 13, 2021
Back on the Arroyo Mocho – can you tell I have a favorite go-to spot? 🙂 Julie contacted me about last minute family photos in Livermore, so I knew this spot would be perfect. She and her husband were in town visiting the family, and when you have a new baby around, it’s important to […]
July 23, 2021
Travis and Kimberly’s Napa Valley summer wedding – the perfect day to begin a marriage! They exchanged vows in front of their families and some friends at an intimate, private residence venue. Their chosen green and yellow colors went really well with the surrounding scenery…couldn’t have planned it better! As a photographer, this Napa Valley […]
July 18, 2021
I can’t believe it’s been a YEAR (well, over a year now!) since Chad and Farah’s wedding! They had their wedding day all planned out, and then changed everything up due to COVID. Their backyard wedding turned out beautifully despite the last minute alterations. And we still got to take photos at Ravenswood as well! […]
July 2, 2021
This was a special family photo shoot. My good friend (and one of my best returning clients!) is moving out of state. Khouanchy wanted some last photos done to remember their time in California, surrounded by golden hills and warm summertime weather. We went to the Top of the Hill at Del Valle to get […]
May 11, 2021
Remember the senior session I did last year at UC Davis? This year I got to go BACK to Davis and do another one! Ellena contacted me because she is friends with those girls from 2020, and now it’s her turn to be a UCD graduating senior, class of 2021. And of course…everything is more […]
April 14, 2021
Meet my good friend Kimberly and my new friend Travis! Their engagement photos at Dublin Heritage Park are quite possibly some of my favorite ones to date. Kimberly and Travis started dating at the beginning of the pandemic (not ideal, but they got to know each other really well with lots of Zoom calls!) and […]
April 9, 2021
On Monday evening I had my first session post-maternity leave. It was the perfect one to start off the year! Andrea and Jamie brought their toddler and baby out to Livermore to meet up with me for this session. Andrea contacted me about a month ago hoping to get some family photos done, including some […]
November 17, 2020
Khouanchy and Josh first hired me for photos about a year and a half ago…we went to the Arroyo Mocho Trail for some fun family photos playing in the creek with their (at the time!) two children. I just love their family, and Khouanchy has become a good friend over the years. Of course I […]
October 20, 2020
Lake Merritt this time of year is all beautiful and fall-y! While summer is my FAVORITE, I do like the changing of seasons. Something about just a difference in clothing, scents, colors. Anyway, I was really excited to take Jazze and Ken’s Lake Merritt engagement photos at the start of fall in Oakland. Their wedding […]
September 30, 2020
Another photo session for Rachel and Danny! This time including their newest addition, Hailey. 🙂 I won’t share too many details of what I know from her birth story – that’s for Rachel and Danny to do – but I will say it was a surprise to everyone when Hailey decided to make her debut […]
September 22, 2020
On Saturday evening I got to explore a new place for a family photo session: Holdener Park! This is not a completely new place to me…I ride my bike through here all the time. But I have never used it for photos before. I think I like it! Beautiful sunset overlooking the vineyards in the […]
August 29, 2020
I recently learned about a stationary company called Basic Invite. I’m not sure if they were around when I was creating my wedding invitations six years ago, but if they were, I’m so sad that I missed out! I’ve spent some time poking around their website in the last month and really enjoyed it. So […]
August 17, 2020
When Caroline contacted me about her and Kyle’s engagement session, she mentioned that they preferred an “industrial look mixed with nature.” I thought of a few different options for their location. We landed on a downtown Niles engagement photo session! It really ended up being the perfect spot. The day we set for their session […]
July 18, 2020
Ever since I started photographing weddings, I have wanted to take sunset photos at Park Winters. Leave it to Katie and Peter to fulfill my photography dreams! I always tell Alex that Katie is my most loyal client. She gets mad at me when I forget to tell her there’s a new blog post up! […]
June 25, 2020
Last weekend Chad and Farah got married in their backyard! (You might remember their golden hour engagement session from just last week!) It was the perfect day for a summer backyard wedding in Livermore…even if it wasn’t what they originally had in mind for their big day thanks to COVID-19, they were able to celebrate […]
June 18, 2020
Meet Chad and Farah – soon to be husband and wife (as in a few days from now!) but for now, the latest engaged couple on the blog. We took these Livermore golden hour engagement photos less than a week before the wedding due to special circumstances…namely COVID-19. When I first started talking with Farah […]
June 9, 2020
You might remember Rachel’s first photo session when I did her graduation photos last March (before the pandemic was ever a thought in our minds!). Fast forward to this year…when Rachel told me she was pregnant and she wanted to have maternity photos done, I was so excited for her and Danny! Unfortunately we had […]
May 19, 2020
Last Saturday I finally got to shoot an outdoor session for the first time since the coronavirus shutdown happened! It has been a long three months of cancellations and staying home, but since things are slowly starting to open back up again I headed up north on Saturday evening to take some senior photos at […]
May 18, 2020
Today I want to feature another vendor who has some great thoughts on planning your wedding day. (Of course she does, she’s a wedding planner!) The goal is to give you some answers to questions you might have about the role of a wedding planner. I’ve teamed up today with Jenna from Heart and Arrow […]
May 4, 2020
I have been dreaming about doing a shoot at the Arizona Cactus Garden at Stanford University ever since I learned it existed! Also I would just like to put out a disclaimer: I’ve loved cactuses and yuccas and agaves since before they were cool and I can’t decide if I love the fact that everyone […]
April 27, 2020
Part of the purpose of this blog is not only to showcase your photography sessions, but also to include planning resources for your wedding day or photo shoot. The goal of this post is to give you some of the top bridal hairstyle tips. I’ve teamed up today with my favorite hair stylist in the […]
April 22, 2020
Something that potential clients ask me about a lot is delivery of RAW files. I don’t provide RAW files, nor do I sell them for a premium price. Let’s go through some of the basics about RAW files and why I handle this question the way I do. What are RAW files? Simply put, a […]
April 20, 2020
Around the House On the first official day of shelter in place, it hailed. It looked like snow and I took tons of photos because if you’re going to be stuck inside at least it’s hailing outside. Then these super fragrant flowers popped up in our wine barrels and we had NO idea what they […]
April 7, 2020
Last November I got to experience shooting a wedding at the Double Tree Hotel in Fremont, CA. I take lots of getting ready photos in hotel rooms and group photos in lobbies, but this was the first ceremony at a hotel event center! (Fun fact: my high school senior prom night was at a Double […]
March 30, 2020
I recently had the opportunity to second shoot a ceremony at the UC Berkeley Botanical Garden and then head over to Oakland for a Terrace Room wedding reception just a few minutes down the road. As I mentioned in the Botanical Garden blog post, I was shooting with Victoria from Victoria Noelle Photography, based in […]
March 24, 2020
Last summer I had the opportunity to second shoot for Victoria of Victoria Noelle Photography at a UC Berkeley Botanical Garden wedding ceremony. She is such a kind person and I had a wonderful time working alongside her. If you’re looking for a photographer in the Mendocino area, do yourself a favor and check out […]
March 19, 2020
For those that are curious, here’s a breakdown of my favorite lenses and cameras! This is not an exhaustive list of all the equipment that is used during Amber Rivas Photography sessions, but it gives you an idea of the kind of gear I like to use. Please remember that by no means does “the […]
February 27, 2020
A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to second shoot an Eagle Ridge Golf Course Wedgewood wedding. Luis and Kenna married at the golf course in early February, but it was a surprisingly warm day out. It was slightly overcast, except for a bit of sun during the ceremony, which is why you see […]
February 8, 2020
Winter Ravenswood Wedding Another wedding in Livermore – this time a beautiful peach and coral winter Ravenswood wedding. Ravenswood is a pretty simple venue – house for the reception, couple of places on the property for a ceremony. But it has a lot of hidden gems of pathways and walls and shrubbery for portrait sessions. […]
Create Your Wedding Invitation Online
Planning Your Wedding Day with a Planner
Top Bridal Hairstyle Tips
wedding tips
all about planning
a look at Basic Invite
guest post with Jenna
guest post with Kirstin
