to be displayed, treasured and kept forever.

We believe every person has a beautiful story to tell & being camera shy should never get in the way of timeless heirloom art and imagery,

Welcome Friends!

to be treasured and kept forever.

joyful     HEART

San Francisco Bay Area
LUXURY BOUTIQUE PHOTOGRAPHER

at

Creating heirloom quality artwork preserving legacy for busy families, women and active teens. 

For the Undeniably

No more investing in digitals that never make it on Your walls, or begin to fade in a few years. 

A Full Service Experience

Time is precious, it's the ONLY commodity we can NEVER get back!
Every year people book photographers, receive the digitals and let them sit in the gallery or hard drive for weeks, months...even years! 

Does this sound familiar?

This stage of your life, of your families life, of your businesses life....ONLY COMES ONCE

If you're tired of basic digitals and ready to invest in a luxury experience that....

* creates a customized session via a pre-planning call
*includes wardrobe & family prep
*results in an amazing and joyful session
*saves time & relieves stress through customized heirloom artwork delivered to your home
*creates imagery designed for your life and business

then click "Yes, I'm" to check out our services!

Yes I'm In!!

The Women Behind the Lense

Crystal Summer Bear

Hey sweetie! I'm so excited that you're considering me to capture the most treasured people in your life! Helping young kids, families & women feel special and beautiful through every stage in life, is my reason for being!

I can count on one hand how many family portraits I have from my childhood. And only have one (1) of all my siblings (and will only every have one). Life is precious and tomorrow isn't guaranteed. Taking action and preserving memories now is my WHY!

Filled with fun and laughter, let's draw out all those sweet precious and magical moments, that make life and YOU so special.  The art & imagery that we co-create will bring you joy every time you look at them for years.

There are a lot of people who can take a great photo, but together we will create timeless art that lives in your home NOT on your hard drive! 

Choose Your Session

Crystal is a super-star with kids! She got along so well with our 2.5 year old. Our daughter set through the shot, looked unto camera and was so comfortable that we got all sorts of her fun expressions caught on camera. She is very easy going and knows all the right angles and tricks to make your photos look amazing! Love the experience and would highly recommend Crystal for any occasion you what to memorize.

Natasha

Client Praise

FAQ's

She was so good with our 2 kids, and so patient with us. She took great candid photos of my family interacting, while offering guidance whenever we needed it. I am so excited to see how our photos turned out. She was great to work with and I will recommend her to anyone!

Reviews

Amy

We hired Crystal to take newborn photos of our daughter and I cannot recommend her enough. She came on time with a whole studio's worth of equipment necessary to take the perfect photos of our baby girl. She was so personable and wonderful with our children and dogs. She took her time to get the perfect shots and had all sorts of cute tutus and scarfs to dress her up. The photos came out incredible and she is super affordable to boot! We will definitely be calling her again for future photo sessions. Thank you, Crystal!

Kelly

Reviews

Crystal Bear definitely is a one of a kind photographer and I was so lucky and blessed to have had the opportunity to work with her. Crystal not only captures amazing photos of in a beautiful area, but she captures effortlessly natural moments and makes you feel so comfortable. My inner emotions, expressions and visions are not always easily expressed in words, but Crystal knew how to bring out the real me in this photo shoot. Thank again Crystal and I will definitely keep you as my go to photographer for business and personal.

Reviews

jennifer

 Crystal goes above and beyond to set-up the perfect shot. She is very aware of how posture, angle of face, of how feet, legs, knees, arms, etc are situated and checks over and over again to get the lines right for the best shot.

Daisy

Reviews

Crystal is seriously the best! I was so thankful to have such an amazing photographer during my graduation where she took singles of myself as well as additional photos at my graduation party. She was extremely helpful in creating the scene that imagined for my single photos. She is creative, thoughtful, and dedicated to capturing photos that help build lasting memories you can cherish time and time again.

My expectations were beyond met with Crystal's expertise and abilities. She works with individuals, couples, large groups of families and friends.... Not to mention her compassion and patience when working with children and pets! She is capable of commanding presence without being overbearing which is exactly what you want in a photographer trying to rally people for pictures. Crystal is so nice and genuinely cares about the satisfaction of her clients.

Megan

Reviews

My sister and I decided to surprise our mom with a family photo shoot for her birthday. Since I live on the other side of the country I turned to yelp for help, and found Crystal. She was so easy to communicate with and was super professional and accommodating. It was a multi generational photo shoot and she handled it beautifully. The photos came out great, everyone had a good time and we have some great memories. Highly recommend Crystal for your photography needs she has a great eye, and is a true professional.

Reviews

Polina

Crystal did our holiday family portraits for us. She was amazing. She was very flexible with scheduling a date. She was super professional and her contract tool was excellent. She made a great recommendation for where to take the portraits, and had some great ideas for our photos. We have a four year old and she does not like to take photos, but with Crystal she was all smiles and poses. Crystal definitely knows how to get kids to sit still and brings out the best in them for the photo. The pictures came out amazing and Crystal was so quick to get us the pics back. I am definitely saving Crystal's info for our next family portrait session.

carina

Reviews

Crystal did an awesome job with my two young girls, ages 6 and 8. She brought lots of good props and knew the perfect locations to get beautiful shots. She really did well making my girls smile, laugh and just have fun. The pricing for her package was very reasonable and the quality of the pictures were amazing. I highly recommend her!

Liza

Reviews

I had such an amazing experience. I had never had a professional photo session done and Crystal exceeded all of my expectations with the shoot. From the first time I reached out to the moment she delivered my pictures I didn't have not one problem with her service! She made me feel beautiful, she had my husband and I laughing so much, and I can honestly say that my pictures came out so perfect! If you are looking for someone to capture all your beautiful moments please call her! I will definitely be calling her again for all of my future photo needs. Thank you so much for everything Crystal!!!!

Reviews

Nancy

We had an amazing in home photo shoot. She brought the studio setup and props to us which was amazing given we have a newborn. She was fabulous with our older daughter and really got her to open up and get amazing photos of her and our son. We are so happy with all the photos she took and would absolutely recommend her!!!

Elizabeth

Reviews

So happy how are images turned out. Crystal has a natural talent and knows exactly what's she's doing when it comes to photography. 

Annie

Reviews

Crystal was amazing & brought out the best and most natural shots from us!! We even discovered sides to our photographing selves that we did not existed! We planned out what we had wanted together. Her goal was to ensure customer satisfaction and the outcomes we had wanted no matter what it took! & she did exactly that. Really glad we were able to go with her after a lot of searching. Can't wait to invite her back soon in the coming weeks and months for more!

Varsha

Reviews

We Can't Wait to Hear from You!!

FAQ's

* How long have you been a  photographer?

I have been photographing families since 2016. 300+ families and counting:)

* Are the digital files included?

I specialize in creating heirloom art pieces that get cherished every day and for decades to come. Digital files get lost in cyber space or your hard drive. However, I understand how important it is to share photos your excited about online. Every piece of artwork that you purchase will include social media sharable digital files.

* How long are the sessions?

Our senior sessions tend to be longer as there are usually multiple outfits. There are 3 types of senior sessions to choose from. Our family and portrait sessions are about getting the images we've chatted about during our consultation. Sometimes that means 30 minute, sometimes it takes an hour. 

* Is travel included in the investment?

Travel is included within a 35 mile radius of Martinez. I love traveling to different locations for family sessions. Some include Lake Tahoe, Oregon and even Germany. Travel is a customized quote. 

* What happens if you are injured or ill?

In the case of sickness or injury I will reach out to reschedule. 

* What is your refund policy?

The session fee is non-refundable, but can be applied towards a later session or given as a gift to someone else:)

* Change of date or postponement policy?

I include one complimentary change of date due to an emergency, national or world crisis. Please let me know asap. 

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