Your Family Pictures

Utah photographers Steve Barrus and Jenny Gamboa are the premier professional photographers in the Salt Lake City, Utah area. We love to create beautiful family portraits that your family will cherish for years to come. We have been in business for 25 years and have become known for our high quality pictures and friendly, fun service. Photography is our passion, and we know that your family is your passion. So let us help you in your family photography planning!

Professional Photographers

With so many portrait photographers out there these days, it is hard to know who to choose. We hope that after looking over our beautiful pictures and calling about our reasonable prices you will choose us to be your family photographer for life! One of the things that make our photographers so popular is their fun-loving attitude that helps families to relax and smile! Steve and Jenny are particularly great with the kids in your family. Their silly antics and fun props are sure to make the little ones grin.

Another thing that people do not often consider is the pose. Our photographers make sure each person is in an individually pleasing pose as well as an overall great family pose, no matter which background you choose.

Excellent Customer service for your Family Photo

We don't stop at beautiful pictures; we are the leader in customer care! Each receptionist is trained and talented and will help you with every aspect of your picture planning; including location, clothes, and even little “tips” we have to make you look fabulous! We are very accommodating at every stage of your portrait journey, from scheduling, to ordering, and to eventually coming in to take home your own masterpiece.

Computer Enhancements

Equally important as the photographer you choose is your retoucher. A professional retoucher can do amazing things these days with the latest photo editing software. Our talented retouchers can make you look your best! We remove blemishes and shine at no charge! Sometimes the very subtle things make the biggest difference. For instance, a simple softening under the eyes is very subtle, but it can actually take years off! We also offer “digital liposuction” at a reasonable charge, which is like loosing 10 pounds or more. Softening wrinkles can make you look like you did years previously. We can even remove double chins!

But the most fantastic thing in the world of retouching is HEAD SWAPS! Gone are the days of sacrificing one or two people's looks in a photo because “everyone else looked good.” Now we can make sure everyone looks good. We can take someone's head from one picture and put it on another picture where he was crying or maybe she had her eyes closed. For an example of how good this looks, look at the Barrus family picture in our About Us page and try to guess who was swapped and who had their whole body moved!

We hope you'll trust us with what we hope will become your most treasured possession—your photography portraits. Because we know how important pictures of family are!

Family Reunion

Extended family portraits are one of our specialties. Family reunions wouldn't be complete without a family portrait of everyone. Our experienced photographers know how to handle and place large groups of people so that you all look great. It's hard to know who has more fun during the family reunion portrait—your photographer or you—because everyone will be laughing so hard at all your photographer's silly tricks and phrases. Don't be surprised if we ask everyone to shout out funny things like “Grandpa is goofy!” It's all in good fun, and really makes the kids smile.

We charge one sitting fee that covers the whole reunion family and any smaller family groups that want their picture taken as well.

Tips for a beautiful Family Portrait

Studio Family Picture

Sometimes the most convenient location is right here in our studio. We have many different indoor sets, including our cloudy dark traditional background that is perfect for almost anything and fits families of up to 60. We also have a white background that looks stunning with jeans and all white shirts or even all black outfits. This set can also fit up to 60. Our most popular set looks like a picturesque scene strait from Rome, complete with tall archways, towering pillars, and real old-world brick. This background can fit a family of up to 45.

We also offer the convenience of an outdoor setting here in our own backyard. Our landscaped yard has a variety of scenes: a charming bridge, cute white picket fence and archway, and many trees. In the autumn we let our leaves pile up until we have what seems like almost a foot of golden leaves covering our entire yard. It is so much fun!

If you would like to see pictures of these backgrounds (and to help you choose what will fit your family's personality best), please look at our Studio gallery.

Outdoor family portraits

We have three different outdoor locations where we can take your family picture for no extra charge. Each location has its own unique look and feel. They are all very close to the studio, within 10-20 minutes. Click on the Families link to see all the different outdoor location galleries so you can decide which one you like the best.

Big Cottonwood Canyon

Ledgmere, a picnic ground located up Big Cottonwood Canyon, is perfect for the outdoorsy family. These canyon shots are so stunning and will create a masterpiece for your wall. Many times, we pose your family on rocks right in the river. Ledgemere looks great in every season, but if you want to go up there in the snow, plan to dress warmly and have all-wheel drive or chains. This location is good any time of the day during winter months, but is not good 11:30-2:00 during the summer. Please visit our Ledgemere Gallery to see portraits taken at this location.

Wheeler Farm

Another fun place to shoot is Wheeler Farm. This is a great place for a wide variety of shots. There is a barn, a gigantic tree that can fit your whole family, and lots of fun tractors and farm things to pose on. Kids love getting their pictures taken at Wheeler Farm. This location is not good 11:30-2:00 any time of the year. Our Wheeler Farm Gallery shows several examples of family portraits taken there.

Murray Park

We have also been going to Murray Park for years because of its huge trees and the gorgeous river running through the park. Murray Park is great for any size family, and works particularly well for large extended families because of its nice sidewalks and easily accessible grounds. The other good thing about this location is that we can shoot there any time of the day because of the shade the large trees provide. Look at our Murray Park Gallery to see the several possibilities for your family picture at this location.