Family Photographer in Davis, CA
Serving Davis
Relaxed, timeless family portraits for Davis — in the Lodi studio or outdoors in the light your family actually lives in.
Families across Davis trust Jesica Allen Photography with their most precious moments. For seventeen years and 227 five-star reviews, Jesica has photographed newborns, maternity, milestones, cake smashes, and families from Davis and throughout the Central Valley.
Davis is about 45 minutes northwest of Lodi, so every session is an easy trip to her private studio in downtown Lodi. Family sessions run year-round, though autumn light books first — Davis families planning around holiday cards usually reserve by late summer.
The Studio
Worth the drive to Lodi
A world-class 3,000 square foot studio in the heart of downtown Lodi, built entirely around families — a private kitchenette, a private family living room, and a private changing and feeding room, plus a children's make-believe playspace to keep little ones happy through the session.
For family sessions the space is what matters — room enough to photograph three generations without anyone pressed against a wall, a lounge for whoever is not in front of the camera, and a playspace that buys the twenty minutes small children will not otherwise give you. Davis families arrive, settle in, and leave the rest to Jesica.
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Davis
A little about Davis
Davis took its own ideas seriously and is a better town for it: the most bicycle-oriented city in the country, a farmers market among the best regarded anywhere, and a university arboretum running for miles along the creek through the middle of town.
That arboretum and Central Park are the two best pieces of ground for a family session in town, and both work in spring and again in autumn. Downtown is small, brick and walkable, with bicycles chained to everything and the market setting up in the park twice a week — it photographs as the college town it is.
Davis is about forty-five minutes northwest of the studio. Many families here are academic and often temporary, which makes the photographs a record of a particular few years in a particular place — worth making in the arboretum rather than against a wall.
The greenbelts are the thing that makes Davis work with children. They run continuously through the town, so a session can move a few hundred yards between quite different backdrops without anyone getting back in a car or crossing a main road — creek, oaks, open lawn, brick — and a child who has run some of it off is a far better subject than one who has been sat in a back seat. Central Park at the end, with the market setting up, is where most Davis sessions finish, usually with something in hand.
“We had such a wonderful experience with our family portraits. Jessica was incredibly sweet, patient, and attentive — especially with our six-month-old.”
Sarah Hamon • Family Session · Google Review
Davis — good to know
Do you photograph Davis families?
Yes — Davis is part of our core service area, about 45 minutes northwest of Lodi. Davis families book family sessions here every month.
Where do Davis family sessions take place?
Either in the private Lodi studio or outdoors around Davis and the Central Valley — whichever suits the look you want. Studio sessions have the wardrobe and the controlled light; outdoor sessions have the setting your family already knows.
When should Davis families book a family session?
Any time of year. Autumn is the busiest for outdoor family sessions around Davis, so families wanting that light book it by late summer.
Where do family sessions happen in Davis?
The arboretum and Central Park are the two best pieces of ground in town, and both work in spring and again in autumn. Downtown is small, brick and walkable, with the market setting up in the park twice a week — a farmers market among the best regarded anywhere, which tells you something nice about the place.
Our children need to move. Does Davis suit that?
Better than almost anywhere served, and the greenbelts are why. They run continuously through the town, so a session can move a few hundred yards between quite different backdrops — creek, oaks, open lawn, brick — without anyone getting back in a car or crossing a main road. A child who has run some of it off is a far better subject than one who has been sitting in traffic.
When should we book?
Spring or autumn, when both the arboretum and Central Park are at their best. Spring is the one everyone wants for the wisteria and redbud; autumn along the same water is quieter and just as beautiful.
How long does it take?
An hour to ninety minutes on the ground, led by the children rather than a shot list, plus about forty-five minutes each way. The greenbelts make it easy to cover two or three quite different settings inside that, which is unusual and one of the real pleasures of photographing in Davis.
Inside a session
Inside a family session
Now Booking · 2026
Let's save your due date
Newborn dates are limited each month and held by your estimated due date. Reach out early in your third trimester to reserve yours — and for maternity, milestone, and family sessions any time of year.
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