My name is Michael Sullivan. I'm a photographer and a certified tour guide in San Francisco, California and I specialize in, and am pioneering, an emerging brand of sightseeing tours called "Photo-Shoot Tours". I take photographs of individuals, couples and small groups (-6) at the very best places to see or be seen in, and around, San Francisco. There are no long set-ups or artificial lighting sets on my tours. I'm comfortable hiking down to beaches, riding in limousines, walking into executive chef kitchens or taking photos from penthouse suites I've never seen before with last-minute permissions and no previews.

In between photo-shoots I deliver bite-sized doses of history or I'll tell (mostly) historically accurate stories. I’m always on the look-out for new angles and different background “settings” for my photos. As a content creator and blogger on Instagram I have a large enough following to continuously R & D the kind of photographs (and hashtags) that resonate on social media. Being a blogger opens doors for me, especially when I share photos with the establishments that let me roam somewhat freely and take creative compositions of my customers on their property and inside their buildings.
Delivering creative, still-photography images for social media is the driving force behind what I do and the imaginative photographs I shoot for. Every business, big and small, is looking for the kind of relevant content I produce from my tours, especially when we stop in, shake hands, say hello and take a photo with a person or product that that business is wanting to get greater visibility for on social. Historic hotels, bars, restaurants, retail stores, churches, and cable cars or ferry boats provide real-life "stage-settings", "props" and "extras" for my photo-shoot tours.

I have permission to bring my tours into some of the most exclusive hotels and restaurants in the best neighborhoods in San Francisco. These include the Ritz-Carlton, the Fairmont Hotel, the InterContinental Mark Hopkins and the Big Four Restaurant in the Huntington Hotel but that does not mean I can take photos everywhere. We can visit and look at areas where photos are not allowed. Flash use is also limited. But Nob Hill is just a fascinating area of the City to learn about and to get your photos taken with history all around you.

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