Ready to up your Christmas card game? Need to give your significant other a gift that says, “I’m a sexy beast?” Want a holiday portrait all your relatives will be talking about? Well, welcome to Christmas, Love Street Pictures style.
“This is the third year that we’re doing Christmas on Love Street, and it’s just what it sounds like,” photographer Marcia Beack said. “It’s a portrait experience that’s a little out of the ordinary. We’ve created two immersive Christmas environments this year. We’re going to have one scene set up that’s like a living room and then another scene that’s set up like a bedroom. It can be for families, for couples. It can be for someone that’s looking for a little gift for their partner, kind of a sexy bedroom scene. So, it’s kind of for everybody.”
Beck fell in love with the ’60s and ’70s aesthetic by looking at the photography and advertisements in vintage men’s magazines like Playboy. She has a storage space full of furniture, props, and vintage clothes, and most of the year her studio caters to clients looking for a photo session. Her Christmas special offers a Love Street Pictures experience that’s easier on the budget.
Christmas, Love Street style
Love Street Pictures, the Los Osos photography studio that specializes in creating the ’60s and ’70s aesthetic of men’s magazine ads and album liner notes photos, is turning its attention to vintage Christmas. Visit lovestreet.studio to schedule a session or call creative director Marcia Beck at (805) 704-0554. The studio is located at 2190 9th St., suite 4.
“The living room scene is going to be like you’re stepping into your aunt’s living room in 1977. You know, wood paneled walls, ’70s furniture,” Beck explained. “There’s going to be a Christmas tree that looks of that time. It’s going to be sort of like when you would leaf through an old photo album from back in the day and you saw those semi-awkward family portraits for Christmas. That’s the kind of flavor that we’re trying to create.”
As a reference, think about filmmaker Wes Anderson’s carefully constructed nostalgic visual style.
“I’m highly inspired by Wes Anderson and have been for a really long time, even before it became an aesthetic,” Beck explained. “I just like the way he creates this awkward portraiture. It’s genius, right? And the way he layers textures and his symmetry and the colors he uses—all those things. I’m highly inspired by him and have been, especially when it comes to group portraits.”
Whether you’re one person, a couple, or want to set up a shoot with your family or friends, Beck can accommodate you.
“The bedroom scene is going to be a little bit more on the kitschy side, with a red velvet headboard—a little Madonna Inn-ish in its kitschiness,” she noted. “I’m thinking the bedroom scene is probably going to be more for the sexy stuff, even though it can be for anybody, really.”
Like, for instance, parents being awakened by their children excited that Santa has come and jumping up and down on their parents’ bed.
“I’m still trying to hammer out the details of the bedroom scene so that we can interchange from that to scenes that are a little naughtier,” she added.
‘It’s a portrait experience that’s a little out of the ordinary.’
—Marcia Beck, owner of Love Street Pictures
Beck can neither confirm nor deny that the living room scene may have a fondue pot, but she promises “interactive stuff” like games.
“There’s going to be Christmas presents under the tree, and we’re going to catch kids tearing open Christmas packages and stuff flying around—that kind of thing,” Beck said.
Normal Love Street sessions can be very involved and take hours, but the Christmas sessions are designed to be more streamlined.
“It’s set up very differently than a Love Street session,” Beck explained. “You can book online, so that’s going to be really super easy. It’s a 30-minute session of actual photography time that starts at $295. You get five edited digital images. There’s also about half an hour added so that they can linger. We have a drink around the [studio’s vintage bar], The Tipsy Fox. We’ll have some cookies. They can chill a little, because it really is an immersive experience. It’s not just like we’re getting you in and out. It’s also limited to four sessions per day so that we don’t get real burnt out and so people can stay and have a good time.”
People can wear their own clothes, but for an added fee, Beck can dress models from her extensive vintage clothing collection.
“I can do a wardrobe pull for them if they want. They can also add on hair and makeup, but that’s also an extra service,” she noted. “I do have a link to a Pinterest board that I’ve created so they can get some ideas on how to do their hair and makeup, how to do their wardrobe, things like that.”
Visit pinterest.com/lifeonlovestreet to check it out.
“Christmas on Love Street is very much a portrait experience. It’s not like your typical family photos. It’s the experience of coming together and doing this really fun thing in a really fun environment where it’s all about them. And what you get from it is some really cool photographs. They could be for Christmas cards if you want them, or some cool pictures of your lover,” Beck said.
“It’s for just you, for whatever you want to do with them.” ∆
Contact Arts Editor Glen Starkey at gstarkey@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Nov 12-19, 2026.
