The ’60s and ’70s were a crazy time in America. The Civil Rights Movement, the counterculture, women’s liberation—the country was changing, and so was fashion from the mod look to space age attire to flamboyant rock ’n’ roll and hippie styles.
All of these changes were reflected in the pages of popular magazines and album liner notes, and this pre-digital era inspired photographer and creative director Marcia Beck to open Love Street Pictures, a photo studio focused on re-creating a 1960s aesthetic.
Her open, well-lit space has two main areas where she sets up photoshoots with vintage furniture and props, right down to period wood paneling, wall art, and shag carpets.
Visit the studio
Love Street Pictures wants to take your photo like it’s 1969—a little grainy, analog vibing and sexy as hell. Proprietor Marcia Beck offers guided photoshoots for individuals, couples, or groups, with vintage clothing and furniture. Call (805) 704-0554 or visit lovestreet.studio to learn more, or better yet, come see for yourself when the studio—2190 9th St., suite D, Los Osos—opens its doors to the public on Saturday, Sept. 19, from 5 to 9 p.m. You can also keep up with Beck’s work on Instagram @life_on_love_street.
“I have a storage unit, which is completely overflowing,” Beck said with a laugh, sitting at the studio’s fully stocked bar—The Tipsy Fox—near two dressing rooms. “I’ve been collecting my whole life. This place is all my life’s jams in one place. I’m just like a pig in shit here.”
On one dressing room wall hangs the classic and often spoofed photo of Burt Reynolds lying nude on a bearskin rug.
“That is an iconic picture, right? It was so good! I always thought that was from Playgirl, but it was actually from Cosmopolitan,” Beck noted.
Another area looks like seating in a ’60s living room.
“I try to always have a lounge area up so people have a comfortable space to hang in. We rotate between areas in terms of doing the session work.”
She calls The Tipsy Fox “a very major part of what we do here. It’s the starting point and the ending point. People enjoy having a cocktail, especially when they’re nervous about getting pictures taken. It tends to loosen people up, and it’s cool afterwards, too, because people get to decompress after their session.”
Beck serves clients whatever they want. It’s all part of the process that begins with phone call, consultation, and questionnaire.
“Each photoshoot is a totally tailored experience for them. It’s truly an immersive experience,” she explained. “The photos are a cool thing to have, but the experience is kind of the bones of it all.
“Over here we have our Playboy wall,” she continued. “This place is highly inspired by vintage Playboys. I draw from this a lot in terms of inspiration.”
Beck grew up on the beaches of San Diego County during what she called “the analog haze of the 1970s and ’80s” before moving to the Central Coast in 1997.
“Like many Gen X latchkey kids, I found early inspiration in punk rock culture and its DIY spirit, individuality, and rejection of conformity,” she explained. “I was 27 when I moved up here, and my son was 7 at the time. I was a single mom. I was sort of like, ‘I gotta get out of Southern California.’ All I wanted to do was just surf and fuck off. It was hard for me to really find a lane and stay in it, but I was a hairdresser since I was 18 years old, so I had that, but I just couldn’t find focus.”
Once here, she opened three hair salons over the years, but it was three years ago when she finally settled into her life’s work: portrait photography with a ’60s and ’70s vibe. For some of her clients, her style appeals to their sense of nostalgia. For others, they’re simply fascinated by that turbulent and expressive time. Others just dig the clothing and furniture.
“It’s for somebody who’s interested in vintage, the aesthetic and vibe, the history of it—all those things,” she said. “You’re not coming in and getting traditional headshots or portraits taken. This is coloring outside the lines a bit. I have a rack of clothes. My wardrobe room is packed to the gills with lots of cool stuff. It’s less about them choosing what they’re going to wear and more about me creating and choosing for them. It’s definitely collaborative, but it’s mostly me. They’re coming for my vision and what I see for them.”
‘It’s for somebody who’s interested in vintage, the aesthetic and vibe, the history of it—all those things. You’re not coming in and getting traditional headshots or portraits taken. This is coloring outside the lines a bit.’
—Marcia Beck, Love Street Pictures
Beck offers four types of sessions: Fox of the Month offers a classic femme centerfold; On the Bear Skin offers a quintessential masculine centerfold; Easy Lovers is an intimate couples shoot; and A Family Affair is a group feature. You’ll walk away with a series of 10 or 18 photos, and you can also get a one-of-a-kind magazine designed just for you.
“For the magazine, people’s images are all in one place with them as a centerfold. The whole magazine is built around that,” Beck explained. “I’ve created vintage ads, cheeky articles, the whole thing is like a Playboy or some sort of lusty magazine.”
Beck shoots with a modern Canon R10 mirrorless camera, so all the ’60s magic happens in Photoshop and Lightroom. If clients want a magazine, she’ll often prompt AI to write short articles based on the clients’ interests.
“I am not a writer,” Beck laughed, “so I’m like, ‘Fuck, I gotta figure it out, right?’ So, I’ll just put in, ‘Write it like Lester Bangs from Creem magazine,’ you know, and it’ll spit out the most insane things.”
The custom magazine is a fun ad-on, but most clients are here for the photos, the experience, and to revel in a stylized 1960s or ’70s milieu.
“It truly is an immersive experience from the beginning to the end, and it’s about a month-long process,” Beck explained. “I make sure we’re a good fit, that the vibe is right, that I can give them what they want, and they can give me what I want. And then about two weeks later, after they fill out a questionnaire, I start ruminating on the vibe. I learn about their music choices, their body positions, what they want to accentuate, what they don’t—all those things. This is where my history as a hairdresser comes in because a lot of it is intuitive, like, ‘Who are you and what do you need?’ It’s a very supportive space for people to let go and have fun.” ∆
Contact Arts Editor Glen Starkey at gstarkey@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Student Guide 2026.
