Thursday, April 26, 2007

Children's photo session



Last weekend, while I was up in Sonoma for a wedding consultation, my friend Krista asked me to take some shots of her son with her niece and nephew so we ran down to a local church and borrowed their lawn. Shooting kids is so funny because of how they react to new situations; at one moment they will be totally natural and relaxed, the next they will be shy and the next they will be laughing uncontrollably! The hard part is getting them comfortable enough to have a naturally happy look that isn't too "posed." That and sitting still!
I love when you look at a photograph of someone when they are a child and you can see how their personality has always been there. That's why I am sure to always get the smiles that Grandma likes to see but I also capture the essence of the child's personality so the parents can look at the picture and really see their child as they know them.
I haven't been doing many child sessions as I have been so busy with weddings and commercial work but after this one I think I will start doing more. Kids are all so unique and uninhibited, it really makes for a fun time shooting them!






Sunday, April 15, 2007

Ryan and Sarah Los Altos Wedding

I got the opportunity to shoot Ryan and Sarah's wedding this past weekend up in Los Altos, California, it was a really fun time! The wedding was a the Los Altos History Museum which has many aerial photographs of the Silicon Valley over the years, it is really interesting to see how it has so dramatically changed. It is also a really nice place for a wedding!
It had rained all morning but cleared up in time for a beautiful outdoor ceremony. Thankfully the ceremony was on the bricks so there was no soggy lawns to worry about! I drove up from San Luis Obispo early in the morning and shot the guys getting ready then moved over to the museum for the ceremony and reception. It is so much fun to switch things up and shoot the guys. Normally I cover both but there were two of us and as Ryan and Sarah were getting ready at two different locations we decided to pick sides and have fun. It is such a different vibe shooting the guys, where the women are busy getting ready for hours, the guys show up about 1/2 hour before it is time to leave, throw on their suits and it is all good! Too funny!
Anyways, enjoy some images...











Thursday, April 12, 2007

Marrianne Lanting Couture Wedding Gown Shoot

My friend TJ Cameron asked me to come down to Orange County to assist for a shoot of wedding dress designer Marianne Lanting Couture bridal gowns this past week. While I am based in San Luis Obispo, I travel for destination weddings quite regularly so it was great to get down to the sunny OC and hang out with TJ as my wedding season is just getting started. I also really enjoy getting back to my roots of big production shooting so it was really nice to be asked to help.
Marrianne's gowns are simply stunning.
The lighting setup was quite involved. As you can see from the first image below we had to use many lights to illuminate the scene, generally 5-6 were used throughout the shoot (there are 3 more lights that you can't see in this shot, one to the right, one behind the black softbox on the left and one behind the model). We did this so that the bright background would become darker and create the surreal look the designer wanted. I actually didn't shoot during this portion of the day as we were rushing to fit in all the shots so I applogize for the lack of final images.



Melissa smiles for the camera. She had amazing blue eyes that the ring light really lit up. Her pupils look so small because the reflection of the light is nearly as bright as her iris's.


Here is TJ shooting with a "ring light" attached to his camera


Marianne and husband Josh's dog Bella had a great time too!


Beca enjoys some downtime while Marianne arranges the table.


We also shot for jewelry designer Michelle Miller. We shot some images in a similar surreal style but just as sun was setting we grabbed one of our models and grabbed some available light images as well.

Thursday, April 05, 2007

More from Vegas



Every time I bring a full sized camera to Vegas I never even take it out of my room as carrying around a professional SLR is not all that convenient. I knew this trip would have very little down time so I figured I would make it easy on myself and just leave it at home. Jason Groupp called me up a few days before I left and convinced me that I better bring it so I brought just 1 camera body, a single 85mm lens and an off camera flash.
This is a VERY minimal kit for how I normally shoot so I was even more happy with the results given the limitations of the equipment. The light is a bit more harsh than what I normally do but with all the lights of Vegas I think it works out fine.
A couple people have asked to see more of the images from the Vegas shoot...though I am not sure if their motivation is to see my work or to see more of Kasia :) Anyways, here you go.







Monday, April 02, 2007

Funny WPPI Video





As I mentioned before, I was at the WPPI conference in Vegas most of last week (yes, I'm still trying to catch up on sleep). While there, I met Zack Arias while I was leading a small group of photographers on the Las Vegas strip. Zack is a great photographer and a dyed in the wool Nikon user. Seeing as we have a fairly similar style and that we both love moody and darker imagery as well as loving to use one off camera flash, I thought that it would be irresponsible of me not to make Zack try out my Canon 5D ;) haha, I think I just cost him $10K!
Another huge thanks to Chris plus Lynn, TJ Cameron and Jason Groupp for setting up the shoot! Everyone had a great time and the models were fantastic.

Check out this video Zack did from his trip. About half of the way through you will see lots of footage from the above shoot as well as Zack's first experience with my Canon 5D camera. It was a bit of a madhouse shooting on the strip as tons of extra photographers jumped in so it looks a bit paparazzi, but it was still really fun! I got a chance to show some other photographers how I create different and more dramatic images by using off camera flash and we all got a chance to have a great time! I'm really looking forward to next year!