Skatin' around....

Had a lot of fun with the roller skate theme...I'm sure it will be a popular theme in the future. Been shooting a lot this week, so there's much more to come!

Nazanin

Nazanin had a great exotic look. Her ethnic background consists of Spanish, Persian, Mexican, and American Indian. Great mix.

Chi-WOW-hua

That's "Cuba" the little chihuahua, and Rebecca, who I've shot with once before. I don't often bring an animal in the studio, but this seemed like a good idea to try. Cuba makes a great prop!
You've really gotta click on the photo to appreciate it.

Carina

I had a photo shoot with Carina on Sunday....it lasted 9 hours! It was just going so well, we didn't want to stop. We got a lot of great shots.

Salute to the Hair & Make Up Artists

Just wanted to give some recognition to some of the wonderful Hair & Make Up Artists I've been working with lately. These shoots wouldn't have been successful without them. SO....a big Thank You to Candace, Liz, Evelyn, and Susana.
The model here is Cindy, who you also saw on the "Diner" post down below.

Lana

Lana, who posed for the fairy shot, came back for another shoot. As usual, we got way too much good stuff....it was tough to know where to begin. We both really liked this shot, so I thought that would be a good place to start.

Diner

I love 50's Diners, so this was a lot of fun. We managed to squeeze in several different looks into one night, so I'll be posting more soon.
This is Cindy, she did a great job and is anxious to work together again in the near future. It always makes me happy when the model has a fun time and wants to come back and shoot again very soon.

Fairy: Updated

Ok, so I brought the wings down, and I like the composition better. I know the wings are large, but I like oversized wings.

The Amazing Amy

Amy came back for another shoot recently, and we had a great time! This look was inspired by an old Billie Holiday photo.
It was Amy's idea, and to be honest, I wasn't too sure about it, but in the end I was very pleased.....and she was right, it WAS a good idea!

Flashdance

This shot was inspired by the 80's movie....gotta love the 80's. Kathy, the model, was very professional and did a fantastic job. She was very pleased with this image and wants to work together again very soon.

Top Hat....Top Model

This is Alicia, who I photographed on Sunday. She was very pleasant to work with, and I'm sure I'll shoot with her again soon.

Lana

So this is Lana, who is portraying Silvermist (see picture below). I'm still working on that shot, but I thought I'd show a picture of her in "regular clothes." This was shot on Sunday at sunset out on the street using only natural light. I got so many shots of her that I liked, it was very difficult to pick one.

Silvermist is coming....

This is a work in progress that I'm very excited about...
Stay tuned....

Bold

I know this is a lot for some of you to handle, but I hope you can. This is Jeramee, she's a great model who really knows how to pose. I didn't need to give her a lot of direction, she just made it happen all on her own.

Simple Elegance

This is Amy, who was amazing to work with. She was very graceful and elegant, but wasn't afraid to be silly too. We were both very pleased with the shoot, and I'm sure we'll do it again soon.

Sorry I haven't posted in a while....been a little under the weather lately.

Lady in Red

Cristy already came back for a second shoot. A good time was had by all.

Natural Light

I was in Vegas all of last week for a photography convention. My hotel room at the Rio had floor to ceiling windows, so the natural light was amazing. I didn't want it to go to waste....so my good friend Susie came by and we did a photo shoot right there in the room using just the window light. It was a nice change of pace from the studio lights.

Happy Valentine's Week

Here's Marisa's great smile again.....I thought the message on this particular heart was appropriate.

Valentine Fun

We used a lot of lollipops, cupcakes and candy hearts on this last shoot. It was a lot of fun. Hope this isn't too much for you to handle...

Marisa

I've been playing around with some valentine colors lately. Marisa had a great smile and was very easy to work with.

2008 Portrait Book

Well I finally finished putting together my portrait book for 2008. I did it through iPhoto. It should arrive in the mail next week.

The Cowboy Hat Shot

I know I've done this shot many times, but there's something about a girl with long brown hair wearing a cowboy hat that totally works.....and I think it works in color, black & white, AND sepia.

Cropping choices

One of the benefits of a 12 megapixel camera is being able to crop in really tight on a photo and still retain a good quality image.

Happy New Year

Anchors Away! 2009 is here....

2008 Wrap-Up and Thank You

Are the blogs dying out? I don't know, but I want to say Thank You to anyone and everyone who's taken the time to check out this blog and leave comments. I really appreciate you making the effort.
Here's a collection of a lot of the people I photographed this year. You may find some familiar faces in there.
2009 should be even more fun.

The Pin Up Process

Everyone is always curious about the "before & after" of a photo.
Well, with a Pin Up shot, the change is pretty dramatic, so I thought it'd be a good example to show. First, the image I started with, straight out of the camera. Second, the image all touched up, and Third, the image after going through a multi-step process to make it look more like a painting. I'm still refining the technique, but I'm learning more all the time.
I thought a close up crop of the face would better illustrate the process.......no pun intended.
And finally the full pose.

And Winter finally came...

Well, it finally got cool here in southern California, after 8 months of 90+ degree weather. It's a refreshing change in my opinion. Thought this recent pic of Tamara would be appropriate. This was Tamara's first real shoot...she followed direction very well and did a great job. I'm sure she'll be in front of the cameras a lot more in the New Year.
I always like the fur coat shot....it's a great prop and frames the face nicely.

Brandi

The "Pin Up" theme is very popular with the models....I'm sure I'll be doing a lot more of it in 2009.

Happy Christmas

Bowling

Another shot of Kristabelle from our recent shoot.

Tells a Story...

Something a little different..

After the rain...

The amazing Kristabelle

I photographed Kristabelle once again this past weekend, because we got such good results the last time we worked together. She brings the props, the outfits, the energy, and she does her own hair & makeup!.....A photographer's dream.

Happy Thanksgiving

The Harris Family.

The Girl with the Curls

I took this shot of my good friend Efie on Saturday, November 1st. It had just started to rain when I took this shot....and about one minute later it was POURING rain, and we had to run for cover.

Adrien/Jasmine

On the day I did the Jasmine shoot, Adrien insisted I do some "standard" headshots as well. I thought I'd post two of them here to show what she normally looks like. I think she still looks a little like Jasmine even without all the big hair and make up.

Final Snow White

This is the final Snow White image for the Princess Book......and yes, that's her real hair.

Final Jasmine

Here's the final Jasmine image for the Princess Book.

Adrien

This is Adrien, who I photographed about a month ago. I'm hoping to photograph her again, because I think she'd make a great Jasmine. If you can't see it....well, you're just gonna have to trust me.

Jessie's back

Jessie came back for another shoot. She's great to work with, and always brings the energy!

Guess WHO.....

Here's another shot....let me know what you think. Click on it....you really have to see it large to appreciate it.


So, where do I start? This is one of many images I had in my head. This shoot was a lot of work, but a lot of fun too. Reminds me of my animation days in college....the more work you put into something, the more rewarding it was in the end. The final product was always a bigger payoff.
This shoot took a lot of preparation....I went out and bought the costume, the shoes, the ribbon, new material for the cape, lots of flowers, a basket, wiring for the flowers, apples (real and fake), safety pins, clothespins, and some double sided tape. Did I mention that the costume only came in one size for adults?... and my model was only 5 feet tall! I took a half day of vacation to do this shoot, because I wanted to do some shots outside, and I knew the preparation would take a LONG time. (3 and a half hours!) So needless to say, I was determined to make this work.
I would also like to give a big thanks and some special recognition to my MakeUp Artist, Tracy Richards. She has really been making a lot of my work shine lately, and I find myself not wanting to work without her. We first worked together on the Disney Lifestyle shoots last year, and we've remained friends ever since.
This shoot would not have been possible without her great talent.
Cyndi, the model, also did a great job and was very patient....you can see some other shots of her from a few posts ago.
So, you'll be seeing more from this shoot in the future, but I wanted to get something up here.