Great profile

This is Rachel, who I've worked with twice now. She's a lot of fun, and always has a witty comeback. I like her strong features, so I wanted to accentuate that. She has some of the best lips I've ever seen. Also, I tried to use her hair as more of a graphic elemnet. I like the straights and the curves....and the shapes her hair creates.

Lummi Island Shoot

So I went up to Washington state with some friends, to see some friends, and I ended up making a new friend. This is Kim, who lives up in Bellingham, Washington. I was fortunate enough to coordinate a shoot with her, and she was such a delight to work with. I stayed on Lummi Island which is located off the coast of Washington, near Bellingham. My friends Brian and Leigh currently live there, and their place has a spectacular view of the water. The entire island is really beautiful, so I was glad I was able to shoot with someone while I was there. Kim and I got along very well right away, and I'm sure she'll be down in L.A. soon to shoot with me again! A special thanks to Leigh and Brian for being such great hosts and for helping me out with the shoot. This shot was actually taken on their balcony which overlooks the water.

My friend Jessie...

Jessie and I just had our third shoot together, and it went very well. She's got great energy and is always fun to be around.

Daniela

Sometimes you see a model, and you just know they'll be perfect for "Pin Up." Daniela is one of those girls.

Beautiful.....Can you guess her ethnicity?

Ashley

This is one of the tougher Pin Up poses, but Ashley pulled it off with ease.

The Mighty Erika

She may only be 5 feet tall, but Erika performed like a superstar.
These shots were done in a very simple way....just one Nikon flash and a piece of foam core (tanktop shots).....but they are some of my favorites of the year so far.

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...