This year has been super busy for me and this is my only weekend free to do holiday portrait sessions.  To be able to accommodate everyone, I’m doing mini sessions over two days at a location to be determined.

Times available:
Saturday 10/23 – 10am, 11am, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm
Sunday 10/24 – 10am, 11am, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm

* Holiday cards, canvas wraps, prints, and more.
* Packages start at $125

View more details and schedule your session here.

Born and raised in the Echo Park/Silverlake neighborhoods of Los Angeles, these guys have been playing instruments since they were kids. Music has always been their lifestyle. Growing up playing songs from legends like The Beatles, Santana, and the Doors during family jam sessions for almost 20 years has solidified their foundation. It’s not just their homegrown LA sound that resonates, it’s their authenticity. These guys are LA.

For Warren, Justin, and Pete’s first band shoot I wanted to capture their roots and their environment. We stayed close to where they spend most of their days practicing. I wanted them to be themselves. What I got was a bit of anxiety, vulnerability, confidence, craziness, and excitement. Everything a new band should have.

If you can’t tell by now I’m proud of these guys. Check them out. You won’t be disappointed.

Find them on Facebook, The Status: Fiction

My wife and I have been close to the Yaps for years and now seeing them as a family of five truly fills our hearts with joy.  Well, our first reaction when we found out Gen was pregnant was, “ANOTHER ONE?!” But quickly the shock turned into elation and, “Yay another one!”  With a teenager, a toddler, and a newborn I’m sure life now has new challenges for them, but that’s what family is all about.  Growing in size AND love.  Being an only child I admire big families and the Yaps are so blessed with theirs.

Congrats again guys!! So who’s the point guard?

In most of my shoots I sometimes find it difficult to incorporate an off-camera strobe since it involves extra equipment and so many other factors. When I’m doing a portrait session with clients we are normally on the move and not trying to call attention to ourselves. Unless I have an assistant with me, carrying around the extra equipment, setup time, and worrying about security guards is not that fun. But, there’s no doubt that using this setup can give you some AMAZING shots. In this workshop I tried to step out of my comfort zone from using natural light and practiced using a somewhat mobile single strobe/stand setup. Using natural lighting is still my main form of shooting, but if all factors are right an off-camera strobe is a great tool to have.

Much love to Ming Chien and all the other instructors for sharing their knowledge.

Special thanks to the models, makeup artists, and stylists for sharing their talent:
Carla Hille
Karla Montero
Annaiz Rzepka
Aimee Eyre
Laura Choate
Kay Jo

That evening was actually very cold and windy. In my head I was expecting to practice a lot with my off camera flash setup but the frigid wind and Vegas foot traffic did not make it easy.  Twenty minutes into the shoot I was not happy with my results and more importantly our couple, Jen and Rudy were freezing.  As a group we decided to switch things up and began walking.  We found some cool spots, got inspired again, and warmed up. Once I let go of my preconceived ideas of what equipment I was going to use and went with the flow I started to have a lot more fun.  The creative juices were flowing. Jen and Rudy were such troopers for toughing out the cold and being patient.  They kept each other warm, began to relax, and started to be in the moment.  Once we all started talking and got to know each other we discovered what a cool couple they were. We talked about the many years they’ve been together, their city, and lots of tattoo talk.  When it came down to it, it wasn’t about my flash compensation, exposure, or ISO settings, it was about Jen and Rudy…. and of course Vegas baby!

I planned on practicing technique but got a lesson on adaptability.  Lesson learned.

Special thanks to awesome Makeup Artist and overall great person Rose Anne Towers for driving all the way to Vegas to be our MUA.

Thanks again to Alfred B. for sharing and teaching.

And special shout out to Tiffany Dela Cruz Libiran for being one of my three blog readers!! woohoo Tiff! I was supposed to give you a shout out on Angie’s post but I got too excited to post it ; ). Better late than never!

With a new baby and a growing toddler, the Ortegas wanted to capture this special moment. Their two boys are still very young, but they will grow faster than a blink of an eye… and when they do, we’ll capture that too.

My day with the Magboos was simple yet lively.  We knew the kids and we knew what would work.  So we let them loose at a local playground close to their home.  I loved running around with them and catching their faces as they felt the rush of freedom.   At the end of the day I got tons on pictures and some great smiles.  They took on the park with full energy and were more than happy to show it with quick smiles for the camera right before they zoomed away.  And as soon as they were done it was a quick 5 minute ride back home to get some snacks and reset.

The location wasn’t fancy, it was just a park with slides and swings.  But I wasn’t there to take pictures of the location, I was there to capture joy and that’s what we found.

Hair and makeup provided by the super talented Rosanne Towers. Check out Roseanne’s Model Mayhem profile here.