Jason Zalameda Photography Blog » Los Angeles

Aleessa & Jason Engagement Session | UCLA | Los Angeles, CA

admin — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 20:24:24 +0000

Aleessa and Jason met at UCLA and it was only fitting to start their engagement session there. I’ve been wanting to shoot there for a while and was more than happy to accommodate their request to take their engagement pictures on campus. Unfortunately, there was an event going on which caught us a bit off guard but we were able to find other cool spots and make it happen. For the second half we went to Venice beach, toured the canals, and caught the sunset. It was as much fun as it sounds.

Engagement sessions are more than just photo shoots, they’re like dates. A date night for the bride and groom as they celebrate their engagement. A date between me and the couple as we get to know each other. Hanging out with Aleessa and Jason showed me what a great couple they were. We shared stories, laughed, and talked about everything. I know for sure we’ll have fun on our second date. I get to meet their families, party it up, have some cake, and capture their most beautiful moment together…. their wedding day. I can’t wait!

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Garnette & Vincent Engagement Session | Los Angeles, CA

admin — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 23:11:43 +0000

It’s always interesting how my clients find me. Vince and Garnette discovered me on everyone’s favorite virtual hangout, Facebook. Vince happens to be my brother in-law’s childhood friend and through Facebook magic we connected. I always say, a friend of a friend is a friend of mine.

We shot their engagement session on a Friday afternoon. I had never seen Griffith Observatory so packed. But, I never really worry when there are a lot of people around anymore. Generally, people know when a couple is engaged. They see it instantly. Sure they see the big camera, but they also see a happy couple; holding each other, looking into each others eyes, and showing lots of PDA. They smile, say congrats, and get out of the way. LOL.

Yes, there were lots of people around and they all got to witness Vince and Garnette’s moment as a happily engaged couple. Everyone should have a moment like that.

Congrats guys!!! Can’t wait for the wedding day!

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Joanne & Jeremiah | Los Angeles Wedding

admin — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 21:48:53 +0000

Joanne and Jeremiah’s wedding was full of laughter, tears, food, and drinks; all elements of a great wedding. After a beautiful ceremony at St. Bernard’s Church I took the bridal party to take portraits at the rose garden in Exposition Park. The day was a bit warm in Downtown LA but the beautiful blue sky and a little A/C made us all forget about that quickly. I’m pretty sure the bridal party enjoyed their big ass 22 seat limo Hummer as well ; ). The reception was held at the Westin Bonaventure in the heart of the city. I must admit, during the reception I was very moved by Jeremiah’s dance with his mother and the tribute to Joanne’s father. Very touching moments for both families. The entire evening was a blast. I left a little later than I normally do but when I did leave everyone was still partying. A very good sign.

Congrats again to the newlyweds. Thank you for making me a part of your wonderful moment. May everyday of your marriage be filled with joy and love.

Thanks to awesome photogs Alfred Bertulfo and Derrick Yazzie for lending their talents and helping me out.

Check out Joanne and Jeremiah’s engagement images here.

Last but not least, here is a preview of some highlights of the day. Enjoy!

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Kimberly & Jonathan Engagement Session | Los Angeles, CA

admin — Mon, 17 May 2010 03:50:07 +0000

My initial consult with Kim and Jon was in a cool little coffee shop in Silverlake that they suggested. I’ve passed that coffee shop everyday and never really noticed it until I met them. For their E-Session they both wanted to do something around Griffith Park. Jon was able to get directions to a cool little spot hidden in the park. Again, the two introduced me to a new spot that I had also passed everyday. TG for meeting great clients and new friends.

I am so grateful for meeting these two. From the first minute we met we got along instantly. A fun loving couple, easy to work with, and up for an adventure. These two have found a permanent place in my contact book. Below are images from Kim and Jon’s E-Session…. my new friends. Congrats guys! Your engagement is almost over and the real fun is about to begin. See ya in a few months ; ).

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Fashion Portraits | Off Camera Lighting Workshop

admin — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 23:18:47 +0000

Last Saturday I attended an off-camera lighting workshop by awesome photog Ming Chien. For my non photog readers who are unfamiliar with off-camera lighting, it’s basically exactly what it sounds like. Using a light source that is not connected to your camera body. There are many options to do this, but in this case I was using a single flash (strobe) on a stand a few feet away from the subject. How does this help you ask? You’ll see the results in the gallery below. It enables you to get amazing images in dark or bright lighting situations. You can dramatically change the mood of your shot and get images that are not possible in natural lighting.

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

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Joanne & Jeremiah Engagement Session | Los Angeles, CA

admin — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 21:14:21 +0000

Bay Area dude + Downtown LA gal= an amazingly fun couple. When Joanne told me she wanted to do their Engagement Session in downtown I was thrilled. She grew up around the area and wanted to include her roots in the E-session. They both live up north, but the two were in town for a weekend as Jeremiah was running the LA Marathon. What better way to get him ready for a marathon than to run around the day before and take pictures everywhere! =)

We spent a good part of the afternoon getting lost, talking, and just having fun. With their shoot I wanted to do less formal posing and capture more emotion. I gave them as little direction as I could, *snicker snicker*. I told them to be themselves, think about this special time in their lives, and really reflect on their relationship. Then I let them loose…. They were a bit timid at first, but after a while I could see them starting to relax. They laughed, they hugged, and they kissed… a lot = ). I only heard some of their jokes, some of their conversations, but I didn’t need to. I saw their happiness. I saw a couple…. about to get married in a few months…. scared, excited, joyous, silly. It was a great day in LA.

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February SoCal Photog Shootout | The Wedding Day | Pasadena, CA

admin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 18:26:43 +0000

Some photos from last month’s Photog Shootout, which was one of the biggest ones yet. An entire day dedicated to capturing all aspects of a wedding day. As always it was great learning from so many great photogs, catching up with friends, and meeting new ones.

Thanks again to the Shootout leaders for all your hard work and proving that sharing is caring.

Vendors

Coordinator:Amanda Auer of In the Now Weddings www.inthenowweddings.com

Venue: Ron at the Romanesque Room www.castlecaterers.com

Florist:Honey and Poppies www.honeyandpoppies.com

DJ: Marcel Gonzalez FirstChoice Entertainment http://www.firstchoicedjs.com

Videographer: Nick Bowser, crafthouse productions http://www.crafthouseproductions.com

Stationary: Alison Howell http://www.inkinvitations.com

Rentals: Town & Country www.townandcountryeventrentals.com

Catering: Jay’s Catering www.jayscatering.com

Venue Concierge: Mary Lallande www.venueconcierge.com

Bakery: Colette at Fancy That! Cupcakes 909.524.1864

Linens: Wildflower www.wildflowerlinens.com

Styling: Michelle Cunningham www.milaphotography.com

Hair/Makeup: Kacee Geoffroy & Becca www.kaceegeoffroy.com

Hair/Makeup: Alisha Baijournas www.vanitykillstudio.com

Specialty: Classic Party Rentals www.classicpartyrentals.com

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Wedding Bridal Portraits | Winter Wonderland – Part III

admin — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 01:00:09 +0000

Here’s Part III, the final installment of this shoot. =) Enjoy! See Part I for all the details of the day.

Three beautiful ladies; Natalya, Amy, and Kristen were all troopers this day. Braving the cold breezes and looking a awesome as they could. There’s really nothing more stunning than a woman in her wedding gown. They glow, they feel it, this their dream and no one can touch them. Thank you ladies, y’all rocked it!

Don’t forget to check out Part I and Part II.

If you’re interested in throwing on your wedding dress and making your fairytale wedding scene happen give me a call! What does your fairytale look like??

Much love and credit due to…
Organizer: Elizabeth Luna
Designer Hairpieces: http://www.rachellarraine.com
Make up Artist: http://www.amyclarkesfaces.blogspot.com
Florist: http://www.lavendersflowersandgifts.com
Hair Dresser: http://hairbykristen.blogspot.com

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Wedding Bridal Portraits | Winter Wonderland – Part II

admin — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 00:12:21 +0000

Part II of the snow Trash the Dress. See Part I for all the details of the day.

Emily and her husband were so much fun to work with. With her fire red hair and gorgeous eyes I knew instantly that any shot I took would pop off the screen. The snow, the trees, and a happy couple… talk about fairytale.

Don’t forget to check out Part I and Part III.

If you’re interested in throwing on your wedding dress and making your fairytale wedding scene happen give me a call! What does your fairytale look like??

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Wedding Bridal Portraits | Winter Wonderland – Part I

admin — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:41:47 +0000

A shoot with five gorgeous ladies willing to trash their wedding gowns to get awesome shots in the snow. Well they didn’t necessarily “trash” their dresses, they did get wet and dirty. Nothing a good dry cleaner couldn’t fix. But enough with the technicalities…. Los Angeles is awesome for it’s localities; beaches, urban, mountains, and desert all within an hour or so of each other. The weather in the city was actually pretty pleasant. Heading up to the mountain I was a bit unsure of how much snow would be left. Once we got to the right spot my photo senses started tingling, there were beautiful patches of snow in the woods, enough to look awesome but not hard to work in. It was a bit chilly as expected but it could have been far worse. After a few hours of shooting the brides were obviously getting cold but they toughed it out and gave us all enough time to get some great shots.

Here is Part I of this shoot. Erica and Ricardo, a beautiful young couple willing to do anything to get the shot. We couldn’t have asked for more. We asked Erica to climb and lay on a huge tree… she said, “sure”. She walked into the middle of the street with cars rushing down the mountain and I knew she was was down. But the ultimate was when her and Ricardo hung around for the “epic” sunset (thanks to Matt Saville for recognizing the awesomeness that was about to happen). We were all cold and tired. Most of the brides understandably were ready to go home, but Erica and Ricardo wanted to stay. The temperature dropped drastically as the sun went down, but I think I can speak for all that stayed when I say…. none of us noticed. Well, until it was over… then the adrenaline went away and it was freeezing! Thanks Erica and Ricardo for being troopers!!

Trash the Dress shoots are always a blast and this was no exception. Probably my funnest one yet. If your wedding gown is just sitting in a box in your closet… bust it out, give me a call, and let’s do this! What’s your fairytale look like?

Here are Part II and Part III.

Click on the picture to open the gallery.

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