We had the privilege of being there to see Julie and Tim tie the knot, at one of my favorite venues, The Bell Tower on 34th Street. It turned out to be a perfect day. Weather was like southern California, where I grew up [for those that don't know]. My good friend and awesome photographer, Melanie Hall, was assisting me that day. We have fun when we work together. Well, here are some of the images from that day.
Today was an awesome day!! I attended Scott and Adina Hayne's All day "No Rules" workshop, put on by the Professional Photographers Guild of Houston. Every year, I try to attend one or two seminars of photographers that I admire their work and hope to capture one kernel of knowledge that I can take to give me that little spark to help me evolve my shooting style or new business idea or just find a little inspiration to continue in this photography endeavor. The seminars that have rocked my world and shooting style the most in the past couple of years has been Jeff and Julia Wood's week long class in Olive Branch, MS. [Yeah it really is in the middle of nowhere.] Kelly Moore's workshop in Austin, held by Pounds Lab, rocked my world and gave me the creative freedom to shoot the fun wild on location session and it was the first step in developing the style that I now have. These two classes have been thus far the most influential in shaping my photography style.
Today's workshop is probably going to be another milestone in my continual evolution as an artist. I learned so much from both Scott and Adina about marketing and using flash in my outdoor images using these little gadgets called RadioPoppers. They use a lot of flash in their outdoor shots. For those not versed in photography speak, it just allows them to create images that can capture both the subject and the beautiful deep color/textures of the sky. It really opened my eyes to what the possibilities are and it's gotten me really excited about trying some new techniques at my upcoming weddings and outdoor shoots!!
Another thing that kind of sparked such a connection with them is their story. Scott and Adina have been doing this for only about 3 years and have made tremendous strides in such a short time. Scott had worked in corporate america all his life and had a interest in landscape photography but not really shooting people. Adina was working with her family's business all her life and was looking for a change. One day in 2007 they made a huge life decision to start a photography, mostly brought on by a choice to quit the old job, Adina, and Scott losing a job. Without much knowledge and money, they built a business in three years that most people would dream of building after 10 YEARS!!
My story is not too different from Scott's in that I started shooting about 6 years ago when a friend gave me a old SLR camera. I dabbled in taking pictures for the next 3 years before I really took it beyond a mere 'really expensive hobby' to trying to earn money doing it. Notice I didn't say, try to "earn a living with photography.
I've always been an engineer and many people know that I aspire to make photography my sole career but I am not there quite yet, but the journey's been quite a ride so far. I'm so excited about this year and all that it will bring.
I want to thank both of them for spending a whole day teaching us and inspiring me.
Last week, I had the privilege of taking engagement pictures of some of my very very close friends, Eric and Carolina. For those of you who don't know them, they met at my dinner party about 1 year ago last October. Both of them are my very good friends, but together, they are amazing people. I have not seen either so happy as when they are together!! I'm excited to be witness and a photographer for their wedding in Puebla Mexico in May!! It's going to be an exciting trip, as I've never been to Puebla before. I heard so many great things about it and the artsy community there that I am sure we will be able to capture images of them around the city before the wedding !! Well, I took them on one of my around town photo safaris. Here is what we came up with!!
About a week or so ago, my longtime second shooter/studio assistant, Kristie, gave her two weeks. She is going back to California to pursue another opportunity. She had been with me for about two years, and worked ever faithfully and diligently. I will definitely miss her bubbly personality, as will my brides. I hope her the best in all her future endeavors. With her departure, I am now in need of another assistant/second shooter. I have posted an ad in the Craiglist and have gotten a slew of responses but none have thus far caught my eye, we shall see what I find. If you know anyone that would be interested in becoming a second shooter for me, shoot me an email.
Here are some of the things I am looking for:
Has a great personality, and very much a people person. Our business is part taking pretty pictures but mostly working with clients and giving them a world class experience.
I would like that person to have a solid foundation of photography, which is not to say that they need to have a degree in photography or studied it in school but can take a good picture. It's hard to build a house if you have a shaky foundation. Also, proficiency in retouching, Photoshop, and Lightroom would be great too. Oh and finally, they need to have their own equipment.
That's not asking a lot but I think it's fair.
That's all for now. I have been so busy lately with consultation, and three shoots this last weekend that I've been playing catchup. I will post some images from this past weekend's shoot soon.
Trung
Have you ever had one of those shoots where everything is working right, the lighting is looking great, the bride is in a great mood and the surrounds just perfectly lend itself to being a great shoot. I had one of those recently at a bridal shoot with Cristina. We took the pictures at the Town and Country area. The area was a pretty absent of passerbys or people in general to bother us. The security people were even nice. Everything was just flowing... I felt really inspired and I think the images turned out well.
Here are some of the shots we got from that day!
This past weekend was a little nuts for me. I had a wedding on Saturday at the San Luis Hotel in Galveston and then 2 shoots on Sunday. I'm shooting faster than I can get around to posting on the blog! I'm so far behind on my postings!!
Saturday's wedding was a lot of fun and very laid back. Julee and John got married at the San Luis Hotel. I don't think I could have planned or picked a better day with the perfect weather. The clear blue sky was an awesome backdrop to take beautiful shots at the hotel.
When I arrived at the hotel and waiting at the elevator, which happened to be the wrong elevator, I met my friend Adam. He was like, "What are you doing here today?", I said that I was here for a wedding, and he said, "So am I!!" I was like, "Really? Whose wedding??" "My sister Julee is getting married"...talk about a small world. Julee was his sister. I didn't even know that Adam and Julee were related. I met Adam about a month before at my friend Joseph's house and it was really funny to run into him again at a wedding!! Julee got a kick out of it when I told her that I knew her brother!! As I've always said, "You never know who people know!"
Kharisma Hair Salon has been a salon that I've done work for before but this shoot was a little different. With the vision of Suleimen and the makeup artist Lily, we did a photo shoot at a local dance studio. Our wonderful models were Liz and Lyndsey, who happens to be one of the stylists at Kharisma. We shot for about two hours and got some awesome shots. Here is a slideshow of the images that we got from it!!
I'm finally getting around to posting some of the last week's sessions. We found some really great locations behind some industrial buildings!! The weather that day was beautifully sunny and perfect for just sitting outside. I think some crawfish and beer would of been a perfect ending to this day!! The session was a lot of fun as Monica and Sebastian are so easy going. They were up for anything. Here are a few images from that session.
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