End of Summer

As summer nears it's end, another school year begins. We are happy to say that we are so glad to finally go back to routine. Although we enjoyed spending some quality time with our ever so energetic 6 years old son this summer, we can pretty much sum up our summer as chaotic.

With our photography business rapid and unexpected growth this past few months we find ourselves overwhelmed with photo shoots, editing, workshops, meetings, teaching, running our family owned business and attending social gatherings. Our business is thriving, so sacrifices in our family and personal life had to be made. Our usual summer of fun filled activities of going camping, movies, visiting museums, zoos, has been extremely limited to one camping trip for the entire summer this Labor Day Weekend.

Lesson learned. Its difficult having to balance running a business and family time. The importance of dedicating time to family can not be emphasized enough. Family comes first!

Wedding Season 2012

Wedding season is here! To celebrate another year in business I have created a slideshow of some my most memorable weddings I have photographed. Enjoy!

High School Senior Portaits - Creative Edge

Life Touch and few other large photography studios provide their portrait services to so many high school students. Some might go on to say that they dominate the market. The photographers that work for large studios are slightly limited by the amount of creativity due to the consistent look they are expected to reproduce every time they shoot.

When you higher a smaller studio, you might be paying more for the products but you are able to get a much more creative look to your High School Senior Portraits. A photographer who is willing to get to know you on a personal level is certainly worth hiring. Portraiture has many elements a photographer has to consider but the ability to create rapport with people is extremely important to capture your personality.

Personalization is important to us! Every design has a personal touch and are custom designed for each client. 

I have been trying different styles of shooting and post-production to find a more creative look for our senior portraits.

B&W Photography

"Color photography is like a novel that spells everything out in detail, whereas black and white photography is like poetry-its strength isn't in what's said, it's in what's left out" ~ Heinrich Van Den Berg



Color photography is relatively modern. It had not been invented until the 1930s but was not popular until much later. It has been become increasinly popular since the evolution of digital methods. Unfortunatley, black and white is becoming less and less popular. Many point and shoots no longer include a monochrome setting and now have to be converted in post processing.



My first exposure to black and white photography was in high school. I had the greatest opportunity to learn how to develop prints in the darkroom. Depending on what you're photographing, color can be distracting, black and white images eliminates that distraction. Rather than looking at vibrant colors your focus is on shapes composition and use of light to attract a viewer's attention.

Yellowstone National Park

I recently took my first trip ever to Yellowstone National Park with my family. When we drove into the park I spotted some elk just off the road, with a composition in mind I got out of the car with my Canon 5d II and a 70mm-200mm Lens. As I attempted to get the shot I wanted, I noticed something very unusual, it turns out that my lens became a fixed focal length. In layman's terms, my $1700 lens no longer zooms in and out. I was extremely disappointed that I could no longer get decent shots of any wildlife. I was forced to shoot only with a wide angle lens, limited to shooting landscapes.

A few days later into our trip I began looking for local photography shops that might rent out lenses. I was in luck, they had a 300mm lens that allowed me to photograph some wildlife. From buffalo, elk, bears, ravens to beavers I was now able to capture it all!

Other than the trails that circled some of the geothermal features, no hiking would be done while we were there. Hiking trails were closed due to bear activity. I suppose during the spring time the bears begin to come out of hibernation and are probably grumpy from sleeping and not eating for 4-6 months, depending on snow levels. I get that away after about six hours of not eating.

Snow levels were still pretty high. Snow covered peaks surround the caldera, making landscapes especially aesthetically pleasing. If prepared, we would've cross-countried skied, gone snow shoeing, or possibly even ride some snow mobiles, but none of these were on our itinerary.

Engagements

As a photographer begins to book engagement sessions, he or she must know that wedding season is just around the corner. Engagement sessions are great for getting to know the wedding clients and creating rapport.

Sean and Sahar are a couple that I photographed recently for their engagement session. We had a blast! We ended up hiking 4 miles to our location to shoot in front of a 70 foot waterfall. We also intend to shoot at multiple locations within the next month or so.
Steven and Kim are another couple I photographed recently. We started the shoot at UCI, where the couple met and fell in love. I shot still photos and some video of these two love birds at different locations at the campus ending at a lake in Irvine to create a photo fusion for them.

From babies to boudoir is quite the leap for any photographer to take. Its way more intimate than a sitting with a child. You still need to make sure your subject is at ease and are providing a comfortable and safe environment.



Sometimes there's a little nudity or implied nudity so its important for the client to feel comfortable around you as you're photographing them and not feel humiliated or embarrassed.




These types of images are meant for that special someone in your life, it really captures the essence of romance and intimacy. What makes my style of boudoir distinguishable is in the post-processing of the images. I believe it enhances my subject's natural beauty.