Jamelle and Aaron Wedding

On December 18th, Jamelle and Aaron said their vows on a beautiful day in Temecula, CA.
Before the ceremony time came about the weather was gloomy and dull but, Jamelle being very laid back and easy going had no worries.
Low and behold... 10mins before she stepped out of a shiny corvette, everything had cleared up to perfection!!!

Photographing the happy couple was an absolute dream for me as a photographer, too in love to worry about everything except for the fact that they're celebrating their special moment.

Modern Basic Catalog "California Style" Shoot

November 18th my assistant and I drove down to Laguna Beach for a beauty shoot with a cosmetic company, Modern Basic.
As I arrived the waves were splashing and the clouds had past by, leaving the sky nice and open.
Our models helped make the shoot possible, sacrificing their body heat to the vicious November cold and here's a preview!

 

OC RAW Semi-Finals at Sutra in Newport Beach

RAWartists.org's Orange County Semi-Finals held November 18th was a crazy night to remember! I got there about an hour early so I wouldn't have to worry about traffic, ect.
Most finalists were at the club since 3pm or earlier, hustling their butts off preparing for the night.

Among the finalists were many artists I have gotten the pleasure to know and work with.
I couldn't help but cheer for them.
At 7pm the doors opened and the venue was instantly packed! Cocktails in hand and good conversations for many.

Fashion Shows and other Performances were back to back. The time literally flew by and then it was time for the votes to be tallied up.
As all of the winners were announced, I was most happy for my favorite Make-up Artist, Desiree Foote won her category :-D

Everyone was amazing and deserved to be there and oh my! Look at these model with such interesting hair!! Hours and hours of work! Love it!

Holiday Photos...The beach for winter time!

Last Sunday I had a wonderful family shoot with the Cornejo family. I was very afraid of shooting because the weather was terrible a couple days before. We arrived at Sunset Beach about an hour before the sun went down. The lighting was challenging of course since we were shooting in the middle of sunset but they were patient with me and I think I was pretty darn fast at adjusting each time we moved to a different location. All and all it was very successful! We got the shoot all wrapped up in time and then the sun was gone. Here are a couple photos of the kiddos..

Noah's 6th Birthday

Noah and friends celebrated his 6th birthday at Bounce-U in Orange November 5th. U-Bounce is has two separate rooms filled with bouncy fun and awesome lighting to make the experience all the more exciting for the kiddos. It was a real challenge photographing this because it was extremely dark and everyone was running around having the time of their little lives!
I had attempted to get in the bounce machines as well but apparently my balance sucks hahaha
Earlier this year I did Noah's older brothers birthday, Abie, So I remembered a few faces and the kids were more comfortable with my presence there.
I felt like a war photographer because of the chaos!!
At the end everyone was escorted into the birthday room where Noah got to be a king and open a ton of gifts.

Dani and Justin's Wedding

Early Saturday morning I drove over to Palos Verdes for Dani and Justin's wedding ceremony October 29th. This is a quick ceremony with close friends and family members only. Dani is from London so half of her family had never visited the beach here in California before, they're first visit required a photo shoot! (what a great way to remember it)
After the ceremony, we headed on down to the beach for more photos.
Dani and Justin were not your typical couple, she was wearing a lovely red dress and he complimented her wearing all black and a red tie, a rockabilly theme? :)
The heat was on our backs for a while and it took its toll of everyone so I brought the happy married couple aside for some fun pictures.
Wish you guys a rockin' happy life.

Baby Briar Was Born!

I was supposed to photograph a live water birth at the English's home however the baby didn't want to come out after the mother's water broke. I waited and waited for the phone call but the baby didn't want to come out! so I finally went to sleep October 16th and woke up to a text the following day. The baby was born around 7am! I was busy in the morning but headed over as soon as I could. Briar is a little baby girl who apparently thinks she's a Japanese tourist here in San Diego!
Below is a photo I took of her with the peace sign, 100% luck if you ask me

New Model?

August 12th 2011
Model Tylene Turner just got signed with Wilhelmina Hawaii and needed a variety of photos taken. We started at 9am and ended at 3pm which lifestyle, fitness, glamour, editorial and headshots taken. For a new model she had the natural charm and confidence that helped everything go smoothly (also big thanks for Desiree Foote for doing hair/make up/ AND styling!)

RAW Santa Ana Opening!

August 4th 2011
RAW Santa Ana debuted at the Copper Room in the Artist District of Downtown Santa with a bunch of great artist, even I few have returned from previous shows.
I personally loved the fashion designer Daniel Magana and his effin' amazing dresses.

I am very behind in my updates

I want to let everyone know that I am still alive.. just too busy lately!
and here is proof that I've been working hard! (my camera hand: thumb has a callus)
August will be a busy month too! every weekend is booked, a few events to cover and birthdays galore... I love the rush and being busy however wedding season will be over soon and then everything will slow down and give me time to prepare for next time ;) 

Kareenas Trends Shoot

June 10th 2011
A long wonderful day of shooting.
There was a team:  Make-Up + Assistant / Hair + Assistant / Stylist / Me + 2 Assistants and of course, The Model!
I got in contact with a Clothing Designer and Jeweler and they both let me borrow some pieces for the shoot. Our model Quinn was so sweet and easy going so we had a break in the middle of the shoot for lunch.

 

Rahe and Lindsay Wedding

Rahe and Lindsay are from Arizona but they made a special trip down to Laguna Beach to elope. Their closest friends join for the ceremony and then we had some fun Bride and Groom photos. Lindsay was willing to jump off of rocks and even play in the water to get the best shots! Both Rahe and Lindsay were glowing with happiness (I was totally smiling while editing the photos! hahaha)

Muahahahah we're so cheesy!!!

MUA AND HAIR!

As a photographer, building a strong relationship with Make-up Artists' and Hair Stylists' are key to amazing photos.
So, The lovely Erin (MUA), Lauren (Hair) and I had a shoot to test their abilities in different areas of make-up styles.

Hair and Make-up by Lauren 

Hair by Lauren / Make-up by Erin

Brandi and Scott's Wedding

Brandi and Scott had a very intimate wedding at Shelter Island in San Diego with about 20 friends and family. They united they're children together with the sand pouring ceremony and it was very comforting seeing teenagers from different families coming together and actually caring for one another (I remember when I was young, angsty and avoiding anything my parents wanted me to do! haha) Before we were done I took some photos of just the bride and groom and they were  tons of fun. I can only wish the best for them because everyone was very nice and it was humbling.

 

Hahahha I love my job!

Forget me not...Zeplo Designs

After organizing my 2011 photography I noticed that I had forgotten a few photo updates for the blog! I know I know, shame on me! (didn't forget to send to the client of course!) Anyways.. here's a preview from the spring/summer collection with models Cathy and Harmony.

Louisa and Johan's Wedding

Louisa and Johan had their lovely ceremony and reception at the Langham Hotel in Pasadena on a warm Sunday afternoon.  I started with the groom's room first (bride's room had about half of her family inside helping her prepare for the big day) Louisa wanted to shoot all the of posed photos before the ceremony so it was a little different for me but not as stressful since we had so much time. After the ceremony I ran over to the reception hall to capture the scenery before guests arrived. Everything was running on time and the MC did his job very professionally. Cheers to the happy couple!!

I loved his shirt, Johan has a great sense of humor

After the Ceremony Louisa and Johan had a traditional Chinese tea ceremony in which they exchange red envelopes and gave tea to family members and others who were important in their life.

Louisa's maid of honor hand her a cup for Louisa's father

Everything set up and ready to dazzle the guests

A relative's son sits with the bride for the garter toss! hahaha

Make-up Catalog Shoot

May 25-26th 2011
A Make up artist and skin consultant Nigate Mamo invited me to shoot for the Modern Basic catalog which includes Step by Step tutorials following with a mini shoot, side by side with Modern Basic's products. Day 1 we used an inexperienced model to do a funky hippie style and Day 2 we realized that we had to get an experienced model only because there were a few people in the studio watching the shoot happen (It catches models off guard to have 5+ people at the shoot, at least I'd assume so)
At the end everything turned out perfectly and everyone involved outside of the Modern Basic staff were gifted a make-up kit!

A Birthday for a King...of Video Games!

May 21st 2011
Abie's 7th Birthday Party was the most insane kids party I've ever attended. At first I thought it would be a simple party with a few decorations and some friends and family. Never would I imagine that there would be a party game bus or present wrappings made into a gift itself. Abie is one lucky boy! The theme was Mario and almost every boy ended up wearing a Mario or Luigi hat with a little false mustache which were adorable to say the least!

Monthly RAW ARTIST EVENT

May 19th 2011
Raw Artists Orange County "INCITE" event was a blast! the venue wasn't as glamorous as Raw Hollywood but it made more sense to highlight the artists 1st and then the performances as they occur. Many artists chatted it up before the doors opened at 8pm and I joined in on the fun. The designer Alexis Evelyn and hair stylist Ashley Gannon were amazing! Looking forward to my next show in June and then officially opening with the Pomona venue in July!

Beauty Shots are always fun

May 9th 2011
Agency model Bianca Ferguson came up to the Los Angeles studio to shoot some clean beauty shots and then switch over the a glamor look. Our make up artist Erin Nakashima was awesome as usual, she makes time fly by I swear! The shoot went so smooth that I actually called in another model for a quick shoot before heading back to Orange County.

A themed restaurant in the Gaslamp?!

April 29th 2011
Marble Room Restaurant (Gaslamp District in Downtown San Diego) had me come over and take interior shots as well as a mini shoot for their staff which are dressed like a burlesque troupe but covered up a bit more. Later that night my assistant and I went to have dinner at the location while a band was performing. This place totally takes you back in time and makes ya wonder what everything was like back then. The food is delicious, the hostess' are wonderful and very accommodating! So, if you're ever in San Diego you should check this place out!