Tip Tuesday on a Wednesday: Studying poses

I know I know, today isn't Tuesday but I still wanted to keep this tip thing going. Yesterday I posted a new shoot of a fabulous family because I just couldn't help myself. Ain't nothing wrong with that! So today, tip Tuesday is a little late so don't hate. And that sentence right there totally rhymed.

Today's tip is in regards to studying poses. Why is this important? When shooting, it is very important to be on top of time. You want to make the best use of the time you have to shoot, whether it's shooting for an hour or shooting an event that will last you the whole day. Studying poses and mentally preparing yourself before you arrive to a shoot is crucial and it will save you time. I'm a lifestyle photographer so the shoots I normally do last about an hour so before I even arrive to a shoot I'm already thinking of what poses I'm going to ask my client to try. That way, I'm more focused on getting the shot that I want versus trying to figure out how I'm going to position my client during the shoot. One of the ways I do this is by browsing through various poses in fashion magazines. My personal favorites are Vogue, and Nylon because they have awesome fashion spreads that are fresh and modern. One thing to keep in mind is that everyday people are not professional models, so we as photographers need to direct them and guide them into a pose in a way that is comfortable for them. If I'm shooting a family, I think before hand, of how I'm going to place each individual and where, if I'm shooting a senior or a portrait session I do the same thing. So when you have the time, go to a Barnes and Noble or your nearest book store, grab some magazines, study away and find ways on how to incorporate some of those poses in your next shoot. :) And because posts are better with pictures check out this pose I found online. I decided to use it in the Frida Kahlo inspired shoot and I think Shiany owned it!

Happy Wednesday!

 

 

The Barrozo family

The sun shown bright on a Sunday afternoon and the blue sky made its pretty little appearance. I had the privilege of photographing the Barrozo family a week ago and I loved every minute of it. I had  spoken to Jolene through email and she was super excited to have a family shoot, and not to mention she told she would soon bring to this world a precious baby boy. Adorbs! I finally got to meet her in person at the shoot and when I found out she's also a CBU alumni, I knew she was pretty stinken' awesome. Lancers baby!!! Holla back!!

To the Barrozo family, thank you thank you thank you for allowing me to document your cute little family. Thanks for not hating me for making you guys sit on dirt and for making my camera happy. You guys are awesome!

Little Bruno is a little cutie :)

Yay for photo albums!!

There are certain things in this life that get me uber excited. So excited I do a happy dance. And if you've seen my happy dances they're less like the shimmy shake and more like dropping it like it's hot.  Like chocolate for instance, or a new pair of high heels or a new season of the Walking Dead. Yes, zombies overtaking the world is totally something to be excited about. Another thing that gets me shaking what my momma' gave me is when the fed ex guy comes and drops off a package at the door. But not just any package. Yesterday my new photo album came in the mail and I am suuuuper excited to showcase it to you guys! For some time now, the packages I offered did not include an album so I've decided to spice things up a bit by adding this little beauty right here. It is included in the fierce package and I have to say I absolutely love this album! Artisan State photography products provide amazing quality products, including albums. I love their clean and modern templates and the color quality the pictures have. Happy dance, happy dance, happy dance!! :)

   

        I love the thick pages and the way the pages lay flat.

Tip Tuesday: Getting rid of unwanted glares in your pictures

It's another installment of Tip Tuesday! I hope you're enjoying your day with all the wonders Tuesday can bring like Taco Tuesday, aaaand that's pretty much all I could think of.

 Anyways, today's tip has to do with getting rid of unwanted glares in your camera that can potentially end up in your images. The tip is to use your surrounding areas to block harsh sun light  from entering your camera. Take the following picture for example. This shoot was scheduled at five o'clock, which meant that the sun was still pretty high up and the light was still harsh. I really liked the black  background wall in this particular spot and I really wanted to put these fabulous ladies in front of it but the harsh sun light was hitting my camera, giving it a really bad glare. The sun was hitting from the left side so I decided to kneel down just a tad bit, and voila!!! No more glare. I simply used the background wall to shield the harsh light, while still allowing a tad bit of light to hit my subjects.  I understand that there will be times where a black background wall will not always be provided so when this happens, you can always stretch out your arm and block the sun with your hand. That always works too! :)

Happy Tuesday!

The Gandara family

They say you can pick your friends, but not your family. Family is stuck with you forever through the good times, aaaand when you wanna' punch your siblings in the face. This past weekend I had the chance to photograph the Gandara family and the shoot went a little something like this:

Look at the camera
You stepped on my toeee!!!!
Stop crying
Mom, I don't wanna' be next to grace
You're being annoying
Get off your phone!
This is supposed to be fun!!
Take your earphones off
I love you
Stop bothering your brothers
Look at the camera!!!!

I've known the Gandara family for some years and I absolutely love them! Their proof a family sticks together and that a family that laughs together stays together. :) Here are a few pics from their shoot!

                     Beautiful momma!

Tip Tuesday: Intro and experimenting with different angles

So a few weeks ago, while eating a packaged cinnamon roll with salsa music playing on my Pandora I got an idea. That's why I eat sweets everyone. They just inspire me. Anyways, in between me shaking what my momma' gave me and munching on some cinnamon goodness I got to thinking it would be a good idea to dedicate a post one day a week on this blog where I share some practical photography tips  I've found useful and helpful. Nothing complicated, just some helpful advice from yours truly that may be helpful to photographers out there looking to enhance their images and improve their shooting. Disclaimer: I am in no ways a master in photography nor have I perfected the art of it, however, I have gathered some practical techniques along the way that I've found to be both helpful and beneficial when shooting the types of images I wish to achieve and if they happen to help someone out there in the photography metropolis then it's all good in the hood. If any of you guys out there are gurus in photography feel free to leave a comment and share your ideas! I would love to read them! :)

So without further adieu, introducing the first tip of Tip Tuesday!: Experiment with different angles.

It's a simple tip that can make a huge load of a difference in your images and one of the ways to achieve this is to practice practice practice. This tip challenges and enhances your creativity skills. Doing so will give your images creativity and personality. Personally, one of the things I've found works for me is practicing on a random object. Take the image below for example. In this case I chose a basketball court to be my subject. Pretty simple right? The trick is to think outside the box and finding ways to manipulate your camera to capture the image you want. Practicing different angles really helps me for when I have an actual shoot. You might have to kneel down, get on your tippy toes, get on top of a chair or table, climb a tree, ok maybe not that but if you do you're my hero. Here are some of the angles I tried on the basketball court. Same court, just different ways of seeing it. :) Happy Tuesday!

Standard centered image

 Knelt down under the basket and tilted my camera upwards and focused on the edge of the basket

 

Shot taken from behind the court

Shot from the left side of the court, knelt down and slightly slanted my camera  upwards.

Shot standing up, left side of the court and slanted my camera up.

Children shoot: Lizeth

She melted my heart the minute I saw her. Lizeth is a two year old little girl that I had the opportunity to photograph. A few weeks ago she made her debut in front of the camera and those big eyes of hers? Well, they simply made my camera happy. A little while ago her dad asked if I could take pictures of her as a gift to his wife and he told me he was looking for a more modern flare in the pictures. Erik, I hope I didn't disappoint! You're little girl was all around adorable and I had a blast keeping up with her spunkiness. Hope you and the wifey love the pics! :)

Ladies and gents, here is Lizeth in all her cuteness! :)

    Love this next session of the shoot! :) So cute!

 

Happy Monday! :)

Blood orange sweet tea...

So this post is totally un-photography related but mainly it's because I've been sick with a cold these past three days and my brain hasn't been functioning the way it should. I wish could post the shoot I did this past weekend or share something that's actually photography related but right now, I got nothing. And that makes me sad. All I have to show for is the tissue paper laying beside my bed and a coffee mug filled with unflavored green tea.

Speaking of tea, I've recently tried the blood orange sweet tea from Coffee Bean and let me tell you internet, this cup of tea goodness has rocked my world. Like Michael Jackson rocked. I usually try to arrive about an hour early to a shoot to check the lighting, do some test shots, and brainstorm how the shoot will go. About two weeks ago, after experiencing the wrath of the California heat I decided to take a breather before I met up with my client. There was an oasis close by where the shoot was gonna' take place and I decided to rest under its shade and drink of its fresh water. Ok, the oasis was Coffee Bean but they actually did had fresh water. Anyways, the point is that it was hot and I wanted something to drink. They were promoting different sweet teas and because I love tea and oranges and I went to Alabama one time I thought it would make sense for me to try the blood orange sweet tea. It was so good I even took a picture of it. So next time your wondering the dessert and you happen to come across a Coffee Bean, try the blood orange sweet tea. It will rock your taste buds. I should totally be a commercial announcer.

 

 

Happy Wednesday! 

The Sagrero family

There are those types of people you just like to be around. The Sagrero family is one of them. I met them at church and I was super excited when they asked if I could do a family shoot of them. We spent a sunny Saturday afternoon walking around Riverside City Hall, and taking pictures of them felt less like work and more like hanging out with an awesome group of friends, except with a camera. And they totally won me over when they so kindly invited me out for ice cream when the shoot was over. Everyone knows I love me some sweets!

To the Sagrero family, thank you for an awesome afternoon and for hookin' it up with some cookies and cream ice cream! You guys were a blast! :)Here are a few images of the day.

You guys remember Viviana and Evon? They've graced this bloogity with their cuteness before. :)

                Really guys, really? Too much fierceness in one picture! 

The Sagrero guys!

And this right here is what I call fabulousness!