Sunday, January 31, 2010

Air Jordan II Retro Product Shots

Posted in Personal, Product Shots

It’s always fun when I get the opportunity to combine multiple hobbies into one.  Among the several hobbies that I currently have, I obviously enjoy photography and collecting sneakers, Kobe Bryant signature sneakers to be exact.

Recently, I added a pair of Nike Zoom Kobe V “Away” Edition to my sneaker collection.  As I do with every single Kobe signature shoe that I purchase, I take product shots of them for web site use and online sharing.  This also gave me an opportunity to shoot some of my brother-in-law’s Air Jordan sneakers as well. 

The sneaker shoot ended up consisting of 3 sneakers – a pair of Nike Zoom Kobe V, a pair of Air Jordan II Retro, and a pair of Air Jordan III Retro.  During the shoot, I experimented with different backgrounds and effects.  Of the combinations I experimented with, I liked the look of the black background best, especially with the reflective surface. 

Below are shots of the Air Jordan II Retro from the sneaker shoot.  Photos of the Nike Zoom Kobe V “Away” Edition will be posted in a separate post once they are completed.

Posted in Personal, Product Shots
Monday, January 11, 2010

Dang Family Portrait Session, San Diego, CA

Posted in Families

So during Thao and Hai’s engagement session at the Grand Del Mar in San Diego, CA, we took a break from the e-session to do a fun and relaxed family portrait session of Hai and his family.

Hai’s immediately family and their significant others all came out to the Grand Del Mar for the shoot.  Everyone wore matching attire; the men in jeans with olive green sweaters and the women in jeans with green blouses and off-white sweaters.  The session first started with formal portraits inside of the Grand Del Mar and later moved outdoors for more fun and creative shots. 

Although the outdoor photos were shot in direct sunlight, they came out pretty well despite the harsh shadows and squinting of the eyes.  We were able to capture the family in a fun and relaxed atmosphere were everyone was not only comfortable but natural at the same time.

Posted in Families
Monday, January 11, 2010

Thao and Hai’s Engagement Session, San Diego, CA

Posted in Engagements

Thao and Hai are scheduled to be married later this April, in which a friend of mine and I will be shooting their two-day wedding ceremonies.  But prior to the special day, or should I say days, we all got together in San Diego, CA, for an engagement session at the beautiful Grand Del Mar Luxury Hotel and Resort Spa.

The Grand Del Mar is also the site of Thao and Hai’s wedding in April, starting with a lawn ceremony and ending with a patio reception.  In addition to the engagement session, this gave us a great opportunity to scout the location for lighting, angles, and possible spots for formal portraits. 

We began the day shooting Thao and Hai in their traditional Vietnamese wedding clothes throughout the grounds of the Grand Del Mar.  We then took a break from the engagement session and quickly shot some family portraits of Hai and his family (more on this in a separate post) while we had the Grand Del Mar at our disposal. 

For a change of background and scenery, we headed to La Jolla Cove for some fun beach shots.  Thao and Hai changed into their third outfits for the day and even brought along props!  At this point of the engagement session, they completely let loose and displayed their love and affection for one another.  Could this have been due to the ”prop” they brought along?  I am only kidding.   

Thao and Hai were exceptionally fun and easy to photograph.  Not only did they know exactly what they wanted in their photos but they were extremely cooperative to our requests.  Aside from some tough shooting conditions in direct sunlight, we managed to capture some beautiful images of the bride and groom to be.  I am definitely looking forward to both their Vietnamese and American weddings in just a few months!

Posted in Engagements
Thursday, October 22, 2009

Jen and Kerry’s Trash the Dress Session, San Pedro, CA

Posted in Trash the Dress

To say that Jen and Kerry’s Trash the Dress session at White Point County Beach (San Pedro, CA) was an adventurous one is a major understatement.  We knew what we were in for given we scouted the general location on two separate occasions prior to the shoot.  However, we were in for a big surprise when we met Jen and Kerry at the beach and shot on a different side of White Point County Beach during sunset.

In order to capture some photographs of Jen and Kerry posing on some large rocks in the water, my associate, our assistant, and I had to venture out 50 yards or so into the ocean.  At first, this seemed like a simple task.  The water was knee-high at worse with very little waves.  However, the further we went out, the higher the water rose, the rougher the waves became, and the rockier the ground got.  Fortunately, I was able to capture some nice couple and solo portraits of Jen and Kerry on the rocks, but not without cost.  After this portion of the shoot was all said and done, a Nikon D60 D-SLR and cell phone were completely drenched in salt water and probably gone for good, a sandal was lost in the water as the waves drifted it away, several people received cuts and bruises on their legs and feet, and thousands of dollars worth of camera gear were in jeopardy of being destroyed.  Luckily, the rest of the shoot was much safer for people and camera gear alike. 

All in all, we were able to capture some awesome images for Jen and Kerry and have a memorable (good or bad) story to go along with it.

It’s safe to say I will not being doing another one of these sessions. :)

Posted in Trash the Dress
Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Sohee and Phil’s Engagement Session, San Pedro, CA

Posted in Engagements

Sohee and Phil’s engagement session started earlier in the day on the campus of UCLA, where they both graduated from in 2005.  Unfortunately, I opted not to shoot this portion of their engagement session and assisted my friend, Sarina, with whatever I could.  To check out her photos from the day’s shoot, click here to visit her blog.

The second portion of Sohee and Phil’s engagement session took place in San Pedro, at Cabrillo Beach Park.  We first started capturing the always popular beach photos of Sohee and Phil strolling romantically up and down the beach.  This was by request from both Sohee and Phil’s parents.  As the sun was setting, we moved the shoot to the rocky tide pools just East of Cabrillo Beach.  Unfortunately, the tide moved in so we weren’t able to venture too far into the tide pools and settled for shooting at the entrance.  We capped off the evening with some fun shots of Sohee and Phil sitting on a lifeguard station not too far from the beach.

Posted in Engagements

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