Scared of Flash? No Worries.. I Am Too

I've always hated my flash on my cameras. The ideal flash would be one that is not right above the camera and held in a different spot that could flash a more appealing light on the subject. I cannot afford a separate flash, nor do I have money for large strobe lights (ONE DAY). But then my dear friend Andrea linked me to an amazing device that could make the flash on my DSLR look good!

Here's the link: http://photojojo.com/store/awesomeness/pop-up-flash-bounce/

I will be receiving it next week and will do some test shots with them to show you how it looks. For now, I'm just imagining all the possibilities. I hope it doesn't disappoint.

I should also practice more with strobe and detached flash, but that's for another day. ;)

Engagement Photos: Ky & Michelle

So the friends who have asked me to their engagement photos are named Ky & Michelle. I met Ky about 5 years ago. We were on the same team for senior class for Advertising. The class was divided into separate teams which were to act like agencies and we created a campaign for a client. The winning campaign would score the account, just like real life. It was one of my favorite classes in college, and I always love a little competition especially when it comes to marketing/advertising.

There were 6 of us on the team and we each brought different talents to the table, a designer, coordinator, researcher, and so forth. With many many many late nights and hard work, our team pulled away with a strong win. The presenters of the group were Ky and me. We grew closer from this experience by continuously working on our presentation with the goal of not using any cue cards.

Our friendship progressed to that of a brother and sister. We are both only children and that created an instant bond.

After our project, we winded down and celebrated over ramen in Japan Town and this was when I first heard about Michelle.

I still remember how  we were cramped to a small table that barely sat two with our oversized bowls of ramen with the afternoon sun shining through. He started by saying, "Well sis, there's this girl...." and the rest has been history.

I've had the pleasure of seeing their relationship grow for these past five years and being their photographer is something that I am honored to do. Our mutual excitement for this photo shoot is encouraging because they are involved and that makes photographing them 100xs easier.

The first round of discussing this project was Ky telling me he wanted it based on a song by Bruno Mars. He sent me the link:







After listening to this song a few times, images started coming to mind. This song is so fun and easy going that I knew this was going to be a very fun shoot. The images that came to my mind was a carnival of some sort with lots of rides and games. I started thinking of locations that were around the Bay Area and thought of Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. Known for their rides and games right on the beach front, I thought this place would have plenty of photo opportunities.

When I presented them with this idea, they loved it right away. Turns out, this is where he had officially asked Michelle to be his girlfriend. How amazing when everything falls into place.

I then started gathering images as my inspiration board and have been using Pinterest to do so. Here's my board so far:
http://pinterest.com/lannysmusings/engagement-photos-ky-and-michelle/

I am excited to gather all the materials for this. We will need a few more props going into this, such as a board with the date and sayings. Considering this will be used for photos and a short stop motion video with the song as the theme music, I want to make it as fun as possible.

With about a month to go before the shoot, I will probably pop over to Santa Monica boardwalk to take some photos for practice.

If you can share any stop motion videos you like and think I would be inspired by, it would help a lot! 

Are you looking forward to any photo projects?

(Thanks for bearing through such a long post with no pictures!)

Stop Motion Engagement Photos...

My friends have asked me to do their engagement photos and want to do a short stop motion video with a few scenes.

This would be my first stop motion video so obviously I Google'd and found this great site on how to do it. Can't wait to get it started. May need to do some practice ones.

Here's the link:
http://content.photojojo.com/tutorials/stop-motion-digital-camera/

A Redesign Is In Order...

I stopped Project 365 after realizing I wasn't doing anything inspiring and I wasn't inspired enough to do it. Now, after a few months to breathe and take a step back, I'm ready to really get back into photography. Work on my skills and grow. Work on expanding and take that next step to shoot for people.

My goal is to do more design and photography, so this blog will be going into that general direction where I combine the love of photography and design into one. A collision of loves.

I'll keep you posted and start rolling out projects. Until then, keep shooting.