Melanie and Robert's Wedding

Less than 2 weeks ago, I photographed Melanie and Robert's Wedding in Diamond Bar, California. Weddings are an adrenaline rush to capture so I'll just get into what I want to blog about. I did several things to make photographing this wedding a success.

Mel and Rob had a HUGE bridal party, like the photo below demonstrates. The lens I had attached at the time was not wide enough to fit them all in. Therefore, I took two separate frames and stitched them together in Photoshop later. Tip #1: stay on your toes and think quickly! Be aware of what can be done to make capturing a moment easy. Even if I did not make a panorama, my assistant, Chad, had a 10mm wide angle lens and was standing behind me for backup. Tip #2: it helps to have an assistant.

Alright, moving on to the reception. Tip #3; be aware of emotion and expressions! When photographing people, look for those emotional moments because they can tell a million stories. The maid of honor broke down in tears as she was giving her speech and I set myself up behind the bride to add a layering effect to the photo. My other assistant, Peter, was using a wide angle lens and was set in a different part of the hall. Tip #4; it doesn't hurt to have a 2nd assistant.

In the second photo, she composed herself and finished her speech. For this photo, I placed the groom and bride in between her for a triangle effect. Anyone can take a photo, this is true, yet you have to think of angles and how to make an "ok" photo turn into a great photo. This is where an amateur photographer is separated from a professional. Tip #5: go with your gut instinct on what will work. For example, for this photo, I could have used a wide angle lens and dun dun dun! wait for it...FLASH! I personally am not a big fan of flash unless it's done just right. I utilized my 50mm f/1.4 lens to use the indoor lighting to set up my photo. The ISO and white balance was also changed to make the photo work. This one photo can demonstrate how complicated photography can be to someone who thinks photography is as easy as pressing a button. Going back to tip #5, some people would have used flash and made the photo work, yet I carried on with my personal preferences.

The outdoor bridal party photos can be tricky. Here, Mel was photographed with her mum with the sun behind them for backlight. You can see how it glows and highlights their skin, it's beautiful. So what happens when the sun is the backlight? The front will be full of shadow, unless, you use fill flash. I used a wide angle lens, and my Canon Speedlite 580EXII tilted upwards. I didn't use direct flash because that would make their skin shine with artificial light. Tip #6: practice fill flash! I also use reflectors but wouldn't in such a "fast paced get great photos in a short amount of time" shoot.

During the ceremony, I used a standard zoom lens and a 50mm. Tip #7-and this is just a personal tip-don't use flash during the ceremony. The last thing I wanted was three separate flash heads situated in different parts of the hall to be going off. If you know what you're doing, you'll find a way to make indoor photos work. Chad, Peter, and myself were all capturing the ceremony from different angles.

The black and white photo below is also one of my favorites. Rob and Mel are hugging Rob's grandparents and you can just see how happy they all are. Capturing these kinds of expressions and emotions is no easy feat.

The last photo in this blog entry was taken by Peter using a telephoto lens. After 6 hours of shooting, we left and had dinner at a nearby restaurant. Tip #8: HAVE FUN! weddings are great to be a guest in, it's loads better when you're in charge of capturing it all. It's not work when you're doing what you love.

See ya

Jake

Graduating Seniors

Less than 2 weeks ago, the seniors I worked with for a school year graduated from Bright Star Secondary Charter Academy. Congrats kids!

The Principal asked me to take their senior portraits, true to it being the last week of school, it was crazy! I was told a day before that I would be taking their photographs and on the day of, the school held a dodgeball tournament so the seniors looked anything but ready to have their photo taken. Much less their SENIOR PORTRAITS!

Nonetheless, we made it happen. I set up one softbox strobe in the school auditorium and used the already provided curtains as a backdrop. I asked the students to look toward the softbox to get a pensive photo. I took two frames per student; one looking away, and a front facing portrait. It took me one and a half hours to photograph all the seniors and was tired at the end. It was also my last day of work and I'm glad I went out the way I came in, with a photoshoot!

Good luck and best wishes on your future endeavors graduates.

Mr. Coronel

Colorado School of Mines @ Tiger

A few weeks ago, I was hired to photograph The Colorado School of Mines at Tiger Energy Services. The undergraduate students made a visit to the Tiger workplace to get a feel for what an engineering plants looks and functions like. I'm sure it wasn't their first trip to one, but probably a first that they had a photographer follow them around like paparazzi.

This took place very early in the morning and I had to be in Signal Hill before I started my other full-time job. I took over 200 photos and relied on my 50mm f/1.4 lens since I was indoors under low light. I also used my wide angle lens to capture how vast the plant really is. I shot in color and changed a few photos to black and white in post-production. Black and white gives the photos a "rough" feel and since I wasn't in a mall, I didn't feel as if color was necessary since there's not much color to steel bars anyway.

The students were jotting down notes as they went from station to station and honestly, I had no idea what any of their instructors were telling them. I guess I'd understand if they were talking about f/stops and depth of field. Anyway, overall, this was a 'walk in the park' job. I was looking for facial expressions since the main focus was people. You also have to remember to use the correct lens and exposures. Low light obviously means open aperture and an average shutter speed of 1/80. Don't forget about your ISO either!

That's all for this shoot. Here are the students being interested in...who knows what.

See ya!

Jake

Baby Mason!

I photographed my nephew's 1st birthday party yesterday. What else can I say, birthday parties are fun!

I'd like to congratulate Heathere and Ben Bosworth for having an adorable little kid, and thanks for inviting me!

It's always fun to photograph family gatherings because these are the photos that will literally last a lifetime. I can already picture baby Mason showing his kids photos of his first birthday.

Anyway, I used several lenses to photograph the special day. I used a wide angle, standard zoom, a portrait and a telephoto lens. I didn't hit any speedbumps; everything rolled along smoothly.

There were also other babies there with their parents and I took the opportunity to photograph them as well. It was a great day overall and I'm excited to watch baby Mason grow up and for me to be there and capture it all.

This is my favorite photo from the entire day.

See ya

Jake

The Mayor is in town!

This past week, Stella Middle Charter Academy had important visits from city and country officials. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Congresswoman Karen Bass and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson visited. I was asked to photograph the visit for my schools (SMCA/BSSCA). It was probably the most significant event I've photographed to date.

(Congresswoman Karen Bass)

I utilized everything I learned in photojournalism class. I thought as a photojournalist as if my photos would be seen in the paper the next day. I took over 300 photos. My finger never left the shutter really. When you're photographing people, you have to be quick on your feet and look for moments other people would not see. Facial expressions are invaluable and call tell a million stories.

Lisa P. Jackson is seen here discussing classroom subjects with an SMCA student. The officials interacted with the children for over an hour and had a question/answer session. Public officials want to be seen in a good light, and it is the photographers job to look for that one special "moment".

This was a great opportunity I am grateful to have been a part of. A few days later, I received a phone call from the offices of Karen Bass and was asked to email some photos of her that will run in their newsletter to be delivered to 80,000 households in Los Angeles.

Thanks for reading.

See ya

Jake

Los Angeles Marathon

A couple weeks ago I photographed runners at the L.A. Marathon. Several of my students and sister were participants in the grueling 26.2 mile run. Rain was expected that day but it turned into something else. It was literally pouring buckets. Nonetheless, the runners showed up with nothing to dampen their spirits.

My family and I arrived at Fairfax and Sunset, at the 13 mile mark. We were there to show our support and hand out water, bananas, and oranges to the runners. My sister hired me several months before and I promised her I would be there to support and take photos. As the race began, cyclists zoomed past us first. It was exhilarating and inspiring. These people were completely wet from head to toe and raced as if the elements were not present.

The challenges I faced as a photographer were extreme cold and wetness. I too was completed hosed down and was freezing. There was a point in the day where I could no longer feel my fingers or my legs. I took over 300 photos, shot in Manual with a high ISO and only used my telephoto lens. It was a crazy, motivational, cold, and inspiring day.

This is my sister. I am exceedingly proud of her. She finished the race in 4 hours and 16 minutes. She recorded the best time among her students and fellow teachers. I love you sis!

See ya

Jake

Exposition Park

(my favorite photo from the day)

Yesterday I went to Exposition Park in South Los Angeles. I wanted to get out and shoot some photos and decided to stop by the park. I used to go there often as a child with my parents and I still remember when the park was full of roses.

It's a whole different feeling when I drive myself, spend my own money, and carry my expensive equipment. Different from when I was 6 years old.

Anyway, I carried 3 lenses with me only; 50mm, 10-24mm, and 18-55mm. As soon as I arrived, I started taking photos and used equivalences. I shot with an open aperture and a fast shutter, vice versa. I spent about an hour in the park and took over 100 photos. I think I only chose 7. I didn't face any obstacles on this impromptu shoot. The park had great architecture to offer and I felt the shoot tested how well I can capture architecture; since I'm not known as an architecture photographer.

Overall, I felt relaxed and at home. I went by myself (which is a odd since I usually prefer to shoot with another photographer). I liked the feeling of being by myself and taking my time to walk around and photograph anything I found interesting. Afterwards, I bought myself an orange juice and attempted to edit photos at a nearby Starbucks. I left instead because there were no seats available. Thanks for reading.

See ya

Jake

Let's change it up a bit.

For the past fortnight, I carried my camera around with me with only one lens. The rest I kept at home, safely put away. I decided to only carry one lens attached because I've been neglecting most of them. The lens I use most is the 18-55mm

So, I have only been shooting with my telephoto lens, 70-300mm. I've taken my other lenses for granted and wanted to feel what it would be like if I was restricted to one lens only. It was also a good exercise to open up my eyes to different things. For example, I would have probably shot the above photo with my wide angle lens or a 50mm. Since I used a telephoto, I had to be feet away from the rose and somehow "make it work." Just proves that taking a close up photo of a rose doesn't always require a macro lens.

The "Eastern" photo was taken in downtown Los Angeles after dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, Bottega Louie. I of course used a tripod and shot at f/5.0, 2 seconds, ISO 640. I tilted the photo in post production. My original idea was to have the building off center with the night sky taking up most of the photo. I didn't like all the empty space; hence, I cropped and tilted the photo for the end result. I like it better this way. As a matter of fact, I'm dropping off this photo for printing, framing, and keeping it for myself. It'll add a nice touch to my room wall.

1/100, f/4.0. ISO 800

When I shot the guitar wall photo, I really really wish I had my wide angle lens. Guitar Centre has walls full of guitars dangling from them and I thought they would look great if I shot them with my 10mm. However, I think shooting this photo at 70mm creates a nice collage effect upon the guitars. I can easily see this photo as a wallpaper for someone's computer screen.

That's all for now. Thanks for reading.

See ya

Jake

Los Angeles Arboretum

Last weekend, I went to the Los Angeles Arboretum in Arcadia to stroll around and take photos with one of my photo friends, Mario Rodriguez. Getting there was the hard part, everything else seemed to go smoothly after I got there.

I didn't find anything I liked for at least a half hour after I got there. I wasn't in the "mood" to shoot until later on in the day.

As we walked about the park, I started finding things that caught my attention and that's when I started shooting away. The above photo was shot on a slow exposure time of 3 seconds with a closed aperture. I didn't have my tripod on me, therefore, I put my camera on a rock to reduce shake.

The black and white of the birds of paradise is my favorite from the entire day. I'd like to point out that the photo was taken in clear daylight and the shadows in the background where not tampered with. It really was that dark. I think it's great how the birds are the only ones who came out in the light.

After a while longer, I became tired and decided to call it a day.

A major thing for me when shooting is to do so when I want to. I don't ever force myself to take photos if I don't want to because my end result will not be so nice. I have to be craving photography in order to do it. Same goes with editing. You might overlook a great photo in your library because you're so tired of editing other ones. A tip for photographers, immerse yourself in photography ONLY when you want to! It sounds silly, but it has worked for me for the past 13 years.

See ya

Jake

It is below freezing and only getting colder!!

I went camping with fellow photographer, Chad Bykerk, to Greenvalley Lake this past week for one and a half days. Chad's family has a cabin up in the woods and I have been asking him for about a year to take me up there with him. I finally got my wish and boy was it cold!

As soon as we got there, we walked about the town shoppes and started shooting. The temperature was 20 degrees I believe and dropping as the day went by. I covered myself with sweaters and jackets as much as I could but still, the cold got to me.

We went out to shoot 3 times that day. Combined, Chad and I have 8 lenses in between us. I used most of them to shoot my photos. The challenges I faced were many. COLD COLD COLD!! I could not feel my fingers most of the time much less would I be able to take photos. My feet were frozen and my lips chapped, nonetheless, I did what I had to to get great shots.

I took a little over 200 hundred photos and only picked 12. They range from landscapes to the sunset giving an orange glow while touching down on a frozen tree. While we were shooting the sunset, Chad said, "This is what a live for." Then and there I realized taking photographs is my life's passion and I don't ever want to stop. I take photographs for my personal satisfaction but feel elation knowing that I can share these with the people who enjoy viewing my work.

Thanks a lot for supporting my photography.

See ya later

Jake

Juliet Valdez Photoshoot

Let me introduce my latest client, Ms. Juliet Valdez.

Juliet is a free spirit to say the least. She's smart, funny, and extremely talented.

Juliet came to me a couple months ago asking if I could do a lifestyle shoot with her. Of course, I said yes; however, this shoot took months to plan out. We finally shot together this past week in sunny San Diego.

We shot at two separate parks, one being Balboa Park. The photo shoot was roughly about 3 hours long. When we got to Balboa, it was full of people! We walked around several locations and took some photos in front of an enormous fountain, inside a plant house and used the beautiful architecture as our background.

Juliet was easy to work with. She took direction very well and did exactly as I told her.

I think the photos came out great and I am very glad my client thinks the same.

In this photo session, I used my Canon 7D and 2 lenses- an 18-55mm and a 10-24mm wide angle lens. The above photo was shot at 10mm giving my model very long legs (wide angle lens have that effect). I also used a reflector to bounce light onto my model's face.

I took about 200 photos and ended up choosing 24. Some might think that's not very many photos, but photographers need to have an excellent editing eye. One things is to shoot well, the other is to know how to edit and which photos to pick. I could have easily given my client more photos; however, they would turn out to be repetitive. I pick the best photos from a setting and give those to my clients.

I shot all photos on Manual Mode as I always do and changed my white balance to Daylight while being on Portrait mode as well. I don't believe I hit any speedbumps on this shoot. Everything worked out smoothly and I am glad for that.

As soon as I receive my client's complimentary 4x6 prints, I will mail them out to her along with a master copy of all her photos. That's a wrap for another successful photo session.

See ya

Jake