One of my past wedding clients gave baby boy just over a week ago. I love getting photos when the baby is still fresh and newborn. I decided to play around a little with this one. The client laughed when they saw it - they said something about me being “really creative.” Actually, I can’t take credit for this look. I did this as an homage to Nadav Kander. It’s similar to a look he uses for many of his editorial photos. I just thought it would be fun to play around.

John

I’ll be photographing Ashley and Jamie’s wedding at the Grand Del Mar coming up in October. Today, I did an engagement session with the two. At this point, I think that most folks who follow my blog know that I like to do things a little differently. I like to capture personality and tell a story. Ashley and Jamie met in acting class are both expressive and not afraid of the camera.

Before the shoot, we came up with the idea of a mid-century theme. We had fun doing a little thrift store shopping before the shoot. We picked up the coffee pot, cup, jacket and turtle neck. I loved Ashley’s outfit! Not only was it perfect for the occasion, it came from her (stylish) grandmother.

I shot a bunch of other photos of the two of them goofing around, having fun and being all lovie dovie. I’ll try and post some of them later.

John

John

I photographed Galiya and Derek’s wedding at the Darlington House back in December. I guess she didn’t get enough of being in front of the camera so she asked me after the wedding if I’d be interested in doing a “trash the dress” shoot. I like to think of it as a just a plain ol’ bridal portrait, though definitely not your mother’s portrait session.

We started out in the industrial area just south of downtown. I liked the idea of contrasting the beautiful bride against the busy commercial background.

Somehow, I got the idea of having her smoke a cigar so Derek picked one up from the Cuban cigar factory in the Gaslamp. This shot’s one of my favorites. I guess it’s just so un-bridal.

Towards the end of the shoot, it started to drizzle. The evening air was cold enough so that the ocean water seemed warm by comparison. We were both pretty much soaked, but the water actually kept us warm. It was only once we got out that the cold and the water and the sand got to us.

In the photo, it looks like you can see light from the setting sun. That’s actually my flash. Without it, these shots would have looked looked as cold and dreary as the evening actually was.

John

Just got back from New York City last night. We flew just south of some amazing - and scary - thunderstorms. The weather report said they were generating tornados. Seeing the lightening flash nonstop out of a monstrous vortex was an awesome experience. I was glad to have my feet back on the ground though.Today, I helped Ashley with a baby shoot in the studio. I’m testing a new camera so it gave me a chance to play around.

John

I was recently asked to do the school photos for the graduating class at the La Jolla Children’s School
in, where else, La Jolla. I’m their unofficial artist in residence and go to photographer. At first, I wasn’t exactly thrilled with the thought doing the school photography. Visions of crappy backdrops, cheap combs and bored expressions left me inclined to pass on the opportunity.

But then I got to thinking, what if I made this an assignment for the kids in that the photo should tell something about who they are? I stuck with the idea of the backdrop, but decided to take it down to nearby La Jolla Shores beach. Instead of just cropping in on the seamless paper, I captured some of the background to give the shots a sense of place. I used a strobe to provide the soft light on their face.

And finally one with the whole class. I only wish my school photos were this cool.

John

About an hour south of Cancun, Mexico is Playa Del Carmen. Where Cancun is new and glitzy, Playa Del Carmen is a little more hippy and slow with lots of expats tending bar. We photographed the wedding of Kelly and Raj at the Aventura Spa Palace all-inclusive resort just north of town.

Kelly and Raj came down from Seattle - just the two of them. They were great fun and after the ceremony, we just kicked back at the bar and had a couple drinks waiting for the light to get all nice and pretty. There was no reception to run off to nor family members to line up and photograph. They were great sports and weren’t shy about working it for the camera.

Here’s our happy groom, Raj:

And Kelly…

Got this one as she was about to walk down the aisle. There was a golf cart behind her that I had the staff move. No sooner did they move it than she started to walk down the steps - but just before she did, the wind caught her dress as she lifted it. And I got my shot!

And there they were getting married, just the two of them and the officiant.

The amount of emotion in a ceremony isn’t necessarily related to how many people are in attendance.

Here’s The Lookbook in action:

Here’s a pose from the Lookbook…

And this is one we just sort of we came up with all by ourselves…

This is the part where they jump into marriage…

This is what the other side of jumping into marriage looks like…

And then the sun went down. Time enough for just one last shot.

John

I’ve been getting a lot of great feedback on my Exquisite Magazine photo shoot. I shot some video during the shoot that I thought I’d share. If you’re at all interested in seeing how I create my lighting style, it’s well worth a look. There’s a lot of tips on location lighting.

By the way, for all those who’ve signed up for the Rimrock Workshop, you”ll be working with a lot of this gear in your shots. I’ll also be showing how to take these ideas and make them work for the no-time-for-anything wedding day in my Light and Fast seminar with Jules Bianchi on June 12 in LA.

John

I just wanted to share with everyone an article that I wrote for Rangefinder Magazine that came out in the February issue. Rangefinder is one of the largest circulation photography magazines in the country and is also the sponsor of the WPPI professional photographer’s convention (where I’ll be speaking).

I’ve posted jpg’s of the article below, but you can read a complete PDF of the article here.

This is the issue to look for:

When most photographers have their images published, they pick a bunch of their favorites from different photo shoots. I figured that since I was talking about working with real people, I’d show a variety of shots from one shoot. I’d just done an engagement shoot with Jerry and Sarah so I figured I showcase their images. It’s much easier to put together a strong body of work from multiple shoots than stick with one shoot. My idea was to demonstrate how to create a variety shots from one shoot and come away with (hopefully) great stuff.

We actually started in my studio with a quick series against a painted backdrop. Then we headed into the Gaslamp district in downtown San Diego. The groom was the ham of the two. I hadn’t written the article when I shot this, but the photos seemed to go pretty well along with what I wrote.

I find that most of the magazine articles I read are mostly fluff. I tried to write something that would actually give photographers some new ideas and insight into getting the cool shots. If you read the article, let me know how I did.

This was the first magazine article I’d written in a long time. I had fun with it - I’d like to do more. I just need to find the time!

John

Sorry everyone for my blogging absence. I’ve had so much going on that I just haven’t had a chance to sit down and blog. I’m happy to report though that Baby Camryn is out of the hospital and is doing fine. Yeah! I’m so happy for Ben and Regan.

Here’s the update that she sent me last week:

WE ARE HOME!!!!!! Camryn tolerated the extubation extremely well, and has been doing amazing since Saturday. We left the PICU on Sunday evening, and spent the last two nights on a less critical and much less depressing floor of CHOC. She was weaned off the oxygen and has very easily returned to feeding (something everyone was concerned about after having a tube in her mouth for two weeks.) The doctors gave us the green light to leave this a.m. and we couldn’t be happier!!! She is a VERY strong little girl and has impressed everyone with her resilience. (There are older babies who were in PICU longer that still have not been discharged from the recovery floor.) As we have been told many times, this is the worst and scariest season of RSV the hospital has seen for at least five years.

This has been a trying period, and we are very thankful for your thoughts and prayers. They have been of great comfort to us, and have given Camryn strength to overcome her illness. We will continue to say our own prayers of thanks for Camryn’s recovery, as well as prayers for the families of the children who were not as fortunate as Camryn.

John