Catherine on 3rd St. - The Green Batch!

Every time I go shoot, I get cold feet...I get really nervous, that during the shoot I won't find good lights, can't find the right spots to shoot, can't pose my subjects, and everything would come up blurry, colors all wrong, and just crappy pictures overall! So the second half of a photo session is usually a little easier for me, both the model and I are more relaxed. You know I really come to appreciate all professional photographers...it's a trade not just about your skills, but your personality as well. You got to be a people's person...frantically pick up personality traits of your subject quickly, making them feel comfortable and have confidence in you...all within a very short amount of time. Catherine put on a green top for the second half of our session. I guess subconsciously I was drawn to finding green backdrops! Catherine wanted a more colorful shoot for her portfolio...I hope these will add to it! The sun came down quickly around 4:30pm...a winter sunset comes early, warm and low to the horizon! Thank you Catherine for having so much patience for the entire afternoon...and such a relief it was not a parking ticket she got!!

Shooting around Westside urban landscape it's quite interesting, there are lots of varieties in backdrops!

We found this quirky vacant green apartment to shoot at!

I love those two bright magenta flowers! Makes the picture looks very tropical!

Was very lucky that day, had an abundance of sunlight, even with all the buildings surrounding us!

Wanted to try a more 'vintage' look with these...

Catching the very last bit of sunlight before sunset...

Love those draping tree leaves!

Lighting, that's why they call it the golden hour...

Thanks Catherine for a whole afternoon of hard work, good job!

Catherine on 3rd St. - The Pink Batch!

Instead of going crazy shopping on Black Friday, I was scheduled to shoot with Catherine on 3rd Street around Melrose area. Catherine wanted more colorful pictures for her portfolio, she threw together a color wardrobe, and I suggested to shoot around Melrose area, since I always see splashes of colorful walls around that neighborhood! We chatted for weeks to try to schedule a time to shoot, but we kept running into rain. Finally we pulled it off yesterday! The sun was high and up and we managed to catch some interesting lighting too. Shooting in a urban landscape is different, with all the buildings blocking the lights. Another challenge!

The pinkish brick wall definitely matches her dress!

Catherine reminds me of girls on Japanese NONON magazine!

We found this amazing backdrop in the back alley!

Beautiful back-lighting...I love how soft the light is....

All of a sudden one of the resident returning home went yelling and screaming...
we quickly grabbed our stuff and made a run for it!!

Viki on UCLA Campus, Part Two

So Viki gave me a grand tour of the UCLA campus...that was amazing. The buildings are so beautiful and there is even a Cathedral inside the campus. Seeing all the students carrying their bags hurrying to classes...how I wished I had gone through a regular college...well instead I was in design school :P I said to Viki, wow how I wish I am a student all over again...and she said to me 'aren't we all students at any point in life?!' Wise words! We grabbed some drinks at the cafeteria and headed towards the botanical garden...it was a-m-a-z-i-n-g!! The garden is laid out where it kept swirling to the bottom...we found amazing plants, leaves...cactus and used them as backdrops! We were loosing light by the minute...by the time we traveled to the bottom of the garden, we finished the shoot by the cactus! And that's when Viki totally had loosen up and went a little crazy with the spiky cactus!! Thanks Viki for all her energy, creativity and quick wit! :) I had a great day taking pictures for you hope you had fun too!

We saw this amazing tree and quickly used it as our backdrop!

Let me try some different colors with this batch!

Sensual!

Posing with bamboos :P

Cute!

Alright she must be one of the Charlie's Angels!

Beautiful!

Caught between spiky cactus!!

Cactus make me crazy!

Kissing cactus goodbye! The sun was completely gone and we ended our day!

Viki on UCLA Campus, Part One

When Viki swung open the door, she gave me a big hug! There I clicked with her right away! Viki and I 'found' each other and decided we would do a photoshoot together! She is in her final year at UCLA, looking into doing more acting and modeling so needing some photos taken! We went through her closet, and even her mom's and put together an outfit! While I waited for her to change, I sat on family room couch and chatted with her dad a bit, ha! We didn't really had time to eat so Viki whipped up some Herbal Life protein shakes! My first time I ever had a protein shake!! :P On our way to UCLA campus, we drove along the prettier part of Sunset Blvd....we chatted along the way and I realize, Viki is such an intelligent person, she is a thinker, very analytical, and know exactly what she wants to make out of life!! While editing these pictures, I hope her many personalities to shine through!

At the beginning of a session is always the toughest for me, and the model, to relax and get accustom with each other!

Viki has outstanding facial features!

Love backlite!

Soft and beautiful! The other side of Viki!

We moved onto the Botanical Garden within UCLA, it has gotten darker but somehow I like the lighting...these pictures show the tougher, stronger side of her personality!

I had Viki going crazy and throwing leaves around!

Love the earth tone of fall...

Even it was an overcast day...there was still amazing lights!