Gym Time

After the past couple of weekends photographing these young gymnasts, I’ve got some newfound respect for these athletes!

Just watching them practice over and over and over, again and again and again, flip after flip after flip, jump after jump after jump, and seeing their determination to get it right was phenomenal! And then after at least 4 hours of doing that (not to mention some of them doing this up to 6 days a week) to take photos with a smile on their faces and an eagerness to do some more (and get it perfect) is nothing short of amazing!

So from now on I vow to stop complaining about going to the gym for an hour and just go. Well… I’m gonna try at least.

… and for those that want to know the geeky photo stuff:
Camera and Lens: Canon 5D MkIII with a 70-200mm f2.8L IS set at f/8, 1/160, ISO 800, 80mm.
Lighting: 2 580EXII with 36” umbrellas, one on each side behind talent @ ¼ power triggered by Pocket Wizard PWIIs.

Kara

So what do I think is the difference between working a commercial shoot with a professional model and working with a bride and groom, or even a family for a portrait session?

For a commercial shoot, whether it be a swim suit, hand blender, or a motorcycle, it’s all about the product. And we’re both there, as well as a team of other people like art directors, marketing directors, makeup artists, etc., to help sell the product and to make that product look good.

But how about the ones that aren’t commercial, the Weddings, the Quinces and Debutantes, the seniors and the babies, and the families? For those it’s all about capturing the moment. That’s what it’s all about. It’s not about selling a product. It’s about capturing an emotion, it’s about capturing a feeling, and it’s about freezing a beautiful moment in time and holding onto it for an eternity.

So what is my favorite part of both? The relationships! To me it’s all about the relationship. I’ve built many new and interesting friendships through photography and it never ceases to amaze me the stories I’ve heard and experiences I’ve had in this journey. I just hope that this journey never ends.

Now for the geeky picture stuff:
Camera and Lens: Canon 5D MkIII with a 24-105 f4L IS set at f/5.6, 1/125, ISO 500, 50mm.
Lighting: 2 Bowens GM500s @ f/6.3 power shooting through 6x3 white diffuser above camera triggered by Pocket Wizard PWIIs.

Blanca

What better way to celebrate a sweet 16 than to cruise the city of LA by limousine with a few of the besties. And what better place to go to than the iconic Urban Light sculpture at LACMA. Man was it crowded! But at least we got a few photos in.

Hope you had a great time Blanca. I know we did!

Now for the geek, but Greek to everybody else, photo info:
Camera and Lens: Canon 5D MkIII with a 70-200 f2.8L IS set at 1/100, f/3.2, ISO 3200, 95mm.
Lighting: Uh… street lights of course!