Shooting tethered for live reviewing helps get the right smile each time!
Natalie and her husband visited my photo studio in downtown Pacific Grove for a series of new headshots for her. Natalie was looking for a couple of specific levels of smile in her headshots. Since I shoot tethered she was able to review each headshot we made in real time on a 43” screen. This allowed us to get the particular smile she wanted for each headshot as we shot on two different backgrounds (white and gray) and with a couple of different poses as well. This is one big benefit I offer headshot clients, the chance to see each headshot as we go through the photo shoot so we work together to get the exact headshot they want. Thank you to Natalie and her husband for a fun shoot, a creative one, and for a true team effort in making these headshots!
Photographing Oil Paintings at Client’s Pacific Grove Studio
Marlene contacted me about becoming the new photographer for her artwork (oil paintings) as her previous photographer had retired. We decided that I would come to her artist studio to photograph her paintings there, as she had a secure wall mount already, and she had 9 rather large paintings, so it would be easier than her bring all of them to my photo studio. This worked out great as her studio turned to be a very comfortable environment to photograph her paintings with good available natural light and space for me to shoot tethered to my laptop so Marlene could then in real time proof the photos of her paintings to make sure the color was accurate as well as the exposure of the photo too. I also got to pet her very friendly dog, Pearl too! It was great talking with and working with Marlene during the shoot. It was one of those photo shoots that makes me feel so good about being a photographer. Thank you Marlene for choosing me as the new photographer for your beautiful and creative paintings!
Surprise engagement photography at Point Lobos Park in Carmel California
Irving contacted me asking about using Hidden Beach in Point Lobos State Park as the location for a surprise engagement photo shoot. Hidden Beach itself may be hidden, but it’s a very small beach with not really any place for a photographer to hide, but I did my best to keep the element of surprise when Irving arrived with Marissa and the ring came out! After Irving proposed, and Marissa accepted, we did some posed shots using my unique style of off camera lighting. After the beach, we went up on the nearby bluff for a different meadow and ocean background. Thank you Iriving for choosing me as your photographer and congratulations to you and Marissa!
Menu Item Professional Food Photographer in Monterey California
I went to La Casa del Sazon in Monterey, California for a food photography shoot featuring ten menu items. Setting up on a table in the back of the restaurant, using some staging items they provided, I then used natural window light and a reflector for fill light to create these food photography images to show off their most popular menu items. I captured at least three angles for each menu item, from the standard 45 degree “customer view” to a top down “hero shot” and then a close up shot. So not only do they get great photos to use on their menu and website, but also social media and marketing photos of each dish as well. Thank you to Ignacio and the team for everything they did for this food photography shoot at their Mexican restaurant in Monterey!
Headshots and Branding Photos both in Studio and Out on Location in Pacific Grove for a financial advisor
Chris contacted me about making headshots and personal branding photos for him here in Pacific Grove discussing an in studio shoot and maybe out on location too. After talking, he decided on both so after beginning in studio shooting on my new, and increasingly popular, “thunder gray” background, I took a portable set of lighting with me helped by assistant Melissa to Lover’s Point Park for some ocean background shots. In a shoot just an hour long, I made in total 11 headshots and branding photos for Chris both in studio, as well as out on location! It was a very creative and efficient shoot not taking up a lot the client’s time. Of course Chris was great in front of the camera so that helped too! Check out his website for a local financial advisor. Thank you Chris for choosing me as your headshot and personal branding photographer!
Pebble Beach Car Auction Photography for Bonhams with a Mercury Woody
There were several challenges with this car auction photography shoot for Bonhams Auctions. One was the weather, which at this time of year in the Monterey peninsula area, and here in Pebble Beach to be exact, is fog and the marine layer basically being omnipresent for days and days at a time. There was a deadline to make for this shoot making it into the guidebook for Qual, so even though there was no blue sky or sunshine, I had to make the best of the weather conditions. Then the second big challenge was that the car does not start, so it could not be moved once rolled out of the garage! I thought the helpers were going to stay and push it around for me while I shoot from the spot with both the best light and best background, as I always have for car auction photography, but this time instead of the car rotating for me, I had to rotate around the car! Despite these two big challenges, I was still pleased with the photos I was able to produce for Bonhams, and more importantly, so was my contact from Bonhams. Thank you Eric for understanding!
First headshot shoot in the new Pacific Grove photo studio!!
When I got a call from Ashley about a headshot session within a couple of days, normally I would say yes, no problem. But! I had just started to move into a new photo studio here in Pacific Grove, California. I did have all the lighting and equipment needed to make a headshot already in the studio, but also a ton of other stuff too scattered all over the place. So I said as long as you do not mind a bit of a mess, and the smell of fresh paint, then I am available. As you can see, you would never know what things were like by seeing the end result of Ashley’s headshots! Be sure and check out the BTS shot below to see what it looked like outside of the camera’s view. Thank you Ashley for your patience and being a great first client in my new studio!
