We also discussed downtown Santa Cruz, which would have been a nice playground for a shoot. I was more drawn to the idea of shooting along the coast, however, so I suggested we start there and make our way back. Turns out we never needed to do anything downtown, although I would have loved to do that as well.

If you ever find yourself in Mountain View with some time for dinner, be sure to make reservations at Chez TJ.

On a slightly related note, if anyone in Southern California is interested in Feng Shui, I recommend that you consider contacting Jessie Kim (aka Ms. Feng Shui) for a consultation.

Here are a couple of recent studio shots.

Lina and I have worked with each other on a few occasions, and three years have passed since our last photo shoot. In recent months, we threw around the idea of shooting again, but we never really discussed any specific ideas. One day, we committed to actually doing something, and less than a week later I found myself in the car with Lina wandering aimlessly for the first five minutes. After learning what she had in mind, I tossed up the idea of going to the beach, and we immediately changed directions.

In just 70 minutes of shooting, we were able to produce a variety of images. I took the liberty of using one of them to create a mock-up of a book/DVD cover layout, since I think some of the images have potential for stock usage. Again, it’s a mock-up, so don’t expect to find it in case you have the urge to search for it.

I’m a bit torn between the first two images, although I do see them as being used for different purposes — hence the different treatments in tone and color. If you care to vote for a particular one over the other, I would love to hear your comments on which one you like and why.

]]> http://www.kevinlubera.com/blog/2009/09/25/kicking-it-with-lina-santa-monica-ca/feed/ 2 http://www.kevinlubera.com/blog/2009/09/23/tips-for-a-successful-photo-shoot/ http://www.kevinlubera.com/blog/2009/09/23/tips-for-a-successful-photo-shoot/#comments Wed, 23 Sep 2009 17:04:02 +0000 Kevin Lubera http://www.kevinlubera.com/blog/?p=1028

Singer/songwriter/producer David Homyk, Los Angeles, CA. Trusting client from New York, NY.

Let’s face it, scheduling a photo shoot with a professional photographer is not something that everyone is comfortable with. Some people only do it once or twice in their lives, while others may never hire a photographer. If you anticipate coming across this situation, here are three simple tips that will help to ensure you get the results you’re looking for.

Find a photographer whose work and personality you like. Yes, both of these factors are important. More often than not, settling for just one or the other leads to an unsatisfactory experience. Also, do not allow your decision to be influenced primarily by price. While a good price may seem attractive, think about how much you will value your images if you don’t like them. Paying more for images that you’ll use is worth more than paying little for images that will never see the light of day. Always consider paying a little more if you think another photographer is more capable.

Schedule the session, and show up. There’s a saying that goes, “If it ain’t scheduled, it ain’t gonna happen.” Stop thinking about getting everything together before you schedule your photo shoot. Just commit to it like wedding couples do; once you schedule it, the session sets into reality for you and everything that you wanted to sort out prior to the shoot will soon fall into place.

Trust your photographer. This is a big one, and it relates strongly to tip #1. If you don’t think you’ve hired the best photographer for your needs, then you will show up with a sense of uncertainty. Trusting your photographer plays a big role in your attitude during the shoot; if you have reservations, your photographer will sense it and the session will soon feel uncomfortable. The more you trust your photographer, the more you open up to him/her, and there will be more opportunities to create great images.

Next time you schedule a photo session, keep these tips in mind and the rest will come easy. Do you have a tip that you think should be added to this list?

My close friend Sandi had a beautiful wedding at the Halekulani earlier this year, and during my last visit to Hawaii she brought up the topic of trashing her dress. For those of you who are not familiar with this concept, “trash the dress” is a post-wedding photo session in which the dress is likely to be more exposed to the elements than on a wedding day. Sandi made it clear to me, however, that she didn’t *really* want to ruin her dress; she just wanted to do something creative with it before she placed it in storage indefinitely. Needless to say, any ideas having to do with fire and/or being submerged in water was out of the question.

On the eve of our scheduled session, I came up with the idea of creating a story, vice just doing one creative shot. While it required a lot of driving and a lot of time, we agreed on the concept and committed to it right away. We started with her getting ready in Chinatown, where she would shop for her own bouquet and begin her journey in search for her love. Along her way, she would encounter mazes, trails and desolate landscapes, where her love is nowhere to be found. There’s really no definitive synopsis for this story; I’ll leave that up for the audience to interpret in their own way.

By the end of the day, Sandi had been in her wedding dress for nearly 9 hours — longer than on her own wedding day! If it wasn’t for her adventurous nature, this shoot wouldn’t have been nearly as successful.

For all the photographers out there … Every one of these images was captured completely in natural light (i.e., no flashes, strobes, reflectors or any other light modifying/shaping devices were used).

Congratulations and best wishes to Sandi and her new husband Taeho!

Now, what will you do with your dress?

Here’s an example of an image that I find works well:

Why does it work? Because it is just as much of a landscape image as it is of the couple, so it has the potential to appeal to a wider audience. Some people are just not comfortable seeing their large faces on a wall, so this image is a prime candidate because the subjects are relatively small in the frame. On top of that, they are barely recognizable. When a piece like this is displayed in the home, everyone knows who the subjects are (assuming guests are familiar with the residents of the home), so it’s not necessary for the subjects to be so large in the print.

How large should you go? Well, a good rule of thumb is to not make the subjects (i.e., people) in the print larger than life size. It’s okay to go larger than life for other subjects (e.g., a closeup of a plant or flower), and in special cases for artistic presentations of prominent people. The other factor is the viewing distance (the distance from which someone is likely to view the print). The farther the viewing distance, the larger you can go.

Next time you schedule a photography session, keep in mind that it’s good to know how you intend to display the images, because that can influence the way your photographer captures and prints them.

I shot this session a few trips ago in Hawaii earlier this year, and I just realized I never did anything with the images on this site, so I thought I’d share it with you all. Like most of my engagement sessions, I like to focus on capturing the interaction between couples. While every image is directed, my intention is to portray moments that seem as if they naturally occurred.

We decided to do a mix of urban and non-urban shots, so we started in downtown Honolulu and made our way to the beach in the end. We made a large canvas print of the first image, which made for a beautiful display at their wedding at the Westin Moana Surfrider.

I hope you enjoy these.

We decided to go to downtown Los Angeles and do some portraits around the area. I had them meet me at the Disney Concert Hall, and then we walked around for a bit. I must say I was a bit surprised at what they were willing to do, and I had a wonderful time. In just 60 minutes we were able to do quite a bit (this set represents less than half of my favorites), and by the end of the session we were all comfortable with each other. Of course, they did get a bit wet in the end, so I’m sure they were a lot more comfortable after a hot shower later that evening.

Sevana has since relocated to Dubai. Be on the lookout for some of their wedding images in a future post!