How to Make your Bottle Look Expensive

Guess how many lights I used?  3?  Gridded strip boxes on each side?  Beauty dish?  Nope.  I spent less than $10 on this picture. 

Liana – Fashion

Using the same setup from this post.   I like how well the beauty dish brings out the sequins on her dress. 

Tailgate Party Anyone?

This was shot at a make-shift parking lot studio.

I Shoot People

I thought may be I should post something other than fabulous models for a change.  I had the chance to attend a Warriors game a few weeks ago against Cleveland Cavaliers.  I was told we had court side seats; so naturally I brought my new 70-200mm VR2 lens; excited that I may get some nice closeup action shots.  Wrong!  I was not aware that they have a 3″ rule (any lens longer than 3″ are not allowed).  This is the 2nd time I was rejected for the size of my equipment (no pun intended; first time was at the Formula One Paddock walk in Singapore).  Bummer.  As you can see, 28-70mm doesn’t get you much action even from court side seats.  Oh well… got to do with what you have at hand.  That was one of the three shots I took of the game.  Do I just seat there and pout?  NOOOOO… 

Gradient?

This picture shows the shadow I was describing better.  Lighting setup is the same.

Lighting Diagram

Lighting Diagram

I am going to try to create a lighting diagram for every picture I post.  I hope this will help some readers visualize the lighting setup. 

Rosely Headshots

OK, enough bragging.  Time to get to work.  After all, this is what’s going to get Ann to invite me back next time.  She needed beauty/headshots to showcase her work for her workshop.  So I must make sure Rosely’s skin comes out flawless; also, enhance the details in her hair.  At the same time, it must not look too perfect that it becomes artificial or flat.   As I wrote previously, the key is to preserve highlights and shows which defines the contour of the face.  At the same time, borrow good textures nearby to heal the skin.  Once you have the workflow in place; it is the matter of patience.

Rosely – Beauty

I am so stoked.  I am still tickled that I get to shoot this.  When Ann asked me if I am interested in shooting her styling project, I played cool and waited a full minute before replying back.  Are you kidding?!!!  This is exactly what I always wanted to shoot!   There is a good reason I seem to be the only guy buying Elle and Vogue from airport newsstands.

Charilie – The Glamour Girl

The hardest part after a great shoot is picking pictures.  Specially when you have a model like Charlie then every picture feels like a keeper.  Charlie simply oozes glamour with every pose she makes.

Swapping Background Color in Photoshop

I had a lot of fun working on this one.  For some reason, the guys I shot Charlie with decided to use a green background.  Since I am new to the group, I took it as a challenge.  Plus, I never shot anyone with green background and I wanted to know if these guys knew something I don’t…  Big mistake!  Skin color and green just don’t mix.   Charlie turned out fabulous and gorgeous in every shot; but the green!  Argh!  What a waste!