Picture Perfect

Babies and Children

2011-12-14T12:24:00.000-08:00

This session was the Intermediate Portrait class which just translates to a more concentrated portrait class than last session. This class was all about finding children from the ages of 6 to newborn and it was a bit difficult to find people who were actually available in Santa Barbara. I went home a few times this session for the models for this class, but it was definitely worth it. Thanks to my relationship with Carola and her family, I was able to find kids for my studio sessions towards the end of the session. My favorite shoots were the one with Ella and Jackson over Thanksgiving and the one with my friend Korinne who is an excellent dancer. The final project was a bit more difficult than last session's couple shoot, but I was able to crank something out for the last week.

It has been a year since Lighting People and I only have one more year left at Brooks. I find this incredibly crazy that my time here at Brooks is quickly coming to a close. The future holds a lot of uncertainty, but I hope that next year will help me figure out what I want to do once school is out. Hope you enjoy these latest images! And remember, for quick updates on the photography I'm doing throughout the session, please visit my tumblr!

Group Posing Technical Assignment

Creative Window Light

Newborn

Lizzy; 5 months old

Mother and Child

Christine and Thomas

Karen and Allison

Child on Location

Jackson; age 4

Child in Studio

Maya; age 5

Dancer

Final Creatives

Next session I will be taking the food photography class. I am so excited because I have always loved looking at food images in cookbooks and magazines. It's probably going to be very tough for me, but I I've been wanting to take this class since I came to Brooks. I will also be in the video class so be ready for new media!

I found out yesterday that I actually graduate in August 2012. It's a whole semester earlier than I thought I was so that means I will be out in the real world sooner than expected. I was reminiscing and I realized that a year ago I was in LP and just learning about shooting people. In 2011 I have matured so much as a photographer and as a person. Thank you guys for your support for this long in the game! I can't wait to experience more in 2012. :)

Childhood Dreams

2011-12-05T22:11:00.000-08:00

Like most little girls I wanted to be a dancer at one point and have always loved and appreciated dancers and their art. I quit in high school because I could not handle to attitudes that came with dancing, but I still love watching people dance. To me, it's one of the most expressive ways of showing just how much you love something.

When I was in 1st grade I started dance lessons with an amazing company called Hot Shoe. I quickly became friends with a girl named Korinne and we continued to be in dance together till I quit in my sophomore year in high school. Korinne is and always has been an incredible dancer so I knew as soon as I got this assignment that I wanted to ask her to model. We had a fun time catching up and dancing for this shoot. She told me that she's decided do make dance her career and I can't be more happier for her! Korinne is currently a teacher at Pace Dance Company for the little girls and is continuing her education with dance. It makes me happy to see my friends working hard for their dreams. She is such a great dancer and I wish her luck!

Apology and Portrait Work

2011-10-17T21:22:00.000-07:00

Hello! I am very sorry that it has been quite awhile since I last updated my blog. But now enjoy the revamp in overall look!!! I'm sure many people have this same background, but I thought it was a lot nicer and simpler to navigate and enjoy.

I have recently made the switch over to tumblr and was also going through a slow spot in my photography. I was unhappy with a class I had last session and was very unmotivated to shoot. This past session was the first upper division portrait class that I was able to take and it totally helped me get back in the groove of portrait photography. So, here are a select few of my images from this session that helped to inspire me back into photography. I hope you enjoy and will keep coming back for more!

This shoot was just about outdoor portraits. It was the first assignment we shot for the class so he was mostly testing our knowledge in the first week. I went to Claremont McKenna College, where my sister attends, because she found some people who wanted to help me with the assignment. I met the lovely Monica and she was a joy to work with.

For the "senior portrait" shoot I asked my dear friend and old roommate Ursula if she wanted some grad pictures. She told me she had never gotten any senior portraits done when she graduated high school so it was a lot of fun!

We did more couple photographs and I was able to get a hold of my old kendo friend Andrew and his girlfriend Jennifer. He and his girlfriend started dating right before college and have been together ever since. They were a lot of fun to shoot and it was great to see an old kendo friend again. We even talked about making time to go to kendo here in Santa Barbara so I hope that pans out soon!

I got to do another lovely shoot with Luna and Carola! This assignment was to photograph subjects in an interior setting while trying to emulate a light source. I figured a bedtime story was a wonderful way to show it.

This assignment was inspired by John Singer Sargent, a famous American painter. He was well known for giving life to fabrics and his beautiful backgrounds. Well I had a wonderful model (my roommate), beautiful dress, and amazing pose. I think I did pretty well with the limited time I had.

I love swing shots. Kiana is a wonderful swing model. :)

This assignment is called a pictorial. We were supposed to create art (one big print and a triptych) that someone would want to hang on their wall. Kiana and Brian loved their images and I was so grateful for shooting in such a beautiful location with a couple who really love each other. Brian could not stop himself from kissing her throughout the shoot!

All in all I had an amazing session with lots of fun shoots and some amazing inspiration from professionals in the portraiture field. I am incredibly happy with my work this session and I am excited/nervous for next session's family/baby/kids/brides subject matter. It is mostly because I have almost no experience dealing with those things, but I'm going to try my best to find the subjects and passion that I had for my work this session.

Thanks for visiting and sticking around! I will try and update more often on this blog too. I really need to work on my website, but that's a whole other problem I will have to tackle soon.

Mesa Beaches

2011-06-16T17:01:00.000-07:00

Santa Barbara/Goleta is mostly on a mesa. To access the south coast line beaches you usually have to climb hundreds of steps or down a cliff side. Thankfully most of the points of access are safe to navigate. My fantastic and beautiful roommate Kiana and I went down one cloudy Friday afternoon and as soon as we got down there it became sunny. The access point we went to had these really cool sandstone cliffs that you could sit on and look out at the ocean. Kiana loves beaches, water and dresses so I wanted to photograph her down on a beach for my portfolio. She is always down for experimenting and modeling in crazy situations. She is always a lot of fun to work (and live) with and I love her to death. We've known each other for a little more than a year and it is wonderful to be living with her again. It's the two of us in a little apartment near the beach and it is so much fun being in the same home as her. Now that I am in upper division at Brooks, Kiana and I are going to be going through the portraiture program at Brooks. :) I love you Kiana!! Thanks for being the best roommate I could ask for.

Ellewood

2011-06-15T12:07:00.000-07:00

I've always had an idea for a photoshoot with a girl out in a meadow type area holding my Diana F+. I was able to do the photoshoot with my wonderful and talented classmate Morgan Chidsey this session for my portfolio. She is a great model and is a natural at posing for the type of photography I do. We went out to this great meadow/forest/mesa out in Goleta that was perfect for our photoshoot. These are some of my favorite images to date and I was so happy to have them for my final portfolio. Thank you Morgan for being such an excellent model and great friend.

The perfect twirl (camera and all)

what a beautiful smile!

I love my Diana.

Logos

2011-06-09T23:26:00.001-07:00

This is a small preview of the types of logos my good friend Daniel created for me. :D He does freelance work with graphic design so if you're in need of work done, check him out! You won't be disappointed.

I have other variations on my logo (my favorite being the one with the heart in the lens) and each are used in different contexts depending on the type of shoot. I am incredibly happy with the variations he created for me and I feel even more professional with a good set.

Logos ©2011 Daniel Van Beek for Lauren Kanegawa Photography.

Give Them A Listen

2011-05-20T23:14:00.000-07:00

In the beginning of April, I was able to work with an old family friend and his band. I have photographed Mike before for the Lighting People class and he asked me if I would do some promotional shots for their band, Bell Ringer. It's a three person band and each of them have such awesome energy when playing. They're also very fun to work with for photo shoots! Unfortunately I wasn't able to get any daytime shots because of scheduling issues, but I hope to work with them some more once they need more images and more promotional pieces. They just finished up with the mastering of their new EP so give them a listen!
NEWLY ADDED FREE DOWNLOAD!
Listen Here!
See Them Live!
Fan Page!

Opposites Attract

2011-05-04T11:04:00.000-07:00

I asked my friends Andrea and Jacob to pose for me over break week for some engagement photos. Andrea had been asking me for awhile, but we just never had corresponding times to get the shoot in. Thankfully this break I was able to work with them and get to know them as a couple better. :) Jacob and Andrea wanted to show their very different styles and the distinction between them. Jacob typically likes to be well dressed in suits and ties, but his hand-made Mandalorian helmet (fans of Star Wars will recognize the design, oh and Happy Star Wars Day to any fans out there!) shows a bit more of his interests. Andrea loves the decora look (a type of Japanese street style) which is more playful and colorful. Even though these two differ greatly in personal style, they both compliment each other so well. Being able to photograph love and couples really brings me joy. I hope that they enjoy these images and that I can work with them again in the future.

An Old Friend

2011-05-03T16:39:00.000-07:00

My friend Sam reached out to me to take her graduation portraits over my break. I first met sam in pre-school and we were good friend until I had to move in the second grade. We lost touch until we came across each other through band in middle school. We had band together for the next six years and became friends again quickly. Since graduating, I haven't seen much of Sam at all, but I know she is working hard to become a US history teacher for high school students (which she has wanted to do for a long time now). I was honored to be able to produce her college graduation photographs and I wish her well in continuing her life-long dream. :D

Don't forget! I am always looking to help provide graduation photos for people! Check out my graduation photo portfolio and let me know if I can provide any services!

a classic Sam smile :D

Love on the Delta

2011-05-02T16:27:00.000-07:00

I first went out to this spot at the delta in high school. I finally got a chance to go back out there with a couple to create some pretty engagement photographs. My friends aren't really getting engaged, but they are in love and it definitely shows. This is a start to my engagement photo portfolio, so if you're interested in getting engagement photos done check them out here!

I wanted to try out poses and techniques that are more popular nowadays with this couple. Eddie and Danielle were great models and gave me a lot to work with. Danielle was especially awesome because it was pretty cold and windy out there! I've always loved shooting couples, so it was great to finally get more professional experience for (hopefully) future work!

End of Color Workflow

2011-04-19T20:52:00.000-07:00

Upon completion of this session I am now 8 weeks away from being able to take upper division classes. I am so nervous for next session's portfolio class. There were only a few shooting assignments in this class and to tell the truth, I was not very inspired for any of these. Totally blame myself for that though. I hope to get recharged this break and practice techniques that will benefit me in the future. Now is the time for me to become motivated to get the best portfolio I can for mid-June.

Color Workflow was all about color correcting, color management and printing the best possible color. We profiled monitors and papers to make sure that we were seeing the best color output and we also learned how to efficiently print and how to work with fancier papers. We made a short portfolio of 8 images on all the papers we had to buy for the class. My portfolio was some of my favorite images from the past year and a half of taking photographs, so nothing new to show. I also now have 500 promotional cards for my photography so I am very exited to be getting those out to people. Next session is a make it or break it point. I'm going to do all that I can to make the most of it.

Complimentary Colors
(I REALLY wanted to keep those shoes. They were incredibly comfortable for being so incredibly tall..but alas, I do not have $100 to spend on shoes at this point.)

One Color on Black
(This photograph is the lyrics to a Japanese song called "Ai Dake Ga" by Emi Hinouchi. The red lettering part roughly translates to, "just/only love")

Selective Color for Commercial Use

(The point is to sell the product...so, I decided to go for Target brand chocolate)

Senior Recital Part 2

2011-04-15T13:19:00.000-07:00

I have another good friend who is studying to be a music major and I was able to do a session with him last weekend. Conditions were okay throughout our day, but I was able to get some nice shots! My favorites are definitely the first three images. Jarrett wanted to do some fun shots, hence photos inspired by the Sexy Sax Man (watch if you haven't seen this video!). Yet another friend pursuing a music career. I'm honored to be able to give my friends photographs to help promote one of their most important concerts in their college careers. Congratulations Jarrett! Good luck with your senior recital. :D

*Side note! After doing the photo shoot with my friend Daniel we did a little trading and he created some logos for me! :D aaah excitement!! They look amazing and now I can put my little signature on everything. :) There are variations on a few...some more professional others, but I am super excited to have them. I feel even closer to being more professional! So from now on, all of my photos will bear my logo (or the variations of it). Check out Daniel's tumblr and see if you're interested in some graphic design work!

Graduation

2011-03-24T22:49:00.000-07:00

For anyone who graduated as the class of 2007, this year marks a graduation date for many of our classmates. Lately I've been getting a lot of requests to do senior portraits for Tokay classmates who are graduating. It makes me extremely happy to know that my classmates think of me when they want images. For more details on pricing and if you want photographs please contact me at lauren.kanegawa.photography@gmail.com or my facebook page. :) I love giving people images that they can be happy with. Check out this link to see the sets of senior portraits that I have available to give you an idea of what I can do (this will be constantly added to the more jobs I get).

This was a shoot with my classmate and friend, Becky. She hired me to do her senior photos at her college, Westmont. The campus is incredibly beautiful and provided a great backdrop for her photographs.

Skyline

2011-03-16T13:51:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I got to hang out with some of my friends from my kendo days. Daniel was one of the first friends I made at the Sacramento Kendo Dojo and he's always a great teammate during tournaments and practices. I've missed my fellow kendo friends in the two years that I've been off now. I still keep in steady contact with Morgan, but everyone else had disappeared with the times. It was great to get the three of us together this weekend for a hangout and photo shoot for Daniel. He still practices at Sac and encouraged me to return when I have the time. Daniel has always been the funny guy and it was great to finally get a photo shoot in with him. We took a lot of the pictures on the roof of his house (which had awesome views of the skyline, complete with the ocean to the right) and a few inside with some of his friends. :) Kendo really did introduce me to a lot of awesome people and gave me confidence that I would have never had before. It really did change my life and I am happy to have the lessons and relationships I have had through kendo for the long run. Going back is going to be tough, but I really do miss it. I want it back in my life.

Daniel wanted shots for promotional work since he does freelance graphic designing. He is also going to help me out with a logo for my photography business so be on the lookout! :D I love working with fellow artists and friends with their artistic endeavors and I hope they would feel the same about the work I can produce for them.

Daniel's place has access to his roof. I've always wanted to have a place where I could sit up on a roof and enjoy a view. Every time I visit San Francisco, it makes me miss northern California more and more. Sure, Santa Barbara is a nice place to go to school, but I've always enjoyed San Francisco and how I feel when I'm there. San Francisco is like my home away from home and I enjoy going when I can get out there.

Pogo

2011-03-14T00:08:00.000-07:00

This weekend I saw Pogo in San Francisco. For those who don't know Pogo, he is a mashup artist from Australia who mixes sound clips from movies. What is so awesome about Pogo, is that he chooses some of my favorite childhood movies such as Willy Wonka, Hook, Alice, Toy Story. He even got my memories down to the specific Secret Garden that I grew up with. One of my favorite mixes that were previously unreleased was a mix of Aladdin, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty. It was a beautiful mix of all the romantic scenes in those movies. He also had some great ones such as Star Wars, Pulp Fiction and Casablanca that he has never put out before. Pogo also played his Pirates of the Caribbean mix that Disney/Jerry Bruckheimer will not let him release yet. I think they want to release it with the new Pirates movie that is coming out soon. I also want to note that during the live he was singing all of the lyrics while mixing. To himself of course, but it was really cool to actually SEE how much he loves his work. :)

He is such an inspiration to me as an artist because he is becoming successful in something that he loves to do. I've said this before, but musicians and artists who are trying to fulfill their dreams inspire me to do the same.

I was actually allowed to take my digital camera into the show, which is the first out of all the concerts I went to last year. Unfortunately the images are pretty noisy because of the low light conditions. Pogo was only lit by his computer and by the sound board he was using to mix live. Since his videos are half the experience of Pogo's music the stage lights were not bright during the show. But, this was the best I could do, and had some cool images. I wasn't able to get Pogo's signature for my little "favorite artists" camera, but I was just excited to have seen him live. I hope I get another chance to see him if he ever tours the US again. :)

Pogo, you were AMAZING. Good luck with your future endeavors!

If you still haven't, check out his youtube page or his actual site.

http://www.youtube.com/user/fagottron

http://www.pogomix.net/

Senior Recital Part 1

2011-03-09T19:46:00.000-08:00

Over winter break my friend asked me to take senior recital pictures of her. I have previously done photographs of Elisa last year, but this time we did the photoshoot for the purpose of advertising her upcoming senior recital. I am so incredibly proud of Elisa and all the hard work she puts into playing and practicing. No one is more deserving of being a performing musician as her. I am hoping to see her senior recital in April, but I have to make sure the scheduling works out. It's always great working with friends, and this shoot gave me a great opportunity to use the techniques Brooks has taught me. I have a shoot scheduled with another one of my friends this weekend for his senior recital pictures, so I am incredibly excited to be shooting again. I hope you enjoy these select images! (and the 2 fun ones at the end)

Life's more fun when you jump. :D Justin acted as my assistant for the day. And Elisa's glasses holder.

Best of Lighting Studio

2011-02-21T19:05:00.000-08:00

Lighting Studio is the most notorious of all the classes at Brooks. Everyone has memories of sleepless nights, 24+ hour studio blocks, terrible group members, fighting for studio times and other horrors. Thankfully my experience with LS was pretty good! We did have some ridiculous hours in the studio for the infamous Black Glass 1&2 assignments, but my group was awesome. In this class we learned how to light products and how to take more commercial/advertising photographs. For example, an ad for something like perfume or a new book. We used a digital large format camera and computers to capture all of the images this session so the only thing I have really taken with my D700 is set shots for assignments. Time management was key for this class and I was planning weeks ahead of time to make sure everything was done. I was even able to fit in a few day trips and a weekend in Vegas so I feel like I did well.

The first two weeks were the hardest of this class. Black Glass 1&2 are technical assignments that teach you how to understand incident angles and how they can be used for lighting. We probably spent 48 hours total in the studio for the first two weeks. 10 shots were due each week, and in one of our first studio blocks, a single shot took us 6 hours to finally reach. Sound ridiculous yet? Our teacher says that he could give this assignment to a 10 year advertising photographer veteran and they would have a difficult time. Black Glass is notorious for any Brook's student, so much that some even have Black Glass related dreams. Here is the only image I have from this assignment. You are trying to reach assigned darkness/brightness in the tops and bottoms of each image.

After the first 2 weeks (of hell), you are pretty much left to shoot whatever your heart wants.

Black Glass 3

We used the same concept as the first two weeks to light products for an advertising look.

Copic Markers! Initially I asked my friend if I could borrow some for the backgrounds assignment, but I did not expect to be sent all of his collection! It worked out so well though because they look so awesome all together.

The first shot I took in the studio for Black Glass 3. I am incredibly proud of how it turned out.

Gatsby hair wax. I specifically had to go to LA to get this product. I have been wanting to shoot Gatsby since the session began and I am very happy with how this one turned out.

Backgrounds is an assignment were you use a background other than Black Glass. You keep the same product and just change the background. My subject is a Nakamura Yusuke art book. For those of you who don't know, he does the artwork for the Japanese rock band, Asian Kung-Fu Generation (one of my favorite Japanese bands). His style is awesome, and I highly suggest you check him out. http://www.digmeout.net/members_e/artist56.html

This picture I wanted to show some of his line of work as the background. His style is so colorful I thought it would be a perfect backdrop for the book and would make you want to look inside.

For this one we had to make it an environmental picture. This was supposed to be an artist desk (with the Copic markers) and someone using the book for reference or inspiration.

Themes

These photographs had to have at least 5 elements and look like an actual room or a conceptual piece. My traditional theme was a lomography desk. I am really into these lomo cameras and film and I have collected these cameras over the past few years. I love using film still and I am always surprised with how my images turn out with the Holga and the Diana. The second image is a Crushcake and some of the ingredients used to make one. I actually wanted to get some vanilla beans, but when I was at the store I totally forgot, and then realized it was probably better not to buy them since they're expensive for just using in a photograph. I'm not completely satisfied with either image, but I think they worked for the assignment.

January 2011 marks the 1 year anniversary of me starting at Brooks. I have learned SO much in the past year and it all went by so quickly. This LS class went by lightning fast, and pretty soon I'm going to be in the portfolio class! Brooks has been life changing and I hope you guys are enjoying the work I have been producing. Thanks for all your continued support. :D

Friendship, Motivation, and Support

2011-01-11T20:01:00.000-08:00

When I was growing up, I always felt like I had a really hard time fitting in with groups of friends. When I moved to a new school when I was in the 2nd grade, I felt like I was the new kid and never really meshed with a group. In middle school I had finally found a group of friends who accepted me for my geeky ways and demeanor (I was incredibly shy and probably a complete dork). But I lost them a year later when I didn't have classes with them when we went to 8th grade.

In high school I was a total band geek (played clarinet from 5th grade to 12th grade) but I made some really great friends and even reconnected with my middle school group. :D I started up kendo because I wanted to get into a martial art (without being tossed over someone's shoulder) and it completely changed me. I became a little more outgoing and I became more confident about myself. I had an amazing set of kendo friends and we all really bonded over the years. The first two years of high school were still tough for me because I didn't try and branch out much from my set group of friends. My junior year is when everything changed. I got out of the AP classes, met amazing people and I was able to take the photography class.

When I started going to Delta, majority of my friends from high school all left to go straight to UCs or CSUs. I wanted to continue trying out for national team for kendo and I also felt a little nervous about going to a CSU straight away. I wanted to be a Japanese language major and was set on going to SFSU as soon as I finished Delta. In January of 2009 I made friends with my Japanese club friends and reconnected with an old high school friend. Life became crazy my 4th semester in the spring, and I really became close to my new Delta friends. During those times that I thought I would go crazy, they were all there for me when my other friends were off at their respective schools. My final semester at Delta was tough, but it was then that I finally decided that I needed to change. I wasn't happy learning Japanese like I always thought I would be and didn't know what the future held for me. My parents suggested looking into photography schools or culinary schools in case those routes held more interest for me. In October 2009, I decided that I wanted to go to Brooks.

In January I started Brooks in PHT111. I made friends and lived with roommates. It was my first real college experience. I was doing something that I absolutely loved with the support of my family and friends. Now, it has been a year since I've been here in Santa Barbara doing what I love. I've still kept all of my friends and try to see all of them every time I come home. We're all in different stages of our lives, but it's great to be with all of them throughout the years. This project is dedicated to the people in my life who have always been there for me and motivated me in pursuing my dream. Without my friends, I wouldn't be the same person I am today. I am forever grateful to these people for changing my life for the better and always supporting me along the way.

I put these photographs in order of when I became close friends with them. I wanted to do a typical head shot and then one that would show a bit more of their personality. I am super lucky to have such a wonderful connection with each of them. :D (I am missing my friends Omar and Andrea. I hope to get their pictures soon. The original images are pretty big, so as usual, click on the image to see a bigger size.)

Katie Ann

Elisa

Lance

Andrew

Justin

Jarrett

Nikole

Kimmy

Morgan

Eddie

Keo

Jenna

Mark

Jessica

Typecasting [Final Six]

2010-12-16T15:58:00.000-08:00

For Lighting People, we have an assignment called Final Six, where we propose a subject and take six photographs with the theme you get approved. For my final six I knew I wanted to express my love for movies, photography, and my heritage. Being Japanese has always been a big deal for me and I have always tried to immerse myself in my culture by doing things like kendo, koto, and shamisen. Before Brook's I wanted to major in Japanese and become a translator ever since I was in middle school. I also am very into movies and cinema, and at one point I even thought about becoming a cinematographer.

One thing about the movie industry that has always bothered me is the roles of Asian characters in movies. It always bothers me that they play the same old, traditional roles throughout the years. Perhaps it is people being historically accurate or there not being enough Asians in the acting industry, but I feel like there are only a few roles that they are given. Sure they work, but I feel like there are probably Asian American actors out there trying to get into the industry, but can't because they are not being looked at for movie roles. Another big problem I have with the industry is that they tend to stick with the big name Asian stars from other countries to play roles in American movies so that more people are drawn in to see them. I feel like there should be equal opportunity for everyone. I'm sure it's not just a problem with the Asian community, but it is just how the industry works in general.

For my images, I decided to have two traditional Asian character roles and make them in the classic, black and white, old Hollywood feel. Then I wanted to have an "unconventional movie role" that Asians typically do not get to play with a new feel. I used different lighting systems that went with the times they're supposed to emulate and ended up with some great images. Both Morgan and Jenna did incredibly well with the posing and attitude of their characters and they were so amazing to work with. I hope you enjoy the images and hopefully understand the concept and argument I was going for. [Remember you can click on the images to see a full size, high quality version. For some reason this blog layout kind of squashes together the horizontal oriented pictures.]

For those interested there is actually two movies that portray Asians in Western influenced movies. 1 is a Japanese movie called "Sukiyaki Western Django" and the other is a Korean movie called "The Good, The Bad, The Weird." Both are amazing and should definitely be checked out. =] (though The Good, The Bad, The Weird is definitely more for everyone) I sincerely hope you enjoy my images from this session, and here's to a new session (and year anniversary) filled with products and advertising!

Best of Lighting People

2010-12-12T21:02:00.000-08:00

Lighting People had to be one of the most stressful classes I have taken at Brooks so far. Time management was key is finishing up the class. I had so many shoots and people to meet up with that I had to write out the plans for everything weeks ahead of time. This session had me try a stylist and renting looks for the first time ever so it was a good experience with working in the actual people photography world. We learned how to use expensive strobes in the studios and how to light people with "beautiful quality of light." There were mostly amazing shoots, with only 1 that I absolutely loathe. I used many family and friends for this session, so it was great to get images for them. As much as I love shooting people, this class was incredibly stressful and flew by so quickly. In January, it will be the year mark at Brooks and I am very excited to have 6 more months of lower division classes.

I am including most of the assignments except the assignment called Final Six, which I will be doing a separate post for later this week. That assignment is the final project where we can shoot any concept that we want, and it is one grounded in my love for shooting people, movies, and my heritage.

The first two assignments we had were outdoor posing with traditional posing that we would see in things like senior portraits or graduation photographs. I learned how to be conscious of everything in my frame and find the most flattering position for the subject.

Lighting Patterns taught us how to have specific lighting patterns on people's faces and what looked best with every face type. We have done this assignment in the past with continuous hot lights, but this time we got to use flashes and things over the flashes called softboxes to create a more even and flattering light on a person's face.

Hollywood Glamour let us use continuous hot lights to create looks that were popular in 1920's Hollywood. We got to style our models and create a look that was reminiscent of the old Hollywood promotional pictures. Morgan already had a suit so it was the perfect fit. I had originally planned for another model, but Morgan worked amazingly well for a last minute request! This was one of my best shoots and earned me full credit on it the first time around. :D

We had an assignment called Chromazones (yes that's how it's spelled) that everyone hates in LP. It's the equivalent to 112's Six Pack or 113's Grey Box assignment or LT's Blue Spheres. It is a test of lighting and gels to create a multitude of solid color backgrounds using a single gel color. From this picture, you can see that I had a total of 9 colors from just one gel by a single change in camera. It beats having to buy a bunch of colors, but it is also a huge pain to get completely even throughout the entire background.

Contemporary Glamour is my least favorite assignment probably because it included Chromazones. XD Glamour shots are always very beautiful and always shot with girls. The hardest part was finding clothes to match the specific color backgrounds, and I ended up succeeding by purchasing a shirt from American Apparel's wide variety of solid color shirts. Unfortunately my model was feeling under the weather on the day of the color matching shoot, but her white on white shots came out beautifully.

Studio couple was also a huge favorite of mine. I have previously blogged about it in detail here and it was definitely one of my favorite shoots during LP. Becky and Phil were amazing and I'm so glad I was able to ask them to model for an awesome assignment.

Studio Artist is an assignment were you go to an artist's studio and photograph them with their work. When I first heard about this assignment in the summer, I knew I wanted to ask my Aunt Joyce to model for me. She makes ceramics, mostly cups, teapots, plates, bowls, and the like in San Francisco and I have been going to her open studios for a very long time. Her personal pages on various pottery websites are very limited and if you look up her work online, only a few pictures pop up. She was apprehensive to having her picture taken, but agreed to it in the end. My teacher loved the composition of this shot, which is pretty great considering the space we shot in was very small and limiting. The images I took out of the shoot though were great and I hope it helps my aunt start up an actual webpage in the future. For now there is only a few pages with information on where to find her work.

http://www.artspan.org/user/4847

Studio Musician was another great shoot because of a great model. I have known Mike all of my life and currently he is a bassist in a band. They used to be known as Cola-Cola but they have had some lineup changes and are currently working on changing their sound. I got to sit in with them on a practice session and was the first person to hear their new sound! It was so awesome being in a studio with them and having the music blaring throughout the room. Unfortunately I had to rent out some of the lowest level strobes, and there was an accident early on in the set up the shoot that really threw me off my game. Thankfully thanks to Mike's understanding and a few amazingly delicious tacos later, I felt much better. =] We had to put frames around these pictures to create personality and we also had to take a picture that exuded the feel of a song, or as the assignment calls it, "the essence of the music." I am posting the song that I felt had the same power and energy that Mike has when he plays bass. So listen to the song while enjoying these images. :) I love it when musicians get fully immersed into the music and just move and don't care if people think they are crazy. It's always inspiring to me when I see musicians just rock out because they love the music so much. I wish Mike and his band all the best in the future and can't wait to hear their new things!

LP was an amazing experience, as stressful as it was. It was a lot of tedious work in the beginning, but by the end I was enjoying all the images I was producing. I am very excited to post my Final Six for everyone so look forward to that. Next session is Lighting Studio and I am going to do my best and stay on top of the game to make sure I can knock it out of the park. :D

A Love Story

2010-11-30T20:24:00.000-08:00

Recently we did a photoshoot for LP called Studio Couple. Ever since I heard about the assignment I wanted to use my friends Becky and Phil. They were in my Japanese class my junior and senior year and I also had photo together with Becky. I remember before they started dating, and now they've been together for almost 4 and a half years. They both are in the Santa Barbara area now for school and are about to graduate in May. :) It was great to see that they hadn't changed much since I last saw them almost 4 years ago. I always love shooting couples and it was great that these two showed so much chemistry the whole time. Seeing love in front of me was super inspiring and it made me extremely happy to be photographing them together. I always find happiness in seeing couples who truly love each other together and it was such a good feeling to be capturing their relationship on camera. =]

I think this photograph personifies their relationship best. =P We got a lot of awesome fun shots too!

Music Inspires

2010-10-31T13:29:00.001-07:00

I take a lot of care in the music I select for this blog. I don't want it to be too distracting and crazy loud, but the artists I have on my playlist are mostly up and coming musicians who are doing music because they love it. I decided to do a little background information on the ones you might not know of and hopefully introduce you to new artists. Some of my favorite artists are the ones that are putting themselves and their talent out there for people to appreciate. They're hoping that their musical future will be enough to get them to do what they love most in life. I kind of feel the same way with photography. I am hoping that my future will be secured with me taking photographs and people loving the work I do. Music and the arts are not typically something that everyone can get famous for, but I am pursuing my happiness and doing all that I can to become one that can do what I love to do. Seeing them try their hardest for it, makes me want to succeed too. :) (click on their name for their youtube page)

Kina Grannis: Famous from youtube, Kina has a beautiful singing voice and words that are simple, but can really get through to you. I can't really explain her charm, but her music is enough to make anyone happy. She's touring the United States these days, and I hope she gains even more popularity as time goes on. :D

Pogo: Pogo is a guy from Australia who mixes tracks and bits of movies to create whole songs. His original video was an Alice in Wonderland mix and since then, he has been mixing all of these favorite movies from a 90's kid childhood. He has a lot of Disney mixes, but there are also some great ones from movies like Hook, Willy Wonka (the original version), and even a recent one such as the TV show Dexter. I think that he's been getting commissions lately from Pixar and other tv stations to do these popular mixes. He doesn't ask for money from these songs, but Disney has told him he can't put up the mp3's to his Disney songs on his site. =/ What Pogo does is not illegal, but Disney feels like they have to keep him from doing them. Personally, I think it's a great way to get people into your movies again, but whatever Disney. Just ignore all the good that Pogo is doing for you. I am hoping to one day see him at a live venue, but until then I will just admire these videos. :D

Morgan Komure: I've featured Morgan on here before, but he just started making youtube videos this past month. :D So far it's random things like originals, covers, and improvs, but I am so glad that he finally decided to put his videos out there. :) It's the first step in making yourself known. I think the cover route will get him more fans, and then people will get into his original music. He gave his friends a download link to a CD back when we were in high school and there are definitely some great songs on it. I wish Morgan the best of luck in his future endeavors and hope that he will gain popularity. :D

Jeremy Messersmith: I found about about Jeremy Messersmith from Yahoo news. They were featuring a new music video for his video Tatooine (yes from Star Wars). His voice is nice and simple and his music is calming. I'm still new to his music, but I feel like some of his songs have a more gothic undertone to them. But his music is just so simple and the lyrics are sweet. My favorite lyric from his Tatooine song is, "solos are fine, but duets are romantic." :) I think he's based out more in Montana area so hopefully someday he can make it out to California. ^_^ I will definitely be on the watch for more from him.

I hope you enjoy the music selections from this site a bit more now. :D And maybe I have introduced you to an artist who will possibly become one of your favorites in the future.

here are some links to official sites
Kina Grannis Official
PogoMix
Jeremy Messersmith Official

Cousins

2010-10-31T01:31:00.000-07:00

Over the break week I was finally able to shoot with my cousins in Sacramento. I've been trying to hang out with them for pictures since summer, but I haven't been able to get together with them till now. Unfortunately, the place where my original idea to shoot at closed to the public the same time we got there. It also started to rain during the middle of our shoot so we had to improvise. It was a short photo shoot in various locations, but it was so great to get to shoot with them. Mari and Kana have always been easy people to be with. They're always so funny and always doing crazy things. I love them to death, and being able to see them more than just at my mom's family reunions is always great. :) They are both beautiful girls and are so much fun to work with. They're not used to modeling, but I think they did just fine. The pictures show their quirkiness and just how much they like to have fun, and I hope they showcase my cousins' beauty.

But when it comes down to it, they just love to have fun. :D

I hope to shoot more with them at my original idea location. :D I love working with them and I hope they enjoy these pictures too. ^_^

Best of Lighting Theory

2010-10-18T16:45:00.000-07:00

Lighting Theory was an extremely useful class where we learned how to use flashes to create lighting situations on location. When I had first bought a flash back in my third session I had no idea how to use it and make it look successful. Now with just a few key pointers and experiences, I've learned how to make these awesome images with light I bring in myself. Here are some of the assignments and images of the session.

TTL Portraits
These portraits use a setting on the flash that can sense how far away and if there are things in front of the flash that would need to power up to go through. It's a smart flash setting for subjects that move quickly or if you have limited time with light.

CD Cover
This assignment was to teach us a concept called depth of light. The theory is that the closer you bring the light source to the wall, the darker the background will become. It sounds crazy, but it really does work! It was really frustrating for me in the beginning and when I had finally given up, I took the photos just to get something for a reshoot, but it ended up working! The final product was great and as always, my model was awesome and very patient with me. :)

Editorial Portraits
The point of these portraits is to create portraits that might be featured in a magazine, website or brochure. The subject, my friend Eddie does fashion design and I wanted the photographs to have a work at home kind of feel.

Flash at Sunset
This assignment taught us to expose for a sunset or magic hour (1 hour after the sun sets) and create an exposure on the face to match the tone of a sunset. If you ever wanted to photography a person with a beautiful sunset shot this technique can make it happen. It was a technical assignment, but still counted as a creative.

Blue Spheres
This assignment taught us all the different lighting techniques we might ever have to do in the field. All the little things in front of the model are the different types of textures so that you can see all the different types in similar lighting. In a lot of them I wasn't allowed to smile and in some of them I was getting over a terrible sickness, so a lot of the images look a little worn.

Resting Athlete
This assignment teaches you how to make it look like a sunset when you're in a shade or overcast situation. This is a great technique for those times you plan a shoot and the weather just doesn't want to cooperate.

Editorial Layout
This was the final project of the session where we utilized all the techniques that we learned in this class to make pictures for a specific magazine. I wanted to ask my friend Omar to model and already knew that his style fit the magazine, Nylon Guys, perfectly. I wanted to do a nighttime shot and Omar told me about a bridge that was perfect for my idea. We had to shoot for a cover shot and then for a full, 2-page spread. For the official assignment we were not supposed to add text, but I wanted to try my hand at making my own cover. :) (I also included a side by side comparison. The hardest part was finding similar fonts!)

Composite
This assignment was for our lab class and it is the first composite I have ever done. I took a photo of Kiana on the pier, jumping in the air with balloons and then I took a bunch of balloon pictures to add to the whole image. Then I took a picture of the sky and got lucky by finding a flock of birds. I had a tough time with the composite at first, because I am not too proficient at Photoshop yet. But this composite and other assignments throughout the lab class keep giving me great practice.

Outtakes

These are just some images from the shoots that I didn't turn in but I still like anyways. :)

LT was great and a lot of work, but it was exactly what I expected. I'm a bit drained this session, and the beginning started off rough, but I was so pleased with the images I was able to produce. I can't wait to use my flash more in the field for my own shoots. Thanks to my wonderful friends for modeling for me and to my classmates and roommates for helping to support me through this session.

Joy

2010-10-12T22:50:00.000-07:00

When I was first starting off my love for photographing people, I always thought a great idea for a photoshoot would be a girl in a pretty dress on pier with balloons on a windy day. I never lived near an ocean before coming to Santa Barbara, and as soon as I saw the plethora of piers along highway 101 down here I had to do it. :) These were taken for my composite for my photoshop lab, but I wanted to post them as is anyways. When we first got to the pier, it was overcast and not looking promising. Thankfully, the minute we stepped onto the pier and started taking pictures, the sun came out and was shining.
The model in my pictures is my roommate Kiana. She came to live at my first apartment the 2nd month I was at Brooks because her old place had a mold problem, and she was seriously allergic to it. Her moving in was amazing and she has become one of my best friends here in Santa Barbara. We are best known for out last minute plans to things like Disneyland, or a 45 minute drive to the closest Cheesecake Factory. The way Kiana approaches life is always happy and just like me, she is living her dream of pursuing photography as a future. I hope these pictures make you smile and you can feel the joy that Kiana has for life. See her photography here!

Monday Drive

2010-09-13T22:14:00.000-07:00

Today I went for a drive through the areas around Santa Barbara, playing music by my favorite artists with the windows down and without a gps. The weather was perfect, there was a nice breeze throughout the drive, and it felt great to enjoy something other than school for just a few hours. It was also nice to get out and just clear my head a bit from all the random thoughts that I've been having. Lately I feel like I'm just stressed with everything.

I traveled to Lake Cachuma, Solvang, Lompoc, Highway 1, and Highway 101. A lot of the places I traveled to today reminded me of things from my childhood. Going to Lake Cachuma remind me of going to Truckee every summer with my mom's family. Our Jichan and Bachan would always take us fishing, and I remember it always being a lot of fun. I don't think I ever caught anything, but I was always curious about all the things that you needed to have to go fishing. I remember the little things, like getting excited about all the different colors of fishing bait and which ones were the ones we got to use, while the adults got to use a different kind. Or by getting to climb on the rocks along the lake and spend some quality time with my grandparents and aunts and uncles. I haven't been fishing since I was young enough not to require a fishing license, but someday maybe I can go again. :) The railroad track photos remind me of my dad and his love for trains. We used to go to the California State Railroad Museum all the time when my dad would work there as a docent. He still does to this day and continues to be a narrator for the Amtrak train on the trips from Sacramento to Reno. Things are much more simpler when you're younger. Looking back on my life, there's been a lot of things that have led me to be the person I am today. I could go into an in depth analyzation, but that will have to wait for another solo drive.

When I first stared photography I was into the abstract and just snapping what I see. These photos are all about nature and just the everyday views we might take for granted. Lately I've been all about people and making them happy, but it was nice to go back to what originally inspired me. Sometimes you just have to take some time out of your day and do something that you enjoy and let yourself forget your worries for a bit.

swing life away..

I know I say this a lot, but I wouldn't be where I am without the support of my family and friends. You're feedback is important to me, and I am truly thankful for the people who are letting me reach for my goal. The past 3 days I have had little pick me ups from friends who probably don't even realize that they were helping me through a rough week. Knowing that I have such a big support group makes me happy and motivates me to keep on top of things to pass the classes.

Traditional

2010-09-08T16:48:00.000-07:00

When I do photo shoots, I often get comments that they're more artsy than traditional portrait. Today, I had to take my friend Kimmy to LAX, but before we did that, I took her to my favorite beach in Santa Barbara for a quick photoshoot. It was less than an hour so it was only a short amount of time but I thought I got some nice ones. :D I love it when people come to visit me, and I try to take them out for pictures for coming so out of the way to visit. I've known Kimmy for 7+ years now and after she and her parents moved back out to the midwest, I hadn't seen her in a year. But even after all that time of not seeing her, it was like we never had time apart. I try hard to keep in contact with the people who are important to me and to see them as often as I can. As soon as I get money I will try to get out to Chicago to visit Kimmy in her favorite home. :)

The last 3 are my favorites. :)

Whimsy

2010-09-07T18:04:00.000-07:00

There is a caltrain station by my Aunt Joyce's studio space that we always walk past when she has open house for her pieces. I've always wanted to take pictures with a model there, and found the perfect chance to do exactly that. I had always imagined the shoot with a pretty girl in a floaty sort of dress and a bunch of balloons. A lot of people were asking who's birthday it was, but I think that balloons also give a sort of whimsy and fun. I worked with my friends Jessica and Jenna for this shoot and was happy with the way it all turned out. It was actually nice and sunny that day (I was worried San Francisco would give us fog) and the Giants game wasn't too crowded so we could find parking easily. It is awesome to have friends who don't mind modeling and just want to have fun. :D

These first three can kind of make a story of her waiting for someone. :)

Jenna also dressed up in her super cool look. :D

the side wall proved to have a good background. :D

I loved the playfulness of the whole shoot and it turned out as I always had hoped when I first saw the station. :D (the final image is my favorite from the shoot)

un tarde con Luna y Carola (An Afternoon With Luna and Carola)

2010-08-24T01:20:00.000-07:00

I had my first paid photo shoot this past weekend with a wonderful family. My dad's cousin set me up to take their pictures and I was finally able to meet with them on Sunday. Carola, her 3 year old daughter Luna, and her husband live in Santa Barbara and invited me to their beautiful home. Her husband is an aiming for his PhD in Anthropology at UCSB but he wasn't there for the photo session. We just played around for the afternoon in the backyard, since my typical style is doing things in the models' natural setting. Carola and Luna spoke Spanish to each other most of the time, which was really cool. They made me feel so welcome and Luna wasn't shy at all. Apparently she is typically clingy and shy with new people so it was nice to get her friendly and natural. :) They made my first commissioned photo shoot experience amazing and I hope I will be able to keep in contact with them. :D Here are my favorite images from the day. 2 hours and 200 pictures later, there are some really great ones.

Carola and Luna often go to the farmer's market to buy produce. Afterwards, they wash the things that they buy.

They have a little hammock on their porch that looked like fun to lounge in.

This is my favorite image of the day

Lunch time! Luna's favorite food is pasta with red sauce. :)

Halfway through lunch, Luna decided to make a fort to play in.

eating her another favorite food, applesauce

Luna wanted a headshot against the wall after she saw that I took one for her mother. :D

The dogs went to go steal some of the apples that they had washed earlier. So Luna joined in on the snacking.

Luna and her father work on the garden all the time.

what kid doesn't like playing in the mud? =)but after playing, Luna wanted to wash her feet off herself.

My first ever paid job was such a joy to shoot. I love shooting people in places and situations where they feel comfortable, and it was great to take pictures on the recommendation of someone. I hope they end up liking the pictures I took, and I can't wait to try and get more jobs. :)

Best of Visual Design

2010-08-23T15:34:00.000-07:00

This summer session has flown by so quickly! Unfortunately, 114 (visual design) was extremely disappointing. I was looking forward to doing the fun shoots based on the more abstract things like lines, shapes and colors. I was looking forward to making a collage of one photograph. Unfortunately, the class was uninspiring and I was left wondering what the point was. My art history class was instant love, but this one not so much. Never the less, I did enjoy the images I produced, even if the teacher had an incredibly strange grading system. Here's to another session gone by. Things are going to get intense next session, but I am so ready to learn how to use flashes and lighting to my advantage. Hope you enjoy the images from this session. :)

Inspirational
The first assignment over break was to take a piece of art and do a response piece. I thought about what image I wanted to re-imagine and I mostly took images from album art. In the end I chose Otsuka Ai's Planetarium single. It took me awhile to scout out one of those types of jungle gyms, but the only one I found exactly like that behind a huge fence at a school. So I found an alternate and the image I got was amazing. I absolutely love it, and my classmates and friends also found it very good. :) I went for a daytime look and a view from inside the structure, instead of outside and at night.

Original Image

My Interpretation

My house is a mess, My house is a temple
This assignment was to find aesthetically pleasing things within our home. No arranging, just things left the way we find them.

The mess picture was definitely one of my favorites of the session.

The "neat" picture is of the wall above my computer. It is of the images from high school and Delta that really inspired me into being a photographer. These are the images that made me fall in love with everything that I'm doing.

Line
We had to find a line in nature and a man made line

I'm going to admit that this image was purely from lack of images. But it still has a nice feel to it anyways.

Yes I did have my camera out the entire time while in the front of the roller coaster. XD I'm sure I got many stares from people thinking, "why in the hell does she have that huge camera out while on the ride?!" but the final image came out to be stunning. :D This image is definitely a top favorite

Shape
We had to find a natural shape and a contrast of shape

Symmetry

We had to find symmetry and asymmetry examples

He didn't like my symmetry photo because if you folded it in half, it wouldn't match up exactly. But I kept in the corner because I thought it would add something more to the image instead of just black and white, contrasting lines.

One of my favorite images from the day. But I have to admit that I did like the original, non-cropped version better. The lone person in the image gives it a certain feel. :)

The original, non-cropped version.

Color
We had to find monochromatic color and analogous color (analogous means a grouping of 3 colors next to each other on an Itten color wheel, as seen here)

Monochromatic in the parking lot

I had a hard time choosing between these two analogous images.

I preferred the original image on my monochromatic image, but was forced to edit it down to make it more "monochromatic."

Hockney Collage
Hockney is an artist that created photomontages of places or people. They look like collages, but it's like you piece together the final product using closeups of images. This is an example of his work. My picture was of a DJ group called Space Cowboys that I saw in San Francisco on a recent trip. I was so inspired by the energy of the crowd and the randomness of the music to make something a lot more abstracted than a traditional piece. Unfortunately he didn't really like my collage, saying it was too abstract, but I still really love how it turned out and makes you want to know what is going on. There were so many details to the DJ truck that it was overwhelming just looking at it.

Growth

2010-07-20T00:42:00.000-07:00

I recently started redecorating the new room and put up a lot of my old film prints from my high school days. I came across a whole set of them and was looking at how much my work has changed. One of my best examples of that have been a portrait I took of a friend back in 2007. Morgan had just bought his Yamaha guitar and had taken it with him to a kendo tournament. I asked him if he could model for me for a photo series I was doing about love. The end result made me incredibly happy and it was exactly what I wanted. Then in April 2010 I took some more pictures and was also extremely happy with the result. Putting them together side by side it’s awesome to see the transformation of my work. Both of them are nicely styled and have a unique feel to them, but they have the same element of the guitar and Morgan with 3 years difference in between.

I feel amazed at the growth I’ve made with my photography, and looking back I see where it all started. I still remember the first print I ever did in the darkroom. It was an action shot of a kendo practice. My junior year I loved doing abstract things, taking the everyday and making it look unique and artsy. And I stuck with that for most of my high school career, and then in 2007, the 6 months before graduating high school, I fell in love with photographing people. Ever since then I’ve been doing photo shoots with people and enjoying the versatility I can get. I am so open to the future prospects of other photography genres, but for now, people are my thing. I’m excited to see the further growth of my photography and the happiness it brings people. Thank you to my family and friends who have been supporting me and my love for photography all this time. Thank you thank you thank you.

The Music Major

2010-07-12T15:17:00.000-07:00

Over the break I asked my friend Elisa to model for me including her flute. I have known Elisa for 9 years now and she has always been the best at what she does with her music. She is a flute major at CSU Fresno and is currently going into her senior year. She's been such a hard worker for her flute education and I am so proud of all her accomplishments. Being a music major is harder than most people think and the stress and workload of it can be daunting. But Elisa is always the one who sets aside the time to practice, the one who puts so much effort into her playing, and I hope she gets to where she wants to go with her music. I am so proud of her and all that she has done in the past 4 years. Since she is a senior, it means that senior recitals are coming up and eventually she will need some nice shots for her posters and promotional things as well. These were just some fun shots but I really liked how a lot of them turned out. Some of them I tried the keyshifting thing (making it overexposed on purpose) but it distracted from her pretty face so I toned it down. I shot this at sunset back home at an old abandoned school I used to go to with my old babysitter. It was still in the exact condition that I remember seeing it in, and I loved the look of it. Here are my favorite shots of the day. :D

My favorite shots are definitely the ones towards the bottom. It was a pleasure photographing another one of my friends for their ideal photographs, so I hope that these please Elisa just as much as I am happy with them. Of course I would always like to take more someday, but this was just a nice little teaser. I hope that in the future, Elisa will get to do what she has always wanted to do because it is one of the most rewarding things in the world. Being here at Brooks has been like living the dream because I have always wanted to use my photographs to make people happy. Doing what you love really is the best feeling in the world, and something that I think everyone deserves to experience.

Best of Third Session

2010-06-11T01:34:00.000-07:00

Another session gone by! This one was a lot more assignments one right after the other all starting with the basics of light. We learned about lighting patterns, how to make people look great with outside light, and how to light in the studio. There was a lot of work and stress with this session, but I'm sure that the upcoming sessions are going to be even crazier. Here are some of the best pictures from the session. :D

Portrait of a Friend is when we had to take good portraits of a friend using techniques to manipulate light using things like reflectors and mirrors.

Aya-chan ♥

This one in particular uses a technique called key shifting which is intentionally over exposing the shot for artistic purposes.

Final 4 (best four) Word Associations (these photographs are considered stock photos, which are photos you can buy the rights to use offline in a huge database.)

Transportation

Family

Love

Death

(the number 4 is bad luck in Japan, hence her holding 4 flowers)

This project is the menace known as Gray Box. This little gray box seems harmless, but it caused us a lot of anger and pain for 2 days. XD The purpose of this assignment is to light the sides of the box to different tones and to just learn how light works in the studio. It was the intro to studio assignment, and this is just getting me started into the world of lighting studio. We worked hard on this one, yet still only managed to pass with an average. There were 10 shots all together of just different lighting ratios and tones on this gray box.

Our Small Product shot (which was to photograph a box in the studio like you'd see in a commercial or magazine)

The One Light photograph gave me some trouble in the beginning when I tried using flash with a friend outside, but I ended up asking one of the Santa Barbara Kendo's Kosaka Sensei to model for me for this big assignment. The editing job that I did for this photograph was amazing! I was really proud of the difference in the shots. The hardest part of editing was working to make the light reflection on the do disappear and to reduce the glare on the back wall. :)

Theme Assembly is a type of photograph that is taken that has a certain theme such as a birthday party or a beach scene. It is entirely created in the studio and is only set up on a small tabletop.

This session was a ton of work, but well worth the effort. Next session is all about design and aesthetics so I am super excited. But the following 3 sessions after that are the make it or break it classes. We will be learning all about lighting, and first off will be learning how to use flash. I am excited for the future prospects but am gladly welcoming this upcoming 3 week break for summer! Here's to another session gone!

Editing

2010-06-08T12:07:00.000-07:00

Last week we learned how to use some of the more commonly used editing tools in photoshop. We made a woman youthful again, edited some plants, and edited out someone's ex-boyfriend from a beach scene. :) I never thought I would be able to do such things, so it was pretty fun in class try and figure it out. Of course, we just learned it last week so my touch jobs might be noticeable to the super trained eye, but it was still fun none the less. So for some practice in my own time I decided to try retouching my friend's pictures from over spring break.

So as you can see, he has quite a rip on the inside right leg.

And with a little photoshop magic...

it is completely gone! :D This time around I didn't mess with the color which is why the tone is has a much more gold look.

It's crazy how much you can edit things in Photoshop, but at the same time it can be quite handy. At Brook's they teach us to take the best pictures possible to make the editing process less time. The more time you have to spend editing a picture, the less money you make. The next couple labs will be even more intense so I will be learning a lot more things. :) Can't wait for the next coming sessions. And then soon I will be able to be out of lower division and taking the classes that REALLY interest me.

*Edit

Here is another work of photoshop that I was successful at. :D

As you can see, the background was made to look much less bright and lit with such harsh lighting. I also reduced the glare from the do since it was a bit distracting. Kosaka sensei was very nice in letting me photography him! I bet Santa Barbara dojo is the most well photographed dojo in AUSKF. hahaha. There are perks to being in Santa Barbara with a bunch of Brooks students. =P

Happiness part 2

2010-05-26T05:37:00.000-07:00

As promised, here are the 3 pictures that I printed out for Morgan. :) (as mentioned previously here...) I did nice and big 11x14 prints and mounted them. I figure it would act as wall art in the future at his new place (which has a great look that would be good for photo shoots, and an amazing backyard...or I guess it's more just the plant life that makes it really cool). He really loved all of them, even the portrait, and it made me extremely happy that he liked the looks of all of them. :D If you look at these in order that I posted them horizontally next to each other, it could potentially look like 3 different angles put together to make the entire guitar. They're all different color schemes, but I think that for each individual shot, it definitely enhances the look. The shoe one has a nice muted color scheme that goes with the look of the shoe and the grass. While the guitar one is nice and bright. It shows the look of the guitar really well and I really like the reflections you get in it. Of course, the angle is also what really makes this photo great. And finally with his portrait, I wanted to go back to how I took it way back in my senior year with my Nikon F + 50mm lens. That one was a great picture, but looking back I see my flaws in execution. I have learned so much during my time at Brooks to make better photographs, so I hoped that this portrait would have a much better execution all around and I think that I nailed it. ^_^ I hope you enjoy these last photos from a month back. Hopefully they won't be the last you see of Morgan and his guitar. I will definitely keep you posted with info about future youtube videos or music, so stay tuned. :)

Back Home

2010-05-09T18:13:00.000-07:00

When I was at home this break, there was one day that had the most beautiful sky I had ever seen in Stockton/Lodi. Thankfully I had already asked my friend to model that day so I really lucked out with the beautiful sky. I don't have reflectors or anything, so I had to use settings that made the sky a little more washed out in some of the pictures. But the sky really was the intense shade of blue that is in some of the images. The clouds looked amazing, and the sky was super beautiful.

I had to buy a huge ball of red string for the "How To Save the World With a Ball of String"one so I'm putting the extras to good use. :D Kyosuke was a good model, and did a lot of the stuff on his own without me asking. Him climbing up the power line was all him. They turned out excellent. :D I had a lot of fun shooting this with him. And it's been awhile since we've been able to just hang out anyway, so it was great to see him over break. I've known him since we were juniors in high school where I first found a person who ended up loving m-flo as much as I do. He's my singing partner and good friend. I hope that when I perfect my skills at Brook's more that I am able to photograph him more. I also taught him the bare basics of photography such as aperture settings and shutter speed and how they affect photographs. Here is what he came up with.

Another successful photoshoot back home. I am so excited to take pictures of my friends. I love that they love the pictures I produce. And it's even more rewarding when they usually don't like having their picture taken. I was super happy with the pictures that I produced this time around. This session is going to be exciting because we get to learn how to manipulate studio lights better. Hope you enjoy these pictures! :D

Best of Second Session

2010-05-09T17:21:00.000-07:00

So I finished my second session at Brook's with flying colors. It seems crazy that I've been here in Santa Barbara for only 4 months. It seems like much longer, and I have learned so much in the short amount of time. This session we didn't have as many assignments so there are a few less pictures. But I definitely had some great ones this session.

Student Life creative

For this creative, I wanted to do a kendo student, instead of the typical drinking or smoking angle. Kendo is a way of life. You have to devote yourself to bettering yourself.

Sharing creative

Pet Portrait creative

How to Save the World With a Piece of String

My teacher gave us this creative based on something he got back when he was at Brook's. I found this fence the other day that said, "Love is all you need." So I thought it would be a good thing to say love is all you need to save the world. The red string between the two models is an old Japanese idea that when you are fated to be with someone the two of them are tied by red string. They call it "akai ito" which translates to red string. It is a common element in Japanese love stories. This picture isn't perfect, but I definitely want to try this again with better lighting.

A window light portrait of my sister. :)

Big and Beautiful 1

The final assignment was to take 2 pictures with a medium format view camera. So we had to scan the transparency of this and edit that somehow. We had to print it in an 11x14 print and mount it in a window mat. These are my sister's first pair of worn out pointe shoes and I gave this print to my sister as a birthday gift. They turned out very well and I was extremely pleased.

Big and Beautiful 2

This was my second big and beautiful print. This one I asked my friend to help draw and color raindrops, and then I cut them out and taped them to the white wall. Then I hung the red heart from the umbrella so the heart would be in focus with the girl's line of vision. This concept just came to me one day and I absolutely love how it came out. I title this one "Hope" because she is hopeful that love is in her future, even though things are looking cloudy now.

Second session was definitely better than my first, and I absolutely loved my teacher. I hope that I have him in the future. So far, third session is more about stock photography (the kind that people buy for advertisements) and I'm kind of hitting a creativity block already. But I am excited for the possibilities that are coming. :D

Finding Your Happiness

2010-05-09T16:47:00.002-07:00

Finding something that you love to do is always incredibly rewarding. It is something that you can turn to no matter what kind of mood you're in and it makes you feel happy. Photography is obviously the thing that I turn to. I love seeing the happiness that my photographs can give people. A lot of people hate getting their pictures taken, but if I can give them photographs that they love it makes me feel like I've done my job. The satisfaction that comes with giving my gift to others to enjoy is simply amazing.

I have known Morgan for almost 7 years now. He started just a few months before me at Sacramento's kendo dojo, so we were all new beginners. We've been friends ever since. He is a self-taught guitar player and has been playing for about 4 tears now. Morgan's recorded some things already but is constantly working on new songs. His style is simply guitar (no singing) with a lot of fancy fret and picking work. Morgan has finally created a youtube channel so please check it out! There's a combination of original works and covers that he does, so I hope you enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/user/Kudama6

I went to visit this past weekend, and I asked if I could take some photos. My style of portraits is to take ones of people doing the things they love to do. I took the more natural approach since it's more his style, but the lighting was kind of strange throughout the shoot. I will post my favorite three at another time because I am gifting those to him and his family. Maybe someday when he makes CD's, he will hire me to be his photographer. :P I hope you enjoy these photos and look for Morgan in the future!

Rude, Nude, Lewd

2010-05-09T16:47:00.000-07:00

Circles of confusion (aka bokeh). This is when you have the aperture wide open and the photo out of focus. Teacup Mayhem (there is a if you can't make it out). A little bit of Disney magic One of my old school black and white prints from my junior year in high school. Anytime I go to Disneyland I love taking pictures and trying to make the things in Disneyland look less recognizable. Can anyone tell where this is? It's one of my favorite places to go in the world. Disneyland is a place that will always make me happy, and I hope that if I ever have kids, I will be able to give them amazing memories at this place too.

On Saturday I met the most amazing models I have worked with so far. It was wonderful to work with people in the actual business that were so friendly. I met them through a friend when we went down to LA, and they were kind of enough to let us shoot them for free. These two people are amazingly comfortable in their skin and a true inspiration to me. Thanks Kris and Kara. You two are a great first experience. :]
http://karaneko.tumblr.com/
http://kriskidd.tumblr.com/

Lights, Camera, Action

2010-05-09T16:42:00.000-07:00

I've always had a thing for pretty lights, reflections, and shiny things. Typical girl I know, but I love it. haha. So this last time I went to Disneyland, I decided to do fun things at night with slow shutter speeds and play with the amazing spectrum of lights at Disneyland. Here are my favorites from that night.

can you see the light source?

There's little hearts in this one!

Disneyland makes bank selling stuff at night

Fireflies in Disneyland

Disneyland is full of amazing things

I love Disneyland

Teacup Whimzy

Can you guess what this is?

Flowers of Light

Electric

I finally have my own annual pass to Disneyland! :D So anytime anyone wants to go I would totally meet you down there. ^_^ Disneyland truly is my happiest place on Earth. It's where my childhood was. It's where I have so many great memories with friends. Disney is such an important part of my life, if someone can't accept that, then how would it work? =P If you saw my house, you'd understand how much my family's love for Disney goes. I love taking people to Disneyland who haven't been in awhile or who have never been, or who say they hate Disneyland. People tell me that I'm the Disney insider, and I guess that's all thanks to my dad. Back in 2007 I went with a guy who said he didn't like Disneyland because of his childhood experience. I just told him, that's cause you haven't been with me yet! haha. Thankfully after that trip, he said he liked Disneyland. :D It makes me happy when I can help someone's experience be as exciting as the ones that I remember and enjoy. For me, Disneyland really is the happiest place on Earth. And it is somewhere that I hope to enjoy for as long as I'm around. :)

The Happiest Place on Earth

2010-05-09T16:41:00.000-07:00

My happiest place on Earth is definitely Disneyland. The first time I went to Disneyland, I was 3 months old. My dad is part of this Disney group called NFFC (National Fantasy Fan Club) and we used to go to conventions a lot. A lot of artwork in my house are Disney cells from various movies and old collectables that my dad has found over the years. I remember going to Disneyland a lot when I was growing up (at least 2-3x a year) and it is about a 6-hour drive from where my family lives. Everyone in my classes knew me as the Disney girl and everyone looks to me to know all the Disney trivia. XD Going to Disneyland now, makes me nostalgic and I can remember the fond memories I have of going with family and friends. I used to hate roller coaster types, but now I am obsessed. I think my favorite Disneyland ride is probably Indiana Jones. Or perhaps Big Thunder Mountain. I also REALLY like Haunted Mansion at Halloween till Christmas because it is Nightmare Before Christmas themed. SOme of my favorites growing up were Alice in Wonderland and the Submarine ride (the the sub ride is Nemo themed and is super cute!!).

I went over Super Bowl Sunday to Disneyland and shot my photo assignment There. We had to do pans (where the subject is sharp, but the background is blurry), blurs (the subject blurry, background sharp), and depth of field (having the background out of focus).

Pan shot. Can't you just feel the motion?

My favorite childhood ride

Selective Focus. I love the expression and motion of this photo, even if that sky is too bright.

blurry teacups

carousel blur

Circles of confusion (aka bokeh). This is when you have the aperture wide open and the background out of focus.

Teacup Mayhem (there is a if you can't make it out).

A little bit of Disney magic.

One of my old school black and white prints from my junior year in high school.

Anytime I go to Disneyland I love taking pictures and trying to make the things in Disneyland look less recognizable. Can anyone tell where this is? It's one of my favorite places to go in the world. Disneyland is a place that will always make me happy, and I hope that if I ever have kids, I will be able to give them amazing memories at this place too.

Best of First Session

2010-05-09T16:33:00.000-07:00

The following is the best of my images that I turned into my teacher for my final. There were a few others that I would have chosen, but I think these turned out nicely. My calling is definitely portraits, but I also love finding the beauty in the little details. I hope that next session turns out even more amazing images. :] Please do not steal these images and call them your own. Once you become an artist yourself, you realize just how much copyright laws protect your right to your images. I hope you enjoy them! Now I am off to head home and enjoy the company of friends and family for a brief week. :D

All images copyright of Lauren Kanegawa

Shape, Line, Texture assignment

Architecture Detail assignment

Pan, Blur, Selective Focus assignment

Picture Story assignment

Open Shade assignment

Window Light assignment