"Dam"ask My New Background Looks Good

I got a cool new background and I tried it on the dogs (see previous post) so now I thought I'd recruit a human . . . my adorable, able and oh so willing assistant/model Sophia. Don't you just love the range of emotion??

dam·ask  

n.

1. A rich patterned fabric of cotton, linen, silk, or wool.

2. A fine, twilled table linen.

3. Damascus steel.

4. The wavy pattern on Damascus steel.

    

When I Get Bigger

When I get bigger

I'm going to get a dog like a puff dog

and  name it wafles.

I'm going to get a brown dog and name it syrup. 

I'm not getting married. 

I'm going to be a writter.  

by:  Sophia Scarsi (age 6), July 23, 2009    

I think she has a lot of potential.  The need for creative expression runs in the family  . . . I guess.  

Christmas Portraits in July

Since I'm running a little Christmas in July (or August) promo, I thought it would be fun to show everyone in internet-land the results of one of these sessions.   Now there is one more family that will not have to worry about Christmas card photos 'cuz they are all done. (aren't you jeaous)   

The family lives in Pasadena so we thought it would be fun to shoot near their home.   As usual I chatted with the mom about what her goal was for the session and she wanted a nice traditional family portrait outdoors with maybe a few that were not totally traditional. She also thought it would be a good idea to get the kids by themselves for Christmas cards or gifts.   We talked about what they would wear and she picked some nice coordinating outfits that all worked well with a special dress that "grandma' had given to her little girl.   I also wound up getting a few shots of each child individually (which is my favorite kind of shooting) and I'm pretty sure the family will love these . . .   

click here for more info on the promo 

Pupcakes and Pet Portraits

If you know me . . . you know of my love for furry faces.  Much to the chagrin of my husband (who conveniently faked liking animals while we dated) we have our own little menagerie.  This little zoo includes but is in no way is limited to Ginger, the couch-eating-Dalmatian and Buddy the Chi-? mix from Tijuana.    They are both rescue pups who lived on the street and now rule our couch. We love them and can't imagine life without them.   Even John (my husband) adores them . . . most of the time.   He even enjoys their treats that are shaped like little realistic-looking cupcakes*, but I promised I would not blog or FB how he mistakenly consumed one of these recently, so don't bring it up if you bump into him ; )     

*Our yummy pupcakes were purchased at Le Woof Bakery in Yorba Linda www.lewoofshop.com  

A Bit of Sunshine in the City

We decided to do a session in downtown Fullerton.   There are lots of cool walls and doorways where I like to shoot.  Her mom said she was going to be shy and that it might take a while to get her to warm up. Little "S" didn't seem to have any problem with getting her portrait done.   I'd say the warm up time was about 2.2 minutes at most.  She was such an beautiful little girl and so sweet.   This was one of the most fun photo shoots I've ever done.  We kept right on going with wardrobe changes until we literally ran out of good light.   Don't you just love her funky high tops with the urban background?   

Cruising for a Cause

It's no secret that I'm a big animal lover.   Additionally, I just turn to mush for big brown eyes of almost every kind.  So this summer, I've donated a session/portrait package to the silent auction to benefit the Pacific Marine Mammal Center.  The fundraiser is called the Sea Lion Sunset Cruise Fundraiser and it's a 3-hour harbor cruise that takes place on Thursday, July 23rd 2009 from 6-9pm aboard the Endeavor Yacht in Newport Beach. If you are interested in going the tickets are $45 and include dinner, a silent auction for really cool stuff (including a session and a 16 x 20 wall print from me), gaming tables, and a great raffle opportunity. All funds go towards the purchase of fish and medication for those big-brown-eyed cuties, the marine mammal patients.  To find out more about the fundraiser call 949-494-3050 or go to www.pacificmmc.org/events.html.   AND if you go, please bid lots of money on my portrait package so that we can hook up and make some really amazing portraits of your cuties (no matter what their eye color).  

    

Not my photo but these are two sea lions that were treated at PMMC and released.  They lived happily ever after : ))

Christmas in July (or August) Promotion

Yes, I'm giving you all a hearty nudge with egg nog* in one hand and my camera in the other. Why not get your Christmas portraits done now?   You're not shopping for 78 gifts.  You are more rested,  a bit tanned and less stressed.   The sun sets later in the day so we can even do outdoor sessions with good light after work hours.   And if all that isn't incentive enough . . . I'm offering $100 off the session fee or package to anyone who completes a session in July or August.  

Now you're saying how very nice of her.   She is such a giver.    In reality, I'm just trying to get a jump on things so that I'm less stressed right before the holidays.   You see, everybody wants portraits for the holidays.  The thing is everyone puts it off until the very last second and then it's a mad rush . . . a rush for you, a rush for me, a rush for my labs.   So I thought I'd try this "summer incentive" thing and see if I can give everyone the gift of peace (and more time to shop later when it all gets crazy).     * I lied, I can't find egg nog anywhere this time of year.   

Mama's got a ring flash . . .

. . . Daddy can't sleep at night.   Remember that old song? (Squeeze Box)  OK, so it's really old.   I got a new ring flash and I just had to tear it out of the box and start shooting right away.   I bribed my resident model to do some quick posing for me.   For the non-photo geeks - a ring flash is a circle of  light that provides a soft even light on the subject.  It's very distinct lighting and it's really fun for a change of pace.  You see it in a lot of fashion mags.  It provides a soft shadow that seems to envelope the subject.   You can see it really well on the top images where my model is sitting near the background.   It also makes a ring of light in the catch light in the eyes which you can see if you enlarge an image or if the close up is extreme.   The bottom images were again just for fun and my little firecracker felt the need to jump for joy and for her country . . . of course.   Happy 4th of July!!!!  

Cuteness Comes in Three's

This summer I've been trying to convince some of my clients to get a jump on Christmas portraits.   Here are some of my favorite shots from a session with three little cuties ages 6, 4 & 2.  The funniest part of the day was chasing the little girl, around the park with my camera and trying to fire when she would pause briefly.   I particularly like the shot of her looking over her shoulder at me . . . little diva!!   The boys competed for my attention which was a total crack up.  They would pose and try to get me to just photograph them alone.  In typical boy fashion, they tried to outdo one another in every shot.  When we tried to get them to pose together they would push and nudge each other right out of the shot.  Too funny . . . some of the outtakes are absolutely hysterical.   All in all, we got a ton of really adorable images and I was really liking the blues and greens set against all the dark foliage in the park.  I liked the color combo so much, I went out and bought similarly colored outfits for my kiddos and as soon as there is a break in the summer action, I'm taking my own adorable clan out for a session.