2nd Place Photo Finish

I just found out that a photo of mine has won 2nd place in the Snapfish.com's "What Does Love Look Like?" Valentine's Day Contest. You can see my photo (below) plus the others here.

I took this photo of my brother and his girlfriend kissing in Time Square the day after Christmas in 2008. I had them try to replicate the famous photo of the solider kissing a nurse in Time Square after World War II. I love that timeless picture and my brother and his girlfriend were all too happy to pose for me several times!

Here's my 2nd place photo:

Valentine's Baby

Love and babies go together of course so last night I set up a little studio at Maria & Chris' house and took photos of their 11-month-old son, Athan. He's a happy little baby with a serious side, which made for some really cute pictures. I think one of the hardest things in shooting kids this age is that they want to put everything in their mouths. The trick is snatching it with impressive speed and then immediately providing a distraction - Maria & Chris soon became experts at the technique.

Precious Baby Shots

Here's a couple photos from a small shoot I did last week of little 10-month-old Sophia. Shooting moving kids is a whole other ballgame than shooting still babies. You really have to go with the flow and learn to follow the child around, hoping for a good smile or expression. Sophia's proud parents were extremely helpful in keeping her in an area of good light and calling her name to get her attention. She was easily entertained by plugs in the wall instead of by squeaky toys but in the end, her curiosity of some other, less dangerous, stuffed animals and smiles to her parents really provided some great shots.

The rest of the photos I posted are up here.

Starting Out - Latest Shoot: Life Prizes Award Ceremony in DC

So I've decided to start up my photography blog to go with my website because it's really neat to be able to post recent shoots and events and plus, my blog just means more photos, which is great.

In that light, here's my most recent event, the Life Prizes award ceremony and reception at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. I had never been there and it is, by far, one of the more impressive buildings (besides the Capitol & Library of Congress) that I've been to in the city. It was a pleasure taking photos for the awards ceremony. I found that using natural light was a bit tough since it took place in the evening, just after dusk, yet I think I did alright. Here's a link to all the photos and I posted a few of the best below.

The inside of the National Building Museum, set up for the event

Lila Rose, 20-year-old UCLA student, a recipient of the Life Prizes Award

I enjoy taking concert photos and luckily, one band, BarlowGirl, performed at this awards ceremony so I was able to shoot them during their sets