Arthur & Cindy Teaser

Hi all, very quick post.  Haven’t had time to go through and edit many of the photos from the wedding I was at three weeks ago but heres a small preview until I get chance to post process the rest!  This wedding was absolutely beautiful and the place was simply perfect for weddings.  Honestly, this could be many photographers dream spot in my opinion.  The lighting is diffused so well around here its just simply amazing and there are endless areas to take photos here.  Considering I was a secondary photographer at the wedding I had a great time shooting with Ingrid Nelson.  Shes pretty hardcore, she shot the whole wedding using film.  Yes, I said FILM!  0_0  Anyways, her and her husband are pretty awesome people and its always great to meet another photographers. 

Funny thing is, just the other day I got an email from my friend Ruth who happened to coordinate Arthur and Cindy’s wedding.  So to make a long story short the bride is having another wedding reception for her family in Twain and she needed photos for large prints to display before this weekend.  Well, since I was shooting digital I was right there ready to go.  They requested to send a few prints for them to preview at their wedding reception in Twain.  Pretty cool! =) Personally, I thought some of the images came out well but 98% of them I didn’t get to pose or choose the setting because I was the secondary!  Had all these endless ideas but hopefully I’ll get to exercise them another time!  Never the less, I had fun! =)

FYI: Trying out different canvas’ =)

Thanks for reading!

Cheers,

Steve

SIGMA KAPPA RHO

My beautiful sister!

SKRHO FAMILY

It’s all about Korean women! =)

Pimps of SKRHO

…And yours truly dancin NASCAR hahah (photograph taken by my sister)

It’s been a very relaxing and fun weekend for me.  I finally have a weekend where I was actually home which is nice for a change.  I spent a good number of hours moving and sorting all my clutter from college into my living space here at home which is such a relief.  My mom and I pretty much cleared out all the junk that took up usable space.  Spent Sunday and Monday with mostly family just relaxing together and enjoying some good old BBQin by the pool side.  I’m finally working on my tan! hahah

So the photos are nothing offical above.  My sister is a lil sib of Sigma Kappa Rho and I was her date for their end of the year formal Friday night!  So of course I brought my camera and snapped a few shots!

Shopping List:
1. Monitor Calibrator (Anyone have any thoughts on the Eye-One Display)
2. New lens (Maybe Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 or thinking about the Canon 24mm Prime)  I can’t get past how sharp primes are =)
3. More batteries =)
4. I think I need more RAM too

Cheers,

Steve

F.A.H.C.

FAHC holdin it down Blackeyed Pea style…

So I was hired as the evening photographer for FAHC (Filipino Association of Health Career) of UC Davis sort of last minute since their recent photographer had bailed on them.  How did I get connected with FAHC?  Well, to be honest I knew a lot of people who were at the event but I was referred by word of mouth! =)  Thank thanks oh dang! haaha Well so the evening of Friday May 11th I got to hangout with some really cool people and a awesome organization.  As I was scheduled to stay for the whole event I witnessed a community of people who were more than connected through just similar career paths but people who got each others back.  I had a splendid time and I learned a lot from the event.  Being creative on the spur of the moment can be difficult but with practice and practice I want to be able to deliver and know exactly what I want when I enter into a area I am not familiar with.  The interesting part was I wasn’t just a event photographer to capture the candid but since it was a formal I was actually taking prom like photos which was new to me but I was having a blast!  I was also able to put the Gary Font Whale Tail to test, it wasn’t too bad but I think it because I’m still learning how to use it well.  I still need to do a comparison test with that and the lightsphere both on camera and off on light stands for trial and error!  But in any case the whale tail worked pretty well for me that night.  If u notice some of the photos being a bit warm I was trying out the new gel tabs that come with the whale tail too hahah! =) 

All in all I had a pretty awesome time and it was great to see old friends again!  If I end up clubbing, I want to be found in the club with everyone from this group haha!  O in case you haven’t noticed but the last few images definitely have the Scott Robert influence as you can see, I’ve been playing around a little more with some other actions and I really liked how these came out!  =) 

I still have to get to a the photos from the wedding almost 2 weekends ago now, photos from the OACC Festival and photos from a photoshoot I had this past Sunday!  I have my work cut out for me.  But seriously, along with all the fun I’ve been having with photography; I work a lot of hours so I spend most of my post processing in the wee hours of the night (2 or 3am going through stuff because I don’t have time during the day).  I need a break from technology, phones, internet, computers and yes photography too!  Luckily, I will get to enjoy a nice Memorial Day weekend with my family and then the following weekend I’ll be with some awesome friends of mine camping out at Big Sur in CA!  Wanna get away?  O you bet I do!   (O and I’m bring my camera to this one though hahah).  Hope everyone week is going well so far and until next time…blessing to you all! 

Thanks for reading!

Cheers Mate,

Stevo

Matthew & Jenny Engagement Session

 Picture Happy Post

 

I was feelin more artsy with this photo! =) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You know what makes this engagement session so SPECIAL?  The beautiful young lady in the photo is my auntie  and I am so excited for her!  Her fiance Matt is an incredible person and the family absolutely loves him.  There is simply no better match for these two! =)  Whats even more exciting is  Junshien and I are the wedding photographers for the both of them!  So we have saved the date for September 16th at Wine & Roses in Lodi,CA.  I am most ecstatic if you can’t tell already! =) 

The photos above were taken all in Davis, CA in primary 3 different locations; two of which I didn’t even know existed.  The shoot was very fun and it was extremely windy that day which was cool for some awesome hair in the wind effect.  My aunt is such a goof ball and Matt just goes alone with it but I will tell you this, they are always super fun to be around.  My aunt is a crazy Korean and her fiance is a crazy cool Italian and something else I can’t remember ahha! =)  I say their kids are going to be just adorable hahah! 

So whats going on in my life so far…well I can say photography seems be be more on a roll than my job hunt which is cool with me! =)  I can complain about that one! =)  I’ve had photoshoot sessions, events and a wedding the past couple weekends and I will be back again in Oakland at the Asian Culture Center for another shoot! =)  The cool part too is I am getting paid for all these! =)  It’s not much but its a start! =)  I’m already three photoshoots behind in processing and I just got done with my aunts engagement session!  I shall keep you posted on my latest photo sessions/events…so stay tuned for those!  =)  Things have been going so fast with work and photography that I haven’t even had time to reflect on my work, things that are going on and life in general!  I do think I need to be praying more and spending more time in God’s word! 

On a side note, my family is doing some pretty cool things too.  My aunt is writing a book about her journey as a Korean American and I can’t wait to hear her stories from her visit to Korea this past month.  My sister is going to Korea too, to study abroad! =)  I told her to bring me home a Korean girl hahah!  J/K  I am so excited for her too and I know shes going to learn so much; I only wish I could go with her so I can learn more of my native language too!  Id learn Chinese but it too difficult for me hahah!  If I learned Chinese I’ll end up learning Mandrin before I learn Cantonese since most of my chinese friends are Mandrin speaking!  O and can’t forget that my aunt is getting married, woohoo! Indeed I am blessed! =)  Lots going on which is good, I hate not being busy! hahah

LIFE | LIVE.LOVE.LAUGH

Edit: Am I the only one who seems to think this worlds tries to make everyone the same so they can all fit in?  It’s difficult to become the person you want to be because of your environnment, the people you are around, the background you were raised in, etc.  Everyday I see people in this world, they all sell out and become something they don’t really want to be just because its easier to be accepted by what the world or majority says is acceptable!  Be different is hard!

Photoshoot With The Lee Family

…and yes I am alive

 

click here for previous edit

click here for previous edit

click here for previous edit

Wow does this seem unfamiliar now.  I haven’t posted anything for nearly three weeks !  I promise it wont happen often.  The last few weeks have been somewhat rough for me, lots of ups and downs but I am managing so far and thanks to all who have kept me in their prayers.  Well if it isn’t apparent, I have been pretty busy, not so much with photos but with work, job search stuff, interviews and all sorts of testing.  To be honest there are some days I wish I could just throw in the towel but I’m no quieter!  Frustration is seriously an understatement.  I’ve been so busy that I haven’t even had the time to look at my photos from a photoshoot 2 weeks ago, =(.  I hope to get to those soon.  Last weekend I had a couple photoshoots; shooting my Aunt’s engagement with Junshien which was pretty fun and a awesome learning experience.  I have sooooooo much to learn, I swear I am such a noob when it comes to posing, being creative, understanding lighting environments and working in a timely manner.  I also got to shoot some of my dearest friends this past weekend.  Pictured are Matt and his wife Ruth along with Matt’s brother Mike.  Matt is a staff leader for Davis Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, Mikes is currently a student of UCD and involved with DIVCF.  Ruth is a up and coming wedding coordinator and I will be one of the photographers at the wedding she is coordinating this weekend.  So exciting.  Technically my first wedding I’ll be shooting too, wish me the best =)!!! 

Tomorrow night I will be the photographer for Korean Culture Night (KCN)  at UCD.  My sister will be the MC too, yay sis! =)  KCN is promoted by Sigma Kappa Ro and I encourage you to check it out if you’d like.  The event starts May 10th 8pm @ the Davis Veterans Theater.  Hope to see you there! =) 

Another exciting note, I got hired to shoot another event for the Oakland Asian Culture Center.  I am excited once again to be working with awesome people and a great organization.  This month is full of photos! =) 

Big Sur, CA in June…that is going to be off the hook for some spectacular photos!

In the mean time, let me know what you think of the photos above.  Believe it or not this is my actual REAL offical photoshoot I’ve done ALONE! =)  I’ve done mainly event photography and back up so I am learning a lot about how to place my subjects, hands, positions, orienting them with the light, figuring out where good spots are for photos and learning to find the sweet spot for people in photos.  I think everyone has a angle or pose that just makes them look awful but finding the sweet spot can be tricky because you want to discover where they seem to most natural or comfortable.  A lot of times I try to give examples from movies, or act out things to help my client figure out what I want in a photo because posing can be awkward for some people.  Some people spend more time thinking about how and what they are doing that they actually become unnatural with their pose.  I happen to think posing is awesome but it is really an acquired skill.  I can’t wait to learn more and get more practice. 

P.S. – The photos above show some standard family like portrait styles along with my attempts to be a little more creative.

**EDIT** – I’ve reedited the first three images! =) thanks for the awesome critique everyone.  I found it most helpful!  I happen to like these current edits a lot more, they are less flat! =)  Hope you like as much as I do!

Thanks for reading

Cheers,
Steve