Trash the Dress in Dixon with Ed Pingol

I was able to attend a great lighting workshop this past Sunday with Ed Pingol and his wife, Monica. They shared their lighting and shooting techniques for weddings and brought a few of their past clients as models. We had a great time shooting around old downtown Dixon. Here are a few of my favorites from the shoot. If any couples out their are interested in getting back into their wedding gear and having fun in front of the camera...contact me.
Have a great day!

Fashion and the Furry highlights!!!

So I was right! This was the cutest fashion show I've ever seen! The models were great but all the little doggies were soooo cute in their little outfits. They really stole the show! The wine and food provided by all the sponsors were great as well. Thank you to everyone who came out and supported this event. And thank you to Kristi (4 Paws Pet Boutique), Felicia Strati and Mark (Apartment 19 Salon) for all your hard work arranging the event! Here are a few of my favorites from the event. Enjoy!

Shriner's Children's Hospital Benefit Fashion Show!

You are all invited to attend the cutest fashion show you will ever see! Felicia Strati Boutique and Four Paws Pet Boutique will be outfitting 2 legged and 4 legged models for this fabulous fashion event. There will also be a VIP Tasting Tent for those that want to dabble in some tasting of great wine from Revolution Wine - Urban Winery and yummy food provided by 55 degrees, Zocalo, Tirzah's, L st Urban Kitchen, China Cafe and Bali Wine Bar and Grill. Tickets for the tasting tent are $10 - with all proceeds benefitting the Shriner's Children's Hospital. The show starts at 6:30pm sharp...get there early to get a good spot. Hope to see you there....if not...stay tuned for some great photos from the event....provided by yours truly!

I love my job!

October has been such a busy month and it's only the first week! How does that happen! This Sunday I attended a lighting workshop in Sacramento at Diana Miller's studio. I always have fun meeting up with friends at these workshops and sharpening my lighting skills. Here are some shots from the day. And many thanks to Diana and Jonathon for sharing their knowledge and to Carlos Rivera for being the best human light stand ever!

FashionSAC...ooh la la!

Last night was a busy night for me. I had Nigel Poor's photography class come by the studio to talk about running a cooperative studio and what I have been doing with my business since I graduated from CSUS. I love their visits and always hope that something I've shared helps them in some way. After the class left, I finally got to break in my new studio with my first fashion shoot. Julie, from FashionSAC, http://www.fashionsac.com is working on a new ad campaign for her local boutiques she represents and I have been blessed to be the photographer that gets to work with her. Nicole was an awesome model and so easy to work with - and she's gorgeous - that helps too! Here are a few of my favorites. Look for the full page ad in November's issue of Sacramento Magazine.

Carmichael, CA - Brandy and Joey

Brandy and Joey are such a unique couple. Joey is a talented musician and Brandy is a talented swing dancer - and together - they had one amazing wedding shared by their family and friends at a private residence in Carmichael. With such a gifted couple - you end up with the most gifted friends as well. The reception was filled with talented musicians sharing the stage and talented dancers sharing the floor. I was so mesmerized by all the dancers swing dancing around the patio. I had to keep reminding myself that my job was to take photos not watch the dancers!

Lighting...don't be afraid!

I have received a few questions about my lighting for some of my images so this little blurb is geared more for those technically interested. For those that are not....you can skip this part and go straight to the pretty pictures! Some people had questions about the lighting in the Trash the Dress images...a few of those were shot with available light and the remaining were shot with an SB800 Nikon Flash mounted on a tripod with and without a softbox. We used pocket wizards to transmit, but the SB800 can also be triggered wirelessly from my camera.

Alot of what I have learned about lighting I learned in the past year or so. I have a degree in Photography, but after graduating a few years ago...I fealt that my artificial lighting was my weakest area and would always be a frustrating hurdle for me unless I continued to educate myself on the topic. So, (time and budget permitting), I have tried to take as many lighting classes as I am able to. Even if it overlaps something I have previously learned, I feel that there is always something new I walk away with that makes me better off than before the class.

Last year I took my first lighting class at the Santa Fe Workshop in Santa Fe, NM with Douglas Merriam. I have to say that I had the most amazing time at this workshop. For 5 days, 9-10 hours a day, we were in the studio learning about lighting - which for some sounds crazy but for me was heaven. I walked away from that class with so much going on in my head about lighting that I am still processing what I have learned from that workshop even now. The Santa Fe area provides such an amazing backdrop as well - I think they have the best clouds of any place I have ever seen. Here are some shots from that class. All were shot with one strobe, except for the last one - which used 2 strobes.

My other flash phobia was my on camera flash. To help face flash fear, I took a class at Will Crocket's ShootSmarter University outside Chicago, IL, in March. By the way, it's cold in Illinois in March! Paul Gero, a California wedding photographer, taught a week long class about on camera flash and the possible manipulations. It was really great to see how you can create some really interestingly lit images all with your little flash. We used softboxes, umbrellas and bounced it off everything you can imagine and in every direction. It was very challenging for me in the beginning but by the end of the week my flash fear had diminshed. Here are some of the shots from that class. These are all with one SB800 Nikon flash bounced - except for the last one which used a softbox.

I think what has also helped me alot is practicing what I have learned. I love getting together with friends to arrange a shoot and to just experiment with what we have all learned collectively. Here are some shots from a practice shoot with my friend, Angela Corey. These were taken over by the old ice factory on R and 16th. They will be lofts in the near future...so if you like the location...shoot before it's too late! Also, I am taking a one day lighting class at Diana Miller's studio on October 7th (Sac) and a one day lighting class at Rose Hyc's studio (Dixon) on October 28th. If anyone is interested, please contact me and I will get you their info. Both classes are around $45-$50 each.