California on Fire- life changes quickly

It's amazing how fast things can change in life. This shoot that I did two weeks ago in the Angeles Crest forest is now engulfed in flames in the annual wildfire disasters we have here in California. As I drove yesterday on the 10 freeway through downtown LA I looked over to the mountains and couldn't help but wonder how much of this will be left after the fires have had their way.

It's surreal to work on these pictures while I'm doing the editing and to imagine this whole place of peace and water filled with flames and fire. Thanks to California's conservation efforts we are pretty much a sitting tinder box...so much forestation that hasn't burned for 30-50 years so when it does get lit it burns and creates the disasters we have today. Being a nature lover I can't help but think that anyone who commits arson should have some serious consequences....say like...dangling them over the fire with a helicopter to teach them a lesson? I hope you enjoy the shots and that I'll have the chance to shoot here again if it isn't all gone...

Bathing Bride-Part 2

So we continued our shoot in the water and Jamie did a fantastic job. The key I've found to getting great shots is having brides or models that can go with your imagination. If they can follow your train of thought and imagine with you...you just need to be ready to snap the picture when the magic happens. As I mentioned in an earlier post if I had tried to pose these with Jamie and just told her to stop and stand still...the pictures wouldn't have turned out. I gave her direction and then waited to take the shots. I hope you enjoy!

The Bathing Bride

One of my favorite things to do is make brides do things that make no sense. Why would a bride be bathing in a wedding gown and veil in a creek? Truth is she wouldn't. Any person wouldn't bathe with clothes on...but where's the fun in shooting that?

I find things are much more seductive and beautiful when there is a lot left to the imagination. I asked Jamie to get into the water and pretend to bathe. Again, while it makes no sense that a bride would be doing that....I thought it made for some pretty cool shots. I'm still editing some more shots of this shoot that I really love but that's for sharing tomorrow!

Los Angeles Wilderness Bridal Shoot- shooting tutorials

I already shared the first picture from our shoot in an earlier blog post but these shots below are some more from our shoot on the couch. From a photographic standpoint I love putting a rectangular couch that has straight lines in it in front of a huge wilderness backdrop that has everything but straight lines. Then when you throw a bride on top of the couch and completely change the lines by the positioning her in all different ways it can complete the shot to give you something you'll love.

We actually shot video of this session and I've had a lot of people asking me to start putting out tutorials in the hopes it could help them. I've been shooting video on all of my shoots recently to start developing a library that we can turn into shooting tutorials and guides in the hope they can help others. I'll be shooting video while doing the shoots I have in Spain for this same reason. I hope you enjoy!