Photo Booth Fun!
Aug 29th
I’ve been quite busy with shoots lately and haven’t been able to spend much time blogging but I wanted to post about a fun event I did this past weekend. I set up a photo booth with the help of my friend Greg for a birthday party. It was a real hit and I’m looking forward to trying to do more photo booth events in the future. If anyone is interested, let me know!
Bangkok
Jun 30th
I’m late on posting pictures from the final leg of my trip to South East Asia back in April. Bangkok was by far my favorite city. It perfectly balances both buddhist traditions and contemporary ideas. The food was amazing and plentiful. Though I was there during a political stand off between the rural and elite, I was still able to experience Bangkok without too much trouble. After returning home and viewing the pictures I took in Bangkok, I realized that they predominately focused around the Buddhist temples. I regret not taking more pictures of the city itself, but at least I have an excuse to return.
Nikon Coffee Cup
Jun 4th
Though Nikon hasn’t officially sponsored this accessory item, its finally nice to have an equivalent to the Canon lens cup that came out months earlier. This cup is going for $50 on eBay which I think is a bit much for a cup even though its shaped like my favorite lens. If anyone wants to buy this for me as a nice gift, please contact me!
Swimsuit Shoot with Palna
Jun 3rd
I had a great shoot with Palna on Monday and it made up for a pretty crappy day of shooting on Saturday. I was really determined to get some great shots with Palna and boy did she deliver. For this being her first photo shoot, she did a really great job and I hope to work with her again in the future.
A fellow photog, Anne of agmgfotography, was kind enough to assist me with the shoot and even brought along her friend, Trisha, who was an MUA. Trisha not only did a great job with the makeup but she also was helpful as a location scout and stylist as well. I have to thank everyone that helped on this shoot because I wouldn’t have been able to get the beautiful images without them. Go Teamwork!
The lighting for this shoot was very simple. The afternoon sun was being lightly diffused with some overcast clouds and created some really beautiful lighting that I used as my key light. I used a gold reflector as either rim lighting or some fill depending on the angle of the shot. Anne and Trisha had their worked cut out for them holding the reflector in place because of how windy it got during the shoot.
Here are some Behind the Scenes look of the shoot:
Test Shoot on the Island
May 30th
I did a fashion test shoot several weekends ago with a local fashion designer on Treasure Island. It was a beautiful day to shoot and we find a nice spot where we could see the San Francisco skyline. I used a SB900 with an umbrella to fill in some of the shadows created by the sun.
Skirt designed by Phuong My.
Angkor
May 6th
The Angkor temples in Cambodia are a once in a life time visit for any world traveler. Just don’t go in April when the heat can be just unbearable. I probably didn’t take as many pictures as I would have liked because of how easily my energy was drained from the heat. I didn’t even have to worry about mosquitoes since it was probably just way to hot for any standing water to be present. Here are some of my snap shots of the Angkor temples:
Ho Chi Minh City
Apr 27th
Ho Chi Minh city is still rebuilding its troubled past and though it still has a long way to go, it is making great strides. What I remember best from this city was the underlying order in what seems to be endless chaotic movement in the city’s traffic. Here is a snapshot of my view of Ho Chi Minh:
Dark Cloud of Photo Journalism
Apr 17th
During the Ho Chi Minh city leg of my trip, I visited the War Remnants Museum which depicted the brutality of the Vietnam War. It was a sobering visit and reminder why war should only be used as a last resort. What hit a chord with me though was the exhibit about the countless photo journalists that died and what they witnessed during the war.
I believe that these photographers did as much for the world as the soldiers on the ground did. They were dressed in military fatigues on the front line yet were only armed with their cameras. They weren’t there to fight a battle, but to tell the story so that no one forgot. My hat is off to these brave photographers who put their lives on the line so that we can learn from our mistakes.
Vacation
Mar 26th
It’s that time of the year where I head abroad for a much deserved vacation. I’ll be spending some time in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand this year hopefully bringing back some beautiful pictures. I’ve been trying to line up a shoot with a local model while in Bangkok but worried it may not happen with the large protests occurring. I’ll probably be updating my twitter while I’m out there so if you want to keep up with my travels, follow me @oreolee !
My Current Work Flow
Mar 25th
I’ve been trying to come up with topics to keep this blog up to date and I figured I would give some insight on my current work flow. This encompasses the moment I hit the shutter to when it ends up as the final product. This is of course is a changing process as I learn new techniques, especially on the post processing side.
Shooting Mode
On a day to day basis my camera is usually in Aperture mode but on photo shoots where I use my speed lights, its usually in Manual mode. On occasion I’ll be in Shutter Speed mode depending on the situation but its very rare.
RAW or JPEG?
To be honest it really depends on the situation and how lazy I’m feeling that day. Initially I was shooting primarily JPEG but gradually started shooting more RAW. At this point, if I’m serious about the shoot I always shoot in RAW. When I’m on a photo walk or doing something random I shoot in JPEG.
Post Processing
My go to post processing software is Lightroom 2. It’s the first step in my post processing phase where I correct for white balance, tone, and color. I will also try to do as much retouching as I can with the adjustment brushes. When I need to do some major retouching I turn to PS CS4 to do the heavy lifting. If the picture came out noisier than I liked, I run the image through Noise Ninja as the final step. From start to finish, depending on the photo and how much retouching it needs, it can take anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour to process.
