Octa-dome

Always loved big lights!
Have been doing head shots all day and this test came out ok, so I wanted to show you what I mean :)

This octa light is HUGE! And the lighting is flawless of course...

I wish you a wonderful week! Just like one I planned for myself..

xoxox~

What's up in our yard...

You probably read about how I hit myself in the nose one time when the light turned all pink in the yard... oh well.

This time didn't involve any injuries, although the rain was beautiful and strong. Hubby held the umbrella above my head to prevent the last rare drops falling on lens and this is what we came up with! I was so excited, but I think he was even more so than me! lol

In any case - enjoy :)

How to choose photos

I end up taking a lot of pictures of the same stuff. Especially when there're people involved - their expressions change quite a bit in a moment, and I want to be able to select the best one. And sometimes you end up with a bunch of good ones and then it's hard to pick. Especially if you are photographing your own son *lol*.

What do I do????

I find asking people around is the best thing. They haven't been "there" and own a live perception of the photograph you show them. That's another reason to love facebook. I posted 5 pics there yesterday and received about 20 different responses clearly indicating which of the five they like best. And it helped me to understand how I judge my own photos too. He was holding his breath on one of them, I (as a mommy) just love that precious one, he was almost completely covered in mist in another one, you can't even make a face out of it, etc.

Thanks all of you for the help! I cherish our relationship :)

Oh, and here's the winner!

The best things happen when they're meant to!

A charming lady - jewelry designer (www.LadyMadeTreasure.com) - hired me to do a small casual shoot for the article displaying her new pieces for kids.

The models were fabulous and aside from it being the most hot&humid day this year (until this day, I guess *lol*), the work was easy and fun.

I always like to find out what other kids like (having a boy growing up), so, naturally, I asked them if they found things funny what boys do/like, and it created this whole energy when they would tell me about their games and how they treat each other (chasing around the house, I believe was their fave)...

Another thing I notice when I shoot in Manhattan on location is that there is always somebody who comes up to me asking for a card - needing this picture done, or that concept worked on. Kind of makes you think that in Manhattan photographers don't really need offices or marketing programs - just keep shooting on streets and all :).

Till later~...

Pricing information

Since I can't seem to figure out how to publish pricing using my SmugMug galleries, I've decided to post them right here, in a blog.

It's no secret, and that way I can link the articles up to the Contact page so everyone can see them. They are subject to change and depend on the availability, but all I'll do is go back and edit them right here in the blogger. Would that be nice? I think so.

So, look out for the package descriptions, hourly charges explained and À la carte service charges here on the blog in the coming week.

How was your weekend? :)
Ours was fabulous. Aside from hubby setting up Japanese terraces in our garden and fireworks that we went to watch like VIP (free parking in my studio, special place to view and photograph from my hubby's office) - it was nice, quiet, and I even managed to get some creative work done.

Feeling blessed with such wonderful life~

Have a fantastic day/week/.../life!

Photo assistants

People who are very much appreciated in my life :). Without them I tend to feel very limited in my creativity. Who to test light on? Who will run and turn the lights up or down? Who will hold a reflector or a diffuser outside? Run to the car to get an extra battery? Even simply having someone to talk to when you work hard on a long line of product shots....

So far I've been blessed with mine.

And now it seems like I have my own growing in the house :)

Photographing jewelry...

This recent client of mine has created a website for her passion - various designer accessories brought to all the lovely fashionistas in one place. Whether you're looking for something chic or affordable, it's all there.

We have probably photographed everything from bags and belts to jewelry, shades and shoes. Yesterday we did leggings, which was even more fun, since it involved a model - beautiful Stephanie Hancock, who was such a great pleasure to work with, by the way!

What I wanted to write about today is something that I observed over the time of our collaboration.

I photograph jewelry for a few different clients. Each client has their own need for the pictures and I try to think ahead what would be the best way to keep the mood and setting that they already have for their brand or website and improve it at the same time. There's always so much room to improve, right?


Photographing rings and bracelets is pretty straightforward.
 But when it comes to earrings, there's a certain challenge. You want it to look nice, and at the same time - display them hanging, since that seems to be their natural state of being used ;).

How do you display earrings nicely while they're hanging? Yes, you can actually use someone's ear... or hang them up on a thread and then remove things in post production, but that can run expensive, since you're merging two images in post - no two earrings will hang nicely apart on the same thread :) - they tend to fall together, and they also hang under the same angle, and you want to display both side and the front, right?
So you need to stay away from what will look the coolest and find a solution that won't break the startup's pocket. Most earrings won't lay down on the side either, so, hanging them would be the only solution. There are also these special stands for displaying the earrings, but I haven't gotten to acquire one yet...


So far, I think, that having them on an ear is the most affordable way. But I don't see that method being widely popular on the fashion websites.

May be, photographing them only from the front will suffice, and then they can just lay on the table top setup, without the expensive post-production and what not. But some won't lay straight either, or look completely different when they're on a flat surface. That's a lot of things to consider :). I guess that's why there are photographers who specialize in shooting jewelry as product. It's a whole separate thing to get a good hang on in order to be able to shoot them fast and effectively.