Senita, Vero, Joe & Chris – October 30th, 2022

Senita, Joe, Vero & Chris. Shot for SpiritHoods. Senita (first from left in the group photos) was the second first-timer I’ve had the pleasure to capture professionally for the first time in as many months. It’s always a pleasure getting to see people who have never had professional photos taken do so well as a model and enjoy the outcome so thoroughly. Joe (second from the left in the group shots) was also amazing. Vero (third from left in group shots) had clearly been modeling for a while and she told me after the shoot that she’s shot with Estevan Oriol, which she didn’t seem to think was a big deal. Meanwhile, I’m over here starstruck because that man is the reason I became a concert photographer. Meanwhile, Chris (wild hair, looks to die for) put this whole shoot together and is STILL one of my favorite models to work with.

Shot with a Canon 5D Mk. III using a Macro 100mm 2.8 L and 24-70mm 2.8 L using a Neewer Vision4 Strobe Flash and a 60″ Diffuser Umbrella in Visalia, CA.

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Mikala – September 22nd, 2022

This portrait shoot was unique to me and it was only the second time in my life that I’ve shot a portrait shoot of someone who’s never taken professional portraits before; the first one was a film shoot i did in college which I turned over all negatives for.

Mikala and I sat down multiple times over the course of about a month and spitballed ideas for how this would look, what her wardrobe would be and how we would light it. We originally envisioned a photo shoot with neon tube lights and little-to-no clothing, but we scrapped it when I saw her come into one our meetings wearing this flowy and gorgeous pair of pants and I said that maybe this would be the vibe for the shoot, especially since it was her first time in front of a camera. We put all of it together using props and old Halloween costumes of mine and I bought her the veil from a costume store. We got all but one of our final ideas (a skull and a smoke bomb) in our shoot. It was very important for me to capture her skin texture, jawline and curves, because she was self-conscious about her body image which, as is obvious to anyone with a pulse, is not a worry she should ever have had. It was an absolute joy to do these portraits for Mikala and it was an even bigger joy watching her smile incessantly while we edited them, which is why this shoot will always be special to me.

Most of us never get the chance to see ourselves as others see us. Pull the trigger. Invest in the photo shoot. You’ll be glad you did. Mikala was and I am eternally-grateful she gave me the opportunity to capture her best self. 🙏🏽

Shot with a Canon 5D Mk. III using a Macro 100mm 2.8 L lens and using a pair of Neewer 660 PRO RGB LED Video Lights in Visalia, CA.

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