June 23rd, 2006. Aliso Veijo.

Ok this is a little out of order, taken around mid summer last year. But I kind of had an urge to put them up. This was my first attempt at doing head shots and I really had no idea on how I was suppose to pose or even shoot head shots, as simple as they can probably seem. So what did I do? Well in my attempt to balance out my lack of experience, I rented an 85mm f/1.2, so even if I totally had no idea about how to shoot head shots, at least they would look cool with a lot of background blur. And you can never go wrong with more background blur.. =)

December 16th, 2006. Queen Mary, Long Beach Ca.

I was thinking of what to post first and I thought that Ill start back a little bit, and then move my way forward and post my progress through out the year 2007. This is of a wedding I shot last year. I had only started getting paid gigs early on in 2006 and to me this wedding kind of felt like a wrap up of all I had learned that first year. Color balance, proper use of a flash, how to shoot groups, how to conduct myself, how to edit and print quickly and efficiently, how to present and how to price, as well as having enough money to buy a decent camera that gave me clean shots at 400 iso (finally!), and a good enough lens that was sharp through out the range. Those are all things I had learned firsthand and unfortunately through my mistakes, but the biggest thing I picked up was the accumulation of all my experiences in relation to being consistent with my photography. My shooting had always been spontaneous, and the quality of my shots had been inconsistent. Be that framing, focusing, timing, even subject matter. After that year, this wedding was it. I learned enough to know how to use my camera, and experienced enough to be able to anticipate, and to be confident. And all those things can in the end translate into a story of photos that correlate with each other and that can be constant through out your shots, which strengthens presentation.

In the end to be honest the shots did not come out spectacular. There weren't really any photos that made you stop and go "ohh or ahh". But at least they were similar. Even if they're not that good, at least they were consistently not that good. Which for now, is ok with me!

..so guess what...

I'm starting my first blog!!

I actually have to do this as an assignment for my wedding class! Imagine that. Our teacher Greg Bumatay has placed an emphasis on the benefits of networking online, and that blogging can be great for that kind of thing, be if it is trying to get clients or just networking with other photographers. Ive never really looked into networking other than an "in person" to person basis, or even any kind of "online advertising". But a blog in relation to progress in photography (or lack thereof!) shouldn't be too bad, and critique, or feedback from others can always be helpful.

Overall though, this is new to me and I am not too sure what to expect out of it. One can hope for the best I assume, though what can that be? I don't really know. For now though, be it for the record, I am posting this as a requirement of our class assignment. After this, who knows..

cheers!!