Good Day Sacramento Visit

I was asked by Bethany Crouch from good Day Sacramento come in and talk about getting the most out of your holiday photos using your iPhone. It makes me really nervous doing live tv, but Bethany makes it so easy and helps me to feel comfortable. I could never do it without her. I was joined by my good friend and model Amanda Pacheco. We have worked together for quite a few years now and she just keeps getting more beautiful! 

Thanks to Action Camera in Roseville for setting me up with some cool tools!

The first segment went over some tips on taking better images with your iPhone

1. Keep Your Lens Clean
2. Change your perspective 
3. Move in (Manually)
4. Photograph Reflections
5. Shoot Outdoor Christmas Lights Before It Gets Too Dark
6. Backup your images

For the second segment my favorite place on earth (Action Camera) gave me some cool accessories to show off. These are the items we discussed on the show.

From Action Camera

Holga LED light - $34.95

Flexipod Max - $14.95

Keychain Tripod - $4.95

install mini 70 - $139.00: $40 rebate on now

DJI OSMO Mobile - $299

Ring Selfie Fill-Light - $11 to $19 : Amazon

LED Camera Video Ring Light - $90 : Amazon

Anker   Battery Pack - $ 39 : Amazon

I must say that the staff and anchors at the morning show could not have been nicer. After watching them for many years it was great to meet them in person. I did stick around a little bit and make some on set images 

The one and only Bethany Crouch.

Ken Rudulph, Julissa Ortiz, Amanda Pacheco, Bethany Crouch and me..

Gear Bag

I get a lot of questions from other photographers asking what kind of gear I use.  I always like to point out that it’s not about the equipment you own, but your ability to use what you have that makes a good photographer. The lack of expensive gear should not be the limiting factor in creating your images. My images over the years have been made with minimal gear, sometimes with just a flashlight and an iPhone. Knowing how to use the gear you already own is the most important thing I can emphasize.

It has taken me years to build up my arsenal of equipment, but most of the time I use a small fraction of what I own. I am a Nikon shooter. I received a Nikon camera as a middle schooler and just built my gear around that first camera. Throughout the years, I’ve shot 35mm, a medium format Bronica, and finally DSLR. I sometimes miss my 35mm as the digital cameras only have so many clicks in them before they give up. I've found that I use the Nikon D4 the most, because it seems to keep up with me better than any other camera has. I also prefer AlienBees’ products, as their customer service has been extremely easy and helpful to deal with over the years and I’ve had two of their lights for over 18 years. The rest of my photo equipment is a mishmash of various brands and manufacturers that I’ve collected over the past 20 years.

When prepping for a shoot, I go through in my head or on paper (depending on the size of the shoot) what gear I will need, as well as thinking about any potential problems. This exercise helps me to make sure that I pack all the things I'll need. Some of my most common obstacles are lack of existing light and VERY limited shooting space. My Rogue flash benders are a huge help when this happens. They are very compact and put out really nice light. I also walk into many photo locations not knowing what I will face. I try to be prepared for the unexpected. I do this by having backups for my equipment. If I’m using wall powered strobes, I’ll bring a battery backup and small battery power flashes, just in case I don’t have access to power. I even bring canvas to block out a window in the event that the natural light isn’t right for my images. While my experience allows me to think on my feet pretty quickly during a shoot, I am always relieved when I’ve packed my bag well. 

So here goes.

In The Bag

Think Tank
Airport International™ V 2.0 Rolling Camera Bag
Nikon D4
Nikon D810
Nikon 50mm f1.8
Nikon 85mm f1.8
Nikon 180mm f2.8
Nikon 105 micro f2.8
Nikon 24-70 f2.8
2 Nikon SB-800
Nikon SB-700
Metz AA AF-1
Phottix wireless remotes
Macbook Pro 15in
Sekonic light meter
4 Justin clamps
2 LED panels
Hoodman magnifying eyecup
MacBook Pro 13inch
WD My Passport 1TB drive
LED Lenser P7
LED sense P4
CamRanger
Rogue FlashBenders
Rogue Grids
Rogue Gels
JamBox
Vagabond Portable Power BY Paul C. Buff 

Gum

Thanks Christine Alward for making this image! 

Sacramento Magazine "Cover Of The Year"

I just received word the cover I shot for Sacramento Magazine was voted the 2013 Cover of the Year. My team and I put together the photo shoot early last year for the lead story and cover of the April issue. I photographed many of our Sacramento news anchors, it was such a fun day! We had Bethany Crouch from FOX 40 (KTXL) and Lisa Gonzales from Ch 3 (KCRA) as our cover models and wow, are they amazing together! I have never seen such great chemistry! They should have there own TV show.

I am so pleased with the team I had on this shoot. That cover shot came out of a very funny situation. After the shoot was over, Lisa and Bethany were playing on an old Honda scooter that was in the studio. I started shooting them with my iPhone. After looking at the iPhone images I realized that was the energy I needed for the cover shot. We went back and reshot the cover with the same configuration and style. Although the iPhone shot was almost good enough to be the cover by itself.

And who says the iPhone is not a real camera!

Makeup: Jenifer Haupt 
Hair: Renne Alejandro
Styling: Simone Vianna 
Production: Christine Alward