Darin
This weekend I did a styled shoot with my gorgeous friend Darin. It was my first time working on a shoot with a makeup artist (who isn't the model herself) and an assistant. I brought in some clothes I've been collecting for my wardrobe closet and we had a blast blowing hair all over the place.
Photography: Sophia Liu
Talent: Darin Son
Hair/Makeup: Nancy Lam
Assistant: Jennifer Yu
During a last minute work trip to New York last week, I squeezed in a studio session with my friend Anica. What a treat getting to book space in a city where photography still exists.
I set up a casual portrait session in my office photo studio and revisited my favorite lighting setup: one light, one softbox, and a fan.
I love light and movement, shape and textures. For me it's more than showing off clothes. I want the personality and emotions of the model to come through. And the more I experiment, the more I come back to simple and sleek forms, clean lines, and beautiful natural expressions.
Refusing glossy perfection to create simple, truthful, and photojournalistic photographs that look into each person's soul.
The natural curves of a human body and the raw texture of skin are three-dimensional elements of a subject reveal light, contour, gesture, perspective.
This image had been brewing in the back of my mind for years and I finally made the effort to gather the furniture and people to actually do it. Yay!
A quick test shoot with Caroline Shepperd, channeling old Hollywood glamour and Lana del Dey vibes.
Sena is so sweet yet so fierce. During our brief portrait shoot last weekend, I photographed her in some of her stylish wardrobe. Girl knows how to model.
I'm learning to love shadows and darkness in my photos. There's so much depth in contrast, something largely different from clean spotless white background stock photos. No human subject should be photographed like a dull product.
With a black velvet sweep and a 5' octobox, I shot some intimate couple portraits in a way you'd never see college sweethearts photographed. No stereotypical lovey-dovey gimmicks, just genuine love.
Last weekend I had the opportunity to shoot with Hillary, a model and trainer who recently moved to San Luis Obispo.
I invited my friend Mariah to come in and model, and asked Bernadette to do a soft smokey look on her. My concept was natural, sexy, supermodel.
Cindy knows how to pose in every outfit and play the the part of a girl in any mood - whether it be commercial beauty, dark and moody, bubbly and colorful, or street chic.
After shooting beauty with butterfly lighting these past two weeks, I've missed the depth and drama a one light setup creates.
Continuing on with my beauty photoshoots (see new work here!), I got to shoot the super stunning Noelle this past weekend.
She brought in some really cute clothes and we shot fashion and beauty portraits. I absolutely love making portraits, and showing people how gorgeous they really are.
This weekend I had the pleasure of shooting Maxwell's graduation pictures. Softbox lighting + Maxwell's signature businessman smile = timeless portraits.
I wanted to create photos full of movement, flow, energy, and grace. With some dresses I thrifted and my dancing muse Andrea, we shot these dreamy images in the studio.
Last weekend I got the chance to do a quick test shoot with an actual model (!!!) Getting to work with Karla was amazing, as she was so skilled in modeling and looked great in everything. Here are my favorite shots from our studio session.
I'm in love with the way the 5' Octobox lights a full body shot - it's so soft and flattering on any person.
I'm slowly falling in love the telephoto portrait lens and cropping tighter to capture editorial beauty shots.
I got the chance to hang out with my super energetic and goofy and talented great-grandlittle, Sophia, in the photo studio the other day.
I love being able to create these editorial portraits I've been trying to reproduce since my teenage days flipping through glossy magazines.
Who would’ve guessed that ten years later, while the world embraces a collective nostalgia for 2016, I’d find myself revisiting this hobby again.