Portraits: 3 Light Strobe w/ Jessica

A friend of mine, Tayler, was trying to get her make up portfolio ready and invited Jessica (shown here) to come over for photos. I set up lights in my living room and worked around the house finding other interesting places to shoot from.

Some use a 3 light strobe set up and other just natural lighting coming from above.
Here are a few from that session. Hope you like them

-Santiago Valencia

Photography News: Lightroom 3 Beta

I am so excited to find out that Adobe is coming out with a new Lightroom 3. I use it all the time to convert my RAW images. I love this program and I love even more that they are bringing new features to version 3. Here's a quick rundown of the new added features:

-Built-in Film Grain.

-Importing has been redesigned.

-Pro Noise Reduction.

-Watermarking.

-Better Vignetting.

-Export a Slideshow with music embedded.

Plus much more. For more information visit the Adobe Lab website at:
http://labs.adobe.com

Hope all my photographer friends check it out. See ya...

-Santiago Valencia

My Two Cents: Backing Up. Even When You Don't Think You Have To

So about 2 months ago I got a brand, spanking new iMac from the Apple Store. I was very excited for my new computer. My old one had kicked the bucket after almost 5 years of great service. I start it up and the work continues. So everything is going fine right? That's what I thought! Then late last week my display on my new iMac wouldn't come on. I thought that it was the power from my wall outlet. Then I took the iMac to another room, plugged it in and then I knew...my NEW computer was dead!!!

Now anyone that knows me knows that I love Macs. I think they are great and I really can't live without them. I'm practically married to my iPhone now. But seriously folks...after only two months my iMac dies!? So I take it to the Apple Store and they tell me that it might be the logic board. Logic board?? There's nothing logical about it - It's brand new! I guess it was just a fluke. So the guy tells me that it will take about a week or so to fix and that they might have to replace the hard drive too. Great. Just add that lemon juice to my cut why don't you!? Then he asks the most famous question at the genius bar. The question that they ask about a billion times an hour! "Do you have your files backed up?" Hmmm.....Let me think............shit.

It happens all the time. You're in the middle of working on something great and you haven't had the chance to back it up. Your too much into your creative mode to think about that technical backing up stuff. So of course I was caught with my digital pants down. I just never thought that a two month computer would crap out on me. Well, the point to my rambling is that you must have a back up drive. In fact you should have several as soon as you can afford it. They also have some nifty softwares that do it for you. Just hook up an external hard drive and the software will back up every day or every hour. Whatever you want.

I found the Western Digital hard drives work well. I tried the LaCie drives but two of them died on me so I won't buy them anymore. In addition to backing up my weddings on a few drives I also burn them onto DVD to have a hard copy. You never know if we get hit by aliens or something and wipe out all the hard drives. I know...I'm being ridiculous.

But seriously, back up your stuff.
But seriously, back up your stuff.
But seriously, back up your stuff.
;)

-Santiago Valencia

The Grand - Long Beach

Yesterday I was invited to shoot an event for The Grand in Long Beach. I didn't really know what to expect except that it was a tasting of foods and meeting of people that were getting married. When I got there I loved the intimate feel of this well decorated escape. Here are some shots from the evening...







The lighting was very romantic and quite relaxing...


The food was absolutely delicious!...






The people who attended were treated to great food, fun music, games with prizes...



and a great MC, Robert Poff...


A special thanks to Viviana, Lisa and Natalia. Check out that gorgeous smile on Natalia. :)




The staff was so very welcoming. I felt like I was a long time friend. I would like to thank all the staff there that made it an evening worth remembering. All the best to The Grand.
-Santiago Valencia

World Series: Volcano Ridge

Who decides to go to the top of an active volcano, hang out in 30 degree weather at 4am in the morning and then get on a cheap mountain bike and ride all the way down with no helmet at 40 miles an hour!?!


Ummm....that would be me! :)

This is in the island of Maui. When I got up there it was pitch dark. We had to wait around in below freezing weather for the sun to come up. (Took almost 2 hours) The stars were so vast and beautiful, something we never see in L.A., that it was like a HD movie playing on the biggest plasma screen ever! Gorgeous.

And going down the volcano on a bike was such a thrill. Then our smart ass guide decides to tell us that people have actually died on their bikes going down when they accidentally went off the edge! Yeah....no pressure!!

But it was still lots of fun.
-Santiago Valencia

My Two Cents: The World of Photoshop

If you are trying to get a great overview of the world of Photoshop then here's an idea that you might like. Twice a year there is an event called Photoshop World which takes place over three days and is a blast. This time around it is in Las Vegas and it hits this Oct. 1 - 3.

You can sign up as a student and pay only $149 for the whole event. Take classes on different tracks and you learn about what interests you! And as an added bonus there is also a trade show that displays the latest in camera and printer technology. Big wigs like Canon, Nikon, Epson and Leica usually show up. It's a great way to stay on top of things.

Here's the link to their website:
http://www.photoshopworld.com/

And while you're there enjoy Vegas and win a bundle! :)
-Santiago Valencia

Wedding: Tayler & Nathan

Here is Tayler & Nathan. I shot their wedding a couple of weeks ago in the SF Valley and had a great time. These two looked so good that it was easy to know what to shoot. After a limo ride we arrived at the Kingdom Hall and the magic began...


Hey, that's me!...


And of course what would a wedding be without the very sexy & beautiful bride's maids...



Just moments before showtime. Everything is ready...



A very classy 1930's look that Tayler flaunts so easily...


Nathan was so excited. I guess I can't blame him...



The ceremony was very elegant and touching. There was a funny moment when the minister/elder mixed up Tayler & Nathan's names. A great comic relief moment. The funniest part is that he was Nathan's dad!! :)


Ahh...My two wonderful assistants. I love working with these ladies. Sarah on the left and Marina on the right. They make the job so much more enjoyable. Thanks ladies...


A little prayer...





Congrats! Now for some more pictures and then off to party!




Manly men...





I love this shot. It's so cinematic...









And everybody scream!!...


A great shot after a great evening. Thanks to Tayler & Nathan for letting us be part of such an amazing night with some friendly and terrific people. All the best guys.
-Santiago Valencia

Tayler & Nathan Miles - September 5, 2009