A la Betty

 I just wanted to share my most recent shoot with y'all. This is Kadiva, on the Guadalupe River. We had so much fun! I love shooting with her, bc she is silly and fun and so natural. Oh, and she didn't even complain or cry about when the big bad river broke her nail... AND her chancla (this is what we call sandals, here in San Antonio, for those of you who don't know)! She just laughed, and we kept shooting. Gotta love it!

I love these in color, but just to show how dramatically a black and white conversion can change the mood of a photo, here it is in black and white, too. Maybe it's the vintage bathing suit, but in black and white, they totally make me think of Betty Page. Especially the top left and far right.

Win!

M-I-C-K-E-Y!

This just might be one of the cutest little guys I have ever had in my studio. I just love his squishy cheeks! He wasn't sure about the cake at first... but he eventually got into it. I even got "caked" in the face, at the end. Yum, haha!

Happy 1st birthday, little mouseketeer!

 

Malachi

Remember when I used to post on this blog daily? Well, that's not life with a one year old, lol! I'm lucky when I get to work, and even luckier when L isn't in my lap, jabbing his jelly-smeared fingers all over my keyboard typing, or repeatedly bashing the mouse into the desk surfing the internet. Of course, when I do have time to work, I end up spending most of it goofing off on Facebook networking, rather than blogging. Priorities, people!

Anyway, here is a small behind the scenes collage from one of my most recent newborn shoots... and hands down the most difficult one I've ever done! It seemed that everything was conspiring against me this day... even myself (but that's another story). When the baby just absolutely will not leave Mom's arms, no matter how much milk he gets, or how sweetly you coo and shush him, or how peacefully the sound of the ocean rolls along on your phone app, and no matter how warm or cool he is... what do you do?

"Behind the scenes" shots between sets, I say! These are the REAL moments, anyway! I always take a lot of behind the scenes photos. That way, if nothing else works, you at least have those. Surprisingly, sometimes (as in this case), they are even better than the photos you had originally planned.

I'm personally in love with these natural photos of baby Malachi.

Knot a Geisha

I'm baaaaack!

I know I let the blog go for awhile, but now that my babe is getting bigger, it is getting much easier to work, again. It is especially easy when I work with amazing people who don't mind entertaining him, while I do self-flagellating things like pin one bajillion trash-bags to my wall, to use as a backdrop. (Thanks, team! It was totally worth it!) They not only babysit on set, but they totally rock wardrobe, hair, makeup, and modeling while doing it. I mean, LOOK at these! What more could a photographer ask for? 

Model: Darin Persyn
Makeup Artist: Susan Ward Brooks
Hairstylist: Fabian Alejandro Diaz
Wardrobe: Dondi Voigt Persyn, Muse Studio Vintage

Model: Darin Persyn
Makeup Artist: Susan Ward Brooks
Hairstylist: Fabian Alejandro Diaz
Wardrobe: Dondi Voigt Persyn, Muse Studio Vintage

Model: Darin Persyn
Makeup Artist: Susan Ward Brooks
Hairstylist: Fabian Alejandro Diaz
Wardrobe: Dondi Voigt Persyn, Muse Studio Vintage

Model: Darin Persyn
Makeup Artist: Susan Ward Brooks
Hairstylist: Fabian Alejandro Diaz
Wardrobe: Dondi Voigt Persyn, Muse Studio Vintage

Model: Darin Persyn
Makeup Artist: Susan Ward Brooks
Hairstylist: Fabian Alejandro Diaz
Wardrobe: Dondi Voigt Persyn, Muse Studio Vintage

Model: Darin Persyn
Makeup Artist: Susan Ward Brooks
Hairstylist: Fabian Alejandro Diaz
Wardrobe: Dondi Voigt Persyn, Muse Studio Vintage

I've Moved the Daily Photo Project!

In case anyone was wondering... the daily photo project got moved to Flickr! The pics were meh, on here. The colors were wacky, and everything was washed out. Too bad! Luckily, though, that frees up the blog for other things... like behind the scenes videos and photographs from shoots,weddings and events, etc.. YAY! In fact, stay tuned for a preview of Brandi and Daniel's wedding!

Day Twenty Nine, "Shimmer"

Day 29, March 16th, 2014. Model: Kristen Davis. Makeup: Deanna Leflore. Hairstylist: Johnny Serafin. Designer: Mikailee Alton. Photographer: Jennifer Crowder.

Yesterday was the first time since before I had Logan that I actually got to do a big creative shoot, with hair, makeup, and wardrobe. It felt amazing to be in a room full of creative people, again, and to release some of the creative energy I had been storing up. Plus, I got to hang with some of my favorite people! I haven't had a chance to work with Johnny Serafin or Deanna Leflore since before the baby, and I missed them so much! Needless to say, once we added Mikailee Alton and Kristen Davis (Agence Red Wall) in the mix, it was nothing short of a magical night- just as it always is with this group of artists. Color, shimmer, light... I love it. There are sooo many beautiful photos from this shoot. I cannot wait to share them all! Be sure to follow me on Facebook if you want to see more. Also, make sure you go check out Johnny, Deanna, Mikailee, and Kristen. They are ALL great at what they do!

On a side note, I noticed for the first time today that the blog does not show the true colors of my images! I will be moving this project to Flickr, so that the image will be portrayed perfectly. Also, it will free up my blog for other highlights! This image is already there, if you'd like to see it as it is meant to be. :D

Day Twenty Eight, "Beatnik"

Day 28, March 15th, 2014. Richard Diaz de Leon. Stretch Photos.

I got so many great shots with Richard, yesterday. He totally amped me up! We originally started shooting on white, Avedon-like portraits... but I had to choose the images above to post here in the blog. Why? Because there will never be another one brave enough to hang out the studio window! At least, with such energy!  Even when I get a model who likes to free-flow and have fun, there is usually still some sort of structured "work," going on. Not with Richard! We totally improvised. We kept it raw. It's rare to find a person who will give their whole self to the camera, and Richard did just that. No inhibitions. Yesterday was like a breath of fresh air... all I had to do was capture all that great energy he was putting out there for me. I love working with people like this! Richard is a musician, and now that I've shot with him, I can't wait to see him perform. I'm sure he puts into his music the same soul that he put into this photoshoot- and if that's so, I'm in for a treat. Who wants to go check him out with me? We can catch him playing blues with Rusty Martin at Hills and Dales. You can also check out his personal page, or his Youtube Channel! In addition, be sure to check out All Music's Local, which is  "a Performance based talkshow featuring Regional, National and Local Artists and Hosted by Richard Diaz de Leon." Enjoy!