Category Archives: Photo

Senior Portrait [Cameron Castellano] SSHS

Senior Portrait

Now that is what I call fun!  I love Senior portraits.  I especially love taking senior portraits of seniors who are totally fine with being crazy and silly and just having a great time.  I especially love a senior portrait session where we all realize that our venue is closing and we are like, “how come so early, Oh, we have been here for three hours already”.  Cameron Castellano a senior from Santa Susana High School continued to crack me up the entire time we were taking senior photos.

Let’s try climbing this tree, can we use that rocking chair in the photo, oh we have to work the fountain in.  We got to Strathearn Historical Park & Museum and discovered so many great backdrops and locations it was hard to map out a plan.  Cameron kept us in stitches the entire time and his Mom and Dad trusted Luminary Photo to both have fun but also capture great pictures that truly told the story of who Cameron is at this point in his life.

It seems appropriate that we were at historical museum as we were making a visual history of Cameron and his family.  By the end of the day we had family photos, a college senior (Cameron’s Brother), Cameron and a great picture of Mom and Dad that they loved.

Remember photos are designed to stop time and tell the story of that single solitary moment.  It doesn’t mean that every photo has to be stoic, revered or serious.  Sometimes they can just be fun…

Look for more great Senior Portrait photos from this session.

Fun Child Portraits – United 2014 [Santa Barbara, CA]

Fun Child Portraits

Oh let there be fun!  Every year in and around the beaches of sunny Santa Barbara, CA David Jay and his team put on a heck of a user community conference at the Fess Parker Inn.  Not only a wonderful property in a wonderful location but it was filled with truly wonderful people.  I went to this conference last year and learned so much it was amazing.  This year I learned even more and I can’t wait to see it translate into booking more clients and being able to show them the moments I capture in their lives.

I am going to share a number of photos from the week but my very first shoot was with Eva Deitch and Jessica Eileen Drogosz.  We were focused on fun child portraits.  Both Eva and Jessica are amazing photographers and the wisdom they shared with this concept fun child portraits was amazing.  They were moment seekers and story tellers.  They wanted to show those “pure” moments of kids just being kids.  I loved some of the advice they had for dealing with parents and kids.  It is easy as parent to forget that the things we love most about our children are seldom the photos where we say, “smile”.  Eva and Jessica really just let the kids have fun and play.  They ran around on the beach and we chased them.  There was a little direction and help from Eva and Jessica but for the most part they let the kids do what they want.  The parents were watching from afar.  Here are just a few photos from this fun child portrait session.

Senior Portrait | Celine {Simi Valley High School}

Simi Valley High, Senior Portrait – Celine

The lovely and beautiful Celine’s senior portrait turned out amazing.  She was so easy to work with.  She looked stunning whether she was dressed up fancy or hanging on her Motorbike.  Loved taking the time with her to nail the perfect look.  Take a look at these few moments from our senior portrait session and see just how beautiful she is.  Celine was such a great senior portrait model and knew how she wanted to look and took direction well.  Luminary Photo enjoys making senior portraits available to all high school seniors in the Simi Valley area.  Celine was able to show off one of her favorite pastimes of motorcycle riding.  I love senior’s who want to show off who they are in pictures.  She was sure to pick out her favorite clothes.  Her Mom and Dad were ecstatic with the results and this was all due to Celine wanting to be her in her photos.

What a great time at Posada Royale Best Western in Simi Valley with Paul and Sam and their families.  Luminary Photo took some great photos but we were so privileged to be apart of their wonderful ceremony and the beginning of a new family.  Sam and Paul had so much fun and unlike many brides and grooms they weren’t at all nervous.  They knew that this was just the start of their marriage.  It is seldom that a couple sees this perspective at the start of their relationship.  We wish them nothing but the best.DWA_6318

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United Santa Barbara 2013

How often do we wish we could pick the brain of our favorite expert in a field?  How often do we get to watch and learn from the best?  With how busy our lives are I can tell you it is almost never.  On a whim I was able to spend 4 days in Santa Barbara with 200 amazing photographers, designers and business experts.

We were there to learn more about our art, business and ourselves (as it turned out).  I met some amazing people and had an amazing time.  I am going to post about the trip and show some photos from this gathering in the coming weeks.

One of my favorite shoots was hosted by Tammy Nguyen Le of Tammy Nguyen Le Photography.  Tammy is an expert at making women feel sexy then photographing that feeling.  She is an expert in posing, creating scenes and settings where women can feel hot and sexy.

I have had several of my brides ask me about this type of photography.  While not an expert I get the draw to these types of photos.  They aren’t about being provocative they are about feeling beautiful.

I joked with many of the photographers at United that the reason why I became a photographer was because I hate having my picture taken.  What better way to not be in pictures than to always be taking the picture that everyone wants.  Tammy brought an amazing set down to the beach took one of the photographers there that day and just let her be sexy.  She wasn’t a model but just someone that Tammy helped to feel her best.

I was able to see how to pose a woman that will make her feel comfortable about her body.  Below are the results of this session.  I think these images speak for themselves but I would love to know what you think.