My Second Weekend with Laurin

I just returned from my second trip to Hollywood to take a class with Laurin. I spent one day in August with him and now followed on with two more days of shooting models. Day 1, I shot Eli Jane inside the studio with traditional lighting setups and also outside in natural light. I quickly learned one valuable lesson which was to slow down as I reviewed day 1 images that weren’t as sharp as they could be.

On day 2, I shot Meili Cady, a local aspiring actress who was super fun to be around and shoot. I used a monopod to slow down and stabilize my shaky hands and it made a huge difference in the output. Throughout the weekend I learned tips on everything from composition to great photoshop and editing tips to take home and use. I also experimented with different hats and props to change the portraits and the moods of the photos.

I enjoyed my two extra days of sunshine and 80 degrees and would highly recommend the workshop to anyone traveling to LA to escape the winter.

Pussycat Dolls Lounge

On Saturday afternoon I arrived in LA to meet my friend Shannon. We stayed at the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood for the weekend. That night we went to The Viper Room to see the Pussycat Dolls Lounge show. We met the lead singer for the night Francesa Ramirez and I was able to take photos of the show with my new lens, a Nikkor AF 50mm f/1.4D which allows for much faster shutterspeed in low light.

The show was great and we met some new LA friends Ryan and Gabe.  Francesca introduced me to the The Viper Room owner and he offered to use some of my photos in their promotional materials. Overall a great start to our weekend.

Tattoo

Over Christmas break, I went with my brother in law in Cleveland while he got a tattoo at 252 Tattoo from Matt Simmons. It was my first visit to a tattoo studio and I went to take photos of his experience. It was fun to take pics standing over him in a chair to capture his expressions and to take portraits of the artist. Who knows maybe I will pay a visit to LA Ink when I am in LA to get one myself!