Remember the slashdot days, where a website gets completely overwhelmed when it was linked from slashdot.org. That’s where the term Slashdot Effect comes from.

This happened to our website today. Fortunately, there was no direct links to speak of. However, people still have a way of finding us via the photographs we took. Is it our style? They were, taken from the colorful shoot we did, just last week! Well, all the images from that shoot has been used in both highly publicized site, i.e. Gizmodo AND Engadget, on the same day!!!

Check out the articles itself by clicking the articles below in the Gizmodo site,

and the Engadget site,

How exciting can it be to be a product photographer, shooting say, 100 pair of shoes on a light table all day. Ok, if you have an assistant, you get to say, “Next!”. Otherwise, you’re fumbling opening boxes, taking a new pair of shoes out, propping it, stick them in a pose, take some shots, change the angles, adjust the lights, photograph some more, wrap the shoes back, stack the boxes properly, then repeat….times one hundred. Ugh! The thought of that makes me cringe!

What about photographing batteries?!? *groan* What could be worse?!

Well, what has batteries and fashion, colors, beauty have in common? Leave it to the owner of HyperMac to seed that idea, a mere 2 weeks ago. Did I go, “that sounds silly!”? No, we flew a rocket with it!!

(click on images to enlarge)

Too bad we only had one day. The idea _will_ continue with the next shoot, I guarantee it!! These were done using the Profoto D4 power pack, 5-6 light heads and the Canon 1Ds Mark III camera.

About photography lighting… my next class, Lighting for Photographers is on March 21st, 2010 and will be held in Maggiano’s in Santana Row. Both our classes, in the last 2 weeks, “Photography Made Simple” and “Model Photography Workshop” were filled to the brim. We expect this one will be as well. So, do sign up before it is filled up. Early bird (before Feb 15th) pays $20 less.

Back a few months ago, we blogged about a wonderful wedding that we photographed at Pleasanton’s Casa Real, Ruby Hill winery. It was showcased in Gentry magazine in August 2009.

The February 2010 wedding issue of Gentry magazine now provide that spread of info, using our photography. Woohoo!!

What a super fun weekend!! Over 100+ photographers attended our Photography Made Simple workshop in Maggiano’s Little Italy in Santana Row, San Jose.

Everyone loved the breakfast and lunch!

We got some great comments and emails from the attendees. Here are some great ones,

1. “Michael, the workshop exceeded my expectations. In addition to being very informative, it was also most enjoyable. From the first minute to the very end I was captivated. Thank you” – Trevor Ngo
2. “I especially liked Michael’s philosophy that to make pictures stand out, they have to be taken from the heart, and it shows in his work”…read more – Michelle Ma
3. “It was like 10 years of professional skills of composition, lighting, creative view, crop, portrait demo, to some photoshop retouching techniques packed into an injection. Voila!” …read more… – Dee Lee
4. “I want to give a huge recommendation for Michael’s photography workshops. I took Michael’s portrait and lighting workshop a few weeks ago and it was great! Whether you are just starting out or are an experienced photographer, there is much to be learned from him…”read more… – John Harrison

Here’s a shot of the back of my head, facing my class in Maggiano’s Little Italy, Santana Row, San Jose.

Now, doesn’t it reminds you of this product?

How to Record Video with a Point-and-Shoot Digital Camera – Video Tips interviewed by Marc Silber. Realized after I watched the video that I’m providing a free advertising for Tag Heuer.

I got totally Gentrified photographing the intimate story of a wedding proposal in Casa Real at Ruby Hill Winery, Pleasanton.

The “Entertaining” section of Gentry Magazine the Gentry South Bay August/September edition features a great article entitled “Carpe Diem” is about how to celebrate in style even in today’s tight economy. Which is exactly what Corina and Alex did.

(Click on an image, then use your RIGHT and LEFT arrow keys to go through all of them)

Alex hired Lea McIntosh, the South Bay events designer, to stage his girlfriend Corina’s birthday party at the Casa Real event space at Ruby Hills Vineyard. Except, unbeknownst to Corina, he planned to propose to her as well.

Lea put together an awesome team to do hair, make-up, lighting, and provide limo transportation. Stacie Tamaki of the Flirty Guide even showed up to crown Corina’s birthday cake with a beaded, pineapple-shaped topper containing a necklace. And we got to go along for the fun. We shot lovely candids of Tiffany Chiang and Armando Sarabia helping Corina look her absolute best with beautiful make up and an elegant hairstyle. And we captured the moment that Alex proposed, kneeling gracefully and offering Corina an engagement ring from Dilek Sezen Fine Jewelry.

I got a little misty during many of the special moments of this evening and all the preparations leading up to it—and especially at Corina’s surprise and delight when Alex popped the question. If you want to read more about this charming young couple and Lea’s ideas for creating your own magical event, check out the article. And get inspired.

I was given 2 days notification to give a 90 minutes presentation to 100+ photographers at Smugmug HQ in Mt View. Despite this being such a short notice, I think the presentation was a major hit !! Check out all the comments below!!!

I’ve been really privileged to photograph NFL and NBA Cheerleaders for their swimsuit calendars for the past few years and have always look forward to the assignment. These sessions have produced gorgeous individual portraits and calendar shots. And I’ve had a fabulous time. The cheerleaders are just as nice as they are great-looking, and the energy, from start to finish, is totally positive and fun.

Maybe it was that energy that attracted the attention of MAXIM, the international men’s magazine. I was delighted to learn that 20 of my portraits of the Buccaneers cheerleaders recently appeared on its website. This is huge for a couple of reasons. First of all, Maxim usually features only 1-2 images from a photographer. And second, the Maxim website has content that never appears in the magazine. Because of that, it’s become very popular with masculine viewers around the globe.

In this positive spirit, I want to offer a few tips from my experience in photographing women. These tips work, whether you aspire to appear in a magazine or just want to have a great picture of yourself taken. Here goes:

Tip #1 – Unless you haunt the gym and have amazing abs, never face the camera head on. Always angle your body slightly away. You’ll appear slimmer and more buffed.

Tip #2 – Turn your face toward the main source of light, which could be the sun, a lamp, or a bright wall. That will throw some of your face into shadow, which is not a bad thing. This brings me to tip #3.

Tip #3 – Show off your strengths and minimize your weaker points. For example, if you think your face is too large, use the shadow created by the light source to make it seem smaller. You can also use your hair to hide parts of your face. Or, if you have beautiful hands, use them to cover areas you don’t want to emphasize. The possibilities are endless.

Tip #4 – Chin up! Yep, your mom was right. Lifting your chin just a bit will give you an automatic face lift and help you look self-confident and happy! Very appealing.

Tip #5 – Forget the camera. It’s not there. Yeah, right, that’s really good advice… The camera and the photographer ARE there, which is why you’re there. So here’s a trick to help you feel and look more natural and relaxed: Use your thoughts to create an environment that you love, like the beach or the mountains, and “go” there. You did that time and time again when you were a kid, and your imagination can serve you just as well now.

- Michael Soo

A bag that I recommend if you are photographing using portable lights, a light stand, battery pack, reflectors and a few other loose equipments. It’s a light stand holder, a carry-on lugguage, a battery pack holder, lightstand strap, a sandbag and much much more. No, not affiliated with them but they are quite amazing.

This is a specialized bag that they put together for me. If you want one, call Susan at Tutto and tell them that Michael Soo sent you.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNEnIdUlDLQ]

I gotto say, I can never get enough of a photograph on a beautiful lightbox. It just enhances the image so beautifully. That’s also why we were so thrilled to have our image showcased in the main entryway to Smugmug‘s headquarters in Mountain View, California.

Not only that, it’s enlarged up to a life size of 8 feet tall !!! With me being a super tall guy, standing at 5 feet 5 inches, that monstrous light panel is almost twice as tall! Well, almost.

Chris MacAskill had to use a double lightbox (I seem to be using the terms interchangeably due to how similar they are to each other these days) for the image. Check it out below, with the image on the right being the original image. Whee!!!