Behind the scenes footage of the NBA Warrior Girls’ swimsuit calendar shoot. Photographed in Napa Valley’s own The Meritage Resort. If you have not seen the Trinitas Wine Tasting Cellar of Napa, you have to check it out, it’s a cave, a wine tasting bar, a cellar, a spa and a huge traditional banquet hall, all in one.

(View in HD)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wr9H-knq6YI]

Some shots from the calendar:

After the long wait, the 2009/2010 swimsuit calendar that we photographed about 3 months ago for the NFL Tampa Bay Buccaneers has been released during Training Camp! It’s definitely a hit as the calendar was sold out during the first week of release!!!! Woozah!!

Well, what are you waiting for? Order the calendar NOW! It makes a great gift! I’m getting 50-60 of them, one way or another.

- Michael Soo

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!!!

Roseanne, a Buccaneers’ cheerleader takes us behind the scene of Soo Photography’s photoshoot with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ cheerleader’s team shoot.

(Video by Ed Bottger)
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ke6avEoBlg]

Engagement sessions are not just bringing_a_couple_out_anywhere_to_photograph. It’s a big deal for us. We plan the locations (nature versus architecture), schedule (time and location for the sunset) and wardrobe matching with the couples. We’ll ensure that our most amazing makeup artist and hair stylist are on board for the shoot. At times, we’ll go as far as to invite our couples for a home cooked meal while we talk about the upcoming shoot while we psyche each other up for the fun filled day of shooting.

I’m a foodie. So, it’s not one of those mac-n-cheese dinner, but white truffle cheese, salad with drizzled pomegranate reduction dressing, shrimp bisque, medium-rare grilled tenderloin steak, banana fosters spread over grilled peaches-a la hot/cold/sour/sweet combo. Mmmmph..mmmmmph. ~ Did I ever mention that we also photograph food? So, imagine how beautiful your wedding cake will look.

I digressed… There are three important pieces to our engagement sessions that we always capture, which you’ll notice through the images in this blog.

1. Love – It’s about how he looks at her and holds her, how she plays with her hair when she talks to him, how she always laughs when he tells a joke. It is the most basic instinctive raw emotion. Yes, we capture the love and we know where to find it.

2. Fun – The above images tells it all. We have a blast when we go out photographing our couples and by golly, you should too.

3. Art – We play tai chi with nature. We utilize natural sunlight in combination with flash photography to create the most beautiful and natural portraits, with a gorgeous backdrop in nature (see images below). By posing you a certain way in relation to the light, we help you shred 20 lbs without breaking a sweat.

Engagement photography collection for us is to reach through the camera lens, pulling in the couple’s shared happiness, and recording that for them to remember.

Of course, the greatest fun with the engagement shoots is my collaboration with the couples themselves. They give me new ideas all the time. These collections of pictures reflect the freshness of relationships before the weddings, before the kids, before the mortgages. They are keepsakes as meaningful as wedding albums.

- Michael Soo

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We have recently added two absolutely amazing product lines to our studio that I am personally very happy with. If you know me, I’m extremely selective when it comes to the products we provide. Our employees have been known to roll their eyes when I rejected a beautifully crafted album just because it doesn’t have rounded corners (I refuse to believe that people will want to order sharp metal cornered albums, place them next to children, or adults). Maybe it is because I live in the same town where Steve Jobs work.

(click to enlarge)

A great deal of kudos go to Queensberry, our supplier in New Zealand. They are the best handcrafted album maker in the world. All the albums are hand-cut, hand-matted and assembled with acid free mats. The attention to detail and classic approach ensures the albums retain their appeal and integrity, as you pass them down from generations to generations. The albums are guaranteed to be free from defects in material or workmanship.

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The beauty of Queensberry albums is the unlimited capacity for customizations. Poetic balance between beauty, craftsmanship and functionality can be achieved to create either a classic or contemporary look to the albums.

Talk about beauty, the other product line that we are introducing is called the Luminae Crystal Panels (image above). Its a phenomenal compliment to our classic Museum Quality Canvas Wrap. Luminae Crystal Panels are the brightest, longest-lasting and most energy-efficient LED-light panels in the world! The lighting is made to be evenly light a photography with no color cast. It is about half an inch in thickness with aluminium studs to hang on the walls, creating a modern look that is captivating. We are installing at least 6-10 of these products along our studio corridor with high-fashion images that we captured.

I could go on and on about these one-of-a-kind products that only we can offer but I would rather you come and see them all up close and personal in our studio. Get an appointment to swing by…NOW!

- Michael Soo

A beautiful day, 72 degrees Farenheit in San Francisco and we spent the whole day in Sintak photography studio. All is not lost! We have a team of fun and talented individuals to party with indoors! We’re shooting bridal gowns today!

Dresses are designed and tailored by none other than Jinza Bridal Couture. There are many bridal shops out there but if you are looking for custom-tailored dresses, using exceptional materials, look no further. Jinza uses only top quality fabrics, pure French silk, organza, crepe, chiffon for a smooth flowing look. Jinza is both down-to-earth and pleasant. Story has it that Kelly (the model and bride-to-be below, YES! She’s a real bride to be married in a few months!) tried over 65+ wedding gowns at Jinza’s with no pressure from Jinza. Now THAT is what I call “excellent customer service”!

Why let me tell you about it rather than checking out the shots…

(Click on images below to see them LARGE)

As with all weddings, I will only recommend the best makeup artists and hair stylists. Take a closer look (click on the image on the right) at the flawless makeup by Beauty Expert Tiffany and extraordinary hair styling by Mikel Sessions. You’ll now have a few phenomenal vendors at your disposal.

Many thanks to Margarita and Kelly for being such amazing models.

- Michael Soo

Photographing bathing suit calendars with scantily clad models is exciting, the haute cuisine food photography has ruined take-out food for me for life, and my happiness for the ecstatic brides and grooms and their families I photograph already warms my heart on lonely winter nights into the next century. I do love my work, but when a photographer REALLY wants to have fun…

Gentry Magazine has recently exposed my vice–Trash the Dress–in their February 2009 Annual Wedding Issue. (full issue here)

I know it takes courage for women to sacrifice their treasured, expensive gowns, and my best efforts go into transforming the memories of these perfect wedding dresses into dramatic, whimsical, permanent art, elevating the dresses to importance equal to the lovely brides inside them. There is extreme contrast in style for featuring these wedding dresses between the precisely programmed events of the wedding day and the let-it-all-go, wild-and-crazy freedom of these photo sessions. And the gowns shine in both settings.

The brides tap into their imaginations as they collaborate with me, hatching the plan for these photo shoots. And if you look at my series of pictures, you’ll see the mischievous thrill on the faces of these lovely women. If you could see a behind-the-scenes collection of pictures of me, you would see that I am having spectacular fun, too.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZmYrD5fqL8]

You are invited to share my Trash-the-Dress images to enjoy the happy faces in these out-of-the-box wedding mementos, and remember, on the other side of the lens, my smiles were even broader. Thank you, ladies, for making my day!

- Michael Soo

Never-ending deadlines, continual search for new content to publish, reviewing new equipment for readers, replying to emails and mail from million of readers. These are but few of the challenges that face the editors in a publishing house. This becomes an upward battle, especially when it’s a large publisher, like Popular Photography & Imaging, the largest photography magazine in the world. They have to constantly feel the pulse of the readers, facing the impossible task of pleasing everyone.

PopPhoto has always been kind to me. This is the organization that gave my photography business a good boost a mere 3 years or so ago. Receiving one of the most prestigious and coveted international recognitions, the Photographer of the Year award from PopPhoto did a lot to extend my credibility and promote my business.

Recently, after months of hiatus from not hearing from PopPhoto, I’m just so glad that I will be doing a short 8 pages of photo work for them. On top of that, one of my images of Tiffany is the February Cover!!!

I personally know a number of photographers who get jaded along the way after being on numerous magazine covers, spreads and what not. I have been published dozens of times in various magazines, newspapers like The New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, etc. However, being in a magazine will always be refreshing to me. I feel very blessed to be able to work as an artist.

John O, Jason B, Pete K, Debbie G, Julia S, Linzee K, and everyone in PopPhoto, I want you to know that each and every one of you made an impact on my life, and I want to thank you for it.

Below is the 4 spreads (8 pages) of the story.

 
It’s always humbling when I’m chosen as the photographer for people whose professional careers depend on my pictures. So Cal model Elizabeth is a special case.

For years she has used photographs from her modeling gigs as her portfolio. But recently she decided to create a collection of pictures specifically for her. After canvassing websites of many, many photographers, Elizabeth found me; and she chose to drive eight hours all the way from Los Angeles to come here to Cupertino…TWICE!

We worked both days and had some fun setting up different categories of shots to create a complete portfolio: headshot, commercial, athletic, and business-style photos.

The collaboration brought us from the studio, to San Francisco downtown, to the garden in my backyard, to a local park. We really covered her comp card in more ways than one. Tiffany Chiang did the makeup wonderfully.

Being a model is about versatility and acting. By creating photographic situation for the model to act out her role will dramatically increase her chances of being cast into a role.

My best wishes follow Elizabeth back to Los Angeles, and I hope my photos will bring her great luck with her modeling career.

- Michael Soo