Fashion, Lifestyle, Beauty, Glamour Photography!

I'm extremely pleased to announce the official launch of the website, Capture the Vogue that specializes in photography for fashion, lifestyle, beauty and glamour! It is a website is on my to-do list for many months now.

Some spots of time this past week has allowed me to put this website and its portfolio movies into action.

Check it out!

- Michael Soo

Strength in Diversity

By now, you probably think I'm a nutty professional photographer, dipping my toes into such a wide variety of subjects, from product photography to food photography to fashion photography to glamour photography to landscape photography and fine art photography to gosh, portrait photography, wedding photography and what else, commercial photography. On top of all that, I'm also well versed with Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Website Design!!. Still think I'm sane?! I think not. While 90% of professional photographers out there strive to specialize in one field of photography, I spread my wings and claim strength in all. Is my brain really that slow? Contrary to what you might think, I have good explanations on what I've done thus far.

1. Mastering different facets of photography has allowed me to apply my knowledge in one to another. For example, if I were to shoot an engagement session at a seemingly boring golf course, I can utilize my knowledge as a landscape photographer for composition; my discipline in fashion and glamour photography to pose my subject beautifully; my in depth experience with studio lighting to use bounce multiple light sources to the subjects to create a wonderful interplay of light and shadow.
2. It keeps me excited as a photographer and continually challenge my ability to improve. It is much more often to hear of, say a specialized wedding photographer to get bored of his craft due to lack of innovation, creativity and exciting work. He/She will tend to do the same style over and over again with overall little improvements. For me, however, I am never bored since I have been peaking my performance by learning everything I know from one area of photography to the next. What I thought about in one area of photography has constantly been applied to another.

However, in spite of the above, most clients tend to think of a photographer is best when he or she is specialized. Just think, a bride probably will be more apt to choose a photographer who is specialized in weddings versus one who does everything. How do you, as a photographer prove otherwise? Show them your portfolio. The images needs to speak and they will, if you are good.

- MS

Glamour Photography

Remember the wonderful images from the Modeling Portfolio Blog - Photoshoot with the Best, back in November 11th, 2006? Well, here it is again! Bigger, better and more wonderful models from the far reaches of San Francisco Bay Area, reaching as far as Los Banos, California in the south; to Stockton, way off in the East Bay; and Oakland, up north. Congregating in our usual studio for our 3rd Modeling Portfolio shoot.

Back with us this round are Paul and Ken (our wonderful guest photographer). We started as early as 2pm, jammed the studio with music, crackers, cheese, water, soda, lingeries piled up the height of Mt Fuji, and of course, shoes. We started our setup, the weather outside threatening rain but it looks somewhat clear for now so I had lights setup outside for the first shoot with Tiffany and Danielle. Unfortunately for me, Maysa, one of our wonderful models can only stay till 5pm. After she shot with Paul and Ken, I didn't get any leftover time to shoot with her. Major sigh.

Danielle (shown on the right) and Tiffany (shown on the very top of this entry) drove all the way down from the East Bay. Danielle is really pretty and has one of the sweetest personalities I know. Apparently, her parents seem real modernized and have accounts on myspace. Tiffany has great modeling skills and knows how to pose. She swings from one pose to another with ease. Both are fantastic! I lighted most of those shots with Tiffany and Danielle using a flash outside the window. Soon after, rain started pouring down by the bucket. I then realized that my flash unit is still outside. Almost destroying or worse, electrocuting myself, I moved the entire flash unit back indoors totally drenched. Stupid way to possibly zap the session away. Ouch.

Just about that time, Jessica started prancing around me. I grabbed her right away to do image composites!!! Yeah baby, composites? What the hell are composites, you ask?! Let me first tell you what they are NOT.

They are NOT cut & paste of one image to another

They are NOT a simple graphics designers dream to make an image look good

They are NOT only for advertising and commercials

They are certainly NOT for the faint of heart or the so called photography purist who claim that photography is only to capture the moment

They definitely are NOT for anyone who thinks that composites are easy

In fact, composites require significantly more work to put together than a straight out studio shoot. They require a lot of forethoughts, skilled post processing abilities as well as lighting knowledge to pull off. You need a keen eye on details, great lighting knowledge, understanding of color theory, good photography & photoshop skills as well as masking ability; all of these are key requirements to create composites. Unfortunately, that's also the pitfall of composites. Having one person knowing all these abilities are extremely rare. This is also why many composites are badly done. This give composites a bad name. Composites, if done right,

Saves you a LOT of money (instead of paying the model(s) + photographer + MUA + stylist + everyone else) 3X of their time and hourly rate to shoot in an secluded or exotic location, they can shoot on location in the studio and composite your desired background to fit the style.

Saves you a LOT of time (saving time & money are the primary reasons why ads and commercial spaces uses composites a lot and that's why people think commercial ads as the only people doing composites)

Choices of background grows exponentially

Allows a stronger pre-visualized idea to come to existence. Expand your skills, horizons and ideas.

After the above two composites were done, I then lined up Jessica for a shoot by the fireplace where she totally flared up as the goddess in lingeries. Gosh, I think I almost had a SHC (Spontaneous human combustion) phenomenon when I was shooting her, made it worse since it was next to the fireplace.

- Michael Soo