Bram has the largest eyes a baby can have while Cade tore up and down the bunk bed with a jedi saber. Keeping up with them is one thing but photographing bad moments are impossible with these children. They are absolutely adorable. I had my super duper assistant with me, Ethan. My 10 year old whose main job is to hold my reflectors while playing with the kids. haha! He barely makes minimum wage but shhhh….don’t report me. He still needs his dad.

These are the children of one of my buddies, Terel Beppu of Intero Real Estate. Terel is definitely not your typical realtor. He is the type who goes above and beyond for his friends and clients alike. You can’t help but trust this guy. I remember a story of him buying groceries for his sickly neighbor whom he does not even know, and checking in on her for her son, who soon became his good friend.

Another story from his wine-loving clients, was that he took them out to Alexander Steakhouse in Cupertino and presented a surprise gift to them, none other than the wine they always wanted to try, the 2000 Lafite Rothschild. The record price at auction for a Lafite Rothchild was $156,000, for a 1787 Chateau Lafite which was once thought to be owned by Thomas Jefferson. [/end winesnobness]

Photographing children that will end up in a baby album is very different than just shooting say, fashion. It’s previsualizing what can go into the album. One thing to keep in mind is the consistent lighting and color rendition. Interior lights tend to be yellow (2900 Kelvin) while outdoor window lights is a bit more neutral (5500 – 6500 Kelvin). So, you’ll have to make sure that the lights you bath the child in, is much stronger with one than the other.

Kids love to run around and at times, so, be spontaneous. Not all good photographs need to be sharp, as it showcase the fun factor of the photos themselves of the child’s character.

Bram & Cade brought a lot of joy to the few hours I spent in their beautiful home. Thanks to the Beppus for such a great opportunity!

18 year old Reilly is leaving Atherton, California for college in Texas. Everyone is excited for him, but at the same time, sad. As fine art photographers and cinematographers, our imagery and video/cinema speaks about the family we photograph. Even more so when each family members have so much love and fun with each other.

We almost felt like close relatives, being there, absorbing the love and resonating and reflecting the TLC back into our photographs and cinema. This was photographed in the backyard of their home during our family portraiture session in Atherton, CA (next to Menlo Park and Palo Alto). Enjoy Texas, Reilly!

(Notice Georgia whispering “I love you” to Reilly when she was leaning on his shoulder? )

Most people I talked to would not believe me that a single photograph, cropped just slightly differently can make a person look younger or older.

Case in point, Mittie of Atherton, a beautiful 10 year old girl with hair that glows gold in sun and a with a charm that will turn the saddest frown to laughter.

Mittie’s modeling energy level easily surpass most hardened 20 year old models that I have worked with. At 10 years old, I never imagined her to work in front of my camera for 6 straight hours with few mini 10 minutes breaks in between, while I tweak the lights or change the set. And even then, she would be slipping from one set of clothings to the next. Most kids would have lost interest after an hour or two.

In the 6 hours, we shot in over 10 sets. That’s quite unheard of in this industry. Most modeling portfolio shoot of this proportion usually takes longer. One set per hour is the norm. We managed to shoot at light speed (pun intended) due to a phenomenal collaborative effort between Rex (dad), Charlene (mom) and myself.

Rex created a list of possible shotlist that would put most photographers’ comp card planning to shame. Charlene was the hair stylist and coordinator extraordinaire. She put her possible combination of clothes together before I got there.

The most important shot has to be taken care of first. It’s the headshot, shown right above. Mittie looks young, innocent and cute! Perfect headshot for Art Directors looking for young models to sell Barbie dolls, fashion wear for little girls and what not.

Now, look at this new crop from the same shoot. No lights were moved and neither was the model moved from her spot. Removing her child bearing look by cropping off the hair band, her straight styled hair, her cropped look now focuses on her eyes and lips. Her neck lengthened and somehow, her face now ages to a maturity level that matches a junior high school girl. Her ability to hold a serious look and to follow posing instructions is definitely a boon.

She has now opened her look to two different age audience and market! How can she use that to her advantage? Mittie’s comp card can now be customized like how one would customized a résumé for the specific company she applies into. Go Mittie!

- MS