I got the inspiration to do this portrait session from various fashion magazines – Vogue, Elle and Vanity Fair. I needed to get out there and shoot.

So I drove and looked for a woodsy area with grass fields. I didn’t have to go very far to find out that Eastlake is full of great areas for photoshoots. This one was right behind a recreation center.

The light shined perfectly through the trees and the wind blew just the right amount.

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I had the pleasure of doing a portrait session with Lauren who will be having her debut in December. What I love about this portrait session are the details – the dress she wore, the necklace, the bracelet and the shoes. I hope you enjoy!

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If you saw my earlier post about the San Diego Twitter Community then you saw a a little teaser of DowntownRob for the Twitter Showcase. We first had a couple of shots done on the rooftop of his residence which was quite windy at that time but we were able to capture Downtown San Diego as a beautiful background – hence the name, DowntownRob

Later that night we made our ways to the streets where we captured the rest of Rob’s portraits which was right in front of the bus top in front of the BofA building on Broadway and also at the trolley station across the street. It was a clear and beautiful night with strong winds. Luckily, I was able to get some lighting assistance from Frode.

Here’s the rest from that night’s portrait photo session.

If you are in need of a professional head shot please fill out our contact form.

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A group of San Diego Twitter users, including myself, is creating a YouTube video featuring After School Special (@danakadan). The video will showcase local talent and individuals that help create the Twitter community in San Diego.

I’m collaborating with San Diego Bargain Mama to help photograph those who would like professional portraits taken of them portraying their unique Tweets. If you would like to participate in this community video please sign up here by August 31, 2009!

Here is an example of what kind of photos you can have taken for free by me! I had the pleasure of capturing DowntownRob tonight.

Tune in shortly for more photos of DowntownRob!

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High school graduation is a pivotal turning point of every young person as they venture into college and develop key skills for life. It’s one reason why may parents love to have senior portrait photography done before their kids move on.

Here are a number of high school senior portraits of Christine.

I took her senior portraits overlooking Balboa Park’s beautiful landscape. Balboa Park is a perfect spot for any formal portrait work.

Beyond the normal formal scenes of Balboa Park are some of the hidden landscapes, away from the crowds, along dirt paths and stone steps.

The tiara Christine wears is for her upcoming birthday. In the Filipino culture it is called a Debut (pronounced Deh-boo) which is the coming of age tradition that happens when a young person turns 18. I will be photographing this special event in June so stay tuned!!

Enjoy all the photos from this portrait session in the slideshow:

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I had the pleasure of photographing Hula from AJ’s Playhouse on Channel 933.

I was excited for this photoshoot because I hear Hula on the radio all the time and I know how funny he can be. Leading up to the day I was trying to think of fun and interesting poses I can get him to do. After giving it much thought I decided to let Hula just be himself. He’s already funny and it would be even better if it came from him!

Below is a flash slideshow of Hula in his GQ poses and then in his fun and amusing shots.

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This happy kid here is Riley. He’s a child photographer’s dream; happy, smiling cheek to cheek, and random acts of posing for the camera. The key to keeping Riley very content is to let him loose in the biggest playground in the world! It was probably really big in his eyes, as if someone combined three different playgrounds together. Ideally, I love to photograph portraits close to sunset. In San Diego, the light from the sun makes portraits look natural and awesome.

Riley looked overwhelmed with the yellow slides, wiggly bridges, peep holes, musical thingywigs and distracted with other kids playing with toys he wanted. He reminded me of how I needed to hit the gym because I never thought that being a photographer would mean I had to be fit! I had to run after him a couple of times, cross bridges, slide the slide, etc.

In the end, I captured some lovely shots of Riley ;]

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November is right around the corner and I’m posting an update on what Photos by Rowell is working on. At the top of the list is Sheree and Scott’s wedding photos. I’m going through each photo and they are turning out really well.

I’ve booked two other photoshoots:

Nathan & Riley Child Photography Portraits

I’m looking forward to working with these two kids. We’ll be working in their parents’ home and then moving to the neighborhood park to get some creative playground shots. Hopefully, the kids won’t notice me as much with the camera and act naturally but most importantly, listening to me and their parents to get the shots they want. For this I’ll be focusing on using the Canon 50mm 1.2L. I’m pretty excited to get some sweet child photography bokeh.

DJ Misha Urban Photography Portraits

Mid-November This project is currently on hold. I will have the pleasure of working with San Diego’s house Dj, DJ Misha. Just a little bio on Misha:

Born in the city of Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine, DJ Misha relocated to the United States in 1991 and settled down in San Diego, California. Misha has held residencies at some of the finer clubs San Diego has to offer: Envy at The Ivy Hotel, Jack’s in La Jolla and Harneys Sushi in Old Town. He became the preferred dj for San Diego Euro Circle events, and was selected to play major fundraising events for the San Diego City Ballet and Rady Childrens Hospital.

For my own personal taste, I’ll be photographing the boats in the San Diego harbor with the downtown skyline as the backdrop. I’m also looking forward to photographing my friends and I for breakfast. The food better be great because I’ll be reviewing it here on my blog! Lastly, there will be some technology photographed and presented. You’ll see the hardware that this blog runs on. The backbone of the interwebs.

Sounds quite a lot to get done starting now through the end of November. I’m always looking for new ideas and projects so if you have any, comment it in!

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Many times I have done wedding photography and portrait photography against the sun and depending on how you see this situation you can either get bad pictures or succeed and get creative pictures.

1. Use a lightmeter..

To get a sense of what exposure you will need to properly light your back lit subject

2. Use your on-camera flash

Pop that sucker and light up your model. You’ll at least get to see the person’s face.

3. Use an external flash (1, 2 or more..)

It will be a lot better than using your on-camera flash.. a lot more powerful too. But of course you’ll need something to trigger these, such as a pocket wizard.

4. Use a smaller aperture

Try to reduce how much the sun fills your scene. With the use of the on camera flash you can most likely get a decent shot this way. It can also create a nice effect on the sun.

5. Use a reflector

Become friends with the sun and reflect it back to your subject. Gold can create a nice effect but you can also use white to minimize the blindness to your model.

6. Don’t backlight

Turn your model so that the sun does not become a backlight. Have the sun light up your subject from an angle.

7. Photoshop

Play around with different settings in Photoshop to make it a little brighter, such as using Curves and Levels.

8. Turn it into a silhouette

Silhouettes always turn out beautiful. This is where your subject is back lit and turns black in the foreground

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