Nikki Lang

Nikki Lang is a singer and songwriter. I had the pleasure of taking some pictures of her Sunday evening. Drop-dead good looking and talented as well. Check out her MySpace to hear some of the music from her previous album. When the new one comes out, I'll try and update here...

For any interested photographers, all the photos shown include my textures. You can purchase them here.

Miss N

Turns out that Miss N is the first school picture redo. And she never even took a school picture! You know, I'm not a stickler for rules, even on my own promotions.

School Picture Redos

It honestly would have never occurred to me to offer two mini-session promotions simultaneously, but then yesterday, my friend Cindy came over to show me her son Eli's school pictures. (You'll remember that adorable little cherub from the full portrait session his parents purchased this fall). Well, we got to talking about how funny it would be to juxtapose the two images and I could not resist. I absolutely had to do this for the marketing alone.

To give Life-Touch Studios the credit they deserve, the main photo selected is not glaringly horrible. I mean, they are shooting like 700 kids in a day, so you're not gonna get Annie Leibovitz. But the suggested images that they'd like for you to purchase as an add on? The tie-dyed terror, the bokeh explosion, coupled with Eli's look of sheer horror??? Too, too much. I just about peed my pants. (It should be noted here that being the nurturing, supportive individuals we are, we did not howl with laughter in Eli's presence).

So here's the deal:

One 15 minute session. No sitting fee. No minimum, standard ala carte pricing applies. (I'll send you a PDF of the price list if you email me). Burbank shoots only. Only ONE kid in the picture. Three pictures to choose from in the online gallery. If you have any other questions, please contact me :-)

Announcing Holiday Mini-Sessions

I'm offering 5 Holiday mini-sessions until December 1st. Two families have already committed, leaving 3 spots available. The deal includes 50 Christmas (or Hanukkah) cards and envelopes. If you're interested, please email me for the details.

Eli & Lillye (Sibling Session)

Eli & Lillye are 9 years apart in age. She is an artist and Eli, at six, could best be described as a sorcerer-Jedi-adventurer. Lillye comes acress as introspective and shy whereas her brother is outgoing and exuberant. Both are completely charming and very attached to one another, despite their differences in age and temperament.

The session was about as laid back as they come (their mom supplied a glass of fabulous red wine) and the shots were taken in their yard.















The kitty was too cute not to take a quick snap of.

Album Cover (Portraits)

A perk of living in LA is getting to work with really talented people on their projects. Tim P. is a successful composer and musician (he and his business partner create music for television and film, including Reno 911, The Mind of Mencia and Larry the Cable Guy). Tim is putting out his own album of harmonica & voice called "The Tim P. Distorto Blues" and asked me to take some photos of him blowing for his CD cover.

Baby Vincent (Newborn Session)

There's nothing quite like a newborn... It is always so amazing just how tiny and absolutely perfect they are. Had a great time with this little man. Only pooped on one blanket, not bad at all.

The Haras' (Family Session)

Most honest photographers will tell you that shooting a two year old can be a challenge. Add in "smart, active, male two year old" to the equation and you can quickly have your hands full. Lucky for me, his parents were cool customers who could go with the flow. In fact, about 20 minutes into the session, the little guy decided that he just wanted to run in the wilderness so we ended up shooting the rest of the photos in my front yard. (Cropped out of the pictures are my own 2 boys who were angling for the shoot to turn into a playdate).

A couple of other random thoughts on the session:

1) Contrary to the old saying, NEVER, NEVER try taking candy from a baby. The whole line about it being easy is a big fat lie.

2) These parents should be awarded the red badge of courage for sitting on a very grubby park picnic table.

But seriously, when I was editing the photos, I kept finding myself smiling back like a complete goober at the family in the pictures. I think it was because they were so genuine and their love for each other was so clearly on display. They are all truly nice people. I had a great time, I think they did too. :-)

Darkening Sky (Portraits)

O.K. so this gig was groovy. Basically the job description was to visit the set of Darkening Sky, hang with the cast and crew and take some photos for the film's promotion. Living in Los Angeles, I've seen my share of productions, but never this intimately. It was really eye-opening seeing how deeply everything has to be thought out and how much hard work goes into each step of the process. I also have to admit that getting to shoot people this beautiful was quite a treat. Danielle Keaton has perhaps the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen. Ryder Strong was a super-nice guy and I know now what a huge group of admiring fans he has. He deserves it. I'll try to follow up and let you know when the film comes out so that you can look for it.

Beach Boys (My Kids)

We were fortunate enough to get to go and stay at my cousin-in-law's beach house over Labor Day weekend. The boys and I had such an amazing time. They'd wake me at 6 a.m. so we could watch the sun come up at the beach. Thanks again, Deena - xoxo.

The Serrano / Boggs Family Session

It was a gorgeous early evening in the hills with an extremely cute one-year-old, her Mom, Dad & both Grandmothers. There was even a couch to make the weeds a bit more cozy...

Yet somehow, things started off rocky. The mom is a whip-smart (and frankly, smart-ass) writer who had me laughing so hard that at one point early in the shoot, I nearly lost my balance and fell down the hill with my camera. That was sort of embarrassing. Once I'd regained my composure, we encountered a different challenge -- teething -- which lead to a fever, runny nose and general unhappiness. We ended up cutting the session short and running back to my house to give her a dose of infant's Tylenol. Luckily, we'd gotten enough shots and didn't have to reschedule.

Little Miss H has an amazing family. They will drive an hour up the 405 in jammed traffic for custom photography but when they see that their child is just not feeling up to posing for pictures, will call the session short and have a laugh. Thanks guys, you were awesome.

The Wattiers (Family Session)

This session was shot in Nebraska. I tagged along as Gina Kolsrud's second shooter.