about me & photography

UPDATE* my shoot tomorrow in hollywood? it's actually with a makeup school.. so i'll be working with MUA's and models (mostly the models).. but.. still. how fun! :) plus it's paid! wahooo~

ANYWAY..

haha i'm sure no one wants to hear more rambling analytical-ness from me BUT if you for some reason want me to go over a topic, please PLEASE send me an e-mail or leave me a comment :)

plus i have no beauty related thing to post today! hahaha :) well, the boyfriend and i posed for some quasi-engagement pictures! UNFORTUNATELY our roomie (the photographer) hasn't been able to get his computer to work with him so he hasn't seen pictures.. and since HE hasn't seen the pictures, he doesn't want to show US the pictures. boooooo! i did do my makeup though :) and i used the same look from yesterday, except i didn't use purple+black on the top, since it looked like brown so much already.. i just used MAC handwritten. much faster and less baffling (why did it change color?? well, yes i know blending blahblah but i was confused for a bit, etc..)

TODAY'S TOPIC: ABOUT ME & PHOTOGRAPHY 

- how did i get into photography? 

- how did it end up becoming my career choice?

- you have asian parents and aren't in a science or math related major? WHAT? HOW?!

- where do i see my career going?

- what's my favorite type of photography?

- what equipment do i use? 

- a word of advice~

HOW DID I GET INTO PHOTOGRAPHY?

i actually had no idea what i wanted to be while i was in high school. when i was younger? now that's a totally different story :) i had 6 different things i wanted to be.. and aspired to do each thing for ONE day of the week, then have one day for rest and play. among the careers i had in mind were: ballet teacher, gymnast or gymnasium teacher, make up seller (my mother at the time sold for NuSkin cosmetics.. i don't know if she still does or not), etc. 

i'd always enjoyed art. ALWAYS. i drew a lot, sketched, doodled, used pastels, used crayons (rarely, i hated the texture and how imprecise they were!), color pencils, made crafts, made origami, etc. then i got a hold of my mom's camera (of course i don't remember the name or model) and.. it sort of took off from there, though i had no idea that i wanted to BE a professional photographer. my mom always enjoyed my "point of view" and how my pictures turned out. 

i received my very first camera from a friend (my kindergarten best friend, actually). we were going on a field trip during the 5th grade? 6th? i don't remember.. either way, i didn't have one so she gave me one that she had gotten. it was awesome! i was so HAPPY. but it definitely wasn't a career choice in my head.

my first touch with digital? i received one from my parents as a "graduation present" when i moved from 8th grade to high school (our school had a ceremony). i don't remember the name or model but it was cheap--we can't afford much--and it worked well, you know. for digital back in those times at least :) year 2000? STOKED. i took it with me on our family trip to oregon.. and those pictures.. are baaaad. so glad digital has progressed like it has! haha.

my first "professional" camera? was a film camera, during senior year, the N55 (i still have it and actually recently used it). i bought it from katie ^^ seniors had the option of taking an "ROP" class (i forget what it stands for) and one of them was.. dun dun dun, photography! i definitely wanted to take it. except... i needed a film camera, and an SLR (single lens reflex--has to do with how the camera functions when it takes pictures) one, to be exact. expensive. luckily, katie had taken the class during HER senior year.. and was nice enough to sell it to me. HAPPY! i shot lots and lots and lots of film--it became very expensive, my dad wasn't very happy with me. so, a cheaper alternative? DIGITAL!

my first digital camera (wasn't professional level as i found out later, it was PRO-SUMER.. in between professional and the regular consumer), was actually towards the end of my senior year (i believe, can't really remember!). i DO remember my friend paul talking about a "great" camera.. the d70s! and i was browsing around trying to find a good deal on cameras.. and i found a PACK on ebay that was going for about $800 i think. two lenses (bad ones, i found out) along with a tripod (also bad) and a few other accessories.. and you guessed it, ALL BAD. but i had no idea! i was SUPER happy. took LOTS of pictures.. but.... since i was just a newbie in photography, i was shooting in JPEG. and that's fine for regular use but once i moved to brooks.. ah, well. get to that later. i was shooting on a 1GB card, deleting files off the card in camera, etc.. all these NO-NO's in professional photography. BUT I WAS HAPPY! it was so AWESOME compared to my other digital camera (had sinced ditched it and had received a CANON POWERSHOT of some sort). 

which leads me to my next point..

HOW DID IT END UP BECOMING MY CAREER CHOICE?

two things: my friend KAT and FASTWEB. 

fastweb? this.. was actually a fairly.. random story. even at this point, with my spiffy new camera, i wasn't sure what i wanted to do.. but i knew i wanted to go to college and get a degree.. and to get into college and help out my dad, i needed SCHOLARSHIPS! and FASTWEB.COM has a section to fill out.. what you're interested in, etc, so it can help you search for colleges. so i input "photography" among a few other things, and it bothers you when you log in (like a splash page).. "DO YOU WANT SO-AND-SO TO CONTACT YOU?" and one day, it happened to show up as "DO YOU WANT BROOKS INSTITUTE OF PHOTOGRAPHY TO CONTACT YOU?" so i thought.. eh.. why not? and clicked "yes" and proceeded to check my scholarships. a little while later, they contacted me.. and.. i was accepted by september or october of my senior year. 

kat was mostly the one who was pushing me to become a photographer (love you!). she (like my mom) enjoyed my photography and knew i enjoyed it lots.. and she's an artist herself! PORTFOLIO LINK HERE! she goes to ART CENTER in PASADENA and we talked about me going there (since they also have a photography program) and rooming together, etc. and it was a debate between ART CENTER or BROOKS.. talked to a few people (including my ROP photography teacher).. and since i was accepted into BROOKS already (and at the time, i thought it was cheaper! i was wroooong..).. i decided with brooks. phuuuu~ would've loved to room with her though :) DEFINITELY my biggest reason/push to get into photography.

ABOUT MY (ASIAN) PARENTS AND MY CHOICE

i know, right? weird. it actually took WAY less effort (than i had thought--and i hadn't thought of it much) to convince my parents. between my parents.. my dad is VERY laid back. he was born in california and has been through LOTS, so he trusts me lots, etc. my mom is a first gen japanese, born in chiba.. but.. my dad has more influence than her (mostly). plus my mom tends to openly support me more than my dad (hides emotions like a typical japanese guy). blahblah. either way, my dad was bugging me, asking me how i would make money, etc. he actually suggested that i go into CAKE DECORATING 'cause i looooove baking too! hahhaaa, i thought it was funny. 

the only way i really knew they supported me was when we were having a "group chat" sort of thing w/ my student-manager-person (i forget the job title! the person who deals with you coming in, etc. not a counselor.. not really an advisor..).. and i forget the question, but he basically asked if they supported me going into this field. and they said YES! they said YES IN FRONT OF MY FACE! and it turns out they believe in me and think i'm headstrong and am willing to work hard, etc.. and.. man, that was a really touching moment. i don't think i would've ever found out had it not been for that phone conversation. 

WHERE DO I SEE MY CAREER GOING?

well, i assume i will graduate from this darn school, however busy and expensive it is. the only reason why i would stop is if i ran out of grants/loans *knock on wood*. after graduation.. to save money, i think i would move back home (near anaheim, ca).. or.. well, who knows where my boyfriend and i will end up being in 1.5 years?? 

if we end up getting married *knock on wood*, i would LOVE to open up a wedding photography business with him. he was in the business before he moved to california to go to school (mainly just to get a degree, he had an awesome business, WEBSITE HERE). how cute is that? a couple taking wedding pictures~ hahhaa. 

if we don't end up getting married.. i'll definitely move back home.. and probably end up assisting for a more established photographer and maybe take over their business.. or, well. who knows.

WHAT'S MY FAVORITE TYPE OF PHOTOGRAPHY?

i really, really, REALLY love landscape shots. i love nature. my FAVORITE series of photos by far are probably the ones i took in japan-----which, as i said i would get to.. were shot in SMALL SIZE JPEGS! i'm so mad! i can't use them for much else than SMALL, SMALL promo work! which is one of the more major reasons why i direly desire to go to japan again (despite the awful humidity). and my second favorite being my most recent anza borrego ones that you ladies seemed to also love :) much thanks! 

i enjoy taking pictures of people.. but.. not when i have to pose them. i mean, that's alright too.. and i will eventually have to get into it because with wedding photography comes engagement shots, bridal shots, etc. that's why MOST of my photos are "spur of the moment".. capturing excitement, capturing emotion. much better than "pose here, move that arm there, raise your chin, give me a smile and cheeeeese!" hahaha. i LOVE taking pictures of couples and seeing how they interact with each other :) definitely enjoyed the few couple sessions, 2 weddings and 1 bridal i've assisted (and shot couples myself) with. 

i also enjoy "studio" pictures.. those advertisements. though i DISLIKE CLOTHING PICTURES! unless they're on a model already.. still life styling takes too much time. on that note, i also enjoy food pictures (yum!), as apparent on my website. i suppose i'm interested in giving most photography a try :) boudoir included (winkwink).. but as a career, i'm thinking weddings.

WHAT EQUIPMENT DO YOU USE?

digital camera: (upgraded as a gift by MY BOYFRIEND!! for our one year anniversary/christmas/birthday) is a nikon D300!! i love it to bits. i never realized what bad quality i was shooting with until i came to brooks and tried different cameras. my boyfriend is a camera NUT.. has so much equipment.. and it's all good! hahaha. 

film camera: nikon n55

lenses: 70-200mm 2.8 ; 18-50mm 2.8 ; 50mm 1.8

extras: extension tubes in 20mm, 12mm, 36mm

and i won't go into lighting equipment.. mostly because no one will know what i'm talking about [x and plus i don't have a set of strobes, etc.. though i do use my boyfriends' lots. and brooks students are WELL versed in different lighting, cameras, software, etc. 

MY ADVICE?

HAVE FUN! that's one thing i have to remind myself about. since i'm in such a technical school, all these technical things are getting drilled into our heads and our assignments (during our first year.. which was more like 16 months) our assignments were purely technical. i forgot what it was like to take silly pictures, to take pictures that i thought were just FUN. i forgot how to look at my pictures as for how they were and not how they were technically. 

any other questions? :D