Golden Hour in Venice Beach
As a model, it's always important to test and keep your portfolio updated. I was looking to take some fresh, fun lifestyle and commercial photos, and my friend recommended a Brazilian photographer coming into town who liked to shoot film...I was in! I love shooting film and his work perfectly aligned with what I was looking for; warm, fun, and lots of lifestyle!
Lifestyle and commercial modeling is huge here in LA, so I try to keep these types photos up to date as much as possible. I prefer to shoot natural light over studio. Lifestyle photography is about capturing a moment and/or feeling....an essence.
I always enjoy meeting and working with photographers I have not worked with before. There is that slight anxiety of whether or not it will go well, which I find to be exciting. Thankfully, most shoots work out great.
Shooting with a new photographer sometimes feels like a first date; you don't know what to expect, but you hope for the best. You figure each other out as you go along; your likes and dislikes. Sergio was a blast to shoot with and was a lot of fun to get to know. He enjoys capturing the little in between moments that makes photographs so warm and inviting...
We walked down a quiet Venice Beach neighborhood and found ourselves right on Abbot Kinney Blvd.
The trees and streets were beautifully silhouetted by the sun setting in the background. I love where I live (Koreatown), but the views and ocean air just don't compare, especially during sunset. A visit to Venice Beach is sometimes just what I need to escape that feeling of living in 'the city' (although Venice is only about 10 mile away).
Shooting on film is always a gamble, but I love that element of surprise and not knowing what you are going to get. Film captures some of the best perfectly imperfect moments, in my opinion. And sometimes you get lucky and capture moments that are forever timeless... think these turned out pretty great. I look forward to shooting with Sergio again, next time he is back in the States!