University of San Diego Senior Graduation Portrait Photography

A couple of weeks ago, I had a session with Yani who booked me as her University of San Diego graduation photographer. This was my first time visiting the campus and I was amazed by how beautiful it is! There were gorgeous photo spots everywhere so it was really fun exploring. I loved the beautiful architecture of the buildings and there were flowers and greenery seemingly everywhere. 

Yani started off the shoot in a white lace dress which is so perfect for portraits. I always recommend wearing white or a neutral color because it photographs really well, goes with most backgrounds, and doesn't distract from the client who should be the focus. Also, it's a classic choice that will never go out of style.

Next, I had Yani put on her gown and sash which we photographed in front of the chapel (pictured first) and in front of the school of business since that's her major. We saved the cap for last since the cap definitely needs to be pinned into place. For these shots, we headed to the garden that overlooks the bay which is so gorgeous at sunset. I loved our golden hour shots in the garden. 

Once the sunset occurred, I had Yani face the sunset since it provided a soft, flattering light on her face. Of course having the sunset in the background would be beautiful but it's quite tough to achieve a vibrant shot with the client properly exposed. So I always make sure to have my client face the sunset and I take advantage of the beautiful light it provides. Once the sunset is over, there's still about 15 minutes in which you can get good twilight shots. These are the final shots in front of the garden. Overall, we had a successful graduation shoot at USD! You can view the full session here :) 

Torrey Pines Fashion Photoshoot

Khrystyna Cholan is a fashion Instagrammer from Ukraine, currently living in San Diego. Khrystyna hails from Ukraine.  After moving to Massachusets to study abroad, she fell in love with the US and decided to travel and explore the rest of the country. Settling in San Diego after a visit to the west coast. 

I discovered Khrystyna through Instagram and quickly saw how talented she was not only at creating gorgeous outfits but also conveying her contagious positive energy through her photos. She loves to go to Ocean Beach and pose in front of old vintage VW buses to complement her 60s inspired looks. She seriously has the best photos! 

So I reached out to Khrystyna to collaborate with me on a shoot. We decided on doing our photoshoot at Torrey Pines. We hoped to hike the Broken Hill Trail but instead fell in love with the overlooks on the way there and used that as our location instead. I loved how the scenery paired so well with her warm, vintage-inspired look. I used Mastin Labs Portra 400 when editing these photos to enhance the vintage feel. It adds a soft touch of grain and also brings out the colors. 

Expect to see a lot more fashion shoots from us! We had so much fun on this shoot, we have many more planned :)

Sunset Cliffs Portrait Photoshoot

Mallory Beach, a local full-time model, and I met up at Sunset Cliffs for a golden hour photoshoot. We decided on boho beachy looks and luckily, the weather was perfect for our San Diego beach photoshoot. 

For her first look, Mallory wore a floppy hat with a crop top, distressed denim, and combat boots. This look is perfect for a casual portrait session. Especially for spring and summer in San Diego. The sun was still high in the sky at this point so I was glad to have the hat shielding her face from harsh shadows. If you do have to shoot in bright lighting conditions like this, I recommend using a longer lens and shooting from a distance. You can actually get some cool shots too using the shadows. Especially if you like black and white photos, the contrast works well with such shadows.

I shot the first and second set of photos with my 55-250mm lens, with the aperture set as low as possible. The other advantage of shooting with a long lens is that the background gets compressed so it appears your subject is closer to the background than they actually are. For example, in the second shot Mallory appears to be right up against the water when really she was far away standing on the cliff. This is another way to achieve the coveted "blurred background" look that many clients request.

After the first look, Mallory did a quick outfit change into a breezy cardigan and bralette, paired with cutoff shorts and ankle strap sandals. I love this sort of outfit for a soft look. Plus, the black bralette, and cardigan contrasted the cliffs quite nicely.

Next, Mallory paired a grey crop tee with her high-waist Levi's shorts for a minimalist look that worked well with the captivating sunset. This ended up being my favorite because of the gorgeous shots we captured with it. While intricate looks are fun for photoshoots from time to time, for a portrait it's essential to keep it simple to let the client's features stand out. I shot these with my 50mm lens and kept my aperture around 2.2-2.8, allowing for a soft, blurred background. 

You can my complete session with Mallory here.