Her Own Story

EDITOR'S NOTE:
Blanca answered the door in her red polka dot dress. "Just stay there! This door is perfect!" I told her. I couldn't snap pictures fast enough. The remaining pictures were shot in the home of Shillina Jones, a friend and coworker at Colegio Inglés, who is practically neighbors with Blanca. Her house served as a great space to try out lots of ideas. My original concept for the editorial was "Domestic", shooting high fashion around a typical house. But, as I mentioned, sometimes going along with a model's agenda is the best thing a photographer can do. I ditched the constructed plan and let Blanca work the camera. As always, Blanca was a legit pro--even after her hilarious trip-and-fall only 5 minutes into our shoot, and even though we were working in 104 degree weather.


Blanca, fue un placer como siempre!
Want more redhead fashion? Check out our March shoot here 

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

EDITOR'S NOTE: We feed the Mormon missionaries once a month. As a ward congregation, we fill up a meal calendar for them, so once a day they are eating at a member's home. Elder Vauhn insisted on making his specialty and we went out and got all the ingredients he needed. To read more about Mormon missionaries and what they do, click here.

Sneak Peek

You know how I'll be spending my weekend! Stay tuned for the " Ay yi yi, it's 104 degrees outside" photoshoot with Blanca Guerra.

Work Ready | Special Issue

EDITOR'S NOTE: This week's Work Ready pictures were taken at the same night of my big model class. Rodrigo came along as part bodyguard (Since Q&A's predictably went 'til 10:30pm) and part biggest fan. I actually share an office with the Technology Education Head and Academic Services assistant. I like to call our room "1:1 Headquarters."

Helping Hands

EDITOR'S NOTE:
Last weekend, youth in our stake went out to Santa Catarina to take part in Mormon Helping Hands. We each took a street in a different direction and swept up litter and garbage. We knocked doors as we went asking for brooms and dust pans, giving a little plug about who we are and what we are doing. We came to the end of a street and I told one of the girls to turn around. Almost every neighbor was out on their sidewalk staring at us cleaning up. "This is why we do it."
After street clean-up, we were assigned to a house that needed interior painting. It was a daunting dask considering the walls had not been washed or touched in...years? We had cheap paint to work with that went on like peach water. With 1 fan circulating in the corner, we did as many coats as we could in 2 hours. Our Sierra Madre ward youth were real troopers.

America's Last Top Model

Summer Medley

EDITOR'S NOTE: Yes, it looks better than it tasted. Probably because I forgot to buy black olives and didn't remember to put in pepperoni until we were half way through pretending it's fun to eat healthy.

Work Ready

EDITOR'S NOTE:
The entire city cooled off earlier this week. No A/C needed at night, morning rainfall and overcast weather. It was beautiful, and who would have thought I would get to sport a new trench in May! ...It is currently back to 95, hot, and dry.

Zacatecas on Canvas

Why is this post called "Zacatecas on Canvas" you ask? Because it's pretty cool when a piece of your photography gets picked up by a fine artist!
This was the original photo I posted on Facebook back in November:

                                                      


And my good friend Silvia's rendition that was just emailed to me today!

Model Scout

All photographers have their muses--their favorite faces to get in front of their lens that make their "I have an idea for a photoshoot" become reality. The models that effortlessly give you flawless frame after flawless frame. I have had the privilege of meeting 3 models up to this point who have exceeded my expectations. Every photographer has their own definition of what is "working the camera" and their philosophy of beauty. DoublClik loves polished, perfect, class and glam. This is how I got there.

VOGUE SEPTEMBER 2004: I was a senior in high school. I picked it up at Broulim's, and was pleasantly surprised with the hidden inside spread. There they were, the top models of the year. I studied their bone structure, how they held their mouths, their posture, their hand placements, their gazes. Sure, I daydreamed for a second what it would be like to be sandwiched between Gisele and Karolina, but I found myself wondering about the photographer, the setting, the stylist, the art director. Who got that much supermodel star power all together? The thought of getting to shoot that picture excited me more than being in the picture. At that point I was the school yearbook photographer, but I was so intrigued by this idea of flawless beauty and perfection. "I want to photograph pretty people," I thought.

From left to right: Daria Werbowy, Natalia Vodianova, Gisele Bundchen, Isabeli Fontana, Karolina Kurkova, Liya Kebede, Hana Soukopova, Gemma Ward and Karen Elson.

And if I were at the top of my game with a pick of the trade, I would choose these favorite faces to grace my photoshoots:

I've never had a client not want "Supermodel Ready", which is a DoublClik specialty. But it's an extra treat as a photographer when you get a hold of someone who self directs, knows their body well, and who proves to have supermodel traits. I'm always on the lookout for my next muse, and "It" face. It's starting to feel like the world of supermodel photography is calling my name...if not that, then being a model agent would be second best.