candid portrait

Bookstore Flirtations /  by Mike Daclan

This was definitely one of the funner shoots I did. It started with the thought of a stolen glance in a book store. The idea was that she spotted someone she had eyes for and wanted to entice him into following her. Once he realized her plan it would’ve been too late as her trap was set and he was hers.  

She immediately took to this idea and ran with it all the way.  I love how concepts and ideas turn into looks and feels evoked in the photos. By putting her in the subject of power she was able to put forth some great looks and poses. In the end I think it came off a little more natural and slightly voyeuristic which adds a better element to the shots. 

There are a lot more concepts and ideas that I want to shoot so reag our and let’s create something fun together! 

Ami & The Disney Concert Hall /  by Mike Daclan

Super excited to be shooting with Ami again this weekend so I wanted to throw back to our first shoot together at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. 

She has a great energy about her which is super infectious! I’ll definitely be needing it as we have a super early shoot time tomorrow to try and avoid the triple digit weather. 

Hope you have a great weekend!

/  by Mike Daclan

The other weekend I had the opportunity to shoot with my friends daughter for a senior portrait.  This was my first time shooting a senior portrait so I did come in to the shoot a bit nervous.  Luckily Taylor was easy to talk to and after some basic chit chat she really began to open up and take confidence in her poses and general attitude.  I think it really shows in how the first few pictures came out versus the ones at the end.  

As a dancer, she wanted to incorporate some of her moves into the shots and after throwing out a few ideas (and a little encouragement from her Mom & Friends!), we started getting really creative with the poses.  Again, with the confidence in place you can see how much she began to enjoy herself.  We moved to a few different locations using a few different outfits.  We really had a lot of fun knocking out some of these poses and despite the hot ground, she held it all in place like a champ while I snapped away.

Finally, Taylors little sister and best friend wanted to get involved in the shoot.  With some helpful guidance from her Mother (and my dear friend) Ryan, we were able to get in a few more fun looks.  My favorite from this set is a totally relaxed shot when she's leaning against a sign pole.  It was a totally candid moment but came out so well.  At the very end when we were getting ready to go I had her do a few more solo aerials for some nice action poses to round out the day.

The day turned out to be a very great experience for everyone involved.  Taylor and her Mom were super excited about the photos and loved them all.  I do have a few more ideas that I want to incorporate with her and her friend involving some long exposures around downtown Los Angeles and light painting.  Those will make for some great photos!

Cheers!

Metro Night Ride /  by Mike Daclan

So my buddy Q asked me if I was interested in joining him, his girlfriend, his daughter and his cousin on a journey on the metro.  His girlfriend needed to figure out which route to take to get to her evening college classes.  It was just a simple evening ride but looking back on these photos there were so many that I love from this set.  

Over the course of the evening we met a woman proud of her beautiful earrings despite having matter hair from her hair net after a long day of work, a fight breaking out in which one man swung a metal sign at the other, and solitude at many stops.  People riding together but being alone.  

The metro was and I suppose always will be an interesting cross section of the local population.  The sights (and smells) tend to linger in your mind for a good period of time even after you reach your destination.

Thankful /  by Mike Daclan

So recently I just posted a link on my Facebook Page about 10 National Geographic photographers who gave thanks for a photo that they took.  My aunt (who herself is a great photographer), asked "What's yours...?"

It was such a simple question but it forced me to go back through a lot of my old photos to look back at one I was thankful for.  I combed through several albums looking back at what photos stood out and what they meant to me.  It was tough to pick out a single photo from the thousands (yikes I need to post more!) I've taken.  Eventually I realized I had to go back to a very early photo.

The photo below is one of the first photos I took with my new camera.  I decided to go in on a new system from a company called Fuji.  It was part of the new wave of mirrorless camera's which were thought to be part of a fad.  As soon as I took the photo I was absolutely in love.  This small and unobtrusive camera helped me to capture a great candid moment without being noticed.  This small and seemingly random photo helped to reignite my love for photography and really steered me into the direction I was to head down.  

It may not seem like much, but this photo really is the source for all that followed.  There are more photos that I've taken along the way that I am thankful for and I'm sure I'll go over them in further detail as time goes by but for now, I wanted to start back towards the beginning.

Cheers.