Ashley : Senior Session

Wow, this will be my third post in a row! I'm on a roll right now. So many exciting things are happening and I just feel the need to share what's been going on!

Earlier this week I shot a senior session for the lovely Ashley here. She sums up everything that I want to embody in my senior sessions... fun, cute, and cool! I had so much fun working with her on this shoot, we were laughing all day! She was very relaxed in front of the camera and I got some killer shots! Check these out:

First two shots of the day. It doesn't get any better than this:





I love the natural expression in this shot:







I saw this neat little bench with awesome light all around it. I had to shoot here:





Ashley brought along a few outfits so we did a wardrobe change. I love how she kept her theme cool but still very stylish:



J.Crew catalog anyone:





Nice sun flare:



Last few of my favs:




If there are any seniors out there that want their super cool and hip senior photos taken, leave me a comment or send me an email! Good luck next year at UT Ashley!!

Joe Photo...Movie Star???

For those of you who don't know who Joe Photo is, ummm.. where have you been? J/K, Joe is another talented California photographer. He runs in the same circle as Becker, Mike Colon, Jessica Claire... you know, just about all the photographers that I look up to. Well apparently Joe has started his own mini series sponsored by WPPI. It pretty funny, here it is:



What's great too is if you embed this video in your blog and fill out this form on Joe's site, you'll get free admission to WPPI in 2009! I don't know about you but that's $250 that I would love to keep to use for gear or other marketing materials. So unless you're made out of money, put this video on your blog. You'll get a chance to attend one of the largest trade shows for photographer in the world and meet some really cool people! Oh yeah, I'll be attending for my first time this year so if anybody else is going, leave me a comment and maybe we can meet up!

Mastering Your Craft

This past weekend I attended the Mastering Your Craft Seminar hosted by Super-Talented Celebrity Photographers Mike Colon and Bob Davis. Some of their most recent celebrity weddings include Usher, Eddie Murphy, and Tony Parker & Eva Longoria! I have been so excited all week that I would finally get to meet these guys and they were awesome.

Mike's sense of humor alone would have been worth going to watch. He's really laid back and I could genuinely tell that he was really there to share his knowledge and to help us. I learned so much from him and not just things about photography. Some of the things he spoke on can be applied to life in general and I am very grateful that I was able to attend.

Mike also felt the need to use me in a few lighting demonstrations. I got to hold his flash up high while they created a mock first dance. Yay for me, I got to hold Mike Colon's flash! Seriously, I was embarrassed because I turned his flash the wrong way after he had fixed it and he told the class (after trying to fire his flash numerous times with no success), that the speakers he usually sits his flashes on at weddings don't usually turn the flashes around! Everyone laughed at me and I was totally embarrassed. It was all in good fun though... hopefully!

I don't know what I can say about Bob. His technical skills go way beyond that of any photographer that I know. He has had his images published in Time magazine and he shoots work for Oprah all the time. His ability to not only capture the moment, but tell a story is what separates him from the rest. His philosophy is one that I plan on working harder on in my own work.

There are 2 dates left on their tour, both in California. If you are able to attend this workshop you should!



Oh yeah, while I was in Dallas this weekend I was able to catch the Oscars from my hotel! How about the Coen brothers? They came up big winning for Best Picture, Best Achievement in Directing, & Best Writing-Screenplay for No Country for Old Men! I felt that Juno was snubbed, and should have won in a few more categories. John Stewart was hilarious though and he made the Oscars all worth watching!

**EDIT...

Here are a couple of shots I pulled from Mike's blog! After ruining Mike's flash demonstration, he decided torture me more by puting me behind the lens. That's Bob holding the video light over my head, haha.

New Offering

I've thought about adding a new addition to my wedding packages for a while, and now I think is the perfect time to do so. I love working with my clients! I honestly believe that I get some of the best brides and grooms in the world. Many times I book brides off of my website and blog alone, without having ever met them in person. My blog and website give them a good feel of who I am, what I'm like, and they feel comfortable booking me. I think that it is very important that you feel comfortable with your photographer and to like them! The pictures always turn out better, trust me.

With that being said, Engagement Sessions will now be included with every Akil Bennett Wedding Package. It's a great way for us to get to know each other better!  In addition, it will help both of you feel more comfortable in front of the camera so that on the wedding day, you're at ease. If you are an out of town bride or or having a tough time scheduling the session because of work, we can always do it the week before the wedding. When I show up to the wedding I want the bride and groom to feel like I'm just a friend with a cool camera! This will help me to more effectively capture their wedding day.

Time For Change

Anyone catch the NBA All-Star game tonight? It was awesome.. I see Chris Paul becoming one of the leaders in the NBA right now. He totally turned that game around for the West tonight even though they lost. Damn you Ray Allen... he got hot in the fourth quarter and hit like four 3-pointers in a row to win the game for the East. Oh well, we'll get em' next year.

Barack Obama will be coming to Houston for a special 'Stand for Change' Rally on Tuesday, February 19th. If you can come you should check it out and hear what he has to say. It's free and open to the public but tickets are required so go to there website and register! In the mean time, check out this cool video I found on you tube:

Jumper

Man I wish I was a jumper. Wouldn't that be cool to be able to go anywhere you want anytime you want to. Would I use my power for good or for evil though??? Hmmm, definately for good...I'd probably be a Super Hero!!

Well if you don't know what I'm talking about, you need to go watch the new movie directed by Doug Liaman called "Jumper." He's famous for directing Swingers and Mr. and Mrs. Smith... anyway, Jumper was awesome. I really liked it! It had a few plot holes here and there but overall I thought it was very entertaining. It gives a whole new perspective on what people would do if they actually had abilities beyond that of mortal men.

Good performances, sweet action sequences, and a good story awaits you if you go see this movie. Don't listen to the critics, I think they were a little hard on this one. Go check it out!!

Yolonda & Aaron : Engagement

Meet Yolonda & Aaron, a super cool couple whose wedding I will be shooting in August!! They were so much fun to work with. Aaron is a high school teacher here in Houston and Yolonda is a graphic artist. Best of all, they are both fellow UH COUGARS!! Here are a couple of my favorites we shot at the park this past Saturday:

A few nice portraits:





Too cool for school!



They were very relaxed in front of the camera... I got these shots within the first 10 minutes:





It started to get a little hot so they decided to take an Ice Cream break... slackers! J/K, we had fun with it:





A few more of my favs:




Thanks guys, I had sooo much fun with you on Saturday!! Can't wait till the wedding!!!

Goodbye Party

My cousins are moving to Australia this week with their mom. I'm kinda bummed about it, I don't really know when the next time i'm going to be able to see them is going to be. So we threw them a party at good ol' Chuck E' Cheese and they had soooo much fun. Of course I brought my camera along and snagged all the shots I could! Here are a few :)

Here is the oldest Jaleel, flashing his million dollar smile.





Bam Bam is so cute, he had so many great expressions! Seriously, it was hard to pick which ones I wanted to blog because they were all so good!





Here is Sofia, isn't she adorable?



Here she is again with Kayla...



Marjani never has to be asked to pose, she loves the camera!!





Here is their mom Pamela with their youngest daughter... I love this shot!



A few more family shots...







Yours truly rockin' out the basketball game... I look so intense!



Bam Bam kept following me around, taking my tickets...





And last but not least... I had Chuck E' strike a pose, so cool!



Well that's it. I'll miss you guys!!

Iron Man Trailer

In case you haven't seen it, here is the trailer to the upcoming Iron Man movie. I am a huge movie fan and an even bigger comic book fan! Although some of the comic book movies that have come out in the past haven't been as good as I would have liked them, I still enjoy watching them. This one looks like it is going to be awesome though and I cant wait to see it! I pulled this trailer from the apple website, enjoy!

The [b] School

There is an awesome photographer out of California named [b]ecker that has just started an online photographer community called the [b]school. I met [b]ecker last week at my good friends Chris and Janine's wedding and he is a really cool guy. He is very open and willing to share information. His website and blog was a constant source of information for me when I was starting off and it really helped me out alot!

Well this website's purpose it for photographers to network and share information. Everyday he uploads a small short with a tip or trick of the day on his blog. The official site is launching in March right after WPPI but his blog is live now. So if you're a photographer or even just like to take photos for fun, you should check it out. The videos are short, funny, and very helpful! I've had a few aspiring photographers email me with questions and my automatic response is always to check out becker's blog. Well now we have the [b]school as well and I think it's great! Go check it out!!!