I wish you could meet Astrid Smoot. I was amazed at how Astrid and Sophia are already communicating. As Astrid changed Sophia’s diaper, she talked to her daughter in Spanish. Astoundingly, though only months old, Sophia began to respond, becoming very vocal and sounding like she was imitating her mother. Are babies supposed to do that when they’re that young? I imagine there’s a part of Sophia that wishes it knew the words to say, I love you, Mom.

What do I know? Maybe it’s something that doesn’t even need to be said. It’s just there.

Take a look at the pictures, and see two people so in love with their daughter. Forget about the colors, the lighting, the composition. It’s plain and simple — what you see is what’s beautiful. Love. I’m just going to shut up now.

Location: Oldtown Salinas, California
Type: Family portraits, baby portraits

The two women passed by the booth. They were arguing.

“How about these guys?” the older woman asked.

“They’re not the guys,” said the young woman. She sounded frustrated and tired.

They stopped long enough for me to ask them what they were looking for. I was at the Central Coast Bridal Show manning Candor Studios’ first booth on the last Sunday of February 2011, passing cards and pamphlets to passerbys. Jenette and her mother Sandra were shopping for a wedding photographer and had passed by the booth several times in their search to find a photographer who didn’t want to schedule another meeting or upsell them. Their request was simple — a couple hours of simple wedding photography and a book that could weather being handled. They had a budget and wanted to book someone that day.

It was my first bridal show, and I wanted to get a few weddings scheduled. Weddings for me are big affairs that can also bring in a good amount of income. Getting booked at the bridal show meant having one more gig, another day I can circle on my calendar that meant I had something to do.

When Jenette and Sandra stopped by our booth, it took a few minutes talking with them to understand their needs and come up with a package on the spot. Jenette was happy with it, and she seemed relieved now that her quest for a photographer ended.

“I guess these were the guys,” Sandra said.

Almost a year later, I saw Jenette for the first time since that bridal show and got introduced to her husband-to-be, Nate. After the ceremony, Jenette said she wasn’t so much a photo person, and that she felt more comfortable not smiling. I could definitely relate — it’s a reason I’m usually behind the camera and not in front of it. We shot a few photos around the venue, and I got to learn a little more about the couple. I left as they stood outside the reception hall waiting to be introduced as Jenette and Nate Donahue.

Congratulations, you two, and thanks Jenette for trusting me with your wedding. From the day you booked to the day I covered your wedding, I grew as a photographer. I’m sure you and Nate grew in your love for each other. Again, thanks.

Professional photographer and good friend Megan Tsang invited me to second shoot a wedding up in San Francisco. It was a great opportunity to shoot in another city, work alongside another professional, and not have the pressure of getting the perfect shot — my pictures would supplement Megan’s and add another dimension to the entire package. It was a freeing experience. I worked around Megan and got to see how she set up her lights and how she carried her equipment.

For the pre-ceremony pictures, Megan and I split up. I drove over to the groom’s house to take pictures and followed them through the busy streets of San Francisco to the wedding location. The view over the beach was beautiful, and the sky was a bright blue. It was a bit windy, but that calmed down plenty by the time the wedding started.

Afterwards, the reception was held at a Chinese banquet. A typewriter was set up so guests could write notes for the couple. One thing about this wedding, and I mentioned this to Megan — the dance floor was packed! People were having a good time and getting down, more so than most weddings I’ve been to. The atmosphere felt joyful, and guests partied the night away — a celebration in honor of the newlyweds.

As for the wedding story — from what I remember of the couple’s story, Stef and Lee first met at a Starbucks where Lee worked. Stef worked across the street at the Gap store and often came in to the cafe to order a venti cup of ice. Lee worked up the confidence to approach her, and they began to hang out. The rest is, as they say, history.

Congrats Stef and Lee Sayao!

For Will and me, it was our first shoot together as a team. We took pictures at the couple’s tea ceremony where Cindy and Jason served family members tea and received gifts in return. Both families wore big smiles on their faces — they were so proud and happy for the couple.

On their wedding day, Cindy and Jason prepared separately in hotel rooms on different floors. The atmosphere was relaxed as the bridesmaids put on their makeup and dresses while watching movies on the television. Cindy sported a white Hello Kitty robe before putting on her bridal gown.

The men prepared quietly. Jason didn’t seem nervous — He seemed very focused on the task at hand. They dressed quickly and sat in the lounge downstairs.

The weather was beautiful for an outdoor wedding and we even got rick-rolled by Jason during his vows.

Never gonna give you up.
Never gonna let you down.

Cindy looked beautiful in her dress and they were hitched without…well, a hitch (hope you got that one). We finished the night in traditional Chinese fashion at a seafood restaurant that served dishes family style and by the course. Will plugged his laptop into the projector and showed a slideshow of some of the pictures we had taken. It was nice hearing the reactions from the crowd — as a photographer feedback is important to me. It lets me know I’m doing okay.

I got a call in the morning that woke me up. I checked the caller-ID — it was a number I didn’t recognize. I picked it up thinking it might be important; it might also be a telemarketer or wrong number.

The person on the other side identified himself as Chris and asked me what I would charge for a short wedding in Carmel. He didn’t want prints, wasn’t asking for a book or much in materials — he just wanted a photographer to do some photos on the beach for the wedding and maybe some photographs beforehand. I quoted him a price, and he said it would work.

This is the first wedding I shot as a solo photographer. As I look through them, I see how much I’ve changed as a photographer. I didn’t have an assistant to help me and no one to hold my hand. I took with me all the information I gained working with other professionals and what else I saw at the weddings I’ve attended as a guest.

After the wedding, Chris told me he had previously worked as a wedding videographer. He told me he liked my work and his encouraging words gave me a lot of confidence. As a photographer, I know it’s a privilege to serve others. Mandy and Chris will have a place in the history of Candor Studios. Congrats, you two, and thanks for your trust and kind words!

I’ve known Jean for years — we went to the same church, and her brother Sam is a hero of sorts to a circle of friends. I grew up admiring Jean’s faith and inner strength — a story I heard involved the young Jean throwing a box of Kleenex down in front of a group of older teens as a sort of challenge to get them to really think about the gravity of some aspect of Jesus’ ministry. I don’t know the full details, and Jean might be able to say more about what really happened, but if it’s anything similar to what I think it was — a young girl challenging the faith of a group of older hard-headed teenagers who needed a good butt-whooping — then, go Jean!

We had a lot of fun on Cannery Row going from the street to the beach. It’s been a while since I’ve seen these pictures, but thinking about the loving relationship between the parents and Megan brings a smile to my face. There’s a picture of Megan running to her dad that cheers me up — that sight of someone so small running towards someone whose face brightens up at the sight of her. It’s beautiful.

I’ve heard a lot of talk recently about blogging, and it’s something I’ve struggled with for, well, years. During my college days, I was a Xangaholic, but even then, I had my lulls where I didn’t update. Though I’m worried people might see my lack of updates here on this site as evidence that I’m not doing anything, I know I could do more to show people that, yes, I am still around and working.

This year started off with a bang — my video for Julissa won her a trip to New York. I got a lot of encouragement and compliments — enough to get me back into doing videography. That’s another update for another time. Right now, I wanted to put up work I’ve finished. It’s a record of my progression as an artist and also as a business here in Salinas, California. As a sole proprietorship whose multimedia work pays for most of the bills, I’ve got to find and complete work. What can help me find more work? I guess blogging and updating can.

For those seeking to build better businesses and get themselves out there — blogging can really get your name out there. It’s advice I’ve given to others. A blog updated with new content on a consistent basis can retain readers who keep coming back for more information. It also adds more dimensions because readers get a better sense of who you are. It also show people you’re active, growing, and relevant.

It’s advice I’ve given to others, and here I am posting something in March when my last entry was in February. Will I be more consistent? Stay tuned!

One of the hardest things I’ve had to work with are prices. How does a photographer put a price on his work? If you take a look at the website now, my services and rates have moved away from the Information tab and into the different sections within the subsets of Portfolio.

I wanted to make it easier for people to see my services and rates by grouping them with the types of photography they’re related to. Clients browsing through my wedding portfolio will see a services and rates tab. Same for family portraits and regular portraits. Same for engagements. This helps clients get the information they need without having to sift through long pages.

I’ve also changed the packages — where the simple package used to include prints, it’s now a barebones package that clients can build off from. A client can potentially hire me for an hour then pay for one 8×12 headshot. Extra options are listed in each of the services and rates pages so clients can add a disc of digital negatives, prints, and/or other goodies according to their budget, needs, and wants.

Other things I’m thinking of adding are: a videography section, a links section so clients can explore more of my work on other sites, and more tabs in the portfolio section for businesses, art, and landscapes.

It’s 2012, and I would like Candor Studios to grow with more clientele. To those who’ve hired me, a big thank you, and to those who plan to in the future, Thanks for considering me.

I’ve been procrastinating on announcing it, but, yes, it’s official and has been for more than a week. It started with checking the YouTube page and seeing congratulatory messages. I went over to Mally’s Facebook page and saw the official announcement:

Announcement from the Mally Beauty Team!!! We just want to thank you ALL again for entering our Makeup Artist Contest! It is so beautiful to see the support and bonding from you talented people; it truly shows your professionalism and class, and it makes the Mally Team so proud. The voting from Mally Beauty Team (based a combination of several different factors, including the comments and likes on each video) was so incredibly close, and the final choice was won by the slimmest of margins; it was a VERY close race!! Every single entry was AMAZING! Mally and the Mally Team are so proud of ALL of you!! So, without further ado, we’re very excited to announce that the winner of the Makeup Artist Contest is… Julissa Garcia!!! Congratulations!!

Love, Love, Love,
The Mally Team

I texted Julissa, YOU’RE GOING TO NEW YORK, and texted her husband Eddie as well. I think I was running errands when Eddie called and asked me how I knew that Julissa had won. When Julissa called she was crying happy tears. That week, she’d gone through a rollercoaster of emotions, and forced herself to stop checking it by stashing it away. On her break, she checked it and got the news.

We congratulated each other for the win, and then she invited me to have dinner with her and the family. We got to talk about future plans. Eddie mentioned that Julissa’s sister wanted to travel with Julissa to New York. I imagine, with all the busyness of fashion week, there wouldn’t much time for Julissa to be hanging out.

When I think about how it all turned out, it’s still hard for me to believe I had a hand in helping someone win a contest. I’m looking forward to seeing Julissa after her trip and hearing about her experience. Congrats, Julissa! You’re going to New York!

Her Candor Studios produced video is a top eight finalist for the Mally makeup artist contest. The winner will be announced January 26th, so please get to voting!

How do you vote? You leave a comment on the link below.

Julissa Garcia — Finalist!

For good measure, hit the “like” button. I’m not too sure on the rules, but a voter will be chosen at random for a New York trip. Whether you have to subscribe to Mally’s YouTube page, I’m not sure.

Anyways, please vote. Send Julissa to New York, and make me a happy filmmaker.