Ooh baby

Man how this kid grows!! Mom got him dressed this morning and he looked so much older to me for some reason. I had to take a photo in order to try and freeze his ever increasing aging! Stop growing little man!!! He brings a smile to my face every time I see him. This was lit with a large octabox boomed over the camera with two strip lights to light the background. I almost never use my white background but I think it's time to bring it back. http://flic.kr/p/ggKQMr

Enchanting

With the weather the way it's been the last few days, I'm so happy to have a space to photograph indoors! It's been a while since I photographed in the studio and I was glad my first time back was with some family friends. I was able to really try more setups with confidence, knowing I could change the power of all my lights (accept the background light) with a single controller right at the camera. This was in no means conventional lighting for this shot. The hair and the background were slightly lit by a beauty dish boomed directly overhead. The face was lit by a gridded and ND gelled b800 camera right and low to help fill in under the eyes. There were two strip boxes on either side of Maya and on the floor to light the bottom of the dress as well as give a slight glow to the forearms. I also used a floor fan to move the hair away from the face just a bit. If you don't have a fan yet and you shoot portraits,(particularly women) do yourself a favor and buy a small fan for hair! Great Job Maya! Proud to say that not a single person in portfolio is a Model! Email me if you'd like to look like one :) photos@nakean.com http://flic.kr/p/gfhNcX

Cool Blue

One of Christoph Mayr's picks from a while back at Bothel Landing Park. Gotta be one of my favorites as well! The sun was coming in pretty hot in this image and I was lucky enough to have another senior along for the shoot to hold a defuser panel and knock the sun down a bit. The Heavy lifting was done with an Einstein 640 through a large Octabox camera right. An AB800 was behind and camera left for rim and hair light. http://flic.kr/p/ge77Yp

Bridges of Love

Victor's pic of the session with Yesica at the Arboretum. Been incredibly busy with other work and was excited to get to this image and add some finishing touches. This particular day was very cloudy with a few moments of sunshine peaking through. Using a large modifier really helped to mask the use of flash and keeps the image a little more natural looking. Lit with a single Einstein 640. http://flic.kr/p/gcniha

Skyfall Kiss

Here's Yesica's pick from the shoot. The more I worked on the image the more I started to really fall in love with it myself! It's hard to have an objective view of your own work but if you can just take a step back and detach for moment, it helps to see more clearly! I worked hard to ensure I didn't overexpose the sky in this image but preserve the shadows in the trees behind them. Lightroom and Photoshop did the rest. Lit with a large Octabox and Einstein 640 camera left with large silver reflector camera right. I had a rim light setup on the left but not sure it's firing in this setup. Having a grid on your rim out in the field does wonders for eliminating flare but you have be dead on with your aim or you'll miss your subject completely! Still I think the Dodge and Burn tool which is in any version of photoshop is the most powerful tool I use on every image! Happy shooting! http://flic.kr/p/g85iRg

Lovers embrace

I could barely wait till morning to post this image! Here's Yessica and Victor on their one year anniversary at the Arboretum. A gorgeous couple that are so in love! Thanks for being flexible and ready to shoot wherever and whenever with our crazy Seattle weather! The cloudy skies were perfect for some natural light photos, but I couldn't resist using the flash and large Octa outside. This one is all natural light with a little silver reflector bounced in from thh bottom right to bring out those eyes. Stay tuned for more! http://flic.kr/p/g6HYzq

Father and Son Hawks

Recently purchased sweatshirt and jersey for my son and I and felt the urge to get a studio shot in with sporting our new gear. This was a super quick edit as the game had started by the time we finished taking the photos. Had to clone out a light stand that was between us and also changed the crop from vertical to horizontal. Added a bunch of background to the left to give my some more space. Lit with Einstein 640 directly above camera. Reflector just below and out of the frame. Two strip lights with ab800's behind us and camera left and right and lastly the x800 directly behind us for the green spot on the background. www.nakean.com http://flic.kr/p/g5Njfg

Einstein Greatness

Here's my first selfie with my new Einstein 640 light. I purchased the Cyber Commander as well which means I can now control each light in the studio or on location with one single remote!!! This thing is AMAZING!!!! If any of you know me then you know I'm crazy about my lighting and make several trips back and forth between the lights and my camera before I'm satisfied with the results. Sometimes I wish had a pedometer just so I could log the miles traveled between mere feet between lights and camera. Now when my light is boomed high or group lights are setup high I won't have to bring them down in order to adjust the power I want. Moreover, I can meter from the remote itself! It will give me the readout of each individual light in fstop and I can then correct each individual light to the exact fstop I would like. No more "close enough" exposure even when in a serious time crunch. Suffice it to say, "I'm in love!" Lit with Einstein light in Beauty dish boomed overhead with silver reflector just below frame. AB800's behind and either side for rim lights through strip lights and x800 directly behind for soft spot on black seamless. If you're looking for a great studio or location portrait, don't hesitate to look me up! www.nakean.com www.photos@nakean.com http://flic.kr/p/g3YuFQ

Fist of Fury

I've been waiting a while to get to this image! I wasn't sure how I was going to created the ripples in the wood or the smoke and particles flying in the air but Aaron Nace from Phlearn to the rescue for the dust and particles! Thanks man, you rock!!!! Seriously, if you haven't already you gotta check out his tutorials at www.Phlearn.com This was lit with single giant octabox just above the camera. I used Joel Grimes technique of Gaussian blur and highpass filter for a bit of glow. www.nakean.com http://flic.kr/p/fTDHcx

Bridges in Bothel

Bothel Landing has to be one of my all time favorite places to photograph portraits under just about any lighting conditions. Great little park that's tucked away just West of I405 and 522. Thanks Denin Kerns for helping me carry all my ridiculous gear around and pose like boss for my portfolio! Lit with a large ocotabox camera right and alienbee b800 behind him and camera left for rim. I just love the lines from the beautiful bridge! http://flic.kr/p/fSqfUG

Who Framed Roger Rabit

My assistant Erin kicked ars each and every 14 hours we spent photographing Friday morning and afternoon! Spunky attitude and quick witt helped us get through this long day! Thanks for the help setting up these shots for Seattle Prep Soccer photos! This pose and eyebrow totally made me think of the 1988 film Who Framed Roger Rabbit! Lit with a single light through an umbrella camera right and feathered into a reflector camera left. I had a rim setup behind subject and camera left but turned it off to judge my exposure for skin tones. The best way to know what your lights are doing is to turn them on all one at a time. http://flic.kr/p/fQY8a1

Jenna Hayes

Possibly my favorite photo of @Jenna Hayes at Bothel Landing Park. Photographed with large softbox camera left feathered far in front of Jenna. Hair light behind subject and camera right as well. Reflector just below and camera right. Hopefully I'll have a chance to photograph this Gymnast in action! http://flic.kr/p/fMWF2M

Boardwalk Empire Bosses

Ok, These guys are just killin on at James's Wedding Day at Jack Block Park in West Seattle. This a recreation of their highschool prom photo and think we set the bar pretty dang high with this one! Thanks for being the bosses you are and having fun with the photos! Shot with a single Octobox Driectly above and center. Silver Efx used on a luminosity layer in photoshop to really give it some punch! http://flic.kr/p/fJM7vW

Shining Beauty

First test shot of the day with Ronnie at Chism Beach Park around 9AM. I really wish the studio shot more appointment at this time and earlier! The light is Gorgeous! Don't get me wrong, I can make great photos at any time of the day, but this is when the magic really happens. Lit with a single strobe camera left and shot just wide enough to introduce a little lens flare from the sun. A few finishing touches lightroomn and photoshop really helped the image shine. Have a great Sunday everyone! http://flic.kr/p/fGreZu