I recently did a portrait session for promotional material and album artwork for singer Chela Una. I wanted to capture female empowerment in the photographs and we did not want them to be light and cutesy but more serious and edgy. 

I wanted to focus on her face and eyes during the session and I tried to get her hands in the mix also but ended up liking the photos with an emphasis on her face the most. The photography session took place at my studio in El Sereno in Northeast Los Angeles. 

I did not go crazy with Photoshop in the final edit. I am trying more and more to get everything in camera and feel for my style I am truly trying to capture the essence of a person and not a caricature version of them, unless they want an illustrated photo I shot using a filter (see below).

Marches across the United States and the world took place on Sunday urging people to unite together for common causes against sexism, racism and for equality for all women and people of the world.

The only time I've ever seen this many people gathered in Los Angeles is for concerts. It was quite an inspiring spectacle. This past week has been a trial for us all to see what Trump will do and how citizens will react. Since he lost the popular vote I have wanted to get involved with getting rid of the electoral college, a racist and outdated law that needs to be amended for modern times, like other parts of the constitution.  

Trump will try his best to separate us but we will continue to fight for equal rights for all and not succumb to bigotry and hatred. To get involved please call and/or write to your senators and representatives and let them know you will not vote for bigots and you stand with all people. All people deserve the right to be healthy and live in a safe environment. The future of our country depends on us.

I trekked through Joshua Tree National Park this past weekend for a glorious view of Southern California at its best. I shot a time lapse which I will post soon and captured Barker Dam, a rare glimpse of water in the Mojave Desert. It was cloudy and the sky was dramatic throughout our trip. Joshua Tree National Park is located in southeastern California. Declared a U.S. National Park in 1994 when the U.S. Congress passed the California Desert Protection Act (Public Law 103-433), it had previously been a U.S. National Monument since 1936. It is named for the Joshua trees (Yucca brevifolia) native to the park.

Joshua Tree is a photographer's dream. The sky changes at a rapid pace in the winter and no two shots will be the same. We saw Native American Glyphs on the Barker Damn Trail as well and I love how the history has been preserved and will be for years to come.

Yosemite is next on the list but takes a lot more planning so it may take some time to get there. I love photographing nature because it allows you to be immersed in it on a different level. You are truly one with it when you look through the lens and see it in microscopic view. Upon coming back I have a sense of peace I hope stays with me until the next time I can hike for three days straight until I am so tired my muscles ache. Below are two cholla cacti who look like they are holding hands or better yet, dancing!

I rarely post photos of myself on my website but I look so happy in this photo near some rock formations in the winter air I though I would share it. I hope everybody has a great year, all things considered! To view more photos from my trip visit: Winter 2017 at Joshua Tree

So many things are happening in the world right now. I am still in denial about some of them, like the inauguration of you-know-who at the end of this month. One thing is crystal clear though, it's been raining in Los Angeles for a week straight and has rained several other times for long periods since the fall. I actually love photographing on cloudy days. I like to call clouds "nature's softbox". If you are photographing people outside with no reflectors etc. and it is super sunny you have to use fill flash and even then some sunny days are less than ideal for photography. Most people would think that is an oxy moron but it is not. As it rained today I thought about the multitude of clients calling this past week and the excitement I have this year to photograph everything possible. I will be at some rallies this month but first I will travel to Joshua Tree to get centered and realize we still shall overcome. I hope this is a great year for us all, despite what it feels like politically we should continue on our paths and help each other to find positivity in each day. Only then will we defeat ignorance. This rain is a symbol to me that we will have a beautiful and bountiful organic garden this year and my middle class family in Los Angeles can sustain a small farm in our backyard if we have the gumption and hope. We hope for health for us all and all new plants to be watered equally.

One of my goals this year is to beef up my stock photography portfolio on IStockphoto. I am an Exclusive Contributor as of today but I may start shooting for Shutterstock some time in the future so I can make money from both sites. It's been an uphill battle with microstock photography. It is like Itunes for musicians, each photo you make a small dividend of the final download fee but it takes so many photos to really feel like you are making much money from it. I will change that this year! My daughter will be 1 and a half and I am hoping to start working more regularly by the end of this year so in the interim I am going through my archives and uploading photos that can be used as stock photography. I also plan to shoot specifically for my stock portfolio but I have years of archives I can go through and upload as well.

This week I am uploading a photo session I did for an egg producer a few years back. Since it is baking season until winter is over I hope these will be accepted by the IStockphoto analysts and be downloaded by anyone who needs a photo of eggs, milk or other ingredients in chocolate chip cookies. 

When you first audition to be a stock photographer for IStock you upload a few photos and then they can be accepted or rejected. Once you get accepted each image you upload goes through a process where the analysts at Istock decide if the photo is good enough and/or usable on their site. I have had many rejections in the past but have become accustomed to the scrutiny each image gets so I make sure to only upload images that have little to no retouching and look great right out of camera. Any shots with people must be accompanied by a model release and the subject's ID, this is not a point, shoot and upload site, it is very serious business! Cheers to everybody this year and best wishes to all. 

End of the year festivities for my family this year included a much anticipated visit to The Broad Museum in Downtown LA. We watched as the building was slowly pieced together and were in awe of the architecture. My daughter was born shortly before The Broad opened so we put a visit on hold for over a year. I booked about 1 and a half months in advance to get our December 30th booking. The standby line was long and it was a cold day in LA. 

The Broad collection of pop art was not my favorite aspect of visiting, the building itself was.  There were standout pieces throughout the museum but I tended to be more enthralled with the space. It was a great way for my family and I to ring in the new year and I am glad we finally visited. My studio is located only a 20 minute bus ride from The Broad in El Sereno in Northeast Los Angeles. Taking a bus helped us save on parking fees.

El Anatsui and Kara Walker's artwork stood out to me. Above is a piece from Anatsui described on The Broad website as "crafts bottle caps, reused aluminum commercial packaging, copper wire, and other materials into giant shimmering sheets of what he calls “cloths.”

I just completed a product photo shoot at my studio in Los Angeles for a California based company Nuliv Science. The product is a powder made from fruits, vegetables and other natural ingredients. The company takes every precaution for great quality control of every ingredient from start to finish. I love working with companies who care about the earth and the health of its customers.

I photographed the pouches of powder with various props and the fine powders isolated. I always love shooting macro photography and love the way textures look up close. The colors of the powders really stood out to me. It was a challenge to get the packages to look somewhat uniform in each shot because the powders sit differently in each pouch. In the end the client and I decided it was better to keep it looking like a photograph because when you apply too much Photoshop it looks like an illustration rather than a photograph. Below is a photo my husband took while I was shooting the last few photos. I photographed and retouched 76 shots so it was quite an undertaking after watching my toddler all day, but I felt proud at the end of the week when the project was complete.

It's that time of year again and I am having portrait session specials to end the year on a good note! Book from now until New Year's Day and get 15% off a family or maternity portrait session and a free 8x10 print from the session. Bookings can be scheduled for next year. Please email for details and have a great Holiday season!