Aaron Riveroll | Photographer

No matter what we do in life, I think we all need to have some sort of reason or purpose for doing it.

Now, I don’t mean to get to all philosophical this early in a blog post…but I was just sitting around here thinking about a possible blog or podcast topic and this popped into my head…

As I sit here in my studio space, I can’t help but notice all of these magazines I have piling up. A lot of them are just because I like magazines with pictures of hot chicks…I mean, who doesn’t? But I couldn’t help but realize that I am published in quite a few of them. There’s something really cool about holding a publication in your hand with your work or seeing a photo that you took just chillin’ there in the public eye. It’s pretty cool.

Now, I understand not all of us have the fortune of being published like that (and believe me, I consider it a huge honor and fortune), but that aside, I think we should all have a purpose for doing what we do…and as a photographer, that means having a purpose for what we shoot.

Not all of us do this for a career. I know a lot of us do this for fun because we love photography and we love the art of creating something. But even if we do this for fun, it’s good to have a purpose or some sort of goal we are working towards. After doing this a while, I can honestly say that going out and shooting just for the heck of shooting is fun, but sometimes you get to a point where you are struggling to find a meaning behind it.

Not every shoot has to mean something. Sometimes we just need to pull our camera out of our bag and shoot something just for the sake of shooting. But it’s nice to have a purpose. Shooting commercial work and print work, sometimes it’s really easy to find something…you have a client that is directing your vision. You know what your images are for, where they are going, how they are going to be used. But you can still achieve the same result without having the backing of creative directors or clients.

Whether or not you have the ambition or desire to get published, push yourself to get publish-quality images. Develop projects with your favorite models and shoot it…maybe collaborate on a series or some sort of coffee table book. There are so many services out there where you can self-publish. Books, calendars…the list is endless. Or why not put together some images to submit to publications. At the very least, there are local publications that can use various forms of art work…and you’ll never know unless you put yourself out there. Or just simply take your photos to the local print lab and get some prints made up. Hang em on the wall…

I have several of my shots in my office and at my house…my buddy Mike Prado (Pradofoto) has work hanging all over his studio. Not only is it pretty to look at, it’s nice to have it displayed for clients and others to enjoy. Pictures shouldn’t be locked up…they need to be out for people to look at.

Or put them in a portfolio book. I don’t even know if people use these anymore, but I still have a print portfolio. I haven’t updated it in a while, but I still use it. Like I mentioned earlier, there is something cool about being able to hold a print in your hand.

With this move to digital, I think we have lost a little bit of the magic of actually holding one of your prints in your hands. It’s a totally different experience. Sure, digital is a great way to share your work with more people, but having your work in print is pretty special and even if your images aren’t for magazines, go and get some of your work printed out and I think you will enjoy it a little more.

Anyway, that’s all I have to say about that.

Happy shooting. ☺

So I know I am a few months behind in posting this, but I just got around to editing and finishing this video.

Back in June, I had the pleasure of shooting with model and Hooters girl Jenna Mondello. Total sweetheart. When she hit me up to take some photos for WestCoastHooters.com July girl of the month, I was totally stoked. I had the opportunity to meet and shoot with Jenna during this year’s round of bikini pageants and hang out during her Hooters Calendar photo shoot. Let me just say she’s a lot of fun! Definitely be looking for her in the 2013 Hooters Calendar!

But in the meantime, check out our photos and video…we definitely got some great shots.

And my buddy Zack was on location to shoot some behind-the-scenes video. Enjoy!

Photo shoot with Jenna Mondello from Aaron Riveroll on Vimeo.

So couple of weeks ago, I had the chance to shoot with one of my favorite people, Thao. She was in town and got a suite at the Hard Rock Hotel downtown, so she hit me up to shoot.

We got some amazing shots…but I was also able to shoot a little bit of fun behind-the-scenes video. My new Konova K5 slider came in the mail, so this was the first opportunity I had to really use it. I’m pretty impressed with the quality of the shots I was able to get. Let me know your thoughts. :)

For someone who doesn’t like change, I sure do like changing things up a lot. I can remember when I was younger, I used to redecorate my bedroom every few weeks…I would move the furniture around, move stuff around on my shelves and my walls…a complete transformation. I don’t embrace change, but I do like trying new things out.

A few weeks ago, I was shooting with my homie, Monica Renée. About halfway through the shoot, I started to get bored. I say that in a good way, of course… Monica is amazing to work with and I knew we were getting awesome shots… it’s just that I felt like trying something new. I was inspired.

Most the time, when I shoot on the beach, I use a combination of artificial light and natural light. I use the natural light as a secondary light source, positioning it as a rim light. I use my strobe as the main, or “key” light, positioning that in front of the model. However, those of you who shoot with natural light know about the “golden hour” and how the sun is in a sweet spot around that time. The light is soft and warm…but, it’s also low enough to the horizon to act as a main light source and not create any funky shadows.

On this particular day, I flipped Monica around, shooting towards the shore and away from the water, using the sun as the key light. To add a little “something special” to the shot, I added a little artificial rim light. I placed my strobe directly behind and to the left of Monica; the strobe was modified with a diffused beauty dish. To add a little bit of “warmth”, to the strobe I added a yellow gel directly to the middle of the beauty dish. The effect was subtle…but I think we got some pretty awesome shots. Here’s the diagram:

And here are some shots of surfer girl, Monica, using this lighting setup…

I always encourage people to try and see things a different way and to not be afraid to try new things. And when I say “people,” that includes me as well. :)

So, I’m totally surprised that I never shared photos from my photo shoot with Sophie.

Sophie is a Hooters girl from Hooters of Mission Valley… And we got the chance to shoot last May at the beach. Seriously, I totally lag!

She has a real girl next door look about her… Not to mention, she’s a total sweetheart! The weather was a little gray and cloudy, which is typical for here in San Diego, but we got some awesome shots regardless. Hope you enjoy!

Last November, my friend Reuben was heading to Vegas for a weekend business trip…and when he found out he would be staying in a pretty sweet suite, he invited me to come out as well and shoot.

First, let me just say that I haven’t had the best luck with Vegas over the years…it seems that every time I plan on going out, I get sick. And not just mildly not feeling well, but really really sick. But, I came out anyway since I thought it would be fun…and it was, despite the fact that I was feeling under the weather.

Any who…so I hooked up with Terah, a local model from Vegas…and she came out for an evening shoot in the suite. She was a blast to work with…and even though the shoot wore me out, we got some amazing shots. Here are a few…

It’s officially spring…and that means spring cleaning.

I always get myself into trouble because when I do actually get into these spring cleaning moods, I start finding old pictures, CDs, letters, and a bunch of other stuff and before you know it I’m doing a little more reminiscing and a lot less cleaning. It’s not a rare sight to see me reading old letters while sitting in the middle of a pile of crap. :)

Well, I was over at Ennis’s place today and he came across some old behind the scenes footage we had shot while shooting our homie Candace…almost TWO years ago! It was the first time we had shot with Candace…and we got some pretty sexy sunset shots together (click here to see the shots).

But I threw this video together from the footage we found…hope you like. :)

Photo shoot with Candace from Aaron Riveroll on Vimeo.

Wow, so I don’t think I EVER shared the kick-ass pictures I shot with Angelica last summer-ish. And that, my friends, is a travesty…because they are effing amazing. :)

So Angelica came down to LA for a spell last year for some gogo-ing and such…and she hit me up for a shoot. We ended up shooting on a very HOT afternoon in Laguna Beach. But let me tell you, the conditions could not have been more perfect.

We played around with some cool outfit sets she brought…did a little natural light stuff as well as some with the strobe. most of these shots were taken with one light or just the sun…but the last few actually used two lights; one key light and another unmodified strobe just to the right of the model (left of me). I’ll have to share more shots later…but these were taken towards the end of our shoot.

I was starting to get a little burned out with beach shoots and I was excited about how this shoot turned out. I got to play around with different techniques as well as adding different/more lights to the mix. I really dug the results…especially since I know you gotta change things up sometimes to keep things interesting. :)

We finished off with some killer sunset shots…the sky was off the hook that day. Several people, including one lady who lived in the area, were down there as well – right next to me, as a matter of fact – taking pictures of the sky one way or another.

But these are definitely some of my favorite and sexiest beach shots I have done…everything worked out great…I hope you enjoy.

Check out Angelica on Twitter too. :)

So if you know me, you know that sunset is my favorite time of day. And nothing beats spending those few moments taking in a gorgeous sky and taking pictures of a gorgeous girl in front of it. But for as long as I have been doing this, I’ve learned there are definitely tricks to getting it done right. I’ve seen my share of good and bad…and also taken my share of good and bad. It’s half art and half science.

I’ve been meaning to do a post or a podcast or a video or SOMETHING so I can share with all of you how I get it done…but I just haven’t had the time or the motivation. Someday, though…

In the meantime, I did stumble on a great post over at Todd Mizomi’s blog about this very subject…and let me just say, he gets the job done. First of all, I do have to give him crap for living in one of the most picture perfect places on earth…seriously, Hawaiian sunsets are amazing. And you mix that with a beautiful model and a photographer who knows how to light it just right and you get some amazing photos.

Check out his blog and his post that shares 6 tips to getting sunset shots done right.

• Mizomi Photography | 6 steps to shooting at sunset

I had the opportunity to shoot with Monique Myriah quite a few years ago when I was still sort of new at model photography. We actually shot on the first day of the wildfires out here in San Diego…I remember this because as we were shooting out in La Jolla, we noticed that the sky was a lot more orange than usual. We got some great images that day, especially considering I didn’t know what I was doing and the sky was on fire… as well as most of San Diego county.

Okay, so I exaggerate.. I only sort of sucked. . :) But armed with just a camera and a reflector, we got some pretty hot shots that day.

A few years go by and we run into each other at a bikini contest, so we decided to get together and shoot again.

We originally planned on doing some beach stuff., but because the weather was sort of iffy, we decided to do some studio stuff…and it gave me a chance to try out some new techniques as well as use some new materials that will make studio shots a little bit better (more on that in another post…). But it was fun to shoot with Monique…even more fun to hangout and grab In and Out after the shoot. :)

Stay tuned for more pics coming soon…we’ve got some great ideas, we just need some good weather. :)

Here are the shots…