First, be prepared for the unexpected. Pros are able to get the job done with what they have and what they know…and are able to roll with the punches.

And, speedlights work in a pinch. :)

Here is the podcast…

Or you can download the episode here.

And here are the pictures. :)

She is someone I REALLY look forward to shooting with…and can’t get enough of…but our shoots last like 5 minutes because we get the shot so quickly.

Well, 5 minutes is a little bit of an exaggeration. But it’s amazing how well we work together. She is amazing.

Our shoots are also pretty impromptu…so we met up night last November for a quick fashion shoot…and got some amazing shots. As always, I came with all of my gear in tow…and only used ONE piece of lighting gear: my newly acquired ring flash.

At the time, I hadn’t had the opportunity to use it, so I was pretty excited to test it out; not only as a ring flash, but also as another off-camera strobe. I was impressed with it’s versatility as well as the effects it could create. It instantly opened up a whole new realm of thinking, lighting, and scene creating.

The majority of these shots were taken with the ringflash mounted high camera right…there is one shot I used on camera…but I really started digging the look…and started playing with it a little more in these last several months. I’m still excited to see what I can do with it. :)

My two most recent shoots with her are probably a couple of my all-time favorites. :) She is just so incredible to work with…and because of that, I just had to share some of these shots. Can’t show all of them just yet…but these should hold you over.

I also thought since I was sharing some photographic hotness, that I would also implore you to head on over to Maxim.com and vote for Casie to be the next Hometown Hottie. Takes a few seconds to vote…and you can vote every day until August 1. So please, please, pretty please with a cherry on top…go show some love for this totally sweet and incredibly sexy lady. :)

And now…the pictures…

Oh, and she’s hot too. :)

Her cousin was in town a while back and is starting to get into modeling, so she set up a shoot…and while we were at the beach, we snapped a couple shots too. This girl seriously knows how to put it together and work the camera…we got some amazing shots in seriously no time at all…which is the mark of a pro.

I told her she looks like an angel in these shots…which is sort of exactly what I was going for with the backlighting. I wanted to give her a really sexy, yet dream-like feel.

She also did some with more of a fashion feel to them…so I gave them a more faded-fashion editorial look…which I’m really digging lately. I’m sure you will be seeing more of this style since I really love that sort of faded tint look.

Anyway, enjoy the shots. :)

But it’s all good. :)

When we shot her Hooters Submission pictures back in February, it was gloomy and gray out…so we made do with shooting inside her condo. If you recall, we also shot with her hot roommate, Quinn. Anyway, here are the pictures…

I recently had the opportunity to work with the incredibly beautiful Pam Rodriguez. Pam is so hot…good grief! And a sweetheart too. :) We had a blast shooting up at a Beverly Hills mansion on a sunny weekend…and she showed off some super hot bikinis from her swimsuit line, Pure Rodri. Just check them out for yourself…

Hot stuff, huh? :)

If you’re in Long Beach this weekend, you should check out SPOCOM for the Pure Rodri Swimwear Fashion Show – July 18, 2010 at the Long Beach Convention Center.

On the way back, I caught part of the latest (and when I say “latest,” I mean from back in May…) podcast from LightSource. The guys were interviewing wedding photographer Cliff Mautner…and although he hit a lot of great points, one of the things he mentioned at the beginning of the interview was the importance of blogging. It shows that a photographer’s work is current, relevant…and of all things, that a photographer is actually WORKING. lol. You want to see current stuff from any photographer you may want to hire…and blogging and sharing your most recent work does this. I realized I have neglected this…so I am going to try and do better. :)

Tonight was the Hooters International Swimsuit pageant. Wasn’t able to catch ALL of it…but I did enjoy the parts that I saw. :) And while we are on the subject of Hooters, thought I would share some shots I recently took with Afton from Hooters of Anaheim.

Afton called me up a few weeks ago because she was going to be featured in a local nightlife publication and needed some shots in her uniform…so I headed up and we shot at the store. Afton is totally beautiful…and a blast to hang with. Despite having to wake up at the butt crack of dawn, we had a great time. And the shots came out AMAZING. She is the regional girl of the month at WestCoastHooters.com…so go over and check her out when you have a chance.

Here are some shots…

When Nick asked, “What advice do you have for photographers getting into the game?” one of the responses Katie gave was,

“It’s also really important to have friends who’re in the visual business. Since photography is an individual field (you don’t meet other photographers on a shoot), I think it can help with technical questions, borrowing/sharing gear and making connections with potential clients. And it’s also nice to grab a beer with someone who you admire or can understand your situation.”

I’ve found this to be so true…and it’s one of my sneaky ways of learning new tricks. :)

In all seriousness, a lot of photographers are rockstars…we are ego-driven…and with that territory, comes ridiculous attitudes and notions that we are “the shit.” Sometimes, that’s true…but can’t we all be the shit? Why yes, I think we can.

Which is why I try and surround myself with people like this: people that are obviously creative and good at what they do, but without the ego.

Over the past several months, I’ve worked with several talented photographers. It’s rare, but undeniably fun, to get a couple rockstar photographers together…a few gorgeous models together…and just have fun taking pictures. No assignments. No egos. No deadlines. Just good old-fashioned picture taking madness.

What’s cool about it, for starters, is the networking. We all know people…and it’s always good to know more people who are like-minded and creative.

Secondly, the friendly competition pushes us to be better. Rather than going into a shoot ready to do the same old thing, the competitive nature pushes us to try new things…

And on the other end, to learn new things. No matter what level we happen to be at, we all do things differently. There have been instances where my assistants have taught me something new. We’ll be packing up equipment or decompressing at the end of the shoot and talking about photography and they’ll bring up something I had never thought of before. We all bring something new and fresh to the table…and you’d be surprised what you can learn from just shooting the shizzle with another creative photographer.

I encourage collaborations on projects with photographer friends…someone you know and trust, and someone you admire. Make some pretty pictures and learn some new things. If you’re an ego-driven photographer…get over yourself. Just kidding…sort of. But seriously, it’s cool to have friends in the biz who you can shoot ideas off of, borrow gear from, share critiques with, and get advice from. You can never have too many talented friends.

Then again, maybe you haven’t.

Either way, I’m about to tell you…

For the past three weeks, I have been traveling all over southern California taking pictures of beautiful Hooters girls in swimsuits. :)

It’s contest season…every year, Hooters has their annual swimsuit pageant…which is a pretty big deal if you’ve seen it on TV. We’re talking about some of the most gorgeous girls from all over the country competing to be Miss Hooters International. But how do they get there? It all starts with the local stores…each store has their own contest to decide which girls go to compete in the regional competition and so on…and I was the lucky dude that got asked to shoot the local southern California contests. It’s been a busy few weeks…but along the way, I met some pretty amazing people (not just girls, but our trusty crew who showed up every day.) But yes, I also met some pretty amazing girls too. All the way up to LA, OC, and down here in Daygo…night after night…it was crazy, but TONS of fun. The roadtrip ended last Thursday in Oceanside…and it was sort of sad to see it end. But I’m glad I have my life back so I can get back to…uh…taking pictures of pretty girls. And a person can only eat so much Hooters food without feeling a little guilty. :)

This Friday is the regional competition in Long Beach at V2O…not sure what the ticket situation is, but if you want to see some of the hottest So Cal Hooters girls, stop in to your local store and buy a ticket. I’ll be shooting the event, so hope to see you out there.

I’ll leave you with some blue steel moments from the past few weeks…

Honestly, I enjoy lifestyle stuff. It’s a different mindset…not only for me, but for the model as well. It’s not like you go out there and do the whole “Pose. Click.” thing. It’s not about being sexy. It’s about being…a human being. Living life and having your picture taken at the same time.

Last week, I met up with two of my favorite ladies, Emily and Natalie, for a quick casual session. These shots were actually more “posy” and less lifestyle…but some of the concepts are still the same. For one, I used no lighting at all…with the exception of an off-camera hotshoe flash for a little bit of fill in some instances. But for the most part, I opened up the aperture to crush the background and let some of the background light soak in.

Also, these girls are BEAUTIFUL. The pictures took themselves. During one instance, I actually had Emily tell me a story…which ended up with her erupting in laughter halfway through. I’ll have to share those shots in another post. :)

But here are just a few shots from our sesh…