Most people know that I have a fascination for boots and sparkly things…which is one reason I really enjoyed shooting with Monique from Hooters of Mission Valley. :)

Sadly, because submission pictures are due in March every year…and San Diego is notorious for random rain storms in the winter, we had to take the shooting inside to the studio. But even though it was cold and rainy outside, we turned up the heat inside…photographically speaking. :)

We also shot a couple weeks before…so I thought I’d share some shots from those shoots too…

We also managed to squeeze in a few beach shots too…

And here’s our blue steel shot.

The other hottie in the shot is Destiny, also from MV. Stay tuned for her shots coming soon!!

Codi is one of my favorite people ever…

We met while she was working in Pacific Beach, but now she’s at Hooters of Mission Valley…and it’s great ’cause I see her more now than I did before. :)

Cute doesn’t even begin to describe Codi.

We had a fun, but slightly chilly, beach shoot for her submission photos…

We also shot for Hooters last October, so I thought I would share a couple of those shots since they are ridiculously hot. :)

So I’m not gonna lie…Camille rocked my world. :)

Camille is another gorgeous gal from Hooters of Mission Valley…and I’ve been wanting to shoot with her for the longest time. So when she asked me to do her submission photos, how could I say no?

Camille is no stranger to the camera as she has been doing shoots and pageants for the longest time…so she was incredible to work with. Just the right amount of girl-next-door cuteness and sexiness. We lucked out getting a warm-ish, sunny California day with a cool spot to shoot at…including a cave. Sad to say a piece of equipment bit the dust…but lesson to be learned: don’t get your stuff too close to the water. :)

However, looking at the pictures, it was well worth it.

Jessie is from Hooters of Mission Valley…we shot up in La Jolla right smack dab in the middle of some weird weather (hence the ridiculously cool clouds in the background) and during high tide. I wasn’t sure how we were going to pull it off, but we managed to find a little spot with just enough space to shoot. And I’m not gonna lie, the shots kicked booty. Check em out for yourself…

Her pink bikini bottoms say it all. :)

And the infamous blue steel to go along with her amazing smile…

This past December, I got to work with Bikini Team San Diego in putting together their 2010 swimsuit calendar. It was an intense two days of shooting in downtown San Diego. I think we had something like 16 models in front of my camera those two days…but we had a BLAST shooting. And of course, all the ladies were sweet and sexy as heck.

I haven’t been able to post the photos…but you are able to check them out on their web site at bikiniteamsandiego.com. You can also purchase calendars and posters, which I definitely encourage…because they are HOT. :)

My buddy, Thuy Tran, was on-site with us assisting and I asked him to bring along his Nikon D90, which shoots HD video. It was his very first time shooting video at all, and needless to say I was impressed…with his shots as well as the footage that the D90 captured. I think it has inspired me to delve into the world of HD video on a dSLR. Oh, the possibilities. :)

Anyway, check out this 5 minute video highlighting the shoots we did…

Photo shoot with Bikini Team San Diego from Aaron Riveroll on Vimeo.

…it was WAY more fun. :)

A couple of weeks ago, I got a chance to shoot with my homie, Stephanie. Steph is from Hooters of Burbank and I hadn’t had the chance to shoot with Steph since we met last October during a shoot for Hooters Magazine. I immediately knew she was awesome when 1) she laughed at my stupid jokes and 2) she rocked the Blue Steel like none other.

We met up in Laguna Beach a couple weeks ago to shoot her submission pics and we had an awesome time. :)

Everyone should know that Stephanie is in this year’s Hooters Calendar and was the January Girl of the Month for WestCoastHooters.com. She’s also ridiculously hot. She claims she’s “not a model,” but I’m not gonna lie…the camera loves her…and how can you NOT love her amazing smile??

First, I have to share a little story about this bikini…

She put it on and I told her it totally reminded me of a picnic blanket. We didn’t have a picnic basket or even a sandwich, but she did a have a juice box…so we threw it in for a couple of cute shots. :)

And here are some more shots…

And the blue steel, with Samantha, another hottie from the Burbank Hooters (stay tuned for more pics of Sam later…)

Continuing the Hooters saga, I’d like to share some shots from my shoot with Amanda from Hooters of Moreno Valley.

We got an amazing sunset up in Laguna Beach and, well…I really should just stop talking and let you enjoy the shots.

Enjoy.

So I found gold in the desert a couple weeks ago. :)

I had the opportunity to work with one of my favorite ladies…the lovely Tiffanie Damian.

Tiff is a go-go dancer…and she keeps me working with her amazing moves. She knows how to work her body and pose like a pro.

We were inspired recently by some amazing desert shots and we thought we’d give it a go, since I like shiny things so much. We brought my homie, Jazmin, for hair and makeup and had fun playing with gold leaf, which I had never used before. But it was pretty cool. And we ALMOST ran out of time, after spending some time in hair and makeup and then driving out to the desert in time to make the sunset. Next time, we’re gonna head out a little earlier, as we only had about an hour of shooting time once we got out there. :)

We went to a spot suggested to me by a buddy of mine who is a desert guy…so we found a pretty sweet spot just a bit east of Ocotillo. And the shots were definitely worth the drive…

Next on our list of totally sexy Hooters girls is my pal Claudia from Hooters of Oceanside.

We had a couple of totally awesome shoots in the past few weeks…one amazing sunset out in La Jolla…and then another fun excursion down to Blacks Beach, where we were once again greeted by an amazing sunset…and a bunch of naked dudes who became instant fans of Claudia and her overwhelming hotness. We definitely got our workout for the week with that hike…

Anyway, here are just a few of the insanely hot shots we got…

Every year around this time, I get the opportunity to work with a bunch of ridiculously beautiful Hooters girls. While girls from each restaurant submit pictures to be considered for the annual Hooters swimsuit calendar, a lot of them come to me for photos…and that makes me happy. So with that, I will be doing a series on the blog from the various shoots that I have been doing over the past two months for my ladies. :)

I would like to start with Sarah and, uh, Sarah…two of my favorite ladies from Hooters of Mission Valley.

One of the challenges of submissions being around this time of the year is the weather…and we lucked out with a gorgeous, sunny, San Diego day…the perfect day to chill out by the pool.

Sarah B.

Sarah C.

If you know me, you know that sunset is the best part of my day. The tranquility, the colors, the mood, the tone…everything about the day – stress, problems, worries, deadlines, drama – seem to melt away like the sun melts into the ocean.

In today’s show, I talk about some tips and tricks for getting that perfect sunset shot with a swimsuit model. I’ve shot many-a-lady in front of the gorgeous sky…and I have to admit they are my favorite kinds of shots.

One of the photographers I mention in the podcast is Christopher Hartman. A genius when it comes to achieving a perfect light balance on his gorgeous models. Check out some of his shots here.

And here’s the show…

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Or you can download the episode here.

And here are some pretty sunset shots I’ve taken…

Last summer, I shot the swimsuit issue for Revolt In Style magazine here in San Diego…and even though all the ladies were incredible and the locations were stellar, one of my favorite shoots from the issue was with my buddy, Casie Kimball. The weather was a little weird that day, but if you can remember from my OTHER behind the scenes of the behind the scenes video, it was still an awesome shoot. Casie was breathtaking…the suits we had her in were killer. As a matter of fact, when I drove out to Birdrock Bikini to meet Case, my jaw hit the floor as she walked out in that turquoise bikini. And we had makeup artist extraordinaire, Marisol Garcia, doing makeup for us that day and my talented pal Kyle Karges rockin’ the video cam.

An amazing team to work with…and a super fun shoot.

Kyle cut this little video out from the DVD he produced for the shoots so I could share it with the world, so a HUGE thanks to him for providing this clip.

Sit back, relax, and enjoy watching us photograph the beautiful Casie Kimball with the gorgeous La Jolla backdrop.

Casie – Swimsuit Video from Kyle Karges on Vimeo.

Videographer: Kyle Karges; Jonathan Fraser, editor
Music: Kill the Snake by Spero Lumina
Makeup: Marisol Garcia

Yesterday, I got to spend some time with my good friend, Jessi, and her fiancé, Mathew. We hung out and snapped some pictures in Laguna Beach…which is actually where Jessi and I first met for a photo shoot a few years ago.

I felt so privileged to have been asked to take their engagement photos…we really had a great time.

Honestly, I do have the tendency to become jaded, what with being single and shooting all the weddings and engagements that I do. But it is truly special to spend time with a couple who you can tell are SO in love with each other.

Here are some shots from the shoot…

Jessi told me this one was her favorite…there is something magical about it…

And here are some others…

A big congratulations to them…and looking forward to the big day later this summer.

I’ve said it once and I will say it again…sometimes, you have to work really hard to get the shot…and I think these are the best kinds of shots. I love the shoots that challenge me.

Headed out to Cardiff by the Sea last weekend to shoot with two of my favorite ladies, Emily and Natalie. We set out to do some fashion/lifestyle stuff…and if it’s something you don’t shoot a lot of, it can sometimes be a struggle. It’s at these times you realize that going through the motions isn’t going to work. It makes you think a lot more about composition, lighting, and all those things you sometimes take for granted when you are doing the same old thing. And honestly, I love it. I love being challenged and thinking a little more than usual. It makes my head hurt, but I love it. :)

These shots were taken at a park near Em’s place…and the totally hot wardrobe are some hot pieces by my gorgeous friend, Elisabeth King.

After shooting at the park, we headed out to Swamis in Encinitas for some sunset beachyness. And even though we got there a little late, we did get some super sexy evening shots…

We always have fun shooting…the next challenge is coming soon, so stay tuned. :)

Now that I have the time, I finally went through some old stuff and put together the behind the scenes video from my shoot with Mallory Clark this past summer.

It’s a little shakey…but she’s so hot, I think you can overlook that. :)

Photo shoot with Mallory from Aaron Riveroll on Vimeo.