I think the most important thing a bride should look for when choosing a photographer is his/her individuality in their art. I can almost guarantee that anyone that searches for a photographer solely based on price will be disappointed. There’s probably nothing worse than having both you and your photographer clashing just because they weren’t all you expected. And I think the best way to prevent this is to follow photographers through their blogs.

I’m not making this up so that I may increase my fan base but to give awareness to future brides. When you spend time on their blog, you’re not only looking through photos but also getting to know the photographer as an individual. How awesome would it be if your photographer runs half marathons like you do, has a membership at Flying Saucer like you do, is a transitioning vegetarian like you are, or sleeps on a futon rather than a bed like you do. When you find a personal connection with your photographer, your relationship, both personal and business, will be better.

As you can see I can get pretty sidetracked. LOL. What was supposed to be a teaser became more of an enlightening post. Here’s a teaser from Alesia+Chris’s engagement session:

I LOVE VIDEO LIGHTS!

Here are some of their hi lites of their couples session.

A couple weeks go by and I get a letter from the family physician for a return appointment to see him. He would later diagnose me with high cholesterol. Total cholesterol of 243 to be exact. He reminds me that Asians are at higher risks of having high cholesterol than others and it’s pretty upsetting considering I’m a fitness nut and run about four miles four times a week at the time. In addition, I also lifted weights at the gym. The doctor consequently put me on cholesterol medication.

The thought of myself getting older always arose every time I took the medication. I believe the only foolproof way I can actually lower my cholesterol without medication is to become a……… wait for it…….. WAIT FOR IT………YES, a VEGETARIAN! It wasn’t until after watching the documentary Forks over Knives on Netflix that I’ve decided to gradually rid animal products from my diet including chicken and seafood. For about 2 months, with the exception of the Bahamas trip, Christmas, and New Years, I was a dedicated transitioning veggie. All I ate a week was veggies, tofu, fruits, nuts, and grains. I would only allow myself to eat meat twice a week. Not 2 days a week but 2 occasions a week. Hopefully, in about 6-12 months I can progress into a full vegetarian.

It’s pretty amazing the amount of energy I have going through this phase. I don’t normally take my afternoon naps anymore. The amount of times I have to eat to keep myself satisfied speeds up my metabolism which in turn is causing me to lose more fat weight. And since I’m the only one doing this in the house, I’m forced to learn how to cook (what up, ladies). All of these factors, consequently, all leads to a much better state of both mind and body. I challenge any meat-eater out there to try this regimen for a couple weeks and feel for yourself.

One of the dishes I’m pretty proud of making is my avocado mango salad:

This is probably one of my favorite and most popular dish I eat, mixed veggies with tofu:

And here are some of my favorite images from the New Orleans workshop a couple weeks ago, ENJOY!:::

I’ve finally caught up with all the weddings from the past couple months and diverted some of it to finally get to the Bahamas photos from my workshop last month. My creativity is LIMITLESS once you have full control of off camera flash. Enjoy!

Scott  held his work shop in his lovely 3rd floor room at the intimate and stylish Hotel St. Marie at the corner of Dauphine and Toulouse Street in the French Quarter area. Great food, night life, art galleries and antique shops were all walking distance including Bourbon Street. I’ve only heard stories of Bourbon Street but actually walking it at night is whole different experience. Night comes and the French Quarter comes to life. You can not help but to be immerse in the culture of this place. The French and Spanish Colonial style building, the live jazz music, and the energy of the locals will definitely put you in its culture spell.

I think the biggest problem we had this weekend was the lack of models. Having that confirmed model flake on you is kind of stressful. LOL. Desperately, I decided to text all my hot girl friends in the area to help either model or get one of their hot friends to model. My long time friend, Michele, came through for me and I so damn appreciative of her. She got her cute friend Christian to help model my damn was she cute. Thanks so much Michele, Christian!

Amazing imagery will soon follow!

Here’s a behind the scene where Scott is demonstrating the use of off camera flash,

Thanks so much again Michele! and Christian, thanks so much for the volunteering last minute. You were WONDERFUL!

December 2011 should’ve been my January 2012 simply because I was born again. My whole outlook on life changed. Taking in that family I’ve created on that Bahamas trip will be a high light of my life. Listening to those inspirational stories of success fueled my passion furthermore. You guys can read more on this experience here

I skimmed through my bahamas trip from my last entry so this will be a my 2nd of 3rd. Here are some high lights of the trip. Roughly 87% of these pictures were taken by the Michelle and Scott. Thanks guys for taking so many pictures! You both truly captured the life of this workshop!

Here’s the first night I was there in Miami. I met up with Scott, Michelle, and Gurm at restaurant Lario’s then headed to Ocean’s Ten, which is literally one block down, for happy hour. Lario’s is owned by Gloria and Emilio Estefan. We used a flash from another phone as an off camera flash to get these pictures. Only photo nerds go out of their way to do this. Serious bidness.

Here’s us in the Beacon Hotel lobby where we were all staying being silly. Fun fact: a scene from the movie Scarface was filmed at this hotel hence the art work of Tony Montana.

Scarface fans remember this building and stairs from the movie? It was the scene where Tony’s partner was mutilated with a chainsaw. BLOODY.

The next morning we met up with Tauran and Heather and walked literally one block from our hotel to get some Johnny Rocket’s burgers {side note: it’s amazing how we were close to everything!}.  I had the rocket single with a side of an orea milkshake. Would’ve gotten the double or even the Houston burger but I’m a transitioning vegetarian so I don’t want to make it hard on myself if ya’ll know what I mean . Our whole conversation at lunch was about Scott’s obsession with the #12 burger. On their website it’s called #12 because guests rated it #12 out of a 1-10 scale. LOL There you go Scott!

We all decided to book our group dinner reservation back at the Ocean’s Ten restaurant where 3 of us celebrated our birthdays. I have 2 birthdays. One in November and one apparently in December.

After dinner Lyssa, Gurm, Michelle, and I decided to split from the group and go salsa dancing. That’s right salsa dancing. Not chips and salsa but SALSA DANCING. The wonderful Marie Lyssa taught me how to salsa that night and I haven’t been the same since.!

The next day we boarded the Carnival Imagination bound for Nassau, Bahamas. If you guys haven’t read the almost unfortunate event of me not boarding the vessel, check it out here. Here’s a great photo of us right before we boarded the ship.

Scott teaching the basics of off camera lighting,

What comes in infinite amounts on cruises? The FOOD comes in infinite amounts on cruises! I wish I could’ve taken more food shots. Thanks guys for taking these!

Here’s the gist of the carnival sealife. Man did we have a blast.

I’ll be leaving a gap in this entry for next week. Next week’s post will contain the awesome imagery taken from 4 of the most awesome models I’ve worked with. I can’t thank you badass models enough. I will end this entry with the farewell photos from the trip. It was both a happy and sad moment putting these photos together. Ahh, I miss every single of you guys dearly!

THANKS FOR READING!

D

MY LIFE IN A SUMMARY: As some of my friends and family know, there was quite a bit of hardship getting to where I am today. Graduating at the top of my class in high school didn’t particularly make it easier, ironically. My parents saw great things for me, great things through their eyes. Consequently, I pursued a life of medicine when I moved to Houston, TX. Don’t get me wrong, biology has always fascinated me and it continues to. Check out my movie history on my Netflix account. But there wasn’t a creative outlet for me in this field. I felt “empty” and after 7 years of undergrad I soon realized that this wasn’t for me and the year 2006 marked the closing of a chapter and beginning of a new in my life.

UP UNTIL ABOUT A WEEK AGO, my life as a photographer really didn’t have a meaning. Why did I want to be a photographer? What was my purpose through this craft? Why didn’t I love it like I did 3 years ago? My passion became a job. I had no journey. There was no goal. I started to detest my life. And worst of all, I found out my work was based precariously through other photographers. My work wasn’t expressing me as an individual but rather through other photographers. I had succumb to one of the worst realizations in my life.

ON DECEMBER 16, 2011, I boarded the Carnival Imagination destined to Nassau, Bahamas. This day was probably one of worst nightmares, of a first impression, of a cruise, anyone has probably had in their lives. 11 of the 12 group members boarded the cruise liner with no problems. I, that  12th member, was a whole different story. Upon checking into the first of 2 security check points, I was stopped and was told that my booking was cancelled. I thought to myself there’s gotta be a mix up and it surely wouldn’t be a problem since I have confirmation. I even opted-in for the booking insurance! I mean that is what the insurance was for right? WRONG! But in the end, after over an hour on the phone with Carnival, Lyndsey saved the local newspaper from headlining, “tiny asian man tries to sneak into cruise liner via boat and paddle.” Thanks be to you Lyndsey. You were truly a miracle worker that day. Keeping me calm and sane.

I didn’t realize it at first but the moment I signed up for Scott Robert’s workshop and booked my flight to Miami would spark the beginning of another chapter of my life. It wasn’t because his lectures on posing and lighting. It wasn’t even about the hands-on practice shooting. It was because I have spiritually found the reason for my soul. I finally found the reason I got into photography. It would take me 3-450 word blog post to even summarize this awesome and unforgettable experience. How I live without all these great people is crazy. Even more exciting is that this is only the beginning. My heart races thinking of what is in stored for me in the future. It’s like drinking 2-5 hour energy shots within an hour. (Yes, I’ve done this but only because I’m a professional. Do not try this at home.)

SUPER SHOUT OUTS!

Scott- What is there to say that I haven’t said on the cruise, text, and groupme (I LOVE GROUPME!!!)? You are truly a wonderful person. It’s rare to find someone that is so dedicated and passionate about their craft also dedicated to pursue excellence for their students. You’ve changed my life and there isn’t enough words to express my gratitude for you. Not only are you my mentor but also a great friend. Thank you so much!!!

Lyndsey (planking queen alpha)- Amongst the turmoil that happened to me on this trip, you were my shining star. I would’ve been in jail or worse if it hadn’t been for you. Not boarding that vessel would’ve been the end of me. But through you, it was possible. Thank you for that 1+ hour of your life to help me. But I truly believe everything happens for a reason and it lead to me rooming with you. Joking aside, i couldn’t have asked for a better room mate. You’ve made this exponentially memorable for me. Thank you Lyndsey!

Michelle (planking queen beta)- sidenote: you guys are equally planking queens but there’s no way for me to express this without using some type of consecutive system. Off the record, you’re probably the easiest asian chick that I have spoken with. And asian chicks are generally hard to talk to. Thanks for the chick advice. Probably won’t consider since I know how you asian chicks work anyway. Hehe but joking aside, I loved how we just click and I’m so excited about our journey together with everyone else in the future!

Tauran, Bandele, Gurm, Marie Lyssa- this workshop would not have been the same without you 4. Your journeys will always be an inspiration for me. I’m so blessed to have personally met you all and as a result to keep pursuing excellence in my photography.

And to everyone else including Ashleigh and Bryan Wells, Joseph Abenhaim, and Heather Ou, Thank you for giving me the opportunity to meet you guys. It’s been a unforgettable pleasure for me and also a blessing. And how could I forget you models! I wouldn’t have any great images without your down to earth and love to model attitudes! Each and everyone of you girls brought something different to the table. And walking along 4 hot and spicey models isn’t a bad incentive either .

THIS IS NOT AND WILL NOT BE THE END OF OUR JOURNEY TO EXCELLENCE. I NOT ONLY GAINED FRIENDSHIPS BUT ALSO GAINED A FAMILY. LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!!!

ps. I’m not a mushy person in any way. Saying that, if there was a mushy person in my family, it would probably be me. haha!

Here are some of the high lights from our trip. :D:D:D

I didn't even ask lyndsey to show me her yoga. showoff

yes, this is one of our awesome models, Ella Poz

plank, double plank, triple plank

I have no skill!

A teaser from the Bahamas!!!

Thank you for waking up early that day and giving me your 109%. The love between you two is undeniable. Thank you for letting me be your stage to show the world the warmth of your love between you two. Thank you so much.

A special muchas gracias to my good friend, Kay, for hooking me up with this gig. This wouldn’t have been possible without you.

Here’s a compilation of a few of the 50+ smiley faces I took those 2 days.