Lifestyle Portrait and Documentary Photographer in Seoul, Korea: Location, Lighting + Weather

{This is an entry posted today from the official Blog. Join me there for the latest!}

I wanted to write this post earlier but with all of the recent activities and my trip to Mexico I had to
wait a little. Nonetheless, I wanted to reflect on the inconsistent weather we've been having here
in Seattle! I think we're all nodding in agreement..

This Spring/Summer has been off to one rocky start and I know I'm not the only one that's had to
reschedule a session. I swear, the Weather Channel is my best friend these days!

The day I shot Shannon it was sunny. No wait, cloudy. Hmm, misty? Yes, if you live here then you
know what I'm talking about. We have some funky weather all in the span of a day. Thank you
Seattle for the entertainment ;)

Thankfully our girls ROCK and Shannon was amazing. The weather was warm so I was only
really looking out for lighting. One minute it would be cloudy, pretty, diffused and the next gush of
wind would make it suddenly very bright, harsh, and sunny. 

So how do I handle all this?

First, I usually head to our designated shooting location 30 minutes before depending on how
well I know the area. If I have been there before and have shot during that same time of day then I
give myself 15 minutes. 

I walk around and start taking mental pictures of places I want to shoot. Interesting places to
pose, sit, or act silly.. I'm taking in those mental notes as I walk around the area.

I also look up. Yes, literally up in the sky all throughout the shoot. Especially on days when I know
the sun will make sporadic appearances because that will dictate the course throughout the
location.

If I see that the sun is suddenly covered by beautiful clouds I will move the subject accordingly or
this can give me a bit more range as to what we can do. If I see that in a few seconds the sun is
going to appear and cast dark shadows and bright spots in certain areas, then I start looking for
places that will bounce great natural light to the subject. Plus, in the latter case I wouldn't want my
client to (as what I like to call) "sunburn" their eyes or have to start squinting ;)

But at the end of the day, what truly and really matters to me.. is the moment.

The smile, the laugh, the natural movement after a good joke. That is my goal and what I strive
to capture.

This session rocked! We all (Shannon, Lili'u, Madison, and I) had so much fun we had to hug it
out in the end.  I know I'm such a sap ;)  And here's Madison trying to take over the spotlight:

Hope this was helpful and provided some insight.

XOXO!