Now you see it, Now you don't!  Temporary problems solved!

Sometimes a person's real beauty is hidden to the casual observer.  I had the opportunity recently to create some portraits of an atractive young lady.  She had some temporary skin problems that could distract from appreciating her true beauty.  Too easily attention can be drawn to flaws, (maybe that's a human frailty), instead of the quality of an individual.  The "magazine cover mentality" has trained us to only look for and admire the most skinny, (or shapely), and perfectly attractive people.  Because of this, we miss out on discovering the true qualities of the people we come in contact with, instead we concentrate on outward appearances only.

I have the opportunity, in my profession as a portrait artist, to capture images of wonderful people, then use digital tools to remove temporary distractions, so that we are allowed to she how amazing these folks really are.  To add to the experience, I get to converse with and get to know them, even for a short while, and begin to understand their feelings, perceptions, dreams and values.  And in just a few minutes, while we are socializing, I have perfected their portrait to show how attractive they truly are.

You be the judge... have I allowed you to see her beauty?

May I have the opportunity to bring out all of your best features?  Let's schedule a portrait session.

Wonderful Italian Wedding

On July 21st I had the opportunity to photograph the wedding of John & Mary at the DoubleTree Hotel at Cabrillo Marina, in San Pedro.  I was so impressed with this wonderful Italian wedding. The pretty bridesmaids dresses, the fun wedding party, including two cousins from Italy, Mary's sister Dora’s 6 cute kids in the wedding party, the custom made signs, the personalized decorations at the reception, the beautiful hand made wedding favors, the delicious Italian cookies and cannoli. Everything was awesome! I captured all the details, including all the guests.  The photos are all online, so everyone can view and enjoy them.  Now I look forward to creating an amazing design for their wedding album.

 

This wedding was extra special for me because I had photographed Dora's wedding 10 years ago, so it was great to be with the family again.  And then at the end of the day to have such an assortment of Italian cookies and cannoli....what a treat!

I recently created this poster for a classic 1956 T-Bird.  Super nice, clean car.

The owner, Joe Freitag, brought me some digital snapshots of his prized Thunderbird.  We edited and customized his text together.  Then, in Photoshop, I cut out the 3 views of his car and arranged them.  Next I overlayed the text and added the highlight around the letters.  We were pleased with the result, hopefully you like it too.

LaMar Photography was featured in a pilot for a new Reality TV Show!  On Saturday a film crew and cast spent several hours in our studio shooting scenes for a pilot for BET Network.  Cameras, Lights and Action!  Several young rappers are shown arriving at our studio then interacting with me asking about photos for their CD cover and promos.  It turned out to be a great promo for our studio!  I explain to them about the quality of the photography that we do, (with samples blown up on the big screen... they were very impressed!), and about my 40 years of experience, and being voted Best Photographer, (for a number of years now), by readers of the Daily Breeze newspaper.  The film crew did 3 takes of each scene from each direction, with several video cameras, then an interview type review of each segment, (again 3 versions).  Next we went into the portrait studio and I did a number of promo shots for them, with 4 different backgrounds.  Then back to the big screen monitor to review the images with them.  The young rappers were very pleased and excited.  The film crew were, "very impressed with LaMar's experience and professionalism"

It was a great experience for everyone and I'm quite sure that it will turn out to be a great promo for our studio.  I will post the photos online for the guys to select from.  I wish them all the luck in their endeavors.

Plan Your Wedding together and get to know one another.

Wedding Plans are More than an Exercise in Getting Things Done... All this decision making by the Bride & Groom together can help build their relationship.  Planning a Wedding can be a stressful time in the life of brides and grooms and their families, with so many things going on at once and more details than they ever considered.

To reduce some of the challenges associated with that momentous experience some prospective brides may consider hiring a professional wedding planner.  No more hassles with everything associated with the reception, flowers, photography, catering, etc.  You just tell them the type of location, the size of the party, the time of the day, etc. and they do the rest. Do you really want someone else to plan your wedding?  What learning and bonding experiences are you giving up by letting someone else do it? To start with, it is no longer Your Wedding, you have already outsourced this special moment in your life. Even though it may be very stressful and energy consuming, planning your own wedding is also, as many couples can tell you, a great moment for the bride and the groom to bond and get to know each other better. It is also an exercise in human relations and in how to manage often times divergent opinions.  Happy couples have learned that "give and take" is the foundation of increasing love, it is also a better way to know your future spouse. Wedding planning will provide you with the opportunity to interact with the "in-laws" and get to know the other side of the family.  You will discuss personal preferences and get to know them very well. You may, at first, consider hiring the services of a Professional Wedding Planner, so that you may devote more time and energy to make those extra dollars that you need to have a comfy life.  It may not be worth it and you may regret the fact that you didn't spend that time together with your better half. Couples who have been happily married for many years often times look back to this challenging time of their life and remember the decisions that they made together and the happy moments they shared.  That it was THEIR WEDDING that laid the foundation for a happy life together.

Wedding Photography by LaMar

Beautiful Baby Boy

What a fun and happy little guy. He was joy to photograph!

His mom loved the way his hair sticks out, just a bit, on each side, and that his two front teeth are showing in his grin. The fur covers his diaper and his happy little toes are sticking up. I used a softening filter to make it a bit more dreamy. Isn't he adorable?