Where does the time go? Hopefully it was spent building memories. Emma, two words, WEAR SUNSCREEN.

Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of ’10 If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be
it. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable
than my own meandering experience…I will dispense this advice now. Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh nevermind; you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded. But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked….You’re not as fat as you imagine. Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday. Do one thing everyday that scares you Sing Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts, don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours. Floss Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind…the race is long, and in the end, it’s only with yourself. Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how. Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements. Stretch Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life…the most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they
wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don’t. Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone. Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll have children,maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary…what ever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either – your choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s. Enjoy your body, use it every way you can…don’t be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own.. Dance…even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room. Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them. Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly. Get to know your parents, you never know when they’ll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future. Understand that friends come and go,but for the precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young. Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live
in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft. Travel. Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old, and when you do you’ll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders. Respect your elders. Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out. Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time you’re 40, it will look 85. Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth. But trust me on the sunscreen…

-Baz Luhrmann

Driving on the 10 on the way to Candance and Rick’s engagement session in packed memorial day traffic today I looked over to my right and noticed a guy waving at me. Stream of conscience: First thought- he thinks he knows me. Oh god, he thinks he knows me. Just smile and wave….. wait, he’s STILL waving. He’s pointing to my rented Mazda3’s door…shoot- did he hit me and I didn’t notice??? Oh no! Tim said not to get the insurance! He wants me to roll the window down …..ugh, is he going to hit on me? or something? …it actually went something like this:

Him: “Hey! My M3 is a 2006! What’s yours???”

Me: “Ohhhh, um it’s a rental actually. But it’s a great car!”

Him: “I know!! Right??? Best. Car. Ever. Welp! Enjoy, Drive on, my Mazda friend!”

Me: “Have a great day!” (continue chugging along on the 10….)

These kind of interactions with others make me feel alive. They remind me I am not alone in the world, that there are billions of other people out there with lives, stories, loved ones, pasts, futures- and Mazda 3’s. It’s easy to get caught up in your own little universe- get a little self involved, but to me, life is really about your interactions with others. Life is so much better when you are aware that you are not the center of the universe. All of these people, driving on the 10 freeway on Memorial Day off to where ever to do whatever and me and that man and his Mazda 3 had a little connection. Perhaps our paths will never cross again- perhaps we’ll be in the same place at the same time and not know it … but as a different Rick (Blaine) would say, “We’ll always have the 10 freeway on Memorial Day.”

A little gem from today. Rick, you’re a lucky guy!

“There is no use trying” said Alice, “One can’t believe impossible things.”

“I dare say you haven’t had much practice” said the Queen. “When I was your 
age, I always did it for an hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many
 as six impossible things before breakfast.”

-Lewis Carroll-

To my mother, to my aunt, to my grandmother, to all the women who have been mothers of sorts to me throughout my life; thanks for helping me always believe in the impossible.

Here’s to Ruby, a recent soon-to-be-mother I had the honor of photographing- Her little June should be here soon and I can’t wait to meet her!

Clients, enjoy the photos- sorry if you don’t understand/care about the text

I officially started shooting weddings in the summer of 2005. I was interning at a studio in Hollywood and met the person who would teach me almost everything I know about weddings today, Laura Grier. I was still in school, California State Long Beach, studying away to get my degree in Fine Art Photography, and was looking for a fun, creative way to make some money on the side of my other almost full time job at A&I Photographic….

I’ve been getting a lot of questions from people recently about how/when I started…. I can’t tell you that it hit me one day that I was supposed to do this, or that I’ve always wanted to shoot weddings, or even that weddings are what I’ll be shooting 10 years down the road. I can tell you this though, it was years of trial and error, experience, and about 5 photo jobs down the line…..To give you an idea of my timeline, I started shooting for Laura in 2005 and didn’t start my own photo business until 2007. I 2nd shot for 3 years while still going to college for photography, worked at a pro-photo lab called A&I for 3+ years, interned at a some pro photographers-studios, and worked for the art department of a CondeNast Magazine all before deciding to do this full time.

The industry needs to start being honest. Businesses don’t grow over night and photography is a learned skill. The most important thing about your work is the happiness of your clients. Let’s all start focusing on our own work, shall we? In order to dive back into how I felt about weddings when I first started shooting I recently dug out a bunch of prints from the first wedding I ever photographed. I don’t have many of the images because they were on film and the negatives were not mine to keep since I was 2nd shooting but I was able to snag a few prints for my portfolio at the time and I’m so glad I kept ‘em.

I’ve learned a lot since then- pretty sure most of these were shot at around F8 but I don’t think I did so bad?

Shannon over at The Maternal Lens posted my answers to some questions and highlighted my work today! If you care what my answer to this questions was, go check it out- and bookmark their blog, they showcase some really great photographers and share lots of great photo info!

Low Down Throw Down with Meg Perotti

Question: What is your greatest post processing tip that you are willing to share?

Thanks to Heather for that profile pic