The art of group photography
I remember the first time I covered a quinceañera. There were 9 Chambelanes, for those who don’t know Chambelanes are the Escorts for the quinceañera, often helping throughout the day and participating in a traditional waltz dance. Anyways. shooting 9 Chambelanes and one quinceañera is challenging because you don’t have an even number on each side. I didn’t know what I was doing so the photos came out “meh”. Over the months, dare I say years, I have mastered group photography so I am going to share some tips and techniques with you guys. This is useful for both photographers and people who are having events. (I.e. Weddings, Quinces, etc.)
Establish Authority: The Bride or Quinceañera along with the photographer should work together on establishing authority. What I mean by establishing authority is having that command presence of telling people where to stand and how to pose. Most people get comfortable as long as you say somehting that kind of makes sense.
Height Order: If you align the group to height order you usually form a triangle. Triangles are your friends when it comes to putting a group photo together. Always use height order too much mix&match just looks weird.
Have a name for your “go to” poses: I have an infinite amount of names for different poses. Make sure you use names people know or that they can relate to. I’ll list a few you probably know of; “ White girl poses, Charlies angels, Arms crossed, Everybody jump on 3, Gang signs, The bro hug, Sweet victory. These are jsut some ideas and it usually gets people going!
Maria & Bruno and the beginning of an ERA
Maria & Bruno were my first couple that was affected by Covid 19 back in the spring. They were also one of the first people to hire me as a wedding photographer, booking me nearly 2 years before the actual wedding day, which was October 24, 2020. Since then I have been booked nearly every weekend.
I have heard of the nightmares of working as a wedding photographer. They said it was stressful, tedious, and sometimes not worth the time but I have had a blast working as a wedding photographer and I think that is because I know how to pick the good ones and also I’m a hard worker (Latino Genes). That is why I want to take the time to show my clients some love! You guys are awesome and a joy to work with. I expect great things for 2021! I ran out of things to say but in the meantime enjoy these photos of Maria & Bruno.
What is photography to me?
Photography has never been about the science to me, even though I know science plays a major role in the art. To me, photography is always about a feeling. I don’t feel emotions when I’m on a set with a backdrop and lights, when I’m supposed to force something to happen. I prefer to be in the moment——shooting life as it passes me by, without being able to control it. Photography has taught me not only to appreciate every moment but also to be more aware of my surroundings. I’ll forever be grateful for that.
Info:
Engagement session
Maria Flor y Santiago
Location: Alda’s Magnolia Hill
Shooting in 100% humidity
Coming in to this photoshoot I knew it was HOT. I realized i had messed up when i had been out for only 5 minutes and my shirt was completely drenched in sweat. Anyways I appreciate the fact that everyone pushed through and accomplished the mission. Check out all of our photos.
Photographers: Luis Bravo , Omar de Leon, Juan Inez Valdes
Model: Sarah Houchin
__________________________________
What does Red mean to you? For me, it is anger, love, courage, and security. It is courage, a symbol of success and triumph but be careful, because red is blood and also strength. You have to learn to let go to stop hurting yourself. In China, red is a color that is related to good luck and long life.
Photos by: Luis Bravo
Photos by: Omar de Leon
Photos by Juan Inez Valdes
The Rhodes
I met Elena & Jude about a year ago. I figured they were nerds like myself because we were kind of good at Physics which is where we met in a Physics Lab at UALR. Both of them were actually my lab partners or whatever so there was plenty of time to get to know each other.. Anyways, a few months later they asked me to shoot their wedding.
There were a lot of unexpected things at their weddings, in other words it was very unorthodox. One of the things that I liked the most was how everyone talked about God. How much they love him and how much they want him in their Lives. That is just something that is inspiring to me because you don’t see a lot of that and I wish I did.
Elena & Jude, I wish you guys the very best.
Jasmin: First Quinceañera of 2019
I Traveled 2 hours down to El Dorado, Arkansas to cover this beautiful event. Per usual, we arrive an hour before the event to get shots and footage of everything happening prior to the event and we received a warm welcome in to the Olvera Home. From there the real challenge was getting multiple shots of 15 people. Jasmin had 14 Chambelanes. For my non spanish speakers, chambelan is an escort. Thankfully the chambelanes were cooperative and my fatherly instincts didn’t have to come out. So Omar and I thank the Olvera family for bringing us in to the El Dorado area and we hope to be back soon.
Check out some of the photos below.
First Look at the ProFoto B10
Trying out the new B10s by Profoto was a success. First the location was a perfect one because we were able to play around with the lights and bounce them off the walls. I highly recommend to check out this street if your in the area. Also, thanks to Profoto’s light shaping tools, we were able to get the effect of a sunset and other special lighting effects. For a while I’ve been thinking about sharing some of the techniques and behind the scenes of the shoots that we put together in a video. For now all I have are some photos but I do want to create some videos for you guys so you can get a better idea of what goes down during our photo sessions. Once again shout out to Betsy Reyes for coming through with a dope outfit and for with standing a 3 hour photoshoot. Lastly, I am promoting myself as a wedding photographer so if you have any friends, family, or even yourself, hit me up. 619-452-8581
Check out the photos below.
Model: Betsabe Reyes
Photographers: Luis Bravo, Omar De Leon, Juan Inez Valdes
Gear Used: (2) ProFoto B1x (2) ProFoto B10 Canon 6d mii I Canon EOS R I Nikon D810
Location: Searcy, Arkansas
1936 Coleman Lanterns I Glory Hole in Arkansas
So my friend Evan has a 1945 Coleman 242b lantern and a 1936 Coleman quicklite 427 lantern. We decided to hit the Ozark mountains in Arkansas an do a little exploring. 1.8 miles later and 31 degrees colder we finally made it to the famous glory hole. Luckily these lanterns put out about 800 degrees of heat so we were able to keep our hands warm enough to take a few good pictures. It was a little difficult because the water over the rocks ended up freezing causing the way down to the glory hole difficult and dangerous. Below are a few good shots we were able to get in the dark. The time was approximately 10:45 an it was pitch dark. The only thing giving out light was these lanterns. I do suggest you go out there when there is day light, The possibility of you falling off a cliff does exist.
Andrea & Diego
Andrea is like my number one fan. I don’t think there is a post of mine that she hasn’t liked. Which is why I wanted the opportunity to shoot such an important memory.
Andrea and Diego braved through blistering winds, vicious rain, and great heights to kill this shoot. I’m not kidding guys, I was miserable the whole time I was on that cliff so I can only imagine what they were going through. On the bright side, Diego got some classes on how to pose and be more romantic. You’re welcome Andrea. Anyways, check out the photos below, we got like 90 shots in total but I’m only going to put like 20 for suspense purposes.
