AustinFaustography.com

Pin-Up Portfolios Part 2- Abbey & Malila @ The Pin-Up Parlor – Berkeley, Ca

austinfausto — Tue, 10 May 2011 03:31:31 +0000

Almost immediately following one of the hottest shoots I’ve had this year with Pin-Up Portfolios , I was able to have another opportunity for a second hot session with them at The Pin-Up Parlor. This time, they invited only two beautiful women, Abbey and Malila, to be pinned up Pin-Up Portfolios style. Once again their crew did an amazing job setting up the shoot and making the pin-upee’s (is that a word?) bring out their inner pin-up model. They create these pin-ups with a sexy combination of professionalism, artistic skill, style, and swag. Props to Hair Stylist: @pinupportfolios , MUA: @projectface, & @artiffact. Well, enough talk, check out what I get to work with.

P.S. I really should show some before and afters of the models. I’ll see if I can dig some up and if not, I’ll remember to grab some for my next pin-up shoot with them.

On to the show:

Pin-Up Portfolios -The Pin-Up Parlor – Berkeley, Ca

austinfausto — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 09:05:51 +0000

After The Flash Bus Tour I was itching for a shoot. Luckily my friend Tiff of Pin-up Portfolios invited me to photograph some portfolio shots for them.

Pin-up Portfolios “capture that sexy feeling forever through a day of pin-up pampering and photography.” Pin-up portfolios consists of two Tiffany’s; Tiffany (@artiffact), Tiffany (@pinupportfolios), also the hair stylist and owner of Pin-Up Parlor , Reinee (@projectface) makeup-artist, Mike, and Eddy (photographer). For this session they had a white cloth back drop setup which I used a little with Tiffany (hairstylist – BTW shes dope and does all the pin-up hair):

, but the Pin-up Parlor I felt provided for even more interesting settings. I used their walls for a more typical pin-up headshot

then I played a little bit with their concept of house cleaning and used the shop and my lights to get the feel of after-hours cleanup at the shop.

One of my most interesting shots from that day was this

I had decided to shoot the house-cleaning shots at a different area in the shop and started to set up my lights and positioning then Eddy,the other photographer that day, pointed out sunlight that began beaming through the front of the shop. There was shiny building across the street reflecting the sunlight at the shop. He asked me what I was going to do with it. At first it started as a nuisance and I asked Eddy to hold up a reflector to block the light while I shot a few frames. As the sunlight moved he adjusted to block it, but as time passed it became less intense. At this moment I decided that we should try using it. Moving quickly I adjusted the exposure and balanced the ambient, my speedlights, and the sunlight through the window. With only a few minutes for a good capture I was able to grab one that was usable.

Here are a few more photos from this shoot:

Comedian: Joey Guila, San Francisco

austinfausto — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 08:58:18 +0000

At our event shoot for AADP’s 2011 Laugh for Lives comedy benefit show I got a chance to squeeze in a mini potrait session in between acts with comedian Joey Guila. Joey is one hell of a comedian and he’s also a TV Host of Myx Rated on Myx. Hella cool right? I asked him if he would want to have a quickie portrait session after his set and he quickly agreed. That night his lovable and comedic persona carried on from the stage to this backstage photo shoot:

Recap and Mini-Review of The Flash Bus Tour 2011- David Hobby – Joe McNally – San Francisco, CA

austinfausto — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 06:49:52 +0000

Strobist & McNally - http://www.theflashbus.com/

~~Two of~~ the biggest names in off-camera flash (speedlight) photography set off to do a tour in the US together this year, David “Strobist” Hobby and Joe McNally. Of course I had to register for this rockstaresque seminar right away to make sure I make it. Then a couple hundred dollars off my credit card ( I bought the “Lighting with Layers” DVD also btw) and a few months later; David Hobby (Strobist.com) and Joe McNally arrived in San Francisco on a cold rainy morning to preach their off-camera flash philosophies fresh off their tour bus dubbed “The Flash Bus”.

As an avid strobist blog reader and a Canonista (they both shoot Nikon) I tend to prefer David’s methods (manual) over Joe’s (ttl). I have read McNally’s “The Moment it Click’s” and “Hotshoe Diaries” and have been a fan of his work ever since. This sold out crowd at the South San Francisco convention center was just as excited as I was to see what we had in store for us for the next few hours. I learned A LOT and came out inspired to create some awesome images. I didn’t take many photos from that day but the few that I do have show a bit of Joe and David’s seminar.

Was there any free stuff? YES! We got a swag bag courtesy of Adorama and filled with swag from The Flash Bus (TFB sticker), thinkTank photo (memory card holder), Lumiquest (ultra strap), Rosco (gel set), Datacolor (notebook) and Frio (coldshoe). Everyone who registered got a bag, BUT that wasn’t all they gave away. Throughout the seminars McNally and Hobby had a handful of give-aways. None of which I was able to add in addition to my swag bag. From what I remember they gave away memory cards, card readers, justin clamps, and reflectors. Oh well next time I’ll snag something.

David Hobby’s talk consisted of breaking down different photo shoots that he created. He spoke of his thought process and what he does pre-shoot, during shoot, and post shoot. He throughly went through how he acheived his images along with troubles he had along the way and how he solved them. One thing I really got from his talk was how he looks back at what he did and how he could have done better. His final images were great, but he also stressed the need to “tear down” your great photos afterwards and find ways to improve on the created images and take note of your setup in order to be able to replicate it when needed. Below are two images from David’s talk. He would accompany his break down with images of the setup, this is probably my favorite out of all his examples. To make a long story short he got an opera singer to sing in the shower with the shower running (mad props for that one!). Building rapport with a client to the point that they trust you enough to stick them in a shower is now on my bucket list.

Headlining the show was Joe McNally. Here’s a shot of a “portion” of his gear.

Joe McNally had more of a live demo using his assistant, models, and volunteers in the crowd. I have never really seen TTL being used to this degree but his method really made for a quick and dynamic shoot, granted he is Joe McNally and has dedicated assistants. An example of how McNally structured his talk is, he would start of with about two speedlights explain his reasons for changes answer some questions and build up to a more complicated set up like the ones below. He seemed fairly structured but he also allowed for a casual type shoot in which he would change things on the fly depending on how he felt.

At the end of the day both Joe and David answered questions about anything and everything.

In conclusion, I enjoyed the Flash Bus Tour and am looking forward to next year’s.

Children’s Concert at The Cathedral of Christ the Light – Oakland, California

austinfausto — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 06:47:10 +0000

Check out this church! I think I may go back there one day and take more photos. There are a lot of compelling patterns and lines throughout this whole church. Anyways, on to why I was taking photos there. My friend Will found, through his work, a posting for photographer volunteers for a childrens concert at a church and he asked me to photography the event with him. The concert consisted of a few different churches in the diocese showcasing their children’s choirs and music programs.

AADP’s 2011 Laugh for Lives Comedy Benefit Show – San Francisco, Palace of Fine Arts

austinfausto — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 08:14:02 +0000

Each year we (The PhotoBlock) shoot a few events with the Asian American Donor Program. One of which is the Laugh for Lives comedy benefit show, one of my most favorite events to cover. Comedians that night included: Kabir “Kabeezy” Singh, Paul Kim, Joey Guila (UPDATE: check out his mini portrait shoot here), and Steve Byrne. The energy and vibe at this year’s event was even more positive than it’s ever been. The comedians were incredible, the crowd was ROFL, and people were inspired to register for the national marrow registry! Learn even more about them and REGISTER yourself here: http://www.aadp.org/pages/register.php

Here are some of my event / photo booth photos from that night:

And here are some candids from that night as well (Photographer: Aldrin Bulayo):

Las Vegas Engagement Photoshoot with Matt and Victoria

austinfausto — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 03:55:45 +0000

What to do in Vegas before that 3 o’clock check-in? Appropriate breakfast libations? Possibly . How bout engagement session at the sexy new Cosmopolitan Hotel? Yes please.

(on our way to the Cosmopolitan ( the one 2nd to the right behind the Prada store) you see the newer additions to the Las Vegas strip)

It started out as just being a friend’s 25th birthday celebration weekend in this notorious city, but last minute, an engagement shoot was added. Matt and Victoria’s session was nothing short of a great time with a fun loving couple. We started around the lobby of the Cosmopolitan for a few photos then headed to a couple other beautiful locations in the hotel.

The Cosmopolitan matched the couples attire and style for their session. The overabundance of design and elegance at this hotel is clearly fit for Vegas, not to mention the limitless possibilities it carries for great shots.
Following the shoot at the Cosmopolitan we had lunch at the The Yard House ( side note: this place has an amazing selection of beer on tap, I think I was told this site had 136 taps! whoa!) and continued our session at the Town Square, an outdoor shopping mall.

Our 5 yr Anniversary @ Key West, Florida & Cozumel, Mexico & via Carnival Cruise Destiny Ship

austinfausto — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 07:27:32 +0000

Here are a few photos I took from my cruise with Abbey for our 5 year anniversary! W00t W00t! The photos start off at the Fort Lauderdale Airport at about 5am and 5 hours too early for a shuttle that heads to the Miami Port where we board the Carnival Destiny and head to Key West, Florida and Cozumel, Mexico. (check out a more in depth blog on our cruise plus a bit of a review on the cruise and the ship at my other blog)

Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport,

Shuttle to the Miami port.

Miami, Fl sunrise blocked by clouds

The ritual nowadays. Either tweeting, instagramming or checking in. Maybe all three.

Goodbye Miami, heading to Key West.

Towel animals, this ones a….?

Frog and floaties at a Key West store.

A is for alligator… or are those crocodiles?

Pirate outside a bar.

One of the many wild roosters running around Key West.

Saw this slot machine on a porch. Random.

Key West, man outside using his cell phone

This rickety looking house had a backyard full of scooters.

Interesting sign

Saw this man just place a Marley sticker on his stores window

The same pirate from earlier.

Abbey bought some key lime pie cupcake mix

Gotta have a photo with the hippie dog.

One of the spider-men that work this block as a street-performer. What is he playing?

The other spider man that worked Key West.

Me all ready for the formal night.

Abbey all ready for the formal dinner night.

Messing with the cameras.

One of the many photo sessions sprawled all over the boat. Cheese!

Every night towards the end of dinner the waiters and waitresses put on a little show for the guests.

More of our table mates who turned out to be awesome people to party with on the ship. No joke.

Our waitress taking the fellas for a little dance around the table.

I look moded in this picture …

Its a frog just in case you couldn’t tell.

And we’ve arrived at Cozumel Mexico!

Abbey and her beautiful dress.

Fu Lin (foolin?) Chinese Restaurant. Chinese food, Malaysia food, Tailand food, Filipinas food, Indonesia food.

The shirt to wear when you’re in Mexico.

Love the expression on this guy’s face. He’s just feeling the wind, but he really should open his eyes soon.

Abbey dolphin watching.

Dolphins always remind me of the documentary The Cove.

The weather got windy the water became very rough. And our snorkel tour got cancelled. No bueno.

Hammocks all in a row.

We tried to fit both of us on one. That didn’t last very long.

Still happy even if we didn’t get to snorkel. Although we were still bummed at the time.

So it’s our anniversary weekend and we just happen to get each other the same exact anniversary card. What are the odds?

Spotted another cruise ship off in the distance.

What Abbey looked like on the windy top deck.

Abbey through a wine glass.

Rockin For Profit

austinfausto — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 08:10:12 +0000

Last week in Oakland, I shot some photos with Aldrin & RJ for E-Team, an Oakland rap group consisting of HU, GQ, Lil’ Dame, Dirty Rel, Nardy F. Mack, Mbeez, $tix, Lil’ Lan, RO Tudda, and MeilTicket Greenbacks. Ok, well all of them weren’t there for the shoot, but we still had hella fun trying to capture their style and personality around their hometown. The next session I do with them should be with the whole crew once I get my scheduling figured out, so stay tuned. Till then check out the photos below and download their song Rockin 4 Profit here.

Aubrey London

austinfausto — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 08:05:43 +0000

This is my second pinup photo shoot with Aubrey London. Aubrey is, as she puts it, “…a TRUE LOVER of the PIN UP LIFESTYLE.” Check out her site http://aubreylondonpinup.com/

From our first shoot at Preservation Park in Oakland: