Thank you 2015

Just noticed its been 6 months since my last post. Its been a big year! Photography has been busy as ever, but beyond that, I've had a lot of personal growth. I've been learning to paraglide, met an amazing partner, and am the mama of the below little devil. In addition, I've also been focused on creating panoramic collages (www.beckyremmel.com) which are something of a labor of love. 

Pup at 3 and 5 months:
 

The boy paragliding with the pup: 


A few Panoramics (more at www.beckyremmel.com):


 

What you see is what you get: Continuous Lighting

I haven't done a blog post in some time... I guess no news, is good news! On a personal level, it's been a truly amazing first half of the year. On a professional level, I've been feeling a little frustrated on the technical side of things. I sat down and started thinking about why I love photographing people in studio lighting. I think its because its just the two of us. A way to show someone's most simple, beautiful self. I've been using flash (strobe) lights because I was told thats how things are done. The problem for me with strobe lights is that you can't just look at someone and see what's going on with the lighting. You have to take the picture, stun them with a bright light, then look / hope that things worked out. All with the pressure of performing. It's not a particularly natural or comforting experience for either of us and it breaks my heart when someone isn't happy with their photos.

I scoured the internet for a complex and likely expensive solution to the problem then skipped on over to a camera store. The lighting section has always intimidated me. There are jaw dropping price tags dangling from intimidating looking mechanics. And, people that talk about lighting / cameras are obsessive... they know things and hope for the same level of enthusiasm from those that walk in the door. I was nervous, but straight forward and honest about what I wanted to achieve. I walked out with a $130 LED continuous lighting setup (it was probably the least expensive item in the entire section... my strobes cost 5 times that). It's simple, can be carried in a tiny little case, and I love it. It's perfect for my needs. I talked a good friend into coming over for some test shots. Being able to just look at her and know what I was shooting was a bit of a game changer for me. Simple and beautiful. Thanks Deb :-) 

Tis the Season

A few months ago I got to thinking... I have all the equipment, and love taking pictures of people having a good time, so why not do photo booths? Its been silly fun. Below are a few samples of what's ensued. Parties include the Wikia holiday party, Yuppie Friday Toy Drive, Galvanize Ugly Sweater Party and the Guardsmen Tree Lot Party. 

Yelp! (in a good way)

Well... Snap-Shoppe is Yelp official. I emailed some past clients to see if they wouldn't mind writing a review, not realizing how I'd smile reading each one: http://www.yelp.com/biz/snap-shoppe-san-francisco

Positive Optimism: Over 1000

I was recently introduced to the term "Positive Optimism". The idea is to keep pushing towards a goal and believing in it. Part of it is skill, a bit of luck, and a lot of blind determination. 

When I started out, I met with a life coach who asked what the biggest goal I could think of accomplishing in 6 months would be. "Shoot for the moon" type of question. I thought... heck, it would be amazing to photograph 1,000 head shots in that time. It was an arbitrary number that seemed wildly far away. I think I had photographed 10 friends at the time. Two weeks ago I had an amazing event at Oracle photographing some beautiful ladies at a Women in Leadership event... afterwards I thought that it may be a good time to start adding up numbers to see how close to my goal I was. 1,061! 

I have a long way to go to bring this business as far as I'd like to take it, but am thrilled to have set a goal and accomplished it. Thanks to everyone that's participated thus far. I've loved photographing each and every one of you. 

Interns...

Had a busy week of intern fun. First, started out at LinkedIn with a photo booth for "Bring your Parent(s) to Work Day". Each of the interns were given a plane ticket for one of their folks to come out and tour the offices. At the photo booth we had some silly chotchkies for them to select from. Was awesome to see such proud mamas and papas. 

A few days later headed over to Genentech where all of their interns were given advice on how to spruce up their LinkedIn profiles, including a head shot. We were in a little bit of a pinch for space, so ended up using a hallway wall as the backdrop. I'm learning that improvising and flexibility are key. The interns were awesome and a really positive group, as I think their photos represent.   

San Francisco Sunset

I spend a lot of time chasing sunrises and sets. Below is from a rooftop on Russian Hill. It's a 360 panoramic of the city skyline and my first photo installation in about a decade. Feels great to be creating art pieces again. It's home is now at RocketStudios which is a part of the RocketSpace incubator downtown (and where I work most days).