e-session coming up soon in so cal

[wasabean]

hey guys, so i'll be doing an e-session for one of my best friend next month. i'm from so cal and i'm trying to come up with a list of places to shoot and what kind of shots I/they want for their album. my equipment includes: 5D, 24-70L, 85 1.8, 430ex, 580ex II, tripod, 2x lightstands w/ 32" umbrellas, 4-in-1 westcott reflectors w/ reflector arm, 3 pocket wizard II and some other stuff. i think i have all the equipment i'll need, but now i just need some ideas of shots and places.

i know venice beach has this graffiti wall that seems pretty cool to use a background or prop, santa monica pier has the carnival kind of place w/ the ferris wheel. theres always the arberitum in arcadia but they charge $175 for 3 hours i believe. theres always old town pasadena where city hall is or where the library is, but i'm not sure if they require a fee to shoot there.

so how do you guys plan your day and photo session? i have from 3pm - night, so i was thinking saving the beach locations for the sunset/night and use the afternoon for some urban city shots.

do you ever use your light stands, off-camera flash setup, relectors and such?

[FamilyJules]

Are you in the L.A. area? "southern California" is a pretty big area.... tell me what you're close to

[wasabean]

i'm about 10mins east of downtown LA.

[shapellidu]

What about Kenneth Hahn Park on La Cienega Blvd, it's such a beautiful place with ducks, water and if you go at noon it's almost empty. Another place could be the residential area of Venice beach, where you get this very green water rivers, ducks and the bridges.

[wasabean]

theres a green water river in venice beach? i never knew!

[wasabean]

also, is it uncommon to ask the couple to bring extra changes of clothes. or different outfits?

[FamilyJules]

wasa-

I'm not too familiar with many L.A. areas, but the Santa Monica pier would be a great place to shoot.... just make sure it's during the week, so that your subjects don't have such a big audience. Try Echo Park.... I hear that's a pretty spot.
Redondo Beach has some great areas, too!
And no, it is not uncommon at all to ask the couple to bring an extra change of clothes.... in fact, most of my couple bring 1-3....(A nicer outfit, a casual one, and possible "matching" outfits)
steer them away from busy patterns or really loud colors. Make sure that they are wearing something that they are comfortable in.... otherwise it'll show in their photos.

Good luck!

[wasabean]

ah, thanks for the tips jules! i would like to shoot on the weekday, but i have a 9-5day job and only have time on the weekend, so i guess i'll just have to improvise.

[FamilyJules]

ah, thanks for the tips jules! i would like to shoot on the weekday, but i have a 9-5day job and only have time on the weekend, so i guess i'll just have to improvise.

no prob :) happy to help.... I was in your shoes just 1 short year ago, and this place saved my life... so I am happy to give back in any way that I can

[FamilyJules]

Oh, and as for off camera lighting, I just use 1 580 ex as a slave to my 580ex II, if at all... it's hard to lug all of that equipment, especially if you are shooting in a city atmosphere where you are moving from spot to spot.... I find that I don't usually need all of that equipment... it just slows me down and makes it harder to catch the "moments"

[wasabean]

Oh, and as for off camera lighting, I just use 1 580 ex as a slave to my 580ex II, if at all... it's hard to lug all of that equipment, especially if you are shooting in a city atmosphere where you are moving from spot to spot.

how do you go about setting up your off camera lighting then? do you just find a place to set it down, or do you just bring around one light stand.

[FamilyJules]

Well, fortunately my husband comes along to every shoot and assists me.... so he drags my stands around, holds the diffusers, grabs my bags.... I'm a lucky girl, lol.
I couldn't imagine lugging this stuff around if I was doing it myself

[polobreaka]

wasa-

Try Echo Park.... I hear that's a pretty spot.


Echo Park is dirty! its really not that pretty.

Huntington Library is nice, but i think you have to pay.

not sure how far you're willing to travel, OC have nice spots like huntington beach, balboa island.
theres a tide pool by balboa island that ive seen photographers used for some family event.

[wasabean]

Echo Park is dirty! its really not that pretty.

Huntington Library is nice, but i think you have to pay.

not sure how far you're willing to travel, OC have nice spots like huntington beach, balboa island.
theres a tide pool by balboa island that ive seen photographers used for some family event.

oh yeah, laguna beach has a tide pool, one of my original plans was to go there. i don't really want to go any where that requires a fee, so mayb some public beach, joshua national park (if its not too hot), griffth park, etc..

[FamilyJules]

I don't know how far you're willing to go, but since you said Joshua park, I figured you're open for some travel...
The RR station down in San Juan Capistrano is a FANTASTIC place to shoot! There's a Mission just down there, too...

[wasabean]

yeah, i don't mind driving at all really. i actually wanted to avoid shooting @ joshua tree park bc it'll be uber hot when i do my shoot (june). is that trainstation decommissioned? i don't want us to get run over by a train when i do a shoot on the tracks LOL

[Philco]

Venice is cool - some of the murals are great depending on the time of day. You can get some nice light bouncing into the back alley's and you can find fun things to do, like try on sunglasses or hats. Last time I shot on the Santa Monica peir, a permit was required. You may want to check into that - same with the beaches in Laguna. Probably not a big deal unless you are putting down lightstands. I generally keep monoblocks in the trunk if I get a good sunset, but otherwise reflectors work well for me.

[wasabean]

awe, you need permits to shoot. how much does it cost to obtain a permit? or where can i get more info on obtaining permits?

[scslmd]

awe, you need permits to shoot. how much does it cost to obtain a permit? or where can i get more info on obtaining permits?

Each respective city has their "professional" photography permits but makes exceptions to them for "amateur" photographers. The following was taken from the Newport Beach permit: http://www.city.newport-beach.ca.us/revenue/FormsFAX_docs/film_permit_app.pdf

Exceptions
The following groups are not required to obtain a film permit: amateur photographers and people working for a news service including reporters, photographers or cameramen. A news service is defined as a radio broadcasting station, television station or similar entity engaged in on the spot broadcasting, reporting or photographing of news concerning those persons, scenes or occurrences, which are in the news or of a general public interest.
Reference: Section 5.046.020, Newport Beach Municipal CodeCheck out this thread for some more details: http://photography-on-the.net/forum/archive/index.php/t-365591.html

[polobreaka]

also check out whittier narrows off the 60 fwy by rosemead/elmonte. they have a huge lake. go during the week because its empty, weekend i think they charge.

[redbaron66]

Also there is the funky area along Melrose in LA, anad Doheny Beach area near Dana Point. There's a small fee for shooting in the San Jaun Capistrano Mission but the backgrounds are super. Old mission, with tons of personallity.

[kanji1a]

my 2cent, there's allot of dynamic places to shoot in SoCal, since everything is an 1 1/2 hours away, if you're close to downtown LA like you said. There's the mountains like Wrightwood with lots of pine trees and fresh air. There's also Malibu scenery or Santa Barbara, laid back type living quality. There's the gorgeous city of Palos Verdes, There's the missionary of San Juan Capistrano, and Long Beach. OR, a few minutes from you, you can go to Little Tokyo or China town or the Garment District. Its all up to you to what you or your client are looking for.

[wasabean]

hey guys, so its been about 3 weeks after i did my very first e-session for my friends. we went to 3 locations, lacy park (san marino), long beach, and laguna beach. here are some pictures from that day, please let me know what you think, again, thanks for all your help and suggestions..these havent been completely edit, just some white bal and some exposure adjustments. thanks!

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http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3622/3741446638_dc12f5607c_o.jpg

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http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2601/3741446912_c3911e985b_o.jpg

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http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2588/3741452880_8fd0b5f758_o.jpg

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http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3440/3741454114_4fc32713c3_o.jpg

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http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2435/3741454502_0eb46c31a7_o.jpg

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[img[http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2516/3741558012_ea265d25f7_o.jpg[/img]