My First Doljanchi Shoot (& some tips)

Doljanchi & Some General Event Photography Tips

Dol or doljanchi is a Korean tradition that celebrates the first birthday of a baby.
Last week I shot my first Korean Dol Birthday party and it was super interesting to learn and capture this interesting tradition.

You can find out more about Doljanchi by clicking here cuz I'm not going to pretend I know everything about it..

The following images are pictures of the setting of the event, I think you'll agree that the layout was really nice, colourful and interesting

Here are some shots of the rest of the event:

All smiles on her 1st Birthday

The baby picking out an item that is supposed to represent her future

Here are some of my tips for event photography:

• Get a good idea of the location of the event (Know where you are shooting! This is common sense yet so important... haha u really don't want to be at the wrong location on the day of the event. Furthermore, getting a good idea of the location will tell you what is possible given the space i.e. if you need to use flash, if theres enough space to move about, if you should use a wide or zoomed lens... etc.)
• Understand what the event is about  (It is crucial to know what it is you are going to be capturing, this will be reflected in the images you capture. So communicate with your client and do some research, it shows that you care and it will show in your images. For this shoot which was totally foreign to me, I spent a good 3hours just doing research and finding out what doljanchi was all about and the key moments that define the event)
• Arrive early (its always a good idea to arrive early to scout the location and take some preparation/pre-event shots)
• Come prepared with the right tools for the job (depending on location and available light you are gonna want to bring the right gear. As a general rule you're gonna want to bring a fast lens i.e. low f-stop number, a flash just incase the environment is too dark, a light modifier, and extra memory cards and batteries!) 
• Come prepared with the right attitude (be positive and attentive - I always tell myself before a shoot like this:  "Ricardo, today is an important day and you are going to capture it in a way that people are going to remember forever") 
• Don't be afraid to give direction (people need direction sometimes and though you cannot ask people to repeat a key moment nor tell them to do something your way, there are times when direction is necessary such as the taking of a group/family shot during an event especially when some peoples eyes might be closed in a shot; don't be afraid to ask them if you can take another shot) 
• Use flash if necessary (but never use direct flash, instead bounce the flash off the ceiling or walls, or use a light modifier)

Well thats all I have for you guys for now... 

Till next time, Keep shooting and hope you get the shots you want! 

Keeping it Real - Why I share mostly personal work

Personal work & Professional work

The purpose of this post is to debunk the common misconception that some people (especially those who I am new to or just know be through instagram) have, which is that I only take pictures of landscapes.

I've got this question quite a few times (and don't worry its not your fault for not knowing the answer): "Oh hey Ricardo, I really like your pictures on Instagram! I was wondering if you take pictures of people/events/weddings too?" 

And well.. the answer is YES, of course I do and always have been :) 

The problem I suppose is that I usually only share my personal work on social media which is often travel and landscape photographs. It's a personal choice that I don't share any/much of my professional work that I do for clients and I'm sure some other photographers out there share my philosophy.

Heres a little break down of my philosophy on why I choose to share mostly personal work instead of professional work that clients pay me for:

I think personal work is important. (Alright hear me out cuz ur probably going oh well duh of course it is) It's not that I think professional work is unimportant, it's more a sense of self regulating the creative juices. Now let me explain what I mean by that. I think it is important not to let what you love doing especially if it is a creative thing turn into something you feel is just a job/work/a chore. By making it a point to put aside time to exercise your creative vision as a photographer and do the shots you want to do instead of constantly doing what clients want you to take, you mitigate the risk of losing passion for what you do. And because I love the personal projects I do, I feel that by sharing it, I'm letting you into the way I see the world as a photographer.

I treasure my professional work that I do for clients. I respect the work I do for my clients and that includes their privacy and allowing them to share the work I deliver to them on their own terms. And this is the reason that the media platforms I'm on rarely do any free marketing for people. For one, I don't wana be seen as some sell out who posts stuff for companies and secondly they can market themselves; thats what the pictures I deliver to them are for. "Keeping it real" is the way I see it, you gotta separate personal work from professional work and that's why I have a dedicated instagram account featuring my personal work. I'm currently thinking of setting up another account for professional work... but I'll let you know about that when the time comes.


Oh well who knows.. maybe this opinion of mine might change maybe it might not.. And maybe I'll create platforms that strictly feature professional work.. Only time will tell..

Till next time, Keep shooting and have fun!

Return to Porteau Cove

Back to Porteau Cove for more Astro-photography!

So a couple days ago, photography partner Josie Baik and I decided to go back to Porteau Cove in North Vancouver to star gaze and do some Astro-photography (And let me just say it was frikin awesome!). As some of you might know, I went to Porteau Cove just a couple of days before that but wasn't too happy with the shots I got because of the conditions (got cloudy real fast) and the fact that there were soo mannyyy people there as well. Hence we decided to try our luck and I'm glad to say it paid off.

We had a good time taking some shots and I also took the chance to capture some panoramas of the starry starry night sky. It was truly beautiful and something everyone should experience (though if you really can't make the trip then I hope that my photos allow you to imagine how beautiful it actually was)

So without further ado, here are the panoramas I took of the breathtaking night sky: 

Sadly the clouds did end up coming in 2 hours into our shoot (marking the end of our adventure)

Ooh we also attempted to do some light painting tho Josie wasn't really good at this as you can tell by the images.. LOL! But heck it was good fun :) 

And thats how you spell Josie

Apparently thats what a heart is supposed to look like 

I think this turned out quite decently loL

Here are some other shots I managed to capture while there, hope you like them :)

Here are some of my tips for Astro-Photography (tho I have to say first I am no pro in this area)

• Shoot in the right conditions: That means away from any light pollution/the city and a clear sky with no clouds nor moon. 
• Get like a really solid tripod (none of that cheap plastic stuff you get thrown in for free when you buy your camera kit)
• Use a shutter release cable/remote or use the timer function to minimise vibrations 
• Use a wide lens to get all that starry goodness in frame (this was all shot at 24mm)
• Open up that aperture (this was all shot at f/2.8)
• Use the 500 rule to calculate your shutter speed (take 500 divided by however wide your lens zoom is. So for me that was 500/24=20.833333333. So I was shooting 20sec exposures)
• Adjust your ISO to get your desired brightness 
• Oh and if you have a friend, bring one of those... cuz shooting stars by yourself is gonna get boring and its kinda sad (thank goodness Josie was there with me. Go check her site out: http://baiktobasics.com/blog/archive/)
• Be patient and keep shooting!

Keep Shooting and have fun!!

Exploring Downtown Vancity

Vancity Lights and Vibes

So recently I've had some time to explore and photograph Vancouver (which is one of my goals for the year since I haven't really done that). Downtown Vancouver is a really nice place with chill vibes and its a great place for photography.  

A couple weeks back I walked around Gastown  and managed to get some pretty decent shots of the area. I think I'd describe the feel of the place as a mix of rustic, hipster, good vibes town (if that even makes sense lol). Anyways here are some of the shots I took of the area towards sunset including the "Steam clock" which is pretty iconic.

Street night-lights of Gastown

Thats the steam clock I was talking about

A week later, I went back to explore the waterfront area which was close by to Gastown. I managed to get some decent pics of the area too and walked around to get different angles. I ended up walking to Canada Place to get a pretty sweet shot of the Vancouver city skyline. 

Hope you like the pics!

A couple of tips demonstrated in this series of images is to:

• Keep shooting (take a few more shots even if you think you've got the perfect one already)
• Keep Moving (just when you think you got a nice shot from one area, chances are theres a better one just around the corner, or some distance away)
• Go high and low (play around with different angles)

The final shot that I was happy and settled with, of the downtown Vancity Skyline 

Me! haha had to use remote cuz I was shooting alone.. (lol sad, I know..)

The Galaxy

Stars at Porteau Cove 

Went out on Saturday evening with a couple of friends to star gaze at a place called Porteau Cove in North Vancouver. The reason why we went there is that its far from the city and away from light pollution (photography tip for you peeps who want to get some astro-shots = go far away from any source of light pollution). Although the clouds started to roll in, about an hour or so into the night (obscuring the beauty and clarity of the stars), I was able to get some decent shots while it was clear.

Ok, so before you judge me for my astro-photography.. please note that this is my first time and conditions were not optimal, (For one, there were cars driving pass the location we were at which kept messing up my exposures. And secondly there was a huge group of people star-gazing as well on the jetty we were on, so composition options were kinda compromised).

Anyways, it was great fun and definitely an awesome experience to witness the beauty of mother nature and the galaxy. That being said, I hope you enjoy the images I've taken (and trust me when I say that the images are not photoshopped, and that there was actually THAT MANY STARS! and it was TRULY IMPRESSIVE to see in real life!)