Specializing in Headshots & Event Photography
Jacob and his mom wanted to get his senior pics done by a lake, so a trip over to Fairmount Park was in order, as well as going to downtown Riverside for some “industrial” looks as well. Jacob was just a bit nervous and stiff at first, but once he relaxed, he got into the rhythm of the session. Congrats, Jacob!
Grocery Outlet is the nation’s largest extreme value Grocery Store with 270+ independently operated stores in California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Washington. Michael Thomas Photography was on hand to document the grand opening of one of the chain’s newest stores in Lake Elsinore, CA. Lots of excitement and a very impressive store. Stop by and give them your business!
Shirley & Charles celebrated Shirley’s 60th birthday by announcing to the invited guests during the middle of the party that they had indeed tied the knot two weeks earlier, catching everyone off guard. I was fortunate to document the event for the happy couple. It was a fun party and two great reasons to celebrate last Saturday.
I had planned a vacation back in early summer to spend a few days in Las Vegas in October, followed by a few days camping on the beach south of Coronado near San Diego. Little did we know that a crazed lunatic would open fire on a crowd of unsuspecting concert goers at the Route 91 Country Music festival across the Las Vegas Strip from the Mandalay Bay Hotel just a couple of days before the vacation was to start.
After some soul searching, it was decided that we would still go as planned. The mood in town was, to say the least, somber. The Strip was closed near the venue until Wednesday following the massacre, and the gawkers were streaming northbound creating a real traffic mess. I drove south on the strip to head back to my hotel and I saw groups of mourners gathered at the makeshift memorial at the famous “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign. It was time to document what I had been seeing on the streets. After capturing people in various stages of mourning, I left the memorial feeling very quiet and introspective, just imagining what those innocent victims must have gone through. Stay #VegasStrong, people of Vegas!
My friend Vicki owns a beautiful two story condo in San Clemente. She advertises on VRBO and needed to update the photos on their website. Being a big fan of the beach, how can I say no? I am also a big fan of architectural photography, so off we went to spend the day at the beach to take photos of Vicki’s upstairs unit between guest stays.
Each area of photography is unique and takes a lot of practice to master, but I’ve always wanted to try my hand at this genre. Unlike portrait photography, architectural images require a whole new mindset. For instance, you can’t ask a sofa to turn slightly to the left or right to show it’s best side. You either need to move the furniture around or reposition yourself without cutting anything out that needs to be shown in the photo. You also have to expose for the room, but make sure that the views out the windows aren’t “blown out” (overexposed) at the same time.
Vicki loved the pics, and you can see her beautiful condo at VRBO: https://www.vrbo.com/118004 I’ll be going back later this year to redo the downstairs condo photos for Vicki soon. You’ll have a great stay at the beach in San Clemente any time of the year, so check it out!
