Oliver Henry Photography - Portrait - Kristen Yoon

Meet Kristen Yoon.  Kristen is a working a working professional, a Padres fan, a passionate cupcake baker, an athlete, and a aspiring model.  And she is competing in the 2012 Miss Greater San Diego Pageant.

Kristen was an absolute pleasure to photograph.  She was a professional and made the session very fun.  We bounce ideas back and forth between us and made it work.

We did the photoshoot on a Carlsabd beach on a humid Sunday afternoon.  When we first began the sky and scenery was not really appealing.  This posed somewhat of a challenge.  Usually when I first arrive at a location, I look around to is what would make a great background for photography.

At the Carlsbad beach, I had a power plant to the north, lifeguard towers and people to the south, a not so interesting sky.  So it was slim pickings for the moment.  But I had to make due with what I was given.  Luckily for me, Kristen was a beautiful woman that would make any scene wonderful.

The first part of the session, I began photographing Kristen on the rocky pebble slope that paralleled the beach we where on.  I choose this location first because Kristen had a great looking dress on and I wanted something to help compliment the dress.  The slope had rounded pebbles, which made it a challenge to climb, and lots of ice plant which I thought would make it look as if Kristen was photographed in a different place other than a beach.  To further help create the vision of being in another place I decided to use off-camera lighting to light up Kristen and give the clouds a more stormy look.  The end result is the stormy jungle-like picture above.

Next, Kristen and I decided that we should change her outfit into something more "beachy" and casual.  Now the image below is a completely different feel and look when compared to the stormy picture above.  However both of these pictures where taken only 10 feet away from each other.  And for this casual beach shot i decided to use natural diffused lighting aka the sun behind the clouds to light Kristen.  By simply changing location, clothing, and using a different light source, you can easily change the look and feel of a picture.

The last set of Kristen's session made for a more dramatic setting.  Earlier, I mentioned that the sky was not interesting when we arrived.  However the one thing I've learned over the years sometimes the best pictures come to those who wait and anticipate.  When we first arrive I notice that there were some clouds and there was a potential for them to be great when it was sunset.  So we did the other portions of the session and waited for the sun to set.  And the end result is the fiery sunset picture of Kristen below.

The sunset photograph of Kristen was captured because we waited and anticipated that the sky would erupt in color during sunset so when the time was right we were prepared to photograph it.  To capture the sunset image above, I used the environment and off camera lighting.  The sun provided the colors in the clouds and warmth of the picture and the off camera lighting was to camera right, held by Kristen's boyfriend and triggered with Pocketwizards.  And the image above is the end result.

With a simple techniques, knowing how to use your equipment, a great assistant, a vision, and an outstanding model, it is easy to make images that you are proud of photographing.

I have to say thanks to Kristen, her boyfriend Brody,  and my friend Hasseb (who setup the shoot).  These set of pictures would not have been possible without them.  

I would also like to wish Kristen the best as she competes for the 2012 Miss Greater San Diego Pageant.  And check out Kristen's website at: http://beautytranspired.blogspot.com/