Monica's Graduation Photo Shoot

Since probably a year ago before I left UC San Diego, a former co-worker told me that I had to take her graduation pictures when the time comes around next year. It's absolutely crazy how time flies by because it's been a year since I moved away from San Diego and my life has changed immensely (so I think). So I made a trip down to San Diego, and I actually do so frequently, probably once a month whether it's to catch up with friends or attend a concert. Monica was so fun to shoot with because her genuine smile in front of the camera. And to add, she has an inner "thugness" that unleashing in many of the shots I took of her. UC San Diego is ginormous campus and out of the 6 colleges that the school is made of, we were probably only in 2-3 areas. I wanted to take even more pictures, but we were short on time. I'm very familiar with the campus so that helped out a lot when it came to picking locations to shoot at. Here were some of my favorite shots.



Everyone wears the same colored sash, but depending on what college you are from (which is chosen almost randomly when you accept going to UCSD) the tassel color is different. Monica is from Muir and their color is green. The college is all for being eco-friendly yet they have three towering buildings that makes me think otherwise.

I love her genuine smile in this shot and this picture is just effortless.

Graffiti Hall was a must to take pictures at because of her inner "thugness". I've had a shoot here before so I was very familiar with this area. I find it very easy to find my shots at Graffiti Hall.

I've been meaning to get a fisheye lens for some time now. Fisheye lens can range in price and they can actually get very pricey. For something that I just want to experiment with, I opt for something cheaper where you must use an adaptor to connect this fisheye lens to another lens.

On top of that, I decided to splurge and buy a new lens. The Rokinson 85M-C is a great lens for shots like these. It takes a lot of practice because the lens only has manual focus so you have to be very precise. I had a hard time (and still am) because I'm used to using my main lens, which is a wide-angle lens. With my Rokinson, I have to stand so far from my subject. In total, I have 5 lenses and I'm planning on buying another one to go with the fisheye lens because none of my other lenses fit the fisheye (I had attached it to the lens that my friend's camera came with when I borrowed it). And because I planned on using different lenses for the photo shoot, I borrowed a friend's camera. So I carried two cameras around.

This is my absolute favorite shot for the entire photo shoot. I think it's because it's the only one where she isn't wearing a cap and gown so this picture makes it more personable. I put in a lot of time editing my pictures and my brother stuck through 5 hours of giving me critiques on how I should go about editing.

These shots are always difficult for me because of my height. Sometimes I'm awkwardly on top of my subject (with permission) and a lot of times I'm not looking through the view finder. I'm thinking of investing in a lightweight step stool to carry around during photo shoots. There's so many props and such that I want to get. I also need to invest in a good camera bag to carry around.

This awesome red chair is in Revelle College, hidden behind CLICS Library. The school has a lot of hidden art pieces around campus like the buddha statues in Marshall I believe, this chair in Revelle, the stone bear in Warren, and many other things.





Taking pictures with buildings in this matter is rather difficult. But this shot worked out so perfectly. UCSD is known for its spaceship-like/tower-from-Inception library.

When I started out having photo shoots, I never intricately planned my photo shoots. It was just something I did for fun with any of my girlfriends. I'd dress them up and we'd go to a location and take pictures. Even I'd join in for some pictures, but more so recently, I'm strictly just the photographer and I dress in comfy clothes. It was about a year ago when I thoroughly planned out what I wanted for the graffiti hall shoot. I came to the location prior to see what I had to work with, I had an assistant, and I planned the outfits. Still, I do a lot of winging and last minute things (it's in my nature).

These numbers were the one thing that I especially wanted for the graduation photo shoot. I've developed a small collection of props for photo shoots and it'd be a dream to have my own room full of just props. Then again, it's another dream to have my own studio. And of course, I thought occurred and my brother helped make it real.

Note: This website is a developing photography inspired/fashion inspired website.