Super Quick Blog cause I'm Super Excited!

I just got word that I will be a featured Pet Photographer in the nationally published American Dog Magazine!  I have had some of my pics published in this magazine before, but this is the first time that I have actually had a bio AND my pic in a national magazine that is distributed in stores like Barnes and Noble, Whole foods and Borders!  I am so stoked about this I can hardly contain myself!

http://issuu.com/americandogmag/docs/summer2011_new.lr

My article is on page 86 and the actual magazine will be hitting bookstands this coming month, June 2011!
Enjoy!

(pssst) keep checking in periodically as I will soon be posting about a shoot I recently did that includes a model and a popular t.v. show!

LAFMIL - Origins

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."  ~ Juliet  Romeo and Juliet (II, ii, 1-2)

I have been asked many times to repeat the name I bestowed upon my photography business.  I have been asked how to spell it, and I have been asked what it means.  Well...here is the origin of LAFMIL photography.

Aside from having been adept at snapping pics early on, and having grandeurs of actually doing something I love and living off of it, I imagined the name of my craft being something unique.  A name that would stand out from the rest.  A title that would harbor thoughts of happiness (because, after all, don't memories caught forever bring us joy?).  Much like my skill, the name evolved unto itself.

Quite literally it came to me one night whilst in a dead sleep.

Up until the time that I christened my business, I was still nurturing my love of creating images.  Knowing that forming an actual business and living off of it would mean individuality in this arena, I did not want to present the populace with the usual "John Doe" photography.  During the time I was pondering the thought of said name, we had already had a sizable fur family.  Six to be precise.  I must also include that along this beaten path we had the misfortune of losing a pup to the big "P", parvo, it becomes relevant in just a bit.  Our kiddos were the inspiration for my specializing in pet portraiture.  Capturing these pups' very essence in picture came so easy for me.  Ergo, it made sense to honor them by somehow including them in this venture.  I made an effort to include each one of their names, especially little Fred who went to the bridge after a courageous battle against the big "P" (see told you).  However, tried as I might, I could not create a sensible title for the passion that would encompass my every day upon its inception.  

As we lie asleep, our minds continue to resolve the issues of the day.  Even problems that we maintain on the back burner.  If we didn't we would quite literally go mad.  As such, my mind systematically pieced together a word that would encompass the names for each of my pups and foster happiness and that warm fuzzy feeling.  LAFMIL.  Pronounced "laugh mill" it occurred to me that it could be considered a laugh factory where laughs are made.  All while including the first initial of each of the pups and being quite unique.

What are their names?  Glad you asked...

Loretta

Augustus 

(but we just call him Beans)

Magnus

Monty

(I know, you're right, two "M"s.  But we just morphed it into one.)

Isabelle

(We call her Belle for short)  and...

Leopold

(aka...Pode)

Some of the folks that know us, know that we have adopted other kiddos since then.  And as much as I would like for them to be somehow inducted into the formula, I rest, and have resigned myself, in knowing that 1) the pups contributing to the name are the "founding fathers" (as it were) and 2) the other kiddos, I'm sure, will understand.

Abe Ortiz

Photographer

LAFMIL (laugh mill)  Photography

In Yo Face!

I get a lot of people tell me that they can't get a good pic of their pet.  Either because their pet is too rambunctious or because they are camera shy (yes pets can be camera shy) and they move away as soon as they see the camera.

How do I do it? (That's the question I get asked a lot right after I capture that fleeting moment the pet parent didn't think I would get)  Well it's simple, actually.  I listen to a little song that plays in my head by GnR...Patience.  No, seriously, all we need is patience.  That little virtue that no one seems to have now a days.  I find that if I just sit (& stay) the moment presents itself.  After all, inevitably your pet will come to realize "aw heck, this guy ain't leaving, and he's gonna keep putting that camera in my face, might as well go play now."  And then, just like that...snap!  The moment that everyone was waiting for appears as your pet relaxes and their true self emerges!  Those are THE BEST moments!  The ones that only you know and see, day in and day out.  Captured right there digitally, and preserved forever, and all it takes is a few minutes of waiting/watching and perseverance and...poof!  The magic happens right before your camera's eye.

Unlike human models, you really can't tell your pet what to do (well you can but they are not going to listen) and how to pose.

So the other thing you need to do is relax.

Let your pet be themselves, don't try to force them to do something you think will be the perfect pose.  If you haven't figured it out by now, they know best and they're gonna do what they want to.  So let them.  And don't keep calling out to them to "get the shot".  They're gonna ignore you regardless, so just sit back, keep your camera pointed at your pet, then wait.  Let them do the modeling.  I promise, you will get that shot.  Actually, you will get a shot you never even thought of!  And it will be better than what you were expecting.  Then, in the background, as you hem and haw over the perfect pic you just got, you'll hear a soft voice saying "mmhm, told you I know what I'm doing".  :)