Filipino Family Session | Curtis Hixon Park | July 21st, 2013

It's Monday blog time!

 Last weekend, I had the opportunity to meet and photograph a beautiful Filipino family in Downtown Tampa. We decided chose Curtis Hixon Park because it created the perfect backdrop for the photos. The park is located among the Sykes Building, The Tampa Museum of Art and The Glazer Children's Museum. It sits on the banks of Hillsborough River, right across for the University of Tampa. Needless to say, It's of the best parks in Tampa Bay.

This Sunday afternoon, the weather decided to cooperate a little bit with us. We escape the afternoon showers and took cover from the heat underneath the Tampa Museum of Art.  Now, I was ready for the four sisters and their beautiful families.

The first family up for photos was Joyce and her 3 beautiful children; Nadia, Chloe and Major. You could tell that  they really love their mom and were quick to huddle around her as we were taking photos. Chloe was amazing as she jumped on her mom's lap and gave her a quick kiss.

Next up were Nicole, Thomas, and cute Oliver. For them, I decided to go to the other end of the park and take some photos near the Sykes building. I figured by then that all the kids loved Nanna, so she came along to make Oliver happy. I loved how Nanna was quick to entertain Oliver and make their session even better. As expected, Oliver hesitated only a little before she gave Nicole a well deserved kiss.

For the next family, we quickly went over to the Children's Museum and took some photos. I must say that Justin was hilarious and could easily make Brycen laugh at any given moment. The father-son photos came out really great. Parents are very resourceful and Christina figured out how much Brycen liked her bracelet. As he play with it, we were able to get awesome pictures of  him.

Last but not least, we have Chris, Joann and Olivia. I've known Chris and Joann for a couple of years and it was beautiful to see their interaction with Olivia. Olivia is at that stage where she prefers mommy over daddy. However, we were able to play that into our advantage and get some tender photos of their family.

It was amazing to see how these 4 sisters are raising their children together with only a few months apart. I can tell that they will be the best cousins ever. I'm grateful for the opportunity to capture these moments of their life and I hope these images will rekindle happy memories once they're much older.

Enjoy the photos!

Sara's lifestyle portrait session | Ybor City | July 6th, 2013

Hello everyone!

Happy Sunday! I hope you had a great 4th of July weekend!

I got the chance to do a sunrise session yesterday with Sara. She's a lovely graphic designer and photographer from Tarpon Springs. Sara wanted to do a lifestyle session to celebrate a list of goals and expectations that she had accomplish during the past year.

We had rain all week here in Tampa and I was a little worried about how the weather would turn out. Fortunately, the weather was pleasant with no rain in sight. Sara was able to bring her little brother, even though it was a bit early for him, he quickly warmed up to the idea of taking photos and even helped get some smiles from Sara.

I really enjoy shooting sessions in Ybor City. The architecture, the urban feel and the history of the different people groups that migrated to Ybor to make it an incredible backdrop to people's pictures and stories.

Enjoy the photos!

Kim's sunrise session | Downtown Tampa | June 20th, 2013

 Kim was my very first client a couple of years ago when I was just learning and honing my photographic skills. Now, a few years later and with more experience, I'm excited to announce that our sunrise shoot was a success
We celebrate Kim's birthday at the end of next month. So, Kim decided to give herself an early birthday present, a styled-photoshoot with me. Kim was joined by Evelyn, a dear friend of both of us, for a sunrise session in the beautiful Downtown Tampa. We started out in Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park. As the sun rose through the buildings, we were able to get gorgeous lighting for our session. We moved quickly through the park and then we headed towards the Tampa Theater. The building across the street provided us with an awesome reflection that we were able to use to our advantage.

Kim was a natural. She knew where and how to pose and I just had to give her a little direction. Later,  she confessed that she got all her "moves" from watching America's Next Top Model.

Kim, Happy early birthday to you! I'm very glad to know you and call you friend for the past few years.

Enjoy your photos!

Tips for your wedding day (for photographers and brides)!

Hello!

I collected a few tips to make your day extra special. I hope that your photographer has already told you about some of these. Trust me, it would make the day go a lot easier and your photographer will be able to get awesome shots.

I've attended and shot a few weddings and  I've made my mistakes while photographing weddings. However, just like Oscar Wilde said, experience is simply the name we give our mistakes. I hope you find them useful!

Wedding Day Tips

• Let your photographer know what you would like to do and she’ll do her best to accommodate your specific request.
• When you choose a location to get ready, pick a room with some space. Lighting is very important. If you can, get a room that is able to bring in the natural light. Preferably a room with large north-facing windows.

• Wedding messes are okay, you want to showcase what’s going in the changing room. You can have your girls clean-up all the non-wedding messes, such as piles of blue jeans, empty boxes and bags.
• Ask your guests to put their cellphones away. They will enjoy those significant moments more, instead of watching everything through a 5-inch screen on their phones. Also, your photographer won't have to do acrobatics to make sure a phone does not ruin your pictures.
• Remember to hold the rings by the top and bottom so that your guests and I can see the rings as they go on the ring fingers.

• The group pictures or 'formals' will go much faster if you can provide a list of the number of groups you would like photographed and the people who you want in each group. Your photographer can call groups according to the list. Be sure to let everyone know ahead of time where they need to be and when.
• You can expect average times of between three and five minutes per group depending on how organized and cooperative everyone is. It may speed things up if you had a friend who could work as a coordinator to round up people for the photographer for the group shots. It would work best if this person wasn't in the bridal party and he or she knew the people involved.

• One of the best things you can do to get good pictures of your wedding is to relax and have a good time. Something is probably not going to be the way you planned it, ordered it or scheduled it. In fact, your wedding would be the exception if everything went exactly according to plan.
• The day is a celebration of your affirmation of love and commitment to each other. Everything else is incidental. Keep that in mind.

• Don't forget to have a copy of your wedding invitation that the photographer can incorporate into the detail shots of your big day. 

Clayton+Valerie surprise proposal | April 21, 2013

 I've known Clayton for a few years now and it was a privilege to capture his engagement to Valerie.

Earlier in the week, we sat down with a couple of close friends and delegated the roles for the night. I, of course, got the "paparazzi" duties for the night. We arrived around 7:00 PM as a small drizzle started to come down. We quickly set up the candles along the MLK fountain, the rose petals, the pound cake (delicious pound cake), and his bluetooth speaker.

We were positioned at different spots in order to get a good view. I went on by myself and my tripod in order to get those candid photos. The rain picked up a little bit, but we were hopeful that it would stop. Everything was set!

Valerie slowed down her pace as she approached the fountain and became aware of what was about to happen. Clayton took out his cellphone, and using the bluetooth speaker, started the playlist of some of their favorite songs. They ate some of the pound cake, which gave way to Clayton asking her to dance. It doesn't get any more mushy than this...

Here's the best part of the proposal: Clayton and Valerie are staff workers with Intervarsity, a collegiate ministry that is dedicated to see students and faculty transformed, campuses renewed, and world changers developed. She lives in Mississippi and he's in Tampa. They met as they were serving students at a leadership retreat. Now, there were in the middle of one of the largest Universities in the country affirming their commitment to serve each other and the campus.

Continuing with a servant heart, Clayton decided to wash Valerie's feet as a symbol of his commitment to Jesus and His call for us to be servants. As he was about to dry her feet, he pulled the engagement ring from his back pocket.  A diamond passed on by his grandma on a band specifically made for this occasion with great meaning behind it. Needless to say, she said YES!

After a few moments we joined them in celebrating their engagement. I know that their lives are being joined together for a greater purpose, and I can't wait to see what God will do through their ministry once they're married.

P.S. If you would like to financially support their ministry you can donate by clicking here and searching for Clayton Cullaton.

Jessica's Graduation photos at University of South Florida | April 14, 2013

Jessica started at USF in the Summer of 2009, and she will be graduating this May with a major in Criminology and a minor in Psychology. Jessica would like to go to law school one day, but before she does that, she would like to work with inner city youth who have had encounters with the law. She says, "I have aspirations to work with the Department of Juvenile Justice or Success 4 Kids for at least two years before attending law school (Possibly at FAMU)."

She loves life and has plenty of friends who love her. She told me that there were many memories she made with friends at USF, but there was one in particular that stands out. She says, "I think one of my favorite memories was a 9 day Spring Break road trip to Tennessee, New York, Connecticut, Maryland, and Washington D.C. during my sophomore year." Jessica has conquered many obstacles throughout her life, and she has a very bright future ahead of her.

Congratulations on accomplishing something that very few people in the world are able to do. May God use you and your future career to bring both justice and grace to a broken people yearning for His Kingdom to come.

Graduation is only a concept. In real life every day

you graduate. Graduation is a process that goes on

until the last day of your life. If you can grasp that,

you'll make a difference. ~Arie Pencovici

Yulli+Franz Engagement Sunrise Session @ University of South Florida | April 7, 2013

Franz and Yulli are a passionate, spirited and fun couple that is making a difference in their community. Franz and Yulli are very passionate about seeing underrepresented latinos have a voice.

They met at USF through mutual friends and they quickly developed a friendship that became a little more than that. Franz tells the story on how Yulli came to visit him while he was working the night shift at MOSI. Franz, holding a flashlight, gave Yulli a short tour of the museum. This was their first date. Needless to say, they're getting married in August at the same place where they had this wonderful date.

Enjoy the pictures and please like Eternal Sight Photography on Facebook

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