Life at the top - The Staging begins

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live in a Penthouse overlooking the ocean?  I have, down here in Florida - land of the high-rise you see them stretch for miles throughout the towns of Hollywood, Aventura, Miami and so forth.  With the housing economy as it is - half of them are occupied by the small percentage of the still obscenely wealthy, and the other half seems to be split between vacant or occupied with people desperate to unload due to financial  change of circumstance, something I can relate to wholeheartedly (The state of our world and my personal economic problems will surely be a rant for another day)

So how to capitalize on this bad real estate market and economic downturn?  As a photographer - gigs for shooting happy pregnant people, smiling babies and loving couples are far and few between these days.  Then for my Mother, a talented interior designer, people are not exactly knocking down the door in droves to pay her to re-do their homes as they once did. 

So mother and her friend Paula have started a company called As You like It (more on that in the future as I help them build their website and Facebook page etc etc) They still do interior design but have branched out to start "staging" residential and commercial spaces to help them sell, as well as designing and organizing events.

The bonus for me is being her daughter - God love nepotism and mothers desire for me to make money so I may one day be able to move out of her house - is, as they get jobs, and book event plans - who do you think the go-to photographer will be?  ME! That was a rather obvious answer I know - just wanted to see if you were paying attention.

I shot the before photos for a job they are pitching on yesterday, and while I am new at real estate photography - and found it trickier then anticipated - I will continue to work on it because I have discovered there is a market for it.  

In the meantime while the 6,500 sq ft 2 story condo was a disaster and a lesson in the perils and bad choices in "collecting" masses of kitschy random shit, the view was astounding and I couldn't resist taking the time to fire off a few shots.

While I still love living on ground level and being able to step outside into a yard , there IS something to be said for highrise dwelling - when you have a view like THIS!

Ahhh living in South Florida - it has it's moments.

Black Board Eats

So I have a friend who started this AMAZING website / newsletter with incredible deals from restaurants all around town called BlackBoardEats. If you sign up for their newsletter you get weekly offers of specials from outstanding restaurants to try around Los Angles - and this recession-ista couldn't be more thrilled.



In an effort to help out a friend with a vision as well as an excuse to further practice my craft I have taken photos for some of the weekly restaurants offering specials. This one was my favorite because they ordered up this incredible grilled calamari for me to photograph.

The best part? They gave it to me to take home and it is DELISH!!!!

Check out BlackBoardEats for a special deal next week being offered by this very yummy Italian eatery on West 3rd.

Now pardon me while I go pour myself a glass of wine and enjoy the fruits of my labor!

Maybe there is something to this food photography thing?

Product Shots - Elique Organics

Last weekend I did my first product photo shoot for my dear friend Elisha - owner of Get Waxed Salon in Venice as well as the creator of her own amazing skin care line Elique Organics - Complete Skin Nutrition. This particular new line is in all antique and vintage glass jars, lined with beeswax along with a beeswax overlay and has been picked up by ABC Home in NYC! I was lucky enough to score a LARGE tub of the yummy skin food lotion - and I have to tell you - my skin is super soft! Way to go Elisha


Shooting products is harder then it sounds, the glass and the silver are VERY REFLECTIVE and it took a bit of trial and error on my part to get it just right. In the end - I basically covered every source of natural light in the room just allowing for a tiny bit to come from the side - used no flash and had a white backdrop which as it turns out was enough light to make the products pop and yet still allow you to see the yummy details in the vintage silver.

Next up - HEADSHOTS of my friend Chad this week and then an 80's themed costume/birthday party this weekend!

I may have started this business with only babies and pregnant women in mind - but the jobs I am getting are spanning many other areas and frankly as a photographer who just loves to shoot - I am not turning anything down!

The mystery behind the pen

I was recently sent this link from a friend for a cool quirky service that I think deserves a nod.

Call me Cyrano - is a service that will help you write everything from resumes and cover letters, online dating profiles, letters to collection agencies and even one hilarious one to people who were having crazy loud lovin sessions and keeping their neighbors awake!

As I am on the job hunt and trying the internet dating thing I am thinking of giving it a try. When you want to say it - but don't have the words, have your own Cyrano for hire.

So cool!