DoF

Actor Headshots in Pacific Grove with Lloyd Brewer

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Actor Headshots in Pacific Grove with Lloyd Brewer

Studio Headshots for a Monterey Actor and Theatre Creative

Lloyd Brewer, also known professionally as LJ Brewer, came to my Pacific Grove studio for an actor headshot session. Lloyd is a local actor, performer, creative, and co-owner of Paper Wing Theatre & Supper Club on Cannery Row in Monterey. Lloyd had ideas for his headshots, but we were also very freewheeling in the studio seeing what worked best. For the first time, a client brought their social media consultant to a shoot! So it really was a team effort in creating the look of all these headshots for Lloyd. We set out with a goal of making a series photos that show a range of emotions that can open up Lloyd to roles other than villains, which he said he often plays. His Instagram profile name is even “reluctant_villain.” It was great working with Lloyd and his social media consultant, and very interesting to also see their own process for choosing the final photos from the session which we did in studio at the end of the session. Good luck in New York Lloyd and thank you for choosing me as your headshot photographer!

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Asilomar Beach Sunset Reflection Pools | Pacific Grove Coastal Photography

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Asilomar Beach Sunset Reflection Pools | Pacific Grove Coastal Photography

There is a stretch of coastline at Asilomar Beach where, at the right time of day, small pools form between the rocks and begin to reflect the sky.

During sunset, those reflections shift quickly—light softens, colors deepen, and the line between ocean, sky, and foreground starts to blur.

These images were made while moving slowly through that space, focusing less on the wide scene and more on the smaller, quieter moments happening at ground level.

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Pebble Beach California Fine Art Photography Sunset Flowers DoF

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Pebble Beach California Fine Art Photography Sunset Flowers DoF

Using shallow depth of field for Pebble Beach sunset photography

It was a beautiful evening here in the Pebble Beach area so I took my camera to one of my favorite spots along 17 Mile Drive, Bird Rock. I already had the Sony 50mm f/1.2 lens on my camera from a shoot the day before, so I left that on, to get a different perspective for sunset photography, and I knew before going there I did want to shoot at f/1.2 for shallow DoF shots. Then I saw these flowers growing atop a small cliff, and used them as the focal point and let the sun go out of focus. This extreme difference in foreground and background focus interests me and I feel reveals a different world.

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Event Photography at Asilomar Conference Grounds Street Fair Theme in Pacific Grove California

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Event Photography at Asilomar Conference Grounds Street Fair Theme in Pacific Grove California

Venue Event Photography at Asilomar Conference Grounds Street Fare in Pacific Grove California

This was night two of three photographing different venues at Asilomar Conference Grounds in Pacific Grove, California that each had a very different theme. The first night was a rustic theme, while this night went in a totally opposite direction, and underground at that, with a street fare style and DJ vibe. Asilomar Conference Grounds was the client, and wanted me to focus not on the guests, which is the usual for photographing an event, but rather the venue itself and the experiences that could be had at this street fare style setup they created. It was a striking venue to photograph and I am sure it will be something many other guests will see and request for when they book with the conference grounds! Thank you to Alex, Crystal, and the whole team for a fun evening of photography in a dynamic setting.

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Asilomar Conference Grounds Event Photography in Crocker Hall in Pacific Grove California

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Asilomar Conference Grounds Event Photography in Crocker Hall in Pacific Grove California

Interior Event Venue Photography showing off Asilomar Conference Grounds

This was my first opportunity to make interior event photos at the nearby Asilomar Conference Grounds in Pacific Grove focusing on the setups and venue spaces themselves. This was the first of three nights in a row, all within a different space on the grounds, with this one being in Crocker Hall and a country theme to the food and venue presentation. The fireplace was a focal point, as well as the hay bales used for display and even seating! I used a variety of photography styles from typical wide angle shots, to shallow DoF (depth of field) shots, to even a long exposure letting the people “ghost” out of the shot, allowing a photo to be used to show the venue rather than actual guests, while still showing guests in the space without identifying them.

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Winter Bosque Sunset New Mexico True Photography

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Winter Bosque Sunset New Mexico True Photography

Taking new gear to the Bosque at sunset

Wanting to try out my new Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art lens on my new Sony a7R V camera, I went to the Bosque at sunset time to see what kind of shots I could create with a long lens, albeit it one with a large aperture capable of very shallow DoF. By the time I got there the light was indeed fading fast. I chose to focus on foreground objects and leave the sunset itself out of focus. This results in a kind of melting effect to how the sunset looks. I actually liked shooting at f/1.4 at 85mm and getting most of what was in the photo out of focus. This is most easily seen in the above photo of the very fine grass sticking out toward the sunset. This grass was so hard to see even with the a7R V’s AI based autofocus, I had to manually focus the lens!

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Christmas Lights in Abstraction Bokeh with the Sony 50mm f/1.2 GM lens

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Christmas Lights in Abstraction Bokeh with the Sony 50mm f/1.2 GM lens

Going for the abstract with Christmas Lights

Going and strolling around Christmas lights displays is not really fun or entertaining for me, unless I bring my camera and a large aperture lens, in this case my new Sony 50mm f/1.2 G Master, the largest aperture lens I have ever owned. I personally think Christmas lights look better in photos out of focus, so that the frame is nearly entirely bokeh. I purposefully tried to make the photos out of focus to get the most bokeh in every shot and highlight the color and shape of the lights. Which one is your favorite?

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