Ana & Ingrid 9-13-09

The third set for the 2010 swimsuit calendar featured an old face Ana, and a newcomer Ingrid, a.k.a. Lady Longlegs...This shoot also marked the first set with Ninfa as the hairstylist/make-up artist...

We shot these photos in the dark (at night), in the rain at a cemetary...not my favorite situation to be in LOL but considering the circumstances I think we did pretty well :)

Caroll 6-14-09

These photos were taken on the shadiest corner of Downtown I have ever had the privilege of standing on LOL But I am very happy with this images of Caroll, one of which was published in Estilo magazine in Honduras. The photo is in the October issue, so I am currently waiting for the magazine to reach the US so I can scan the tearsheet :)

Caroll and Alejandra 5-16-09

This session was the first of twelve that I am going to be shooting throughout the year for the Beautiful Garbage Photography 2010 Swimsuit Calendar. I'm trying to give a fashion twist to regular swimsuit modeling, because it is so easy to be cliche and overly sexy in swimwear...so the whole calendar is going to be of women paired up modeling their suits in a sexy, classy way in found spaces where one wouldn't expect to find women in swimsuits...

The first girls that shot for this concept were Caroll, a Beautiful Garbage newcomer, and Alejandra, whom I shot in March for the Eyes concept.

Here are some of my favorite shots from the set, though like last year's calendar, the absolute BEST photo from the shoot will only be available for viewing in the actual calendar (not even the models will see the best photo until the calendar is released) so this is just a preview of what's to come...

Maylin 4-4-09

I had such a good time shooting Maylin for the "Eyes" series, that we decided to shoot again just a couple of weeks later...These shots were meant to enhance Maylin's portfolio, and so she took the reins as far as hair, wardrobe and location...

We got some really interesting photos, and Maylin, a self-proclaimed klutz (I can totally relate!) even decided to climb some trees for the sake of a shot! It's always exciting to shoot someone that is as gung-ho about getting a great photo as you are! I'm sure this won't be the last you see of Maylin in front of my camera!

"Eyes are the Windows to the Soul" concept - March 2009...

In March, I started a new concept, basically asking people to draw, paint and collage something that says something about them...and make it so that it's a "window" through their eyes, hence peeking through their eyes into their soul...






I had six shoots related to this concept throughout the month, mostly with people I'd never worked with before...I'm very pleased with how the concept is going so far, and I have about 30 other people that have shown interest and are pending scheduling...





here are my favorites from the 6 shoots, along with their titles...

Melissa - "Life is a Stage..."

Maylin - "When Ancient meets Modern..."

Hector - "Standing out in the crowd while shooting for the stars..."

Ramiro - "Complex"

Jessica - "Music is my soul"

Alejandra - "Duality"

insanity!!! (1-18-09)

First off, HISTORY WILL BE MADE TODAY! GOBAMA!!!

:ahem:

Secondly, hi! LOL

This past weekend, my BFF Kary (you remember, the pro hairstylist/MAC make-up artist) joined forces with me to photograph a gaggle of girls (five in total, three of which I had never worked with before) to benefit both our portfolios...

What resulted was a hectic, fun, crazy 11 hour shoot, and almost 1000 amazing images!!!

The first shoot of the day was a newbie, Christie...Kary did a crazy duochrome look that I called "the storm" LOL Christie came out beautiful, and the make-up was amazing!

My next victim was Jennicke...We had her shoot outdoors, which was a bit challenging because by the time she was out of hair and make-up, the light was fading fast...We got a few great shots, but I was a bit upset to find that some of my favorite shots came out irreparably blurry due to the darkness. No worries, we've already made plans to reshoot =)

After Jennicke's shoot, I started with Lynn, who you might remember from the Beautiful Garbage Photography calendar. She had several outfit changes, and was definitely one of the more animated girls in the bunch. Everytime I'd "ooh and ahh!" over a shot, she'd stop the shoot to see for herself, whether it was her shoot or not LOL But her energy and enthusiasm are always appreciated!

The fourth girl of the day (at this point night LOL) was Ana, who I've known since I was 10, but had never shot before...She has a fantastic face for beauty, and the talent to pull off high fashion...absolutely a treat to shoot! She also had several outfit changes, always exciting to shoot a model that contributes! Each of her looks was radically different, but I picked this photo to showcase because it reminds me of a CoverGirl ad. =)

The last shoot of the night featured Jessie, the lead singer of Audio Video Disco, who was an absolute delight to shoot! almost 300 frames, and not a bad shot among them! Jessie is beautiful, and very charismatic. She had a lot of ideas, was very natural and was game for anything, going as far as temporarily blinding herself for the sake of a shot. I really hope to work with her again!

GREAT SHOOT, AND I CAN'T WAIT TO FINISH EDITING SO I CAN SHOW THEM ALL OFF!!!

<3

Natalia 11-16-08

we finished off the weekend with another shoot at one of my favorite parks...Natalia was a real trooper, as we needed her to get in the water for the shot and it was about 60 degrees out (it doesn't sound too bad, but we're Miami-ans, people! 60 degrees is damn near freezing! lol)

Natalia is a Pisces, and so she is being featured on the March page of the calendar...

this was another one of those shoots that we had to do in a hurry (from beginning to end, it lasted 12 minutes) because it was so close to sunset and the light was rapidly diminishing, but the lighting was beautiful, and like I told Natalia, I didn't see a bad picture in the set...Natalia deserves a medal! lol

Vicki 11-15-08

the third shoot of the day was featuring a Beautiful Garbage favorite...Vicki! playing herself (Leo lol) for the August page of the calendar...

we were able to shoot at my "studio" for her set-up, which was great...as usual, as soon as we started shooting the magic started happening (lol) and we got SEVERAL amazing shots!!! the camera loves "goddess" Vicki! ;D

yep, that's a leo symbol tattoo...how perfect is that? lol

Michelle 11-15-08

the second shoot of the day started an hour and a half later than scheduled, so we were kind of rushed, and the light was pretty harsh, but I think we did alright all things considered... ;D

we had to deal with ducks and iguanas (mean ones! lol) but we got the shot pretty quickly...

Michelle is a actually a Libra, but for the calendar she is representing Aquarius (the water-bearer, hence the fountain) for the month of February...

Anisey 11-15-08

three shoots in a day! I don't think I'd done it before, unless you count once back in March that was all in the same location...hectic! and eventful! lol

The first shoot of the weekend was with Anisey in the Gables...she is an actual Libra, so she is representing October in my calendar...

I wanted to have her pose on the columns, because I wanted a sophisticated feel for her photo...Anisey was awesome, she climbed right up on the tallest pillar and got to work...she even put together her own toga, which was a welcome change for me! lol

probably the coolest little factoid about this shoot...it was raining before we started, and it stopped just long enough for me to get my shot...literally three minutes!!! I was able to get all these amazing shots in 3 MINUTES!!! Anisey is awesome! lol

Jennie 11-9-08

For such an eventful shoot, the actual photographing for this session was ironically very "quick and painless" as we put it lol

We had to change location for the shoot three times in a matter of 20 minutes, after being chased out of places by cops, a co-ed beatdown that we feared would end in a shootout, and people robbing the sleeping homeless...incredible!

We ended up back in the original location, and got 100 shots in a matter of 10 minutes...the scenery, lighting and model were beautiful, and everything just clicked, pun intended.

Jennie is a Beautiful Garbage favorite, and she is opening up the calendar being featured on the January page, representing Capricorn.

I edited these photos myself, along with the 2 in the NEXT post, though Kenny edited all of the other photos in both sets (hey, I got impatient! I was excited to post so I had to take matters into my own hands! lol)

Jennicke 11-8-08

The second shoot of the day starred Jennicke as herself, a.k.a. Scorpio.

We went down to the beach (where a wedding was going on, yay!) and proceeded to have way more fun than pros should...the music was very distracting! lol

I styled Jennicke in kind of like a toga, a little more "womanly" than the past two shoots, where I was going for more of a found nymph feel...And as a side note which I don't think I'd mentioned before, each of the models is wearing a color that pertains to the zodiac sign they are meant to be representing.

This was the first (and so far only) set of photos that I 100% edited on my own from start to finish...

Lynn 11-1-08

I recently shot the first set in the series of photos that will make up the first ever (and hopefully annual) Beautiful Garbage Photography calendar, just in time for 2009...if all goes to plan (and it damn well better! lol) I should have the first copy in my hand before December, and won't that be grand?

The wardrobe was created on the spot by me, BTW...lol my first attempt at styling and I have to say I was expecting worse, but it turned out alright if I do say so myself...

A photo from this set (not one that's posted, BUA HA HA! it shall be a SURPRISE!!!) shall be featured in the 2009 Beautiful Garbage Photography calendar, which I am INCREDIBLY happy to announce already has some buzz going and has some people waiting excitedly to buy! YAY!

in the next couple weeks, we'll have the shoots completed, and the calendars should be available by early December (holiday gifts, anyone? LOL who wouldn't want something that affords them the ability to look at beautiful women all year? and even if you're not into beautiful women, I'm sure you appreciate beautiful photos, or you wouldn't be reading this!)

The calendars will be available for $25...and be horoscope inspired, i.e. the first set featuring Lynn (a Beautiful Garbage newcomer) as Sagittarius...The calendar will feature some new faces, as well as SEVERAL of your favorites, including Vicki and Jennie!

I'm very excited about this new venture, and hope to hear your thoughts, both on the idea and the photos themselves...

thanks as always for the support, friends!

and make sure you add the new facebook support page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Miami-FL/Beautiful-Garbage-Photography-C/33882113225

<3

Jennie 7-20-08

my first "studio" shoot...using my $60 light kit from eBay and a sheet set that I SHOULD have taken out of it's packaging more than 1 hour before the shoot, but hey...growing pains, right? lol

the set-up


this was SUPPOSED to be a pin-up shoot, but because it was for Jennie's portfolio, I didn't argue when she showed up with three less than pin-up-y outfits to shoot in...I think they came out pretty good though, considering the circumstances...and she LOVED them, which is the most important thing!

actually, these photos have started me branching in a whole new VERY PAID area in my photography career, so I guess really THAT'S the most important thing ;)

Sakura 6-28-08

another repeat offender shoot! ;)

Sakura and I had no idea really what we were going to do for this shoot lol only that we were given the opportunity to shoot at the historic Hialeah Park, which is a historical landmark...you have to pull a lot of strings to be able to set foot there, let alone photograph there!

This was my first official shoot as "Beautiful Garbage Photography"...before I had been going by "Photography by Desiree..."

She showed up in costume and we just let the surroundings guide the shoot...Sakura was 15 weeks pregnant here, and I think her face has a nice little glow to it! lol

Vicki 6-8-08

My first repeat offender! LOL Vicki and I did something of a spin on the "gowns" series...she thought of doing something we called "Princess goes Punk", which started out as just a regular "gowns" shoot but morphed into something a little more edgy...

We shot this at El Prado in the Gables...one of my fave shoots to date!

Jennie 4-6-08

My first shoot in April was with a childhood fried of mine who I hadn't seen in YEARS, Jennifer...She is an aspiring model/actress, and wanted help with her portfolio, so there I was!


I did the make-up for this shoot as well...this was my first shoot involving costume changes lol the indian costume was pretty exotic, I must say...this shoot also taught me that a model tanning before a photoshoot is a bad idea! lol i had to throw away a whole roll of film because Jennie's bikini lines were more of a focus than her lovely face!!!

this was shot at FIU University Park campus, in the Education building, and it turned out some of my favorite photos to date...

Vicki 3-12-08

This was my second shoot, which was meant to be an "exotic" make-up shoot, but with Vicki's green eyes, I decided to just go subtle with some red and purple eyeshadow to bring out the color...

this is the first of MOST of my shoots where I did the make-up in addition to photographing the models...

we shot this at FIU University Park campus, specifically in the VH and Architecture buildings.