Picnic! [Kids Photography]

Models: Casey & Kai @ JE Model Management SF

Makeup & Photography & Prop Styling: Elizabeth Chang (Skyla Arts)

Photography Assistant: Erik Leung
Hair: Erika Taniguchi

Wardrobe Styling: Andrea Schultz Igreja

Yayyyy! This photo shoot finally happened! We had to reschedule twice due to the rain during spring time, and finally finally it came together!  While it's not my first time working with kids, it is my first time coming up with my own ideas, finding the locations, getting the props, shooting the photos, and putting together a team! I've done those tasks before, but not all at once. While there's still room for improvement (like always!! ^^), I am very happy with the results! We were blowing bubbles towards the end, and everyone was having fun!

I want to thank Shannon @ JE for being patient with us with the rescheduling..! And of course, my team members Andrea, Erika & Erik.  Casey & Kai are adorable, and are such troopers!  May-June 2011 has definitely been the craziest ... I need to organize my computer, and keep up with my blogging! I'm also super excited to share more photos from weddings/bridal clients when the photos come back! For now please enjoy super cuties Kai & Casey! :)

Makeup, Hair & Photography for Amber! [Mountain View Portrait Photographer, Makeup Artist]

Model: Amber

Makeup, Hair & Photography: Elizabeth Chang (Skyla Arts)

Meet my gorgeous client Amber! She wanted some portraits done for herself, just to look back and remember how great it was to be young and beautiful! ;) She also wanted some for work, and brought along a jacket! Amber selected the "Single Natural Headshots and Portraiture Package" that includes 30min of shooting time, and one fully edited photo (including skin editing). She selected the top left photo, which also was my favorite one!!  Yay!  We managed to fit in 3 outfits in 30min!  While I was doing her makeup & hair, her friend was calling her for financial advice, and Amber patiently listened to her friends' concern, and found the answers meticulously - I can tell that she is a person who cares a lot, and definitely very trust-worthy! So when it came to the more 'work' type portraits, I wanted to capture her trustworthiness :)  We had a fun and productive afternoon ~!

Portraits by Skyla Arts [Makeup, hair & photography]

Model: Y.L.
Makeup, Hair & Photography: Elizabeth Chang (Skyla Arts)
Photography Assistant: Bochan Kim

Meet my client Y.L.!  She needed some portraits taken to use on her online presence, and she was interested in a more natural portrait.  I had a lot of fun working with Y.L.!  She was the first one to make a comment on the books on my book shelf!!! I was super excited!! :) This took place in July, and at the time I was offering a free masque treatment before makeup application as a promotion.  It was really funny because she was my first client to receive a free masque treatment, but I'm used to applying it on the client when the client is lying down (on a facial bed), so I had said: "This is my first time applying a mask like this" and she was like: "Really!?!?" I'm like: "Nonono not my first time applying a mask on another person!"  Sometimes when I'm concentrating on doing one thing - like makeup or applying a mask, I am so focused I don't finish my sentences.  Oops!  I explained and fortunately Y.L. didn't panic or lose faith in my abilities because I didn't finish my sentence. lol

Below is her testimonial for me on Yelp:

"I don't wear any makeup (I'm the kind of girl who often goes to work in the morning with my hair wet and lets it air-dry there), so when I needed to get a professional photo taken, I felt rather helpless. Liz of Skyla Arts came to the rescue.

I found her to be a consummate professional, from the initial appointment setup to how she was careful to listen to my preferences, while still proferring guidance on what she thought would work best. She has a delightful personality that set me right at ease at her home studio (she also has a friendly cat!).

She handled makeup, hair, and photography, which was wonderfully convenient for me. I went for a more natural look, and even so came out looking probably the best I've been. She also offers some light retouching, but frankly, if I hadn't managed to get lipstick on my teeth (I'm graceful like that), I don't think I would've needed any changes or enhancements at all because the shots came out great. I'm quite proud of the resulting photos and wouldn't hesitate to recommend Skyla Arts to anyone. I'd feel comfortable using her for other occasions as well; I definitely got the sense that she has quite a range, as you can see in her online portfolio, and it's really just a matter of what your needs/wants are."

Thank you again for writing such a wonderful review for me Y.L.!! Unfortunately...Yelp really sucks. What happened was, after she wrote my review, I added her as a 'friend' on yelp since we live close by and it would be nice to read each other's reviews on restaurants and such!! As SOON as I added her on yelp, the review got FILTERED because clearly it's BIASED. There's no way to reverse the filter, and when I talked to Yelp, I also found out they make it a pain in the ass to change the order and edit our profile ON PURPOSE unless you pay $4200 a year to advertise on Yelp! The thing is - Yelp is great for most things, but they are not the kindest to vendors, especially if you do not pay $4200 a year to advertise. This is just my personal opinion! On Weddingwire, when you are listed there for free, they don't impose such restrictions about editing your portfolio and the order of the images. If I wanted to delete, I'd have to do it ONE BY ONE.  

Anyways~ Sorry about the rant about yelp.  Yelp aside, I had a really great time working with Y.L. and also, thanks to my husband, for being a great photography assistant! <3

Radilina - Lifestyle/Commercial Photography

Model: Radilina (Cast Images)

Makeup, Hair & Photography: Elizabeth Chang (Skyla Arts)

Wardrobe Styling: Radilina

The image above was the shot that I had imagined before shooting this, and it's titled "Radilina in Retro Yellow."  I'm really bad at remembering whether or not I already blogged about this - and it turned out I haven't yet.  I guess I'm very bad at blogging about photographs that I took myself!!! What's up with that?! I'm very proud of these images because the concept was entirely my own - and Radilina and I had a blast doing this photo shoot.  I am also proud to share that Radilina printed these photos and took it to her agency and is now represented by Cast Images and they selected MY photos for the front of her composite card.  Yay TEAM!  At first Radilina was concerned about going inside the pool, but I was convinced that she was crazy (Look how gorgeous she is!!!) and we were able to get the shot that I wanted very quickly so that she didn't have to suffer the cold temperature in the pool. Radilina has great taste in clothes and brought everything, except the necklace which belonged to me and was my suggestion as it suited the outfit and theme more.  Over all, I am very proud of this photo shoot, and I hope you enjoy the photos too! :)

Jason - headshots & men's grooming

Model: Jason (Ford Models)

Men's Grooming & Photography: Elizabeth Chang (Skyla Arts)

Anybody needs a corporate headshot? :) You know who to hire to make you look approachable, yet confident and chic! 

I'm a bit backed up with updates...It has just been a whirlwind last 2-3 weeks with me scheduling photo shoots, trying to lock-in some bridal contracts, bridal trials,  fixing my car, deciding on this and that, trying to buy a condo (gaaaaah), taking my makeup portfolio to get evaluated (last Thursday) by an agency in San Francisco....Phew~! The good news is, I received very positive feedback on these images I did with Jason! Thank you, Jason, for raising my chances of getting into the agency by at least 25%! :D

Anyhow...! I was getting nervous being behind the camera because it seems I only pick up my camera 4 times a year (literally!) so...naturally I made a few mistakes due to lack of practice!  I also panicked because it was drizzling, and I thought I had to reschedule. I need to stay really calm next time.  Thank goodness I did end up with a few good shots!

I started a new picasa Men's Grooming gallery. There's one more photo in there! I'll be updating it as it gets filled up.

Rummy sent me some more edits of June from our previous shoot, but we did another shoot last week and he also sent me his edits! Happy! :D And...I also did a photo shoot with June & Gary where I controlled everything from styling, location (with the help of June! ^^), makeup & hair, men's grooming, and photography! woohoo!  Stay tuned! :D 

K & J's Couples Photoshoot

K & J chose the package of Lifestyle Engagement/Couples with Makeup Application: $375. The location they selected was beautiful and of course, they are a beautiful couple! As we were shooting, K & J received lots of compliments! =)

K's before and after:

Please enjoy some highlights from this shoot: