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The Definitive Guide to Eloping in Las Vegas

Hi, I’m Jay Soriano, I’m a destination elopement, portrait and headshot photographer and I’m going to help you with planning your Las Vegas elopement! 

But this isn’t a veiled pitch, as a matter of fact, most chapels (which 90%+ of people will opt for) have their own dedicated photographer. And while I love and currently reside in Las Vegas, I skew towards shooting destination elopements (here’s one in Hawaii):

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17 Professional Headshot Tips, According to Pros

If you’re reading this you’ve come to the point where you know you need a headshot. You know the value of a headshot and have an idea of what makes a headshot great, now you just need a few tips from the professionals. We all look at things differently. Photographers tend to be critical of the technical aspects of a photo. A makeup artist wants to see her work shine in a photo the way it does in real life. A casting director wants to see a compelling headshot that stands out from the pack. Today, we’re rounding up headshot tips from the pros including headshot photographers, hair and makeup artists, acting coaches and casting directors.

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What makes a good headshot? [Scientific Research]

Jean-Luc Godard said, “When you photograph a face, you photograph the soul behind it.” 

Even a mere selfie can tell a lot about a person, enough that USC has a class specifically on selfies* that examine what self portraits say about us. The class professor, Alison Trope, has used selfies to examine race, ethnicity and gender norms. She adds:

“Selfies are not just about self-portraiture. They are also autobiographies and autoethnographies…. The more interesting ones deliberately challenge conventions or templates of a beautiful face and body, and really try to show something broader about who you are as a person, about how your identity can be about performance or politics or changing norms. As this kind of use of the selfie travels via networks and social media, it can potentially take on a kind of cultural and collective power.”

Just imagine what a good headshot can do. While traditionally used for actors, in a digital world having a good headshot is more important than ever to anyone. In your professional life, it could be the difference of landing the job vs staying unemployed for a few more months as we’ll show studies that show even small variations in expression can affect another persons perception of trustworthiness. In your personal life, it’s your first impression on social networks. For online dating, it could be the difference between landing a date and potentially meeting the girl or guy you spend the rest of your life with. Yes, I am a bit biased, because I am indeed a headshot photographer. But the science doesn’t lie. For those that think I’m exaggerating, there have been multiple studies that show that just your name can effect how a person perceives you, in your personal or professional career. And that’s a name without a photo behind it. In a digital world, your profile picture is your first impression.

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Can you access the Olowalu Landing Shoreline for photography?

The Olowalu Plantation House is one of, if not the best wedding venue in Maui, but it comes at a cost of up to $10,000 a day to rent. 

But it’s for good reason, directly behind it is home to one of the Most Instagrammable Photo Spots you can get in Maui, along the shoreline with a view of the West Maui mountains in the background. Because of copyright, I can’t share any directly on this blog, but here’s a Google Images search for “Olowalu Plantation House Photography” and you can see some of the examples there.

As photographer who works with a lot of families and couples, I would love to build a portfolio of shots out there; but is it allowed?

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8 Famous Celebrity Portrait Photographers & Their Tips!

I started shooting photography primarily specializing in headshots, and thus I’ve covered many celebrity headshot photographers that I looked up to. Now that I’ve moved to Maui, Hawaii, I’ve also moved beyond the headshot and I’ve shooting all types of portrait photography, mostly family photos on the beach, couples photos (engagements & elopements) and senior photos.

Today, we’re looking at 8 famous celebrity portrait photographers that have inspired me. And to differentiate this post for the myriad of “famous photographers” posts, I’ll also add a tip from each photographer.

Let’s start with my favorite:

#1 – Annie Leibovitz Continue reading

43 Most Instagrammable Places in Maui (from a Local Photographer!)

Whether you’re chilling at the island’s many beaches, cruisin’ through the Road to Hana, or up at the peak of Maui’s Haleakalā Volcano; Maui is home to a myriad of Instagrammable photo opportunities.

As a former Maui-based portrait photographer (now located on the 9th island of Las Vegas), I’ll not only help you find the best photo spots, but I’ll offer a few pro-tips to help you land that post-worthy photo for IG. Now of course I’ll always recommend that you a hire a pro photographer because your vacation will cost thousands of dollars; but your memories are priceless, yadda yadda yadda… but for some it isn’t always in the budget, or maybe you just value that helicopter ride or snorkel trip to Molikini Crater a little more – and I totally get it. We all value things differently.

Or perhaps you’ve already hired a photographer, but it’s an hour session, and it isn’t quite feasible to have a photographer follow you around for 10 days. With that being said, I recommend two simple tools that will help you snag a few couples/family photos:

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7 Different Types of Headshots For Actors, Business & More

We’ve seen the research, many people know The Value of a Good Headshot. But which type of headshot is right for you?

One of the most memorable moments of my life was flying on a private jet to Ft. Lewis for an event with a bunch of talented entrepreneurs… one being New York Times best selling author Ramit Sethi. I remember when Ramit sat down with one of the most well known commercial photographers, Chase Jarvis, on an episode of Chase Jarvis LIVE. He said something along the lines of, “One of the biggest mistake photographers make is showing a client their portfolio, sitting back and expecting them to understand your brilliance.” I took that to heart and that’s why I’ll breakdown the process of a few of my headshots. We’ll focus on “headshots”, where the term can be rather subjective. There’s many different types of headshots, and what will work for one person, won’t necessarily work for you. Regardless, the Headshot Tips I covered last week will help you prepare for your next shoot.

Let’s breakdown a few…

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How to Start a Photography Business with No Experience

We’ve all heard that statistic that 80% of businesses fail within their first year, I’d say that percentage rises even higher for photographers.

It’s just the sad truth of the industry that many families own a DSLR, and are happy with good enough because they haven’t seen, or don’t need extraordinary. As a marketing consultant, I’ve worked with many businesses who don’t need to hire for headshots, when Bob in accounting has a DSLR. I’ve worked high profile events where a headshot was sent in last minute via their iPhone.

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