October 18, 2009- theCityClickers went to Elk Grove, CA today for a portrait session demonstration. Photographers, J.C. Meza and myself included (Ryan Angel), worked with Forrest Massey and his girlfriend. Although they are inexperienced models, they definitely knew how to work the camera and give me the angles I needed. I must say that it makes my job a lot easier when you have clients that are very photogenic and require little or no direction. But in retrospect, having a difficult (less photogenic) client will only make you a better photographer and make you feel comfortable with giving direction. It is always good to look through magazines and even the internet for samples of how you can lead the model to giving you the shot that you need. I, on the other hand, am fortunate to have an IPhone (Yessss, FINALLY) and use it for "on the spot" inspirations. But remember, you are only looking for inspiration and not to copy someone else's style or work. Setting yourself apart from the millions of photographers out there will give you the attention that you seek.

October 4, 2009 was Woofstock Day at El Dorado Hill's community park. O'Boy was it a day of laughter and fun just watching all these dogs with big egos. Yesss you can definitely tell that some of these dogs had charisma and swag and ofcourse you saw the few shy ones too. I am happy to say that my dog Chloe (Lhasa Apso) won third place in the costume contest. She was dressed as a giraffe. Hopefully next year we can take home first place!

Visit SacPaws.com for future doggie events.

Below: My dog Chloe (Lhasa Apso) and Thumper (Maltipoo)

Shot Info:
Nikon D300, Nikon 70-200 f2.8 VR, Window Lighting, ISO 800 f2.8 70mm @ 1/50th sec.

Yesterday, the City Clickers hooked up with Artistic Imagery to practice on some lighting techniques. "Owen," our wonderful model for the day, was great in front of the camera and without having to say so myself is very "naturally" photogenic. This session was very informative and thanks to Amber, everything was easy to learn and pick up right away.

ANNOUNCEMENT

The City Clickers is currently looking for all types of models--male, female, couples, and babies. If you are interested in more details, please contact Ryan Angel at theCityClickers@gmail.com

This evening Jody and I got the chance to have a wonderful dinner (and some wine of course) with some awesome friends. They are such a cute couple not to mention they have a handsome 1 year old son. Oh yah, they also have one of those British Bulldogs!! Can you only imagine the fun this kid has with the dog.

Thanks Jen and Cody for allowing us to join you for dinner! By the way, Jody knocked out as soon as we got home!! LOL

Saturday, July 18, 2009 was the Second Annual World Wide Photo Walk sponsored by Scott Kelby. It started early in the day at Old Sacramento & the Rail Road Museum which I've never been to by the way. This is also my first time attending a photo walk and it was a lot of fun. I believe there were three other locations within the Sacramento area-- the Capitol, Folsom, and Roseville. I wish I could have made it to all of these locations but the registration list filled up fast. There are two compeititions for this photo walk and prizes are listed here. I'm really hoping that I can place because the prizes are very nice and expensive. (Plus my birthday is coming up soon so this will actually be good timing if I can bring home a prize.) Anyway, without boring you any longer, below are some pics for your viewing.

To view my competitors, please click here.

Thank you for stopping by!!

So, I went biking today (my furlough Friday) and my usual route passes this lake where there are many geese. If you're not careful they like to hiss and bite at you.. Anyway, so as always I brought my camera and using my Nikon D300/ Nikon 50mm f1.8 D, I was able to snag this snapshot.

Congratulations to Fanny Kounlavouth as she preps for the forthcoming of her first baby boy!! Yesterday was our (I say OUR) because this is both our first maternity shoot. As usual, the Kounlavouths are always running late and probably had a 30 minute window to shoot a couple of photographs. We decided to go to Old Sacramento as it is a playground for photography enthusiasts. Short of what the experience was like, I truly had a great time photographing my future sister-in-law. This was her first time being in front of a camera and she did splendidly well.. Shout out and thanks to my tinky winky-Jody for assisting me yesterday. I couldn't have pulled it off without you there!!

Yes, the City Clickers was there to witness one of the greatest, if not the greatest, dance group from the hit show America's Best Dance Crew (Season 1). After all, they aren't the shows first season winners for nothing. They really set the bar for the following seasons.

"This young group of talent are super creative with their dance choreography. It's amazing to watch them perform. Another thing I'd like to say about this young group is that they are very humble and easy to talk to. I had the chance to meet all of them. I tried to persuade them to make me the 6th member of their group but unfortunately my skills weren't up to par. LOL"

-Ryan Angel
Photographer

Enjoy!!

Photo Taken By: Ryan Angel

How to create a drop shadow effect and make your images appear as if it's displayed off a wall.

1.) Duplicate Layer (Menu Bar>Layer>Duplicate Layer)

2.) Select White as your Background Layer (Hit -D- on your keyboard)

3.) Next, select (Menu Bar>Image>Canvas Size; check the Relative box; type in 2 or 3 inches in the Length/Width boxes. Now you should see a white border around your image!!!

4.) Now we need to make the drop shadow effect.
Note: Make sure you are on the Duplicate Layer.
Menu Bar>Layer>LayerStyle> select Drop Shadow.
You should now have the Drop Shadow Menu Box open.

5.) Change OPACITY to about 50%. You may change it to your liking.
You may now change the shadow effect by moving the following sliders:
Distance/Spread/Size

Note: To get a better handle of where you want the drop shadow to fall, you may click & hold (on the image itself) and move the drop shadow to your liking.

Hope these steps aren't confusing.

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