Fostered Purpose Keys

We have started up another business. We just can't help ourselves. We are always going and there are so many things that we love doing. 

Fiona loved doing crafts and she has gotten on this kick of creating these keys. She has been making these keys and passing it out to her friends. The keys has a specific word on it and a bible verse attached to it. You can see what they look like below and get a better idea of what I am talking about. 

With this latest craft, it gave us an opportunity to practice capturing the details. During weddings, there are so many different details that we look to capture and we want to keep practicing shooting different details to give us more ideas on wedding days. It will help us become more creative on the wedding day when we are taking photos of rings or any other items on a wedding day. 

Check out the Instagram account for Fostered Purpose. 

Instagram: Fostered Purpose

Check out what we do behind the scenes at Be Still Photog on our Snapchat. 

Snapchat: Be Still Photog

Here are some images of those awesome keys. Send us an email if you are interested in buying some keys. 

Sunset trip to Waterfront Park with the kids

We went down to Waterfront Park down in Downtown San Diego to meet up with some friends and we couldn't help but take a few photos of the kids enjoying their day. The sunset was beautiful and we had to just snap a few photos while we were out there. 

We were doing a 365 day challenge, that already has been derailed, but there are some principles that we want to continue from that challenge. We want to have our cameras with us wherever we may go. We want to be able to shoot whenever the light is amazing. We want to be able to capture great moments for ourselves and for others. 

We may not have a photo a day for 365 straight days, but we definitely will be looking to capture moments every chance that we get. 

Here are a few shots from Waterfront Park last night. We love our little ones! The sunset was gorgeous. 

How are you creating engagement on social media?

Content is king! Content is KING. Content is king! How are you creating engagement over social media? I don't know how many times you have heard it, but in the blogging world it is said over and over and over again. I ran a San Diego Chargers site for a long time and was able to get a lot of traffic on that page and the only reason why we were able to get so many people around is because we were always able to create content.

The offseason was our biggest time to get people around. While the main networks were slowing down on their football coverage, we were still flowing with content every day for people to look through.

In the world of photography, we have to do the same thing. We have to create content all the time in order to share with everyone. We can recycle through our old photos for so long, but at some point you have to create. If you don't have any shoots scheduled for a good amount of time, you will have to work on some personal shoots. Find some people or things to take photos of and create.

The best practice for all of us is to continue to pick up that camera and keep working. We need to create content all the time.

That content needs to be shareable. You want that content to create emotion.

Some of the latest content we have created for social media is some of our photos with some meaningful love quotes on them. Our clients love seeing the quotes on the photos, but other people would love to share those photos out with other people as well.

Just look at the last couple of photos we created to share.

When I saw you I fell in love, and you smiled because you knew - William Shakespeare love quotes engagement photography

The best thing to hold onto in life is each other audrey hepburn love quotes engagement photography

People love good imagery and they love quotes. We just put them together to create something to get a response from them. With all the algorithms that are going out for all the social media networks at this time, you need to be able to create a reaction and a response with your work. That is how you will get pushed to the top of the line on all these algorithms. 

What are you doing to get to the top of the line? How are you getting noticed? How are you generating a response on social media?

Tips when having a photographer during your proposal

Where are you going to drop down on a knee and propose to your lady? In San Diego, there are a number of beautiful locations that you can propose and save that magic moment.

If you want a photographer, here are some things that you want to make sure that you keep in mind.

Make sure that there is good light where you want to propose

A lot of times during these proposals the photographer has to be hiding around the corner at some location and won't be able to set up a solid flash to get everything just the way you like.

Make sure that you have a schedule that works out well and are at your location at that exact time. We like to have people schedule out their time right at sunset. Check what time sunset is and have it all scheduled by that time.

Schedule out your plan up to the proposal

The last thing you need is to run over time on your schedule and start rushing as your time gets closer. You don't need to add any more stress to your proposal. Leave extra time on your schedule to make sure that you are not left in a hurry.

Be in solid communication with you photographer before the proposal day

Make sure that the location is clear. Make sure that the time is clear. Make sure that the photographer knows exactly how the plan is going to go and when you are going to drop down on a knee.

If possible, let the photographer know exactly where you will be facing in order for the photographer to get in proper position for the money shot.

Hold the pose on a knee for your proposal

Just hold the pose.  Don't drop down and jump right back up. Stay down there long enough to get a few solid images. We are not saying that you should be down on the knee for a few minutes, just give it a few seconds before you come up to hug and kiss your lady.

Hire a photographer

You will want someone to capture this moment. It is a big day in your life and you will want someone to be there to capture the moment properly. Don't have your friends do it on their phone. Have a pro ready to capture your day.

Family portraits at Stone Brewery

  Last week, we did family portraits at Stone Brewery. A brewery is not exactly the first place that you would think about doing a portrait session, but think about the close availability of brews right after the session.

You can even have a brew during the session. This is perfect for all the gentleman that are not stoked on having their photos taken (almost every guy).

Stone Brewery up in Escondido has a number of great locations to take photos as long as there is not a mass group of people sitting in the garden area.

At some point, I would love to do some engagement photos and a wedding there. It seems like a great spot if there is not a lot of people around.

We went at a random hour and had nice access to the area to have our portrait session with the family. Check out some of the photos of the little children with their Christmas lights and all:

Family Portrait Photographers: Be Still Photog | Ernie Padaon | Fiona Padaon Location: Stone Brewery | Escondido, CA

Here are some of the misc shots that I didn't even use on the blog, so I will just drop them right here for you. It just didn't feel right having a beer photo next to the children. :

Halloween Photo Booth

We threw a Halloween party at the house and set up a quick photobooth with a camera sitting on a tripod with a video light on top and let people take some photos. We set it up all the settings to limit as many blurry pics as we could. Check out some of the fun photos that people took. 

Halloween with the cutest superheroes

Check out our little superheroes all dressed up for Halloween. Sarai wanted to be just like her brother and wanted to be a superhero, so she put on her Superman onesie. We were able to sneak a few moments in her Princess outfit, but she was all about Superman. Caleb was Captain America. Could you tell that he didn't want to take any photos? He really didn't, but we offered him a lollipop and that is all that it took.

Check out our little mini photoshoot with the littles for Halloween:

Sugar Skulls photoshoot... because Halloween

We did this photoshoot a couple of weeks ago and had to share the love before Halloween. Halloween is just in a couple of days and the ladies painted some sugar skulls on their face and we went out in the middle of the night to take some photos. Check out some of the photos from the night. We went out to Lake Hodges to start things off and then ended the night at the house.

To the couple that kissed for the cam at the color run...

  To the couple that kissed for the camera at the Color Run.... I LOVE YOU GUYS!

After shooting for 4 hours of people running and jumping in front of the camera, it was great to have something fresh to capture at that very moment. Capturing moments during an event like the mud run can get a little tedious and mundane for a portrait and wedding photographer, but then a moment like this happened.

I almost wanted to pull them to the side to pose them even more. The background was full of orange smoke and their faces and clothes were full of color from the run and it could have made for an interesting shoot!

Of course that is what I was thinking! We could have made some very interesting and different photos if they decided to hang out for a little bit. :)

I did have a job to get done though. Here are some of the other interesting photos from the color run:

 I kept seeing the little ones walking through all the color and I don't know if they were enjoying it at all. It seems like a kids paradise, but then after walking through it and having people toss it in your face, it might not be the funnest situation.

Anyway, it was fun working the color run. Thanks for that couple for kissing for the cam. When you guys decide to get married or need some photos.... you know who to call!

San Diego Baby Photography | Lyric

Baby Photographers: Be Still Photography | Ernie Padaon | Fiona Padaon

Here is just a quick look in on our camera from our shoot earlier this morning with Baby Lyric. We will post more after we are done processing all the images, but wanted to sneak in on some of the images from the day.

We did the shoot at the Garcia house in their nursery. We loved having the shoot in the comfort of their home. It helped keep baby comfortable for the shoot.

We used their curtain as a backdrop for some of the photos and we used Andessa's guitar as a prop for some of our favorite photos.

Check out some of the images from the day.

Class of 2016 Senior Representative Program | San Diego Senior Portraits

This will be the first time that Be Still Photography will be running anything like this, but we are going to start up a Senior Rep Program. People that are selected for the program will get an incredible discount on a shoot and will also get the opportunity to get cash back or other incentives for anyone they are able to refer to our services. We will see how this works out for the Class of 2016 and will likely bring it around for the Class of 2017 as well. We believe that it will be a hit.

We are hitting the Senior Portraits season a little late, but I am sure that we will still bring in some clients. We started working with seniors last year and believe that it is a fun population to work with.

Class of 2016, if you are interested in Senior Portraits or being a Senior Representative, please contact us at photo@bestillphotog.com. We would love to be your photographers.

Senior Portrait Photographers: Be Still Photog | Ernie Padaon | Fiona Padaon Location: Terra Mar | Carlsbad, CA

Blog post on the senior portrait session of the photo above can be seen here.

Kirsten + Amare Sneak Peek | Maternity Session at Marian Bear Park

 

I know we specialize in San Diego wedding photography, but it is not the only thing that we do. We just love capturing moments and capturing people. We love being able to share emotions and personalities in a photograph.

Yesterday we went out with Amare and Kirsten for a maternity session at Marian Bear Park. The location was beautiful. We have been here twice in the last week. Both Amare and Kirsten made the photos come alive though. They are a fun couple to be around and we shared a lot of laughs. We can't wait to share more from this shoot.

We still remember the excitement of having our bundles of joy. Our kids are the greatest gifts ever and we love every moment with them. We love that we get to capture these moments in time for other families and that it can be something that they can look back upon over and over again.

San Diego Wedding Photography: Be Still Photog | Ernie Padaon | Fiona Padaon Location: Marian Bear Park

UPDATE: Here is the link for the new blog post with Amara and Kirsten. Click in to see some of their photos from their day.

San Diego Photography | Purple hair style

San Diego Photography: Be Still Photog | Ernie Padaon | Fiona Padaon Hair Stylist: Casie Germonto

There is always some sort of art project happening at the house. This time around, our roommate got her hair colored in the kitchen by Casie Germonto. Our roomie was looking to get some purple in the hair and of course we had to pull out the cameras and the light to take some photos.

While it was great to get some images for Casie to use for her portfolio, it helped us understand what some of the hairstylists are looking for in these shots. We try to provide some of these shots to the stylists after the wedding. We all are in the same industry and we will try to keep as good a relationship with all the people in that line of work. It could lead to a referral of some sort.

In our last wedding, we took some photos of the bride's and bridesmaid's hair and the stylist said that a photographer had never offered that for her in the past. We will take every referral that we can get.

Check out some of the colors in this hair though:

That photographer's itch

From time to time, I can't help but get an itch that I just have to scratch. I am not talking about a physical itch. I am talking about the photography itch. The creative itch. The itch to create something. The itch to create art! I tend to get this itch often. I want to create all the time and luckily I get the opportunity to do it often as a photographer, but when there is a bit of a lull in the action that itch starts to creep up. If a few days go by and I have not been able to stretch out that creative muscle, then I get that itch to create something new.

I have that itch right now, since I have not shot in a week. I need to get out there and create something. Anything! This is the best time for some of my friends to get in a shoot, since I just want to stretch out that muscle. I would just ask them to come out and take some photos.

It is time to create. It is time to make something awesome. This is why photographers are always looking to create something different. Creating the same image over and over gets a little boring. This is why we sometimes challenge ourselves with different ways to get better.

We work with flashes more. We work without flashes. We only use prime lenses. We stick to one lens. We are always looking to create something fresh and different. We know where we will get our wins, but we will always look to stretch and reach a new place.

I can't help but find ways to get better or get more efficient with what we do. I started looking into some new presets and am testing out the Mastin Labs. Instead of shooting to create at the moment, I am working on some new editing looks that we can push out. I don't think it is possible for my brain to stop pushing in this type of manner in the creative world. That is where I will get my win on creativity today.

Commercial Photography Shoot

Photographers: Be Still Photography | Ernie Padaon | Fiona Padaon

We landed a commercial shoot! We did the shoot last week and it was a lifestyle type shoot that featured yoga, biking, hiking and running. We cranke out all the photos in one day of shooting on one of the foggiest days that we have had in San Diego in a while. The timing wasn't perfect for the fog to linger around, but we made it work out and had some beautiful images because of it. It added a bit of drama to some of the photos.

We won't share all of the work from that day, but here is a sneak in on some of the great things we had from that day.

Baby Reveal Photography | David + Natalie

Photographers: Be Still Photography | Ernie Padaon | Fiona Padaon

We were asked to capture the moment when Natalie and David found out what they were having. They are having twins, but they didn't know if they were boys, girls or a mix of both. Right after their appointment to find out, they met up with us with the envelope that had the results.

Neither of them knew what they were going to have, so they were going to be totally excited to see what they would be having.

Each of them were going to hold a mason jar for each of their kids and they would throw powder in the air to rep if they were having a girl or a boy. Pink was for a girl. Blue was for a boy.

If they both had blue, it would have been two boys. If they had two pinks it would have been two girls. If they had a mix, they were going to have a boy and a girl.

We are so excited to do their newborn photos with them!

Portrait Session in Carlsbad Beach

Portrait session in Carlsbad, CA Photographers: Be Still Photography | Ernie Padaon & Fiona Padaon Location: Beach in Carlsbad, CA (Won't tell all the secrets since it is nice to have this spot without a ton of people around)

We were doing a family shoot with these two and had an amazing time with them. We were able to take them away from the kids for a bit to get some shots of them as a couple. Loved the light that we wer able to get. They were a great fam to work with and the location is dreamy. Love how you can get a beach without many people walking around it.

Senior Portraits in Carlsbad, CA | Lexy

Photographers: Ernie Padaon and Fiona Padaon | Be Still PhotographyLocation: Carlsbad, CA

Senior Portraits are always fun. We were able to do this Senior Session out in Carlsbad, CA out at a beach that doesn't get much traffic. It is such a great spot for beach portraits if you want to avoid all the beach goers.

We have a great time with Lexy and snuck in this session right before the sun went down.

We love doing Senior Portraits for teenagers. It has been great to capture the personalities of the teenagers and love the idea of giving them something different that is not in the studio.

Check out the photos from the day.