Migs Vuitton | Photographer

They Call Me Migs

Category: Photography

Sean & Sarah

A Future in Birthday Cake Photography??

DJPremium.com Summer 2010

Was able to do some candids at this shoot. Here are some of my favorites:

Crystal Cove

Scouting summer locations

Teaser: Emmylynn and Trac

Check out 5byseven later this week for the full set, for now, just some quick teasers:

Teaser: Eros Wedding, Pre-Ceremony

Check out 5byseven for the rest later this week. Totally put my iPad to use in the first image

Divine & Tuan

Jasmine&Marco

I had the privilege of shooting my good friends Jasmine & Marco with 5byseven. I always get nervous shooting people I know prior to their shoot, but the day of, it’s always a fun experience. Well, come to think of it, I’m always somewhat nervous just because I have high expectations and don’t want to [...]

Cabo San Lucas – Los Cabos, Mexico

Had an amazing time in Cabo with the 5byseven team as well as with the fabulous bride, groom & company. I’m gonna let the pictures do the talking. Check out 5byseven sometime early next week for the wedding image teasers. For now, here’s some of the perks of a destination wedding. Thanks Cat and Josh [...]

Untitled

I Live For These Days

Location Scouting

Went to check out a location today for a shoot coming up. Wanted a big open space, preferably abandoned or vacant with some natural light.

Say Cheese Lineup

It Use To Be Myspace Shots

We take lots of test shots. We also use to say, “Ohhh myspace!” But who still uses myspace? Now it’s all about the profile pic.

Flickr Slideshows

I should really take more advantage of flickr. Upload more galleries and share them. After all it’s a simple embed code and I have unlimited storage. Edits from my last shoot with Michael Manguino.

Outtake

The Engagement

Soar

Maid of Honor

Say It. Vampire.

Testing, 1.2.3.

Playing with B&W

I can never quite get my b&w photos to look good, which is probably why I rarely attempt it, but here’s some I was randomly testing conversions on:

Spring + Fashion + Pretty People

From last year:

I Love Sunday Mornings

One.Point.Two.

Continuing my Love with fast primes.

Behind the Scenes

Contact Sheets

Designer Michael Manguino

Portrait session with designer, Michael Manguino.

Pinhole

I <3 Bokeh

1.2 @ the Japanese Friendship Garden

Texture

Tree of Souls

Can you see the Na’vi in the tree?

Beaches and Cupcakes

They go together right?

The Perks or Annoyances of Knowing a Photographer

I either ask you to pose randomly, or have you wait for me to randomly shoot randomness…

Stop

Channeling Twilight

Holds photos, notes and memories

Just a little bit of every day things.

“Hey Mark, pose for me”

Something I say quite often. Here’s a couple more from that day:

85L Wallpaper

Got a lot of requests for this wallpaper. Click for larger version

If Everyone Could Just Smile More

The world would be a better place. Taken with the lovely Canon 85mm f/1.2L of my lovely niece Jordan.

Sticks and Stones

San Diego Winter Weather

The West Coast

Mark doesn’t like the pic cause it makes him look like he has a belly… I assured him it was the wind and that people would realize it’s the wind. But just in case, it’s the wind hah!

More f/2 Love

Pocket Wizard Flex, HSS, f/2

The Face Project

Gonna start the face project, inspired by a commercial from American Express seen here. Here’s my first one

Canon EF 200mm f/2.8L II

2009 Favorite Portraits

My favorite portraits of 2009. View my other favorite pieces here.

2009 Favorite Non-Portrait Photos

Just a few of my favorite things I’ve taken this year. You can also view my favorite portraits from 2009.

Untitled

Craving Cheese and Wine

Christmas Bokeh

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

5byseven Photography

Updated our blog layout last night for 5byseven. Check it out: 5byseven San Diego Wedding Photography
For those that don’t know, I have a side thing with this whole photography stuff. 5byseven.com was created in mind with myself and my brother, 5 and 7 representing the number of letters in our names and of course the [...]

Cabrillo National Monument

One of the little gems of San Diego, CA.

Line

Have a great weekend!

Traction

Benefit of Micro Adjusting a Lens

With Canon’s latest cameras like the 5dmkII, they have made it possible to micro adjust your specific lens to insure quality photos through the accuracy of its focal point. There have been times in my career where I’ve picked up lenses that I thought were awful.
I focused dead center on something and that focal point [...]

San Diego Zoo

200mm f/2.8 Love

Water Shine

Brick Bug

Happy November

Just a few random images from the year:

R&S

View set here

Mr. Steve Vanda

Inside the UN

Fakeup via Photoshop

To be Queen Amidala all you need is a duplicate layer, black brush and soften (or overlay).
Here’s the before:

Wedding Fields of Gold

Edited some images from a wedding in Lake Arrowhead and thought I’d share a set. The thing with editing images from a series is that when you do a set, you should edit all of them the same way so there’s a coherent vision or theme.
In this case, I went with a golden tone [...]

Poison

Untitled

III

Beer Goggles Bokeh

DIY Art Piece

So Mark and I saw an art piece the other day that we fell in love with it. Because it was so pricey, we decided to replicate it for our kitchen. The price tag was $500 and because we already have paint, two canvases and some art supplies, all we had to pay for were [...]

I’m not crazy about the moon

Texture

Olympus EP1 + Beauty Dish Test

Testing out some lighting for an upcoming shoot. Lending my 5dmkII to my brother so I used my EP1 with 20mm f/1.7. Pretty freakin’ impressed by this little camera.
Ideally I would have liked some fill light but I didn’t have an extra strobe with me. I thought about using my ringflash on camera and the [...]

Till Next Year

Time Flies

Images From Wedding in Lake Arrowhead

The day was beautiful as were the couple and company. Just a great day all together.

View the rest here

Fragile

I <3 Happy People

I do.

Catherine&Josh

First Blurb Book…

I have to say that the quality of this is fantastic. Prior to this, I made a book with iPhoto and this Blurb book is miles better in construction, quality, size, finish, etc.
Their program is simple to use and connects with your flickr directly. Depending on how many photos you have on flickr, you may [...]

3 Strobe Magic

1. On boom through shoot above
2. Camera side left
3. Camera side right

and of course, I want in on the fun…

Recent Engagement Photos…

I haven’t blogged in a real long while so I’m trying to make up for it. Check out some of our most recent engagement photos taken around San Diego on the most gorgeous days ever! Nothing beats San Diego weather. The shots in the collage below are all taken with the amazing 85mm f/1.2L II. [...]

Photos up @ Cooper Design Space

Photos on exhibit in the main lobby of the Cooper Design Space in downtown LA with tons of other photographers. Thanks to h2 for capturing this, her photos are featured there as well!

Hiking Black Mountain Open Space Park

Went hiking yesterday at Black Mountain Open Space Park in 85 degree weather so I didn’t want to lug around my dslr… this is where the DP2 excels. Didn’t feel pulled down by any weight at all. About a 2 hour hike up and down and the DP2 lasted the whole way.
I love the peacefulness [...]

Enhance a photo in 2 steps

For those that don’t know photoshop all that well, here’s a tip for enhancing a photo in 2 steps, 3 when you include opening an image. See the effect below:
Original Image:

Final:

step 1: Open Image
step 2: Press command j (on a mac). This duplicates the layer
step 3: Turn the duplicated layer to “soft light”
From there you [...]

Introducing PGN Dance Co.

Pay no attention to April’s shoes, or lack there of lol. Fixing that in the final version!

view larger version
For their artistic sets, see here and here.

PGN Shoot Part II

More from PGN Dance Co.

View the rest here

Sigma DP2 Review Part II

Quick links: Part I | Low light performance
I wanted to do a second review of the Sigma DP2, post field work, and since today was so gorgeous, I decided to take a ride on my bike around Lake Miramar for lunch and snap away. All images are clickable to 100% original files (the quality is [...]

A few shots from the PGN shoot

with 5byseven. Channeling some Terry Richardson + lomo in these edits. Nice job group 1. Look forward to shooting group 2.

Happy Anniversary Mom&Dad

41 years and strong. My idols. My inspiration. My all.

Sigma DP2: First images, camera porn, review…

Quick links: Part II | Low light performance
If you aren’t a camera geek, I suggest you just look at the pictures and skip all the text. It will be a boring ass read for you.
This thing is BAD ASS but give it to someone who doesn’t know the quality it produces and first thought is, [...]

Selected Pieces:

Saw this amazing photo blog template and I just had to use it. For a selection of work, please check out Picture This.

Sigma DP2 arrives tomorrow!

I am so excited to test this thing out. Was browsing around flickr and the results of some of the images this beast puts out are kind of amazing. This is crazy good. The depth, color and character this thing produces is just mighty. So damn amazing from a compact digital camera.

NYC Trip, 2009

Panasonic ZS3 & Sigma DP2

Cavit? Ghetto bird for “Can I have it?”

Offering all of the features that Panasonic’s multiple award winning TZ range of cameras is renowned for – including a remarkable 12x optical zoom in a compact, stylish body and 25mm ultra wide angle lens – the TZ7 goes one step further to offer AVCHD Lite*1 motion picture [...]

Canon 5dmkII USB Drive

Cavit?

Pretty in Pink

see on flickr
Everyone has a finger
But they can’t point me to the light
It can’t be that hard to find
After all we’re so bright
I don’t know if tomorrow has a day
I don’t know if the rays will shine my way again
All I know is that I’m standing in a place where
My future is like the skies [...]

Testing Sigma 12-24mm EX DG

Went out to Mission Trails in San Diego to test out a new lens. We’re doing a Spring Fashion Shoot here for work (djpremium.com) and it was beautiful out. This 12mm is really fantastic for landscapes. Here are some test shots:

Have some big shoots coming up!

Updated Gear List

Yes, it’s growing and it’s totally and absolutely out of control. Someone stop me.
Canon 5dmkII w/ BG-E6 – but only one battery, doh’!
Canon 24-105mm f4L
Canon 16-35mm f2.8L (sold to matt!)
Canon 85mm f1.8 (selling this one)
Canon 100mm f2.8 Macro (sharpest lens ever)
Sigma 50mm f1.4
Sigma 12-24mm f4.5
Sigma 24mm f1.8 Macro
580EX Speedlight
Rayflash Ringlight
Set of three 750 strobes with [...]

Pretec 64GB Compact Flash Card

March 2009: Pretec creator of the highest capacity CompactFlash card in the world (100GB) and the fastest CF card in the world (433X), continues today its record breaking history in the field of speed and capacity by unveiling the extraordinary 666X CF card, the world’s fastest CF card.
Four times faster than a typical CF [...]

Self Portrait

Some quotes I’d like to share:
1. I love you not because I need you, I need you because I love you. – anonymous
2. An archeologist is the best husband any woman can have; the older she gets, the more interested he is in her. – Agatha Christie
3. You’re sexy. Wanna hump? – anonymous
4.But most of [...]

f22 vs. bokeh

I was on the pier when I saw a pattern of light in the ocean glimmer. At first the strong highlights hurt my eyes but after a few seconds of starring, my sight started to adjust.
What I saw was the most beautiful sparkle.
I got to thinking about all the similes like, "Don’t judge a book [...]

5th Place

I totally won!

Ray Flash Ringlight

Quick review of this cool gadget. If you’re looking for some scientific bullshit analysis of the light output, don’t bother reading on. The only thing I will say is that so far, there seems to be a loss of one stop in your flash unit with this on.
I’m currently shooting with a canon 5dmkII and [...]

And so it is…

Just like you said it would be. Life goes easy on me. Most of the time.

Final Fantasy

When I saw this through my view finder, I automatically thought of Final Fantasy. It just looked so dreamy to me and felt like at any second, some creature was going to walk about behind the shrub. WTF right? I guess this new camera is making me feel giddy about photography again. I’ve been caught [...]

Self Portrait // 12.2008

Softbox camera left, up close and personal // 85mm f1.8 + Canon 5d mkII // new scarf from h2
The flash was a little too hot on my face. I suppose I could have lowered the power a little more but to be honest, I wasn’t focusing on lighting on this. I’m going to be doing [...]

More Sunpak RD2000, G10 Fun

This hobby of mine is fucking expensive. I’m eying the new 5D mkII. My bestbuy card is currently at a 0 balance awaiting 18 months of glorious no interest. Now only if they would stock this bad boy. It seems nearly impossible to get.
I did hear about some bad copies being distributed with some sort [...]

Shoot Results

I had a studio shoot today and I decided last minute to shoot a look outside. I’m so glad I did because they turned out to be my favorite from today! Check it out:

Happy Thanksgiving

Testing this blog post from firefox’s ScribeFire… oh and Happy Thanksgiving from me and Cargo Technorati Tags: cargo

Because We All Need a Little More Love

No Title.

The G10 does the Seussical the Musical

Holiday Campaign Under Way…

We launched our Holiday Campaign for work yesterday and the shots turned out extra fabulous with some photoshop work. At first, there was some skepticism about how the final product would look because it really didn’t look all that exciting pre-photoshop, but I must say… it turned out fantastic.

Mud Run!

This shit was hard first time around the course, second time went smooth sailing from the adrenaline. Team Pud Mies:

Some Pics From Today

We shot Arlyn, Kat and Tiffany as a continuation for their “Danity Kane goes Asian project.” I’m looking forward to doing the group shoot with all 8 of them at the studio! Should be killer. Here are some images from today’s shoot:

Winter Shoot Set

Without the snow on the ground…

I look about how I feel. Cold.

Photoshoot with April

The Nursery

Boston

Shots From Last Week

A couple shots from our shoot last week… have a few more solos lined up and then a group shot in November. I’m excited for that!

Sunset

We were driving down 163 yesterday just as the sun was setting and it looked amazing. I always thought sunsets along that freeway looked “Lion-King-esque” so I finally attempted to capture it in motion.

UFO?

Birthday Presents

I got my best friend a set of frames for his birthday. We had done an impromptu shoot awhile back and since the images came out so well, I thought I’d put them to good use. The frames consist of one 11×14, 8×10s, 5×7s and 4×6s. I hope he has room on his walls!

Self Stobist

Drought

Bride & Groom

Lipstick Jungle

Slow Shutters

At one point…

I sculpted. I painted. I carved. I drew.

But ultimately fell in love with photography and design. I really should be editing wedding photos right now =P

LX3 Dynamic B&W

Never used this function before but I think I like what I see. Saw someone post about it over at Dpreview and took a snap of my desk at the moment. Kinda gross.

Samuel Adams Oktoberfest. Lotion. Baby cologne. G10. Dayquil. Green tea. Can of dog food. SDHC and CF card readers. Blank CD. Edge of [...]

More G10 First Shots

More Polaroid PoGo Victims

Polaroid PoGo

This thing is sweet. Who would have thought you could instantly print images from your camera through a pocketable printer that uses inkless technology? Hey, it’s no high quality print, but it’s something awesome you can bring forth to the table with clients, especially at weddings.

Testing

I made a new action for my photos specifically for my blog and who better to test on than Matt?? I think I like it. Polaroid like, but not. Perhaps this is fitting since I have my eyes set on the Polaroid PoGo!

Toys For Big Boys

So I just picked up a Canon G10. What am I thinking? I know right. I totally just bought a LX3 last month as a non DSLR camera and here I am with a non DSLR camera #2. Crazy as it may be, I’ve had my eyes on this camera for awhile. I’ve always wanted [...]

More Yellow

85 f1.8

Still testing the waters

Hey, It’s Friday…

Running the Numbers

Photographer Chris Jordan turns cold, hard stats into proactive statements on economics, culture and the American way of life.
Amazing stuff

40d and 85mm f1.8 Test

After a pretty awful weekend, I finally had some time to try this out. All images taken at f1.8, 800iso with the exception of the second and third image which is at 400iso. Obviously at small resolution, this is not meant to show you the amazingly low levels of noise. Instead, its to show the [...]

Amber&Joe

5d + 16-35L f2.8

The photography manager at work let me take the 5d home for the weekend for a test drive. I’m in the market for a full frame camera and after shooting with it for about an hour, I’m pretty much sold. Taking images feels so much more like home to me for some reason.
It feels more [...]

Wedding Next Week

Scoped out a wedding spot for next week. The area is ok, nothing spectacular so we’ll have to work it out. Should be a good day!

16-35mm F2.8 II Lens

I love my new lens. Haven’t had time to take it out in the real world, but Cargo seems to love it.

Now all I need is the new Canon 5d mkII

Portfolio Redesign

After a long weekend of work… I finally redesigned 5byseven.com. Never worked with slide shows before so it took awhile to configure with lots of help from google. I’m happy with it. It’s much more clean than the previous design and I think a bit easier to navigate. Content is still pretty low, but more [...]

Improvise

Clarione needed some headshots before my trip to Las Vegas on Wednesday. Without any of my studio lights on hand, we ghetto rigged some Target lights. Our results after 20 minutes…

Not to bad eh?

New layout, new photoblog

I went crazy yesterday and stayed up late customizing these awesome wordpress themes. I’m also attempting, yet again, another photoblog. I’ve titled it, “Picture this” and am so far having fun with it.
Hopefully it will also get me out there exploring again and snapping any and everything in my way. I’m starting to remember why [...]

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3

This is going to be my latest camera. Here are the reasons why…

F2.0 LEICA DC VARIO-SUMMICRON Lens
24-60mm ultra wide
RAW Format
16:9 aspect ratio:
Full manual controls
1/1.63″ sensor
3-inch LCD with 460,000 reso
HD 16:9 aspect ratio 24fps video
Hot shoe for external flash or optical view finder!!!
Wide lens converted to 18mm + filters
Sweet old school leather case
Face detection
Mega O.I.S.

Now those [...]

Photo Actions Love

Just found this amazing action and wanted to use it. How cool is this? Don’t be alarmed if you see random cubes of images in the next couple posts.
P.S. I’d totally post the action except the 20 people that come here probably don’t care enough. lol.

Flip That House, season 5

Photo by H2

During a quick lunch break at work, the newly turned 26 Holly, snapped away.

April

Calumet 750 Studio lights. Soft box and fill light. Post processing in photoshop CS3.

Weddings

I shot my first wedding with 5byseven.com. It was really fun/tiring and something we’re definitely going to venture off into. We also just purchased our own studio set up so we’re pretty stoked on getting this thing going.
If you guys have any work you need done, holla atcha your boy.

The Streets