Nice to Meet You, Home - 0

My 1 year old nephew Joshua from the Bay Area who keep calling me grandpa...

After 2 weeks of telecommuting from the Bay Area tomorrow is finally the first day of my Hong Kong trip. I haven't been back home for 3 years and I'm sure a lot have changed since my last visit. The temperature is still very warm (around 83 degree) over there so I guess it'll be like summer again.

Aside from shopping and visiting friends and family, I'll probably check out a local cosplay event called HKU cosplay party during my short stay in Hong Kong. Can't wait for some cosplay-culture-shock XD


The amount of HK money I'll bring with me to the airport (~ $87.73 USD)

Hong Kong Trip

(image source: National Geographic)

Haven't been back home for 3 years... Finally got a chance to go to Hong Kong for a visit next week.

I look forward to really living the life of a HK ppl for 2 weeks. Can't wait to bring back stories and photographs of this amazing city! ^__^)

Photoshoot - Dating 101

My friend Tyson is thinking of doing some freelance modeling. We decided to work together to pull out a portfolio for him to show his potential clients. Instead of starting off with fashion photographs we decided to do something fun/silly in our first shoot.

Tyson has this ultimate gorgeous Lexus IS 300 he got a while ago. When I first saw it I knew I have to somehow incorporate it in every single photo of this photo shoot. XD


Billy and I with the 3 awesome models (Leilany, Tyson, IS 300)

The best part of a casual shoot like this is we both got to play around with idea, props and location without worrying too much about brand images, wardrobe and styling. It is also a nice way to develop our teamwork.

Thanks a lot Leilany for being the "mystery date",  Tyson for being our awesome model and Billy for assisting with lighting! You can view all the 5-setups here: Dating 101

Fashion Brands by Mark Tungate

Awesome book by Mark Tungate

Picked up this book at a local bookstore a couple weeks ago. Author Mark Tungate did a wonderful job introducing us to the world of fashion. He first covered briefly on the history of fashion branding from Worth and Bobergh in 1858 to some of the top fashion brands nowadays including LV, Gucci and Chanels. Then he went ahead and talked about the business trend in the fashion industry, as well as discussing strategies some brands and designers used in selling their products. Being a "fashion outsider", Mark was able to cover all these topics in a way that is easy for everyone to understand.

I especially love how this book focused mainly on the business side of fashion. Fashion is a really tricky business. As Mark mentioned in this book "Fashion is based on creating a need where ,in reality, there is none" and because of that, marketing pretty much determine the success or failure of a brand. Media has always been the tool of choice in marketing fashion brands. Understanding the business side of fashion helps me understand fashion photography better. I highly recommend this book to my fellow photographers and anyone who is interested in the fashion industry :)