RACHEL MELVIN EDITORIAL

SAMTOSA CLOTHING

This Friday I shot with a new client - Samtosa Clothing. Wayne, one of the owners / designers, has been in the fashion industry for 20 years and has been selling clothes to high end department stores and Target. His long-time partner and friend developed MS; to help with this he began practicing yoga, and thus a new line was created!

His son also filled me in on some of their unique buyers - like Sting (even though they only have a women's line as of right now!).

Trish, our model (pictured), was great and had quite a workout during the shoot! As did I, getting low to capture all the poses... :)

Overall, a really fun day. Check out clothes at samtosaclothing.com All the days' photos should be on their site soon!

MAGIC HOUR

Such beautiful, orange sunsety light! I force my sister to participate in my endeavors when I head home.

Tried to come up with a concept using my old prom dress, and the high school football field. Check out more photos on my site.

Sarahhummertphotography.com

ILLUMINATION FOUNDATION HOLIDAY PARTY

This year the Illumination Foundation held their annual Holiday Party at Pretend City Children's Museum in Orange County. Having never been there, I was shocked at how awesome this museum is. If you have kids, take them there. It is a 6 year old dream come true. You can play mailman, artist, banker, fire fighter, police man, farmer, chef.... The city is fully functional - you do a job and get a stamp, the stamp gets you money from the ATM, then you can buy things, such as food from the store.

The foundation hosted the event, as well as dinner, and brought in a Santa Clause, who gave the children donated gifts. The charity aims to help homeless families get back on their feet. To find out more please visit their website at www.ifhomeless.org or to see more photos visit Illumination Foundation Events

LA NATIONAL FOREST ON FIRE - 1 of 8 in SOCAL

KELLY B COUTURE SPRING '10

Today was spent in Venice shooting model Ashley Bowers for Kelly B's Spring 2010 line. We used the local scene - the walk streets of Venice, Kelly's back yard and the beach. KellyB is an eco-friendly line that you can find in higher end boutiques. Check out her website, Fall '09 line is about to hit stores (and I also shot that!).

http://www.kellybcouture.com/

KYLE CARRION

OAKLEY "LEARN TO RIDE"

Oakley hosted a weekend long workshop in Santa Barbara where celebs had the opportunity to take surf lessons from the pros - the Oakley Surf team, that is!!

The weekend consisted of a welcome dinner, surf boot camp, and an end-of-the-weekend bash under the stars with the Madden brothers DJ'ing.

It was my first opportunity to use a 400mm lens. While another photographer was in the water, actually shooting while surfing, I had a my-size lens on a tripod on the beach. I felt like a sniper, except catching celebs like Adrian Grenier, Mario Lopez and Ashley Greene eating waves for breakfast.

THE BONNIE HUNT SHOW

The opportunity to be set photog. for season 1 was such a wonderful experience.

EDDIE CIBRIAN SIGHTING

Eddie Cibrian, who was accused of having an affair with LeAnn Rimes, was spotted (by my camera) out with his wife, Brandi Glanville, at Yogen Fruz in Beverly Hills. A set-up to help build their positive marital image...your guess is as good as mine?

FOXTAIL - WEHO

Josh Hall, partner of United Media, held his 25th Birthday Part at Foxtail Lounge in West Hollywood. Foxtail is a two-story lounge and club that plays house music upstairs and hip hop downstairs, like most clubs it is very dark. I’ve only used a flash a handful of times, and only in daylight or well lit areas. The manual setting is a little bit difficult to perfect. I think I did alright though - the background didn’t come out as warm as I would have liked it to - but the client was happy and had a great birthday.

There was a Step and Repeat out back for guests to be photographed at, which is similar to a red carpet arrival with a specialized backdrop. Inside, Josh and had two private tables, bottle service and trays full of cupcakes and fireworks!

CULVER CITY

Just hanging out, waiting for work at Culver Studios