College Park Center

I photographed the ceremonies and the doubleheader basketball games against UT-San Antonio, all revolving around the newly opened College Park Center on Wednesday. Check it out here at Arlington Texas Magazine.

Creative Series Interview

Hop on over and take a look at an interview I did with one of my good friends, Laura Sliva, for her Creative Series here.

Mandi's Bridals - Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center

Click here to enter the password to view Mandi's bridals

Ashley's Bridals - The Woodlands, TX

Click here to enter the password to view Ashley's bridals

Alvin and Niki's Pre-Wedding Shoot

I hope the holidays have been good to everyone. 2011 was a great year -- made even better after completing my first, full year as a full-time freelancer after college!

I was requested to take photos of Alvin and Niki for their wedding that will take place next month. We shot on the last day of the year, on New Year's Eve, at the Dallas Arboretum, and the weather couldn't be more perfect. They wanted to display a large print at the reception, and decided for a couple's shoot.

We started in the middle of the walkway leading up to the frog fountains, and made these two photos:

As we made our way through the gardens, I had them pose for a back-lit photo filled by one of my off-camera flashes:

I wanted to go for a cleaner backdrop here, and just used a simple shadow:

A detail of Niki's ring. It's interesting to see how couple's change up their hand holding when you ask them:

We went down past the big hill and shot on the theater grounds, and I took these images:

Alvin suggested that they also liked candid photos -- here's one I took during the shoot:

We moved onto a wrapping stairwell, and took some formals, along with a kiss at the end:

Here's an great example of when you tell your client(s) "test shot," and you noticed how naturally relaxed they are:

 This was another great example of some of the poses that came natural to them towards the end of the shoot, after having done them earlier in the session. I didn't have to direct them for this one, and I enjoyed how that translated:

Alvin, Niki, thanks for bringing me along and being open and thorough with your ideas and suggestions! You guys were a pleasure to work with and modeling only came natural -- I can't wait until the wedding day!

Rasy Ran Photography

Christkindl Market, Arlington

Take a look at the coverage I did of Arlington's inaugural Christkindl Market for Arlington Texas Magazine:

Rasy Ran Photography

Logan, 1 week

This past weekend I got to spend time with Katie and Ben's newborn son, Logan, whom I must say was awesomely named after Wolverine from X-Men. I went and photographed their then 1-week-old in their home, and made some portraits of their first child. Here are some that I took during the session.

The shoot was pretty straightforward, since he was very cooperative, and looked content most of the time (what's not pleasing about that?):

Then I went for details of the feet. Though they look bigger in the photo, the toes are the size of small peas!:

We shifted him to the side for this horizontal:

Katie was brought in to shush Logan, as he was briefly crying, and it calmed him right away:

Their black Labrador, Roscoe, wanted a photo too:

We moved the session into the nursery, and took some photos there. Mother and child was what came to mind first:

Then brought in Ben (and Roscoe) for this photo:

Logan was placed on the changing station, which in its own design makes for a simple photo:

Katie, Ben, congratulations on the new addition to the family. It's a always a treat to see you guys, and getting to photograph the growth of your family.

Rasy Ran Photography

Two Recent Restaurants

Take a look at couple of restaurants I recently photographed, Olenjack's Grille and Potagér, for Arlington Texas Magazine, here and here:

Rasy Ran Photography

Chad's R1 Raven

A couple of nights ago I photographed a Yamaha R1 Raven Edition that belonged to a friend of mine, Chad, which was a nice change of pace. It was a night shoot, so a tripod was necessary, and I brought a couple of flashes triggered wirelessly to light the bike.

The first spot we went to was a small business district off Interurban Street in Richardson, with its solid-colored buildings, it served as a simple environment:

A detail of the dual-carbon fiber Akrapovic exhaust:

And the main decal on the side of the motorcycle:

We went to The Shops at Legacy, and photographed on top of the parking garage next to the Angelika theater in Plano, and made these:

As I said earlier, it was a nice change to go from my typical daylight shooting of human subjects, to night shooting of an inanimate object. Thanks Chad - try to stay under the speed limit :P.

Rasy Ran Photography

The VanKirks

I recently finished another family session in Denton. I met Tessa and her family, who were introduced to me by Carrie, and her sister-in-law, Stephanie, also attended with her son Aiden. While the weather clouds looked stormy and had a fifty percent chance of rain, the clouds parted and drifted away during the session, and came back towards the end. We started at the square, and moved to our second location, Old Alton Bridge, for the second half:

The stairs at the courthouse always make for great formals:

And here is one of Stephanie and Aiden:

Shortly after the initial formals, I had the kids play around the courthouse, and on the courthouse for some candids:

Isaac underneath tree limbs:

Stephanie and Aiden sat down for this shot, and Stephanie displays her affection here:

I took an individual of Cooper:

And Aiden as well, hugging mom:

We walked away from the square towards Sweetwater, where Kevin and Tessa actually had their first date, so I did another family portrait with the two of them kissing:

The wooden backdrop made for some nice, clean lines:

On the otherside of the Sweetwater storefront was this dark window accented with red and yellow paint:

We moved from the square to Old Alton Bridge, and took the remaining photos there. With the recent storm clouds acting as a diffuser, and the approaching sunset, it gave me a great window of light that only lasted for less than half an hour.

The families wanted some photos of all six of them together, and here's one of them:

Then I moved onto some individuals on the bridge:

And then [part of] Tessa's family, as Isaac was busy playing on the bridge!:

Thanks Tessa, Kevin and Stephanie, for the chance to meet you and your wonderful kids. I look forward to the next session.

Rasy Ran Photography

The Greer and Horsch Families, and Pumpkins

Recently, I was brought along to document the Greer and Horsch family on their outing to the Dallas Arboretum. Unfortunately, Carrie was out sick and couldn't make it, but sent superdad (as he termed it) along with the boys. You may remember Andrea and her family as I went over to their home to photograph Oliver's first birthday earlier this year. They are friends of the Greers and came along as well, making this a fairly simple dual family shoot.

I photographed a formal of the Horsch family early in the beginning:

After the group mingled for a bit, the kids went straight into play-mode. Here's a photo of Jack and leading the adults:

And Nate taking the first smell of the flowers:

We stopped on a stairway to grab individual photos of Jack, Nate, Sam, and Oliver, respectively:

 

Then when we got to the pumpkin houses, I made some quick portraits due to the large crowds:

Oliver did pretty well climbing through the batches of pumpkins:

The Greers peer through one of the window panes of a pumpkin house:

I suggested everyone to check out the hay bale maze setup they have annually as well:

We started to make a trek to the other side of the arboretum, to where the kids typically play, here's a shot of Paul and Sam on the way:

The first stop was at the wagon, with Nate looking out:

Then we made it to the smaller houses, fit for the kids to run around in, and that's what happened:

And a tree too:

Thank you Carrie, Paul, Andrea, and Corey for bringing me out on a nice Fall day and keeping up to date with your family's growth.

Rasy Ran Photography