Nick Abadilla Photography Blog » Portrait

Oh, the Pressure …

Nick — Fri, 28 May 2010 06:32:37 +0000

Commercial assignment photography, like wedding photography, demands that you absolutely must get the job done. No excuses, no do-overs. I’m fortunate to shoot for the University of San Diego’s College of Arts and Sciences, most often tasked with creating character portraits of noteworthy faculty, alumnus, and undergrads. Art Director Ken Soto and I went into a recent portrait assignment with the Dean’s expressed desire for a sexy physics shot. The only problem was that the lab we had access to was anything but sexy. A cramped 10×20 room with ho-hum white walls. We didn’t have the opportunity to have the Physics department construct anything in advance, and the only thing in the room we could leverage for the shot was some sort of red laser thingy (read: Oooohhh, pretty light!!) setup on a tabletop.

Challenges, bring ‘em on. Employing two off-camera strobes with a latex lab glove over one, and a discarded mailing tube over the other (not shown) … voila.

Emily & Ben’s E-Session

Nick — Thu, 27 May 2010 04:41:43 +0000

Emily is one of those infectious people who can project her bright personality with a computer keyboard. Her e-mails are loaded with exclamation points. Just about every sentence, really. When I finally met her, true to form, she was a beaming, gushingly happy woman. The fact that she was a fourth-grade teacher (our daughter is in the same grade) scored points with me. As we chatted leisurely, it wasn’t too difficult envisioning the cheery Ms. Emily taking on a classroom full of ten-year old kids.

I finally met Ben, an aspiring playwright, when we connected a few months later for their engagement portrait session in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter. Quiet and reserved, Ben was Emily’s rock – calm, steady, reassuringly confident. Yet all it took to soften Ben was simply having his beautiful fiancé by his side. Our shoot was relaxed and fun as it should be, just wandering through the streets exploring the textures unique to downtown. Afterward we headed up to Wipeout Beach in La Jolla to take advantage of the soft coastal light and serenity that comes with a west coast sunset. Watching the sun touch the horizon, photographing the unshakeable bond between Emily and Ben – what a great end to a creative day.

Lately I’ve Been Sleeping Verrryy Well

Nick — Fri, 21 May 2010 21:20:03 +0000

You readers have likely noticed that my blog posts have been infrequent this month, but I’ve been pulling into my driveway nearly depleted most evenings. I know I’m far from cornering the market on busy, but between wedding, portrait, and comercial assignments that swelled my May calendar, precious little time has been available to write coherently (yeah, like I ever did anyway). I’ve opted to spend the remaining minutes of the night savoring dinner with my family and quietly reading with Sophie. However, to keep my blog out of the cobwebs, I thought I ‘d at least post a sampling of this month’s photo activity to give you fuller idea of just what the heck I do for a living. I’ll follow-up on some of these with more detailed posts …

Portrait shoot, UCSD Rady School of Business Management

Wedding in Covington, Louisiana

Biotech shoot, Althea Technologies

Fashion shoot, Stylesis women's clothing

Engagement portrait, Gaslamp Quarter, San Diego

Website portrait, USD College of Arts & Sciences

Choral Scholars shoot, USD College of Arts & Sciences

Campus shoot, UCSD Admissions Office

Portrait shoot (one of my favorite sessions ever)

Portrait, USD College of Arts & Sciences

Portrait, Coronado Beach

Tovah’s Senior Portrait Session

Nick — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 21:20:42 +0000

Teaching Tovah and her parents how to scuba dive is one of my fondest memories from my glorious PADI instructor days. As a feisty ten-year old (ten!), Tovah held her own against a classroom full of adults hoping to acquire the skills and knowledge to explore the ocean depths. Barely managing to shoulder the scuba cylinder and lead weights on dry land, once beneath the Pacific I had the joy of watching tiny Tovah morph into a curious, bubble-blowing guppy, eyes bright with wonder behind her foggy face mask.

Tovah with her parents at La Jolla Shores, 2003

Seven years have passed since then. Skinny, gawky little Tovah has transformed into a butterfly-winged teen beauty. As a child, she was afraid of the dark. The gold-trimmed wings that once hung in her bedroom, together with the stenciled flying fairies adorning the walls, protected her from the night. The wings of her childhood, now a fitting metaphor to define this stunning, eclectic, independent, I-will-save-our-planet young lady. In Mom’s words, Tovah flys to the beat of her own drum …

Hali & Chris’ Portrait Session

Nick — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 07:17:46 +0000

Hali and her USMC hubby Chris were married last year in New Jersey before his duty assignment to San Diego. Once they settled into west coast life, Hali needed a reason to don her beautiful ivory beaded dress just once more. Thanks to Exquisite Weddings Magazine, she contacted me to inquire about a (as Hali dubbed it) Kinda Trashing the Dress portrait session. Once I met this perky, bubbly Jersey girl and listened to her photography wish list , I was all to happy to fulfill her creative expectations.

The only part of the dress that suffered was it’s hem from dragging through the sidewalks of San Diego’s Gaslamp District and Seaport Village. That aside, we launched into the session committed to having a great time. Last week I posted a few behind-the-scenes photos from this fun afternoon/evening with my new friends, mentioning that all a couple has to do is show me who they are. Plain as day, you can see that Hali and Chris took this to heart …