As a team of South Florida Wedding photographers we obviously focus primarily on Brides and Grooms. Our business name, however, is Many Many Moments. We chose this name because our mission is to capture the many, many moments that are special in our clients’ lives.

Now for many out there the World Cup is somewhat of a nuisance that rears it’s head every four years and requires you to at least pretend that you have a clue that something is going on, related to football (you know, the one played with your feet, as opposed to that other one where you carry the ball in your hands  ) somewhere half around the world. For those I offer these three tidbits that you can use at the watercooler and get by for the next few days “Vuvuzelas are very annoying, don’t you think?” … “Wow… I don’t think France has a chance to pass the first round!” … “Who would have thought Spain would have lost to Switzerland!?!?”

If you’re still reading, odds are the World Cup is indeed one of the Many Many Moments in your life that you remember as the time goes by.

[below: my three little monsters]

If you know someone who is TIVO-ing the games… heading to sports-bars at impossible times of the day, blabbering about zone defense and 4-4-2 … let them know of this offer… odds are they’ll love the idea to have some professional photos from this special time.

Here are two images that are VERY special to me: The first one is my oldest, taken in 2006 (when Italy won the World Cup, Yay!) … she was almost a year old at the time:

And here she is, wearing the same shirt, four years later, at the start of another World Cup adventure (yes, they DO grow up too fast):

I have to admit that I get a lump in my throat at the thought that the NEXT time she’ll be wearing the shirt during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil… she’ll be nearly 9 years old.

If you continue reading I’ll be sharing some fairly personal moments that I recall from past World Cups. This may be interesting or boring, but either way, it will probably illustrate how the event has in a way been a metronome to my life. I will pepper in some images from this year and 4 years ago, images I’ll undoubtedly treasure forever, no matter how well Italy does this time around (All the way baby!!!! – Uhm… probably not, but hey we can always hope). [below: Luca ... he wasn't born yet the last time we played for the Cup]

The first World Cup I remember was Spain ’82. I was 10 years old at the time and ’82 was NOT a good year. I had recently lost my paternal grandmother whom I loved more than words can say (she taught me to draw, to shade images, perspective… if you like my photography, a lot of it has to do with her) and we had moved from Sicily to Central Italy, to a small town where, as the World Cup got under way I had exactly ONE friend.  I didn’t even have an Italy flag to wave in the event that Italy did well… that’s how bad things were. Then a kind neighbor took me to a fabric store, bought three pieces of cotton fabric, green, white, and red … and sewed a flag for me.  It couldn’t fly … it was too heavy for that, but it was MY FLAG. And for the record… at this point as far as flying is concerned… neither could Italy. LOL. [below: Marco ... one year old, waring the shirt I decorated for his sister 4 years ago and practicing with the jabulani]

But everything was about to change. Real Fast.

I remember going to the Bars (you would call them Cafes) to watch the games. Walking from my home to the bars was an eerie experience. I was still getting lost (in a ridiculously small town mind you) and as the games got under way the streets were deserted as everyone gathered around their TVs. On at least one occasion I was late, and running to the bar when I thought I heard and earthquake. Italy had scored and what had been a completely silent town erupted in cheers for a minute… and then back to silence. [below: wifey and little monsters]

Through some incredible chance event Italy was one of two teams “fished back out” of the first round and allowed to continue on. There was no hope.

And then it happened.

Out of nowhere, the team started getting better, and I started making friends at the Bars. By the time it was all said and done, Italy had somehow defeated what may have been Brazil’s best team of all time in an epic match that will live forever in the memory of those who were priviledged to watch it… and against all odds we beat Germany in the final, conquering the Third cup of our team’s history. And by the time the last flag stopped waving I had made more friends than I’ll ever be able to handle.

The next World Cup, Mexico ’86 was a disaster … I don’t even want to go over how poorly Italy did… and frankly that wasn’t a great time in my life either… I was 14, a clumsy teenager without a clue about anything, chasing a girl I was nuts about but having absolutely no idea how to get her attention… my team and I both got a zero.

Four years can be a lifetime sometime. Italy ’90. We were one of the favorites to go all the way and capture our fourth trophy. Italy had built majestic stadiums, we had prepared a great party for the world to enjoy… the early summer leading up to the cup was a frenetic time for my country… and for myself, aside from the fact that I’d recently lost another grandparent… my maternal Grandfather whom I was also very attached to (those computer skills? all him) things were looking good as I was in the process of graduating High School. Things were looking better on other fronts as well… remember the girl from the previous World Cup? We were dating… I graduated … and Italy started their quest for the Cup. At this point most of my friends had girlfriends, many of these same girlfriends would soon become their wives… I knew exactly where I’d be in 4 years… In Turin, finishing up a degree in Engineering, getting ready to go work for an automobile manufacturer (hopefully designing Formula One engines). The summer was dominated by a song “To be number one” which was the theme song of the cup.

Italy’s plans exploded in their face as we were beat by Argentina and had to make do with 3rd place.

I didnt’ know this at the time, but my plans wouldn’t pan out either.

Another four years went by, and so did Turin, and so did L’Aquila and as the World Cup started packing their bags for the United States, I had done the same a year earlier.

Once again I found myself at an all-time low. I was all alone, this time not in a small town away from home, but in a huge city in a gigantic country WAY far away from home. I was alone. I had little sense of direction, I did have one thing that kept me tightly connected: I watched Formula One races, at the same time as my friends back home (unlike the World Cup, this is every year for most of the year, so it was a way to keep in touch and be connected by something) … I had been a fan of Brazilian Ayrton Senna for a decade at this point and was looking forward to the ’94 season on the active suspension Williams Renault. I had not missed a single race since at least ’88 and I was gonna have a great time. [below: Marco with a very very good looking photographer]

May 1, 1994 – a steering column broke and what was probably the most talented racecar driver of all time died in a tragic accident in Italy. I stopped watching the race as he was airlifted to the hospital and never watched a Formula One race again. It may sound silly.. I didn’t know the guy, he wasn’t family or anything. But I sat in my apartment for the whole day crying.

A little more than a month later the World Cup started. I bought a cheap “Italy” hat at a sports memorabilia store and began sewing the flags of the teams Italy would face, onto the hat… after Italy had beat them. [below: who knew she had thes moves?]

We reached the final. My hat was covered with flags, and in my pocket was the Brazilian flag I planned to sew on the hat as we beat them that afternoon. I went to see the game at a popular Brazilian club with some friends. I was the only one in blue in a sea of yellow (WHAT, WAS, I, THINKING?).

The game ended in a tie… then extra time… then penalty kicks.

Our biggest star, Roberto Baggio walked up to the ball, kicked…

And Brazil proceeded to win the World Cup.

I didn’t cry as much as I thought I would. I felt a deaf pain. A lot of it was that I was actually happy for the Brazilians. Senna had been a national Icon… a Babe Ruth of sorts if you will. I was interviewed by a reporter (I ended up being quoted on the front page of the newspaper) and I told her frankly that with the loss they had suffered a couple of months prior, I was glad that if someone was going to beat us, it be them.

I listened to “to be number one” on the way home… and I couldn’t even make out the words.

France’98 was another bad year for the World Cup. We were knocked out in our first game in the round of 16 by France (who eventually won the tournament on home soil). I remember exactly where I was watching the game. I was at my maternal grandmother’s home. I was there quite a bit at this point… she had Alzheimer’s and was getting worse… and my mother would be there to take care of her. She woulnd’t be around for the following World Cup.

Korea/Japan ’02 Things were looking good at my job. At this point I had realized that this was no longer just a job but a career. I started getting worried that I was “growing up” … inside I was still the 10 year old boy who would run to the bars to watch the soccer games… but all around friends were getting married, some were having children… things were changing fast.

Once again we were slaughtered right out of the Round of 16. I don’t even want to mention who we lost to… it’s too painful LOL.

Now… remember when I said that 4 years can be a lifetime?

I wasn’t kidding.

As the 2006 World Cup got under way my life had completely changed. I didn’t watch the initial less important games by myself… I watched them with my daughter and my wife. Yeah… daughter and wife. Imagine that! [below: Francesca in '06]

It was a wonderful time. I was a new dad, a new husband… I had no clue how to be good at either, but I was trying and having a good time. The odds weren’t in my favor but hey time flies when you’re having fun.

It was SO MUCH FUN to watch the games with the little one… in the photo above you can see how she started crying…. oops my fault… someone nearly scored against us I cried out some imprecation … she got scared and sterted crying … real tears

We went ALL the way. Beat everyone they put in our tracks

It wasn’t always pretty (the shirt I hand-designed for my little one was) but we got the job done.

At the end of the day we stood tall on top of the world

I had been 10 years old the last time I saw my country pull this off… and as I listened to “to be number one” I was finally able to again cry tears of joy as I held up my baby daughter, who this year is asking me all sorts of questions (why don’t they let the people in yellow touch the ball LOL) and undoubtedly in 4 years will be rooting for some other team just to spite me.

Oh one more thing… tomorrow morning is USA-SLOVENIA…. Go USA!!!!

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1. Kirkendall – Family Portraits in Downtown Hollywood
2. Inman – Family Portraits in North Miami
3. Polanco – Family portraits in Downtown Hollywood

I could post that one image and frankly it would say all there is to say

It was my first time photographing a baby bump session (that’s what I call expectant mom or pregnancy photography by the way) that included Dad Mom and an older sibling. And I AM HOOKED!!! I’ll be honest… I was worried that it would be tough to do a baby bump session with a little toddler … well … toddling around. Boy was I wrong…

Brendyn was a TOTAL HAM. Ok, and he’s ridiculously adorable too… here… check him out:

here he is…

kissing mommy…

kissing daddy…

kissing sis!

See… right there. Couldn’t I just stop? When I saw that on the back of the camera I just had to tell Joanne… look we can just end it here… there’s NO WAY I’m topping this shot… it’s all downhill from here

the whole family together…

Joanne and Doug catching a couple of moments together…

Doug being silly (ok, I put him up to it – but it’s totally in character )

Mommy and baby-2-be having a moment alone…

I absolutely love this shot of mommy above… gorgeous mommy, amazing expression!

Everyone kissing baby!

reading to baby

Brendyn takes center stage again…

Rock on, little dude!

Anne Geddes, here I come LOL

I’m so glad Doug insisted I try to get this shot… I LOVE IT!

And we close with an abstract… but one that is so indicative of Brendyn’s playful relationship with his soon-to-be baby sister:

Guys… it was an honor and a pleasure to spend a few hours with you and capture these amazing moments for you to share with your baby girl when she’s Brendyn’s age. Can’t wait to see your two little ones together sometime in the very near future!

You can see the rest of the photos on the proofs site

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Heater, Angela and Sean came by sometime around noon and we set out in the alleys of downtown to capture some great family portraits.

I’m always amused by the fact that parents, and in this case the aunt as well, are surprised that their otherwise outgoing young boy, gets shy when confronted with 15lbs of camera equipment and a stranger behind the lens Despite Angela and Heather’s repeated concerns for Sean’s lack of cooperation… the little dude did great!!! I’ve certainly identified a couple of shots I will be adding to my family portfolio.

I don’t need to tell you that Angela and Heather are stunning… you can see that for yourself… and Sean is well on his way to be a permanent fixture on all the girls’ cell phones in a few years … but aside from that, they were a real pleasure to work with, it’s nice to see such a cool bond between sisters, aunt and nephew and mother and son. Thank you to the three of you for warming up our day!

all the photos for the session are on the proofs section of the website.

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1. Polanco – Family portraits in Downtown Hollywood
2. Skori – Family session on Hollywood Beach
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I thought it would be fun to try and make some posts about children photography… as in … involving children in photography.  So let’s see how it goes

A few days ago my son was playing with his Lightning McQueen model car and I was playing with my camera… son comes over and asked me to take a photo of the car.  Sure… let’s do it together!  He was very excited (he’s two and a half, it doesn’t take much LOL).

So I gathered a few supplies:

• A Sheet of 600 grit sandpaper (the black use-wet kind) to serve as the asphalt
• a plastic dinosaur (to serve as the reflector stand)
• a sheet of paper towel (the reflector)
• my LED head light to serve as the main light

We set Lightning McQueen on the sandpaper in a position that work in terms of framing the shot, set up the dinosaur and the reflector off to camera right-back, and I placed the LED headlight on my son’s head and asked him to direct the light at the scene.  Here is the setup shot just before moving the reflector in much closer to the car (it was having zero effect where you see it in the shot)

and here is my son having fun with the LED light.

At any rate… if you want to take a photo of one of your children’s little cars the first tip here is to use the black wet-use sandpaper as faux asphalt.  It works even better than real asphalt because the texture in asphalt would look too coarse next to the little cars, making it painfully obvious that it’s a model car.  The second tip is that yeah maybe I could have gotten the lighting more techincally correct if I positioned the light myself… but how do you beat having your 2.5 year old act as a VALS (Voice Activated Light Stick)?

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MostlyReal are our top product for children photography.  They are incredibly difficult but also fun to pull off because creativity can run wild, and while for our wedding and regular portrait work we use photoshop sparingly in a “you won’t even know it was there” kind of way… MostlyReal portraits allow me to really push the envelope and experiment in ways that are quite frankly the equivalent of leaving a child in a candy store.

With no further ado….  The Fantastic Four:

Yes, that is the same child in every one of the four characters

This was by far the most ambitious MostlyReal portrait I’ve done as it involved four “characters” rather than the more common one.  That being said, it was a blast to make from start to finish.

We shot on location under a covered area while rain was pouring all around us.  Francesca was fantastic.  I set duct tape on the floor where I needed her to stand for her various poses and she nailed the foot placement, hammed it up like there’s no tomorrow and was an absolute BLAST to photograph!  I was very, very impressed!

Here are a couple of out-takes from the pre-production shoot:

1.  I guess she thought “sexy model pose” meant “show your tush!” … ha ha ha!

feisty firedude she nailed on the first try… she can certainly do feisty all on her own:

Finally, her initial interpretation of “the Thing.”  I loved her expression and all, but the arm placement wouldn’t work with my planned outcome, so I had to go with a less inspired, but more close to plan shot.

For those curious about how the shots were taken… well you can obviously see the shoot-through umbrella.  Opposite the shoot-through I had an unmodified speedlight to act as a kicker/hair light.  The shots were taken with a Canon 70-200 2.8 IS on a Canon 5D mounted on a tripod.  Lights were triggered remotely with Cybersyncs and everything (camera/flashes) were set in Manual.

Once pre-production was complete I took the images back, culled and selected the best shots for the composite.  The Thing and Invisible girl were given their own Smartobject setup… The thing was a LOT of work.  It started out very cartoonish, and then layer upon layer upon layer he got a bit more rock-looking…

Here is what the image looked like once all the masking/cutting of the characters was complete… and I started working on the special effects.  Notice the Things’ legs are still normal-sized …

Below you can see what the image looked like half-way through post-production.  Compared to the end result noticeable differences should be:

The thing is still very cartoonish and is only minorly affected by the fire next to him.  The fire is igniting mid-body without the flame starter at the bottom.  The Fire dude and Ms. Fantastic (far right) still have their suits very bright, the suits don’t have decorations.

Once again, the final result (for those who may want to compare it to the shot above)

If you’re interested in having a Mostly Real portrai done for a special child in your life, please contact us with your idea so that we may brainstorm it together and see what needs to be done to make your vision a reality.

Special thanks to Nadia for helping with adjusting the lights and directing Francesca, and to Lisette for hair styling.

Related posts:

1. Little Devil – A ManyManyMoments MostlyReal Portrait
2. Little Angel – a ManyManyMoments MostlyReal Portrait
3. Spider-Man is a reality – a ManyManyMoments MostlyReal Portrait – Artspark in Hollywood

Two hours of photography, countless hours of Photoshop… and Little Devil is here.

Like Little Angel before it, Little Devil is a ManyManyMoments Signature product for childen’s photography.  While we’re happy to make creative portraits of your little ones in the great outdoors, or in your home or any other special place, MostlyReal Portraits do hold a special place in our heart as they allow us to blend together the delicious gorgeousness of your little one with the fantastic world of imaginaton.

Unlike Little Angel, which did not have specific preproduction photography, but rather was based on a “found image” (shot by us of course), Little Devil was the first MostlyReal portrait that were conceived from the very beginning in most of it’s final detail and that therefore had specifically planned preproduction photography.  Of course children being the unpredictable beings that they are means both that the end result is not going to be exactly as planned, and also that it’s going to be better.

For instance in the case of Little Devil, the little Devil holding his own tail was NOT planned ahead of time, but rather the result of our fabulous model putting his left hand in that position when we simply asked him to hold up his right (for the planned flame).

Here are some shots from pre-production:

I don’t want to sit.. I want to crawl!  I love to crawl!!!

 Yet more proof that when we let the model be himself the result is much better.  Here he was essentially copying the pose I was suggesting to him.  Mouth expression and all.

But notice… seconds later… on his own… hand as I suggested, other hand ready to grab the virtual tail (all on his own)… and an expression to die for, which made the Little Devil the adorable image it is.  And yes this is the image that would eventually become Little Devil.  Shot in natural light, many thanks to the cloud cover for the fantastic shadowless wrap-around light.

Here is the image, shortly into post-production… cut away from the background, tail, wings, wing structure in place, beggining to work on the clouds behind his back but in front of his wings.

Finally some detail shots to show you just how detailed a MostlyReal portrait is (this one was printed as a 20×30 but would look awesome even at twice that size)

Delicious little feet:

Detail of the tail – and yes the texture on the tail was painstakingly copied from the scales on a snake.

The fire: special effect actually shot during post-production (one of those outdoors torches to keep away bugs), most of the smoke was added in post as a series of special effect layers.

Finally the bits I’m most proud of: the horns and the goatee.  In order to make them realistic I spent a good 15 minutes examining my own hair and facial hair.  Eventually I determined that the only way to pull this off in a way that would look totally real even if inspected much more up close than you see here… was to paint by hand every single strand of hair, constantly sampling the color of my model’s real hair.  I believe I managed to accomplish my goal.

One more time the final image:

Related posts:

1. Little Angel – a ManyManyMoments MostlyReal Portrait
2. Fantastic Four – A ManyManyMoments MostlyReal Portrait
3. Spider-Man is a reality – a ManyManyMoments MostlyReal Portrait – Artspark in Hollywood

Introducing our very first MostlyReal portrait.

You have been able to see it in our galleries for ages, but this is the first time we show what it looked like before post-production and show some of the images along the way to the final Little Angel.

Here is the final image:

 Unlike later MostlyReal portraits, Little Angel did not have  a preproduction photography session purposely scheduled to create it.  The starting image was a “found” image (shot by us of course) taken while she was playing with her grandmother.

Here is a shot immediatelly before the shot we used in the portrait:

And here is the image that was selected, mainly due to her smile and the reltive ease (compared to the previous image anyway) to separate her from the background.

 Here you can see that I’ve separated her from the background and added catchlights in her eyes.  The funky background was just a way to see if the separation had worked.  I think it had … for those unfamiliar with masking in photoshop… few things are more daunting than masking thin strands of hair.  Yeah this one took a LONG time.

Later in post-production she already has wings and the beginning of the cloud she’s sitting on.  The sky is very flat, there’s no halo, her face hasn’t been brought-out with Post-processing and the diffused clouds are missing.

Once again, the final image, for those who might enjoy comparing it to the intermediate step above.

If you would like us to create a MostlyReal portrait for a special child in your life, don’t hesitate to contact us with your vision and we’ll discuss what would need to happen to make your vision a reality.

Related posts:

1. Little Devil – A ManyManyMoments MostlyReal Portrait
2. Fantastic Four – A ManyManyMoments MostlyReal Portrait
3. Spider-Man is a reality – a ManyManyMoments MostlyReal Portrait – Artspark in Hollywood

MostlyReal are our top signature product for children photography.  To be blunt they are expensive as heck, compared to a regular portrait, but those who have seen the results in the flesh agree that the money they invested in this lifetime keepsake is more than worth it (and you can rest assured there’s a lot of time poured into these labours of love).

Itsy Bitsy devil is one of the MostlyReal portraits we feature in our portfolio, it never ceases to get compliments.  Of course only the 20×30 print does it any justice.

Today I finished the latest MostlyReal portrait where I painstakingly turned one innocent little 2 year old into Spider-Man, in a New-York setting.

This was a great project which nearly resulted in my getting murdered by Luca’s mom.  In order to get him to match up perspective-wise with my vision of what the final MostlyReal would look like, we had to shoot him, on location in downtown Hollywood using the stage they have set up there as his standing spot, with an umbrella in front of him and a snooted strobe behind him.  Well… the platform looks low enough when you see it from afar… but by the time you plop a 2 year old there you realize he’s well over 6 feet off the ground.  Oh, did I mention there’s no form of railing or anything like that?

Photos taken at ArtsPark in Hollywood, Florida

And now for some behind the scenes…

No, you’re not Superman Luca… no flying off the ledge!  … note the snooted speedlight behind him meant to backlight the right side of his hair

Here’s one that shows the lighting setup:  Large umbrella very close to him used as a shoot-through, and the snooted speedlight you saw above to accent his hair.  No, he wasn’t supposed to touch the umbrella of course… had to rescue the umbrella while making sure I could still catch him if he decided to go for the 6′ jump.  Ah the excitement!

Here’s proof that photography does not in fact capture reality as we often seem to think.  Indeed look at him:  the pure definition of innocence… ah if you only knew the truth of what went on during the shoot!  He is adorabe though, I have to give him that!

The image selected for the MostlyReal Portrait

Below is the image half-way through post-production, the building in the background is missing, the ledge hasn’t been cooled yet to match the ambiance, gloves haven’t been fitted, the outfit’s colors haven’t been boldened and a few other atmospherics are missing.

And once again, the final image, mainly for comparison with the image above.

Related posts:

1. Little Angel – a ManyManyMoments MostlyReal Portrait
2. Fantastic Four – A ManyManyMoments MostlyReal Portrait
3. Little Devil – A ManyManyMoments MostlyReal Portrait

I remember the event as if it were yesterday.  It was one of a thousands of little moments we go through in life where a “rule” is tacked on to our body of knowledge.  We tack it on and move on without giving it too much thought.

Who knows how many other butterflies in the evening sun I’ve missed in my shooting career just because I chose to follow that one silly silly “rule”

The adorable little Butterfly was shot at Veterans Park in Hollywood Florida

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