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Posts by portia

Giving back in smiles with family portrait month

Giving back in smiles, this is what we have been doing during Family Portrait Month since 2007. This year’s Family Portrait Month is in October!

This month’s PPA Professional Photographer magazine featured a paragraph about me and several of my photos in the online version of the magazine (see this link), To quote it says this

Portia Shao, CPP, from Santa Cruz, California, 
has supported PPA Charities since she joined PPA in 2007. 
She was one of the top donors for Family Portrait Month in 2013. 
"It feels good that I can make a difference in a child's life with such a small contribution," she says.



August issue of PPA Professional Photographer Magazine

Please help me continue the tradition of supporting PPA Charities and create smiles in this years Family Portrait Month. During October, come in for a family portrait (any portrait with a family member, or a pet!) and I will donate the session fee to PPA Charities. It only takes $240 to fund one surgery to change a child’s life forever. The children with cleft lips and palate not only look terrible, they could not eat or speak properly. It is amazing to me that only $240 could change their lives! You will get a great family portrait and know that you have helped to create a real smile in a child and make a real difference!

People love us on Yelp

People love Positive Vista Photography & Art on Yelp

A congratulations letter saying “People Love us on Yelp” received from Yelp from all the 5* reviews! There are 20 five-star active reviews as of today on Yelp. There are a few more, but Yelp doesn’t display them all.

Here are some examples of what people have said on Yelp

Here are some examples of what people have said on Yelp which Yelp does not display maybe because they were several years old. I remember working with all these people and love their feedback on the studio experience, so I will share them here.

“Portia welcomed me to her studio for my professional headshots!  What a fabulous experience! She worked with me in various poses, different backdrops and finally we were able to see the digital shots right then.  

Portia is a fabulous certified photographer, and so much more! She has a great eye for what looks right for the image you are trying to portray.  Thanks Portia!!” —- Geogianne W. Scotts Valley, CA

 4/12/2011 


“Portia did an excellent job photographing my daughter and myself for our business website. She got equipment, talent. good test and above all very professional.” —- Shlomo V. Aptos CA 3/14/2011

“During the photo shoot I had with Portia I felt so comfortable being in front of the camera.  In her studio full of props and lighting I had fun and forgot to be nervous about my picture being taken.  Portia is a true professional artist with the camera and the print as her medium.  I recommend her highly and look forward to using her services again.  Thank you Portia” —- Gregory L, Santa Cruz  3/13/2011

“I went to Portia’s studio to have a professional head shot taken for my website. I haven’t had a professional photo taken since high school, so I wasn’t quite sure what to except … Portia’s studio setup is AMAZING and she was able to capture me in a way that is professional, but still friendly and approachable. Thanks Portia! 

… now if I could only fit into those little fairy costumes … :)” —- Brook T  Santa Cruz, CA 3/14/2011

“Portia runs a first rate professional studio that is equipped to provide first class portraits. She did a holiday greeting card with pictures of me and my son that were outstanding.
Thanks Portia” —- Harvey M. Santa Cruz CA 3/11/2011

“Critical eye.  Cool props and backdrops.  Whether you want to look like a movie star or just a professional, Portia has the skills and set-up.  I’ve been really impressed with her professionalism and the end-result quality!” —- Melanie S. Capitola CA 3/11/2011

“I love working with Portia! Each time I have worked with her she exceed my expectations. For Christmas last year I had Portia take some shots of my dads poodle that she then put on a blanket. When my dad opened up his present he was so surprised that he was put to tears by it.” —- Darcy C. Aptos, CA 3/9/2011

photo of wall portrait hanging in client's home

A wall portrait to cherish and celebrate

A wall portrait is a great way to cherish and celebrate your life love and family. I know that, but it is rewarding to reconfirm this idea again!

The idea of making a portrait sprang to my mind

I have known Michael and Ken for about 20 years, and in May Ken posted on Facebook that they
“celebrated 31 years of friendship, and a marriage of 18 years with my husband Michael – my love, my best friend, my soulmate, and my champion. It is with a grateful heart that I celebrate our love and our life together.”

When I saw that I knew I had to give them a gift by taking a portrait of them. Of course I could send a card, or even flowers, but I knew something personal would be best.

We arranged to meet on one of my trips down to Los Angeles, and I took my camera and lights and we created several portraits. This is the one they chose to enlarge and hang on the wall. In this digital age, it is even more important to have your photos printed, and best ones hung on the wall so you can see it and enjoy it all the time. Taking out your phone to show it to people is not a bad idea, but being able to see it as a wall portrait in your home is a whole different story.

The portrait is now hanging on the wall

Today they sent me a photo of the wall portrait on the living room wall, along with some really kind words, which I quote:

“Hi Portia,

We got the canvas print yesterday and Ken hung it last night.  Pic attached.  It is really beautiful.  Note your watercolor on the far left.  🙂
Thank you so much for doing this for us.  We have wanted a portrait ever since we got married, but never got around to doing it.  We couldn’t be more pleased.  You did an outstanding job!
Michael”

and

“Ditto Portia!  You have to know that we are both thrilled with this gift you gave us of your time and talent.  As Michael said, we have wanted such a portrait for a long time.  I will add that we have always wanted something that was professionally done.  I can’t begin to tell you how special this is.  I absolutely love having this (wall portrait) in our living room and seeing it as we walk through the house.  Thank you again.  We will be showing it to all our friends and will be happy to give them your studio contact info if asked!

Ken”

Portrait of Michael and Ken

Happy anniversary!

TV and newspaper appearances

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Model Jason being interviewed for CBS Insider

Model Jason being interviewed for CBS Insider

It’s not everyday I get to be on TV, actually I don’t think I had ever been on TV before, but recently my model and studio have been featured in newspaper appearances, and tonight, even on TV!

Whether your dream is to surpass Fabio like Jason, or to get a great family portrait for your mom, or just a super confident headshot for your business, photography may be how you get there, and I am ready to help make your dream come true.

I have been working with Jason Baca the romance novel cover model featured in the photo here for several years, and now he is breaking the record of Fabio’s book covers, so there were a few newspaper writeup’s over the last few months, and tonight, the CBS Insider featured a segment of the photo shoot in the studio with Jason. They came to film it yesterday! If you missed the show, here is the short clip! In the same episode were featured some real big names, like Oprah, Ben Affleck, Chris Hemsworth. All people I love, so, very amazing!

The article appeared on March 30, 2016 in New York Times

Los Angeles Times article on Nov 13, 2015

Santa Cruz Sentinel on 11/8/2015

are just the most recent newspaper appearances of Jason in my studio. I love working with models or people who have special ideas about what they want to create the more unusual images.

In the newspapers

Jason Baca models as a cowboyThis has been a week of being in the newspapers! On Nov 9, a front page article in the Santa Cruz Sentinel mentioned the studio in relation to the model Jason Baca I have been working with. If you have seen my old blogs or posts, you would have seen Jason mentioned along with the Romance novels covers he showed up in. Here is a link to the article in the Sentinel

and on Nov 14, the Los Angeles Times had this article which also featured me and Jason Baca working together. Too-Hawt-to-handle?

If you are dreaming of becoming a model, it would be a good idea to try it out in a studio session to see if you really like it. It is hard work to be a model, the photos may make it look easy, but it is definitely not easy.

What size digital jpeg photo file do you need?

I offer 3 sizes of digital JPEG photo files, small, medium and large, which size of the digital file do you need?

Small is for web use, profiles for social media sites, your own web sites, for printing on your business cards, flyers, etc. Pixel-wise, the long side is 900 pixels, at 300 pixels per inch of photo quality prints, this means it’s a 3″x2.7″ print, so a wallet size, your photo on your business card does not usually take up the whole card, so plenty big for that. When you print it bigger on a flyer, people are not expecting photo quality, so you can print bigger than 3″ on the long side, and it will still be OK. If you print on a glossy brochure, and you want larger than 3″ on the long side, then you may want to order the next size up, medium.

Medium size is for print, up to 8″x12″ if it is not cropped. A lot of times the file is cropped to 8″x10″ proportion, because that’s a common print size. When you order a medium size digital file, you also get the small size (if you want it) included. The medium size JPEG file is 2400×3600 pixels when it is at the 8″x12″ proportion. This means there are 300 pixels per inch, and that is a photo quality print at 8″x12″ size.

Large size is for printing a poster or anything larger than 8×12. Most people do not need this size, but it’s available if you do have something special in mind.

Here is a sample of the small jpeg file, click on it to see how it looks by itself on a web page, and I am sure you will agree it is more than sufficient for web use.

sample small jpeg file

and here I am including a medium size jpeg file, click it to see how big it is. It may look the same size as the small on this page. because the browser resized it to fit in the space of this blog format, but when you click on it, you will be able to zoom in and see more. The small jpeg on the other hand, can not be zoomed in (at least in Safari browser).

sample medium size jpeg file

 

What is “high resolution”?

Is the small jpeg file “high resolution”? Of course, it is 900 pixels and printing it at 300 pixels per inch, you are only getting 3 inches. So it is not a resolution you are asking, but the print size. When viewing an image on the web, the browser does not display at 300 pixels per inch, but maybe 90 pixels per inch (measure your screen resolution if you are curious about what it is, but every screen is going to be different! what I do know is it is NOT 300 pixels per inch!) So the 900 pixels on the long side of the small jpeg file will be 10 inches on your screen! See this article if you are interested in more detailed explanation.

So a medium size jpeg file has a lot more pixels than the small jpeg file, and you can print bigger at photo quality. But they are all “high resolution”! You should care about how many pixels are in the file, the more pixels, the more inches you can print as a photo.

Celebration of Smiles days set for April 2015

Come to Celebration of Smiles

We have set two days aside to participate in “Celebration of Smiles” this year. April 7 and April 17.

For a minimum donation of $49, you get a 30 minutes mini-session, and an 8×10 print of you or your loved one. in addition, you get a $50 studio gift card for use in future studio products. Since only $240 provides a surgery for one of the children, five sessions will help create a smile in children like Divith and Danila. Call me at 831-426-1400 now to make your appointment, space is limited.

before-after

PPA Charities Platinum Studio!

It has been many years since 2007 when I first got involved with PPA Charities. PPA is Professional Photographers of America, a trade organization for professional photographers. Over the years PPA Charities has with the help of photographers everywhere to create smiles and help children in need. With the participation of clients at Family Portrait Month, Celebration of Smiles Day and other events, I was able to donate enough money to create more than 15 smiles!

http://www.ppacharities.com/operation-smile/ppa-charities-studios/ shows  a list of participating studios

Positive Vista Photography & Art is a platinum studio for PPA Charities

Master the squinch

Why squinching is cool or how to look awesome in your headshot

Do you know why squinching is cool? Here is one of the secrets to looking awesome in your headshot.

Don’t look in the dictionary, “Squinch” is a word made up by famous New York and Los Angeles headshot photographer Peter Hurley, squinching is cool! Judge yourself, which photo looks better? Even this dog looks cooler when he squinches! Of course if you are trying to project an innocent look, or look adoringly at your baby, then this is not something to do. For headshots though, it generally makes for a more confident look, more sophisticated expression, and make you look more intriguing to the viewer. Doesn’t Serena look way more interesting and more photogenic in the photo where she squinches?

How do you squinch? Look in the mirror, and try to squint by pinching your lower eyelid a tiny bit. We don’t want to look too contorted, a little goes a long way! Peter Hurley has a video on Youtube, if you want more instructions, check it out http://youtu.be/ff7nltdBCHs. It’s got more than 1.5 million views!

dog squinting

Family Portrait Month is October

Family Portrait Month this year is October

I thought you would want to know about a very special family portrait promotion we will be participating in with an elite group of photographers around the country. For the month of October we will celebrate Family Portrait Month, a wonderful opportunity for you to update your family portrait (or portraits of your children), and support Operation Smile, which treats children around the world who suffer with cleft lips, cleft palates and other facial deformities.

Along with other studio members of Professional Photographers of America (PPA), we have pledged to contribute your $98 session fee to PPA Charities, which has chosen Operation Smile as its charitable beneficiary. Every $240 will enable one child to have the needed surgery to have a normal smile that the rest of take for granted.

My studio has helped to create 13 smiles since 2007 and changed the lives of these children forever! Please join us to create more smiles this October. A family portrait is defined as one with more than one member of the family! Baby, mother, dad, brothers, sisters, grandparents, grandkids, and even your dogs can quality.

Baby's first photo session.

Read Tips on what to wear for your family portrait on my blog.

Danila-before

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What is your reaction when you see a photo of a child with cleft lips or palate? Do you turn away in horror and avert your eyes like I did years ago? I have now seen the transformation which can take place and the real and happy smiles and lives they and their family can enjoy.  Join me this year to help a few more children through the national fundraising event Family Portrait Month, the month of October this year in my studio.

Danila-after

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here in USA, children who are born with cleft lips or palete can pretty easily get surgery and live a normal life with a real smile. Katy is a mom and a photographer in Nashville whose son was born with cleft lips, watch her video to see why she supports Operation Smile to help other children.

One of the rewards of being a professional photographer is to help bring families together, to create great memories to cherish forever, and to change lives!

Join me for Family Portrait Month. Email me or call 831-426-1400 to be part of Family Portrait Month this year.