Street Style – Fashion Blog Shoot // Gloria

Earlier this month, Gloria emailed me looking to do a street style fashion shoot for her upcoming fashion blog. She was super interested in showing off different angles and viewpoints of one look; something she could use to kick off her site. So, of course I said yes. We met up on a Sunday where the weather was perfect, walked around the Bywater area of New Orleans during golden hour, and here's the outcome. The photos came out great! Gloria's site isn't live yet, but once it is, I'll link it here!

Senior Homecoming Shoot // Cameron

So about a week ago, I took the big plunge and invested in a Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 lens. It hurt knowing I was spending THAT much money on a lens, but I knew in the long run, it was going to pay off big time. I really want to get into fashion photography, shoot more portraits and step my concert photography game up. So this lens covers all bases, plus will help with events that I shoot. Win win win win.

So once I received that expensive package in the mail, it was time. It was time to figure out who was going to be the luckiest guinea pig of all. Literally the same day, my little brother, who is a senior in high school, asked me to take photos for his Senior Homecoming. Check. And mate.

This past weekend, we set out to take some photos, and the end result was pretty epic. Once I saw that Sir Swag a'Lot was wearing a super bright, bold pink shirt with suspenders and a bowtie, I knew we had to do something super cool. I instantly got Justin Timberlake 'FutureSex/LoveSounds' vibes and that was the theme we tried to channel. I knew that pink was going POP if I could find a big white wall to use as a backdrop. And after riding around, listening to Chance The Rapper for about 15 minutes, I remembered that the back of the closest Buffalo Wild Wings was all white! Bingo!

20 catcalls later, we got plenty of sick shots & laughs and moved on. I wanted to find another super cool location without having to go downtown. Luckily we found a parking garage that overlooked downtown. The garage was closed for the weekend, but we weren't leaving without taking shots, so we found a way in and took the stairs to the roof. Game. Set. Match.

Beyond satisfied how these pics turned out! And now I'm super pumped to do more portrait and fashion shoots! Check out more pics below.

Take That Vacation. You Deserve It.

This past week, I took my first vacation in over a year and flew to Philadelphia for Budweiser's Made In America Festival. Made In America is in its 5th year, and is a 2-day collaboration between Budweiser and hip-hop legend Jay Z. In fact, each year, Jay Z personally curates the line-up of performers. This year, the headliners were the amazing Rihanna and Coldplay. Epic, right?

Like I was saying earlier, this was my first vacation in over a year. Why? Honestly, I don't know. I've saved up enough "time-off" to go away for weeks if I wanted. But, I've always had this made-up truth in my head that if I don't take vacations, people will not only think that I'm a hard worker, but they'll know that I'm a hard worker. And a lot of times, at my job, I don't have time to take vacations. Every time I think about it, I remember that: if I'm not doing the work, who's going to do it for me? And who's going to do it the way I need it done?

There's also the fact that I'm a 23 year-old, young professional living in a big city. I don't have the salary to truly enjoy vacations like most of my co-workers. This is part of the reason why I don't mind working so much – so I can change that issue as quickly as possible. I could "staycation" it up, but like I said, I'd rather just work and make sure my things are being done the way I want them done. Maybe I'm weird.

Vacations are vital, though. And I'm just now beginning to understand that. Vacations allow you a chance to get away from the office, and to recharge your batteries. If you work in a creative environment like I do, vacations allow you to become inspired again, to develop fresh ideas and fresh perspectives. They allow for a break from groupthink. And when you come back, you might have something to offer that you would've never had beforehand because you were so exhausted. 

So, stop being annoyed every time Jenna & Paul take a vacation to some exotic location that you've never been to. Stop wondering whether people will care if you decide you need a break. Stop working yourself into the ground and offering yourself no reward. Because if you don't do it for yourself, no one will. Don't allow yourself to get to that point of burnout. Just do it. Take that vacation. Take that break from reality. You deserve it. Know that.

@hideryu on IG

For me, music is the ultimate escape, so going to Philadelphia for Made In America Festival was a no-brainer (the line-up was insane!). There's no greater feeling in the world than being in a crowd of 80,000 people (Beyonce, Jay Z & Malia Obama being 3/80,000), belting out lyrics to your favorite songs and sharing that same "no fucks given" joy you have in your car with others just like you. Summer music festivals aren't for the faint of heart, but damn are they fun!

Speaking of music: as I was typing this, I got inspired to create a playlist for all the Wanderers out there. Check it out!

Yes, #BlackLivesMatter is Necessary.

In lieu of the recent murders of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile by police officers. In lieu of the murders by police officers that came before them. In lieu of everything that has happened during the week of July 4, 2016, it's important to note that yes, #BlackLivesMatter.

#BlackLivesMatter doesn't mean #OnlyBlackLivesMatter. In the black community, we know that in actuality, all lives matter. We know that. We understand that. In fact for hundreds of years, we've helped (against our own will at times) to better the lives of other races. In a post-slavery and post-civil rights movement America, we've worked hand-in-hand helping any and all other races. So why is it a problem, that in a time when we are being picked off and we are crying out for help, we get none? That's all we're asking for. #BlackLivesMatter is a movement to push that ideal forward. To build awareness for something we shouldn't have to build awareness for.

When a house is on fire, we focus on putting the fire out on that particular house. We don't look around the neighborhood and say, "Gee, all these houses *could* catch on fire." We douse the flames when they appear. In this case, the flames are police brutality and poor race relations.

#BlackLivesMatter is not calling for the killing of police in retaliation for what they've done to us. #BlackLivesMatter isn't trying to overthrow the government and enslave all white people for the next 400 years. #BlackLivesMatter isn't trying to start a race war, despite what many ignorant people seem to think. #BlackLivesMatter is a cry for outside help, a cry for outside action to treat us equal. Because it's been made clear to us time and time again that we cannot do it alone. We deserve that, just like every one else. That's all.

#BlackLivesMatter