San Diego Portrait Photographer–My Friend Jon

Filed under : Portraits by Ben and Kirin on 31-07-2011

This is my friend Jon.

He’s a humble guy, self-effacing, quiet, very centered. Jon is the chief psychologist at Paradise Valley Hospital’s Behavioral Health Services where his job is to help people who have become lost within themselves. He’s become one of my heroes.

Jon is heroic to me, not because of some grand financial achievement, or because he won academic or intellectual accolades. He’s a hero because he’s one of the few people I know who had the courage and ability to follow his conscience and do something to help his fellow men and women. The fact that he even has a conscience is a pretty remarkable thing, these days.

One of my favorite definitions of heroism is the willingness to do the decent thing in the face of an absurd world. This fit’s Jon to a T.

San Diego Portrait Photographer–Kristen

Filed under : Portraits by Ben and Kirin on 14-07-2011

We first met Kristen when we covered the Miss Philippines California pageant last year. She made an impression on Kirin and I by being such a poised, quietly confident young woman. Kristen didn’t happen to place that day, but she is currently the reigning Miss San Diego Cities for 2011.

She contacted us not long ago for some new photos to update her portfolio. We jumped at the chance, because we knew working with her would result in some great images. But when we actually started shooting, she impressed us again by how well she was able to pose in front of the camera–she hardly needed any coaching at all.

Kristen is a Filipina-Hawai’ian–it’s funny, but she is the second Hawai’ian woman to approach us for portfolio shots. We hope this trend continues!

Enjoy the photos! Hair and make-up by the lovely Hope Phipps.

San Diego Family Portrait Photogrpahers–Happy Birthday, Matey!

Filed under : Event, Portraits by Ben and Kirin on 13-07-2011

Nathan was about to reach an important milestone: his fifth birthday. His parents, Sally and Allan, were going to throw a big theme-party to celebrate: a pirate-themed party! They asked us to shoot some portraits of Nathan in his pirate costume, along with photos of the rest of the family, including their cute-as-a-button daughter, Ally. They also asked us to shoot photos of Nathan enjoying himself with his friends at his party. We were happy to help them out.

Nathan’s party was great: so many cute kiddos! It was hard not to snap a good photo there.

Happy birthday, Nathan!