My name is Otto Rascon and I specialize in wedding photography and family portraiture. My family is from the awesome city of Chicago. I love photographing people! Seriously, what other profession allows you to interact with amazing people, provide them with a meaningful product, and allows for some major fun and creativity?
Capturing fleeting moments is very important to me. That is why I love photographing weddings and families. Photographs are meaningful both to me and the people I work with. I love seeing how my photographs impact peoples lives. Stay a while and check out some of my work. Feel free to call me or email me via the Contact link.
My series in dramatic portraiture continues with Mark Brouwer – a model from Chicago with comedy and acting skills.
So imagine this session: photography, laughter, fun conversation, and music – life is really good when these elements come together. Mark was fun to work with – he kept things lively, and I appreciate that. I am typically the one making sure everyone is laughing at my photo shoots. So having Mark contribute to the liveliness that day was really fun.
I wanted to create some dark images with Mark. I asked if he could bring clothing that would work well with the “dark” themed photo shoot, which led to a conversation about what I meant by “dark”. He mentioned that he had a dark green trench coat. Perfect. The trench coat ended up looking great on screen. I also wanted the lighting to be more harsh than with my previous dramatic shoots. I made sure to stay away from softboxes and only used gridspots and bare-bulbs on my strobes.
Here are a few of my favorite images from our photo shoot with Mark. The final composite images will be on a new blog post soon:
Behind The Scenes
My many thanks to Mark for his professionalism and humor! I hope you have an amazing career in modeling and acting. You rock dude! And a super thank you to my amazing wife, Christina, for being so supportive, for doing a great job on Mark’s hair, and for rocking out the Flip Mino HD. Thanks babe!
The Set-Up
Nikon D700 – Shooting in RAW
Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8 lens
Alien Bee 400ws (5 strobes)
Medium Softbox (2)
22″ Beauty Dish
Pocket Wizard (2)
13″ MacBook
Sofortbild – For shooting tethered to my MacBook. It’s free for Nikon shooters!
March 1, 2010 - 8:34 pmJenn Gaudreau - Otto, you rocked this! The two at the end of the video are very gripping. Way to communicate your theme in a powerful portrayal with expression and light.
My series in dramatic portraiture continues with Ankita Baxi. I was very excited about working with Ankita. She has done a lot of modeling photo shoots here in the States and in India. Her energy and enthusiasm was very encouraging and made for some pretty cool photos. Ankita’s communication skills also added to the great experience – she was very prompt and concise in answering all of my questions and even throwing in a few of her own. I love that. She is a pro and it was a lot of fun working with her.
You can see photos from the previous photo shoots with Camille here and with Debra here.
Here are a few of my favorite images from our photo shoot with Ankita. The final composite images will be on a new blog post soon:
Behind The Scenes
My many thanks to Ankita! I hope you have an amazing and long career in this industry. Have a great time in Los Angeles. You rock! I also want to thank Gary Middendorf for his assistance, video skills, and ideas. And of course a super thank you to my wife, Christina, for being so supportive and for doing a great job on Ankita’s hair. Thanks guys!
By The Way: Talking about the shoot in advance with Ankita was HUGE. I felt like Ankita and I were on the same page before she showed up at my home-studio. That was great because I was able to communicate better and express some ideas a lot clearer.
February 18, 2010 - 11:07 pmDanny Mendoza - Good stuff my brother! The colors just pop perfectly!
February 18, 2010 - 11:19 pmVeronica - I am sooooo loving that last shot! Awesome job my friend.
February 19, 2010 - 1:17 amAnkita Baxi - Otto,
You are too kind. It was such a treat to work with you and I'm lucky I had that opportunity! Thank you!
February 19, 2010 - 11:51 amcarly - Wow, Otto! She is GORGEOUS! Major girl-crush on this end... ;)
February 19, 2010 - 4:25 pmOtto - Ha! You're so funny Carly. And you're right, she is gorgeous and an absolute blast to work with. Hey, we'll do a photo shoot if ever you are in Chicago. Be ready to pose!
February 19, 2010 - 5:14 pmJenn Gaudreau - Otto, these are incredible!!! I LOVE the last image. So great to see behind the scenes as well....you are awesome, my friend!! :)
I love the work of Joe McNally, specifically his work with professional dancers. I love how he captures the dancers’ grace, elegance, and expressions. Dancers poses a control over their body that most of us just don’t have any idea about, self totally included.
I was honored to photograph Divine Expression Ministries graduation ceremony a few weeks back at the beautiful North Park College. I was very excited to work with DEM for many reasons, one being that I would be able to capture their dancers in action. I was also very encouraged by the type of organization DEM is and I appreciate what they are about. It was great being able to walk around and capture the tension and nervousness that comes with such an important event. All went very well and ended up being a lot of fun being there and meeting so many great people. The band they had performing that night was AMAZING!
Here are a few of my favorite photos from the DEM graduation at North Park College:
My many thanks to Wendy Matthews, DEM’s HR & Admin extraordinaire. I hope to work with you all again!
By The Way: Be ready for challenging shooting situations. Get your exposures down before the performances begin and get a good feel for the room you are about to shoot in. Knowing the best ISO, shutter speed, and f/stop combo before the action starts is huge.
February 12, 2010 - 12:44 pmWendy Matthews - Otto,
It was a blessing and pleasure to have you and Rick helping us at our event.
I'd highly recommend you to anybody for your amazing photography, friendly & professional attitude and great service.
We thank you for volunteering your time and talent and hope to work with you again in the near future.
God's blessings,
Wendy Matthews
Marketing Director
(Administration & Human Resources)
Divine Expressions Christian Academy of Ministering Arts
Chicago, IL
February 13, 2010 - 1:49 pmRosalyn Acevedo - Otto, I was amazingly blessed by what you were able to view through your camera. The pictures were so artistic, you photographed with the eyes of your soul and captured moments of heavenly expressions.
Thank you for volunteering your service, your talent to DEM, we are so grateful. We are thankful to God for sending you to us...Looking forward to future endeavors...
P.S. I am officially a fan!
So my series in dramatic portraits continues with Debra Lopez, a very talented model and actress from Madison, Wisconsin. Working with Debra (and her husband – pics coming soon) was great for many reasons: she is a very talented and professional model, she was very enthusiastic about this shoot (which pumped me up), and she had a great sense of wardrobe and looks that made photographing her a lot of fun.
We ended up capturing some really fun and amazing frames during our 2 hours photo shoot. I love these kind of shoots because we get so many ideas going that it is hard to stop shooting. My wife set out some snacks and drinks, which we ended up maxing out! Pedro (Deb’s husband), Gary, and I even chatted a bit about football and Peyton Manning. Photography, beautiful models, food, and sports – does life get any better than that? The answer is NO.
Hey, you can check out a very funny short film called “Spin Cycle” Debra starred in here. Her character is so mean :)
Here are a few of my favorite images from our photo shoot. The final composite images will be on a new blog post soon:
The Beauty Shot
The Action Shot
The Dramatic Shot
Behind The Scenes
My many thanks to Debra! You and Pedro made this shoot a blast, and I appreciate your willingness to travel into Chicago. You rock! I also want to thank Gary Middendorf for his assistance and ideas. It is always so cool working with a fellow photographer. And of course a super thank you to my wife, Christina, for being so supportive and for doing a great job on Deb’s hair. Thanks guys!
The Set-Up
Nikon D700 – Shooting in RAW
Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8 lens
Alien Bee 400ws (5 strobes)
Medium Softbox (2)
22″ Beauty Dish
Pocket Wizard (2)
Lightroom 2 – For exposure and color adjustments
Photoshop CS4 – For all major retouching and background removal
13″ MacBook
Sofortbild – For shooting tethered to my MacBook. It’s free for Nikon shooters!
By The Way: Talking with Debra about her wardrobe was key. Not having the right wardrobe would have made this shoot boring and flat. It’s all about communication.
My daughter is a part of every photo shoot that I do. She is a) either entertainment for the models, b) a testing “assistant” while I adjust my lights, or c) just a innocent bystander while I shoot. Whatever she is, I am glad that she is there to watch me work.
These portraits came after my model was done with her Dramatic Portraits. Jocelyn came in with her tutu ready to be photographed, and I am not to shy away from a portrait session opportunity. Plus, I love photographing children, especially when it is my kid.
Here are a few of my favorites from Jocelyn’s impromptu portrait session:
By The Way: Be ready for impromptu shoots. I was getting ready to pack up my gear when Jocelyn came in dancing and wanting to be photographed. I was tired and ready to stop, but I could not pass up taking a few frames of what I knew would be a memorable portrait session with my daughter.
January 27, 2010 - 11:20 pmMelissa Ragan - I know you already know this, but she's so cute! I love her little diva pose in that last one!!
January 28, 2010 - 12:16 amOtto - That diva pose cracks me up. I wonder where she gets it from... probably from her mother :)
February 1, 2010 - 9:26 pmChristine - Awww... that is just the sweetest thing! How adorable is she?!? Love that you were able to capture this, as she gets older you'll treasure it!
February 17, 2010 - 2:14 amJessie Cho - very cool post processing, and very different from the ordinary cute kids pics. Love it1
February 17, 2010 - 1:30 pmOtto - Thanks Jessie. I am really liking this processing for kid portraits. It is not too over the top, but yet dramatic. Thanks!
I was really excited about Camille’s photo shoot. She is a very professional, beautiful, and enthusiastic model and I am very grateful to have worked with her. She came in ready to deliver a great performance and that she did. It is always such a treat to work with others that are just as passionate about this art form as I am.
This photo shoot was going to be a bit different than what I am used to. First: it is the first shoot in a series (yes, more photos coming very soon) of dramatic portraits and model headshots. I have never done a series like this before, so this was new ground for me. Second: it was going to involve a lot of post-production (Photoshop) work, of which I am used to. The end result of this shoot is to create a composite image with a completely new background and a more dramatic feel. I will be posting the final images soon.
This headshot/portrait session was intended to be more artistic in nature and so all of the pieces had to work well together: a great model, a specific type of lighting set-up, great hair and make-up, energy, and me not messing it up :)
It was great having my amazing hairstylist wife there and my talented brother-in-law (a very talented sports photographer) there to assist.
Here are a few images from our shoot. The final composite images will be on a new blog post soon:
Behind The Scenes
My many thanks to Camille! You made this shoot so much fun. I also want to thank Gary Middendorf for his assistance and ideas. And a super thank you to my wife, Christina, for being so supportive and for doing a great job on Camille’s hair. Thanks guys!
The Set-Up
Nikon D700 – Shooting in RAW
Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8 lens
Tokina 14-24mm f/4 lens
Alien Bee 400ws (5 strobes)
Medium Softbox (2)
22″ Beauty Dish
Pocket Wizard (2)
Lightroom 2 – For exposure and color adjustments
Photoshop CS4 – For all major retouching and background removal
13″ MacBook
Sofortbild – For shooting tethered to my MacBook. It’s free for Nikon shooters!
By The Way: It was great sketching out pose ideas and lighting ideas before the shoot. I was also able to do some test shots before Camille ever came over.
January 22, 2010 - 12:23 amTodd - Great series of images Otto and beautiful model! Love the dramatic lighting
January 22, 2010 - 11:04 amOtto - Thanks Todd. I am currently working with 4 other models, so there will be more dramatic portraits. Rock on dude!
January 22, 2010 - 11:27 amVeronica - Beautiful girl and beautiful pictures! Can't wait to see what else you did.
January 22, 2010 - 3:02 pmOtto - Thanks Veronica. I will be posting a few this weekend.
January 22, 2010 - 3:18 pmGary Middendorf - I'm not surprised to how good they turned out. The pictures were incredible straight out of the camera. Awesome job. I can't wait to see your vision to composite them on separate backgrounds.
by Otto
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