karen maze photoblog

I get a major kick out of being published. It raises the stakes, focuses the mind, and makes everything way more fun. This month, I can point to  San Diego Magazine and say “I shot that cover.” (Are you still reading?? GO GET ONE!)

Ok, seriously…This was my first time working with San Diego Magazine. It came about because I sent an email to a former colleague who is now an art director there. I just wanted to remind her that I’m here and available for assignments. A few weeks later, my phone rang. After a few phone calls and emails back and forth, I was driving to San Diego to shoot the job.

The assignment was to photograph food and drink from at Ortega’s Mexican Bistro in the Hillcrest area of San Diego. The directive was that people should see the photo and say “I want THAT!”

Ortega’s had many different options available to us in terms of location, props, food and drink. We decided early on to concentrate on a couple of different margaritas and two locations within the restaurant and play with those. My main concern was that the background provide some interest without getting in the way of the subject or any text that the magazine might want to place on top of the image. The colored glass window you see on the cover fit the bill perfectly.

The shoot went very well and as fate would have it, the image they selected for the cover (a Rasperry Mint Margarita, yum!) is mine. I was eager to do the job cover or not, but I won’t deny being more than happy about how it turned out.

-km

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