Trees and Bushes w/ London

By Melvin Riley on in Photography, YouTube Videos

Trees and Bushes

I shot this in the trees and bushes in England with London Armorer. We were hanging out and I saw some trees and asked her if she wanted to shoot something over in the woods. This photo below is probably one of my favorite photos I’ve ever taken because of the composition. I love how the branches are in the foreground, her eyes are in focus, and the trees are in the background.

f/2 ISO 200 and 1/125 sec

Beautiful. Effortless.

f/2 ISO 200 and 1/125 sec

This photo and the videos below were shot and edited within the camera. I selected the color of her shirt in the camera and started shooting. This was my first time doing this and it turned out pretty nice. I will definitely do this again.

Continue reading… Trees and Bushes w/ London

Hide and Seek w/ London

By Melvin Riley on in Instagram, Photography, YouTube Videos

This was one of my favorites photography sessions. It was cold that night and London and I were walking around trying to find a nice spot to take photos at. I really like taking photos of London because she makes it effortless. I took these photos with the Leica 42.5mm portrait lens. I really love this lens and the way it captures photos.

f/1.7 ISO 320 and 1/200 sec

Favorite Photo

This is my favorite photo of the set. I love the way she positioned her jacket and her shirt; so provocative.

Music Video

I recorded some footage and edited it to this amazing DVSN song “Nuh Time/ Tek Time.” I really like this song. The snippet I used towards the end of the song.

Continue reading… Hide and Seek w/ London

Jordan’s Top 5 Sneakers

By Melvin Riley on in Sneakers, YouTube Videos

I started a new sneaker video project called Top 3, Top 5, and Top 10 in which the person shows and talks about their top sneakers in their own collection. This video was with Jordan Mathews. His current top five sneakers are:

5. Vans Sk8-hi “Mastermind”
4. Nike Air Tech Challenge 2 ” US Open”
3. Nike Air Max 1 “Atmos”
Continue reading… Jordan’s Top 5 Sneakers

5 Questions To Ask Before Buying A New Camera

By Melvin Riley on in Photography, Tech Toys, YouTube Videos
Melvin Riley Jr. 5 questions

Thinking about buying a new camera? Here are five questions to ask yourself before you make that purchase. I’ve spoken with many people who were interested in buying a new camera, and I asked them what features and aspects of a camera were most important. One of the mistakes that I made with past purchases was only thinking about my present interests and not what I might like in the future. Make sure you take that into consideration when making your purchase.

I hope these five questions help you along your purchasing journey:

1. What Do I Want To Capture? Some options are portraits, street photography, sports photography, wildlife, baby showers, landscape, fashion and modeling, and documentary films? Is your primary focus capturing photos or recording video?

2. What Am I Currently Using To Capture? Do you have an Android device or an iPhone? Maybe you have an older camera that’s just lying around or a friend’s camera that you occasionally use.

Continue reading… 5 Questions To Ask Before Buying A New Camera

Beauty Model Liza Sanchez

By Melvin Riley on in Photography, YouTube Videos

It was an absolute pleasure to work with Liza Sanchez. While I wouldn’t consider myself to be a professional in any category, I did my best to make sure I was professional in the sense that I prepared as well as possible for this shoot. Have I done an outdoor photo shoot before? Have I done a beauty video for a client before? Am I an expert on lighting, videography, cinematography, and photography?

The answer to all of those questions is NO! I am not an expert in videography and I am still learning about photography. Taking the time to visualize and create the videos and images that are in my head is a challenging but very rewarding goal. I do my best to make sure that the content I create doesn’t go to my head, and I don’t “scoreboard watch” but I keep creating content. Continue reading… Beauty Model Liza Sanchez

My Tech Toys

By Melvin Riley on in Drone, Tech Toys, YouTube Videos

Have I told you that I love technology and new toys?

I’m not addicted to buying new tech (though my wife thinks otherwise), but I am fascinated with what I can create with them. All of the tech that I own serve a purpose. Let’s take a look at my tech toys:

DJI Phantom 4 drone

Fun. Intelligent. Underrated. Just a few words to describe my drone. I love the camera, the ease of use, and the technology inside my drone. It has sensors in the front to prevent flying into objects, and it remembers where it took off from so it can return to that spot if the battery runs low or if you want it to return to you.
Continue reading… My Tech Toys

Life Lessons For My Kids

By Melvin Riley on in YouTube Videos

It’s no secret, I know that I will die one day. When I die, I hope that I was a great example for my children, and I hope that I have inspired them to pursue their dreams like their life depended on it. I don’t want to die. I want to be around as long as possible so I can see my children become successful contributors to society. I believe that information should be shared and not hoarded, so I want to share the life lessons that I’ve learn with my kids. Continue reading… Life Lessons For My Kids