Aponte Studios

Ana & Julio | Engaged

2012-03-15T17:02:00.001-04:00

Fit Celica

2012-03-14T16:49:00.000-04:00

izzy & edwin | engaged

2012-03-13T16:30:00.001-04:00

Arleen + John | Wedding

2012-03-06T16:28:00.000-05:00

Ashton | Ballerina

2012-01-11T12:34:00.000-05:00

Melissa + Michael | Wedding

2011-12-28T18:18:00.000-05:00

The Aponte family...

2011-12-05T15:36:00.000-05:00

... North Carolina version, lol. Love you guys!

Beatriz | Senior

2011-12-02T17:16:00.000-05:00

Lindsay + Jay | Wedding

2011-11-29T16:02:00.000-05:00

Jamil + Simone | Wedding

2011-11-15T16:00:00.006-05:00

There's no mistaking the location, as the bridal party and I take a moment to enjoy beautiful Lake Eola.

Arleen + John | Engaged

2011-10-31T16:00:00.002-04:00

Fashion Show @ Neiman Marcus

2011-10-28T17:00:00.002-04:00

Neiman Marcus held a special fashion show benefiting the Mennello Museum of American Art. Some fine dining, drinks and great-looking models strutting the latest Neiman Marcus' styles.

ICED DOWN @ Biketoberfest 2011

2011-10-17T15:00:00.001-04:00

So again I get the privilege to take pictures of this awesome group of talented artists. The stage was set at the Full Moon Saloon off Main Street. Iced Down had the 5 - 9 pm spot and they just rocked Daytona from start to finish.

One thing I just love about this band is how involved they get with the crowd. Iced Down loves the audience and the audience just responds with such energy and the party explodes with fist pumping, air-guitar'ing, sing / scream-a-long crowd. On and off the stage, they are all about having a good time with their fans.

Again, just another example on how much they all love getting the crowd involved, lol.

Look them up on Facebook and/or their official website for more information and tour dates.

KC Cali... artist.

2011-10-04T16:13:00.003-04:00

KC is mother of two lovely daughters, marketing graphic designer for big architecture firm, loves horseback riding and is an extremely talented artist.... I mean, extreeemely talented. She will be displaying her work in downtown's "Blank Space" on November 3rd from 7:30pm to 10:30pm. KC and other artists will be there showing their best work and also have some free gifts, such as prints and wine. There will also be live music with some covers and original songs.

You can see more of KC's work and get more information on upcoming shows at http://www.kccali.blogspot.com/.

A new look for Aponte Studios

2011-09-22T13:48:00.001-04:00

Aponte Studios is coming up to its 5th year anniversary and I thought about maybe changing couple things here and there; biggest of all changes was the website. Apontestudios.com has been through many changes throughout the years and it's mostly because I couldn't make up my mind on how I wanted the site to be laid out until some time during the summer of last year. Summer of 2010, I spent many sleepless nights tweaking the page's code to come out with what used to look like this...

I liked the fact that it was dark because it would allow the pictures to stand out even more, but I knew I could make it better with a little more time invested. After spending days researching forums, blogs and other photographers' website, I then saw that maybe going dark wasn't the right way to go... eh, live and learn.

I love taking pictures of weddings. I honestly can say that it's my favorite type of event because it really keeps me busy and for the most part, it's filled with beautiful people and decorations; enough eye-candy to fill a 32gig memory card pretty quick. One thing I was looking for in particular were those photographers that specialized in weddings and studied their sites. I mostly noticed how there wasn't much wording and it was mostly about the pictures. Photographers from California to New York were mostly using a lot of white, so my decision was simple... I must turn away from the DARK SIDE. LOL!

So, if you haven't seen the new "lighter side" apontestudios.com yet, here's a screen shot of it...

CLICK HERE TO GO TO SITE

If you've visited the site before, your browser could possibly be holding on to some cache from the older site, so be sure to press F5 to refresh the page and get the new one.

It's clean, but still keeps some of the basic structure I had before. I also wanted to make it super simple to navigate through. I found that many of my clients were not really going through all the categories with the older website, so I merged many of my pictures to one generic category. Not only did I simplify the tabs, but I also eliminated the pull down menus, again, I found people were just skimming through the upper-level menus. A pretty cool feature I added, which is nothing new to anybody except apontestudios.com, are the quick links to the social networking sites on the upper right hand corner.

The contact page is my favorite feature, which I know my web programming teacher would be proud of. Lots of background validation and it gives me the right information I need when I receive the emails. Also, it sends the potential clients a pretty nice "thank you" email after they submitted their information.

Overall, everything has and will always be about the clients. It's not so much what I would like to see online, but what the clients would like to see and how easy it is to use it.

On a similar topic, this is a screen shot of my very first official apontestudios.com... good lord, what was I thinking? LOL

When Aponte Studios celebrates its 10 year anniversary, I'll probably look back at all this and laugh... of course, with God's blessing, the business will grow, learn, change / adapt to provide the best services it possibly can.

Thank you to all those beautiful people I've had the pleasure of serving throughout these last 5 years!

Manny + Joisha | Engaged

2011-09-09T17:20:00.000-04:00

Manny and Joisha will be getting married in Daytona... so why not shoot in one of the world's best beach. We went to Ocean Walk Village and roamed around the area looking for spots that would highlight their fun, loving personality... and then I saw the Ferris Wheel and an arcade. Jackpot!

I'm really looking forward to their wedding next year in the beautiful St. Paul Basilica.

Juan + Christina | Wedding

2011-09-08T18:52:00.000-04:00

I loved being a part of Juan (Joey) and Christina's wedding. This couple was so much fun! The entire event was just one great moment to the next. I laughed so much, my cheeks were sore by the end of the day; it was truly that much fun. Joey has a great sense of humor and Christina is just a sweetheart, both always up for a good time. It came as no surprise to me that both of their family and friends at the wedding were just as outgoing as they were, so the entire day, from start to finish, was a blast...

... this one surely falls under my personal top favorite weddings.

ICED DOWN

2011-09-01T10:36:00.002-04:00

ICED DOWN... by far the best cover band I've ever heard. Over the past few years, Iced Down has been redefining rock entertainment in Central Florida. Composed of good friends who are also some the areas top seasoned performers, Iced Down is a welcome breath of fresh air in the field of rock n roll. Iced Down is a favorite of the perennial WMMO Downtown Concert Series opening for national acts: Cheap Trick, CCR, Warrant, Eddie Money & The Spin Doctors. They headline Bikeweek, Biketoberfest and are a regular attraction at the Leesburg Bikefest. Outside of events, Iced Down enjoys performing regularly at local entertainment venues like Dexter’s and the Route 46 Entertainment Complex. They take pleasure in a close relationship with their friends and fans alike, because as true entertainers, Iced Down knows that the audience is the boss. They market, promote and generate excitement that has not existed in Orlando for decades. They bring lots of energy and a great sound; playing rock with an 'Iced Down' twist. These shots were taken in Daytona's Ocean Walk amphitheater.

Check out their website iceddown.com and like their 'ICED DOWN' Facebook Page and stay up to date with their upcoming shows. You've gotta watch these guys... what a show!

Nate & Leiann

2011-08-31T11:59:00.000-04:00

I was really excited to have a studio session with Nate and Leiann. I've been wanting to try out new ways of lighting and create really dramatic shots, especially with a male model. I wish to continue on this route and one day be published in a major magazine or website. I know I'm still young in this industry and have lots of work to do, but I think I'm off on the right foot so far. :) Hope you enjoy these pictures as I enjoyed shooting and editing them.

LOL... gotta love those candid shots. :-p

Keilah

2011-08-30T11:06:00.000-04:00

Let's just start off with this picture, shall we? LOL The moment I took this picture, I laughed. I don't enjoy cranky babies, believe me, but I've known Keilah since, well, since she was born really. She is probably the happiest baby I've ever seen. I always see her smile, so for me, this shot is a rare scene. Not to mention, her three teeth are just cute. :-p

I've been good friends with Keilah's parents, Sammy and Hilda, for over 13 years and it's no wonder Keilah is such a happy child. Her parents are just silly and full of good humor... love 'em both.

Leo's 1st birthday

2011-08-29T18:13:00.000-04:00

Rachael and old-time friend, Jose have a cute "Gerber baby" named Leonidas. I don't know about you, but that name kicks @$$! LOL. I had such a great time at the party taking pictures of Leo and meeting up with old friends from High School... good times.

Heeeeere's Leo!!!

... and some of Leo's friends.

mmmmmm...

Daniel + Jessica | Wedding

2011-07-27T04:03:00.002-04:00

It wasn't my first Catholic wedding I've had the opportunity to take pictures of, but having strict rules of where and when not to shoot pictures is still challenging. Unlike the other Catholic churches I've worked in, this one allowed me to use my flash, but it was 10 in the morning and the sun was just illuminating the space so well, there was little use for my flash gear. I love natural light, so that's a big plus for me. We were only there to cover the ceremony.

The mass was about an hour and a half total, but it was just beautiful from start to finish. There were violins, an organ and several amazing singers. It was just an incredibly nice wedding with great people.

I just HAD to include this bundle of joy, hehe.

Uh oh! He took the hat!!! :-)

Michael + Melissa | Engaged

2011-07-22T08:51:00.001-04:00

These two are such a fun couple. Melissa I've known for many years and Michael, well, let's just say he's into cars like me (automatic cool points, haha). But seriously, they are both really cool and great to hang out with. The day started off so windy, but the show must go on. I'm really looking forward to their wedding in September; I just know it's going to be beautiful.

I told them to strike a GQ-style model pose for me and what a great job they did...

Ismail + Ericka | Engaged

2011-07-20T12:30:00.000-04:00

Ismail and Ericka were the lucky winners of the raffle Aponte Studios gave away at the Gaylord Palms bridal show earlier this year. They both live in Tampa, so a good middle ground between myself and them was the beautiful city of Celebration. We feared that it was going to be raining that day because of all the storms that were currently passing by for the past two weeks. Thankfully, it turned out being a good day to shoot... just a little overcast. :-)

Eric + Kelly

2011-06-22T17:11:00.002-04:00

All I have to say was that it was nearly 100 degrees outside, humid and yet we had a great time, lol. This couple is just fantastic to catch in action.

Guess who won? : )

Ramon's 1967 Camaro

2011-06-22T16:14:00.000-04:00

Corinne Gonzalez Senior Pictures

2011-06-09T14:52:00.000-04:00

Corinne is an extremely talented singer / song writer who wanted her senior pictures to reflect her personality and style. I had a really great time with this photo shoot as I got to go to historic Deland for some vintage shots and we also got to use her dad's studio, who's a local DJ/producer (www.theessenceofsound.com). Look forward to see her CDs on store shelves real soon.

Zodian

2011-05-27T15:51:00.002-04:00

We all love cover bands! Especially those that cover all pop-rock genres. Band manager, Carlos Gallegos and I had met at the Hispanic business expo. Carlos saw my previous work with Darkest Before Dawn and we discussed how I could make this young, talented band show it's professionalism with some classic style photography. If you need the services of a great cover band for your special event or your local business, you can contact Carlos' email..

Left to right - Nestor (drummer), Diego (bass), Alicia (lead vocals), Alberto (guitar & backup vocals).

Stephanie Michelle's Sweet 16

2011-05-19T16:34:00.002-04:00

It was the big day that Stephanie's been waiting for and Aponte Studios was there to capture it all. It was very well put together: organized, elegant and those little girls dressed in fairy clothes were hilarious... in a cute way; see for yourself..

Janitza

2011-05-18T04:21:00.000-04:00

My business was one of the vendors at the 2011 Hispanic Business Expo and I got to meet tons of great people and made lots of good connections with others in the design and photography industry. Janitza stopped by my booth and she liked the photos I had on display. Needless to say, we booked a shoot right there and so these are some of my personal favorites from that shoot.

For the following picture, I really wanted to show texture. I know that most people that touch up model's faces, like making it nice and smooth, which I understand, but I wanted to step out of the norm for bit and show lots of depth and sharp lines. Janitza did an excellent job with her make-up. It was subtle and soft.

SAY GOODBYE

2011-05-17T22:55:00.001-04:00

Award winning author, Robert Capko, has given me a great opportunity to really do something different. My project was to make a short video promo for his book SAY GOODBYE. As we sat down at Panera, he briefly explained his book and what he wanted to accomplish with the video. Immediately, ideas were running through my head and I was eager to share them. The book cover was created by a mutual friend and she did such a tremendous job that I wanted to continue with the style throughout the video. The red, black and silhouette look was a must keep and Robert agreed. Robert had given me the text he wanted to use for the video, so it was just a matter of me fitting the audio with the content.

Check out Robert's book, SAY GOODBYE!!!

Robert's new Action/Adventure Thriller SAY GOODBYE is available

At Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple iBooks and other places.

Check: http://www.robertcapko.com/

Join Robert's fan page at: http://www.facebook.com/robertjcapkofanpage

Follow Robert on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/robertcapko

Salem

2011-04-27T14:36:00.002-04:00

I love visiting North Carolina. Not only is the weather awesome almost every day, but the scenery is definitely better than here in Orlando, in my opinion. It's beautiful up there; not to mention the extremely nice people I encounter. If only Florida drivers were as nice as those in NC, lol. Well, besides the scenic views and friendly atmosphere, I also have family and friends in Raleigh. While on my trip to North Carolina, I had the opportunity to take pictures of Jamie and Lauren's daughter, Salem. Jamie and Lauren have been good friends of mine for many years and I couldn't leave NC without taken a few baby pictures of their little bundle of joy.

These eyes needed no editing at all. They are as bright in person as they are in pictures.

Theresa + Brandon + Evey

2011-04-26T02:07:00.001-04:00

It was a bright, sunny day with a bit of breeze in the Winter Park area with the Lemonier family. I was excited to finally meet Brandon and Theresa and their little Evangeline, who is one adorable baby with a face that just attracted the camera, lol. Quite photogenic for sure. My usual assistant was not with me on this particular shoot, so it was a challenge for me jiggling my keys in front of the camera with one hand while I shot with the other. Still though, it was a fun shoot and I had lots of laughs. I really love my job: meeting great people and creating memories.

Gabriel Scott Aponte

2011-04-25T16:04:00.003-04:00

He's the newest addition to the Aponte family... yeah, we have good genes, hehe. Aponte Studios is ready to begin a new venture into documentary films. This is just the beginning. Enjoy...

9th Evolution

2011-04-23T11:31:00.001-04:00

I can't think of much to say about this photo shoot or the car really. I mean, what's to say? This car is so nice that, it speaks for itself! It says, "get in", vrooom, pssshhh and everything else a car junkie would call an 'eargasm'. Personally, I'm quite fond of the Evo 9 as opposed to the new 10; just personal preference. No offense to the 10 owners, of course, but this car is near perfection in every way. Hope I can get my hands on one some time in my future... hopefully it will be this particular Evo.

"...that's no moon... IT'S A SHIFT KNOB!"

Isa-BELLA

2011-03-29T01:53:00.000-04:00

These were some of the pre-birthday pictures for the signature photo at the entrance of the party. Thank you Stephanie for letting me take these shots of your cute daughter! She always had a smile on her face and what made me laugh the most was her singing Beyonce's - All the single ladies - "uh oh". LOL!

This is the one that was picked to be in the signature photo frame...

So these are just some of the many pictures Isabella's mom, Stephanie, had to choose from for her signature photo. I'll be posting some of the party highlight pictures soon.

Darkest Before Dawn

2011-03-17T10:26:00.005-04:00

Guitar riffing, head banging, keyboard lifting... man, this band is intense! This talented bunch come together to share their love for music and spread the love of Jesus wherever they tour. As you'll see from the photos from their most recent show at The Gate in Apopka, FL, they are extremely passionate and love what they do.

Visit their website at http://www.myspace.com/darkestbeforedawnfl , make plans to go to one of their shows and tell the bass player, Big D, I said, "Whatup cuh!?!?"

S2K - Round 2

2011-03-16T07:54:00.000-04:00

Yep, it's round two of Tyler Muench's Honda S2000 photo session. Round one was actually late in 2010 when Tyler and I got together to see if we could make his ride in the 2011 s2ki.com calendar. Well, it made the month of April, which we were really excited about. So now we're back again, but now we have our sights aimed at a full spread article of the S2000 for a magazine. We'll see what happens...

Meghan & Kelly

2011-03-11T13:50:00.000-05:00

Even as I sat down at my workstation sorting through the pictures, I was laughing. These two girls crack me up.

Meghan and Kelly had a couple good reasons for laughing; one of which was a rather young couple in a very awkward position. Awkward enough to make a mother cover her kid's eyes! Oh yeah, and the mustache face!

A few personal favs

2011-02-24T02:25:00.000-05:00

I love photography and the more I do it, the more I love it. I've had lots of support from all of my family and many of my friends have given me words of encouragement to continue doing what I'm doing. Thank you to every one of you who thought I could do it and I hope my work continues to get better and that you may enjoy them.

Now, as I venture through some phases of my photography career, I have been playing around with new techniques (new for me) and creating a different feel than my older works. Here are a couple of my personal favorites:

Danelys has been probably the biggest contribution to my portfolio. She has lots of potential to make it big in the fashion industry and I feel like I had the privilege of taking pictures of a future super model... or at least, I hope that's what happens, hehe. I love this portrait so much, I decided to print this onto a 20x30 canvas. The father of this great-looking young model was very pleased with the results. I loved the look on his face when he unwrapped it.

This young man has very nice facial features. I guess the one word to describe it would be: chiseled, heh. His look called for dressing him in "Sunday" attire. I wanted to go for the old CK photo look. I was very happy with the dramatic lighting and texture.

It's Angela! This "hot chick" is quite the character. We actually had classes in high school together and it was probably 10 or so years since I've seen her. Yay Facebook! She is just awesome! I had in mind of getting some black and white shots with a tattooed woman and Angela had exactly what I was looking for.

This was one of my most interesting photo sessions ever. Floyd is deaf and communication was a minor factor. For the first time, I received calls from a phone service that caters to the hearing impaired; so I was talking to a translator on the phone and I would have to respond as if I was actually talking to the interpreter. It wasn't a problem at all for me, but it was surely a good experience. Prior to the photo session, I had to hand sketch the poses I wanted him to do so things would go smoothly and they did. He wants to make it in a Health magazine and I would just love for my picture to be a part of that goal... fingers crossed.

Two Too Cute

2011-02-23T02:33:00.000-05:00

Because my birthday falls in February and this year I hit the big Three-O, I thought it would be fun to place an ad on Facebook stating whoever guesses my age and gets it right would receive 30% off any portrait package. As I expected, many of my closer friends sent me messages with some outrageous numbers and we had a few good laughs, but those that were actually serious about getting that 30% off, took the hint and ran with it; Danielle was one of those.

Danielle is mother of two great kids, Arissa and Jaime and she was looking to having a photo session of just the kids. I decided to take a few posing shots before I let them both loose around the Lake Mary City Hall area where, luckily, a farmer's market was taking place. Well, here's a sneak peak at some of the shots... enjoy.