Karl Yamashita

THE ESSENTIALS
Name: Karl Yamashita    
Company: Karl Yamashita Photography
Location: Lake Forest, CA
Website: http://www.karlyamashita.com
You can also view Karl Yamashita’s PASNATION profile at:
http://pasnation.pasmag.com/codekey

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The Interview
PAS: Who are you?
Karl Yamashita: I’m a full time Engineer who designs car audio interfacing products. On my free time I shoot models.

PAS: Where are you from? Are you currently living there?
Karl Yamashita: I was born in Los Angeles. I’m currently living in Lake Forest, CA

PAS: Did you go to school to study photography?
Karl Yamashita: I didn’t go to school to study photography. I just picked up a camera and learned on my own.

PAS: How did you get into photography?
Karl Yamashita: I got into photography when I took my kid to acting school and they want some head shots for him. It cost me $750 for 3 looks. I thought it couldn’t be hard to take pictures so I bought myself a camera.



PAS: How long have you been a photographer?
Karl Yamashita: I’ve been a photographer for about 2 ½ years

PAS: How would you describe your style?
Karl Yamashita: I’m a glamour and bikini shooter.



PAS: What sort of equipment and software do you use? Why?
Karl Yamashita: I use a Nikon D300. My main lens I use 95% of the time is a 70-200 f/2.8 VR. It’s probably the sharpest lens I have that produces a nice bokeh. I use Lightroom and Photoshop CS4 for post processing. I use Lightroom to adjust colors and cropping the images. Then I use Photoshop to edit out blemishes.

PAS: Where is your favorite location to shoot pictures? Studio? Beaches? Etc
Karl Yamashita: I like shooting outdoors. Shooting indoors is boring to me. With outdoor shooting there are many elements to work with for background scenery like water, rocks, abandoned houses, fields, etc.



PAS: Are you a MAC or PC user?
Karl Yamashita: I’m a PC user. I like building my own computer.

PAS: What has been your most memorable assignment or model to work with? Why?
Karl Yamashita:  It would probably be a model that lives out in Las Vegas. I drove out for a day from California to meet up with her. We shot at Red Rock Canyon. That place was so amazing. Towards the end of the day the model saw a bug on the ground and it flew off. She screamed out and said it was a flying spider, lol. I still give her a hard time about it.



PAS: What would you say to other enthusiast photographers out there who aspire to become a great photographer?
Karl Yamashita:  Lighting is very important. Learn how to use lighting and your work will stand out from the rest.