Lydia Tavera - Behind The Lens

Lydia, Lydia, Lydia! My early favorite picks before Big Brother 11 started. I always like different. And from her promo photo, I judged her real quick; different! Lydia was one of those house guests that I couldn't figure out. Is she there to play the game? Or was she there just to play? I don't know. One minute I'm rooting for her, the next I was rooting less. It was back and forth all season long. One thing's for sure... I absolutely LOVED her style.

My girlfriend and I were always so impressed with her make-up and clothes every week. I could NOT wait to see what she came up with next! I met Lydia in Vegas, and whispered in her ear that we MUST meet and we MUST photograph. It all worked out, because I was more than pleased with the results. How so? That photo above is one of my best photos I've taken. I can't stop staring at it.

I knew I wanted to capture Lydia's crazy style for sure! I told her she must go WILD with the first look. And she did. Very, very pleased. We shot mostly in downtown Los Angeles. At my usual spots. Lydia's mother came along and she was so great. Lydia mom ROCKS. Especially because she loves Depeche Mode!

Okay, so we're parking our cars and what do I see against the fence in our parking lot? Yellow caution tape. How perfect is that? I love how these little things happen when I'm shooting. That was so perfect and we hadn't even started walking towards the spots I usually shoot at. So good! So good!

Of course we jibber jabbered about her season. Her undying love for Natalie. Or not. Which surprised me, because it looked to me they kinda bonded at the end of the show there. But alas, it was a front. Thank GOD! A little insight: Her and Russell tried to open the front door when all the Chima stuff was going on - and they could hear the production people barricading the door from the outside. CRAAAAZZZYYY!

Lydia was one of my best Big Brother shoots as far as color and quality. Everything was working on that day. Make-up... hair.. lighting. We walked around an area that I've never saw before. It was in front of some insurance company. They had this AWESOME fountain in front and Lydia took no pause, and was in it before I knew it. Great sport. One of my best photos from the shoot. (below)

We had a LOT of outfit changes - which is always a plus. Five to be exact. And two make-up changes. I would have done more, but time was ticking away and the sun was resting down on the West. And of course, Dae Yum Yum made an appearance at the end. My second unicorn - Daniele being the first.

"I'm not shhlurring my words." - One of the best lines from the season. The sunglasses shot with the blue dress was so different, so great, and so Lydia... it worked so wonderfully. (below) Oh and while we were just started to shoot, a fan recognized Lydia and came up to her. We took 5. I remember Daniele having a fan come up to her during our first shoot and they said, "Aren't you Janelle?" Loved it!

It was so fun finally meeting Captain Unitard. One of the cutest exits ever on Big Brother.

Thank you, Lydia for such a great shoot! I love your participation with the fans. They love it. I love it. Keep it up. Keep smiling. You're beautiful.

Lydia wants to be the make-up/hair girl if and when I shoot Jordan. Wouldn't that be something? The possibilities are endless. We'll see. Oh, you can see more of Lydia's photos on my facebook page.

I'll be also posting Disneyland Photo Of The Day entries. So look for those.

Here's a slide show I made from our shoot.