Thank you for visiting my web site and giving me the opportunity to tell you a little bit about myself.

My name is Michael Lam, I'm a free lance photographer based in Orange County. I have always been fascinated with photography ever since I can remember, but I never thought in my wildest dreams that someone could actually make a career out of photography. That all changed back in my first year of college in 1988. That's when I took my first formal course of study in photography and fell in love with it ever since. Beyond my studies in college, I've also studied under and assisted many mentors of photography. Although I have earned an Associate Degree in Photography, I feel that my best learning experiences have come from actually working and interacting with people in the field. Looking back, I realize it's this love of working and interacting with people that ultimately lead me to my specialty: "People Photography".

One of my favorite subjects to photograph are concerts and live shows, because they are always unpredictable. The ever changing ambiance of stage lights, the thundering acoustics resonating from all around you, and the energy from the performers are so intense, making a perfect combination for a very powerful image.

Headshots in the entertainment field is another photography challenge that I love. Each face is unique and each person has distinct characteristics about them. It is this challenge of recognizing their uniqueness and drawing out this character within them so that I can capture their true personality for their portfolios.

Fine portraiture, another joy of mine, involves a different style of photography. It captures the mood and emotion of the person and every detail in the portrait has an important purpose. Fine portraiture is like a fine oil painting, it is something that will be admired for years with it's timelessness.

Another exciting aspect of my photography is to create "engagement" and "love portraits". I would create a "fairytale moment" for the loving couple in a greeting card-style image. It is very exciting for me to be able to reflect these feelings of love they have for one another in their portrait. I truly value that!

But I would definitely say that the most humbling experience in my field is children's portraiture. Children are wonderful subjects to photograph because no matter if they are smiling or crying, playing or sleeping, they are expressing their true emotions and that is the essence of being children and it gives me great satisfaction to be able to capture these images of innocence and touch the lives of those who love and cherish them.

I hope this tells you a little bit about my self and my photography. I'm based in Orange County. Maybe you've seen some of my photographs that have been published in publications such as OC Metro, OC Weekly, OC Live, and cover pages for the city of Los Alamitos magazine. I've also worked with TOKYOPOP's Street Fury serries. But one of my greatest personal accomplishment was to be chosen as the "First Prize Winner" for a photo contest from Islands Magazine, and have my work published in the June 2006 issue of Islands Magazine. That was the first time that my work had ever been published internationally. I will forever savor that moment.

Photography was always close to my heart and remains so to this day. I would love to hear from you if you have any questions or comments!

Michael Lam