Ben Briones Studios
Professional McAllen Photographer
Daniela Garza – Head shots – Ben Briones Studios
Posted on October 2, 2020
Daniela is my best friend of 10+ years and I love her to death. I have seen this beautiful soul grow and become a passionate care giver and proud Latina. She recently asked me to help with her some head shots for work but knowing our dynamic I always love taking our photo shoots a little further and so we shot a few more pics of her in full awareness, knowledge and power of what this election means to her and to all of us!
I urge everyone to vote in this election! Below are some deadlines to keep in mind.
Key dates and deadlines
Election day is Nov. 3
Registration deadlines
By mail: Postmarked by Oct. 5
In person: Oct. 5
Absentee ballot deadlines
Request: Oct. 23
Return by mail: Postmarked by Nov. 3 by 7:00 p.m.
Early voting
Oct. 13 – Oct. 30, but dates and hours may vary based on where you live
Teacher of the Month – Ms. Yanez
Posted on October 2, 2020
Guess who got teacher of the month? This beauty here!
When the pandemic hit everyone’s world was turned upside down. The area hit the hardest was in education! School plays such a big roll in society. Schools provide shelter for students, a warm meal, a safe and happy environment. Teachers are America’s unsung hero’s!
Today I want to share this post about the elementary music educator you see in this portrait. Covid-19 took the teacher out of the classroom but never took the teacher out of the fight. When it was decided school was going full virtual Sara did not back down from the challenge.
We transformed our bedroom into her virtual classroom. Sara got herself a cute desk chair combo. We quickly bought her a 2nd monitor screen with articulating arm. She purchased the necessary equipment and accessories to turn our professional camera into a secondary webcam. She was ready!
This teacher stays up until wee hours of the night prepping her virtual classroom, studying and lesson planning, and creating personal audio messages for her students. During the day, because I also work from home, I hear her singing and drumming on her desk, teaching her students music theory in fun ways to elementary kids. Sometimes I hear our bedroom door bust open because she’s running off to a quick bathroom break or cold brew refill as quickly as she can before her next class starts. On top of back-to-back classes she still attends regular morning and after school virtual meetings, often planning the next few weeks or months with her coworkers.
I am very proud of her and I know many of her friends and coworkers are too! Before covid she would tell me that her students would tell her that her music class was their favorite class and till this day she often comes out of our bedroom / classroom happy because she continues to hear the same praise and love from her students.
Sara Yanez, I love you and I am very proud of you! Congrats on being teacher of the Month at John McKeever Elementary PSJA ISD.
Brotherly Love – Edinburg Municipal Auditorium – Ben Briones Studios
Posted on September 14, 2020
If you are interested in getting photos with your sibling or having a family photo session please fill out the form below.
Jackie Bush – Robert Vela High School Grad – Ben Briones Studios
Posted on July 13, 2020
You wouldn’t be able to from these photos that just about an hour before there was a crazy storm with flash flood warnings. We had even made the call to Jackie’s mom that we were going to have to reschedule the shoot but I am glad we didn’t! Really love how this photo shoot turned out. Sara took lead while I finished another shoot with our other grad client Caro that kind of overlapped with this shoot but the good thing was I was also shooting at the McAllen Convention Center too. Below you will see some of our favorite shots from this grad portrait session.
Photo Credit: Sara Yanez, Ben Briones 
If you are graduating high school and would like to take grad photos please fill out the form below.
Caro Sanchez – ENHS Grad – Ben Briones Studios
Posted on July 10, 2020
Being a Edinburg North High School graduate myself, it gave me great joy to photograph Ms. Caro’s graduation portraits. We decided to shoot these photos at at the McAllen Convention Center because of how much space it allows us to work with. Caro posed both in her cap and gown along with a beautiful dress but also took her look more causal with her cowgirl boots. Sara and I used a lot of natural light in this shoot and I really love how these photos came out and I hope you do too.
Photo Credit: Sara Yanez, Ben Briones 
If you are graduating high school and would like to take grad photos please fill out the form below.
Alyssa Garcia Grad Session – Edinburg, Texas – Ben Briones Studios
Posted on July 8, 2020
We took at Alyssa’s Graduation Portraits at the Edinburg City Hall and the Edinburg CISD Administration building. This area is one of my favorite spots for grad photos. Alyssa is a Vanguard Academy Beethoven graduate so these Edinburg buildings seemed perfect for her photo shoot. We shot the first 1/2 of her shoot with her cap and gown and the second 1/2 in a more relaxed outfit. I always encourage my clients to bring two outfits to any of my shoots for variety. I really love the way these photos came out. Check out some of my favorite shots from this graduation portrait session.
If you are graduating high school and would like to take grad photos please fill out the form below.
Valeria Trevino – Harlingen High South Grad – Harlingen, Texas
Posted on June 2, 2020
This past weekend we photographed one our church friends. She recently graduated from Harlingen High School South. Valeria was fun to shoot. Sara and I really enjoyed photographing her cap & gown photos around the downtown Harlingen, Texas area. We started off at our favorite local coffee shop Girl of All Trades, then we made our way down the road using different spots and murals. Here are out favorite shots from this photo shoot.
Photo Credit: Sara Yanez, Ben Briones 
If you are graduating high school and would like to take grad photos please fill out the form below.
Estero Llano Grande State Park – Photography Nature Walk
Posted on April 28, 2020
A while back Sara and I invited her sister Mary and boyfriend Alex to a photography nature walk at Estero Llano Grande State Park in Weslaco, Texas. These are some of my top shots taken with my Fujifilm XH-1. If you know my work you know I am not a nature photographer but I have enjoying as of lately. 
Arantza Quince Portraits – Mission, Texas – Ben Briones Studios
Posted on March 28, 2020
Another great photo session shot on our Fujifilm XT3 and XH1 for this young ladies quince. Shooting with a new camera is always challenging but with the experience I have it’s been fun learning a whole new system and it makes you feel great seeing results like these.
We shot these portraits at a private residents in Sharyland, Texas. The quince was great to work with, she was very open to our ideas and use of the home. We used a mix of ambient light and studio light. What I love about the my Fujifilm XH1 is I get to use my old school Canon FD and Nikon G lenses on the body with an adapter. Check out some of our favorite shots from this session.
Photo Credit: Sara Yanez, Ben Briones
If you’d like more info about on our quince packages please fill out the form below.
Hailey Trevino – Edinburg, Texas – Ben Briones Studios
Posted on March 26, 2020
Took these beautiful edgy portraits of my friend Hailey mid March in some cool spots downtown Edinburg, Texas. I really have been enjoying my Fujifilm XH1 and this photo shoot really allowed me to explore with it more. I set it up on a bracket mode, but not just any bracket mode. The XT3 and XH1 have a film simulation bracket mode so when you shoot you get 3 different looks plus a raw file. Some of the photos you see here are JPEGs straight out of camera.
For this shoot we used a mix of natural light, reflector and my Flashpoint eVOLV 200 strobe. Hailey is a “seasoned model” because she’s been in a few of my shoots at South Texas College. She did amazing at posing and was very open to our ideas as well. Loved the two outfits she chose. They both went well with the two locations we chose. Here are some of my favorites shots from this photo shoot. 
If you are looking into taking some fun portraits please fill out the form below.
Bianca and Art Engagement Session – Estero Llano Grande State Park – Ben Briones Studios
Posted on March 24, 2020
Excited to share these beautiful engagement photos taken a few weeks back at Estero Llano Grande State Park in Weslaco, Texas. My couple and I had originally planned to go to San Antonio, Texas to take their photos there but due to this COVID-19 scare we decided to take the photos in our own backyard.
The couple wanted something with a lot of greenery and well Estero Llano was one of the options I presented to them and I am glad they chose it. This state park is so beautiful and has so much to work with. I was able to take the couple along different walking areas each giving us a distinct look all from the same location. The place is also super mega affordable. Cost is only $5 per person. I am really happy how these outdoor engagement photos came out. I also shot in 35mm film and can’t wait to develop and post those here. Please enjoy our favorite shots from this engagement photo shoot. 
If you are interested in taking outdoor engagement photos please fill out the form below.
Tradiciones 2020 – Ballet Folklórico South Texas College
Posted on March 12, 2020
I have seen and photographed quite a few of these Folklórico events for the Ballet Folklórico South Texas College group and every year they keep getting better and better. This year’s was amazing to say the least. I enjoy having the photographer’s perspective at these events because we get to capture the behind the scenes along with the performances. In January we purchased new cameras; the Fujifilm XT-3 and Fujifilm XH1, which were the two cameras used to document this performance. Having new cameras made it a bit challenging but I embrace a good photography challenge. Here are a few shots I thought were very nice to share.
Photo Credit: Sara Yanez, Ben Briones 
If your dance organization is having an event and would like for us to photograph it please fill out the form below.
Hello Fujifilm! – Ben Briones Studios
Posted on January 13, 2020
Hello Fujifilm!
For the past eight years I have been photographing with a Canon 6D I purchased in 2012. That camera has been my workhorse for the majority of my work. I have also used a Nikon D600 and other Canon cameras, both digital and film, that I own. This January we decided it was time to purchase new cameras to use and abuse for another eight years. Say hello to the newest members of our arsenal; Fujifilm XT-3 and Fujifilm XH-1.
First Date
Months back we rented the Fujifilm XT-3 for 7-days and honestly, we fell in love with it. Sara and I tested it out on a few shoots. (seen below)
The Details
Shooting with a Fujifilm camera is a totally different experience than shooting with a standard DSLR. The Fuji’s are totally hands-on. If you have shot 35mm film photography, switching over to a fujifilm camera will be very familiar. I really fell in love with that aspect; creating a photo from technique and knowledge of your camera operation vs post production. I also love how much smaller they are than the standard DSLR cameras. Also since mirrorless is the “new way” for photography, that’s also a plus. Check out the difference between our 6D and our new Fuji bodies.
What to expect!
2020 looks promising for our studio especially with our new cameras. We already shot our first major wedding with them this past weekend and we are extremely excited to photograph all our upcoming events and photo shoots with the Fujifilm cameras. The cameras have these beautiful film simulations that help produce beautiful images straight out of camera.
We are looking to really utilize those film simulations to ease our workflow and become more efficient in image turnaround. I am really looking forward to carry less gear weight on me. If you have seen me shoot I am usually packed on with a lens belt and drag around a Pelican 1510 but with these smaller form factor bodies we will be hauling less weight, which is a plus for an aging photographer haha. Be on the lookout for our new work, which will mostly be done with our new Fujifilm cameras.
If you have questions about the Fujifilm cameras feel free to ask us!
