Preggers; Frandy

Some time ago, I decided I wanted to do something a little unique for my longtime friend’s wedding shower gift. Instead of buying the traditional toys or necessities that a set of expecting parents would most certainly need and appreciate, I wanted to do something a little more personal for my dear friends. So I offered to do a maternity shoot for them.

As a wedding photographer, it’s my job to capture the love between two people throughout the shoot. So luckily it wasn’t really a stretch to bring that same mindset and expand it to include a third person. In fact, I think shooting a maternal shoot may even be ‘easier’ than an e-shoot let’s say as with the former, there’s a central and tangible theme to focus on. I personally feel like it was an emotion filled shoot as we took the expecting mother on an emotional rollercoaster ride from deep laughter, to serious moments of reflection.

Though I’m thrilled with the results, unfortunately I’m still holding on to my self-made mandate of accepting commissions for weddings only. If this changes in the future, I’ll definitely post it here.

Blessed

To say it’s been a crazy summer would be the understatement of 2012. Actually, rather than claiming it’s crazy I should really be calling it a blessed summer because God has been so faithful and good, providing me with the opportunities that have come my way this year. My streak of working with fantastic brides continues as each and every one of them so far have been so incredibly patient, calm under pressure and co-operative as well. I’ve learned a TON this year about wedding photography. I’ve spent the past few years honing my skills technically, so there weren’t too many surprises on that front but this year I really got to know the business and personal side of the industry. I’m not going to lie and say that being a wedding photographer is easy to do, but then again neither is anything that’s worthwhile or rewarding. When I pause to think about things, I realize how lucky I am to be able to do what I do. Capturing precious moments as well as raw emotions of joy is something that I don’t ever see myself getting accustomed to. The enormity of my task can get pretty overwhelming (if I ever stopped to reflect upon it) but thankfully the busyness of the day proves to be enough distraction to keep me level headed. This enormous ‘burden’ is never lost on me though, because I use it to fuel my drive to keep going as hard as I can.

I apologize for the lack of updates on my site as of late, and promise that soon it’ll be chalk full of wonderful images. My first priority is making sure I finish editing my photos for my clients in a timely manner and then I’ll get to sharing some of my favorites ones with whomever lands on my site. One thing that puzzles me is that the traffic to my site is far more consistent than my updates/posts. Stay tuned though as I hope to have something for you sooner than later!

Thanks for caring enough to vist

Engaged; Michele & Christian

Last month I had the opportunity to shoot alongside GCL Photography as we did the e-shoot for Michele & Christian. Though the weather was gloomy and rainy (on and off) both Michelle and Christian (who happen to stand 6’1″ and 6’8″ respectively) were more than willing to get down and have fun during our shoot. I must admit, it was the first time I’ve ever felt “short” in quite some time but the slight challenge was quickly offset by how much fun we had. Here are some of my favorite shots from the day;

Married; Christina & David

One thing I’ve always lacked (but have always wanted) in my young photography career is the guidance and accountability of a mentor. Luke Skywalker had Obi-Wan Kenobi, Tiger Woods had his father, Ma$e had P-Diddy and…well, you get the idea right? As if photography on it’s own wasn’t complicated and intricate enough, there are so many additional facets and layers to wedding photography that talent, skill and even equipment can only take you so far. In the earlier stages of my career, I sort of took pride in the fact that I was a self made photographer. But I couldn’t  shake this nagging feeling inside that I needed to follow before I could start to truly lead.
Well long story short, I’m very pleased to announce that I will be working alongside GCL Photography several times throughout this year. Gordon, who is the creative director of GCL Photography sort of took a chance on me and extended me this very great opportunity. Suffice it to say I’m incredibly stoked to be working alongside someone whose work I admire and respect.
Here are my favorite shots from a recent wedding I 2nd shot for (only the morning bridal preparations).



Engaged; Yume & Steve

Recently, I had the opportunity to shoot one of my hyungs’ (term for “bigger brother” in Korean) and his lovely fiance’s engagement shoot. I’ve known Steve for probably over two decades and though him and his older brother always bullied me around when we were kids, it was kind of nice to be the one in charge and giving directions on the day of the shoot! haha Though a bit nervous and shy in the beginning, both Yume and Steve really started to open up and by the end of the shoot it was as if they forgot that I was even there;  mission accomplished!

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