Baby Z turns 1
Balloons… Bougainvillea… Birthday Cake… and a Baby! All of these put together made a fun session with little Z, who turned 1!
The Mizells
What a happy family! I had a great time shooting the Mizells! We were originally supposed to take photos in the late afternoon, but since the forecast said rain, we decided to do the shoot a few hours earlier. Despite the heat at noon, we were so glad that we changed the time because it did end up raining in the afternoon! We had the photo session at the Parque Iberoamericano, which had a nice grassy area as well as playground area for the kids to enjoy the playground and ride their scooters around.
The Rhodes Family
Tony
Tony is my husband.
He is a man of integrity;
honest, reliable, trustworthy.
He is both gentle and strong.
He is fun, lighthearted and he makes me laugh.
He is athletic… he surfs, snowboards.
He is adventurous… and I will go with him anywhere in the world.
He is handsome… those eyes, those cheekbones, those arms.
He loves God and it shows in the way he treats others.
He is selfless; a humble servant leader.
He is a gift from God.
He is my love, and I am his.
L+R: Santo Domingo Engagement, Part 2
Zona Colonial was such a romantic place to take engagement photos! Did you know that Santo Domingo was the first Spanish colony in the New World? It was the oldest European settlement in the Americas, and the “Zona Colonial” is a UNESCO World Heritage site, filled with beautiful historic buildings and streets. It served as the perfect backdrop for this engagement shoot! Many thanks again to Jose Jimenez for letting me be his second shooter,
L+R: Santo Domingo Engagement Part 1
Lauri and Roman attend the same church as me- El Circulo. They are a lovely couple!
In the Dominican Republic, engagement photos are done a bit differently. The bride wears a wedding dress for the engagement photos because there is usually not enough time to take nice/scenic photos on the day of the wedding.
This was such a great experience for me to explore the city and take their photos! I was the second shooter for the wonderful photographer Jose Jimenez , who directed the whole photo shoot. As his assistant, I got practice using the reflector and and light stand. As second shooter, most of the photos I took were from far away, but I was able to snag a few close-ups. The following photos were taken in Parque Mirador Sur.
La Boda de Lauri y Roman
Today I shot a wedding for the FIRST time! Plus it was my FIRST Dominican wedding! I was second shooter/assistant photographer for Jose Jimenez. It was a great experience getting to shoot a wedding. I mostly focused on shots of other guests and from farther away (that’s why there are barely and people looking straight into my camera). Lauri and Roman were suuuuuch a sweet couple- I kept catching them stare into each others eyes, whispering, and giggling. There were many sweet moments too- especially when vows were said and when Noelia sang- I saw tears shed all over the place! Enjoy!
Lauri and Roman: Wedding Details
Lauri the Bride
I got to experience a Dominican wedding for the first time! Thank you to Jose Jimenez for giving me the opportunity to be a second shooter for this wedding. We arrived at Lauri’s house as she was finishing up getting ready, and once she was done, she had a radiant smile on her face. You could see her joy and excitement in her eyes. It was also precious to see how her parents looked upon their daughter with so much love.
1st day of Colegio
I’m so glad I got to join her in the classroom for the first week so she could get adjusted. Pom is friendly but she doesn’t like it when I leave her by herself somewhere new. When we first went in the classroom she loved all the toys. But every time she sensed that I was going to leave her, she would start crying and run to me and hug my leg. Oh how that melted my heart! I love her so much and want to spend a lot of time with her but I know this will be good for the both of us. Plus, I’m happy that she will learn a lot, explore, play, make friends, and speak Spanish!
Richie's 1st Birthday!
I LOVE CELEBRATIONS. Especially Birthdays! Some people might think that I go over the top or might overdo it, but it’s ok- I’d rather do “too much” to celebrate someone’s life than to do “too little” ^_^. Richie’s parent’s have been our friends for 5 years now- we first met through young adult bible study. His mother and I were pregnant at the same time, and bonded since we were going through the same season of life. I was so excited to see Richie for his birthday that we drove 2 hours to go to his party at the park. Happy 1st Birthday Baby Richie!
Life with the Chans
Some people think routines are boring. Repeating the same thing over and over again cane sound tiresome, it’s true. But I believe there can be beauty in routine.
The Chans, my wonderful friends from Cambodia, asked me to do a lifestyle session to capture what “everyday life” is like for them with their son. I can see how the Chans find so much joy in doing the simple things, such as saying good morning, giving him a shower, changing his diaper, changing his clothes, cutting his nails, giving him milk, reading him a book, saying goodnight, and of course many hugs and kisses.
There is so much warmth and joy in this house. (Can you tell that I really miss my friends in Phnom Penh?) I hope you can experience it by looking at these photos. Enjoy!
Cooking with the Chans
Within 24 hours upon arriving in Cambodia back in October 2011, my husband and I met the Chans (but there was no baby Elijah yet). Since that day, we have grown closer to each other through church, board games (SETTLERS!), and of course FOOD! Also, our children were born within 2 weeks of one another so we enjoyed many play dates with one another. We are so thankful for the Chans who helped us figure our way around Phnom Penh. They became one of our best friends during our time there and have been so blessed by their friendship.
Before I left Cambodia, I offered to shoot some family photos for this wonderful family. They wanted me to shoot photos of their family in their home in Phnom Penh, doing “everyday” activities. I LOVEd this idea- as special as big moments like weddings and birthdays are, there is so much beauty and value in our “normal,” “everyday” lives. One thing to know about them is that this family really enjoys cooking! Nathan himself used to be a chef and director of a catering business- I’m sure their son will be experiencing and enjoying many moments like this as he grows up!
I loved being able to “peek” into the home of the Chans and show you all a snippet of their lives. Enjoy!
S+J: Cambodia Engagement, Part 2
CONGRATULATIONS TO S and J! This is Part 2 of the engagement photoshoot. These pictures were taken in the non-stereotypical parts of Phnom Penh. A little garden cafe, A clean patch of grass (THIS IS SO RARE OUT HERE), stained glass windows, and western architecture.
It was fun doing these photos for S+J, and my hubby and baby came along for the photos so it was like a day hanging out with friends. Miss J was giggling half the time! As I have been sorting through the photos I can see the little glimmer in her eye telling me and everyone else how much she adores her man!
I only had one week to take photos and edit since the couple needed them… but I hope you enjoy!
S+J: Cambodia Engagement, Part 1
I’ve decided to split these engagement photos into 2 parts.
Part 1 will be photos that show a bit of Phnom Penh lifestyle-— Motorcycles. Ciclos. Markets. Tropical Fruits. Independence Monument. Street Food. We wanted to take photos at the Royal Palace but unfortunately the streets were closed. I love all the bright colors in these locations we went to so I tried to keep these photos vibrant as well 😉 When we started to take the motorcycle photos it started to rain, so some of the photos came out unclear since water droplets fell on my lens 🙁 But besides that, this was such a fun shoot to do!
Part 2 will be focused more on the love between S+J 😉
I met S on my 2nd day here in Phnom Penh, and have had the privilege of seeing him pursue miss J. I’m happy to say that I helped him with his little plot to ask her to be his girlfriend! And now they will be getting married next year!
Baby I is 3 Months!
A few weeks ago, I took photos of Baby I and her family. When we entered the house, she just began to wake up and I thought to myself, “HOWWW PRECIOUS.. she’s so tinyyyy!” I picked her up and she was so light and fragile. I was a bit scared to hold her, even though I have a baby too! I really can’t believe it was just 6 months ago since my own daughter was just as light and fragile as little Baby I! Oh how time flies and how quickly babies change!
Hope you enjoy these photos! Baby I’s parents said she pushed up the highest she has ever pushed during the photoshoot… yay! Good for Baby I! Overall Baby I was such a good baby and trooper during the photoshoot… near the end she started getting cranky, but I love photos of babies that cry (don’t judge me! They are just so cute when they cry) so I kept snapping away 🙂
Bangkok, Thailand
Trains, Escalators, and Malls {Bangkok, Thailand}
Sorry if you were expecting to see pictures of the temples and touristy things of Thailand- you’re not going to see any here!
Last month we visited Bangkok for a work trip. This was my 6th time in Bangkok (2 times for work, 2 times as a tourist, and once just for transit), so I feel like I have seen most of the touristy things that I want to see. This time around, we stayed near the malls, and most of my trip here was spent enjoying the malls and food!!! Especially Japanese food and desserts! We visited a different mall everyday, including: MBK, Paragon, Siam Square, Terminal 21, Central World, and Central Chidlom.
I didn’t bring my camera out everyday since I was just at the mall a lot, but here are my photos from practicing taking city photos. We were on escalators a lot and skytrains too, and I learned that Bangkok is not stroller friendly! Some of the BTS stations don’t even have an elevator or escalator and we would have to carry up baby+stroller up and down stairs. I did this on my own one day and it was just tiring!
Velvet and Ruffles
I bought this dress for my little Pom Pom while I was still pregnant. I adore this dress, which is not a typical-looking baby dress (especially since it is black!). I like almost all the dresses in the Harajuku Mini line.
Anyway, Pom Pom wore this dress when Tony and I took our anniversary photos when she was 3 months old, but these photos were taken when she was 7 months old. I wanted her to squeeze into it one more time before I neatly place it in the “Save for Baby #2 Box.” (BTW I’m not pregnant, I’m just saving it for the future!)
The outfit reminds me of classical music, like something from Mozart and Beethoven times. I wish I had a little piano or instrument to place as a prop!
Pom Pom enjoyed just touching the textures of the dress- the black velvet and the ruffles. I love how she is so curious about everything!
Every girl has a dress of them as a little girl holding onto the end of her dress and lifting it up– well I know I did!
Enjoy!
Baby J is 8 months!
As promised, here are Baby J’s other photos! Baby J is such a little cutie and she loves to stick out her tongue and reach for her mama all the time. She is such an active baby, crawling around everywhere. And she crawls quickly! I see why it can be so difficult to take portraits for babies when they are around this age, but I also see how fun it can be do since they do other “poses” besides just lying down on their backs sleeping ;).
This photoshoot required 3 adults- photographer, mommy, and someone to make baby laugh/support her in certain positions. Thanks again to Lydia for the help!
Baby J is so KAWAii!
KAWAIIIII!!
No, I’m not talking about that beautiful Hawaiian island. I’m talking about my friend’s daughter, Baby J! (“Kawaii” means “cute” in Japanese!)
L and I have babies really close in age, so it’s fun hanging out with them every week! I offered to take photos of her and her daughter and she took me up on that offer. She showed me the various baby outfits that she brought for the photo shoot and I was the most excited about this little Japanese robe! I wish I had more time to prepare some more Japanese-esque props, but thankfully I had some Japanese blinds, Hello Kitty, and Totoro to add some fun to the photos. Taking photos with the Japanese blinds proved to be a bit of a challenge since Baby J liked to climb on them and push them over! (I see more and more why baby photography can be so challenging once the little ones get so mobile…)
There were a lot of fun photos from this shoot (especially with Baby J playing around with Totoro, Hello Kitty, and Miffy) but here are some of my favorites. I would love to do another photo shoot like this for Pom Pom doll one day!
I will be posting a few more photos from Baby J’s photo shoot soon. I loved her outfit and this theme so much that I decided to dedicate one whole post for it ^_^.