Archive for March, 2011

I had the pleasure of photographing Marleah and Elmer’s engagement session when they were visiting Las Vegas a few weeks ago. They are native Alaskans and getting married in their home state in June, and thought that their vacation to Las Vegas would be the perfect time to get some engagement photos done, since Anchorage is 20 degrees right now and Las Vegas is at a cool 75. If you are thinking about getting photos done, now is the perfect time before the summer heat kicks in!

My preference is to always shoot early morning or late afternoon. And I like to shoot really early before the sun gets really bright, at like 7-8AM. And trust me, the sun in Las Vegas is really bright. We don’t get many clouds or have a lot of trees for shade! I feel bad asking clients to wake up so early when they are on vacation, especially since most people get pretty tired towards to the end of their trip here. It’s a lot of walking up and down the Strip! But my clients trust my judgment and really appreciate getting up early when they see the images. It’s also easier to do a session when there’s not a lot of people around. And you can always take a nap after the session! :)

Marleah and Elmer got up super early for their engagement session because it was the first day of Daylight Savings Time, so we all lost an hour of sleep. They were incredible despite being tired from all the walking they did the day before. We decided to go to Fremont Street, which is a really cool covered pedestrian street in downtown Las Vegas, also known as the old Las Vegas. These older casinos definitely have a lot of charm, and you can still find the slot machines that spit out real coins here.

Yay we have Fremont Street all to ourselves!
Downtown Las Vegas engagement session

Las Vegas engagement session

I saw an old fashioned popcorn machine and knew this would be a cute backdrop for a cute couple!
Engagement session by Las Vegas engagement photographer

Couple embracing during Fremont Street engagement session

Couple standing apart during Las Vegas engagement session on Fremont Street

There a lot of neon signs on Fremont Street, and nothing says Vegas more than a Viva Las Vegas neon sign!
Couple in front of a Viva Las Vegas sign udring an engagement session

Embracing in front of the Las Vegas sign

This photo makes me smile because we had so much fun getting this shot. Contact them for wedding information!
Having fun by a Las Vegas neon sign

Congratulations again on your engagement Marleah and Elmer, and I hope you have the time of your lives at your wedding!

My friend and fellow Las Vegas wedding photographer Chelsy of Cardin Creative needed some headshots for her web presence, so she asked me to take a few pics of her. Chelsy’s one of the first photographers that I met in the area and not to mention that she’s really friendly and has been super helpful in getting me settled in Las Vegas. Of course I’d take her pics! I am so touched and honored that she asked me out of all her photographer friends. :)

We picked a gorgeous afternoon to take pictures at Exploration Peak Park. It’s a cool park that has a little bit of everything: a big playground for the kids, green grass for picnics and frisbee, and a hiking trail that goes up a hill and offers great views of the city. It was very crowded when we went since the weather was so nice, but the park is so big that we were able to find a few empty spots to ourselves.

Chelsy felt strange being in front of the camera for once since she usually is the one taking them, but the camera loves her!

portraits by Las Vegas portrait photographer

portraits at Exploration Peak Park in Las Vegas

I like shooting in the late afternoon because you get amazing light like this that’s not too harsh!
portraits at Exploration Peak Park by Las Vegas lifestyle photographer

headshots by Las Vegas headshot photographer

I love this pic of Chelsy! Her eyes just shine!
Las Vegas headshots at Exploration Peak Park

Chelsy blogged her pictures already, so head over to her blog to learn a bit more about her!

When I was in Chicago a few months ago, I was able to hang out with my good friend Tricia and her girls, who were the flower girls at my wedding! I love these girls and my how they’ve grown! They are bundles of energy (I’ve babysat them a few times and they always succeeded in wearing me out!), so we decided to hang out at the Chicago Botanic Garden so the kids could have plenty of space to run around and play. It’s a huge park and very well kept..not to mention really pretty! These are my favorite types of parks to shoot in! Tricia’s youngest daughter napped the entire time we were there, so I was only able to take pictures of her other two girls. The girls had lots of fun playing “botanical garden bingo”, where you get to place a sticker on every picture that you find in the botanical gardens. They were so into the game that I couldn’t pry it off their hands, so you see the bingo card in practically every picture. And then when they finally finished their bingo cards, they wanted to play it again haha!

Today is Tricia’s birthday too so happy birthday Tricia!!

These are some intense looks as she’s studying the bingo card.
cute kid playing at Chicago botanical gardens

kid portrais by las vegas children's photographer

My favorite image is the bottom left of her running and screaming. Ah so carefree!
kids having fun by Las Vegas portrait photographer

Finally completed their bingo cards! They are so happy and proud!
siblings holding hands by Las Vegas lifestyle photographer

Family picture with Tricia!
Family portait at Chicago botanical gardens by Las Vegas family photographer

This is my last New England wedding left to blog! Emotionally it’s been very hard to blog this wedding, because this really signifies the end of my time in New England. Literally right after I shot this wedding, my husband and I packed up the car with our belongings and drove across the country to Nevada, where we now live. I really enjoyed living in Boston despite the long winter, meeting amazing couples, and photographing at equally amazing locations and venues. Jeanette and Steven are no exception! They had a beautiful wedding in picturesque New Hampshire, where the leaves were changing to stunning reds and oranges, then a reception at the Marriott.

Jeanette and Steven were planning their wedding from DC, so they booked me over the phone. I like meeting my couples before the wedding so I can really get to know them, but it’s not always possible, especially if they live in another state. But luckily I was in DC for a weekend for a friend’s wedding and was able to meet with both of them despite both of us having really crazy schedules! We had talked a bit over the phone already, so by the time we met in person, it was almost like meeting old friends for coffee. I found out that they met while both conducting research at the National Institutes for Health…then one thing led to another! Now Steven doing his residency anesthesiology while Jeanette pursues a MD/PhD. Talk about one smart couple!

This wedding touched my heart in so many ways. I thought that after photographing a certain number of weddings, they wouldn’t affect me as much, but I still get that warm fuzzy feeling during ceremonies. And this wedding was no different. I could really see and feel the love that Jeanette and Steven have for each other and for God. And I don’t Steven took his eyes off Jeanette the whole day! I have so many pictures that I want to share, so here goes!

My second shooter Karman Lee and I got up bright and early and started shooting at 8 AM since their wedding ceremony was in the morning. I started by taking getting ready pictures of the bride getting her hair and makeup done by her mother, who did a phenomenal job on her hair.
bride applying makeup

bride getting ready

Meanwhile, Karman took pictures of the boys getting ready.
groom getting ready

Jeanette and Steven decided to do a first look before heading off to the church, which I love! The fall leaves in the background were the perfect backdrop.
bride and groom first look

wedding portraits with changing leaves

Jeanette looking and feeling so happy as we walk to the church!
walking to the church on a windy day

I was hanging out with the bride before the wedding, while Karman went around to get some other shots, like of the cute flower girls and ring bearer. Aren’t they so cute! Everyone was really relaxed and having fun right before the ceremony.
having fun before the ceremony starts

bride walking down the aisle

I love getting a photo of the back of the dress as the bride walks down the aisle, but this can only happen with a second shooter!
second shooter view of father escorting bride

bride and groom honoring parents

exchanging of rings

bride and groom first kiss

Karman’s view of the first kiss
bride and groom kiss

bride and groom portraits by Las Vegas wedding photographer

It was really windy and Jeanette’s veil was flying everywhere, but it can be really cool, like in this image.
veil masking the bride and groom as they kiss

Jeanette changed into a purple sash for the reception, which I thought was a great idea!
bride and groom entrance

Speeches from the best man, maid of honor, and father of the bride.
speeches from bridal party and father of the bride

cutting the cake

Jeanette changed into her qipao (Chinese dress) for the first dance. Her qipao was made by her very talented aunt! I really like the color of her qipao too.
dancing pictures

Having fun on the dance floor with the ring bearer!
groom dancing with the ring bearer

Congratulations again Jeanette and Steven, and I can’t wait for your new little addition to your family!

After my anniversary shoot taken by my very good friend Shang Chen (click to see her pics from my session!), we did a portrait session for her so she could get some updated headshots. This session was a blast and I love how the photos turned out! These images bring a smile to my face because not only does it show off Shang’s fun and bubbly personality, but how content she is too.

Shang really wanted some photos in the desert, so we went over to Red Rock Canyon. Even though there is very little vegetation in the desert, I find it to be oddly beautiful, especially against the mountains. I also got a chance to play with Shang’s brand new Nikon 35mm 1.4 lens! Several images below are taken with her lens. I think one day I will probably have to get this lens too because it’s really awesome!

See what I mean about the desert? Breathtaking!
Portrait session in Red Rock Canyon

Having fun in the desert

Shang is looking so content here that I almost didn’t want to disturb her! But it was so cold that we probably only lasted 10 minutes out here and ran back to the car to warm up. Yes it was that cold! I totally did not think to bring my gloves.
feeling content

I love how the wind is blowing through her hair here.
feeling carefree in the desert

playing with rocks in Red Rock Canyon

I don’t use sepia very often but I saw this photo and it screamed sepia at me. Okay, it didn’t actually scream at me, but I immediately knew how I wanted to process this photo.
Las Vegas portrait photography session

Shang laughing

Happy Shang.
portrait session at Red Rock Canyon by Las Vegas portrait photographer

Here’s Shang skipping happily in the desert!
skipping gleefully in the desert