dana point wedding photography: flying solo

i'm a lover of love. a helpless romantic. i'm the girl who will help you plan your wedding because i planned mine when i was 11 years old (down to the color of the napkins and what meals would be served), and now that i am married, would love to relive those months of planning with you. i love weddings. last weekend, i had the honor to shoot my first solo wedding. yep. me. and just me. no body else. if you want to ask 'kym, were you nervous?" i'll volunteer my answer before you can even get the second syllable out of your mouth. yes. not because i didn't know what to shoot, and not because i wasn't sure if i would remember my settings and where to stand and if i would shoot everything in focus or if for some reason my camera would just shut down completely. naaaw, i had that part in the bag. but because this wedding was on a bluff, over the ocean, at 11:30 am. on a cloudless day. so what? you are wondering. it sounds gorgeous right? right! but well, high noon is about the harshest light you can get to try and shoot soft pretty pictures in. think about when you read a sundial, how small and dark that little shadow is coming off the triangle, letting you know, yes, it is midday. now imagine that coming off every nose in a picture. hmmmm, i had me some work to do! but regardless of the time of day, and regardless of if my nerves had me all discombobulated, it was a beautiful ceremony at a lovely location, with two amazing people committing their love to each other. and i think i rocked it. no matter what time of day it was!

lisa and josh, i thank you for trusting me, bymyself, to shoot your wedding for you! it was a lovely day and i wish you both nothing but happiness. as i say to my own husband every day, fall in love with each other a little more everyday, so tomorrow is always a better day than today. regardless of how amazing today was!

way to be responsible kym!

yesterday was a day of errand running. but not the fun, "lets see what's new at target that i really don't need but want to get anyways because i have to pick up more detergent" errands, it was the to do list errands: going by the post office (dread!!), the dentist (ugh, my mouth is still sore), and getting my glasses adjusted (not so bad, just time consuming). the last one was what i was actually looking forward to doing because  i had to go by lenscrafters, and they are in the mall right next to one of my favorite stores, and frankly, i shot a wedding this weekend and had some cash to burn! (sorry lisa and josh, but now you know what i intend to do with your hard spent cash!) (and sorry readers, that was a total run on sentence!) sadly, the object of my lust was closed down for renovation, and while this makes me happy that they are getting a face lift, it made me sad that i couldn't spend some mullah! instead, i had to do the smart thing and stop by the bank and deposit the checks. good job kym! way to be responsible! it just means i can reward myself next time!  ;)

here's a quick teaser from my weekend, more to come when i finish editing!!

a dana point wedding:

a bubbly brunch for a bride to be!

boulder, co newborn session: such a handsom little man

my best friend has been a mother for exactly 38 days. this past weekend, i was able to fly out to CO and meet my new little godson, and capture their first family portraits. i've said it before, and i'll say it again: there is nothing i love more than newborns. zachary was born july 12, and while i couldn't be there for his actual birth, i was there on his 1 month birthday!

congrats b and ben! i can't wait to raise our boys together, take family vacations, and be there to support each other in all of life's excitement. 

a little more joy...

last night i posted the couples portion of my tonya joy workshop. today, i'm happy to share the family session from the day too! 
our goal for the day was to be able to find the perfect lighting for a family shoot in the middle of the day. check out the lovely family:

since i'm in CO, i don't have all the credits for the day. please forgive me for not listing them all, they will be included in my next posting! (where i'll also show all of tonya's amazing little details from the day as well!) 

a little joy goes a long way

it tells a lot about a person when they are willing to take a day, open their home, and share all their knowledge on a topic they love. To be willing to share all their secrets in the hopes that you will be able to achieve a love and passion for their art as much as they do. 

saturday i was able to join tonya joy and listen to share her recipe for success. she and i met while both attending the jasmine star workshop a few months back, and instantly, i began blog stalking her! i loved every image she posted, and not only that, i loved her soul and passion she has for her clients and her own family. 

she opened her home to 9 of us women: a group of mothers, professionals, and amateur's alike, and shared with us how she manages workflow still keeping her family first (she is a mother to 4 under 7!). she also scheduled for us two different shoots, to teach lighting techniques in different conditions. tonya is known for her amazing back lighting and sensual sunflare, and so this is what i was really looking forward to.

she truly is an amazing artist and an amazing person. while her workshop is not just for women, and it is not just for mothers in the industry, she spoke directly to me and my struggles (not really, but it felt like it) of missing out on my own family time. she taught me some quick tips to help me be spending more time with my family instead of being in front of the computer editing, and that is something i (and the hubs) appreciate more than i could ever put into words on my blog! i came away with more from this workshop (both artistically and emotionally) than i have from any other i have attended this year. 

tonya: thank you SO much for opening your home and your brain to me and the other ladies! i had such an amazing day, and can't wait for the next time we can get together and shoot! or maybe just have a play date with the kiddos!! xoxo

now: on to the pictures!! i'm posting backwards, and posting the evening session first, but that is because well, i was in LOVE! 

so funny story about these next two pictures: as our model was holding the chandelier, he gives a little squirm and a "woah". then informs us something is crawling up his leg. after a minute of trying to ignore it, he tells us he has to go check and see, because it is still creeping up. turns out the poor guy had a lizard crawling up his leg! 

the picture on the left was his initial "woah", and the right was his girlfriend's reaction when he announced the reason behind the squirms!

stay tuned for the family shoot from the day! 

alhambra, ca newborn session: sugar and spice and everything nice...

i am blessed to be able to do what i do. i get to meet amazing people. i get to be part of their families, even if only for 45 minutes. i get to make memories stand still for them. and i love every minute of it.
yesterday i was blessed to photograph beautiful little 3 week old ayden. when her mom contacted me few days ago, one of her thoughts was to capture her daughter's tininess by having her in her daddy's fire helmet. of course i loved that idea! 

the little bean had no problem falling asleep in daddy's gear!

after the helmet, we had to pull out the girlie girl in her, with tutu's, bow's, pearls, and of course, an amazing vintage chair, she made her debut with style! 

there's not much more that i love than vintage chairs and a sleepy newborn! 

she was my perfect little model, sleeping through our entire session, regardless of how many times we moved her and changed her hair bows! i can't wait to see this lil beauty in october, when we take her 3 month pictures as well! 

silly {love} on the Santa Monica Pier

when i meet a couple for the first time, nerves always run like crazy at first. will they like me? will i like them? will they be fun and cute and willing to be cheesy in front of the camera for me? will they think i'm crazy because i sing and dance to the music that plays in my own head? (yes, i have a daily soundtrack that nobody else can hear). but when i met with brittany and romy a few weeks before their engagement session, i had none of those feelings. i knew right off that bat we would get along! it could have been that as they walked up my driveway and my beast of a dog went to go smell and say hello, they both got down to his level and gave him a rub. or it could have been that as soon as they walked through the door, my three year old went and grabbed them two silver bullets out of the fridge (we have him trained so well!), or it could have been just how easy conversation flowed between us. whatever it was, i knew their wedding will be a fun one, and that their engagement session would be a blast as well. 

we headed over to the santa monica pier for their session, and i will admit, i was a little disappointed when we got over the hill and we were hit with the wall of fog. there went my visions of a beautiful sunset and sunflares. but we made the most of it by finding the bright lights and fun colors of the buildings on the pier! i will say too, you know it's a fun session when the guy takes off his shoes, kneels down on them, and  pretends to be too short for a ride. a family walking by took a double take, then started laughing so hard the mom almost fell on the ground! 

brittany and romy- thank you for a fun and adventurous shoot around the pier! lets set the date for our margarita's and mexican food, and the hubs said to go for it and get my tattoo! he was surprised i didn't come home with one anyhow! 

i can't wait for your wedding in a few weeks! 

now i know this one is not technically an amazing picture, but i love how vintage-y it feels.