Mr. and Mrs. Mike Argo

I had the pleasure of being at a beautiful wedding this past Sunday! I was not only a guest, but I was able to grab a couple shots for them during the ceremony! Thank you so much Christina and Mike for letting me be a part of your gorgeous day! I have been friends with Christina's sister Jackie for nearly 22 years! Wow! And have known Christina for about 19 of them. Now that makes me feel old. And Mike, I have known him since high school, so I will age myself and say that is about 10 years! So this was a wonderful wedding to be a part of as you can imagine. May God bless your future with love and happiness! Here are a few shots! 

Christina and her father... awww..

These three shots make me happy...

So happy to be man and wife

Their precious daughter Addison after she got into a fruit roll-up!

The adorable nephews!

Home. Head. Health. Hips.

I have a confession. I watch Oprah. Yes, I said it. And not only do I watch Oprah, I love Dr. Oz. Actually, I usually only watch Oprah now-a-days if Dr. Oz is on it. So while I was watching a re-run the other day, there was a guest speaker on with Dr. Oz. They were talking about clutter in the home and how it can effect your health. And the speaker who was talking about all of this was Peter Walsh. Now, I know nothing about Peter Walsh, except for that he has a slogan which struck me like lightning. I hadn't been able to stop thinking about it and how it just makes so much sense.

Home. Head. Health. Hips.

Basically, how it is all connected. Your home is your environment in which you live in. So it should be an environment in which you are happy, clear minded and reflect what makes you happy. Then that leads to your head. In a nice environment, you are able to focus on the things important to you and clear your mind, rather then be surrounded by clutter, and having to think about that. Then this leads to your health. If you are not able to focus and have a clear mind, this can effect your health. Can be stressful to you and overwhelming. Which in the end leads to our hips. Ha! Stress and being overwhelmed causes us to gain weight!

Genius right!? So it is my motto at the moment. I decided I need a schedule and to be organized in my life. Creating your own schedule can be overwhelming when there is so much to do. To be frank, I don't know how you mommies do it! You are all my heroes, every mom out there! I often find myself staying up all hours of the night to finish editing a session, then being too tired and waking up later then I would like. Then my eating schedule and work schedule kind of go wacky!

So I am making some major changes in my daily schedule. I hope it inspires some of you to try it out as well! Unless you are like my friend Sarah Sheehan who is schedule queen and always seems to be put together! Then, well, I guess you could be laughing at how much of a production it is for me to stay organized. HA! Here are some pictures of my organization!

My Awesome Chalkboard with my schedule:

My Inspiration Board:

My brother Billy at my nifty workspace

Billy being creeped out by me taking random pictures of him! :)

Meet Amaya!

Meet Amaya! She is one of the funniest kids ever. She is definitely her mommas daughter! This is just a sneak peak, as I have yet to finish their session. Enjoy!

The Morales Family

I can not believe how awesome this family is. Well, part of me can because they are related to me, so I have always known their "cooolness". If that is even a word. But seriously folks, they are chic, stylish, gorgeous and laid back. And if that were not enough, they are FUN! 

While Danielle has this sweet, go with the flow attitude, her hubby is making his kids laugh by being goofy and lifting the boys up and getting smiles from them.  To top it off, the kids are just as awesome! Diego at a mere 3 years old was giving us a concert on top of a picnic table singing the best rendition of Billie Jean I have heard since, well, ever! And Brando was the sweetest baby just laughing at his Dad and brother while hanging with his mom watching the show.

I absolutely LOVED being able to capture these moments for a family as great as this! If you are in the San Diego area, and are looking for a family session, please contact me at nicolekandrews@gmail.com  Have a fantastic Friday everyone!

FUNNIEST. PICTURE. EVER.

Encinitas Watch Out!!

This past weekend I went down to Encinitas, which is located in north county San Diego. I absolutely love love love this town and basically all of San Diego as a whole! It is my town to the tee. I love the feel I get as soon as I get there. I feel happier, less stress and motivated. Is it weird that a city can actually motivate me? Ha! Anyhoo, I am working in both L.A. and San Diego right now, and while I went down on this trip I had three different sessions.  

This session was with Ryan and Tara. I LOVE LOVE LOVE them. Not only because they are exactly what San Diego means to me (easy going, happy, up for anything, cool, spiritual, loving etc) but because Ryan is my brother and Tara is his AMAZING girlfriend! Seriously I couldn't have lucked out any more with an awesome chick! 

I was so happy that I was able to shoot them and we had so much fun with it! Running around downtown Encinitas, stopping in front of random cool doors and shops, hopping into deserted tractors, using the hood of someone's car (thanks mister!), climbing into closed lifeguard stations, you name it! Hope you enjoy a few of the pictures, more to come!

Coming Soon!

Hey everyone! Wow what a weekend!! I have some great stuff to post up here soon, but until then.. here is a sneak peek of three different shoots! More to come soon! Contact me if you would like to set up a session! I am booking into November now... the holidays are coming! Woohoo!

A Nice Day!

I know it has been a while since I have posted anything, and I promise that I have LOT'S coming your way soon! I have been so busy, and then during crucial editing  and album making time, I got sick! Booooooooo. I am almost never sick, so I was not happy about having to sleep all day and take meds. But.. I am now well again! So expect lot's to come soon! Until then, here are some pics I took of my relaxing Sunday! Aren't Sunday's the best??

Trash The Dress or We Did Sessions

{Not my pic btw but soon enough I will have my own! Thanks Luster Studios!)

Okay so I had the most amazing, crazy, exciting FUN idea while making my inspiration board last night. I am going to have a Trash the Dress Photo session special! What is this "trash the Dress" you ask? Who would do such a thing?? 

Trash the dress is basically when a FABULOUS bride and groom decide that they are going to run around like kids and instead of keeping the gown tucked away in an air tight box, they make amazing photos that will last forever! 

It doesn't matter if you are a brand new couple who just got married or if you have been married for quite a while. Either way, it is the best thing since frozen yogurt in my world. :) You took the time to find that "perfect" dress for yourself. To keep it pristine and gorgeous and well... lovely. So now is your time after all the planning and details, to say..... Let's Have Fun!

I am going to be giving a very special deal to the first 3 brides who book your session with me! We can go anywhere... beach, waterfalls, mud, cowboy style! Let's be creative and make memories!

Contact me if you want the details!

Inspiration

So as most of you now know, and if you didn't then you do now, I am truly leaning towards focusing on wedding, and engagements! I have been so fortunate and have already booked a few weddings for this next upcoming year! So, what I have decided to do is an inspiration board! I am in the process of creating it and am having so much fun getting fresh new ideas for couples! I want my couple to not only feel like they are totally comfortable with me, but to feel like they just stepped off the latest fashion shoot! Only not a high fashion (crazed hair and restricting clothing fashion) shoot. But a natural, earthy, yet still classy and quirky, let their love and personalities shine through, kind of photo shoot. Does that make sense?? Probably not! Ha! I am ready for the next level, and I want my couple's to be ready for the ride! I have so many ideas, fresh takes on their look, and inspiration from everything around me!

 Life is inspiring, and I want it to show through my work! Have a great night! It is late and I am off to dream about my next few sessions!

The Hothans.... round 2!

Okay, so you may remember my post from the Hothan's first session and how we lost light before we could finish our shoot! So... I was able to have a "round 2" so to say, and the kids were just too delicious! In Nicole world that means ADORABLE! Jessica, their mom has such a beautiful spirit. She is kind, warm, quiet (well compared to me, so in that case 90% of people are quiet ha!) and so gentle and patient with her kids. When they asked her "Mommy... come run with me! Mommy, let's play hide and seek! Mommy, I am itchy from the grass!" She ran, hid and wiped their scratchy knees with a wet wipe. They are a sweet family and these are the moments when I look back  and say, 'Wow, I just got paid to hang out with great people!" Thank you Chuck and Jessica! You have an amazing family and your kids are so well behaved and such free spirits! I am so glad Cristina hooked us up! Here are a few from our shoot!