Trash The Dress - Kari & Jay Reynosa

Trash the dress! Trash the dress! Trash the dress! (That is me chanting in pure childish excitement about this shoot).

Okay, so for those of you not familiar with this type of session, it is basically where a bride and groom take pictures AFTER the wedding. After the big day, where you are so worried about keeping your dress clean and pristine. When your dress is hanging in your closet, with a little dirt on the bottom, a smudge here and there and maybe a red wine stain hidden somewhere. All the evidence of your amazing wedding night. 

Back in the day, brides would have it cleaned and put away in a box somewhere to stay for the rest of it's life. However, now brides can take their dress and make amazing memorable photos! Dramatic, nitty gritty, show your personality, love and passion photos! There is nothing more liberating then when a bride is done worrying about keeping the dress in perfect condition, and is instead rolling around in the sand, hills, whatever making memories.  Plus..... it is so FUN!! Snapshots that in 20 years you and your husband can look back on and think.. wow.. we were pretty fabulous weren't we??!! 

So.. with that said.. I encourage all brides to go for it!  Capture this moment in time. One of the happiest times in your life, and why not do it in a fabulous dress! Life is too short right?

Oh and by the way, trashing the dress doesn't always mean "trashing" the dress! In fact, afterwards, you can still get it cleaned and hang it up in your closet! :)

Kari and Jay... THANK YOU!!!! I had such a great time with you guys! I have known Kari for 15 years! Wow Kari! I love you and you are still the same funny, beautiful friend that you were! And Jay, you are so wrong about not being photogenic. Are you kidding me? Calvin Klein is so calling you guys up after he sees these pictures. Because duh, I run with all the fab designers. :) Enjoy everyone, and if you are a bride, past, present or future and are interested in the details for a shoot of your own.. contact me at nicolekandrews@gmail.com

The Noe's

Peace. Calm. Joy. Warm. Perfection. These are all words that come to my mind when I look at pictures of the Noe family. They make me want a cup of hot apple cider, a fireplace and a rainy day.  I don't know what it is about their pictures that make me feel this way, but I like it. I had such a great time with Lacey and Bryn. They are such a great couple, and have so much fun together. They are funny, and just easy with each other. But the best part of Lacey and Bryn is Mayson. Mayson makes me happy. Playing with her, hearing her laugh and just simply looking at her. With her gorgeous red hair, big deep blue eyes and quirky smile you can't help but smile. 

And Lacey, if you keep bringing her to her sessions in ridiculously adorable outfits, I am not going to be able to do my job because I will be melted into a big pool on the floor. I love your family and can't wait till our next session! 

Shawn & Shannon...L.A.'s Next Top Model...Engagement Session

So yeah, there are many problems in the world. And many problems in our lives that we have to try and fix or solve. Sometimes we are able to do this, and sometimes it is just out of our hands. Well, this post is one of those out of my hands situations. Only my problem is which photos do I post when I love every single on of them!??

Shawn and Shannon are two beautiful models! Okay, not professionally, but they should be! I had so much fun with them on our shoot and can't believe how much I love these photos! Shannon is a natural and looked fabulous even when she wasn't trying to. And Shawn, you would NEVER be able to tell that he doesn't model for Calvin Klein as a day job! He did so well with being easy going. We all drove together and jumped out of the car whenever I saw something cool to shoot at. The whole time I am yelling from the backseat.. Okay stop the car! Umm okay, never mind, no good. Keep going. OOOH wow stop! Get out. Okay lets go now. ha ha And he was such a trooper.

Shawn and Shannon, I am so happy for your life together and you two just re-establish the fact that love can be found when you are not looking. And sometimes, it is right in front of your face and you don't even know it! Can't wait to see you when you get back from your fabulous wedding in Maui! I couldn't narrow the pictures down, it just felt wrong. ha! So enjoy!

The Prasuhns!

So last weekend I had the incredible chance to meet a really great family. The Prasuhns! Jon, Shannon and their two little ones Tyler and Brendan. Tyler just turned 3 and he had energy for days! He was so funny and such a little explorer. Brendan is a 1 year old with such a cute little personality and just a great smile. Our shoot was in Solana Beach, Ca at a ridiculous park. I say ridiculous because as soon as you drive into the entrance, you are taken into another world. It was nothing like San Diego.

Now don't get me wrong. I love San Diego. But this park felt as though we were in Virginia on a cool fall day! Couldn't be happier! Also, Shannon and her hubby Jon are two incredible people! Jon runs triathlons and Shannon runs marathons! Umm, can we say rock stars? I left their session wanting to improve my workout routine, and envious of their determination. Shannon is such a rock star that she ran a half marathon THREE MONTHS after having her baby. Now, THAT is a strong woman! :)

Jon and Shannon, thanks so much for the great time! I can't wait to see you guys again and hope it isn't too long before our next session!

Practice What You Preach

I sat there, looking into the mirror in silence. My eyelashes are too short. When I smile my right eye squints just a little too much. I should really tone down my ginormous smile. Maybe I should look into a new under eye cream. Man my hair won't do anything I want it to do. This picture will be the picture that all of my blog followers and clients are going to see. Oh the pressure. 

These were the many thoughts running through my mind before I decided to take a few pictures for my website.  Then I remembered who I am and shook it all off! I am a photographer! I ask people to basically trust me with the camera and be comfortable, carefree and let all their insecurities go! But here I am, on the other end for once and realizing... wow. This takes a lot of trust to be the one exposed! We all know the age old joke that it's always the photographer who is never actually in the pictures, because we are always behind the camera. So.... here I am folks! I always figure that most people already know me, however, with the growth of my business, and the awesome amount of traffic I have been getting, I thought I would make it a bit more personal for all of you who haven't been able to work with me yet!

Hope you all have a fabulous Wednesday and thanks for being so amazing! Honestly, I think I have the best clients ever!