The Hwang's!!

I recently had the chance to meet and photograph a fantastic family, The Hwang's. Grace, Jeff and their sweet little boy Jonathon. I can't express how adorable, funny and charismatic little Jonathon is, but hopefully these photos can give you a little snip! I love when clients are so easy going and just go wherever I suggest! Pulling over on a canyon and parking halfway on grass we shouldn't even be parking on, just because I say I like a tree, is one of those times. Ha! But seriously, thank you Grace and Jeff for the chance to photograph your beautiful family! Here are a few pictures from our shoot!

Like hot cocoa on a crisp winter's day....

So... a little while back my friend and fellow photog Melissa  asked me to shoot her family for their Christmas photos. Melissa and her husband are so in love and it is so sweet to see how they are with their little girl Sam! They have one on the way too so it will be a full house in the Wolf home soon! I had so much fun with you guys and just love the photos from our session! They give me the warm and fuzzies when I look at them! Have a great weekend everyone!!

The Lovely Tadeo's

As I sat there waiting for them to arrive, I took in the beauty around me. The flowers and different gardens of the world surrounding me. The Descanso Gardens is gorgeous and the smell of roses was fantastic. Then I saw them walking in, happy and loving. I knew that this would be a good family to hang out with! And I was right. Cimberli is gorgeous and looks like she could in no way have 2 children, one in college and the other a teenager! I had so much fun with them and hope that they did too! Tadeo's, you guys are such a warm loving family, and you can tell how much you love each other! Happy Monday everyone!

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

To Come....

I will be posting more of these near the end of the week. But I just had to post one now. Kari, I am in love with your photos. One word to sum you and Jay up. FABULOUS. I can't wait to finish and send your way! Until then... enjoy!

Thanksgiving - The Act Of Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving. 

 As I scrambled around today, cleaning, editing, choosing songs for my new website and taking an online course for photography, I found myself stressed out a bit and very irritable. Then, as I was out running errands, I  saw a homeless man sitting on the side of a building. How cliche right? But truly, it hit me. I stopped and gave him the few bucks I had on me and got to talking to him. I saw him about a week back as well. I asked him if he needed blankets or anything. He looked at me after thinking for a moment and said.. well I have an amazing tent I sleep in and I am so warm at night and comfortable. I love this tent, I am so lucky. But I can pass the blankets on to friends who are in need.  Ummm, looks like I have some re-evaluating to do.

I drove away thinking, wow. I am a real pill. Here I am busy with all great things. Lucky to have a home to clean, lucky to have clients to allow me to make a living. Lucky to have a family so amazing. Where are my thanks? So I came back inside after being out and said a prayer of thanks. Thankful for everything and everyone in my life. I have so much love around me, and love so many people. I just wanted to take a minute to say to all of you, thank you so much for believing in me. Thank you to my first few clients for taking a chance on me, trusting me to capture the moments for you. And thank you to everyone who comes onto this blog and reads about my life, my work and my dreams! To end this without being too mushy, which I tend to do quite often, (I can't help it I am a big ol' sap) here are some definitions of Thanksgiving I found and liked!

Thanksgiving:

1. The act of giving thanks

2. A prayer expressing gratitude

3. A public acknowledgment or celebration of divine goodness

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! And because I can't end it without a picture.. here is a photo that I just love from one of my latest sessions! I just love the yummy lighting.

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!