I have a super cool family to introduce you to today.  Meet the Ku family.  Sam is the creative genius behind AG jeans.  You can read more about his brilliance in Esquire magazine.  Vivian also has an amazing sense of style.  She loves finding vintage pieces to reupholster & decorated their house all on her own!  Check out big sister, Audrey’s adorable room:

Is this not the cutest thing ever:

Audrey is also a little fashionista herself.  As she got dressed for our shoot, she asked Vivian, “What’s Charlie (little bro) wearing?”  Vivian answers.  Audrey thinks about it a little, then asks, “And what are you wearing?”  She is partially responsible for the family’s wardrobe.

And meet baby Charlie:

He is just the most adorable little guy!

Charlie, no pressure:

Charlie is going to be a professional golfer one day. 

I love their house!  A charming house for a charming family.

Not sure why, but this is one of my favorite photos:

And we learned that Charlie doesn’t like grass… don’t worry, he’ll overcome it for golf though.

And this next set makes me want a daughter!!!

And one of my favorite family photos:

Thank you Ku family for welcoming me into your home.  You have such a beautiful family… and home!

Becoming a family’s photographer is one of the greatest honor.  I photographed Yung’s brother’s wedding last year at the Julia Morgan Ballroom, so it was really special to see Yung again… engaged!  As his best man described him, “He does not have one serious bone in him.”  As I planned this shoot with Susan, we knew we had to make it fun and incorporate their doggy.

Is that not the sweetest yorkie ever?

Susan brought these thought bubble chalk boards, so I asked them to secretively write an adjective that describes how they’re feeling about the upcoming wedding day.  This is a comical outtake:

How all engagement shoots should be, carefree:

Yummy flare on film:

I love the motion in this next image:

And a little playful chase… what I think all relationships should constantly have… both ways.

Stay tuned for their beautiful wedding!

I love many things about Manhattan (like the food), but my favorite aspect is the amount of green space.  I used to associate NYC tons of tall buildings, but I love how many lush parks there are throughout the city!   And I especially love how on a hot day, you’ll find it FILLED with people laying out, in swimsuits.  One of my favorite spots to hang out is Central Park.  It is so iconic, and beautiful!

If you didn’t already know, I LOVE trees.  Central Park is like heaven for me.   It’s so naturally beautiful, the perfect setting to highlight Joanna & Billy’s sweet relationship.  This next photo cracks me up.  It took Joanna & Billy a little effort to climb up there, and as soon as they reach the top, that man sits down to watch them, and that woman walks by with her dog and tells the dog to sit.

And I LOVE this next series:

squirrel!

And this last image is another fav of mine…

Joanna and Billy, thank you so much for inviting me to run around NYC with you!  I had such a blast together and can’t wait for your big day!

I was pregnant during both of my trips to New York last year.  We ate and soaked everything up as if it were our last, thinking that we would not be able to go once Cameron came.  I turned down all destination gigs for the first 2/3 of 2011 thinking that I wouldn’t be able to travel with (or away from) Cameron.  I am so grateful that I was wrong (as you know from my shoot in Hawaii, where he was only 2 months old).   So when Joanna & Billy approached me about flying me out to New York for their engagement session, I was ecstatic.  Joanna & Billy both attended grad school in New York and spent a lot of time together around the city.  Manhattan was the perfect location to document the early chapters in their lives.

Joanna went to Columbia and Billy went to NYU.  They’re both smarty pants… with a great sense of style.

Aren’t they just the cutest together??  Joanna has such an infectious smile.  She’s gorgeous and one of the sweetest people I’ve ever met.

I love this of them running by the AG Jeans store.  While living in Manhattan, Billy enjoyed visiting the staff during his free time, just to make sure everyone was happy (it’s his family’s company).  When we entered, everyone was so happy to see him (naturally, because he’s such a genuinely nice guy).  The staff was so welcoming and helpful.  Huge thanks for giving me a (cool) place to feed & change Cameron.

And I love the feel of this last shot.  Can you believe that was a Saturday in SoHo?  Time froze for just a split second on this normally fast-paced street/city.

Congrats, Joanna & Billy on your sweet engagement!  Can’t wait for your wedding!!

For those of you who have been reading my blog the past few years, you probably know the Oh family pretty well.  This is a family near and dear to my heart.  I documented their first pregnancy with Roman, Roman’s childhood, their 2nd pregnancy with Grant, and now Grant’s first birthday!  I think back to their first maternity session and it’s so beautiful to see how mama Grace has grown into such a beautiful mother.  They have the sweetest little boys and I hope Cameron grows up to be like them.

Grant is such a handsome little man.  While I took some photos of his brother, Roman, I look back and see him sitting like this.  Such a natural:

We had some fun with bubbles.  I love this image:

And if you couldn’t tell from the first image, Grant LOVES to eat.  I think it’s hilarious the difference in food choice below:

I love this family portrait of their shadows:

On a technical note, this was my first kid session done on entirely film and I’m just smitten over them.  The skin tones are just perfect!  Less computer time = more Cameron time!

I love the sun flare with the bubbles here:

And a super cute, not posed, moment.  We were done with the shoot and they sat down to enjoy a snack together.  I love Grant’s squat.

Happy 1st birthday, Grant!  It has been an honor watching you grow this past year and I look forward to celebrating many more birthdays with you!