Laurel and Mike: Out on the Town Engagement Session

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 For Laurel and Mike’s unique engagement session, we decided to mix Chinese tradition and modern SF culture to create some epic shots that celebrate San Fran city culture along side Laurel’s Chinese heritage. These bought me empanadas, taught me Chinese, and flashed they style all over SF with reckless abandon. (Basically my photoshoot dream!) We went from the San Francisco Ferry Building to Chinatown to Russian Hill and back down again. I could do celebratory multicultural shoots like this every day!

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Karen: A SURVIVOR STORY

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Sometimes life throws us curveballs we struggle to understand. Karen was diagnosed with cancer during her pregnancy with her son.  This was her third and final baby and she was shocked to find out she would have to give up breastfeeding early and instead begin chemo. She underwent treatment after soon he was born and, thankfully, has made a miraculous full recovery. She’s currently in remission and soaking up all the time she can with her wonderful family before heading back to teaching in the Fall. 

This session was a Give Back Session for the Magic Hour Foundation.

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Sister Sister: Double Baby Trouble!

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One day this past Spring I was working on some editing when my friend Julia texted me to tell me she was EXTRA excited because her friend Sarah had just told her she was pregnant. And even more exciting and flabbergasting? Sarah’s twin sister Julia had just told her that she was, in fact, pregnant as well. No planning. No attempt at synchrony. Just good old fashioned co-twin-cidence! 😉

I was ecstatic for them both! My fiancé had known these two girls for a long while and over the years we had become friends as well. I was elated when they reached out to set up a maternity session with me! I made sure to schedule their sessions at overlapping times so we could get some pics of both mama’s to be in one setting. As you can imagine, the session did NOT disappoint!

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First up were Julia and Neil. They got hitched a little less than a year ago and jumped right into building their sweet family. These two bond over beer (non-alcoholic right now) and punk music and there really is no shortage of love and fun between them!

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SARAH AND DUSTIN

Sarah and Dustin have been together for over 10 years (married for 2) and are adorably and madly in love. We talked dogs, expectant parenthood, and a whole lot of nerd stuff while we walked around the park before and during the golden hour for our photos!

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Of course, seeing as their due dates are so close (only two days apart, actually) I couldn’t resist getting some shots of these two inseparable twin sisters together! Even though they won’t QUITE be twins, I have a feelings these two boys are going to be thick as thieves. 🙂

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Huge hugs to both these families, I can’t wait to meet these boys! ❤

August: Happy National Family Month!

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August is National Family Month (who knew??) and I’m looking to celebrate all the wonderful families I’ve worked with in the past and will work with in the future! This month, I’m running a fun promotion to entice some new families to join the KEP family! If you book your family photoshoot during the month of August, I’ll throw in two free 8×10 prints as a special gift for you guys! And who doesn’t love free stuff??

**Booking must be made in August but shoots can be scheduled anytime from September-December!**

Family Month

I know it sounds shockingly early, but it’s never too early to start planning holiday photos and get them done when the weather is great. This is the perfect opportunity for you to get them finished and have them ready before holiday crunch time hits! And guess what? Because you’re so wonderful and you read my blog, you’re going to get an EXTRA 10% OFF when you mention the blog! HOW AWESOME IS THAT?

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Make sure to tune into my Facebook all month to see some of my favorite family photos from the past year! If you’re interested in booking, email me at katherineelysephotography@gmail.com or call me at 916-812-5475 to book your session today! 

Sugarloaf: Home Away from Home

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Every year for the past 17 years I’ve made the trek up highway 50 into the mountains to the place I, and many others, call home. It’s a simple grouping of cabins where I learned who I was as a teen; where lifelong friends were made over the years; where the smell of mountain misery is pungent and overwhelming in the best way possible. The trees echo with beautiful music and the sunshine lights up the art rooms and camera lenses that act as a catalyst to capture our creations. I’ve been going to Sugarloaf Fine Arts Camp for more than half my life and I can’t tell you how lucky I feel to be a part of it.

After being a camper I transitioned quickly into being a cabin counselor. After 7 years of playing that roll, I was able to secure myself a spot on the INCREDIBLE photography staff. With digital photography making it’s debut and film photography going strong I got thrust into the roll of Digital Slideshow teacher and I’ve loved it from the beginning. Each year I’m presented with a new batch of amazing kids I’m supposed to help learn how to capture the week and create a slideshow/yearbook of our experience. It’s stressful, it’s detail oriented, it pushes their creativity to new levels, and (somehow) every year’s show is wonderful and completely unique.

This year I was given 4 kids that absolutely blew my mind. Their creativity and dedication reached levels I hadn’t considered particularly possible in such a short amount of time. They rocked everything from low light photos, actions shots, stunning portraits, and working candids. Needless to say I’m immensely impressed. Beyond their photos skills, I was able to really get to know these kids as people and, I’ve got to admit, my hope for the future has been fully restored. There was no lack of love, kindness, creative thinking, empathy, compassion, and joy from them. I was grounded by them and honestly brought to tears at the end of the week by how lovely they all were and how much I know I’ll miss them in the coming year. They said thank you to me at the end of the week but honestly, I should be thanking them for such an enlightening experience.

I’ve gone and chosen my favorite shots by my group to share with you. There were literally HUNDREDS of amazing images, but these ones stuck out to me as the photos they spent time and energy composing and perfecting. They applied some complex camera skills (shot all in manual btw) to capture these photos and I’m glowing with pride over how fabulous they are. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. ❤

ACTION SHOTS – Capturing motion is, by far, one of the hardest skills we learn as photographers. Having good timing isn’t innate, it’s very much a learned skill. I’m blown away by how much my kids picked up in a matter of days!

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Class Photos – Capturing the essence of other students learning at camp is CHALLENGING. How do we create magic based off of other people’s intensity? My kids did a great job at creating perspectives that truly show all angles and emotions of the programs we run here at camp. These photos represent so much!

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Portraits – This was by far my favorite part of the class to teach. Teaching the kids how to take kick a** portraits using posing prompts and natural moments/light was a joy and (not surprisingly) they were AMAZING at it. I adore these intimate photos they created almost as much as I adore my students themselves!

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If you’re impressed (which I KNOW you are!) and you’re interested in supporting these kids experiences at camp, consider heading to the Sugarloaf Station Foundation website and making a scholarship donation. Nearly 25% of our kids are only able to attend camp based on the generous donations of art lovers in the community. We would love to help even more kids expand their arts education and enjoy the beauty of camp year after year.

If you’re interested in donating, and having an amazing time doing do, come on out to our 15th Annual Sugarloaf Station Foundation Fundraiser on September 30, 2017! You can purchase tickets HERE.

CHEERS TO ANOTHER PERFECT YEAR AT SUGARLOAF FINE ARTS CAMP!

(PS- Huge thanks to my friend Russ Levi for allowing me to borrow the pixel stick, the prisms, and all the other fun trinkets. We had a great time experimenting!)

 

Grace and Chad: Plymouth Ranch Wedding at Rancho Victoria Vineyards

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Grace and Chad’s wedding day was an absolute dream. From the bridal party, to the emotional moments, to the gorgeous location, especially the joy that was felt by all, it couldn’t have been more perfect. Grace and Chad, THANK YOU for allowing me to be a part of your big day! What a joy you are to each other’s families! Chad: you’re sweet, intelligent, committed, faithful, and you care for other people oh-so well. Now you’re married to the sweetest, funkiest, most amazing girl ever and I know you’re going to love her in the most special way. You’re both so lucky!!

The day started with some seriously awesome bridesmaids on bridal beauty duty. They were rocking their blue converse and making sure Grace stayed smiling and looked PERFECT from every angle!

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Even the tiniest member of the bridal party couldn’t stay away.

After getting the girls secured in their hiding spot, it was time for this gaggle of awesome dudes to strut their stuff!

And of course, some tender moment were due for the groom as well.

After that we shooed everyone away for a sweet moment of love and prayer (and no peeking) between the couple. It brought tears to my eyes too Chad, and I’m so glad I got to witness this amazing moment.

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I couldn’t wait to see Chads face when Grace walked down the aisle and boy, I was not disappointed. Not a dry eye in the house!

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Their ceremony was gorgeous, held under a massive blooming Oak. Their commitment to one another was felt by all who witnessed their vows to God and each other.

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After a romantic and deeply moving ceremony, the knot was tied and they were happy to galavant back down the aisle (with a few surprise kisses) as a married couple!

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Getting the whole family and bridal party together was a delight and you could tell everyone was so happy to be a part of the celebrations!

Then it was onto couples photos and, let me tell you, these two ROCKED their portrait session. (I don’t have to tell you though, see for yourself!)

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The reception was nothing but pure joy and insanity. Everyone boogied their way in, laughed their way through dinner (so much so I was able to sneak the couple away for sunset photos!), and smiled and cried along with the couple during their wedding speeches and dances.

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After the main events it was time to party down and dance the night away! Glow sticks and crazy guests added so much texture and energy to the night!

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Beyond being an awesome couple to photograph, these two pushed me outside of my comfort zone with their requests for some super fun off camera flash and sparkler photography!

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Their night came to a close with another ride in the incredible vintage wonder car as they waved good-bye to all their guests!

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I am so thankful Grace and Chad chose me for their wedding. I don’t know if I’ve ever shot a couple with more style, flare, and all around good vibes! I wish them all the best in their life together, even though I know they don’t need it. ❤

(HUGE thanks to Rebecca Skidgel from Rebecca Skidgel Photography for second shooting for me on this fine day!)

May Fourth

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Today is a special day. Not for any reason big and popular or having to do with Carrie Fisher (though I have to admit, I think she’d approve of my day). No, dear friends… today is my dog’s birthday. And I am excited beyond comprehension to combine my love for my little moo-pig and my love for Star Wars into one amazingly fun first birthday shoot.

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FIRST, STORY TIME: If you’ve met my dog, you know the depth of her ridiculous personality and the extent to which she will embarrass me in order to shove herself between your legs for butt scratches. She’s a frikkin’ 85 pound hunk of true love and affection. She’s god-damn ridiculous.

Denis and I got Max last summer on a pure coincidental whim. We’d (I’d) been taking about getting a dog forever and we (I) finally found a little ad on Craigslist for puppies that were nearly 8 weeks old. The owner’s dog and their neighbors’ dog had accidentally gotten together and this was to be their first (and last) litter of puppies. Even Denis couldn’t resist the temptation after seeing all their smiling faces and waggy tails! We went o check them out and, after choosing one originally and then backtracking, we landed on Max.

We knew we wanted to name our dog Max and were a little surprised when we chose a girl, so our little pup went from Max to Maxine. She shook the entire car ride home, nestled in my lap, barely the size of a football. She was ADORABLE. Denis’s mom cried when we brought her home (it was so cute) and from that day on she was my fur baby for all time.

I’ve worked with other people’s kids and I grew up with many animals, but I’ve never loved anything as purely and deeply as I love Max. Now, I recognize (kind of) that it’s not comparable to having children (or so some people say), but I would honestly give an arm and a leg and the rest of me to her if it would make her smile her goofy little dog grin. When she runs down the hall when I get home and wags her entire body, not just her tail, every bit of stress from my day instantly evaporates. She is pure joy personified into one fuzzy lovable package. Sometimes it’s honestly too much. I don’t feel worthy of it because, as I’m sure you’re all aware, NONE OF US are worthy of dogs.

So, today is her birthday and I wanted to celebrate. I’ve shot a lot of cake smashes, tinsel towers, snuggle sessions, and family huggles but I am yet to shoot a Star Wars themed, partner duo, dog-and-person birthday adventure. Today with some good timing, a little luck, and a fabulous friend/assistant I was able to create a little bit of fantasy out of my fantastic reality with my little shmoo.

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The photos may not be award winning in nature, but our special friendship is forever captured. I love my four legged monster, my licky-doodle, the baby Chewy Wookie to my Han. Happy first birthday Max. I frikkin’ love ya.

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