Belly, Baby, and Beyond

These three words that start with B are perfect for what we do with our newborn clients. At first, it did not occur as BBB- but Yellowhale has begun as a newborn baby portrait studio almost fifteen years ago. We’ve have been serving hundreds of babies (many of whom are now in Highschools.) and most of our baby clients stayed with our studio for decade so that we documented how the family grew over time…

It is such an amazing experience for both me and my clients because a. I get to enjoy watching the kids (Obviously!) grow and b. they don’t have to worry about trying to find their old pictures…( it is all with me~). Other than these practical reasons, there are tons of emotional value that we can not describe here. It almost feels like I am part of your family… but takes pictures of the family events for you? I love it!

It all began when I realized how quickly the baby grows (Especially the first year!) and as the baby grow, the family life changes dramatically. I still feel that there is no end of evolving in my family. My boys are almost sixteen and fourteen - they are still adorable, but they are like my friends now. We talk about issues and troubles, too. For sure, they eat more than I do and they are taller than I am. The point is that I miss the little things from when they were little… SO MUCH!!!!

I will write about it in detail when things get slow down a little. I so wanted to remember little details of my boys when they were tiny little babies. How I hold them, and how I adore them… and even how they cried~~~~~ are all precious. Sometimes, I am surprised by Facebook memories pop up with some images from many years back. I don’t even know how I forgot about them? But I did forget a lot of memories (that I thought I would remember forever~).

Back to the subject… As a family photographer, I had many times when I remember more than the mom does about her baby… because I have been visually taking notes from the day one. I suggest to all my newborn clients to schedule multiple photography sessions for the first year just because the baby grow so rapidly. The change is so dramatic, if you blink, the baby will grow into a little human!!!

Here is an example of Susan’s little Girl Magnolia’s first year images. 99 images from NEWBORN, SIX MONTH, ONE YEAR photo sessions. It shows exactly what I mean… by Belly, Baby, and Beyond! If you are expecting, just like any other planning you do for the baby’s arrival, it is really important plan you need to do! How you will document the precious moments of your baby’s first year and beyond…

xoxo, until next time,

Kyung

What I want you to remember...

Hi~ hope all of you are enjoying the beautiful fall season - one of my favorite time of the year. There are only TEN weeks left in the year 2018. Can you believe it? I can’t!!!!

Last night, I was posting a cute little video of a lifestyle session that I did few weeks ago for a good and long time client of mine. She has beautiful three children aged from 6month to five year old and thus we had so so so much fun during the photo shoot. You see, none of us has any plan as everything happens spontaneously. Even if we had a great plan, it was not going to work. Six of us (including the photographer) were just there to enjoy the time together… and here is what it looks like.

Instagram always makes my video in lower quality, I wanted to share it here again with a better quality.

✨CELEBRATING LIFE✨ - if someone asks me what I do for living, this will be my answer. There are so many little things we can cherish only if we can remember... some times, I blame my brain why I can not remember what my my kids said or did that I loved so much at that time. And believe me, I thought I could remember it forever. All those little moments fade away as time went by. When my boys were little, they spoke Korean, and they said the most precious words to each other... and played pretend games.. and jumped up and down giggling.. Most of the times, I “stop” them because it was dangerous, or dirty, or just too loud. Many years later(probably too many), I miss that crazy and wonder-ful time the most. I have two boys that are 15 and 13. And my house is quiet and calm.. I love my boys and quiet house, don’t get me wrong. But you know what? I miss that time so much. I bet you will, too. That’s why, I photograph the LIFE as is. How beautifully amazing it is! I collected about 60 images from a lifestyle photo session to show you what I would cherish if I were the mom for my client and made into a 60 sec video. I call it “CELEBRATION”. See it for yourself, it is truly what LIFE is all about. Love and together!!! That’s what I photograph and what I want YOU to enjoy.

!! little bit of housekeeping stuff~ !!

We are super excited about our Holiday Family Sessions in two weeks (11/3 ~11/4)! We have ONE last opening and if you are interested, please call 202.870.6773 NOW.

If you are interested in getting your family’s LIFESTYLE photography session at your home (or at the studio), there is also ONE last opening in November, so please call 202.870.6773 NOW.

Other than that, enjoy the beautiful season… don’t get carried away by busyness of running around. There is nothing more important than your LIFE = LOVE + TOGETHERNESS!!!

Until next time, XOXO - Kyung

Introducing our new portrait artist, Nicole

I am beyond thrilled to welcome the most amazing Nicole to YWP studio as Maternity, Newborn, and Baby’s milestone portrait artist. Nicole has been working with me since last April creating beautiful images for YWP families. As many of you know Yellowhale started as a baby boutique studio, our mission has been creating unforgettable memories to remember along with the beautiful imagery of baby and children. Finding the right photographer with the same vision and modern lifestyle took a long time, but here we are~

Nicole is an accomplished and internationally certified newborn and baby portrait artist. She has been crafting timeless portraits of babies and their families almost a decade, she will bring unparalleled amounts of joy and experience to your session.

Not only is she an experienced photographer, she is a mother of five gorgeous young children. She has an extreme understanding of this time of your life. She knows too well the beautiful whirlwind of emotion and wonder that fill your days as a family with a tiny new baby. Nicole will skillfully capture these moments for you and your darling baby in breathtaking portraits your family will cherish for generations.

Nicole photographs maternity and baby on the weekends. During the weekdays, she emails, edits, keeps communications with clients, vendors, contributes to the blog… and she loves Starbucks, 80's movies, and anything chocolate.

A few thoughts from Nicole:

It is such a true honor to be joining the YWP family. I have dedicated the last almost10 years to capturing tiny babies in their most important first moments. Now I get to share my experience and excitement for photographing babies with the amazing YWP community and I couldn't be happier.

After my first son was born I remember wanting to hold on to every moment. I knew it would be priceless to always be able to look back at the way his tiny hand curled around my finger or the way his nose scrunched up in the most adorable way when he yawned. As a mother of five, I feel how fast the years go by and how precious those first moments are and I love being able to give the gift of forever through photography. With my camera I create timelessness and I find it truly magical every time.

Nicole Sadorra - Baby Portrait Artist

She resides 20 min from the studio and lives with her loving husband Oliver (11 years) and together they have Brady (10), Jacob (8), Olivia (6), Lucy (3), and Everett (11 months).

3 fun facts about Nicole and Oliver~ (in her words~)

1. My husband and I were competitive ballroom dancers before we had our babies.

2. In rare moments of free time I love to crochet (hats, blankets, anything!)

3. My favorite thing to do with my children is bake. It's great to get messy and have fun making something yummy.

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To celebrate and welcome Nicole and her extraordinary talent and passion to Yellowhale Portrait Studio, we will be running super fun and special portrait experiences this fall.

Stay tuned!

xoxo, - Kyung

A Very Special Wedding

Today, I want to share a very special wedding with you. As I am watching the Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Ms. Meghan on TV, it was so beautiful to see the overflowing love and joy of the couple and the blessings pouring over them. I wish them the best on this wonderful journey, as you build their new lives together. What a special wedding it is! It is almost like a fairy tale - it is just so lovely to see them in love and surrounded by the whole world watching and blessing them...

As you all know, I am not a wedding photographer, but I had done a handful weddings so far for my family friend, siblings of my current client, and my own family members'. And today, I wanted to share my most recent and the most special wedding that I photographed last year. Just because the H + M's Royal Wedding brought me the whole memory of the most amazing day of my brother and his wife.

I know I am biased, my brother and my sister-in-law are the cutest couple to my eyes. Anderson House location was truly amazing to photograph my special couple in. More over, when we arrived there, the fascinating Solar Eclipse just started to happen and I was so lucky to capture the astonishing scene with this couple.

At first,  I could not tell what is happening with my bare eyes. It just felt extremely quiet, I mean there was no bird or any little critters movement at the time. When I start to look through the camera lens, I started to notice the shape of the shadow was different, and the color of the light was definitely cooler. I did not have a chance to discuss it with other photographers, but the shape and the color temperature of the light were dramatically unusual to photograph. I could say - it was almost like in mid day full sun, yet had a in shade temperature? The most amazing thing is that we did not plan this out at all. We had no idea the solar eclipse will happen at the time and date of his wedding when we schedule the wedding day and location a year before.

You can definitely tell the shape of the light that came through the the window is quite interesting. There are so many little croissant shape lights scattered all of the dance floor. I was asking myself, "How many couples in the whole world got the solar eclipse in their wedding pictures?" Indeed, it was a very special wedding because it was my loving brother's, but also it was the most unforgettable event I ever photographed with the Solar Eclipse.

Congratulations again to my brother and his beautiful wife! And of course to the prince Harry and Meghan for their wedding today! 

Happy Mother's Day, Moms!

Happy Mother’s Day, moms! 

Another year has gone and another year to be thankful to you for all of your love, support and inspiration. I hope you enjoy your littles more and do less of your regular duties today. Really!

In fact, I want you to STOP what you are doing now and to play a fun game. I know you have a keen eye and you can definitely pin point the right couple in no time.  I have picked four Yellowhale newborns and their moms (See the pictures below). I want you to match each baby and which belly (s)he came from. Here is how you play. All rules must be followed to be able to enter. 

1. FOLLOW our instagram (@yellowhaleportraits) 
2. LIKE the contest post
3. COMMENT your answer as mom's initials in the order of babies (Preston, Noshi, Eleanor, and Milla).
    So the answer may look like QXYZ! 
4. TAG your friend to increase your chance to win!

Entries are accepted by Midnight Tuesday 5/15.
The winner will be announced on Wednesday 5/16 10AM through Instagram post.

PRIZE*: one free family portrait session and a 8x10 print ($550 value) at Yellowhale Portrait Studio

Once you're done playing this game, relax and enjoy your special day! Good Luck and happy mother's day to you!!!!

xoxo,
Kyung

* FINE PRINT: The prize session is a weekday family session at the studio for 30 min, one outfit, 5-10 images presented to choose from at the selection meeting (at the studio) in one week from the session. The winner must be local to receive the prize. No on line gallery available. This session includes one print (up to 8x10) of choice. No digital files are included. The session must be booked by June 10th and must take place at the studio and be completed by September 30th. Session is good for a direct family of up to five people. One time only. Can not be transferred and does not have any cash value. Cannot be combined with any other offer.  A $99 retainer is required at the time of booking to hold your session date and time.  This retainer will be refunded after the session is complete. One gift print up to 8x10 is included.  No purchase required, but other products are available to add on. Once the session date is set, can not be rescheduled. The session can be upgraded to a full lifestyle experience at $150.