Hi everyone!

The new blog is almost done, but, if you've tried to send mail in the past couple of days, please resend it to: karenleahphoto@gmail.com. My site host is undergoing an upgrade and I am unable to login to their mail server.

Thanks,
Karen

Karen Leah on 11.02.09 @ 08:45 AM PST [link]

So, the new blog isn't quite ready to go live...but, in the meantime, we've been super busy around here! I just wanted to show you some random images from things we've been working on. Yes, some of these clients have their images by now, but...I think they're still lovely and really wanted to share them! (and, some don't, and some only have teasers...) :-) and in no particular order: (ooh, and notice the new larger sizes...won't work with this blog, but on the new one...eeeee!!!!)

The beautiful flowers from Pearl and Ken's wedding:



Samantha and Manny's engagement sitting:



A stunning detail shot from Daniel and Betty's wedding:



Jaclyn (and little Linkin) at her maternity sitting:



A very sweet photo from an engagement party:



While I would never pick a favorite client, Jessica and Milton were pretty amazing:



reminder: Must not pick favorite client who I want to be friends with, must not pick favorite client, must not...(but really, I've had some amazing clients lately)
(one of MANY from Christine and Charles' engagement sitting)



Annnd...what do we think of the logo and new size? eek! OK, not long now, it's really coming soon.

Karen Leah on 10.20.09 @ 08:21 PM PST [link]

Check us out!

Karen Leah on 10.08.09 @ 03:16 PM PST [link]

You might not find it here! We (me, Brian, and One Eye...well, 'cause she's always excited when mummy edits-she can jump in my lap) are so excited! In a few weeks (hopefully sooner, but it needs to be just right) you'll be looking at a brand. new. blog. From top to bottom. There will be categories, a search field, tags for easy lookin' around (because I know when I was planning my wedding, I wanted to see certain things sometimes and certain things other times), new font (I am a *huge* font fan)...and it's going to be, just, well...we love the old one and it's done well for us and it's so much fun sending clients their blog entries; but the new one...EEK!

And while this isn't quite the last photo I'll be posting on here, it's pretty close:

Karen Leah on 10.01.09 @ 07:50 PM PST [link]

This is an excerpt from a pet project I'm working on...just some tidbits of advice I've given and received (and wished I had) over the years:

1. Pick a pretty hanger for your dress. You've spent so much time, money, effort, and emotion in picking the perfect dress; why not complete the picture with the hanger?Something padded and silk, a nice wooden one; or even a personalized hanger cover would look stunning in your pics. (I SO wish I had done this for mine).

2. If there's something that might be out of the ordinary (at my wedding we did personalized candy bags with little facts about us-totally hidden from view), but super sweet and personal to you...put it on your list.

3. Drink lots of water before the big day. It reduces puffiness and redness in the skin.

4. How many hours will your photographer be there and what will they be there for? If you don't have unlimited funds for photography - prioritize; are pre-ceremony photos less important to you than reception photos? Do you want hours and hours of portrait time? When you're picking your package keep *your* priorities for photography in mind.

5. The schedule. When will you be walking down the aisle? When you do want us to arrive? What time will you be announced? The more we know in advance, the more we're able to capture your day as it happens.

6. Leave room for the unexpected. Try to leave "wiggle-room" in your schedule in case of traffic (or construction on the 405). You'll short-change yourself if you schedule things too tightly.

7. Have an engagement session. It's the best way to get used to having your photo taken and many photographers offer them as part of their packages! It may seem easy, but having been on both sides of the camera, having your photo taken can be hard work; posing, getting the right angles, holding your body in ways that you're unaccustomed to... The engagement session is the perfect time to practice- and learn what you like and what you might not.

8. If there is something you're self consciousness about please tell your photographer!!! We want to make you feel beautiful and, as "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" the thing you may not like, we may think is beautiful.

9. How many photographers will you have? One of favorite photos was of my husband getting ready. I don't know what about this photo was so touching, but I would never have been able to have it without two photographers.

10. Do what makes you happy! If you want to wear hot pink shoes, bright feathers in your hair, or sneakers-wear them! You don't want to look back on your photos and think "awww, I wish I had ______."

And because every post is better with a photo' although it's completely out of order and there are other posts coming before this one, I wanted to share this one from Jaclyn and Jeff's maternity sitting the other day:

Karen Leah on 09.24.09 @ 08:34 AM PST [link]

As I said (or, exclaimed) before this was a beautiful wedding. Since moving to Los Angeles, Bethany (bwarelaw@yahoo.com) has been a designer and coordinator-which was apparent the moment you walked in the courtyard at the Ayres Hotel. Crystal accents, butterflies (which were very personal to Bethany and reminded her of her grandmother), a color scheme that complimented the grounds beautifully...she even had the dress so perfectly laid out in her room...well, you'll see.

And the wedding; besides being lovely and elegant, was incredibly personal. They incorporated the christening of baby Kennedy into their ceremony which made it just perfect leading into a reception that went full force until the very last second of the evening when the lights went back on. This is a long entry because I had the hardest time narrowing down my favorites from the evening. (obviously, I have some personal favorites, but I'll keep those to myself). And the one of Bethany with the microphone? She surprised her groom with a perfect rendition of "At Last." Seriously, jaws dropped and Temell was speechless; Brian and I even needed a second to compose ourselves.

There are a few vendors I still need but I couldn't *wait* to get these photos up!

Karen Leah on 09.20.09 @ 09:16 PM PST [link]

While server issues have put me a little behind, the first thing I *had* to share are these amazing images from Bethany and Temell's wedding at the Ayres Manhattan Beach Hotel. When you have a bride who's a designer you know you'll have nothing less than spectacular detatils to photograph and this wedding did not disappoint. Bethany designed such amazing details I have no idea HOW I'm going to narrow it down for the full entry. I'll have more this weekend (off to shoot a wedding in Porter Ranch right now), but for the moment:

Karen Leah on 09.19.09 @ 09:14 AM PST [link]