GH Kim Photography Blog

Yurika and Chris . Portrait

GRACE — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:33:05 +0000

I was bummed when we were unavailable to photograph Yurika and Chris’ wedding last year, so when they contacted again about taking photographs for their one year anniversary, I was more than thrilled! I think that more couples should take anniversary pictures to document such love. Something about Chris’ calm demeanor always seemed to put Yurika at ease, and they share a really sweet kind of love. We had quite the adventure; puddle dodging and huddling underneath a shelter with many others while it rained buckets, watching as if it were a water show. But it’s that very refreshing rain and the beautiful autumn leaves that made me fall even more in love with my city.

Laina and Raymond . Engagement

GRACE — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 08:12:22 +0000

It speaks volumes to us when couples contact us even before having their wedding date or venue set – that photography is their number one priority, that they trust us out of thousands of photographers, and we are THAT important to them. Laina and Raymond are one of those couples. Laina is originally from Seattle and Raymond is from New York, but on one fateful day, they met through a mutual friend at a Fourth of July get-together. Fireworks went off and the rest is history. Since they were visiting from out of town, we had no room to reschedule their session so it was to be on, rain or shine. It wasn’t necessarily shine, but you wouldn’t think it different from their beaming personalities. When most people would be hesitant, they had no qualms about sitting on the wet grass, they helped me gather leaves without me even asking them to, and to top things off, they are simply gorgeous!

Costume Contest Winner!

GRACE — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 09:44:57 +0000

Note: There were some technical difficulties where the RSS email feed was delayed, so we made sure to include all the later entries for consideration.

Oh my goodness! It was so much fun to see all the costume contest entries roll in! Thank you to all those who participated for making us smile and laugh!

The Best Costume goes to… the Lamb family (our friendly neighbors)! Congratulations! Their costume concept was creative, humorous, adorable, and perfectly incorporated everyone in the family together. Just look at that little lobster’s face!

Trick or Treat?

GRACE — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 18:44:44 +0000

Treat for you!

Enter our costume contest for a chance to win a $20 gift card to Trophy Cupcakes!

- Submit a picture of yourself or your child in a costume (from this year) by 12noon tomorrow PST (11/1)
- Picture may be from any camera (e.g. camera-phone, point-and-shoot, professional camera), but entire costume should be clearly visible
- Email to contest@ghkim.com
- Best costume will be announced on Monday 11/2

Have a safe and fun Halloween y’all!

Image by Jessica Limantoro

Anjelah . Portrait

GRACE — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:29:44 +0000

I clearly remember when my good (Vietnamese) friend Tim popped up a window on our laptop exclaiming, “You have to see THIS!” back in 2007. Fast forward two years and never would I have guessed that I would be meeting the YouTube sensation in person, let alone photograph her! With her beauty and exponentially rising fame, one would think that Anjelah Johnson would be intimidating, but she’s the exact opposite. She’s completely down-to-earth in the truest sense and immediately made me feel comfortable, like an old friend. I have no doubt that we’ll be seeing this natural beauty as a leading lady in romantic comedies (my fave!) and other great prospects to come. And how amazing is her bed?!

Nhung and Raymond . Wedding

GRACE — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 09:12:11 +0000

Raymond was the Best Man at Veda and Jake’s wedding, and since Veda and Jake have become dear friends, we just knew that any friends of theirs would be an absolute pleasure to photograph. I cannot say enough good things about Nhung and Raymond. Throughout the entire day, I almost felt like I was the bride because of Nhung’s constant care and attention to me and Hun. And that’s saying a lot because we’re so blessed with the most wonderful clients who give us the royal treatment. Speaking of royal, they chose royal blue as their main wedding color which was bold and modern. Fusing their Vietnamese and Chinese cultures together, they had a tea ceremony to start off the festivities and they provided yummy cream puffs that some phở restaurants have as snacks before the ceremony. We were provided seats at the table of ‘grace’ among other inspirational table names. And being a huge Dancing With The Stars fan, the highlight of the evening was their first dance where they performed the Cha-Cha-Cha Rumba Segway!

Nhung and Raymond, thank you so much for your overwhelming kindness!

The Most Ridiculous Wedding Event Ever!

GRACE — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 03:24:43 +0000

Someone pinch me! I have the honor of shooting with Junebug Weddings

at The Most Ridiculous Wedding Event Ever tomorrow!

Some of the featured speakers I admire… Mindy Weiss (the mastermind behind this ridiculous event), Amy Atlas (a designer of the most ridiculous dessert tables), Elizabeth Messina (who photographs ridiculously gorgeous images), and of course Junebug Weddings (who has the most ridiculously cool wedding site and our ridiculously fabulous), among many others!

A lot of exclamations, but that’s how ridiculous it’s going to be!

Be sure to follow them as they will be blogging

Someone pinch me! I have the honor of shooting with Junebug Weddings at The Most Ridiculous Wedding Event Ever in LA tomorrow!

Somebody pinch me! I think I dreamed and went to wedding heaven!

Tomorrow, I will have the honor of shooting with/for Junebug Weddings at The Most Ridiculous Wedding Event Ever held in L.A.!

Some of the featured speakers I admire… Mindy Weiss (the mastermind behind this ridiculous event), Amy Atlas (the designer of the most ridiculously delightful dessert tables), Elizabeth Messina (the photographer of ridiculously gorgeous images), and of course Junebug Weddings (the do-it-all ladies behind the most ridiculously fabulous wedding site), among many others!

I know that’s a lot of exclamations, but that’s how ridiculous it’s going to be!

Click the image below for more details on how to follow Junebug as they will be blogging LIVE tomorrow (10/11/09)!

“You Know You’re A Wedding Photographer If…”

GRACE — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 18:44:40 +0000

Ok. So people who know me, know that I laugh at almost anything, but H REALLY makes me laugh. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. It’s not just a biased wife thing though. He livens up any room. Like literally, he would make Eeyore laugh himself funny.

Anyhow, all this to say that yesterday, H pulls out of nowhere a “You know you’re a wedding photographer if…” Top 10 Countdown (à la David Letterman’s Top Ten List) on his twitter/facebook and it was a hit!

You know you’re a wedding photographer if…

#10. During weekdays you’re constantly asking yourself/others, “What day is it again?”

#9. You memorized every Saturday dates in Jul/Aug/Sep of 2010, e.g. 7/3, 7/10, 7/17, 7/24, etc.

#8. You have to mentally prep yourself to be a normal ‘guest’ when attending non-shoot wedding.

#7. 50% of your closet = black.

#6. You’re constantly/obsessively checking weather updates [which in Seattle is pointless].

#5. You LOL at your civilian friend’s cute 256-meg SD card in their point-n-shoot camera.

#4. You’re the only dude at barnes & noble readin’ @InStyle @SeattleBrideMag etc.

#3. Average 10-12 trips a year – only one ‘real’ vacation in the last decade. :(

#2. You don’t flinch/doubletake when you hear, “I’m gonna shoot that family this weekend.”

#1. You can eat your steak/salmon dinner in under 3 minutes.

So people who know me, know that I laugh at pretty much everything, but H REALLY makes me laugh. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. It’s not just a biased wife thing though. He livens up any room. Like literally, he would be able to make even Eeyore laugh himself funny.

Anyhow, all this to say that this past Friday, H pulls out of nowhere a “You know you’re a wedding photographer if…” Top Ten List (à la David Letterman’s Top Ten List) on his twitter/facebook, and it was a hit!

For the #1, he engaged his social network community to submit their ideas for a chance to win a complimentary lunch. Tauran Woo had the winning submission (rewrite by H)!

Now for the list!

You know you’re a wedding photographer if…

10. During weekdays you’re constantly asking yourself/others, “What day is it again?”

9. You memorized every Saturday dates in Jul/Aug/Sep of 2010, e.g. 7/3, 7/10, 7/17, 7/24, etc.

8. You have to mentally prep yourself to be a normal ‘guest’ when attending a non-shoot wedding.

7. 50% of your closet = black.

6. You’re constantly/obsessively checking weather updates [which in Seattle is pointless].

5. You LOL at your civilian friend’s cute 256-meg SD card in their point-n-shoot camera.

4. You’re the only dude at Barnes&Noble readin’ InStyle Weddings, Seattle Bride, etc.

3. Average 10-12 trips a year – only one ‘real’ vacation in the last decade. :(

2. You don’t flinch/double-take when you hear, “I’m gonna shoot that family this weekend.”

1. You can eat your steak/salmon dinner in under 3 minutes.

Image 4 by Elizabeth Medina . Image 5 by H’s iPhone . Image 6 by Rodolfo Arpia . Last image by Jonathan Chu

Grace

HUN — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 07:00:50 +0000

What are the odds this adorable one gets birthed into this world, then has the privilege, I mean I have the privilege/honor of being her soulmate/bff/accomplice 4 life. Thank you almighty one above. :]

A Dandy Reminder

GRACE — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 06:59:47 +0000

Image by H’s iPhone

H took me on a nice little adventure at Discovery Park today, and I found a dandelion just planted by itself in an expansive field of grass. Normally, dandelions are known as pesky little weeds, but at that moment, I saw beauty in it. Beauty because of the transformation it goes through from being a yellow flower to a fuzzy ball to the parachute-like seeds which get carried away by the wind and make their mark on where they land. It reminded me of all the learning and growth that has transformed me this past year. And as I look forward to another year (older), I need to use what I’ve learned and spread it as far and wide as I can while making an impact on those I encounter. Just like the dandelion.