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 Celebrity Portrait Experience!

The warm and fresh feel of the new season finally has arrived. I can not wait for the cherry blossoms to bloom and to watch the explosion of color that Spring brings. In this beautiful season, I want to invite you to experience something exciting and unique at Yellowhale.  

Introducing our new "Celebrity Portrait Experience"

The Celebrity Portrait promises to be the most fun your child will ever experience while having their pictures taken. Unlike typical family portraits that document the physical growth and changes progressed over time, this unique portrait experience celebrates your child's talent, passion, or their ultimate dream. Whether its dancing, playing an instrument, playing soccer, being a princess, playing with their favorite dolls or toys, or riding a skateboard.  Whatever consumes your child, the Celebrity Portrait Experience will celebrate it.

As a child grows, their favorite activity changes dramatically. At the age of four, your daughter is all about being Cinderella, but by age nine is obsessed with soccer and EMOJI. As a parent, you want to remember what made them so excited and how talented they were. We want to help document your child's precious dream and passion in the most beautiful and artistic way with some fashion and editorial kick! Of course, your child deserves some spotlight and confetti!

The Celebrity Portrait Experience is 100% custom designed; from choosing the best activities to selecting their outfits, props and backgrounds. Your child is truly the STAR of the day. The end result is artwork that is as unique as your ever loving child.

You will LOVE flipping through the special edition magazine with their picture on the cover! Because we know you are their biggest fan!!!  

Take a look at our newest galleries of Celebrity Experiences, watch the behind the scene video, and read what people have to say!

Here are what clients had to say about the Celebrity Portrait Experience at YELLOWHALE:

A Dream Come True...

Working with Kyung was truly a dream come true as a mother and as a business woman. She was extremely professional and absolutely wonderful when working with the girls. The Celebrity Experience was like no other photography experience that we have ever had. Kyung listened to Ellie and Marin and took to heart that interests and true personalities. She then created an experience and in turn photos that completely captured the essence of who they are, now, at nine years old. These photographs aren’t like any others. As an added bonus, I also don’t need to write on the back to catalog the photos for future years.. it is obviously, these photos are of the girls at nine! They are the girls. We all feel so grateful to have been able to work with Kyung.

We will always cherish these photos and the overall experience.

- Rachel (Bethesda, MD)

Session Itself Is A Memory!!!

Let me start by saying I have a Type-A personality and I did my homework before reaching out to Kyung @ Yellowhale! I absolutely loved the images I saw on her website, but I was hooked when I called and spoke to her over the phone. Kyung's attention to detail and professionalism are like no other, but what was so refreshing to me was her personality and friendly disposition. She took the time to hear my vision for my daughter's "Celebrity Experience" and left no stone unturned. My daughter and I were in awe when we arrived at the shoot......confetti, sparkles, fans, lights, balloons!!! Every little girls (and moms) dream to have all of this ready for THEM! Kyung made us feel at home for those few hours and my daughter had the time of her life (and still asks when do I get to do it again?!) This is a memory that I will hold dear to my heart forever. I couldn't help but get emotional at the "selection meeting." The images she was able to capture far EXCEEDED my expectations. Everything about Kyung and Yellowhale are well worth the time and investment. My family and I will definitely be back again! 

- Mandy (Oakton, VA)

What an Adventure...

From the prep we went through; finding fun outfits and accessories that expressed her creativity, to deciding which side of her we wanted to showcase and remember for all time. The actual day itself was put together in the most fun way ever.  Ruby loved dancing and singing and posing and basically just having fun being herself, all while you captured these amazing images.  I don't think Ruby noticed the camera, you slipped into the background all the while being ever present. 

I said amazing images and I do not use this word lightly; you captured the inner glow we see every day in our daughter and you made it radiate from every picture. Truly an art.

We hope many more girls, old and young get the opportunity we had in this session with you.  I know for sure we will be back again!

-Emma & Steve ( Bethesda, MD)

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Here are few behind the scenes videos you can watch. 

Emilia's session was about Easter bunny, flying sky with balloons, ballet, playing with her dolls.

Ellie and Marin were celebrating their 9th birthday with confetty, balloons, glitters, flower girl dresses.

No Yellowhale Celebrity session is alike. Our Celebrity Experience provides you with 25 beautiful swoon-worthy images to relish. At your selection meeting (about two weeks from the session date), you can select from our finished, ready-to-hang gallery quality metal print posters, wall gallery collection, and commercial grade editorial magazine that highlights your child's talent and beauty.  

Does your child have a talent? Is she excited about Ballet? Are your twins turning nine this year? Or is he playing with legos all day long? With the Celebrity Experience, we can create the perfect portraits that are as brilliant and unique as they are!  They are growing up so quickly - THIS is your opportunity to give them a chance to shine forever.

CALL 202.870.6773 to schedule your free consultation today.

My turn

Frankly, I had never used my big camera to take my boys' pictures until very recently. I had done it few times when they had big events at school - I would take my long lens and big camera to photograph the event.

When they were young, they hated when Mom took her big camera out because that meant it was time for her to leave and go to work. And for many years, they showed no interest in being photographed by their mom. It was also hard for me to pick up the camera and “work” with my own children because the time I have with them is limited to when I am not supposed to work. I also never take the big camera when we travel because I want to live in the moment instead of capturing what I see through a lens. Luckily, my phone comes in handy dandy to capture those precious memories.

We have done family portraits by wonderful photographers for last ten years, so the documentation of our family has been well kept. But it was this year, when they went from playing with Legos and watching the Magic School Bus to finding their passion for their instruments when I realized I needed to capture an image of them myself.

As a mother, watching your kids doing something that they love is so rewarding. As a musician (I play piano^^), listening to your children playing their instruments is pure joy. As a photographer, capturing their passion and love is the undeniable mission.

Last summer, when they auditioned for youth orchestra, I made up my mind to finally pick up my camera to work with them. So one evening, I brought my boys to the studio, and we had a blast playing music and taking pictures. I wanted to share the result with the world. Now I feel that motherly pride first hand –it was one of the most rewarding "WORKS" I have ever done.

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A morning in D.C.

Behind the scenes video of a family portrait session at National Mall at sun rise. Produced by Mei Yuzuki @Yellowhale Photography

Hello hello~~ 

A few weeks ago, I had a wonderful sunrise family portrait session at the National Mall. I have been photographing this family for eight years and have been witnessing how the love and happiness truly grew within the family.

This was "a Morning in D.C." session, one of our Lifestyle portrait sessions. How special it is to photograph one of my favorite clients in the beautiful city I love! Although I live 15 minutes away from D.C., I never got to discover how meaningful it is to be living in our nation’s capital. Thousands upon thousands of people visit each day and so many events and celebrations happen at the heart of the national mall every month. In fact, there were three marathons happening while we were there. The event tents were everywhere when I arrived before the dawn at the reflection pool. I could tell there was an amazing concert the night before.

The sky was pink; the sun was rising behind the beautiful Washington monument. Everything around us was calm and peaceful. I had hoped to see the glorious big yellow Sun to rise, but it was even more beautiful when the blanket of fog and cloud hid it. As we watched the city waking up to this calm morning, it felt so perfect to be there. The red dress, the stone columns, the foggy sky, the baby ducks... it was beautiful.

It meant so much to celebrate this togetherness at our home city. Even though we had to wake up at 5 A.M. to avoid the crowds of tourists, it was so worth it. 

Below are the images from the session.

October is here. The studio is really busy already but we got two Lifestyle Sessions just added to the schedule in October.

Please call 202.870.6773 to book your "a Morning in D.C." session or our fabulous holiday portrait experience today.

What it is like to Experience Yellowhale Portrait

Every family has its own story. As a family portrait photographer - I get to enjoy the most beautiful and real family stories from how the couple fell in love, thirty-hour long labor, to first birthday, and so many other episodes. I love being part of the family stories. More over, I want to CREATE unforgettable memories for them to cherish. 

Today, my client, Jennifer and Sung visited the studio for the Big Reveal presentation of their family portraits photographed three weeks ago. We had planned this special celebration since January, selecting the style, color, location, what to wear. Jennifer and I share so much in common (like all other moms out there! ^^) how much we love our children and what the family means to us. So the designing her photo session was quite similar to what I would have done for my own family. Their children are pre teens and it is the stage where they start to feel uncomfortable smiling at the camera or hugging or kissing their mom and feel a little shy about being in front of the camera.  As I understood, her main focus of the photo session was to capture the children's natural smile (not posed or forced) and show the love of the family.  I had planned to play a little game with them to relax and have fun during the session. The session took place at the studio to create a modern, yet formal look that will go really well with her living room decor. I loved how everything we planned came together at the session and the result turned out exactly how she wanted!

Below is a short video clip that I was able to capture during the REVEAL presentation and I so wanted to share it with you all. I took this video with my iphone with their permission. ^^

After she left the studio, I received a little note from her saying...

“Thank you Kyung!

You have far exceeded my expectations!! And I had high expectations too.. haha! You have captured the love in my family... the great love and joy we have for each other and from each other. You have captured them all in your images. You are so gifted! And a special thank you for capturing my son Nathan. Your images display what I see when I look at him. When I asked Nathan “Do you recognize yourself?”, he said “no” and I told him “This handsome young man is you my Nathan! This is exactly what you look like in real life!”. Your pictures are treasures that we will cherish forever. From beginning to end the whole experience was a wonderful one and the results speak for themselves. Thank you so much!

”

— Jennifer

I am so so so happy to be able to give the family the most beautiful images to cherish and see what their love and happiness is like. Below is some of my favorite images from their portrait experience.

Jen and Sung, thank you so much for letting me be part of your life journey. Being there to document what is already beautiful was my privilege and I am grateful for that. When this image is magnificently installed over your mantle, not only your children but also everyone who visits your lovely home will be reminded of love and joy shines through the portrait. - Kyung

I can not believe it is already MAY (one third of the year 2017 has passed already!).

If you are interested in reserving your family portraits this spring, I still have our $99 Portrait Special sessions available for June. It is an amazing value and would be a perfect gift for the MOM you love for Mother's Day (May 14th!). You know mothers like Jennifer and myself, we would die to receive our children's portraits as a gift than anything...  CALL 202.870.6773 to schedule your session and click HERE  for more information.