Trash 'Kirstys' Dress Shoot posted by Kirsty Edwards

Its really popular right now for photographers to offer a 'trash the dress' session to Brides after their wedding day. Its an awesome way to get some really fantastic creative shots, that perhaps you didnt have time to do on your wedding day or just for fun. Lets face it, it really does get worn once and hangs in the closet all lonely. Personally, Im saving mine in the hope that I one day have a daughter who might want to wear it for her wedding day. LOL Check back in 20 odd years to see if that dream comes true.

I decided to mix up the 'trash the dress' theme and let my model have that pleasure. I already trashed my dress previously at the famous Folsom Street Fair where I walked the leather filled naked fair dressed as a Bride.

I'd love to post the shots from that, once I get my talented photog friend's permission to show them off. Watch this space.

In the meantime, here are some of the shots with Ashley. These were shot the same day, we did the past to present series and I've been too busy to get them up on here.

Hope you enjoy!!!

Debbie & John's 'Windy' Engagement Shoot

On Saturday Evening, Jake and I braved the strong winds for an Engagement Shoot in the city with Debbie & John.

We had an absolute blast with these guys and they were complete naturals in front of the camera.

Perfect practice in preparation for their upcoming Wedding Day with a whopping 300+ guests attending their Special Day in San Jose.

We got some amazing shots of these guys at various locations in the city and finished the evening off with a mouth watering pizza at Debbie and Johns fave italian in the Richmond. Yum!

Congratulations Debbie & John, we can't wait to photograph your Wedding Day :)

Past To Present Series

As you have probably noticed by now, there is always a story or a concept behind everyone of our subjects. I like to story tell :)

On a recent album project, for my parents 40th Wedding anniversary, I had the pleasure of going through all their old films and polaroids for this amazing occasion. Something I always loved doing as a child and being able to record all these moments in a coffee table book was a real honor.

So, with that and the recent announcement that Polaroid is getting out of the Polaroid business, I decided to do a series of images from our family history.

This is one of my all time favorite pictures of my sister, when she was around the age of one. I believe my mum took this picture as the rest of the film, was of my dad and great grandparents so I can only assume, my mum was the photographer on this one.

So from old to new, I took this shot as inspiration for this beautiful shot of Ashley. She was an amazing model and had the same beautiful blonde looks of my sister when she was little.

I then worked the image in photoshop to give it that aged polaroid look.

Check back soon, there will be a series of images coming every month.

Enjoy! :)

Gales 1st Birthday

I had the honor of attending and photographing Gales First Birthday Celebration last week, I first met Gale when he was around 6 weeks old and you can see his first baby portrait in the baby section of our website.



1st Birthday Tradition

In the past, due to a lack of medical information, Korea's seasonal temperature differences, and many childhood related diseases, the death rate for children was extremely high. Many children died before their first birthday. After the age of one year, the survival rate steeply increased, making this milestone a very happy one for the child's parents.

In modern times, due to the improvements in medicine, the influence of Western culture, and modern industrialization, the Shamanistic reasons for the Tol celebration have been reduced. However, the event is still celebrated as a time of congratulations for the parents and family.

Taking pictures is an important part of the event. As many Korean homes are very small, many families rent a room in a banquet hall. The modern celebration includes the child's parents greeting guests, lighting candles on a birthday cake, the Toljabee event, and a toast.

Tol-bok
The clothes worn for the tol (tol-bok) are colorful, dressy clothes. They differ depending on the child's sex. Both boys and girls wear a long tol-ddi (a belt that wraps around the body twice) for longevity and a tol-jumuni (pouch) for luck. Silk cloth is used to make the tol-jumuni, folded at the top with a colorful thread pull-string to open and close. For the child's longevity buttons are not used.

At the Toljabee Event, the birthday child goes around the table and picks up items that attract him or her. The child's future is predicted according to the what he or she grabs. After placing the child in front of the table, the child's father becomes the guide for the child to go around the table and grab whatever he or she wants. The first and second items the child grabs are considered the most important.

Gale chose the book first, then the ruler, then the money.

This means that he will become a successful scholar, talented with his hands and wealthy.

Happy 1st Birthday Gale :)