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Engagement pictures that make you “die”

August 22, 2010

Ok, so here’s proof that men do think about their wedding day. Maybe not to the same extent that women do, but we do put some thought into the day – sometimes even years prior to the actual wedding.

A few years ago while I was living at the University of Illinois doing some freelance photography and graphic design, I met JR. We were both playing basketball on our lunch breaks at the Men’s basketball facility and developed a friendship right there on the courts. One day while shooting some hoops, JR told me that if and when he got married, he was going to hire me to photograph the big day. I think at the time, he already had the girl in mind.

JR and Kristie met in college while working closely together in the athletics administration office. They were both athletes, although technically JR was Kristie’s boss (she was interning at the athletics office). They started out as friends, both having their own significant other at that time. Eventually those relationships ended and they began spending more and more time together. Sparks flew, friendship grew, well you know, the rest is history. Next thing I know, JR contacts me to inquire my wedding services and all of us sat down one night at Starbucks coffeeshop to talk about the wedding day. It’s been some time now since I first met JR but two weeks ago I had the tremendous honor of photographing JR with his adorable fiancé Kristie for a downtown Chicago engagement session.

We spent the afternoon weaving through the crowded downtown streets of Chicago, which is typically packed on a Saturday afternoon, but even more so because of the gorgeous weather and also with the filming of Transformers 3 going on. In the midst of it though, we managed to escape the crowds, get kicked out at couple of different places and capture a ton of great moments. Afterwards, the couple treated myself and my assistant of the day Ashley to a nice sushi dinner and got to know each other even more over tasty food!

JR & Kristie are two of the most generous and giving people, and I was deeply touched by a sweet note I received from Kristie after she saw the images from their engagement session. Part of her note was so great, I just had to share (with her permission):

“Kenny, the – pictures – are – AMAZING. Not sure if you ever watch Rachel Zoe, the celebrity stylist, but she has a tagline for when she loves something and it’s ‘I Die.’

So Kenny, ‘I Die‘. The photos are unreal. I had a hard time picking my favorites because they are all individually incredible. I am over the moon that we have such gorgeous memories of our engagement. You really captured such a natural and open side of our relationship… JR and I keep saying ‘that’s how we feel, it’s just now conveyed in a photo!’ “

Chicago downtown engagement photos of Kristi & J.R.

In the beginning of our photo shoot, I yelled (to Kristi): “Strike a pose!” JR thought I was talking to him and followed my instruction as well. We had so many fun moments like this during our shoot. It was so much fun working with them.
Chicago downtown engagement photos of Kristi & J.R.

Here is a fun/lesson photo: During my photoshoot, I help my clients with posing tips usually by showing them how to do it. This is when it goes too far and things get a bit awkward. I think I got Kristie a bit jealous here. I never ask my clients to do anything that I would not do myself – literally!

I think Kristi is getting little jealous.

Thank you Kristie & J.R.! I can’t wait to spend the day with you guys back in the old stompin’ ground of U of I. We are going to have so much fun together with everyone!

For more, visit: My Portfolio | Facebook Page | contact@kennykim.com | 800-539-1294

Tags: Chicago, Engagement Session, Four Seasons, John Hancock, Lake Michigan
Posted in Engagement, Sessions | 5 Comments »

What Do a Soldier, Dog Tag & Cowboys Have in Common?

August 18, 2010

He was serving in Iraq for twelve months, while she anxiously waited for his safe return.

They originally met by chance one night at a country bar in Colorado Springs, Colorado called Cowboys. That first encounter happened just shortly before he was due to ship out, but there was magic in the air that night. For one year, Annabelle wore Cory’s dog tags around her neck – a daily reminder of him – and counted down the days to his homecoming.

After his twelve months of duty were up, Cory returned home to Annabelle. They decided to celebrate with a trip to her hometown of Chicago where they visited each of the city’s major tourist attractions, including the old Sears Tower. When they arrived to the top of the sky-tower, Cory dropped to one knee and proposed to the woman he couldn’t wait to come home to.

We returned to Colorado Springs, the fateful city where they first met, to photograph their engagement pictures. The day began with a bit of rain, but no amount of inclement weather could stop this wonderful couple. We made a special trip to the Garden of the Gods and then the Broadmoor hotel, and with the help from my good friend Nicole Kulinski who assisted me on their shoot, we got a ton of great images.

Annabelle & Cory, you guys were awesome. You made this engagement session so easy – right for the start, you guys were full of energy, love and passion for each other. I think being apart for an entire year definitely helped bring that out! One advice I give to couples during an engagement session is to not to think of the time we spend as a photo shoot session. Rather, think of it as a time of celebration of your love and commitment to one another. I want them to think about all the good things that they love about each other and display that affectionately. These guys did that right from the start and it shows in their images.

Colorado Springs, Garden of the Gods and Broadmoor Hotel Engagement Session of Annabelle & Cory

Cory & Annabelle – I couldn’t be happier for the two of you! Looking forward to your wedding in Chicago in September!

For more, visit: My Portfolio | Facebook Page | contact@kennykim.com | 800-539-1294

Tags: broadmoor hotel, colorado springs, garden of the gods
Posted in Sessions | 4 Comments »

Chicago engagement session: Sandy & Ed

August 16, 2010

If you believe in fate, then Sandy & Ed were meant to be. So many events happened in their lives pointed towards them being together but it was not until few years later that Ed finally realized she could be the one for him. Everything was crystal clear from there on. They had their first date at Molly’s cupcakes and many more followed afterwards. Now they are planning to tie their knot in October and I am thrilled to be working with this fun couple for their wedding day. For this shoot we got to spend a hot but fun afternoon in Chicago going around random places. Here’s just a few to share with you. Sandy got so excited she went ahead and made an album in her facebook gallery (Not sure if she made them public or not – so you might have to friend her on facebook!

Ed is an opthamologist so we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to do a fun shoot in front of the eyeball statue.

We slowed down by finishing our shoot inside Molly’s Cupcakes where they had their first date. We got to taste it afterwards and wow. If someone bought me a cupcake and asked me out, I’d say yes too!

Looking at the size of her ring, I think I can safely say that Ed is madly in love with Sandy.

Congratulations guys. Your wedding day is going to be so much fun!
For more, visit: My Portfolio | Facebook Page | contact@kennykim.com | 800-539-1294

Tags: Chicago, Downtown, Engagement Session, Photoshoot
Posted in Sessions | 2 Comments »

Chicago engagement session of Jessica & Aaron

August 9, 2010

I met Jessica her in college when she was playing tennis for the University of Illinois and I was working there at the tennis facility as a staff. Aaron is also an athlete – he was on the track team also at the University of Illinois. He and I both share love for basketball and it was on the hardwood courts that we became friends. Towards the end of their college years, Jessica and Aaron started dating and I lost touch with them after they both moved onto the career stage in their lives. Few of years later, I get a facebook message from Jessica telling me that they are engaged and wanted me to photograph their wedding. I could not be any happier – it was good to reconnect with them through this opportunity and they are great people (not to mention great looking)! They are getting married next June but wanted to do their engagement session right away. This session is part of 2 series – since we have so much time before their wedding, we decided to divide our session into two so that we can utilize different locations and season.

I had an opportunity to do a quick impromptu video interview with them afterwards talking about how the session went – so I will share that with you as well. We spent an afternoon in warm chicago weather by the North Avenue Beach and got some really great images. I love the way Aaron looks at Jessica. No words are needed to prove to me that he is absolutely in love with her. Her smiles assures me that she is crazy about him as well. I really enjoy photographing love between two people. Thank you for allowing me to capture that in you guys:

Here is the video that I talked about earlier:

Engagement Session with Jessica & Aaron – Chicago, IL from Kenny Kim on Vimeo.

Thank you Jessica & Aaron for giving me the opportunity to do what I love to do!

For more, visit: My Portfolio | Facebook Page | contact@kennykim.com | 800-539-1294

Tags: Chicago, Engagement Session, North Avenue Beach, Photoshoot
Posted in Sessions | 1 Comment »

Chicago Family & Lifestyle Session: Christy & Dennis Kim

May 24, 2010

Even though my main focus is in wedding photography and will probably continue to do so in the future, once in a while, I like to venture into other types of photography such as family & married couple lifestyle sessions. Last winter I was introduced to the Kim family by a good friend of mine to do their family photoshoot in December. Because it was so cold outside, we both agreed that doing any shoot outside would be a bad idea. So we agreed to split the photo session into two and we just finished the second one last week. Noah is even cuter than before. I love all the fun faces he made and even at this early age, he is practicing his tough mean look. I also suggested to Dennis & Christy, since they never had engagement sessions done before, that they do a short lifestyle session. We spent couple of hours at the Botanical Garden in Glencoe, IL and had a great time strolling through the park and snapping some fun photos. Here are some of the results from their session. They are such good looking couple/family I had hard time narrowing the photos for the blog:

Here’s Noah clapping for their parents as they share their moment.

Then shortly after Noah fell asleep then mom & dad decided to take some fun casual lifestyle sessions of their own:

They are such great looking couple and relaxed in front of the camera that I had to keep snapping away!

I love these moments in between poses where their true personalities come alive:

Noah then woke up happy from his nap sleeping…

We are all one big happy family! Thank you so much Kim family for your kindness, generosity and your giving spirit! I cannot wait to spend more time with you guys and see Noah grow up.

For more, visit: My Portfolio | Facebook Page | contact@kennykim.com | 800-539-1294

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Tags: Chicago Botanical Garden, Family, Glencoe, Lifestyle Session
Posted in Portraits, Sessions | 1 Comment »