Now I was warned that Justine thinks she is not a photogenic person. (say it with a New Zealander’s accent, it’s way cooler) But I think these eleven photos say otherwise! =)

Justine loves architecture and so we settled on downtown Glencoe, IL as the backdrop for our engagement session photoshoot. Glencoe is a quaint town with a variety of structures and buildings. We took a lot of photos, but I tried to narrow down for the blog.

I saw the shadows on the ground and really wanted to utilize them in a shot. It’s a good thing I am six feet tall to grab a shot like this-

I love their smiles in this photos- they couldn’t keep from smiling when they were with each other-

I love this photo of Justine. The moment and her smile just make me want to smile as well. =) =D

A very real moment- I didn’t tell them to do this, I love it-

We took this photo when Jordan was telling me about his love for Justine. The smiles are all real and you can see a little sparkle in Justine’s eyes-

wow…what an unphotogenic couple! =P Jordan & Justine: you guys were great! Thank you for keeping it real and your willingness to walk around all over downtown Glencoe for these photos! Your wedding photos are due up next! =)

The 7.0 earthquake of Jan 12th shook us all. The stories coming out of Haiti were almost unbelievable, except that we had video and photos to prove the reality of the situation. What followed was an amazing outpouring from the worldwide community to the poorest country in the western hemisphere. Politicians, celebrities and average citizens did their part in donating money, clothes, food and other essentials to the cause.

Pastor James MacDonald of Harvest Bible Chapel in Chicago and Pastor Mark Driscoll from Mars Hill Church in Seattle began discussing the needs of the local church in such times of catastrophe. They recognized a need and formed a new NGO (non-governmental organization) called Churches Helping Churches.

Through our phone conversation, my friend Tom shared with me his recent position as the Executive Director of Churches Helping Churches. He was heading to Haiti the following Sunday and need a photographer to join him. In just two hours after our phone call, my plane tickets were booked for Port Au Prince, just 15 miles from the epicenter of the earthquake.

I would only be in Haiti for 48 hours. We spent most our time meeting with various church leaders listening to their stories and hearing their needs. Though two months have passed since the earthquake, Port Au Prince still lies in ruin. From our experience driving through the city, the efforts to break down the rubble have only begun.

This used to be the site of a large school. This is also one of the few examples of a site that has been cleared out…most collapsed buildings are still as they were just moments after the quake hit.

This was a large Catholic church in Port Au Prince…

The Presidential Palace in Haiti. I felt like I was in a movie witnessing the destruction of a nation’s capital, except this was not the result of a screenwriter’s imagination, this was real.

I found this image of the Presidential Palace on Flickr

Here it is now.

The tent cities are getting a lot of publicity in Haiti. Majority of the people living in Port Au Prince live in these tent cities. There are over 400 off these scattered throughout the country. Though many lost their homes in the earthquake, many homes remain standing. And even though structural engineers have said some buildings are safe to live in, most Haitians do not want to be inside of a building and choose to live in their tents.

As I mentioned before, most of the collapsed buildings are just as they were two months ago.

Haiti was shaken to the core with this earthquake. And while I witnessed a lot of destruction, I also saw a lot of relief work.

The world community banded together and brought food, shelter and medicine to the Haitians. Samaritans Purse, World Vision, Salvation Army, USAID, UN, Red Cross, IOM, Doctors without Borders were all visible in our time in Port Au Prince.

I will share more about Churches Helping Churches and their efforts in an upcoming post-

For the second time around Ray and Kenny called in their good friend, award winning photographer & Boda bag inventor, Jim Garner and Photoshop guru, Dave Cross. I was excited to meet Jim as I not only love his imagery and artistry, I’ve also always loved his creation: The Boda bag. I’ve used mine ever since it was first invented. I use it at EVERY wedding and EVERY engagement session to carry my lenses, cards, batteries, and a flash. I highly recommend it for anyone who may be interested. I was also excited to hear Dave Cross speak as I know my photoshop skills and workflow can always be improved. Dave is one of the guys at NAPP (National Association of Photoshop Professionals)- and he definitely knows his stuff!

***More photos are one my facebook page! Feel free to friend me if you can’t see all 50+ images on my page!***

Ray Santana is regular contributer to Grace Ormonde’s Wedding Style Magazine and was recently named Blu Domain‘s Guy Photographer of the Year in 2009. He was sharing all kinds of tips and practical advice during his session-

Kenny Kim share a little from his career and some of the ways he has been able network within the wedding community.

Dave Cross shared a lot of helpful stuff for us wedding photographers. A lot of short cuts that will help save me a lot of time!

Jim Garner was sharing a little bit about his story telling method of photography-

And then we headed out to photograph the models wearing dresses made by the talented Ines Di Santo!

Jim took the initiative to show the model how it’s done- =)

And yes…The Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables is AMAZING. period.

One of my old college roommates has since spent some time in the modeling field. He flew out to Miami to help us out for the workshop- Thanks Ken!

Ray was working it with his Nikon D3s and the new 70-200 VRII-

Kenny Kim showing everyone how it’s done using a 200 2.0 lens-

Kenny took a moment to get on one knee- did she say yes?

As the sun started to set, Jim broke out his video lights to show us how we could light a bride in the absence of ambient light-

Thanks to all the attendees for a great workshop! I can’t wait to see all the images you guys came up with! (unfortunately, I am not in the image as I was the one taking the group photo)

The guys responsible for some major goodtimes! =)

Another awesome Portfolio Plus Workshop completed!
For more info: www.portfolioplusworkshop.com

Here are a couple photos from their engagement session we held this past fall- You can see the rest of the images here.

***More photos are on my facebook page – Feel free to ‘friend’ me if you can’t see all 50+ images there***

Make up and jewelry were done by Julie from Poesi. Check her stuff on her website! www.ilovepoesi.com

A quick photo of the wedding shoes and wedding dress-

I love this portrait of her-

I love her smile here – it’s all in the eyes-

We headed out to The Glen for some creative shots. A big “Thank You” to the bridal party for trekking out for these pictures!

We took some photos on the bridge at The Glen-

I love this photo – capturing the flowing veil on the pier-

The Glen had a cool maze for children – it made for a fun photo!

Before the ceremony started, we grabbed this photo of Michael.

Dreaming about her own wedding someday… =)

So much is said in the eyes- love. passion. commitment.

The reception was held at European Crystal and Banquets in Arlington Heights, IL

And yes…the first dance!

Thanks you guys for having me as your wedding photographer! I’m so happy for the both of you as you begin your journey together! May you both continue to be guided by His hand and voice as you allow Him to lead your paths.

I can’t wait to hear some more fun stories over dinner sometime! =)

with love,

Kenny Nakai

They were both really laid back on their wedding day and really let me do what I wanted to do for my photos. On the days leading up to her wedding, she commented to me: “Out of all my vendors, the least person I am worried about is you.” So with that huge vote of confidence, I couldn’t wait for her wedding day to come!

A quick shout out to Bhavini (Samaya Events), Nipa’s wedding planner- who helped make sure all the details were taken care of-

***You can see even more images on my Facebook page! Feel free to ‘friend’ me if you can’t see all 60+ images there!***

A simple photo of different parts of her wedding Sari. The details and colors are unbelievable-

Some Indian jewelry, and there was plenty more of this- I think Nipa got a good workout wearing all of this. =)

I really like this shot of the henna details on her foot, along with the toe ring.

One of her bridesmaids imagining what it must feel like with all the jewelry-

She looked absolutely stunning- makes my job as a wedding photographer a little easier.

The Chicago riverwalk with the Sheraton Chicago in the background-

They brought in a white horse! Shailu was riding this guy on the private driveway in front of the Sheraton Hotel.

Loved the red velvet wedding cake.

A huge room at the Sheraton Chicago ballroom-

Her little nieces performed a dance! (as mentioned earlier, you can see more photos on my facebook page)

A tender moment between the two…and though it only lasted for a couple seconds, this is about as real of a tender moment as there was on their wedding day-

Thanks so much Nipa & Shailu for having me! What a great day and you definitely know how to handle the logistics of a multi-day celebration! I’m so happy to have met you both and your families and wish you the best in your new life together!

with love,

Kenny

Nakai Photography

Earlier this summer we shot their engagement session in Chicago- Here are a couple of my favorite photos from their session-


You can see the rest of their engagement photoshoot here.

We started the day with the bridesmaids at Sonia Roselli Esthetique – one of my favorite makeup vendors.

***There are more photos on my Facebook page. Feel free to ‘friend’ me if you can’t see all 60+ images in the album***

The rings + the Christian Louboutin shoes-

Gotta love her Vera Wang dress-

We had a ‘first look’ moment before starting our creative photo session before the ceremony-

I love the emotions that just come out- Nicole couldn’t even look at him or else the tears would just start to flow-

We drove to the financial district to grab a couple photos-

One of my favorite photos of the day-

Another one of my favorites- a quiet moment before the ceremony-

Nicole wanted an outdoor wedding, and right before she started walking down the aisle…it started to rain! =(

And though rain was falling all around, the emotions were still there- she couldn’t look at her father or Glenn…the emotions were overpowering-

Thankfully the rain stopped as quickly as it started!

The ceremony was held in front of the Newberry Library in Washington Park. What a gorgeous scene-

Back inside the Newberry Library, the centerpieces were all set up-

Photos of the first dance-

Thanks you guys for having me as your photographer- It was a beautiful day, and I will never forget just how joyful I felt when the rain stopped for you guys!

with love,

Kenny Nakai
-Nakai Photography

***There are more images on my facebook page. Feel free to ‘friend’ me if you can’t see all 60+ images in facebook!***

Their wedding was held The Grove in Glenview, IL. It is a National Historic Landmark that takes you back to the 1850s.

The wedding dress-

I love the colors in her shoes- and you gotta love the antique doorknob-

The bridesmaids showcased dresses from Anthropologie-

Rich and the groomsmen sported the Chucks- They told me I could wear mine too- =) The first time my All Stars made it to a wedding-

The hand made bouquets. DIY – made from paper, buttons, and wire-

I love this photo of Leeann-

Love the veil-

Again, handmade boutonnieres – made from buttons and I love the tie too!

details..details…

Again, The Grove – fabulous -

In keeping with the 1850s feel of the place, I decided to process some of their images with a more ‘vintage’ feel to them-

More buttons held together by wire- and yea, the rings are there too-

She loved her animals- I love way she is looking and hugging her animals not to mention the hue palatte and patterns in this photo-

After the The Grove, we headed down to Chicago for some urban – industrial photos!

You’ve gotta love the West Loop – River West area for the urban feel

The Chicago Sun Times building in the background- with the iron beams-

Paying homage to the photographers- and yes, that is a toy camera on the left- =)

Thanks you guys for having me as your wedding photographer! It means a lot to me that two creative people would have me as their wedding photographer! Thanks for being willing to try so many different shots- I look forward to seeing your photos in the future and see where He leads you both as you live faithfully to His calling-

with love,

Kenny Nakai

I think it had to do with Helen sharing openly and honestly at their engagement session. During their wedding ceremony, they picked three of my more favorite worship songs…so immediately my heart started pounding and it was quite an awesome time of praise and photography.

Before we being, you can learn a little more about Stan & Helen from my blog post from their engagement session. I posted a couple of my favorites from that session and you can see the rest of the engagement session post here.

***You can see more images on my facebook page. Feel free to ‘friend’ me if you can’t see all 50+ images***

Before we headed out for their creative portrait session, Stan & Helen had a quiet moment together-

We headed out to the Missouri Botanical Gardens for their photoshoot. It was a gorgeous afternoon!

Shapes make for a strong compositional element-

I saw the light coming in between the trees and saw this image in my mind-

I love the colors and hues in the next one- not to mention the shadows- =)

When I came by to scope out the landscape the day before, I saw this image and I was glad we had time to execute it!

We decided to keep cool in the shade but grab some fun shots-

A quiet moment before the ceremony begins

The flower girl has a specific dispersion pattern –

Worship and praise-

I love the emotions in his eyes-

I think this kid had enough of the first dance. =)

Thanks you guys for having me out in St. Louis! I am so happy for you both! What a blessing day all around! I am looking forward to hearing what He has in store for you both in Tennessee!

with love,

Kenny