Preparing for April 29th!

As I mentioned briefly about an exam in my previous blog, I've been preparing for an exam for CPP (Certified Professional Photographer). This is a certification to prove that you have a knowledge and experience in a particular field of photography you are specialized in (http://certifiedphotographer.com/). I knew about CPP for few years, however I had no intention of getting into it until last year. Because I had an "attitude" about going "by the book" and also liked to emphasize originality. I thought going through this exam will create a mold to become a photographer with no uniqueness.... Ah, I was so wrong.
The preparation for this exam completely flipped my perception. I've been going through a book, The Photography by Barbara London and John Upton which is the resource book for an exam. Fortunately, I already had this book from a lighting class I took in Minneapolis. It's been so much fun going through a book reading from A to Z about photography. It's an amazing (reassuring) and humble (ah-ha! moments) feeling at the same time. Reading about developing black and white film made me time tripped years back when I was working in a dark room (and got an itch to go back to print some black and white film, yes film!). I am also referencing this study guide that came across called CPP Exam "Piece of Cake" Study Guide. It's very easy to read and making me relaxed with this preparation process.
CPP certification process has two phases. One is an exam and another is image submission. Images I submit must be from job assignments (not "self-assignments") in the last 24 months. I am excited to look through the images I've worked with all my lovely clients and narrow down the images to submit. I will work on the phase 2 once I'm done with the exam part.
An exam is on April 29th, which is about a month away. I feel like I'm back to be a college student or something but even better since I'm studying for something I love (not a political science and such :)
While on break, I am playing hard with my kiddos. Need some balance, right?! :)

Thank you for stopping by to read my blog! I will keep it coming.

So long Minneapolis, Hello Dallas!

After living in Minneapolis for 15 years, we made a humongous decision to move to Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas last year.  My husband and I discussed until our heads are spinning and finally decided to start our new life in TX. It was an extremely tough decision for me, my husband and our 2 little daughters considering we had amazing friends (more like family to us) and great communities. Not only mastering  "Minnesota nice" or getting used to 20 below weather, I had great network of mentors, friends and amazing clients that I've been working with since I started my photography business; k.mae studio in 2008. it was heartbroken to leave all the precious items we accumulated over the course of years.
Here we are in Texas with "Southern hospitality" and over 100 degree weather. Imagine this! It was very challenging summer last year especially since it was the hottest summer since 1980! We moved from MN in June to barely getting out of snow to over 100 degrees weather. People have been telling us that last year was not normal and it's much better usually. I really hope they are right.
Anyway, since we moved to DFW, I've been working slowly but surely. I've experienced few wedding shoots, attending seminars, and flew to Minneapolis last September and had a successful family photo sessions in the lovely fall weather with beautiful families.
This year, I decided to take an exam to become a certified professional photographer (CPP) and have been preparing for it. (which I will talk on a separate blog :). Also, the busy wedding season starts in April. It's nice to be busy, right?!


Thank you for stoping by and reading my blog. I will keep them coming :)

A Little Trooper

I've known Matthew since he was born in April 2008. I used to do play-dates with him, his mom; Helen and my daughter; Hina (1 month apart from Matthew) while Helen and I were on maternity leaves. I have been fortunate to capture Matthew's growth every year since he was born. In February 2011, Matthew was diagnosed as stage 4 neuroblastoma, which is a rare pediatric cancer. He has been going through numerous treatments to cure from it. I can't even imagine how much challenges and pain that Matthew and his family are going through. All I can do is to pray for Matthew and his family. The most important point is that Matthew is such a trooper and he is showing great spirit. You can see how strong (I wish I can come up with a stronger word than "strong" for this) he is from these images, for sure. 

3 generations

What I really love about my job is that I get to capture the growth of each family. It's easy to forget, but everyday is a special day and every minute is a special moment. Capturing these smiles and certain expressions are priceless! I hope these beautiful images will be passed on for generations.

Pakou & Ceebleej

It was a beautiful fall day for a beautiful couple! Pakou and Ceebleej got married in Hmong style wedding by surrounded by amazing family and friends. It was my pleasure to capture the traditional Hmong wedding. Congratulations, Pakou and Ceebleej!

Beautiful Fall Day!

It was such a beautiful fall day. It was a perfect day for the outside photo session. Alex and Eva were so cute and fun throughout the photo session. Mom and dad kept on saying, "if you do good, you get to go to a book sale". Sure thing, Alex and Eva did an awesome job. Hope they got nice collection of books from the book sale in the afternoon!

AK Family!

AK family wheeled up a heavy duty stroller with Arlo who is turning 3 soon. They take light rail wherever the light rail can take them. Arlo is going to have a little sister or a little brother soon (due date on Halloween day!). It's so fun to see the family grows. I can't wait to meet a new addition to AK family!

Location: Guthrie Theater, Minneapolis