Sindy Hand Photography Blog

Family: Jethro + Heather + Baby D

2012-02-02T11:32:00.000-08:00

I had so much fun with Heather, Jethro and their baby D! It was a holiday mini session but we snapped many cute shots. Heather and Jethro are a gorgeous couple and their baby girl is just adorable, I love all of her expressions!!! Here are some high lights of the day:

This is my fav shot of the day :-)

What a beautiful family!!!

Thank you so much Heather & Jethro & Baby D!!! It was such an honor photographing your beautiful family!!!

xoxo, Sindy

Interested in booking a mini session? Contact me HERE!

Love: Natalie & Todd

2012-01-11T10:39:00.000-08:00

I love photographing couples! I was very excited when Natalie contacted me for doing a photo session for her and her husband, Todd. I had so much fun photographing these two, aren't they gorgeous?

My fav shot of the day :-)

Check out their slideshow HERE!

Happy 2012

2012-01-04T19:11:00.000-08:00

We were at the Mile Square Park on the last day of 2011...

Happy 2012!!!

Christmas 2011

2011-12-29T11:29:00.000-08:00

I love Christmas decoration...had to play with these Christmas lights. :-)

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T01:52:00.000-08:00

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and Happy 2012!!!

xoxo,

Sindy

Wedding: April & Rick Part 2 {Long Beach CA Wedding Photographer}

2011-12-22T23:41:00.000-08:00

April & Rick decided to have a Korean tea ceremony (Paebaek) before the reception. I had never seen a Paebaek before so I was very excited. The whole ceremony was very touching and meaningful, I'm so glad that I got to witness this special event.

I love April's choice of colors...and the decor of the reception was beautiful.

the first dance...

Congratulations April & Rick! Best wishes to you two!!! :-)

Check out their slideshow HERE!

Thanks to my dear friend Janet for assisting me!

Vendor List:

Ceremony: LDS Newport Beach Temple

Reception: Khory's Restaurant

April's Wedding Dress: Mon Cheri

Makeup/Hair: Anastacia Willis

Florist: Vicky's

I decided to share some behind the scene shots:

This is how we started this pose...everything looked normal.

10 seconds later...

This is the proof that I got some yoga skills.

I hope you enjoy these. :-)

Wedding: April & Rick Part 1 {Newport Beach CA Wedding Photographer}

2011-12-06T20:39:00.000-08:00

I'm so excited to share the photos of April and Rick's wedding! You might remember them from their engagement session. April and Rick tied the knot on August 27, 2011. It was a hot August day but everything was lovely and smooth. They were married in the LDS Newport Beach Temple, love this place! I love that I got to photograph weddings quite a few times here. I was married here in August 4 years ago, it totally reminded me my own wedding day. :-) There're so many photos I love from this wedding, here are some of my favs:

Here comes the happy (and beautiful) couple:

Instead of flower bouquets, April decided to have each bridesmaid hold a paper fan (love this idea!). April's sister, Wendy, is an amazing artist and she painted these fans, aren't they pretty?

April looking stunning...

the must-have ring shot!

Coming up next: April & Rick's Korean tea ceremony and reception

Stay tuned...

Sneak Peeks

2011-12-02T01:53:00.000-08:00

'Tis the season for some family photos...

Can't wait to share more! ;-)

Featured: WeddingLDS.com

2011-11-26T16:41:00.000-08:00

Okay...I know I have a lot of blog posts to catch up, but I just want to announce...

Emily & Max's wedding is featured on WeddingLDS.com!!!

I'm so excited and grateful for this opportunity!

You can check it out HERE!

Thankful...

2011-11-24T14:13:00.000-08:00

I'm thankful for...

family

friends

health

opportunity to work

ability to see

hand sanitizer

wii

....

many many blessings I have

& my wonderful hubby.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Sneak Peek {Orange County Wedding Photographer}

2011-10-19T10:22:00.000-07:00

Sonya {Huntington Beach Portrait Photography}

2011-09-21T11:36:00.000-07:00

Meet Sonya.

Isn't she beautiful? I LOVE her eyes and her smile.

It was such a fun afternoon hanging out with Sonya. She is funny, friendly, kind and very sweet. She is that kind of person that you feel the happy energy when you're around them. By the time I'm posting this, Sonya has gone to serve a mission in Denver Colorado area for the LDS church. I know she'll do great. :-)

View more photos of Sonya HERE!

Engaged: April & Rick

2011-08-27T08:00:00.000-07:00

A few months ago I spent a fun afternoon with April and Rick in Chapman University and Old Towne Orange for their engagement photo session. April and I have been friends ever since I moved to California, she's a beautiful girl with many talents. I'm so happy for April when I found out she was engaged, and beyond excited when she decided to have me photograph their wedding. Rick is a very nice and kind person, I just love the way he looks at April. I can totally tell they're a perfect match after meeting Rick for the first time and I'm so happy that they found each other. They are actually getting married today in a few hours while I'm posting this. :-)

There are so many photos I love from their engagement session, here are some of them:

One of my fav of the day...

Congratulations April and Rick!!! I'm so happy for you guys!!! :-)

Be sure to check out their slideshow HERE for more!

4 Years ago....

2011-08-25T10:51:00.000-07:00

4 years ago I married my best friend :-)

a couple of my fav shots from the wedding day...

(photo by Rome Beauty Photography)

This is us from a few weeks ago...

Happy anniversary honey! Love you so much!! xoxo

Sneak Peek: April & Rick {Orange County Wedding Photography}

2011-08-09T10:57:00.000-07:00

More to come... :-)

(Storyboard from EWCC)

Sarah {Orange County Portrait Photography}

2011-08-08T23:27:00.000-07:00

I had so much fun with Sarah!!! She's so beautiful and so fun to work with, and she's so fabulous in front of the camera. She doesn't need to do anything, there is a beautiful scene wherever she is. It was a super windy day but it didn't stop Sarah from doing her magic. Here are some highlights of the day:

Love her eyes!!!

She really plays the ukulele!

The next 3 photos are sun flare series...love them!!!

this is one of my fav of the day....love the peaceful feeling from her eyes!

Sneak Peek: Sarah {Orange County Portrait Photography}

2011-07-20T11:01:00.000-07:00

Love: Shauna & Sini's Disney Adventure {Orange County Wedding Photographer}

2011-07-15T08:05:00.000-07:00

Remember Shauna & Sini from this wedding? I loved the idea instantly when they told me they wanted to do a newlywed session instead of engagement session. And when they told me they wanted to do it at the Disneyland, I was way beyond excited!!! Seriously, who doesn't love Disneyland?? It's the happiest place on earth!!! Shauna and Sini go to Disneyland often and they know every beautiful/fun spot. We walked around, played and laughed for 3 hours and it was soooo much fun!!!

Here are some highlight of the day:

Thank you so much, Shauna & Sini! Love you two!!! :-)

Be sure to check out their slideshow HERE!

Please contact me (info@sindyhand.com) if you'd like to schedule a shoot at Disneyland!

We have a winner!!!

2011-07-06T19:38:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Jennifer for winning a free one hour photo session with 20 images on DVD!!!

Thanks so much everyone who participated!!! :-)

birthday + a giveaway!!!

2011-06-28T09:28:00.000-07:00

I had a birthday this past Sunday... my hubby and I celebrated it the whole weekend, it was amazing!

According to my hubby I'm 22 now, I love how he subtracts 10 years which makes me very happy. Most of time I feel I'm still in my 20's and I still love Hello Kitty and High School Musical. :-)

Anyways, to celebrate my birthday with y'all I decided to have a giveaway!!!

~A free one-hour photo session with 20 images on DVD~
OC or Long Beach, CA area

It can be:
family (up to 6)
couple
high school senior
belly
baby (6 month old+)
children
....

Here's how to enter:
-Like Sindy Hand Photography on Facebook.

Already a fan? Simply leave a comment "already a fan" to participate. :-)

Extra entries:
-Follow @sindyhand on Twitter.
-Invite friends to become a fan of Sindy Hand Photography on Facebook.

Please leave one comment for each item you complete. You have up to 3 chances to win!

A model release is required, regular session rules may apply.

This giveaway ends Tuesday July 5th at midnight PDT, winner will be announced on Wednesday July 6th.

Have fun!!! :-)

WEDDING: APRIL & MAURICIO PART 3 {ORANGE COUNTY WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER}

2011-06-20T09:51:00.000-07:00

Few minutes before the ceremony...

Here's the bride!

Yes it was very touching...

Happily married!

Congratsss to April and Mauricio!!! I'm sooo happy for you guys!!!

Be sure to check out the slideshow HERE!

By the time I'm posting this, April and Mauricio have moved to Iowa to be close to April's family. April herself is a talented photographer. If you're in Iowa area you should check out her website and spread the word. ;-)

Thanks to my dear friend Janet for assisting me!

Vendor List:

Hotel for preparation: Hotel Huntington Beach
Ceremony & reception Location: Old World Village
Hair: Goldenwest College Cosmotology
Flowers: April's Family
DJ: DJ Tribal - Elwin Garrido

Wedding: April & Mauricio Part 2 {Orange County Wedding Photographer}

2011-06-06T10:59:00.000-07:00

April and Mauricio decided to have all the photos done before the ceremony due to the ceremony time, we planned a photo schedule that went perfectly with it.

Of course they had to do the "First Look" before we proceeded anything else...

Mauricio looking good waiting for his bride...

At first Mauricio didn't know if he should look at April or not, this is what happened after we told him "it's allowed". :-)

I love this pin made by one of April's best friend Erin (one of the bride's maids)...isn't it pretty?

Coming up next: April & Mauricio's wedding ceremony

Stay tuned. ;-)

Wedding: April & Mauricio Part 1 {Huntington Beach Wedding Photographer}

2011-06-04T22:38:00.000-07:00

You might remember April & Mauricio from their engagement session. I was so excited that I was able to photograph my good friend April's wedding! April and Mauricio tied the knot on Feb 4, 2011, it was also April's grandma's birthday. April's grandma had passed away few years ago and they chose to get married on her birthday to honor her.

We started the day in Hotel Huntington Beach...

the dress...

All the bouquets and boutonnieres in the wedding are made by April's family...with silk flowers! Aren't they beautiful?

Not only April and Mauricio chose to get married on April's grandma's birthday, April also decided to get married with her grandma's ring.

while April was about to finish getting ready....

Mauricio was getting ready in another room.

the ladies are ready to leave the hotel...

heading to the ceremony site...

to be continued....

next: April and Mauricio's 1st look and more...

Twitter

2011-05-17T21:47:00.003-07:00

I created a Twitter account after I came back from WPPI. Why? It's a great way to network and connect, just like Facebook. If you scroll all the way down to the bottom of this blog, you'll see a pink rectangle with my latest tweet. It took me a while to figure things out and I'm not good with it yet, but I'm sure I will be someday. :D

It's no fun to do a blog post without a photo...so here you go! It's from Easter...

Follow me on Twitter HERE! Let's tweet! :-)

My First Horseback Riding Experience

2011-05-11T07:53:00.000-07:00

First of all, Happy Easter! Happy royal wedding (Yes I watched it, not at 4am though)! Happy birthday to my honey (it was Monday last week...but we celebrated it this past weekend)! And Happy mother's day!!!

We went on a little getaway trip to San Diego to celebrate Brian's birthday. To start, we went to Norco for a horseback ride. Well, this was my first time horseback riding, I was excited and nervous at the same time.

Meet Savanna...she's a friendly mustang. She came to me and Brian and let us pet her before we started the ride...so cute! Even though she stopped in the middle of the walk and the lady who guided us had to drag her for a little period of time, and she jogged a little bit which scared me for few times, I still had a good ride with her.

Brian and Trooper

my handsome hubby

Back in the ranch...after 2 hours walking in the wilderness. The trail we went on was beautiful. I was planning on taking some shots but I didn't get to. I was too busy holding onto the rope and trying not to fall, and too scared to do anything else...

Brian took some shots of these ponies from the car while we were leaving, they are so cute!

Anyways, I survived my 1st horseback riding! And I definitely want to do it again...soon!

Ps. All photos here were taken by my Canon xti...it was covered with dust when we finished even I didnt get to use it on the walk, I'm glad that I didn't bring my 5D.

WEDDING: SHAUNA AND SINI PART 2 {ORANGE COUNTY WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER}

2011-04-19T11:37:00.000-07:00

Shauna and Sini held the reception 2 weeks after their wedding, it was a fun party full of performances, slideshows, and island food!!!

the father-daughter dance made me smile...

Congratulations to Shauna and Sini!!! <3

Be sure to check out their slideshow HERE!!!

Thanks to my dear friends Lisa and April for assisting me at the Temple and the reception. :-)

Vendor List:

Ceremony: Los Angeles LDS Temple

Reception: LDS Orange Ave. Chapel Culture Hall, Cypress CA

Shauna's Wedding Dress: eBay

Food & Decoration: Thompson & Ikahihifo Family

Wedding: Shauna and Sini Part 1 {Los Angeles Wedding Photographer}

2011-04-16T00:32:00.000-07:00

I've known Shauna's family many years and seriously, they are one of the most loving families that I know. And after I met Sini, I could totally tell how he got Shauna's heart . Both they are so loving, friendly, and cool at the same time. I was thrilled that I got to photograph their wedding, and man! it was fun!!! Shauna and Sini were married in Los Angeles LDS Temple on Dec 30, 2010, what a great way to end the year!

Can you tell it's island theme? I love the leis and the flower crown Shanua's mom made her.

they are so cute together! :-)

they love grandma!

I just love the way they look at each other...

the beautiful...

and the handsome...

the next two are my favorite of the day...

it was a beautiful day in LA, we had to take the opportunity for city background

Shauna and Sini's wedding part 2 is coming soon....stay tuned! ;-)

Baby L {Orange County Baby Photography}

2011-04-01T22:57:00.000-07:00

For Japan With Love

2011-03-17T21:34:00.000-07:00

Anything helps...even just a prayer.

Sneak Peeks {Orange County Wedding Photographer}

2011-03-12T18:34:00.000-08:00

What I have been doing... :-)

Stay tuned...

WPPI 2011

2011-03-10T01:14:00.000-08:00

Where should I start? This was my first WPPI and it was awesome!!! I always wanted to go ever since I knew about it and finally made it this year. I went to 8 classes/workshops and learned so much! I was so excited to hear those photographers that I admire to speak. I was kind of nervous, seriously, because they're so famous in the photography world and I was like a fan watching my fav stars speaking...I was just amazed...well you know what I mean. ;-) And the trade show...seriously, I was way more excited than going to my favorite mall. I loved going to the trade show to look at the samples, ideas and the products that I might offer in the future...and there were awesome photographers speaking/doing demo there too! And needless to say there were lots of good deals that were hard to pass. ;-)

The best part of the WPPI trip was that my husband went with me. He is not into photography (yet) and had no idea what WPPI was but he was willing to take this trip/adventure with me (I told him it'd be just like a vacation...and it was! We visited Hoover Dam, Las Vegas LDS Temple and Barstow Outlet). He went to every class with me (including the 8am ones), took me to the Taiwanese restaurant I wanted to go (we ate there twice), bought me stuff from the trade show and the outlet and many many other sweet things he did for me...I know he did everything simply just because he loves me. We spent every minute together the whole time (like I said, it was a vacation ;-) ) and I couldn't think of any other way to do it better for this trip. Sometimes I can't believe how lucky I am to have such a wonderful husband! Thank you so much honey! I love you!

Here's a photo of us taken at the trade show by Fuji Instax 210.

Conclusion: I love WPPI and can't wait to go next year!!! ;-)

Happy V-day!!!

2011-02-15T00:56:00.000-08:00

Hope ya'll had a wonderful V-day! <3

Wedding: Emily & Max {Newport Beach LDS Temple Wedding Photography}

2011-02-10T12:49:00.000-08:00

I loved this wedding!!! Emily and Max tied the knot at Newport Beach LDS Temple in November, 2010. It was pouring rain on the freeway when I was driving to the Temple, but it cleared up when Emily and Max exited. We got to walk around the Temple and the weather was perfect. Emily and Max are just gorgeous! Here are some highlights of the day:

Love that Emily looks like a super model at any time.

Emily's dress is so elegant and beautiful.

The details in this wedding are amazing!

the beautiful bride...

and the handsome groom...

The father-daughter dance always gets me...

Congratulations to Emily and Max! It was such a lovely wedding. :-)

Thanks Janet for being my wonderful assistant/2nd shooter.

Be sure to check out Emily and Max's wedding slideshow HERE for more!

Vendor List:

Ceremony: Newport Beach LDS Temple

Reception: LDS Cypress CA Stake Center

Thumbs up Thursday

2011-02-03T22:39:00.000-08:00

Okay...I know the last Thumbs up Thursday was about cookies, but I have to share these...

Aren't they cute? :D

I made this one for my husband.

This one looks like a baked potato. ;-)

You can find the recipe here.

Have a wonderful weekend!!!

Christmas Lights 2010

2011-01-26T12:46:00.000-08:00

I know I'm way behind on blogging...I'm still blogging about the Christmas lights from a month ago..oh well! I just love these. :-)

Happy Wednesday!

Thumbs Up Thursday

2011-01-21T00:50:00.000-08:00

I know it's Friday now...I meant to do this on Thursday...oh well. These cookies were sooo yummy, I think they were the best cookies that I've ever made. The recipe is here. ;-)

Q&A: Shooting Under Bright Sunlight

2011-01-18T01:00:00.000-08:00

Okay, I am nervous about doing a Q&A post. I have to say that I'm not close to a master in photography or anything like that. There is so much to learn in the photography world and I'm still learning, just like everyone else. But when my friend Jean asked me about shooting under bright sunlight, my thought came to me like, hey, I have been there, I struggled with this before....if sharing my experiences and what I know might help at least one person, why not? So here we go.

3 tips I often use when I shoot under bright sunlight: (example photos from Autumn & Travis' wedding and Emily & Max's engagement session)

-look for open shades/natural reflector: a building or a wall can be a great natural reflector. With open shades there will not be harsh light on your subject's face. Be aware of the shadows when you use trees as shades.

-put the sun behind the subject's back: knowing the direction of the sunlight is sooo important. It's hard to look at the sun when its so bright and you dont want to hurt your eyes, seriously. What I do in a situation like this is look for shadows...then I know the direction of the sunlight. By putting the sun behind the subject's back, we avoid the shadows on subject's face and possibly create nice backlight or sun flare.

-use fill flash: when (under no choices circustence) I have to shoot around noon with no shades and no way to put the sun befind the subject's back, I use fill-flash (ETTL-2 or -3) to lite up the subject's face.

When I shoot, I always try to avoid harsh sunlight by shooting at the right time. I normally schedule my portrait sessions a couple of hours before sunset. That gives me nice, soft, warm and creamy light to work with. I have tried shooting around sunrise and found that the sunrise light is way cooler, not my favorite. I always suggest/encourage/explain why my client schdule the best time of the day for their shoot and most of time they go for it. If they don't/can't, I use the 3 tips above and pray. :-)

This was me almost 2 years ago practicing with fill flash and sunlight direction...I was doing this around noon 6 days in a roll...with myself. Please ignore my big chin and no makeup-ness...I didn't think I'd use/show any of these photos to anyone or on my blog at that time.

Our Christmas Session - Behind the Scene

2011-01-17T17:40:00.000-08:00

Some "behind the scene" from our Christmas session:

not ready yet...

my eyes were closed...

my clothes pin showed up...

my hubby waiting for me to set up the camera...

I was very excited!!!

clothes pin...again.

sometimes we dont know if the remote is working, so we just keep pressing the button...

this image was way off center...much better after cropping.

like i said, we just keep pressing the button...

guess who got the remote when i was setting the camera...

Happy Monday!!!

Our Christmas Session

2011-01-13T22:42:00.000-08:00

I decided to blog about our Christmas session for the first post of 2011....here we go.

So, my husband and I always do our Christmas photos by ourselves. We've taken photos of ourselves many times and I actually enjoy it and get really excited. I usually let him choose the theme of the background and I'll decide what we're gonna wear. This year he told me he wanted natural theme. While I was searching for a nice natural them location, Irvine Regional Park came to my mind. But at the last minute we decided to go to Mile Square Park in Fountain Valley, which is also a very beautiful park. I'm glad that we got to do our Christmas photos there.

Here are some highlights of the day:

Merry Christmas and Happy 2011

2010-12-28T07:50:00.000-08:00

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. :-)

Guess what Santa brought me this year?

According to Santa, Rudolf had sore muscles and couldn't carry my big gift (it's giant!), he's going to bring it to me later. ;-)

Engaged: April & Mauricio

2010-12-17T18:13:00.000-08:00

I can't really describe how I felt when April emailed me and told me that she wanted me to be her wedding photographer, I was so......HONORED!!! Just so you know, April herself is a talented photographer, she has an artsy eye for photography...you get the idea how excited I was. I've known April for quite a while, she's an awesome person to be around. She's always cheering and is that kind of person you want to be friend with. We went to the Worldwide Photowalk together this year and had a great time. April's fiance, Mauricio, is so friendly and humorous. He sure makes April laugh. ;-) April and Mauricio are getting married in Old World Village in Huntingtion Beach. They wanted to have their engagement session taken at the same place, so we did it. That was my first time shooting at Old World Village, it's such a cute place and I fell in love with it.

Aren't they gorgeous?

LOVE April's beautiful blue eyes!

Thanks so much for the fun time, April and Mauricio! Can't wait till the wedding in February!!! :-)

Check out their slideshow HERE!

Baby R

2010-11-23T23:42:00.000-08:00

This little fellow is sooo cute! It took us a while to make him asleep, but it was a good turnout. :-)

Lovely

2010-11-23T00:19:00.000-08:00

This past Saturday I shot a lovely wedding...

Sneak Peek

2010-11-18T00:28:00.000-08:00

more to come...

Engaged: Emily & Max

2010-11-02T00:27:00.000-07:00

Emily and Max....where should I start? They are just so GORGEOUS! I have to say they're such a beautiful couple. It was so nice to spend the afternoon with them. Emily wanted to have nature backgrounds for their engagement photos to match their wedding colors, Huntington Beach Central Park suited the purpose great. Here are some of my favorite shots of the day:

I really love this shot. One thing I love about being a photographer is to capture special moments. Max was trying to take the flower pieces off Emily's hair, I totally saw his gentle care for her....that is love. :-)

Thank you so much for the fun time, Emily and Max. Can't wait till the wedding in a few weeks. :-)

There are a lot more fun photos from this session, click HERE for the slideshow.

Sneak Peek

2010-10-26T07:00:00.000-07:00

sneak peek

2010-10-18T07:00:00.000-07:00

love.

Baby D

2010-10-11T07:00:00.000-07:00

He is such a handsome baby, and he has his mom's smile. :-) He smiled many times during the shoot...while he was sleeping, what a cute baby!

Photowalk 25/50

2010-10-08T00:58:00.000-07:00

This photowalk was taken place in San Juan Capistrano Mission. It's a beautiful place, I could shoot there all day long, seriously.

Sneak Peek

2010-09-30T01:08:00.000-07:00

Baby D

Photowalk 24/50

2010-09-27T12:37:00.000-07:00

Disneyland :-)

Baby E

2010-09-23T12:08:00.000-07:00

It was soooo nice to meet baby E. He is such a sweet baby, and he is a poser...what a bonus for me! I didn't need to pose him too much, he just showed his cuteness and posed through the session. :-)

His good-lookingness is totally from his beautiful parents.

Congratulations to E & M for the beautiful baby!

Photowalk 23/50

2010-09-20T22:24:00.000-07:00

Seal beach

Sneak Peek

2010-09-16T23:30:00.000-07:00

Baby E

My Camera Bag

2010-09-13T12:39:00.000-07:00

Last year I blogged about my Knox bag to enter the "What's in my bag?" contest of Wicked Stitch Design (now Martilena). Well, I won!!! So I got this beautiful bag but didn't get to blog about it, until now.

My Maia bag is awesome! It fits my camera with 2 lenses, flash, diffuser, the front zipped pocket fits my batteries and memery cards and more. I love the heavy padding, it's stronger and safer. And of course it's personalized with the pick-your-own-fabric cover.

Martilena: http://martilena.com

Project: Faces of Pregnant Women 6/6 {Wendy}

2010-09-09T12:37:00.000-07:00

Wendy is the nicest girl on earth...that's totally what I felt when I first met her. She's so easy to talk to, and she's soooo beautiful. :-)

BFF: Sharon & Nayely

2010-09-09T12:30:00.000-07:00

I still remember, in high school one of my teachers said "the friends you make in high school will be your friends forever". And it is true. Some friends I met in high school have had impact on my life and today we are still good friends. I know they care about me and I care about them, and I know it'll continue this way even we are so far away from each other.

Sharon and Nayely, they met in high school and they became bff. What's more fun than doing a photoshoot with your bff and playing with the wardrobe? And needless to say, they are GORGEOUS!

Thanks so much girls, for the fun time! :-)

Polaroid Photowalk

2010-09-07T12:54:00.000-07:00

Its been a long time since my last photowalk post. I missed 2 photowalks due to the move...and I beileve I missed some more here and there, I just stopped counting them...the numbers will tell anyways.

I decided to have some polaroid fun. :-)

photowalk 20/50

photowalk 21/50

photowalk 22/50

Happy Wednesday!!!

Project: Faces of Pregnant Women 5/6 {Chelsea}

2010-09-02T07:50:00.000-07:00

It was my first time meeting Chelsea...when I was talking to her on the phone, I knew this shoot was gonna be awesome. :-)

Love her beautiful eyes...

and smile....

This is the one I chose for the project...love the peaceful feeling of it...and her eyes of course.

I met Chelsea's beautiful baby boy yesterday and did a fun shoot with him...photos coming soon.

Miss E

2010-08-30T12:57:00.001-07:00

Like mommy like daughter...isn't she beautiful?

PROJECT: FACES OF PREGNANT WOMEN 4/6 {Misty}

2010-08-26T02:00:00.000-07:00

You probably remember these two from this post,

or from their wedding...

In July they welcomed their first baby...

Misty looked fabulous during her pregnancy (well she looks fabulous all the time anyways)

Congratulations Misty and Curtis! I'm sooo happy for you guys!

P.S. Baby photos coming soon. ;-)

It's been 3 years...

2010-08-25T02:00:00.000-07:00

Today my hubby and I celebrate our 3rd anniversary.

I love you so much, Honey!!!

Thank you for supporting my dream...

for surprising me with BandHero for my birthday...

for doing dishes...

and many many sweet things you've done.

You're the best!!!

(Photo by Rome Beauty Photography)

Project: Faces of Pregnant Women 3/6 {Eva}

2010-08-20T12:16:00.000-07:00

I was so happy for Eva and her husband, Mike, when I heard that Eva was pregnant. And when I saw her with her belly for the first time, I just thought she looked sooo cute!

I love the peaceful feeling in this one.

must-have belly shots :-)

My fav shot of the day...also the one for the project. Eva was looking at Mike, who was making funny faces to make her laugh. I just see "love" in her eyes. :-)

Baby J

2010-08-10T12:52:00.000-07:00

He's such a good baby, so easy going and calm. It was sooo nice to meet him. :-)

Love his blue eyes!

and the smiles :-)

One of my fav of the day.

Project: Faces of Pregnant Women 2/6 {Temah}

2010-08-06T12:24:00.000-07:00

I've known Temah since our single days. Now both we are married and she has become a mommy :-)

My favorite shot of the day...LOVE her eyes!

Bold colors never go wrong with belly shots.

Teham's husband, Devan, was there when we had the shoot, we had to have him join us.

This one makes me smile. :-)

This is the one I used for the project. I love the peaceful feeling from her eyes. :-)

Thanks so much for the fun time, T & D!

Worldwide Photowalk 07.24.2010

2010-07-24T23:01:00.000-07:00

I had so much fun today...great walk, great time. :-) And I'm totally in love with San Juan Capistrano, just wish the walk time was before sunset and also wish I had some models with me....I found so many good spots, can't wait to go back there for some engagement or senior shoots. :-)

Here's a sneak peek of today's walk:

Worldwide Photowalk: http://worldwidephotowalk.com/

Project: Faces of Pregnant Women 1/6 {Jackie} & a Sneak Peek

2010-07-17T11:29:00.000-07:00

{Jackie}

She's pretty, she's smart, she has beautiful smiles...and she's a new mama.

Her top is perfect for belly shots...love the pattern.

We did this shoot about a week before her due day...isn't she gorgeous?

One more belly shot...

This is the one I used for the project....LOVE her smile :-)

I'll end this post with a sneak peek of Jackie's cute baby boy :-)

Project: Faces of Pregnant Women

2010-07-07T09:38:00.000-07:00

I loved this project! My goal for this project was to show the glow and emotion of pregnant women. All of my models are happily married young girls, I was amazed to see the joyful expression from these girls' faces and to hear them talking about their pregnancy. I realized that this is where a mother's love for her child growing from, the beginning.

Here are the photos I chose from each shoot for this project. I'll post mose photos of each girl later.

Happy Thursday!

2010-07-01T15:26:00.000-07:00

I love Thursdays! It is the day before Friday, you know the weekend is coming soon when it is Thurday :-)

This Hello Kitty cupcake bouquet is the cutest thing ever, a sweet birthday gift. Just wanted to share them with you. :-)

After all, who doesn't love Hello Kitty?? ;-)

Happy Thursday!!!

30 GOING ON 31.....AND A SNEAK PEEK

2010-06-25T13:32:00.000-07:00

Okay, I don't normally blog about personal stuff, especially something about the age thing. But since I can now say "in the past 30 almost 31 years of my life", I guess its okay. ;-) I remember I didnt want to face the fact "I was going to be 30" last year of this time, I just couldnt let this thought into my head. Well, it's much easier this year. It's really not much different. Tomorrow I'll be 31, and I realized I still do the same thing I'd do in my 20's and wear the same style clothes and makeup. :D I do hope I'm more mature though. This year I'm going to celebrate my birthday by going to the happiest place on earth - Disneyland, just going to enjoy the day and have fun. I'm excited!!!

The photo below has nothing to do with my birthday...wait...actually, Misty and I share the same birthday, Happy Birthday Misty!!! If you remember Misty and Cutis from their wedding, they're expecting their first baby! I took some shots of them when Misty was helping me with my project (soon to be blogged), it makes me smile every time I look at this one. Don't you just love the way he looks at her? :-)

Have a wonderful weekend! :-)

We moved!!! and May Photowalk 19/52

2010-06-22T11:20:00.000-07:00

We moved to a new place last month! We're loving our new house, though there's still a lot to be done. I missed 2 weeks of photowalk due to the craziness of moving and packing :-( Hopefully I'll make up for it sometime this year.

Here are a couple of photos from the photowalk I did before the craziness started. I went to a car show in a community activity. You can tell that I love old school cars. ;-)

photowalk 19/52

APRIL PHOTOWALK 14~18/52

2010-05-27T12:06:00.000-07:00

photowalk 14/52

photowalk 15/52

photowalk 16/52

photowalk 17/52

photowalk 18/52

March Photowalk 10~13/52

2010-04-30T12:31:00.000-07:00

photowalk 10/52

I can't decide which one to be my favorite so I put both images up.

photowalk 11/52

photowalk 12/52

I've been looking for cherry blossom fields...anyone knows where I can find one?

photowalk 13/52

February photowalk 6~9/52

2010-04-16T12:36:00.000-07:00

Okay...my photowalk project is still going, I just need to catch up with blogging it. I've decided to post my favorite photo of each photowalk on here from now. If you are interested in seeing all of them, please go to my flickr gallery.

photowalk 6/52

photowalk 7/52

photowalk 8/52

photowalk 9/52

JANUARY PHOTOWALK 4~5/52

2010-02-18T12:48:00.000-08:00

Here are some photos from my photowalk week 4 & 5:

January Photowalk 1~3/52

2010-02-11T15:58:00.000-08:00

My photowalk project went smoothly in January...I didnt miss any week so far, which is really a good thing :D

Here are some images I took during week 1 to week 3:

I'll post week 4 and week 5 next ;-)

Family: The Thompsons

2010-01-18T12:33:00.000-08:00

10.22.2009

I love this family!!! I was so excited when the Thompsons booked me and had so much fun during the shoot! I always love to see the interactions between family members during family portraits and hope to learn something I can pracitice when I have my own kids in the future. Even though I have known Thompson family for a long time, I was still amazed when I see their love for each other. It just made me sooo happy :-) Here are some highlights of the day:

New year, New projects

2010-01-12T10:51:00.000-08:00

Is anyone excited about the year of 2010? I am!!! I was waiting for the new year to plan my new year resolutions. Inspired by iffles.com, I have decided on some projects as my new year resolutions of photography. I was debating on if I should blog about it, and I decided to because I wouldn't get lazy since I "announced" it on the blog. :D So here are the projects:

52 Photowalks

52 Self-portraits

Weekly challenge from 2 peas in a bucket

iffles.com monthly theme

I know they sound a lot but they really are not too much to handle, plus they can help me on improving my photography skills. I have been having fun doing my first couple of weeks projects and I'm loving it! From now and then you'll see me blogging the pics from these projects.

In the end of this post I'd like to share a pic I took during Christmas. I am proud of myself that I made my own bokeh kit :D

May your 2010 be filled with love!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

2009-12-24T14:55:00.000-08:00

Wishing you a very merry Christmas and a fab 2010 :-)

love, Sindy

Senior: Rachel & Rebekah

2009-11-20T09:26:00.000-08:00

10.03.2009

Rachel and Rebekah are my 2nd reps...well I usually have one rep at each school, but as you can tell...they're twins!!! It's way better to have 2 reps than just one since they look alike so much ;-) I had a fun afternoon with them in Old town Orange. We exlpored the streets and alleys and found many great spots. I had a pair of twin friends when growing up and have always wondered what it feels like to have a twin. I'm so blessed to have a younger sister who is my best friend, so I think it must feels very special to have a twin since they have each other from the very beginning. The twins are so cute and I love to see the connections between them. :-)

Here are some highlights of the day:

What's in my Wicked Stitch bag?

2009-11-11T09:42:00.001-08:00

Some of my photographer friends have asked me about my Wicked Stitch bag. I got it about 8 months ago and have been in love with it. I wanted a small camera bag that I can carry it with me anywhere then I found Wicked Stitch Design. Alida is the talented designer and she makes perfect custom camera bags (yes you pick the fabric you like). I love my Knox bag, I carry it when I go to portrait shoot, vacation, class....I just love it's so easy to carry and it makes me look cute at the same time (that's sooo important!) ;-)

This is my sweet Knox bag from Wicked Stitch Designs.

This is "what's in my bag?" when I have my purse or backpack with me. Besides my camera and leses, I only put a few backup batteries and CF cards in it.

This is "what's in my bag?" when I go to a shoot. I put my wallet and cell phone in the bag and I put a pen, a note pad and my keys in the exterior back pocket.

I love my bag!

From their blog I know Alida has designed new rugged version bags with weather resistant materials and heavy duty paddings. I can't wait to get one since I just got a new camera ;-)

Get your Wicked Stitch Design bag here: http://www.wickedstitchdesigns.com/
or visit Wicked Stitch Design Etsy Store: http://www.etsy.com/shop/wickedstitchdesigns2

Senior: Kayla

2009-10-16T10:05:00.000-07:00

09.21.09

Kayla is my 1st senior rep of class of 2010. I love her fashionable look with sweet smile :-) We had the shoot at downtown Fullerton, it's such a great place for urban background. Kayla did a wonderful job showing her personality in the photos (like I said...fashonable and sweet ;-) ). I think it's so important for the seniors to be yourselves in the senior sessions, because it's not only just about the photos but about who you are.

Here are some highlights of the day:

Kayla's sister, Ashley, was with us at the shoot. Of course I had to have her do some fun shots ;-)

I'm still looking for senior reps of class of 2010, please contact me (info@sindyhand.com) if you're interested ;-)

Autumn : Day After Session

2009-09-29T07:47:00.000-07:00

08.21.09

Day After Session aka Trash the Dress Session aka Rock the Dress Session...no matter what you'd like to call it, it's a fun, relaxing bridal session after the wedding. I was so excited when Autumn chose to have a Day After session, and I did have fun! Autumn is beyond gorgeous! I'll never get tired of photographing her. Everytime she's in front of my camera, I feel I'm shooting a super model! Here are some of my fav shots of the day:

Shonna & Paul: Engaged!!!

2009-09-11T10:55:00.000-07:00

07.27.09

I may have said this many many times...I LOVE SHOOTING WEDDINGS AND ENGAGEMENTS! I love to see people are happily in love and the way they look at each other, as you can see from Shonna and Paul's eyes. I've known Shonna's parents since 2005, I even lived in their house for one and half years before I got married. I was so happy when I found out that Shonna was engaged and was honored that she wanted me to shoot their engagment pictures.

The session was taken place in Seal Beach, which happened to be a very special place for me. Seal Beach is very clean and beautiful and it is where my husband proposed to me. I always love to come here and It always reminds me everything of the day he proposed to me when I come :-)

Here are some highlights of the shoot:

Congratulations Shonna and Paul!!!

Sneak Peak

2009-08-31T09:21:00.000-07:00

Shonna & Paul E-Session

I will put more pics up later ;-)

cute little thing

2009-08-22T12:13:00.000-07:00

I found this cute rabbit when I was shooting around the Newport Beach LDS Temple yesterday after finishing a dayafter session over there. This cute little thing didnt run away when I got closer and stayed at where he/she was even when I walked by :-)