I'm Eileen, so nice to meet you! I am a Los Angeles based photographer, passionate about people and a huge fan of love. I truly believe photography is God's gift to me; through it I am able to share life with some of the most amazing people. What a privilege and joy it has been!
Click on the next page for more on me or take a peek at my own wedding day here.
Thanks so much for stopping by. Blessings!
photo by Shelley Paulson Photography
RANDOM FACTS
I use way too many exclamation marks, but I'm really just that excited!!!!
I want to know what moves your heart.
I say "that's so funny" quite a bit, but it can mean a number of things.
I am a lover of donuts and tea.
I floss every night before bed!
I love the idea of being spontaneous, but rarely do things unplanned.
I am the youngest of four girls, but I'm taller than all my sisters.
I would love to open a cafe someday.
I am fascinated by the bridegroom God and his ravished heart for all of humanity
A few weeks back I had the privilege of taking headshots for a new startup company, Livrada! My brother-in-law Leonard (middle), cousin Jeff (left), and family friend Edison (right) teamed up to make e-book gifting more personal. Genius! If you’re wondering what Livrada e-book cards are, here’s a snippet from their website:
A Livrada e-book card is a (physical) gift card, sold at retail, that represents a specific e-book title (e.g., The Adventures of Tom Sawyer ). Each card is beautifully designed with the book cover art and also includes a description, much like a traditional book jacket. The card allows the holder to redeem and download the specific e-book onto their e-reader device. At launch, this includes all Kindle and NOOK devices. The plan is to expand to other e-readers soon.
Find Livrada e-book gift cards on the electronics aisle of Target! So awesome! And win two FREE e-book cards here! You have until August 3rd to enter! : )
I came across this post today and laughed SO HARD!! Yes, most of these are true…
They rather hold their bulky camera, than hold hands with you.
On a romantic date, you’ll watch the sun go down and think “Wow this is gorgeous†and they’ll go “mirror lock, tripod, and stop down f/8 at 1/125.â€
You’ll never be able to enjoy tv, movies, or magazines because they’ll point out all the visual flaws.
They like to sit in obscure coffee shop and voyeuristically watch people for great lengths of time.
If you’re taking a walk outside and you come across some “interesting light†they will make you sit/stand/pose in public so that they can take a photo.
You’ll never get to enjoy freshly cooked meals because they’ll spend 15 minutes taking 20 variations of the same dish with their iPhone.
They get angry when your friends go up to them and say “I am interested in photography, can you recommend a good camera for me?  Nothing professional I just want to take pretty pictures.â€
You’ll wait longer for them to finish analyzing art in a museum than you’ll wait at the dmv
Same goes with old used bookstores.
When you think they’re giving you their undivided attention, they’re really wondering how they could fix you with a little Clone Tool and Patch Tool.
Or they are actually using you to not look so creepy as they people watch everything going on around you.
They rather drop $1,000+ on new glass than a purse for you.
You can’t take a photo with them without taking at least five more.
If you ask them if you look fat, they’ll say “don’t worry I can photoshop you later.â€
They’ll never photoshop something simple for you if the content is not up to their “standards.â€
That photo they randomly took of you yesterday? Â Good luck getting them to send it to you.
They can’t have a normal conversation with throwing acronyms and random numbers.
They still use film cameras.
They spend a lot of time with people cooler than you i.e. models, actors, musicians, successful rich people.
They’ll be fussy over the position of a common household object, like a coffee cup.
They won’t return your calls or text messages, but you can bet they’re still posting pics on Instagram.
They like watching old films that you’ve never heard or will ever understand.
They like looking at weird things in general.
If there’s a natural disaster in a far away land, they’re already on a plane going over there.
Everything is watermarked.
They think everyone else’s photos suck.
They want to color correct a lot of scenes from Twilight and Jersey Shore.
They hate rainbows, especially ones spinning in a circle.
Whenever you’re in a group talking and the conversation goes deep, they’re taking notes in some form of Moleskin.
They use over priced Moleskin notebooks.
They like trespassing into old abandoned buildings filled with health hazards.
They always want to show a new photo they took, but don’t really care if you like it or not.
They hate your n00bie friend’s new artsy profile picture.
Bright, sunny days make them sad, but cloudy, overcast days are apparently great!
They’ll take you into places that have “culture†as well a high chance of getting mugged.
Your birthday present will be a portrait that they’ve taken of you.
You can’t go anywhere new without them stopping to take a photo of everything and anything.
They will always bug you to be a test subject.
Nothing can ever be naturally pretty, everything must be fixed in Photoshop.
Bringing their camera means, bringing 50lbs of equipment.
If you break any of their things on accident, you’ll owe them thousands of dollars.
You can’t get them a birthday/Christmas present without spending at least $500
They are natural hoarders, collecting and keeping piles of old newspapers, packaging, magazines, and other things that “inspire†them.
They are weird and geeky.
They have hard drives of photos, but probably have printed 10 images.
They are always secretly judging your creativity.
If you’re ever in auto mode, they laugh at you.
My dad LOVES peanuts. Any kind, every kind. Â Growing up we always had a plate of peanuts as a side dish for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. He takes some with him on walks, short or long drives, and even into the movie theaters (we were always kind of embarrassed when he did that!)! Some of the church members found out about his love for peanuts and now we get quite a variety right around his birthday and every year for Christmas. I think with so much peanuts around the house I’ve grown to love peanuts over the years, too and can’t eat certain meals without that extra crunch to go with whatever we’re having. Oh Daddy, look what you’ve done! : )
The other day my mom was talking to my 3-yr old niece Angelina on our family room couch. Lina was bouncing up and down, telling my mom that her daddy promised to take her out to Mimi’s Cafe when he gets back from his business trip. My mom laughed and commented on how it’s always so much fun when Daddys go away (but not, since we miss them so!), because it always means that there’s a treat when they return. My mom looked at me and asked if I remember how my dad used to save his bags of peanuts from his plane ride to bring home for us. Her question triggered memories that I would otherwise have had a hard time recalling.
Why yes, I do remember (I also remember preferring the honey-glazed ones over the salted peanuts). But for the first time those peanuts meant so much more than just a fun snack we got when Daddy came home from out of town. I mean I always knew that my dad loved peanuts, but as a little girl I never thought about how him bringing peanuts home for us meant him not eating his portion on that long flight home and saving them for me and my sisters. Wow. I know this seems like such a small thing and even kind of silly, but I want to cry just thinking about what might have crossed his mind at those moments.
Yes my dad loves peanuts, but he loves his girls at home even more.
Did you hear?! George and Annie are ENGAGED!! : ) It was such a pleasant surprise when I received George’s email about his plans to propose. I haven’t spoken to Annie since a friend’s wedding last year and immediately wanted to facebook her to say hello or something! Haha, but of course I didn’t. I patiently waited for the big day to come.
I feel so honored to have been a part of Annie and George’s special day. Thank you for inviting me and for allowing me to share in the joy! : )
So I met up with a few of George’s friends before the actual proposal. No one really knew when George was coming. All we knew was that they were coming down from the cliffs and so we waited and waited…
We mistakenly thought a few other couples were Annie and George and so I would click click click, zoom in to see if it was them, and then delete delete delete when we found out it wasn’t. But finally, these two arrived! Look how cute they look : )
And there you go!! CONGRATS ANNIE AND GEORGE!! I love that we were able to spend some time at the beach before the sun set. This is the beautiful couple, freshly engaged!
The beach was beautiful. I especially LOVE this red house and was SO glad we found it!
Ahh, wish the sun didn’t set so quickly..we were on a roll! : ) Now here’s Annie and George’s friends. I love it when couples surround themselves with a loving and supportive community. It really makes things so much more festive! : ) We all headed down to a restaurant on the beach where George made reservations to continue the celebration!
I love how the night ended with prayer for the new engaged couple. Yes, many blessings to the two of you as you begin this new journey. Cheers!! : )
Hello everyone! Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, New Year, and a fresh start to 2012. Thank you so much for all your support this past year- for all the “likes” and all the comments, the encouraging words…they mean so much to me! It’s been a HUGE blessing to have such loving family and friends who cheer me on to live out God’s dreams for me. This next year will be even better (I believe it!) and I’m so excited to share this journey with you.
I’ve been a little behind on blogging this holiday season so I have much catching up to do! Here are some new sneak peeks (that i haven’t posted on facebook..these are just for my blog readers! : )) from some recent sessions. Posts are coming soon, I promise! : )
Philip & Jeanette MARRIED!
Family Session with the Chius!
Anna’s 1 Year! (yes, she’s holding up a 1!)
Family Session with the Ips!
A Just-For-Fun Session with SIX Lovely Ladies!
Annie & George ENGAGED!
Family Session with the Chens!
….and there you have it! : ) Stay tuned for the full posts on each of these sessions!
Hello world! Life seems to be moving by so fast lately but I just wanted to drop in to say that I am excited to be alive today and so blessed to have everything I need..and more! Hope you’re all enjoying the last few weeks of 2011! : )
I have many exciting new posts coming your way, so stay tuned! : )
Carpe Diem. That’s what she taught us, to embrace life, to fully live. I always looked forward to 6th period. Sometimes we’d lie out in the baseball field to write poems, sit in the rain to feel the water droplets fall on our faces, or bite into tangerines to describe what it did to our senses. I miss it so much! This class changed my view of life and so I wanted to do the same for other people. That was when I decided I wanted to become an English teacher, just like the one I had my freshman year of high school.
I know I’m not the best writer, but I truly enjoy doing it. Only not under pressure. Unfortunately, that was 90% of what was required of me in all the English classes I took at UCLA. I remember those miserable nights when I just COULD NOT write. I started papers weeks before they were due but could never get anything out until the night before! Oh, those long dreadful nights! My entire family and pretty much everyone I talked to knew when my papers were due because I was not fun to be around with. My mom made it a rule that none of my sisters could talk to me during those stressful nights and my parents even encouraged me to turn those papers in late so I wouldn’t be as stressed. Yes, and that’s when my dream of becoming an English teacher faded. It just wasn’t me. My dreams changed, but my passion to inspire and to really live, didn’t.
Around the same time, the little house church I was attending at UCLA decided to set apart two weeks of our quarter to ask God why he created us. During those two weeks lots of random things happened and the theme of art came up multiple times. I thought this was so interesting because I grew up loving to draw as a little girl. I even took private lessons with a few teachers throughout elementary school and junior high. It was only in high school that I stopped pursuing art, mostly because I was afraid I wouldn’t have the inspiration and creative ability to come up with something new for each piece. But because I believed God was encouraging me to pursue the arts again through the signs I received those two weeks, I decided to take a step of faith.
That following summer I enrolled in a drawing class at a nearby community college. And loved it! When junior year fall quarter came around I miraculously got into two art classes on campus (The chances of a non-art major getting into one of those classes were slim, but I was picked at random and got in!). I applied for the art major a few months later and was one of the two students who got accepted! I felt like God was giving me one green light after another, opening doors for me, and leading me to where I was supposed to be.
Because I got into the art major my family bought me my first dslr for my 21st birthday. I was so excited and started documenting everything I did (I have 100+ photo albums on facebook!). While I used to document my life with my point and shoot camera, it was just not the same with my new Canon Rebel XS- it allowed me access and experiment with a whole new level of creativity. Â I am lucky to have so many nieces and one nephew to photograph and I started documenting their lives as well. Eventually more and more people suggested I turn my love for photography into a business. About a year later I did! : )
And right now, photography is my way of embracing life, of seizing the day, of fully living. I’m so excited for where it will take me this coming year! : )
I loved being at Jon and Karen’s wedding. The day was really filled with so much joy and I could tell from the start that everyone just adored them. Even though Jon and I went to the same high school, and then to the same college where Karen also went, I never did get to know either of them well. However, I did love learning about each of them and also the two as a couple throughout the day, seeing why their friends and family admired them so. They are everything they were described to be and I felt honored to take photos for their special day! Crystal Jean Photography, thank you so much for having me second shoot- it’s always a pleasure! : )Â
Remember how I said I love photographing the bride getting ready with all her girls? Well, I love hanging out with the groom and all his boys, too! haha. That’s exactly what I did for this wedding and boyyyy, boys are so much more chillll! They laughed and cracked jokes, threw a football around, took their time getting ready, and most importantly, had fun (girls have fun, too.. just in a different way! haha). Here’s Jon and the boys getting ready…
Here they are, saying a quick prayer before heading over to the wedding site.
Finally, the girls arrived and we prepared Jon for the first look. I love this part and the sweet, sweet moment that Jon and Karen were able to share before the actual craziness began.
While the boys were getting their pictures taken Karen stood off to the side to rest. It was a warm day and it must have been even warmer with her big wedding dress on, but I do love how her bridesmaids took turns holding up the train to help her out!
Now, the ceremony!
Hooray! Mr. and Mrs. Chiu! : )
How fun is this?! The bridal party danced in with funky moves and fancy twirls. Jon and Karen followed behind and went straight into their first dance.
There were some moving speeches that night…
Let the fun continue!
And THATÂ my friends, was the end to the oh-so-festive day! But for Jon and Karen, it was just the beginning to their beautiful journey together. Congrats Jon and Karen, I am so happy for you two! Thank you again for letting me be a part of your wedding day! : )
