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Sarah K Chen Photography Blog bio picture

Welcome to my Blog!

If I love doing something, there’s nothing in the world that will stop me from doing it. Case in point: I grew up drawing on the walls of my house, much to the chagrin of my parents, who had to repaint the interior before they could sell it. Though I no longer use crayons to express myself, I still have that passion today for creating beautiful images.

 

I now use a camera to capture what would otherwise be fleeting moments between two people sharing in the excitement of beginning a new life together. There is little else that can evoke such strong emotion and bring back cherished memories as a well-composed photo, and I aim to capture just that with each one I take. I want my images to hold a special place in your heart for years to come.

 

I feel honored to be present at such a significant time in my clients’ lives and hope you’ll invite me to become part of yours, too.

Blush Boudoir – Anna

Saturday, February 6, 2010 Posted in boudoir

I don’t even know if Anna knows how absolutely  beautiful she is. Actually, I don’t think any of my boudoir clients realize it. Up until Friday evening I received emails and texts from my girls saying how excited and nervous they were, how they wished they were in better shape for the shoot, etc. And then every time a new girl arrived for her session I balked. You look like that and you’re worrying? We spend way too much time nit picking rather than celebrating our bodies. So here’s to women everywhere: you are gorgeous!

I loved hearing back from the girls about how much fun they had and how it wasn’t as nerve wracking as they thought it would be. I already have girls inquiring about another marathon so I’m hoping to run another one sometime in March! If you’d like to be notified of a future Blush Boudoir marathon special, just email me and I’ll put you on the list.

Here’s some of my favorites from Anna’s session. It was hard to narrow them down they were all so beautiful.

Anna pulled out a bag full of the best shoes ever! A girl after my own heart. I’ll have to say that leather and lace go quite well together.

And if looks couldn’t kill, this would have to come with a warning… so hot.

Anna brought out her sexy cute side and had some fun with a cupcake from Sweet and Saucy. How cute are these?

I love the combination of dark hair and light eyes. It’s so exotic and enticing.

Thanks to everyone who helped out with my Blush Boudoir marathon! And thank you Anna for allowing me to share these on my blog! The other girls from the marathon have all opted to keep their images private, but they all turned out sexy, sweet and stunning as well!

Hair & Makeup: Muse Makeup Artistry

Styling: Grand Soirees

Sweets: Sweet and Saucy Shop

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by Sarah K Chen

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Blush Boudoir – Arielle

Wednesday, February 3, 2010 Posted in boudoir

Arielle has a sweet, yet sexy look that we accentuated with the flirty pink birdcage veil and a girly over the top peony flower hair pin that was made by Linda Ly of Grand Soirees. The hair piece totally made her look and I’m so in love with these images! Margaret of Muse Makeup Artistry did an incredible job dolling Arielle up for the shoot too!

We also had vintage furs, sparkly retro headbands, birdcage veils in different colors, pearls, and sparkling jewels for all the girls to choose from and wear for their shoot. It was great having so many options to really complete each girl’s look and style.

Melody of Sweet and Saucy Shop baked us these amazing sweets to use for our Valentine’s Day shoot. And each girl got to go home with a yummy treat or two! Thanks, Melody! If you’re looking to sweeten up a special someone for Valentine’s Day you  must check out the couture desserts she’ll be whipping up just for the occasion!

We vamped it up a bit and Arielle changed into this red hot number for the rest of our shoot. The color looks amazing on her and completely changed her attitude. Meow!

Thank you Arielle for allowing me to share these! You are so beautiful and so sweet! Hope you (and your boyfriend!) love these!

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by Sarah K Chen

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Blush Boudoir Tease

Monday, February 1, 2010 Posted in Uncategorized

Just a little sneak peek of what’s to come! My Blush Boudoir marathon session this past weekend was a total blast for me and everyone involved. I have to thank Linda of Grand Soirees for styling the shoot, Margaret of Muse Makeup Artistry for dolling up the girls, Melody of Sweet and Saucy for the delectable sweets, and of course the beautiful girls who came out for this session. I can’t wait for my next marathon session!

Posted with permission, here is the drop dead gorgeous Anna.

More to come of the girls who have graciously allowed me to share some of their images with you all.

by Sarah K Chen

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Kerri & Rob’s Wedding at Rancho Las Lomas

Thursday, January 28, 2010 Posted in orange county, weddings

My first wedding of 2010 was that of Kerri and Rob at Rancho Las Lomas in Silverado, Ca. The venue holds such a special place in my heart since that’s where I became Mrs. Chen and now it will forever hold a special place in Kerri and Rob’s hearts. We arrived for the getting ready photos and Kerri was a vision of calm and grace. Nothing could keep the smile from her face that day and it showed. Check out these amazing details.

When it came time to tie the sash on Kerri’s dress, her Mom calmly walked over and tied the most perfect bow you had ever seen. It was as if she’d practiced and waited all these years to be able to do so on her daughter’s wedding day. It brought tears to everyone’s eyes. Such a special moment. I am so lucky to have been able to witness and capture it. Have I mentioned how much I love what I do?

The guys were looking pretty darn good too. Well, better than good. They looked down right handsome!

The heart shaped brooch belongs to Kerri’s grandmother. It was a brooch that her grandmother used to let her play with and wear as a child. To have it pinned to her bouquet on her wedding day meant a lot to Kerri. I love hearing snippets of stories from my couples about the little details of their day.

Don’t the girls look stunning? And those bridesmaid dresses are so cute. I loved that the skirt had pockets. So chic and so convenient to stash away tissues or lipgloss.

Rob’s an artist at heart. As a designer, I could see Rob’s touch on everything. The clean modern designs, color palette, even the type faces for the escort cards were perfection.

I just had to include this next photo. A guest did a quick crayon drawing of the couple that looked SPOT on!

24 Carrots is always on hand after the ceremony to bring drinks and appetizers for the wedding party. Having your own private waitstaff to refuel and recharge you on your day is amazing service. And that way you don’t completely miss out on cocktail hour! It just comes to you.

And then it was time for some portraits!

I was loving the winter foliage at Rancho Las Lomas this time of year! It complimented their florals perfectly.

Rob decided to have a little fun with his bride and started swinging the bench before Kerri was aware of what was happening. I love a couple who knows how to have fun with each other. The look on their faces is priceless.

As night approached we snuck back inside for a few more portraits. I love these next two. So romantic.

The reception hall was decked out in warm candle light. How cozy does this look?

Melody of Sweet and Saucy Shop decked out the dessert table. I won’t lie, we hovered over that table drooling over all the goodies.

The first dance for the new husband and wife is always such a sweet moment.

I just had to include this shot from the Mother and Son dance. Her only child all grown up and married. There were tears and as a Mom I could feel all the emotions running through me. And I’m sure that’s only a tiny piece of what Rob’s Mother was feeling at that moment.

Congratulations you two! I am so happy for you both!

Coordinator: Isabelle Gomilla

Second Photographer: Jeret Slack

Florals: Flower Allie

Caterer: 24 Carrots

Baker: Sweet and Saucy

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by Sarah K Chen

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A Dog’s Life

Thursday, January 21, 2010 Posted in personal

Akira thinks she’s a lioness. She likes to perch on the landings of our staircase and watch the action from above. Technically, she’s not supposed to be on the carpeted areas of our house, but sometimes she just looks too comfy to move. Besides, she just matches the staircase so perfectly it’s almost as if she belongs there.

The sun peaked out this afternoon for a few minutes and I grabbed the opportunity to take a couple shots of Akira. She was happy to oblige and spent the time sniffing the air and lolling about in the wet grass before the rain started pouring down again. I’m hoping that the rain will give us a reprieve this Saturday for my wedding at Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills. I love shooting that venue and want to make the most of it’s grandiose estate! Everyone keep their fingers crossed for a little sunshine this weekend, ok?

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by Sarah K Chen

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Blush Boudoir Session – January 30th!

Saturday, January 16, 2010 Posted in boudoir, los angeles, orange county

Announcing a Sarah K Chen marathon boudoir session on Saturday, January 30th – just in time for Valentine’s Day! Hip boutique hotel suite, hair and makeup will all be included! I have the fabulous Margaret Wang, head makeup artist of Muse Artistry on hand to glam you up with hair and makeup, and the incredible Linda Ly of Grand Soirees helping me style the shoots with handmade black vintage birdcage veils among other goodies to spice up your look. It’s going to be hot.

Use my contact form and type “Marathon Boudoir” in the subject line and I will forward you more information! Space will be limited so book early!

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by Sarah K Chen

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Alycia & Albert’s Engagement in San Francisco

Wednesday, January 13, 2010 Posted in destination, engagement, san francisco

Alycia has one of those personalities that just make her so darn likable. She’s forever laughing, has this adorable mischievous glint in her eye, always has a good story to tell and isn’t afraid to say what’s on her mind. In short, she’s awesome personified. And then there’s Albert. He’s tall, cool, collected and has such a warm heart. I love that they’re not afraid to be goofy with each other even in front of a big camera wielding photographer, namely me! I met them at their place to start off their shoot and they brought me lunch knowing I had a shoot right before theirs. As we devoured our food,  Albert offered to hold and bounce a tiny 3 month old crying baby girl so that her Momma could quickly eat her lunch. As a Mom, I notice these things because now I know how hard it is to do simple things like shower and eat when you’ve got a crying baby to take care of.

We started under the Golden Gate as Alycia and Albert didn’t want the typical Golden Gate Bridge shots most others take. The two really did their research and found some really cool places for us to shoot.

As we were leaving we saw a barrage of motorcycle cops hanging out and in true Alycia form, she jumped out of the car and asked if we could use their bikes as props in their engagement photos. They were happy to oblige the happy couple!

And to keep up with the hotness above…

And to finish off our shoot we found this awesome graffiti wall!

We really had some gorgeous light for their shoot! I love these ones I shot as we walked back to the car.

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by Sarah K Chen

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Gia & Matt’s Engagement in San Francisco

Monday, January 11, 2010 Posted in destination, engagement, san francisco

A cool, crisp day in the city. Finally! We’d originally planned to shoot Gia and Matt’s engagement session a couple of days after I had driven up North with Ellie, but it rained. Hard. Originally, I thought we’d be able to brave the weather and shoot between sprinkles, but Ha! Spoken like a true Southern California girl who doesn’t know a real rain storm from some sprinkles. So, we rescheduled for the following week, which was supposed to be sunny and clear but it rained yet again! I knew SF weather was unpredictable, but we were starting to wonder if we’d have a nice enough day to shoot! We rescheduled once again and this time we were met with the crisp, cool weather that San Francisco is known for! I was so happy that Gia was able to get her wish!

We started off at the Xanadu Gallery in San Francisco which is the only Frank Lloyd Wright designed building in the city. I loved the clean lines and the light we had in the alley way.

I love this next one of Gia and Matt. Talk about fierce!

I love when my couples aren’t afraid to wear bold colors. Gia’s jewel tones really pop and look amazing with her skin and this gold background.

The look of love. I have a thing for how couples look at each other. There’s always something magical there.

As we wandered the alley we were met by this open air cafe which hadn’t opened just yet. We took full advantage of it and it just oozes European romance doesn’t it?

Gia and Matt found this really cool hotel in the city and we made the most of the dramatic lighting found indoors. Hotness!

I can’t wait for your big day you guys!

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by Sarah K Chen

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Audrey & Ken’s Engagement at UCLA Los Angeles, Ca

Friday, January 8, 2010 Posted in engagement, los angeles

Audrey and Ken are the sweetest couple! I love how genuine and open they are and photographing the two of them on their old stomping grounds was a blast. I really love getting a glimpse of the love shared between two people as they are about the embark on a whole new life together as husband and wife. You can sense their excitement and happiness. I am witness to gentle touches and knowing smiles from behind my lens and I absolutely love it.

How cute are Audrey’s rosette pumps? Love the pop of color and femme detailing.

There’s a bit of a height difference between Audrey and Ken! But just a little… you can hardly notice it. :P

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by Sarah K Chen

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Baby Lucas : 3 month portraits

Thursday, January 7, 2010 Posted in baby portraits

Oh how they grow! I shot baby Lucas’s 3 month portraits before the holidays and couldn’t believe how much he’d grown in such a short period of time! His face still looks the same, but he’s filled out and is sporting some delicious baby rolls! I held off on blogging these as I know Amber wanted to use some of the photos for their holiday cards. Now that the holidays have come and gone, here’s baby Lucas! And just to refresh your memory, here’s Lucas’s newborn session.

I love this next one of Lucas. He’s chillaxin’ with his homies.

Don’t you just want to nom nom nom that belly? I love baby boys and blue jeans.

It took a while, but we finally got baby Lucas to smile on camera! At a boy!

Lucas’s first Christmas. :)

I can’t wait to photograph Lucas at his 6 month session! I love being able to photograph babies and their families as they grow. It’s such a beautiful thing.  Thank you Amber and Trevor for including me in your family’s first year together. See you all again in a few months!

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by Sarah K Chen

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