Welcome back to the second installment of my Year in Review series for 2020. In this piece, we’ll focus on the few jobs that came in and a whole lot of personal work as the pandemic’s grip on society tightened. There’s plenty to see and plenty to talk about, so let’s jump right in. April – Family and Portrait Photographer April is usually the tipping point of my year here in Seoul. It is the time when I go from […]
This year, as I’m sure it did for many of you, started out in the usual way. For us, that means the usual rush of post-holiday enquires flowing in the door and a lot of sessions where I work hard to look warm so my clients can feel a bit of extra warmth while they enjoy the Korean winter. January – Proposal, Adoption, and Event Photography My first session of the year was a perfect example of a winter photoshoot […]
Today’s shoot one of those sessions where there wasn’t a dull moment. We had smiles, tears, hunger, running, tenderness, and a mass collection of pine cones, but let’s start from the beginning. Niko and Jacklin had reached out to have a post-custody family photo shoot before heading home after their adoption. We scheduled an early morning session at Gyeongbokgung to avoid the crowds. That happened to coincide with a national holiday here (Hangeul Day), which I usually avoid as much […]
Today’s session is a blow-by-blow deep-dive into a fairly common type of post-custody session with one of my adoptive families. Oftentimes so soon after custody, kids aren’t ready to open up to a stranger and a different approach is required. The last thing we want to do is force our wants onto a little one who has been through a life-changing event, so another angle is required. I hope you enjoy this fun session with the Martin family. We all […]
There are three main session types I offer for adoptive families. These are first meetings, post-custody family sessions, and, of course, custody day itself. While first meetings and family sessions are by far my most popular sessions, there are plenty of good reasons to have your custody day photographed as well. This is the day where your child will transition from care into their forever family and can be extremely emotional. Let’s look at a few benefits of having the […]
I’ve written about summer here before. It’s a hot and humid time of year that’s certainly not for everyone. The Alexander family took custody of their daughter in the middle of our monsoon season and despite the weather, we decided to aim for a quick session in Changdeokgung. Thankfully, the weather held up and the palaces had re-opened after a short closing due to the pandemic. We got lucky with a beautiful overcast day and the leaves all washed clean […]
Today’s family portrait session is another fun post-custody session. This time, we’re joined by the Cadwell Family. Meredith and I had been in touch for a few months when they finally got the call to come and pick up Samuel. It was right at the beginning of winter and right in the middle of the Christmas rush here, but we found a couple of openings that would work and managed to schedule in a session. We met up in a […]
In 2011, under the guidance of the Lee Myung Bak administration, the 4 Major Rivers Restoration Project was completed. Known locally as “the Bulldozer,” President Lee’s controversial construction and development projects are still under investigation. However, on the back of this project, cycling paths where built along all the major rivers. The Han River, Geum River, Seomjin River, Nakdong River, and Yeongsang River are now able to be cycled from end to end. This set of images is an ongoing […]
This year has been a test for many people in many ways. The unprecedented level of restrictions we’ve had to put on our day-to-day lives to stay safe has required a lot of adjustment for many of us. As someone who photographs families for a living, this has certainly been an interesting year. Once the travel restrictions kicked in and it began to look like COVID-19 was here to stay, I had expected to be sitting tight for a few […]
Followers of this blog will know that I do a lot of work with the adoptive community here in Korea. Over the years, I’ve photographed approximately 300 families and I get a lot of questions about how these sessions go. In this post we’ll join the Osbeck family for their post-custody photos in Seoul. Many adoptive families come to me to make some images on one of their first few days as a forever family but it can be tough […]