Hi there, and welcome to my corner of the world! My name is Katya Lum and this is both my blog and my website. Some of you might know my husband Spencer, who does the wedding photography for 5 West Studios. In 2007, we had Evan, our first child. I came to realize just how quickly life passes by, and how much you forget. There is so much to children - the looks they give, the things they do - and it changes every single day. I started doing children's photography to preserve those moments and times in life. I work both in the studio and outside, and I believe in a simple, natural approach that brings out children's character. Let me know what you think - I'd love to hear from you!
I think I’ll always remember now how to say cheese in Dutch. Somehow saying “kaas” worked a lot better for Julie than cheese – she was jumping and laughing and twirling all the while exclaiming kaaaaas. Her little sister didn’t seem as emphatic about the cheese but she did show us some of the most adorable faces with her big amazingly blue eyes.
My husband was getting ready for his portrait marathon last week and brought Evan over to the studio. I’m ashamed to say that we haven’t taken any studio shots of him yet, so even though this wasn’t planned, we couldn’t miss the opportunity of putting him in front of the camera. Plus, what better test subject for the upcoming shoot than a 3 year old!
February 11, 2010 - 11:08 pm - OMG! What a hottie! Evan is growing up fast and he's soooooooooooooooooo CUTE! I wanna bite him. You guys better be working on more kids- if not for yourselves, do it to help make the world more beautiful! :)
February 12, 2010 - 9:57 am - Hmm... interesting point you make there, I'll give it some thought:)
February 22, 2010 - 2:25 pm - There is power in numbers....especially with boys.
February 23, 2010 - 1:24 pm - Alis, I'll take your word for it!
For my last shoot in CA I had a chance to photograph baby Krish. It’s almost hard to believe that ten days ago, when my life was exactly the same, his has just begun. He was tiny, soft and wrinkly, with countless grimaces in his arsenal. He was everything a sweet new baby should be like. On top of that, he was a great model! And I must give credit to the new parents – they were really good sports putting up with a few accidents for the sake of art.
February 6, 2010 - 11:28 am - These pictures are awesome! I can't wait to see the rest of baby Krish collection ;) Great job.
February 6, 2010 - 1:41 pm - Thank you! Krish was a great model:)
April 21, 2010 - 10:12 pm - I'm so glad we captured this sweet precious moment in time. He is already so different, bigger and yet of the same essence;). I'll pick pics this week to share with family;)
A good friend of mine asked me to take a few family pictures of all four of them. She’s no amateur with the camera herself, but naturally, if she’s behind, one it’s not a complete family photo. I think that’s a common occurrence – most of us have lots of pictures of the kids, but a photo of everyone together is a rarity. When I came in, the girls were excited and exclaimed that they were ready for the pictures. It seems that I underestimated their excitement. They were jumping, and dancing, and laughing, and even bouncing on the trampoline in between takes. Both of them have so much charm and personality that I think it comes through in every shot, no matter how not still they are.
What better way to kick off the new 2010 category than with pictures of friends! I only get to see my CA friends twice a year, and needless to say the reunions are always a lot of fun. Nowadays most of us have kids, so one of the first things we say to each other is how much the kids have grown. It’s such a cliche, but kids do grow up so fast, especially if they’re not your own.
Only a couple visits back Sophia was rocking in her bouncing chair, happy as a clam, and now she’s a super busy 2-year-old with places to go and things to see. She’s absolutely adorable, if only she was gracious enough to let me catch all of her cute faces on camera. I hope I got at least a few. And Eli got even more funny and charming than last time I saw him.
January 7, 2010 - 10:35 am - Precious!!!
January 7, 2010 - 11:45 am - thank you! I think they are too:)
I love the fact that Lena found me through Facebook. If this keeps happening I might just have to start updating my status more frequently! They came fully prepared with different outfits, bubbles and lots of ideas. I loved their enthusiasm and willingness to try anything I threw at them. Stella, the older girl, was ready to jump, laugh, make faces and curtsy on command. Even though little Maya wasn’t as easily convinced that this activity is as fun as her parents make it out to be, she did grace me from time to time with some of the most adorable smiles.
Two months ago when Tina came in for her maternity session her life was completely different. “I wasn’t ready for this”, she told me the other day. “Neither was I three years ago”, I assured her. I’m pretty sure that’s how most first-time mothers feel to some extent. In your head you know that things will change, but it’s impossible to be ready and adjust to the change beforehand. Little Manon is in charge now. And even though her mom thinks that she doesn’t know what she’s doing for the most part, the way she was tending to the baby, cradling her to keep her warm and giving her endless kisses, leaves no doubt that Manon is in good hands. Tina will be an amazing mom.
November 30, 2009 - 3:59 pm - I absolutely LOVE the pics. They're amazing Katya. Thank you soooo much!!!!
I get really excited when our past clients get in touch with us to take pictures of their new additions to the family. We shot Vivian and Larry’s wedding a couple years ago, and I still remember all the pictures of their amazing details from customized napkins to signature drink. Last week I had a chance to take photographs of their son Luke, who is just a pure bundle of joy. I have so many great smiles of him that it was pretty difficult to pick just one.
Even though Luke just barely started sitting up, he seems to be getting the hang of it pretty quickly.
November 24, 2009 - 1:00 pm - We love these! Thanks for making us feel so comfortable in front of the camera!
November 24, 2009 - 1:06 pm - Thanks so much! You guys were great to work with!
November 24, 2009 - 5:14 pm - I love them!!
Little 5-month-old Tara gave me her all for a good 10 minutes of the session, and that’s when I got all of her cute smiles. After that, lying in front of a strange black camera and being put in weird wicker baskets, wasn’t entertaining to her anymore, but I thought her pouting was just as adorable. I know that it’s pretty much impossible to predict if your child is going to want to cooperate in front of the camera, but whether laughing or crying, there are always precious moments worth preserving.
We’ve known Sean almost as long as we’ve lived in New York. Except that we’re still in New York and they have moved to Colorado after having children. I can’t blame them, all that space must be nice! I’ve met Natasha before (who I think is a carbon copy of your mommy) but Kyle is a new addition. I can’t figure out yet who he looks like, but he sure is super cute. Nothing seemed to bring him down and he was smiling for the camera all along!
by Katya
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