KATE NOELLE PHOTOGRAPHY

Peter and Carol’s Engagement

knoelle — Wed, 09 May 2012 19:59:29 +0000

The sun shone brightly at the 5 o’clock hour. As we walked through the wildflowers, a soft ocean breeze gently blew through her hair and the smell of cool salty waves filled the air. He gazed at the blue horizon, his arm holding her close to his side. Picture perfect. This is how Peter and Carol’s engagement shoot went… perfect, picturesque, and utterly romantic. Their love for each other displayed itself naturally… from the way he held her hand, to the way she looked into his eyes.

I first met Carol in junior high. We were two silly kids who happened to like swimming and we decided to take a summer water polo class. I remember the first day of the class, we both realized VERY QUICKLY that water polo was A LOT harder than we thought. So in between bobbing up for air, giggling at our incompetence, and then choking on water…. we survived the class and continued on as friends through our high school years. From high school, we both went our different ways to college, we both had some traveling adventures… and sure enough we both met our Prince Charmings. And now, as Carol and Peter are nearing their wedding day…. I can’t help but be excited for my longtime friend! Here are my favorites from the evening…. I think you’ll agree that they are TOO CUTE!!

This is one of my favs!

Special thanks to Danyell Weinberg for the beautiful job on Carol’s makeup!

Rob and Jackie’s Engagement

knoelle — Tue, 08 May 2012 18:11:48 +0000

Rob and Jackie met in high school. Being introduced by mutual friends, they started the first years of their relationship as friends…. hanging out at lunch, studying, and discussing the future of their young lives. When it came time to decide on colleges, Rob landed a place at USC and Jackie decided on an east coast school. They hung out all summer with their friends, and it wasn’t until their first college school year started to approach that they began to realize they didn’t want to lose each other. Rob took Jackie on their first official date to Laguna Beach and as they enjoyed a delicious dinner at Las Brisas, he asked her to be his girlfriend. She said yes.

Then, as life often happens, school drew them apart to their prospective universities…. but they maintained their deepening relationship through the distance. The tragedy of “9-11″ happened and Jackie and Rob found themselves shaken and uncomfortably aware that the “important things” in life needed to be prioritized a little better. Jackie transferred to a university back in California to be closer to family, and to Rob. And 12 years after that first date, we found ourselves back where it all began to document their engagement before they tie the knot next month.

These two have a love that is rare…. their love runs deeper than deep, and their friendship truly is the foundation of their relationship. The comfortability, the predictability, and the intuitiveness toward each other’s needs is remarkable. I absolutely loved spending the evening with them. Here are my favorites from the evening….

How beautiful is Jackie?!!!! Danyell Weinberg did a beautiful job with the hair and makeup!

Rob, you’re pretty handsome yourself…

Bill and Leslie’s Engagement

knoelle — Mon, 07 May 2012 22:34:12 +0000

Back when I first started my business in 2008, I worked part time at a local coffee shop called It’s a Grind. It was one of those bucket list jobs that seemed to be available at the perfect time in my life… and I met so many wonderful people. While I am no morning person… the shift I enjoyed most was the opening shift which started at 5:30am. I would roll out of bed at the sound of my alarm, make an angry face at the darkness outside my window, and stumble out the door to start brewing coffee and get the store ready for the day. That part of those mornings, the waking up and getting out the door part, was the hardest…. but the fun part began at about 6am when the daily customers started rolling in. This was where I first met Bill. He’d come into the store more chipper than any other human being alive at that time of morning. He’d ask me how my morning’s going, poke fun at my sloth-ish mannerisms, sip his black coffee from his travel mug, and tell me about the new things in his life. His buddy would come in right after him and join the conversation…. then they’d sit down to read and answer emails on their Blackberrys for the next 30 minutes. Those early risers MADE my morning.

Well, fast forward to 2011… I got a phone call from Bill excitedly telling me he met someone and that they had just gotten engaged. He asked if I was still doing wedding photography and asked to meet up and talk about possibly being his wedding photographer. Long story short, I am his and Leslie’s wedding photographer and I couldn’t be more excited for their wedding day! These two are SO GREAT together and the life that shines out of their relationship is refreshing and inspiring. And Leslie…. Leslie, Leslie, Leslie. Leslie is a complete joy and her laugh is so contagious I could feel myself laughing with her every time she tipped her head back and giggled. She brings the “lovey dovey” out in her strong and shrewd business man of a fiance… and I absolutely love them together! Here are some of my favorites from their engagement shoot at the Orange Circle in Orange….

Bill and Leslie, thanks for choosing me to tell your love story. I’m stoked for your wedding day later this month…. and I’m so glad you’ve found each other!

Kyle and Stacy’s Engagement Shoot

knoelle — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 22:51:36 +0000

Before I begin, I have to tell you that I LOVE Kyle and Stacy’s story. I really really do.

They first met at work. She was the new girl who had just moved to California from Texas. She was a brilliant blonde whose love for conversation and relationship annoyed Kyle a little bit. To Kyle, this chatty country girl wanted to talk too long as she walked by his desk, and smiled way to much for his liking. So he kept his distance and maintained a professional respect for his outgoing co-worker.

Kyle happened to be a somewhat quiet young man who prided himself in focus and hard work. He was a high achiever and had ambitious plans for his career future. Stacy just saw him as a stuck up surfer dude, and left him alone after countless attempts at conversation with him.

But, as experience teaches us time and time again, first impressions aren’t always a true reflection of a person. And THANK YOU JESUS, for that!! A little while down the road, Kyle realized he was wrong about Stacy, and Stacy realized Kyle really wasn’t mean and he wasn’t really a surfer….. and they both kind of fell in love… in the forever kind of love.

Kyle loves Stacy more than words…. and Stacy has truly found the man of her dreams. He appreciates her excitement for life… and her relational personality has brought out the best in him. For two people who came from such different backgrounds, they’ve truly found “home” in each other.

I met them at their old stomping grounds, Hermosa Beach, and we had a great time walking, talking, and shooting some super cute engagement photos. Here are my favorites from the afternoon….

Kyle and Stacy…. you were a dream to work with. I had so much fun with you two and I’m so glad we had the chance to meet and document your engagement. Thanks for sharing your story with me, and I hope our paths cross again someday. You’ve got something great in each other…. God is SO GOOD.

Walnuts and Rice

knoelle — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 00:35:08 +0000

I remember in sunday school… way back when I was in 2nd or 3rd grade, my sunday school teacher brought glass jars, whole walnuts, and rice into the classroom for our lesson. I remember her teaching us how to prioritize our lives (as best as a 2nd or 3rd grader can understand, mind you…) putting important things like spending time with God, doing our homework, and loving our families first. She put a few whole walnuts in the jar, almost so it looked like there wouldn’t be any more room for anything else. I remember feeling anxious about there not being anymore room in the jar for things like playing with friends, soccer games, and art classes… things that I loved, but that my teacher categorized “not as important”. But then, the teacher added grains of rice to the jar… a great many little grains filled in the gaps between the “important things”, and I was amazed to find that all those “little things” I wanted to do found room in the already very crowded jar of life. ”Decide what your walnuts should be first,” my teacher said. “Then fill in the rest of your time with all those small things you wish to do and need to be done.”

Well, I just turned another year older last week, and surprisingly enough, this lesson still replays in the back of my mind every so often when life seems a little too crowded for my taste. While I don’t have that jar anymore, I do have that memory to serve as the rudder to redirect my priorities. When I allow “all the small things” to get filled in first, the important things don’t end up fitting in my calendar… important things like spending time with Christopher, spending time reading His word, journaling, and reading that book I’ve been meaning to read for months.

So this lull in blogging… this has been a time of re-adjusting my “priorities rudder”…. a time for figuring out what the important things are and making time for them amidst the many little things that need to get done. I have a stack of AMAZING shoots to share with you in the coming weeks, but for now, I wanted to share snapshots from my life in the past month…

Home away from Home

knoelle — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 20:24:25 +0000

Today, I’m missing Herrnhut…. my home away from home. I’m missing the endless green fields, the tall skinny trees, the red roofs, and the stillness of the small town. This last trip to Germany, I had the chance to take Christopher to this place that’s so near and dear to my heart. We got to walk from the castle to town through the silent forest, listening to nothing but the wind rustling the leaves high in the tree tops. We got to explore through this quiet town, grab some Turkish Doener to snack on, and we got to enjoy the lack of impending to-do lists. The quiet that surrounded this place inspired quiet hearts and quiet minds, and as we walked in silence, we felt His peace.

Where, in your life, do you find your home away from home? Today, I pray you find peace and quiet away from the craziness… even, if only for a moment.

Daniel and Che-monte’s Engagement

knoelle — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 21:32:28 +0000

Daniel and Che-monte met dancing. How romantic is that?! They also happen to work for the same large company near Nuremberg, Germany. He couldn’t take his eyes off of her… for a good reason… she’s GORGEOUS. And she couldn’t stop thinking of that sweet young man and how he’s “not like other guys in Germany.” Somehow, both Daniel and Che-monte knew they had something special… and they’ve been together ever since.

They recently got engaged and are SEHR SHOEN (sooo cute) together! Che-monte contacted me when she heard I would be traveling to Nuremberg and we quickly set up a time to shoot some engagement photos. They couldn’t have picked better locations… a beautiful park and a beautiful castle. That’s right… a castle. And even though it was a bit cold outside, the rain held up until the very last shot of the evening.

Daniel and Che-monte, I am so glad we met. Your love for each other is something really amazing and I wish you the absolute best as you continue on your journey together. It was such an honor to capture all your sweet whispers, stolen glances, and genuinely happy smiles. Here are some of my favorites from the day…

Nuremberg Adventures

knoelle — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 18:20:51 +0000

One of my favorite things to do is explore. It’s exciting getting myself lost (just as long as I can find my way afterwards), experiencing the culture around me, and feeling free to be inspired. This morning, as Christopher and I walked out into the crisp morning cold, I told him I was excited to photograph and not feel the pressure of “getting the shots”. I could take photos of post-its if I wanted to… and I did. We had a late breakfast, then headed out toward the old town of Nuremberg.

Fun Fact: The old city of Nuremberg is embedded in the center of the greater Nuremberg area and is surrounded by the old wall that originally acted as the city gate. Within the old city is a bunch of historical landmarks that include two giant churches and a castle…. all built in the 1500s. We visited all of them!

It’s amazing how deep the european culture runs. I love it. Here are a few pictures from today’s adventures…..

Funny story about this pic…. Chris was quite confused reading the title of this book. He thought it was some sort of anti-fitness book. But in fact, it’s not…. Mike and Jasmin were quite amused by that…

Shoot for Fun

knoelle — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 07:56:19 +0000

Some people have the gift of learning by hearing instructions, or even by looking at a step by step manual. I, unfortunately, don’t really have either of those gifts… I learn by doing. A lot people ask me how I started with photography, wondering if I went to college to get a degree in it. The answer to that is… I almost did. For a long time, I bought into the normal societal assumption that to be anybody, to make a decent living, you NEED a degree. So naturally, when deciding I wanted to be a wedding photographer, I assumed that I had to go to school and graduate with a degree. Well, after a lot of conversations with numerous people, through lots of prayer and deep thinking, I decided against going to school… and instead, go and do photography. I watched tutorials, I went to photographer shootouts, I read books and manuals. I did take a few college courses on business and photoshop, but all my knowledge and experience in photography comes from doing as much of it as I possibly can.

So, at WPPI, that conference I talked about in my last post, my friends and I decided to further what we were learning and actually put our learning to the test. For these photos, since I didn’t bring my own camera (Nikon), I used Alexandra’s camera (Canon) to shoot. Now, before you Nikon lovers shun and banish me to the edge of town, just know I’m even more in love with my Nikon than I was before. But for the record, it really truly is what you do with the camera that matters…. not what brand you use.

Here are some of my favorites from the evening of shooting for fun….

(Photo Credit: Betsy Lackey)

These three images were taken with one table light to her left….

These were taken with the desk lamp on to her left, and a floor lamp held up to her face to her right…. kinda looks like studio lighting, no? Loved these photos!

Alexandra holding the lamp for the above shots…

Then I shot a few of Alexandra with just the desk light on her left… Love the soft and seductive feel of this one!

Then they both stole the cameras back and shot me, but they made me laugh too much…

So then we got dressed to attend a photographer social function and ended up being REALLY late because we were doing this….

All in all, it was rejuvenating and SO MUCH FUN to shoot just for the fun of it. I highly encourage you to have fun, experiment, and put your book learning to action…. however that looks in your own life.

Laugh Till Your Insides Fall Out

knoelle — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 00:39:01 +0000

Every year there’s a gigantic conference for wedding photographers called WPPI at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, NV. It’s not just any conference… it’s the mother of all conferences and photographers from all over the world fly in to learn, hone their craft, see the latest in technology and products, and to brush shoulders with the best in the industry. You know when you’re watching the news and they’re covering some event that is swarming with paparazzi? Yeah… it’s kinda like that…. times 10,000. Photographers EVERYWHERE, impromptu photo shoots happening every 10 yards, and the typical elevator chit-chat includes photographer jargon like “…ISO capabilities…”, “… so we shot everyone in the church…”, and “…do you prefer auto white balance, or manual Kelvin?”

I love it.

Anyhoo…. the beauty of this conference is that it’s soooo packed with information, people to meet, things to see, and ideas to consider, that the growth happening during those few days is like forced osmosis. At the end of each day, it feels like your brain is exploding…. in a good way.

But I think my favorite part of this conference is what happens in between all of the learning, seeing, and people meeting. My favorite is the conversations and the time spent with those who sharpen me. Iron sharpens Iron, and I crave relationships like that. Although business and technical improvement are really important, they can’t be everything we talk about. And while I AM a photographer, I’m also a person who craves deep relationship, and I can’t live a healthy and balanced life by just nurturing one part of me. So in between the business and photographic learning at WPPI, I get to spend my time delving deep into issues regarding real life, purpose, and love with people whom I have the privilege of calling friends. We get to pray together, study His word together, cry together, and laugh until our insides fall out. The holistic growth the happens when friends, who happen to share the same passions as you, come together to build each other up…. it’s vital to my growth… as both a photographer and a person.

Here’s a few shots Betsy took of me while a few of us were in a fit of hysterical laughter…. love them!