Kelly McCord Photography Blog

Award Winning!

I've talked before, about how thrilled I was to be accepted into the WPJA. It's a hard organization to be accepted into, and I know photographers who have tried multiple times to apply, and weren't accepted.. So I was thrilled when they accepted me after my first application. Anyhow, they have quarterly contests, and I entered one for the first time about a month ago. And I was thrilled when one of the images I entered placed!!

This means I'll get a medallion next to my name, in their listing of photographers, that lets people know that I'm 'award-winning.'  I was thrilled to get an image in on my first try, and if you look through the amazing caliber of images, you'll see why -- the photographers on wpja are incredible, and I strive to be as good as they are.  If you want to see the winning image, with judges comments, you can do so by clicking here. 

The Seven Year Itch

(I posted this on our personal blog, but thought I'd post it here, too).

Did you know that Ross and I have been friends for almost ten years?  It's true!  And even more fun, on Monday, we celebrated our seven year wedding anniversary. We went out to dinner at one of our favorite restaurants (although we haven't been there in years and years), La Fondue, in Saratoga.  If you're in the Bay Area, and you haven't been to La Fondue, I highly urge you to check it out. Not only is a fondue feast tons of fun, but it's the best salad I've ever had.  So we had our dinner at La Fondue, and we exchanged gifts. Because we just got Ross his flat-screen T.V. (that he got for his 30th birthday), I got him a gift certificate to Amazon, to buy a bunch of new movies.  Well, image my surprise, when I opened up a this gorgeous diamond necklace.  I've wanted this necklace for a few years, but was shocked (and started crying) when I opened it. Not only was it a complete surprise (and if you know me, you know it is next to impossible to completely surprise me), but it was so unexpected. And here all I got for Rossy was a GIFT CERTIFICATE!! I was slightly embarrassed, but he said he just wanted to surprise me, and tell me how much he loved me. Well, color me surprised, and blessed.

I haven't taken off my necklace since he gave it to me. (I'm like that.)  But I also made a slideshow of our years together. I can't believe next year we'll have been together for 10 years. That's 1/3 of our lives. Wow. I am so incredibly blessed that Ross is my husband. He is one of the most special men I have ever met.  And he's made me a better woman.  It's funny, because he made me better from the start. I think I've written about it before, but when I first started dating Ross (I can remember this distinctly, my mom, sister and I were in the Gap downtown), and Lindsey made a comment that has stuck with me. She said, "You know, Kelly has become more Kelly, again, since she's started dating Ross -- she's more relaxed, and more fun, again."  I think it's still true. He makes me more fun, and nobody can ground me like he can. He's my champion, my love, my best friend and the funniest person I know.  Aren't I a lucky girl, to be married to him?

 

To view the slideshow, click here. 

The Berge Family

A few months ago, I shot the Berge Family. I recently finished their photos, and I loved how they turned out, so I thought I'd share af few.  Christine and I have worked together on a few projects over the years (we're currently working on a really fun project for our church), and we've gotten to know one another better and better. Our kids go to the same schools, and she is a really fun chick.  I've loved getting to know her over the years, and shooting her and her family a few times over those years. They are such a beautiful family,  and I can't say enough about her gorgeous hair. I feel blessed to have a friend in Christine, and that I have the privilege of shooting my friends and their families.

There are more photos after the jump, or if you want to see all the photos from their shoot, you can do so by clicking here.

Heather and Chris: Hayward Engagement Shoot

A few weeks ago, I finally got to shoot Heather and Chris' engagement portraits.  I met Heather at the Santa Cruz Bridal Expo last January.  She told me that after viewing my work at the bridal fair, she compared every other photographer to me, and after realizing she wanted me, didn't have a date, and had to wait to book me. I was thrilled when she called and the date she had booked, I had available, as I had really gotten along with her (and her mom Dyan), and when we met to go over packages and albums, it felt like I was sitting down with friends. I knew I was going to have fun with her (and her mom), and not only did I love shooting Heather and Chris, but I love how their photos turned out! 

We had slated to take the photos at the Japanese Tea Garden in Hayward, but after we got there, we realized they were already closed. And since I had driven all the way to Hayward, and the sun was setting fast, we scrambled trying to figure out where to shoot. We settled on a nearby golf course. I was a little nervous when I first saw the place,but it turnd out to be a gorgeous location to shoot!  I didn't realize quite how beautiful until I sat down to edit, and loved each shot more than the next.

I'm really looking forward to shooting Heather and Chris' wedding, as it's taking place at one of  the most incredible wedding locations in the Bay Area (in my opinion, of course), and a place I've shot portraits countless times (even right after high shcool, we'd always go up and shoot), at   Villa Montalvo.  I'm super excited to shoot a wedding there.

And I keep mentioning Heather's mom, because I really got along great with her, also.  Well, Heather has a sister, named Oriana, and she just signed up to have me shoot her wedding next year! So I get to shoot two of the family's weddings! I feel so honored and blessed when family members book me, especially to do multiple weddings, it's such a flattering thing. Plus, I really like the family, so it's doubly fun, in this case! =) ( I'm thrilled to shoot Heather and Chris at Villa Montalvo in a few weeks, and I can't wait to meet Oriana, her sister, and shoot them as well. Plus, Heather is adorable, and they both are super-photogenic, so it's that much easier for me!

Below are some of my favorit shots, and if you'd like to see all of the shots from their engagmenet session at this golf course in Hayward, you can do so by clicking here.  And there are more after the jump.

Matt and Alissa: Cor De Valle Wedding

I just finished editing a weddding I shot recently at Cor De Valle, in Morgan Hill It's a golf course and resort. It's a gorgeous location, and one I hadn't shot at before. It's always fun to get to shoot in new locations.  So I'm in the process of loading Matt and Alissa's images up to collages.net, so I can't show you all the images yet, but if you're curious, I've made a slideshow (similar to the ones I made for Chrissy and Tim, and Ann and Peter.)

If you want to see the most recent slideshow, that I made with some of my favorite pics from Matt and Alissa's Wedding Slideshow, click here.  I'm really happy with how they turned out, for some reason, I especially loved the getting ready shots for this wedding. And the reception was SO action-packed that I took way more shots than normal, because there was just SO much going on!  And stay tuned, I'll post some of my favorites soon, as well as a  link to all the images soon. I want them to be able to view them first, though.

Bryan and Alicia in Monterey

Last week, I drove to Monterey to shoot one of my bridal couples, Bryan and Alicia.  I'd never met them in person, as they hired me when they were living in Japan(!).  They're back in California, and their wedding is in a couple of weeks, up in Rohnert Park (by Santa Rosa). It was really fun to meet them, and to shoot in a new location. We shot around Monterey, around the historical section (I can't remember what it's called, off the top of my head) where California was drafted into the U.S. It had some really cool old buildings and gardens.   Below are some of my favorites from their shoot, and if you want to see all the photos from the shoot, you can by clicking here.