HELLO + WELCOME!

I'm Eileen, so nice to meet you! I am a Los Angeles based photographer, passionate about people and a huge fan of love. I truly believe photography is God's gift to me; through it I am able to share life with some of the most amazing people. What a privilege and joy it has been!

Click on the next page for more on me or take a peek at my own wedding day here.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Blessings!

photo by Shelley Paulson Photography

RANDOM FACTS

I use way too many exclamation marks, but I'm really just that excited!!!! I want to know what moves your heart. I say "that's so funny" quite a bit, but it can mean a number of things. I am a lover of donuts and tea. I floss every night before bed! I love the idea of being spontaneous, but rarely do things unplanned. I am the youngest of four girls, but I'm taller than all my sisters. I would love to open a cafe someday. I am fascinated by the bridegroom God and his ravished heart for all of humanity

photo by Shelley Paulson Photography

eileenliu@eileenliuphotography.com

    THANK YOU!

    Author Archive

    Andrew and Shana MARRIED!

    When Crystal of Crystal Jean Photography invited me to second shoot for Andrew and Shana’s wedding I was thrilled! The wedding was so much fun and I love all the details that went into this big day. Shana has her own wedding/event planning business so it’s no wonder that everything turned out so perfectly. Thank you for having me! : )

    time for the first-look!

    Andrew and Shana decided to keep a few traditions going and included both a Chinese and Japanese tea ceremony into their special day. I really love how the two were distinct and special in their own way. : )

    The Japanese garden was beautiful! You can’t tell from these pictures, but it was also SUPER cold that day. Props to Shana and all the bridesmaids for being such troopers!

    Now, the ceremony. It was intimate and so sweet.

    After the ceremony a reception was held at the Miyako Hybrid Hotel and the details looked absolutely perfect there. 

    Andrew and Shana love basketball so their bridal party came in with jerseys on while the MC announced their entrance as if they were basketball stars…what a clever idea!

    After dinner was served there was a performance by the groom himself and his buddies from an acapella group they all used to be a part of. Shana loved it! : ) Toasts followed afterwards.

    Shana changed into a Kimono for cake-cutting. How cute is she?!

    Haaaaaay, time to get your groove on! : )

    Congrats Andrew and Shana! Blessings to you both! : )

     

    SHE SAID YES: ANNIE AND GEORGE ENGAGED!!

    Did you hear?! George and Annie are ENGAGED!! : ) It was such a pleasant surprise when I received George’s email about his plans to propose. I haven’t spoken to Annie since a friend’s wedding last year and immediately wanted to facebook her to say hello or something! Haha, but of course I didn’t. I patiently waited for the big day to come.

    I feel so honored to have been a part of Annie and George’s special day. Thank you for inviting me and for allowing me to share in the joy! : )

    So I met up with a few of George’s friends before the actual proposal. No one really knew when George was coming. All we knew was that they were coming down from the cliffs and so we waited and waited…

    We mistakenly thought a few other couples were Annie and George and so I would click click click, zoom in to see if it was them, and then delete delete delete when we found out it wasn’t. But finally, these two arrived! Look how cute they look : )

    And there you go!! CONGRATS ANNIE AND GEORGE!! I love that we were able to spend some time at the beach before the sun set. This is the beautiful couple, freshly engaged!

    The beach was beautiful. I especially LOVE this red house and was SO glad we found it!

    Ahh, wish the sun didn’t set so quickly..we were on a roll! : ) Now here’s Annie and George’s friends. I love it when couples surround themselves with a loving and supportive community. It really makes things so much more festive! : ) We all headed down to a restaurant on the beach where George made reservations to continue the celebration!

    I love how the night ended with prayer for the new engaged couple. Yes, many blessings to the two of you as you begin this new journey. Cheers!! : )

    Family Session with the Chius!

    Let me introduce you to the Chius everyone! They’re fun and super bright and we had the best session together : ) I was so excited to finally meet this family after hearing so many good things about them and how cute their children are. Yes, they are indeed awesome and the two little ones are SO much fun! : )

    I love it when parents switch off, one hopping into the picture and the other dancing, making funny noises and silly faces, whatever it takes to get the kiddies’ attention. Great teamwork guys! : )

    Beautiful family, I know! : )

    And now just the parents…I love this part : )

    The youngest member of the Chius was just learning how to walk and I’m so glad I was able to capture this moment for the family!

    Thanks for reading! : )

    FUN FRIDAY: MY FAMILY PORTRAITS!

    For this week’s Fun Friday I’m sharing with you my family portraits. Yes, we are a big group..but a fun one too! : ) Family get-togethers are always exciting. and loud. When it used to be just the six of us (my parents and us four girls!) we were already loud, but now- very loud. With five girls in the family it was hard to talk because EVERYONE wanted to talk. Wish you could be there for our dinners- the girls had to take turns talking, raising our hands if we had something to say. We really trained Daddy to be a good listener! : )

    Anyway! Here we are, all 16 of us.

    We actually squeezed in our family portraits before another session I had that day. We were a bit rushed and I SO wish I had more time to take individual portraits of each person, but that will have to wait for another time. These next few pictures are the few I snuck in as we were waiting for the rest of the group to arrive. 

    Ok, so I know I talk about my sisters a lot. Well now you get to meet each one of them and their families! : ) This is my oldest sister Emily, her husband Jonathan, and their four kids. They currently live in Kansas City, Missouri so we only get to see them a few times a year (totally not enough!), but it’s always so much fun when we do.

    This next picture is of my second sister Elizabeth, her husband Leonard, and their two girls. 

    And here is my third sister Eunice, her husband Ben, and their baby girl. 

    Just Mommy & Daddy! : )

    And as we’d like to call it, this is the OG group : )

    Ok, so I thought it would be fun to show you a behind-the-scenes photo. A huge shout-out to James for letting me borrow your tripod. While it wouldn’t have been possible without the tripod, it was also SUPER hard to get the kiddies to focus on the camera without someone behind it. Ah-well, good enough! : )

     

    COMING SOON…

    Hello everyone! Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, New Year, and a fresh start to 2012. Thank you so much for all your support this past year- for all the “likes” and all the comments, the encouraging words…they mean so much to me! It’s been a HUGE blessing to have such loving family and friends who cheer me on to live out God’s dreams for me. This next year will be even better (I believe it!) and I’m so excited to share this journey with you.

    I’ve been a little behind on blogging this holiday season so I have much catching up to do! Here are some new sneak peeks (that i haven’t posted on facebook..these are just for my blog readers! : )) from some recent sessions. Posts are coming soon, I promise! : )

    Philip & Jeanette MARRIED!

    Family Session with the Chius!

    Anna’s 1 Year! (yes, she’s holding up a 1!)

    Family Session with the Ips!

    A Just-For-Fun Session with SIX Lovely Ladies!

    Annie & George ENGAGED!

    Family Session with the Chens!

    ….and there you have it! : ) Stay tuned for the full posts on each of these sessions!

    Daniel’s 8 Months!

    One of the greatest joys as a photographer is sharing life with the people I meet. I love being there to capture the growth of a family, much like the Durretts. Cheryl and Dustan first contacted me for a maternity session last March and I feel like I’ve been following them ever since. This is my 4th session with the Durretts and I absolutely LOVE being a part of their lives!

    For this session, baby Daniel (who really isn’t a baby anymore!) was already standing on his own and taking mini steps (and dancing!) with the help of his mommy and daddy. SO proud of him! : )

    There were a group of guys playing basketball to our right. Daniel kept looking over at them…it was the cutest thing! Perhaps he’ll be a basketball player one day! : )

    Don’t you love his Christmas hat?

    It is a JOY watching you grow, Daniel! Hope you all have a wonderful time with your family in Australia : )

    FUN FRIDAY: I’M 24 : )

    Hey, it’s my birthday! Today I turn 24…ahhh!

     

    For this Fun Friday post I thought it’d be ‘fun’ to share a few facts about my birthday and show you some pictures that I dug up from the past. Enjoy! : )

    1. When my two oldest sisters found out my mom was having my 3rd sister they were super excited, but when my mom told them they were having one more a year and a half later they responded with “againnn?” Yes, raising a little one is a lot of work!

    2. My birth date was supposed to be in January, but I came out early! Surprise!!

    3. And because I came out so early my dad was about to head off to work the morning of my birthday when my 2nd sister Liz ran after him to tell him to stay. Thanks Liz!

    4. When my parents arrived at the hospital, my dad went downstairs to buy film for the camera only to find that I was already born when he returned..yup, I came out super duper fast!

    5. I was born around 9am in the morning in Montebello, CA.

    6. My older two sisters used to throw all my birthday parties growing up. They were the best parties with crafts and games!

    7. I used to hate having my birthday so close to Christmas because it meant I only got one present for both my birthday AND Christmas sometimes. I feel a bit embarrassed thinking about it now and I am so glad I don’t feel the same anymore!

    8. I didn’t really get to celebrate my 6th birthday, because my grandma passed just days before and her funeral was on my birthday. I wasn’t really happy at the time (picture below).

    9. I don’t usually feel any different on birthdays, but I remember feeling older and way more mature when I turned 21!

    10. My sisters and I grew up giving flowers to my mom on our own birthdays, because 1) she makes us! haha jk. and 2) to thank her for carrying us for 9 months in the tummy and for raising us with so much love!

    11. I’m not really sure what God has in store for me this year, but I’m pretty excited! : )

    Now here are some photos I dug up from my 1st-10th birthday. I love seeing how big I’ve grown and also how my sisters’ styles have changed since way back then : ) haha so kidding Em+Liz! : )

    Ok, this next picture is from my 6th birthday…the one where I didn’t get to celebrate. At least someone got this picture of me..this is really how I felt at the time, haha!

    See how fun these parties are?! Yes, big contrast from my 6th birthday. For my 9th birthday my sisters prepared materials for all my friends to make sunflower barrettes (I used to LOVE all things sunflower!!). My girlfriends and I still talk about those barrettes to this day! : )

    Good times! : ) And if you want to know more about what I got out of my GOLDEN YEAR, I wrote a reflection post here.

    Have a wonderful day! : )

    Paul and Kim MARRIED! Part TWO

    I enjoyed everything about Paul and Kim’s wedding. Their relationship is so rich and so full of love that even the simplest things were such a joy to capture. They have an incredible support group and community that helped shape their relationship and I love how it was so present throughout their wedding day. Being there to photograph these special moments was such a blessing!

    If you missed part one of their wedding day/engagement photos, check them out! : )

    After Kim was all dressed up we headed to the seminary housing where Paul and Kim spent much time together. It was such a special place to do the first look photos and I just love how these turned out!!

    Ok, how cute are they?!

    This was one of my favorite parts- the apartment building was filled with families who also study at the same seminary. As Paul and Kim were leaving for the church children ran out from their homes to see Kim’s dress. Parents leaned over from their balconies to celebrate and congratulate, and everyone was just having a grand ol’ time!

    The church was beautiful!

    Paul’s brother, who couldn’t make it to the wedding, designed these programs. It was so nice to have a part of him there even though he wasn’t physically present.

    Oh Kim, you’re beautiful!

    A quick prayer before the ceremony…

    This is Paul’s mom and dad. They also weren’t able to attend the wedding, but thank God (no, really!) for technology and the handy face-time feature on the iphone! They were able to witness everything, even all the little flower girls and ring bearers that walked down the aisle that day. Paul helps out with the children’s ministry at his church and I love how he included them in the ceremony..,the most kids I’ve ever seen!

    Now here comes Kim… Paul sang a sweet song as his bride walked down the aisle. So sweet.

    Hey look, there’s my daddy! : )

    For the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Sheh! I love how excited everyone got as Paul and Kim were announced husband and wife. They were like movie stars, hugs and high-fives following them as they exited to the back of the church. 

    A reception followed the ceremony at the back of the church. It was simple, but so rich in love and emotions.

    I love it when they laugh : )…and cry. Paul’s parents made a video for everyone to watch. It was SO touching the words they spoke and the love they showed. 

    Paul and Kim, what an honor it was to be your photographer! You two have such beautiful souls and I wish nothing but the best for you. Blessings! : )

    Hello!

    Hello world! Life seems to be moving by so fast lately but I just wanted to drop in to say that I am excited to be alive today and so blessed to have everything I need..and more! Hope you’re all enjoying the last few weeks of 2011! : )

    I have many exciting new posts coming your way, so stay tuned! : )

    Kai and Flora MARRIED!

    Kai and Flora were married at the Hacienda Heights Country Club in October. After spending so much time with them for their engagement session and bridals, I felt quite attached to Kai and Flora and couldn’t have been happier to celebrate their special day with them.

    A huge THANKS to Michelle Chiu for second shooting with me. I loved hanging out with you for the whole day and can’t wait for our next 85C run! : )

    Flora, you’re stunning! Love Kai’s reaction to seeing you for the first time…

    And now for the ceremony- short, sweet and a bit emotional. I think everyone was in tears at one point. It was a beautiful ceremony and the sun was just about to set, creating a warm glow around us all- so perfect!

    These next two images are Michelle’s…

    Hooray for Mr. and Mrs. Pan!! : )

    Thank you Michelle for capturing these detail shots of the banquet hall! I loved having you by my side throughout the day! 

    Now the grand entrance!

    There was an open mic for friends and family to share. I love getting to know the bride and groom through the toasts. All the speeches that night were seriously SO good and SO touching! Yes, more happy tears : )

    now let the fun continue! : )

    Time to dance! After Kai and Flora’s first dance everyone was invited to join the couple on the dance floor. Unfortunately, the speakers blew out (or something!) halfway through the first song and nobody knew how to fix it. I was so impressed by how the newlyweds reacted though, keeping calm and just enjoying the company of their guests instead of complaining or getting angry. Oh, and they continued the fun at a club! : )

    Congrats Kai and Flora! Blessings to you as you begin this new chapter in your lives!