this is me | emilykiel

Who am I? I will tell you.

(For those of you getting married, be sure you make it to the bottom of this page!)

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I am a photographer & graphic designer currently living in Houston, TX, & I love to travel! I think I subconsciously try to see how many Texas cities I can visit in one month because I am always on the go! If you have an event or wedding in Dallas, Austin, College Station, or even in a different state (or country), I jump on the chance to photograph in new places. I also enjoy taking senior portraits, engagements, or just pictures of a group of friends or family having fun.

My mom recently found a questionnaire that I filled out in kindergarten. It was the kind of questionnaire that asks kids ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ ‘Who is your hero?’ One question on my questionnaire was: What makes a girl look pretty? I answered, “a wedding dress.”  I must have known I’d one day be a wedding photographer.

I suddenly found myself in the wedding photography world in the summer of 2008 where I stumbled through the business before finally finding my place. I am forever grateful to my very first two brides (sisters) for trusting in me enough to ask me to do something I was under-qualified for & to my friends & family who supported me along the way, whether it was with advice on what camera equipment to buy, great locations to shoot at in cities I’ve never been to, props, legal advice, or just plain old “You can do it!” pep talks.

Someone once asked me when I started taking pictures.  I just stared at him.  I have no idea!  Let’s just say that I was the kid at camp in 4th grade with one disposable camera for each day of camp (a whopping 2.5 day camp).  Trying to ration 24 pictures for an entire day was never easy for me.  It wasn’t until college that I even realized that I could make photography my career. When I started grad school, I was planning on working in the animation field, but, a few weeks into the program I quickly realized that that was not for me. Somehow, I managed to turn a very computer technical program into a sort of photography degree, & 2.5 years later, my diploma is proudly hanging in my den.

A few other fun things about me:

• Dr. Pepper makes up about 90% of my body
• I have played the piano for 20 years (I am available for weddings!) & my parents bought me a grand piano instead of a new car when I was 17
• I’d like to think that I’m pretty stellar at Photoshop
• I love reading, keyboard shortcuts, musicals, & the color wheel
• I was home-schooled for 5 years
• I will ride any roller coaster in the theme park, save for the ferris wheels
• I am in love with Dirk Pitt, not Edward or Harry
• I graduated in December of 2011 with a Masters of Science in Visualization
• I am addicted to Blue Baker & hope they open one near my house in Houston

WEDDING EXTRA!
(seriously check this out)

My wonderful sister is incredible when it comes to weddings or big events.  She & I often like to joke about how we do all of the odd jobs at weddings.  If you are interested in her services, please contact me & I will pass along the information to her.  She is very talented in the following areas:

• coordinating anything & everything
• hair styling
• piano
• decorating & designing your wedding
• crafts, all types

If you are interested in learning more about my Wedding Bundle options, family portraits, etc., hop on over to the Contact Me page & shoot me an email! Let’s start planning your big event!