This review is for our booking and engagement shoot.
My fiancee and I started planning our wedding a bit late (less than a year before the date) and we were in a crunch to find a photographer since the good ones get booked fairly early. After... searching through Wedding Wire, The Knot, and Yelp, I stumbled upon Kwon's page. He responded quickly to our inquiry and scheduled an in-person meeting. As soon as we met we knew he'd be great to work with. He was very welcoming and made us feel like we were friends. We initially were only planning to book him for the wedding day, but decided to book an engagement shoot as well. He made a really good point that the engagement shoot was where he could learn more about us and how to best capture our personalities.
Kwon stayed in touch with us from the initial meeting all the way up to the engagement shoot date. He sent us reminders and even nice tips (bring extra clothes since we were shooting at night, comfy shoes to wear when going to locations, a sandwich, and a towel to dry off). Our first location was at Shoreline Park in Long Beach. We were late due to an accident on the highway, but Kwon got there early to scout the location. He didn't mind that we were late and didn't factor that into our time. I consider myself pretty unphotogenic, but Kwon assured me that I looked great and gave me ample tips on being comfortable and photogenic with him. That's one of the best qualities about Kwon. We never once felt like we were actually doing a photoshoot. We always felt comfortable and had fun like we were hanging out with a dear friend. Another great quality is his attention to detail. Before shots he made sure our clothes were on straight and nothing funky was going on with our hair. He made sure we were always standing up straight and that we were showing our love. After our first location, he offered to drive us to our second location to save us gas and get to know us better. We had a great time chatting with him in the car. Our second location was Abalone Cove in Palos Verdes. About a 30 min drive. Once we got to the location, he let us change in his car. He wasn't prepared to hike very much, but he was a trooper. He was willing to climb anything to get the perfect shot. We were impressed with how willing he was to hike to spots to get the right angles and shots. Our four hours were running out and we were worried we wouldn't get enough shots, but Kwon reassured us to not worry and that time wasn't a factor. He had shots in mind and he knew he couldn't get them until the sun went down. He ended up staying an extra three hours! We were so amazed by his patience and energy despite such a long day.
As soon as we got home, Kwon texted us letting us know that it would be two weeks before our photos would be ready. To our surprise, he had preview shots ready for us the very next day! They were beautiful and we couldn't wait for the rest. In EXACTLY two weeks, even to the hour of us meeting, we got our photos! When Kwon gives you a deadline, he means it! Within a few days we received our thumb drive and within a few days of submitting the photo we wanted on a canvas, it was at our door.
We couldn't be happier with the service Kwon provided. He goes beyond the call of duty and does it with a smile. He's patience, energetic, friendly, and timely. He's everything we could ask for and more. It doesn't hurt that his photos are beautiful too ;).