Photographing a Dol Celebration

Photographing a traditional Korean Doljanchi Celebration and capturing all the emotional moments of family, friends, and kids was awesome! A Doljanchi is a Korean tradition that celebrates the first birthday of a baby. Dol means birthday and janchi means feast. This event happened in Koreatown, Los Angeles, which was planned and carried out beautifully by this little guy's parents!

The picture below shows this baby in traditional Korean clothes for his doljanchi-Korean first birthday.

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The picture below shows the doljabi, where the parents put down several items that represent different things such as a judge, wisdom, wealth and good health. Whichever item the baby picks, predicts what type of person the baby will be when they grow up! Below are items for the doljabi from which the baby can choose. In this case he chose money, or wealth,...making his family very excited!

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The Dol is a very special and beautiful time for everyone to celebrate the child's first birthday...and capturing these moments at this particular Dol was so awesome, which included a bunch of happiness, positive energy and good will in the room.

What a wonderful Dol event to photograph. Capturing authentic moments and special traditions of the Doljanchi right there in the heart of Koreatown in Los Angeles!

Find more information about event photography at Scott Gutentag Photography

As always, feel free to contact me with questions and requests at anytime at scott@scottgutentag.com!

All the best!

Scott

Enjoying Those Holiday Photos!

So, you snapped away all those awesome shots of your kids opening up their gifts, family dinner get-togethers, or holiday getaways...now what to do with them. No doubt many are stored on your phone, which means they're always with you. But, how easy is it to access and repeatedly enjoy on a small screen? Plus, what will technology be like generations from now? Will they still be accessible even if stored on the computer? I wouldn't want to risk losing those special memories. I'm still enjoying actual prints of my great-grandfather in Poland in the 1890's and my grandfather with his family in the early 1900's. So, I'm a huge proponent of converting the best images into prints or some product--a technology that will never go out of style!

Even if not prints, turn your favorite images that put a smile on your face into a ceramic coaster so it can be enjoyed everyday while offering a place to rest your favorite drink. Consider turning the most special images into a statuette, magnet, 2x3 accordion album, or even a blanket like my niece and her husband made for my parents. This is even more important if you've had professional portraits taken. If you put the money and time into such a process, it would be a shame to have all the digitals stored somewhere on the computer or phone that is probably rarely viewed after the initial excitement. Plus it doesn't have the emotional impact like a real product. Why do museums still exist if the artwork can simply be viewed on through the internet? Because seeing actual prints offers a very different artistic and emotional experience. Creating your own products can work, but you get what you pay for. Invest in high quality products either through what the photographer offers or what you do on your own.

Happy New Year!

Always glad to help at Scott Gutentag Photography!

Best,

Scott

Some of the memorable 2019 portrait session images. . .

Don't Say "Say Cheese" For Great Kid Photos

"Say Cheese!!" typically results in canned, awkward, and exaggerated smiles. Instead, get reactions that look more natural and fun. Getting a clean and classy look of kids requires one to get into their world of fun and make-believe. Understanding their level of thinking and reasoning is important. For example, kids under 6 years don't think logically or abstractly and respond better to rules and concrete and short directions rather than lengthy and in-depth explanations. Follow the lead of kids as they take you on a journey into the impossible and fun! Get into their worlds by being silly, playing with them, make up running games, have them be your helper, and take movement breaks to get some natural and awesome looking shots. Oh, and be patient, have fun and go with it, which may not always involve your initial well thought out plan or typical rule structure. BTW, some of the best and cutest shots are kids looking away with their own unique expression...priceless images to be remembered and enjoyed forever!