As most of you know, we specialize in wedding photography and have only ever shot 1 other birthday party (besides Ava and Bella’s parties).  We are drawn to weddings mostly because it allows us to capture every emotion the way we see it.  We looked at photographing this event in a similar manner.  We wanted Hyden’s parents to be able to relive their sons 1st birthday through our images.

Baby Hyden has just turned el numero uno (the number one…) on February 8th.  In Korea, a first birthday is kind of a big deal…it’s a big deal!  With Hyden’s family being Korean-American, they wanted to incorporate a few of those traditional Korean elements into the party.

One of those traditions being a ritual called the “Doljabi”.  What is a Doljabi you ask?  It’s a ritual where the child is placed in front of objects such as calculator, books, computer, money, etc.  The child is then urged to pick up an object from the table. It is believed the one selected will foretell the child’s future. For example, if the child picks up a brush or book, he is destined to be a scholar. If he picks up money or rice, he will be wealthy (and have food).  If he chooses a ball of yarn/thread he’ll have health and longevity.  You get the point.  You’ll have to scroll down to see which one he actually picked!

With Michael having 3 Korean siblings of his own, I’m surprised I’ve never heard of this before.  The suspense of what his fate would be, and watching the reactions of his family and friends  (especially when he was headed for the stethoscope) had me laughing.  Why isn’t this done in every culture?!!?  It’s fantastic!

Below are images from Hyden’s party!  :0)

He may have been just the slightest big overwhelmed, lol.

Isn’t he just the cutest!  Gosh, those cheeks!!!

They even hired a children’s entertainer.  Face painting, balloon art, musical games!!!  The Hokey Pokey and limbo! Heck yeah!

I do wonder how many times his cheeks get squeezed on any given day.  I guess it’s hard not to.

We tried attempting a group shot of all the kids.  Most of the images have new kids being added to the shot while others were walking or crawling away, lol.  It’s actually pretty funny if you look at them all in order.

This is about as good as it gets.  You’ll notice, there are kids missing…they most likely crawled themselves out of the frame.

Hyden getting into his hanbok.

If I was him, I would have gone for the yarn…if you don’t have your health, what do you have?  Then again, I can’t imagine a ball of yarn being very interesting to a 1year old.    He wasn’t even interested in the $100 bill that sat next to him.  Or maybe that was just his way of rebelling.  The money was favored by the many rooting for him, lol.

I thought for sure he was going straight for the Prada box.  Not sure what future that would be…fashion designer?  But he stopped before picking it up and just sat there for some time.  I can see how it would be overwhelming.  There were a lot of choices.

Yay!  He picked the rice.  Which means he will have wealth and food in his future.  I guess 2 good things to have.  Good choice little man!

Loved the hair!

It was hard to not be tired after that party.  I think I felt more tired after that party than I feel after shooting a wedding for the entire day.  Watching 20ish small children running around for hours with all this energy is sure to make anyone exhausted (a good type of exhaustion)!

Christina, Dan, and Hyden, it’s been a true pleasure capturing your special birthday party.   You have an adorable little family and are truly blessed.

Hyden…best wishes for the future ;0)

Happy Friday!!

<3

Melissa.

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Party Details

Location:  Le Méridien, a hotel in Philadelphia

Photographers: M2 Photography

For those of you that know us, you know that Michael’s family is huge, to say the least.  He is one of 13 and of those 13, all have had kids but 5.  Nanny McManus now has a total of 19 grandchildren (give or take a few…it’s easy to lose track).  Can you tell this family loves babies? haha!

Who’s expecting this time?  My sister in- law, Becky.  She’ll be a first time momma in March!    I’m so excited for them!

The baby shower decor was ridiculously cute.  I know her and Megan (another sister)…(and Jim, haha) put a lot of time and effort into the shower.

What do you think about this nursery?  Where is the Love button??!

Yummy pretzel treats thanks to sister Jen!

The McManus sisters (all of them) manage to stay gorgeous and adorable even during the last month of pregnancy!  The girls actually think Aunt Becky looks so pretty that I overheard them playing a few days ago where Bella was pretending to be Becky (and pregnant).  She had a pillow stuffed in her shirt.  I’m not gonna lie, KINDA freaked me out a bit!  Thanks Becky!

Besides taking some pictures, this was my contribution.  I posted them because I’m actually happy with how they turned out and a little surprised with my ability to make them look decent and edible, haha.  I love doing things like this.

I thought this was cute and I wish more of us would follow by it.  The world would be a much better place

Well, that’s just a little smidgebit of the baby shower.  Congrats Becky and Jim!  We couldn’t be more happy for you.  We absolutely cannot wait to meet Ellie!

Happy Thursday!

<3

Melissa.

Who this is NOT for:
People looking for insight into starting their own business. People looking for a paid job.

When our intern will work:
We will pick one day a week that works for the both of us. We do have flexibility and we expect the same from you. The duration of the internship will be 3-6 months and can be customized to fulfill internship requirements if being done for school credit.  Work days will most likely be during the week but we will give opportunity to come and assist us on shoots.

Why our intern is doing this:
On top of learning bits and pieces about the behind the scenes with M2 our intern will gain knowledge in photography itself.  This could be the equivalent of but not limited to taking our The Beginner workshop and our Learn to Edit workshop which is brand new.  It would depend on how much you already know.  We are also open to extending an internship into a paid second shooter job.  And to take it a step further we are also open to the possibility to of adding our intern to our team as an associate.

How to apply:
If you’d like to become an intern, please send us an email @ info@m2-photography.net. Please include the following information;

- Name
- Phone #
- A picture of yourself (don’t worry, we don’t care what you look like, we just like to put a face to a name)
- A resume or some background information
- Your portfolio if you have one
- Tell us why you want to be an intern
We’ll reach out to those we think could be a good fit to set up interviews.

Michael.

We only offer 13 seats in our photography workshops.  Our goal with these workshops is not to get as many people as we possibly can to sign up.  We want each person to leave feeling  that they’ve learned a lot and at the end of the day,  feel much more confident than they did when they walked through the door 4 hours earlier.

Our next workshop will be held on Saturday, Feb. 25th.  There are 5 seats available in this upcoming workshop.  If you’re interested in signing up, contact me.  Our next workshop date is expected to be in late spring, early summer, actual date tbd.

Also a big thank you to our models.  If you are interested in modeling in one of our upcoming workshops please contact us and I’ll give you information on our participating workshop modeling program.

Happy Thursday (it’s almost Friday)!

<3

Melissa.

They are inviting, down to earth, creative and kind. You will find they actually become guests at your wedding because they take the time to get to know not only you, but also your guests. They are 100% professional at all times and you will never have a doubt in your mind that they truly care about your wedding day.

I could sit here for hours writing a review about M2. Their work is moving, touching, artistic and powerful, but you can see for your self when viewing some of there clients events. My guests raved about how wonderful Michael and Melissa were at the wedding & reception. They were blown away by how friendly, inviting, charming, and how they were all over the hall capturing all of the amazing moments. M2 provides a “sneak peak” of your wedding within 48 hours of your event and I must say I cried & laughed and said “awww” haha. The slide show they posted of my wedding is just perfect. I felt as though they knew me, they knew my style, they knew my emotions and when I saw the slideshow I said “This is ME!”. They gave me more than I thought possible.

I have people in work coming up to me just about everyday saying they saw my wedding pictures and they rave about how amazing they are. Sometimes I dont even know the people that approach me!

I am 100% happy with my wedding day and I am Lucky I found them. My one suggestion to brides is… Call them and schedule a meet with them. You will be glad you did. Good luck and congratulations! M2 You’re simply the best!

On our wedding day, Michael met up with the boys while Melissa was with the girls. She helped make everything care-free while we waited for the ceremony to start. During the wedding and reception I barely noticed them as they were never in the way – but the shots they got are awesome. I could go on and on about M2. When you’re paying for a photographer, you’re not just paying for quality of service but for personality as well. These two are the best, most fun-loving people I have ever met. It felt like two old friends sharing in our best day ever; and I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.