Shelah Photography

NEW BLOG SITE!! I've MOVED!

2009-01-30T04:15:00.000-08:00

HEY ALL!!!
I've moved to my new Photography Blog site: www.shelahphotography.com/blog

GO OVER THERE!!! :D

Love Leila

Photoshoot with Dani!!

2009-01-30T01:26:00.000-08:00

This is Dani! I used to be her Youth Leader but we're so close in age, I really wasn't her youth leader. I was her friend. :)
This girl is an amazing photographer and model. She knows what she's doing. We went around Old Town Pasadena to get these pictures. Isn't she lovely??

New Photography blog

2009-01-28T00:56:00.000-08:00

I'm working on a new Photography Blog!
I'm SOOOOOOO excited!!
It's gonna look sooo professional and beautiful and amazing!
We can talk more on my new photography blog. :)

YAHOOO!!!
Thank you jesus!!!

Once it's up and ready I'll have a link to it on my official website, www.shelahphotography.com as well as here so you'll be up to date with Leila Shelah Dali and SHELAH PHOTOGRAPHY!! :D

Love you all!
Leila

Shadown photography with Christine

2009-01-24T00:21:00.000-08:00

Linda & Chris's wedding! :D

2009-01-19T21:12:00.000-08:00

Self Portrait

2009-01-17T07:19:00.001-08:00

I decided to put my creative energy to work! I did a few self portraits! AND I REALLY LIKE THEM!! :) Your turn? Contact me through my webpage, www.shelahphotography.com

Sara-Frances "Mommy & Me" Shoot

2009-01-14T03:02:00.000-08:00

One of my really good friends recently had a baby! He is one of the most adorable things in the world. He's so sweet, well mannered and he literally gives LIFE to my friend Sara-Fran. She's visiting for the holidays so we took advantage of our time together and took PICTURES!! :) They came out wonderful! Isn't it fun to do Mommy & Me pictures?! :)

Also isn't it wonderful to celebrate the femininity of womanhood? Sara-Fran is sooo beautiful! :)

Grunge Praise

2009-01-09T01:48:00.001-08:00

Project Hobo Praise

2009-01-09T00:22:00.000-08:00

Project Hobo Praise came about from my deep compassion for homeless people. People claim that homeless ppl are homeless because of their own choice... but not ALL homeless ppl choose to live that way....

What if they are so torn and broken inside that the pain just oozes out? What if they are so distraught that they can't work? What if it really isn't their fault?

My dear friend Praise, once again, modeled for me as we dressed her up like a teenage delinquent who is at the end of her rope. She's lonely, sad, angry, bitter, pained, rebellious, distraught and hopeless.

"Don't judge me" is one of the phrases I kept hearing in my head as we took certain pictures of Praise.

Can we stop judging people and instead reach out to a broken and hurting world?

**In no way am I attempting to glorify smoking, alcohol or a rebellious life. In these pictures I attempt to portray the hardship that people go through and the typical way in which we see these people. Yes sometimes we see people going through a hard time drinking or smoking or making continuous bad decisions. Instead of judging them, shouldn't we reach out a hand to help them?**

Isn't She Lovely....

2008-12-15T16:24:00.001-08:00

In my life, I haven't thought much of my looks. Well... SOMETIMES I'll look in the mirror after I've spent an hour doing my hair, makeup and clothes and i'll think -- "hey not bad! I look pretty good!" But then there are some day when i just DON'T LIKE HOW I LOOK. I wonder why my nose isn't a little less wide or why my lips kinda poof up at the top (I swear I have fish lips sometimes! hahaha) or why my eyes are SO DARN SMALL (stupid asian genes!). The color of my eyes are too dark and the length of my hair is too short. My body is too lumpy and my legs are too short. My upper body is bigger than my lower body and my ankles are too skinny for my legs. My arms are too big, my shoulders too broad, my face too pimpled and my overall appearance just not acceptable.

I am Leila Dali and I have a self-image issue.

Then... one year ago, God gave me a camera. It is so easy for me to find beauty in other people. I see women with BIG OL' BOOTIES walking around and I think to myself, "They probably hate how they look. They probably are starving themselves to make their butt smaller... but don't they see how beautiful they are *because* of those curves?" I LOVE people!! I love how they look, their lumps, their bumps, their big noses, their frizzy hair, their long arms and short hands, their awkward stance, their funny faces!! I LOVE PEOPLE and it's soooo easy for me to see their beauty!! It is soooo easy for me to see their best attributes! It's so easy for me to see their worst attributes as BEAUTIFUL as well...

I am a photographer, not by chance, but by the Hand of GOD. I KNOW THIS. Not only do I take thousands of pictures at a time but in doing it, I am changing the perspective of people through these pictures. I'm showing them how *I* see them -- not as flawed but as figured! Not as ugly but as unique!! Not peculiar but as Pretty! God has given me the power to take what people think of themselves and DESTROY it with the power of Loving... a loving perspective.

A young woman whom I took pictures of, didn't like how she looked. I took pictures of her and she couldn't believe that the girl in the pictures was her! She finally liked how she looked! She finally saw how beautiful she was!!

Because of this young woman's testimony to me, I stopped and thought about me. I look at lumps on another person and think "SQUISHY!! I wanna HUG THEM!!!" I see lumps on leila and think, "SICK! I'm DISGUSTING!" I see long crooked noses on people's faces and I think, "How beautiful and sharp! They are so unique!!" I look at my big nose and think, "TOO MANY PORES! TOO BIG!!" I look at a woman's round dairy aire and I think "Look at the BEAUTIFUL CURVES that women are supposed to have!!!!" I look at my own dairy aire and think, "OH LORD HELP ME!!!! SQUATS!! NOW!!!!"

But if it's so easy for me to see beauty in others, why shouldn't I see beauty in ME???? It's not going to change if I suddenly become a size 5. My perspective of myself isn't going to change if I had that MAGIC WAND I've always wanted to make my arms thinner, nose w/o big pores, butt smaller, stomach flatter, hair longer, body gorgeous, lips- not so poofy, eyes blue, etc, etc, etc. If I had all those changes, guess what... I STILL WOULDN'T LIKE MYSELF!!!!!!!!!

So I've decided. If I can see others as beautiful, if i can see their worst attributes as their biggest asset, if I can make them see themselves through a new lens, then I can make myself see me through a new perspective too.

Shelah Photography: a LOVING perspective --- for all of us. Me included!!! Let's take what God made us to be AND EMBRACE THAT!!! :D

I love you.. love the way you look, the way you sound, the way you are! I want you to love yourself too!

Shelah Photography: A LOVING PERSPECTIVE!!!!!! :D YAHOOOOOO!!!!!

"Isn't she lovely
Isn't she wonderfull
Isn't she precious
Less than one minute old
I never thought through love we'd be
Making one as lovely as she
But isn't she lovely made from love

Isn't she pretty
Truly the angel's best
Boy, I'm so happy
We have been heaven blessed
I can't believe what God has done
through us he's given life to one
But isn't she lovely made from love

Isn't she lovely
Life and love are the same
Life is Aisha
The meaning of her name
Londie, it could have not been done
Without you who conceived the one
That's so very lovely made from love"
-- Stevie Wonder

Windy Malibu Day!

2008-12-14T05:32:00.000-08:00

My friends, Christine and Praise, and I went to Malibu, our current favorite beach spot, to relax after a stressful week of finals. I brought my camera along which meant we didn't get to relax... we took pictures!! :D

I let Praise use my camera. She shot AMAZING pictures while I posed Christine. Other times I was the model (eek!). Under each picture, I wrote down who took the picture. Here are some of the favorites!

taken by Leila Dali

taken by Leila Dali

taken by Leila Dali

taken by Leila Dali

taken by Leila Dali

taken by Leila Dali

taken by Praise Goh

taken by Praise Goh

taken by Praise Goh

taken by Praise Goh

taken by Praise Goh

taken by Praise Goh

taken by Praise Goh

taken by Praise Goh

taken by Praise Goh

taken by Praise Goh

taken by Leila Dali

taken by Leila Dali

taken by Leila Dali

taken by Leila Dali

taken by Leila Dali

taken by Leila Dali

taken by Leila Dali

taken by Leila Dali

taken by Leila Dali

taken by Leila Dali

taken by Leila Dali

taken by Leila Dali

taken by Leila Dali

taken by Leila Dali

taken by Leila Dali

taken by Leila Dali

taken by Leila Dali

taken by Leila Dali

taken by Praise Goh

taken by Praise Goh

taken by Praise Goh

taken by Praise Goh

BANGS!!

2008-12-10T21:00:00.000-08:00

As a little girl, I used to always have bangs. I even did the whole "wave" action in the 80's early 90's. Well I decided to grow up and with that came growing out my little girl bangs. Well yesterday I was looking at someone's pictures of them with bangs! They looked soooo good! Well about 4 or 5 months ago, I had shorter hair and bangs and I looked (in my opinion) like someone had put a bowl over my head and cut my hair. ew. So I grew out the bangs and the hair (well.. my hair is still super short but I have a little more length than before) and now it doesn't look like someone put a bowl over my head and cut around it. But still... no bangs.

So as I was looking at this girls hair with her cute little bangs, I decided to give it a try. So I took out my trusty scissors and snip snip away at my hair and the results? BELOW!! I LOVE THEM!! :D

YAHOO!! My bangs that I've had since age 5 are now BACK!!!! Leila and bangs go together like peanut butter and jelly! :D

Oh yeah, and of course I had to sport the new down vest jacket with a fur lined hoody that I bought for... $18!!!! Heck YEAH for deals!! CUTE deals!! CHEAP deals!! WARM deals! and BANGS!!!! :D hahahaha

A Loving Perspective: a photography workshop

2008-12-09T03:43:00.000-08:00

What do you think? Should I work on giving photographers (beginning, amateur, business) the opportunity to learn what I know?

This seminar would be called "A Loving Perspective"
I would offer the following:

A Loving Perspective: a photography workshop

WHO: You and Me!!

WHAT will you learn: Whatever your hearts desire!
Some options are-
• Your own portrait session where *YOU* get to be the model (with all your digital negatives on a CD for you to take home)
• Outdoor lighting
• Hands on shooting with a model
• Model directing
• One on one critique
• Location scouting
• Q & A with Leila
• Lunch with Leila

WHERE: Pasadena, CA (and/or nearby cities)
WHEN: whenever works best for you and me

What do you think of this? Would you want a seminar with me? Comment below and let me know! :D

Hess Family Photoshoot

2008-12-08T03:07:00.000-08:00

The Hess family is one of the sweetest families I've ever met! They were so warm and easy to be with. We had a blast taking these pictures. Here's a sneak peak of some of the pictures! MORE TO COME!

My Turn?! :D

2008-12-01T16:09:00.000-08:00

My good friend Praise (pictured below at the beach) came over and I told her to play with my camera. Suddenly I became her subject (very spontaneous!!) and got Suuuuuuper uncomfortable.... then got over it and started having some FUN!! She took AH-mazing pictures of me! The tables have turned!!

What's interesting is how these pictures made me feel: beautiful. On my own website, I explain how my goal is to show people a loving perspective of themselves. I never knew what I was really doing until it was done to me. Now I see how powerful photography is, to show people that they really are BEAUTIFUL. *I* turned out to be the one with the biggest self image problem and here I am helping others with theirs. I think it's in the very area we struggle in that we are empowered to help others.

Well last night, I got a taste of my own medicine! I was soooo uncomfortable!! Seriously... ask Praise! And yet, when we finally got into it (or more like when *I* finally got into it), I started having fun. I started feeling pretty. Once I saw the pictures, edited them and put them up, WOW did I feel pretty!!

I think we all need that, a taste of our true natural beauty!!! I am sooooo tired of talking to myself EVERYDAY about how I need to lose weight!! LOL. I am sooooo tired of watching what I eat and hitting myself over the head that I haven't gone to the gym yet! I am sooooo tired of being mean to myself saying I'm not pretty enough. And here I am, that is my mission statement, to break the bondage over people that says they aren't beautiful enough because the world tells them so. That they aren't pretty enough unless they are anorexic models and anorexic actresses or actors. They aren't beautiful unless they have 4% body fat and ripped all over. They aren't beautiful enough unless they have a specific nose or lips or hair. In reality, we are beautiful in our own way because we are the only *me* out there!

Who's going to take our place and be the best *me* there is?!?!? NO one!!!! In that simple fact, we are beautiful. We really are.

My passion to show people their true beauty has gotten a new drive. I was on the other end. I want to push even harder to show people they are amazing AS IS.

Oh Lord, please help me show people their beauty. Open doors that need to be opened, lead people in my direction so I can rip off the old and help them put on the new!!!! I give you SP and allow you to do your will. Thank you for giving me my passion, for giving me the tools to make this happen and for leading me to be powerful for you. I love my calling and I love my life. Heck, i love my job!!! :D

I love all of you out there, even if I don't know you. I can love whomever I want, whether I know them or not for love is not a feeling but rather an ACTION. I choose to love you as is... and I want to break that mold over you that says you're not beautiful.

Will you let me?

Much LOVE!!
Leila

A few more of Praise

2008-11-23T15:04:00.000-08:00

My BEST photoshoot yet! Thank you so much Praise!! 2

2008-11-23T02:45:00.000-08:00

Some more AH-MA-ZING pictures of Praise!! :D

My BEST photoshoot yet! Thank you so much Praise!!

2008-11-22T17:21:00.000-08:00

My friend Praise let me do a shoot with her again! She let me shoot her in the ocean water. LOVE IT!!

Location: Malibu, CA

Photoshoot with Praise and Christine

2008-11-13T02:51:00.000-08:00

This was my first time attempting an indoor shoot in my "studio" aka apartment! ;) It was fun! Praise and Christine came over and we did a fabulous shoot. It stretched me as a photographer. :) ENJOY!

Photoshoot with the Thomas's!!!

2008-11-08T16:13:00.000-08:00

The Thomas family were one of the first people I started taking pictures of when I first got my camera. It's been a year now and they have another addition to the family! Can you believe it's been a year already? :) The kids are all older and as beautiful as ever. We finally got together for a family shoot! :)

Me... as a child... BAH-HAHAHAHA!!

2008-11-05T19:03:00.001-08:00

I had some pictures of me on my computer and I thought, Hey, I might as well give some people something to laugh/look at! hahaha... So here are some pictures of me as a child (i think i was a CUTE child!!). Laugh all you want, you know you looked funny as a kid too!! HAHAHA

I'm the little girl on the right with the HOT green pants!
I'm about 3 years old and my sister is on the left.
She's 5. We're adorable aren't we! HAHA
Location: West LA, CA Where i grew up (before it was ghetto) hahah

Me at our favorite beach, Marina Del Rey, CA

BAH-HAHAHAHA!! This was me being potty trained.
Obviously I would start to get tired during my training
and would doze off. I'm HILARIOUS!!

My parents cut all my hair off.. BYE BYE HAIR... hello, i look like a BOY. :(
It was for swim lessons. My hair kept getting in my face.
Instead of a swim cap, my parents cut my hair.
What a concept. :P hahaha

Multicultural day at my VERY multicultural preschool.
I'm the little 0.5 Korean girl on the right, again with the
green and red. My mom likes Christmas colors! haha (you might have to make the screen for this blog wider to see me.... this picture is big for laptops. On on the far right)

ME, 3 days old!!!!!!!!!! and with a head full of hair!!! WOW!!!
I'm so cute. and God rejoiced when I was born! WOOHOO JESUS and LEILA!!

My favorite kiddies!

2008-11-05T18:39:00.001-08:00

Harvest Festival at Fuller 2008!

2008-11-05T17:44:00.000-08:00

Audrey and Isaiah's Dedication to Jesus!!

2008-11-05T17:24:00.000-08:00

Rio Hondo Benefit Concert 2008

2008-10-20T22:19:00.000-07:00

My friends from CKSDA church did a benefit concert for Rio Hondo Temporary Homes. This will be an annual concert so come check it out next year!

Three bands came out to play: Future of Forestry, Lost Ocean and Colma Clarity.

Here are some of the highlights of the evening!

Photoshoot with the Reichanadter's!!

2008-10-12T20:31:00.000-07:00

Photoshoot with the Farquhar's!!

2008-10-10T13:17:00.000-07:00

Photoshoot with the Guthrie's!

2008-10-10T11:59:00.000-07:00

Sarah 2

2008-09-30T15:53:00.000-07:00

Photoshoot with Sarah Jordan!! :D

2008-09-26T17:17:00.000-07:00

This is Sarah, my berry best friend from Jesus! Randomly I walked into her house and saw that her makeup was superb so we went and took pictures! :D haha.. she looks amazing! ENJOY!!

POWERFUL... when you are not in the light of the cross, you are in darkness. But when you are in the light of the Cross, there is color, there is power, there is HOPE, there is LIFE AGAIN. Come to the cross! COME TO THE CROSS to obtain LIFE. :)

WORSHIP HIM!!! WORSHIP HIIM AND LIFT HIM UP!! GIVE HIM GLORY AND HONOR AND PRAISE!!!

When we worship Him, the light of His presence shines on us and WE are lit. We receive the light of His presence and we shine from the inside out. Sometimes I feel dark.. sometimes i feel like there is no hope. But when I worship, when I am in His presence, I am filled again!! When I am in the light of my God, HIs light become MY LIGHT and I SHINE BRIGHT!!

AMEN SISTAH!! PREACH!!

Josh and Addie (10m)

2008-09-26T10:59:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite siblings! Addie is getting to BIG!! she's 10months and already WALKING! She's an over-achiever! haha

Photoshoot with Brian and Jayme!

2008-09-21T13:21:00.001-07:00

i got to take pictures of my neighbors, Brian and Jayme! Aren't they pretty? :)
Brian was ESPECIALLY excited to take these pictures. LOL
location: Fuller Seminar, Pasadena, CA
by Leila Dali

Photoshoot with Norry and Tammy!

2008-09-21T11:24:00.000-07:00

I got a model who was NOT SHY!!! LOVED IT! She was a natural and made my job sooo easy. This is Norry!! If you need a model, contact me and I'll pass on the information. Tammy is my good friend from high school and Norry is her sister. We had fun taking pictures. ;)

Location: Pasadena, CA, Cal Tech and Fuller Seminary
By: Leila Dali :)

Norry

Tammy

Engagement shoot with Shruti and Kaush 2

2008-08-26T05:15:00.000-07:00

Some more pictures of my hot friend Shruti and her fiance :)

Engagement shoot with Shruti and Kaush

2008-08-25T18:31:00.000-07:00

My friend from high school asked me to do her engagement pictures. I had a blast doing them with her and it was great to see my friend of 10 years! That's how long it's been since I've seen her!! :)