{Photography: A Talk with Michelle Walker}

We love having the Chin's on our Pink Blossom List because they seem to know so many industry insiders. One of Nancy and Kevin's photographer buddy is the ever talented, Michelle Walker. Nancy Liu Chin recently interviewed Michelle for our spotlight on Photography. Let's listen in.

NLC: What is one photography trend that you've embraced?
MW: I try to stay away from trends (I prefer my photographs to actually look like photographs – clean & classic), but I do love the flexibility that digital photography offers. With a few clicks in Photoshop I can change a photo to look like any type of film and/or camera that’s ever been made. Holga? No problem! TMZ? You got it! Type 669 Polariod? Absolutely!
NLC: Love the Holga effect. Kevin has a few of my niece with that $30 vintage camera. So cool.

NLC: If you weren't photographing, what would you be doing?
MW: I can’t imagine myself doing anything other than photography!But if I had to choose, I’d say safari guide in the Serengeti.

NLC: I can see that. What do you love about weddings?
MW: Everything! But especially the insanity of the planning and then the perfection of seeing your day turn-out exactly like you planned (or even better) – it makes the insanity worth it! And I really love the emotions that surface during a wedding. Mom cries, dad cries, your sisters are jealous, your new MIL tries to run the show, your bridesmaids smile and tell you it’s all OK, your mom cries again, you cry, smile and laugh all at the same time, and then your new husband touches your face and it really is all OK.
NLC: I totally get you. It is insanity. But we must be a little crazy. That's why we have to have an outlet.

NLC: So, what's your 5 guilty pleasures?
MW: Only 5?!? American Idol; month-long trips to exotic locations; coffee with my best girlfriends (at 10am on a Tuesday!); dark chocolate; and 90’s grunge music.
NLC: City or country?
MW: My gut says “city”, but my dream is to own a goat farm in Sonoma - make cheese and host weddings on the weekends.

NLC: How about this....what 5 things can't you live without?
Craig (my gorgeous husband), Riley (my SuperPup), my girls, sports, and Peet’s coffee.


NLC; What blogs are you reading these days?
MW: Top 3 favorite blogs
The Daily Chuck (from Dooce.com by Heather Armstrong)
Post Secret
The Brown Bag

NLC: That's a shameless plug for my blog. I have to kiss you for that. But good answer. (I laugh!)
NLC: What celebrity wedding was your all time favorite? and why?
MW: I LOVED Trista & Ryan’s wedding! (Remember them from The Bachelorette?) It was pink, it was over-the-top, and Ryan is so very, very hot. I sat on the bed (with a little bed picnic) and watched the entire thing at a fancy hotel in Laguna Beach (there for work). It was a beautiful train-wreck, I cried.


Michelle Walker runs a successful wedding studio in San Francisco's East Bay. Since the age of nine, Michelle has always known that photography is what she wanted to do. Though Michelle got caught-up in the craziness of high-tech for a few years (helped run a software company), wanted to ‘do good’ for the world and went to work in non-profit (as a CFO – really again!), she eventually moved to San Francisco, got married, and sold her soul to financial aid for tuition at art school. And voila, she's now one of the most respected, highly sought after wedding photographers. Period. Her work has graced countless magazines, we can't even begin to list them but they do include Your Wedding Day, Inside Weddings, Northern California Brides, Bride and Bloom. One of the things that many insiders often say about Michelle is that she has this passion about life and she has a heart of gold. Thank you, Michelle and Nancy for this great interview.

Photography by Michelle Walker